A former super model, Bündchen has been recognized as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She has consistently supported environmental initiatives, including the Clean Water Project in her home country Brazil.
The news comes after DraftKings’ ESG report outlined the company’s plans to combat environmental issues.
Read the full story on iGB North America.
The fully customisable sportsbook allows operators to differentiate and localise their offering, while the platform also features back-office trading tools and real-time reporting.
Enhanced user interface and user experience features have been designed to help make the player experience as engaging and intuitive.
Customers are able to place bets on more than 80,000 pre-game and 70,000 live events across over 100 sports each month.
In addition, the sportsbook offers fully managed trading options for operators.
“We are thrilled to introduce our next generation sports betting platform to the industry and for operators to be able to use it to power their sportsbooks and take player engagement to the next level,” sportsbook product director at Champion Sports Simon Noble said.
“The platform has been built to adapt and scale so that it can work for operators of all sizes. We have built-in features that allow operators to fully customise the front end to deliver a unique player experience and to stand out from their rivals.”
The trade body said that “all major Nordic banks” – including SEB, Swedbank, Nordea, Handelsbanken, DNB Nor and Danske Bank – stopped providing services to Swedish-licensed gambling operators at some point this year.
Claiming this is in violation of Swedish law, Hoffstedt has filed a complaint to the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen).
Most of these banks, Hoffstedt said, cited internal risk assessments or Sweden’s Anti-Money Laundering Act (PTL) as the reasons for account closures. The BOS secretary general added that “ in some cases the banks have not stated any reason at all”.
“As far as I am aware, no concrete justification for the dismissals and banks’ assessment has been provided in any case,” Hoffstedt (pictured) said.
Hoffstedt added that gambling operators cannot function without banking services.
“Online gambling companies are, as stated above, dependent on basic financial infrastructure in
the form of banking and payment services to conduct their business,” he explained. “This requires [them] to be able to store customers’ funds as well as receive deposits and make payments to customers.”
He added that the suspension of services meant that operators could no longer use Bank-ID, used to verify players’ identities. This meant they had lost access to a tool that was vital for fighting fraud and money laundering, Hoffstedt.
“Without access to the Bank-ID system, online gambling companies need to use alternative solutions to identify their customers,” he explained. “These solutions risk being neither as effective for companies nor as safe for users.”
Swedish Banks also provide the Swish payment service, which Hoffstedt said was also “very important” for operators.
Hoffstedt said that the banks’ decisions had worsened operating conditions for the country’s igaming licensees, as well as counteracting the goals of the Gambling Act.
He went as far as arguing that the actions were illegal.
Hoffstedt said banks have a contractual obligation to continue to provide banking services to these customers, unless there is a clear reason to break this agreement. Only in incidents where continuing to provide banking services would violate the PTL, or if the banking customer had committed misconduct, could agreements be broken, he claimed.
While Hoffstedt noted that banks may terminate agreements if they suspect a customer has connections to money laundering, he pointed out the PTL made clear that these assessments are at the customer level. They can therefore not be applied on a sweeping basis to a legal industry.
“Given that a large proportion of BOS members also received notice or notice of termination from the banks – all with general and overarching references to the risk of money laundering in the business – it seems obvious that the basis for the dismissals is a general business policy decision rather than a valid application of PTL,” he said.
“Under these circumstances, there is no possibility for the banks to deviate from their contractual obligation.”
BOS requested a dialogue with the Financial Supervisory Authority and said the regulator “should initiate a supervisory investigation of the banks’ handling and possibly intervene against the banks”.
It follows the Swedish police warning that gambling is at its “highest threat level” of money laundering in the country’s National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing report earlier today (21 April).
The report, which was compiled from findings by Sweden’s Coordination Function Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing group, organised by the police authority, said gambling businesses are often unknowingly “at risk” of money laundering exploitation.
Instead of looking to cut costs, the tribal operator actually raised the minimum wage for its staff. Chairman Greg Sarris explains the rationale behind the move, and how it managed to weather the worst effects of the pandemic in this keynote presentation.
When Mississippi became one of the first states in the country to follow New Jersey and legalise sports betting, the Choctaw tribe embraced the opportunity to develop its own regulations and move into the vertical.
In this video, Bea Carson, chair of the Choctaw Gaming Commission, shares the lessons learned through this process.
She highlights key considerations for other tribes looking to follow suit, weighs up the benefits and drawbacks of partnerships and going it alone and discusses future developments that may aid the process.
While the world remains mired in a global pandemic, the reality of unequal access to basic government funding and services, vaccines, healthcare and housing has dominated headlines and exposed the underlying structures that create and sustain inequality across cultures and continents.
Democracy itself is in question amid increased criticism of democracy’s reliance on capitalism. In today’s uncertain times, the very definition and purpose of capitalism is also being debated.
Capitalism has been described by economist John Maynard Keynes in this way: “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”
What is astounding about Keynes’ seemingly jaded description of capitalism is the expectation of a direct link between capitalism and the public good, regardless of our fallibility or the nature of industry.
Of course, this implied balance between the system and the outcome is famously at odds with economist Milton Friedman’s position that, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game.” More than 50 years later, Friedman’s original essay remains controversial.
As legal gambling expands (and moves online) around the world, various industry segments have rallied around discussions of “responsible gaming” and the obligations of the gambling industry to reduce or eliminate harm to players.
While gambling publications or conferences rarely address the question of which nations or jurisdictions are most likely to adopt and legalise gambling as an economic development tool that balances returns with social responsibility, this historical moment is an ideal time to highlight what I see as the global model for the gambling industry in general and responsible gambling in particular: the unique and underappreciated model of stakeholder capitalism developed by American Indian tribal governments in the United States.
As an educator, I am grateful to have the opportunity to study, visit, write about and share my understanding of tribal government gaming and the ways that it offers a best-in-class example of stakeholder capitalism. One in which the “state” and “business” are mutually reinforcing entities that achieve the creation and redistribution of wealth at the same time.
For example, it is generally agreed that while tribal governments created the tribal gaming model in the 1970’s, the regulatory structure of the $39bn industry today is generally guided by a 1988 federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA.)
What is less understood and agreed upon are the ways that IGRA reflects pre-existing tribal government policies for gaming revenue investment, which can best be understood as a cultural form of what mainstream observers call stakeholder capitalism.
While governments are generally understood as inefficient business partners or innovators, they are equally criticised if they focus too much on redistribution of wealth and not enough on supporting a system that generates profits. If governments over-regulate, they are scolded for stifling the free market system. If they shift to a more laissez faire system, they are accused of being ineffective administrators who let rent seekers take more than their fair share.
This is where American Indian tribal governments are different: The incredible success of tribal governments in balancing their casinos’ return on investment (ROI) with their governments’ return on community (ROC) is critical to the success of their economies and cultures.
However, this dynamic is often overlooked because outsiders do not appreciate or understand the demands on tribal governments to operate profitable businesses as a form of government revenue generation.
Tribal governments are successful and patient innovators who create and invest in dynamic industries in ways that leverage their unique legal and political status as domestic sovereigns – and gaming is the most visible example.
Over the last three decades, more than two hundred tribes with gaming in the United States have developed a unique structure wherein the tribal governments realise the risks and rewards of innovation, investment and business operations.
They achieve this delicate balance by authorising, regulating and operating casinos while also redistributing the revenues from these businesses into the public good, both among their own communities and with their neighbours. Tribes have achieved something other governments can learn from: how to unleash a nation or government’s potential as an economic engine without reliance on taxation.
So how do tribes do it? Mainly, through a separation of business and government functions, with a clear sense of shared purpose between the two. Unlike commercial casinos in Nevada or other state-regulated markets, tribal gaming facilities are specifically designed to generate revenues for tribal governments to operate.
The tribal government passes the gaming ordinance, creates the regulatory body, secures the funding, hires the managers and stabilises the “rules of the game” through relationships with federal and/or partners (whether a governor, representative of the National Indian Gaming Commission or other actors).
Private or publicly-held companies are expected to return profits, so executives are usually under pressure to focus on short-term performance and maximising shareholder value. The corporate gaming model contributes to the public good indirectly and to a smaller degree through corporate taxation and/or corporate social responsibility and voluntary charitable investments.
While there are pressures on corporate executives to take action related to social justice movements or to sign pledges related to stakeholders’ well-being, the primary purpose of corporations, including commercial casino companies, remains profit maximisation on behalf of shareholders.
Tribal governments, on the other hand, have a commitment to invest in sustainable long-term projects for the tribal public good: social programs and projects that offer services and support to tribal citizens, including infrastructure development, housing, education, health care and public safety.
As gambling continues to expand around the world, and online, the tribal government gaming model has much to teach us.
Rather than simply license and tax new gambling segments, other nations should explore their own willingness to enter the industry as dynamic economic actors, possibly sharing the risk and rewards of legalising gambling rather than shifting them exclusively to corporations through mixed messages about maximising profits while minimising wickedness.
While the rest of the world debates whether stakeholder capitalism is the right way or the wrong way to do business, for tribal governments in the United States, it is the only way.
Now you’ve read Dr Spilde’s thoughts, have you say through the Tribal Gaming Survey. This project sees ICE 365 collaborate with Pechanga.net, to gather opinions from tribes on the future of their gaming industry. It’s open to all tribal gaming operators, so share your thoughts here.
Dr. Kate Spilde is Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University and a leading authority on tribal economic development in the United States. With a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and an MBA in entrepreneurial management, Dr. Spilde has worked on public policy and tribal governance in several positions, including Policy Analyst for the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Director of Research at the National Indian Gaming Association, Sr. Research Associate at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Executive Director of the Center for California Native Nations at the University of California in Riverside (UCR). Dr. Spilde has served as Endowed Chair of the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming at San Diego State University since 2008, where she designed and still teaches all five courses leading to the nation’s only Bachelor of Science degree in Tribal Casino Operations Management. An award winning teacher and scholar, Dr. Spilde has published more than 50 academic articles and has worked with tribal, state, federal and foreign governments on economic development and gaming for over 20 years. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Responsible Gaming, the only organization devoted to funding research that helps increase understanding of gambling disorder.
Here, ICE 365 brings together a panel of experts for the first in a three-part tribal masterclass series.
Led by Jason ‘Wolf’ Rosenberg of American iGaming Solutions, it sees Agua Caliente Casinos operations chief Saverio Scheri and Chris Garrow, gaming operations director of Prairie Band Casino & Resort discuss how to strike the optimum deal.
The trio begin by discussing the challenges involved in negotiating with partners that don’t understand the distinct goals of tribal gaming.
They continue to highlight the differences between tribal and commercial gaming, discussing the decision-making processes and stakeholders involved.
Bassey, who became an independent board member at IGT in March 2020, will serve out the remainder of her term before stepping down after the gambling technology giant’s annual general meeting on May 11.
IGT said Bassey’s decision was due to other professional commitments, as well as certain challenges caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
In addition to leaving the IGT board of directors, Bassey will step down from the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Bally’s issued a total of 12,650,000 shares of common stock, including 1,650,000 shares issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, at a price of $55.00 each.
Proceeds after deductions but before expenses were $671.4m (£481.9m/€559.3m) – surpassing the initial target of $600.0m – with this to be used to fund a portion of the cash consideration payable to shareholders of Gamesys as part of the previously announced acquisition deal.
Last month, the boards of Bally’s and Gamesys agreed terms on a merger that would see Bally’s acquire Gamesys for £2.0bn. Further details of the agreement were made public last week, with Bally’s and Gamesys aiming to create a leading retail and online gambling business in the US and beyond.
Bally’s agreed to pay £18.50 ($25.77) per Gamesys share, though Gamesys shareholders also have the option to exchange their holding for 0.343 newly issued Bally’s shares per Gamesys share.
In the new position, Seiler will lead RSI’s investor relations efforts and work with the team to drive RSI’s growth, development and M&A initiatives.
Seiler joins RSI having most recently served as managing director and head of strategy for global corporate development and investor relations at boutique investment management business Four Wood Capital Partners.
Prior to this, Seiler was director of institutional equities, specialising in casino and gaming, for the Buckingham Research Group, and also spent time with Unino Gaming, the Telsey Advisory Group and Deutsche Bank.
“We are in the early stages of development for the greater igaming and sports betting markets, and Rush Street Interactive is uniquely positioned as a best-in-class operator to both gain share in existing jurisdictions and lead the charge into future jurisdictions around the globe,” Seiler said.
