Month: July 2021

Of the 3208 people surveyed, 7% said that they played on a site which didn’t hold a Swedish gaming licence – up from 3% from the last survey conducted. However, the accuracy of both of these figures may be in doubt due customers’ knowledge levels of whether sites were licensed.

While the majority of players reported using licensed channels, 12% were unsure whether or not they played on an unlicensed site.

Players who played on unlicensed sites admitted more readily than other players that their gaming increased during the coronavirus pandemic. Of the 32% of people who claimed to play with these sites at least once a quarter, 19% said their gaming habits have increased compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, 10% of players acknowledged that they had played too much in the last three months, with those who used unlicensed sites more likely to report this. While an overwhelming majority of overall players did not report playing too much, a slim majority of players who used unlicensed sites said that they did.

47% of players who used unlicensed sites found them via web searches. 31% of players either found them through advertising, or by tips from friends.

Better odds and winning opportunities were the most common reason people sought out unlicensed sites, with 25% of such players citing this as a reason. Meanwhile, just under 20% were looking to circumvent the SEK5000 deposit limit, which has proved to be very unpopular within the industry.

Lottery games proved to be the most popular type of unlicensed gambling, being the game of choice for 60% of those who play at least once a quarter. Horse racing and non-horse racing sports were the next most common with 36% each.

20% of those surveyed preferred casinos games such as slots, 11% favoured bingo and 7% chose poker.

Research conducted by Spelinspektionen earlier this year found licenced websites were lacking in terms of providing sufficient responsible gambling information.

According to Spelinspektionen, Multilotto operator Multi Brand Gaming Ltd breached section 17 of the Spelinspektionen’s guidelines and regulations on gaming, by not including information about deposit limits, self-exclusion features and play time information on the logout sections of its mobile and desktop website.

In response, Multi Brand Gaming Ltd fixed the issue and included all necessary features in the logout area of its site.

Spelinspektionen also issued a warning to More Tech Group Ltd, which operates SuperLottoClub, for breaching section 17, as the operator hadn’t included deposit limit information and the ability to time play in it its own logout area.

Further, More Tech Group Ltd was found to have breached sections 7 and 8 of the Swedish Lottery Inspectorate’s guidelines and regulations on commercial online gambling and betting, due to the lack of significant contact information on its website.

More Tech Group have since fixed all outstanding issues.

Spelinspektionen justified the warnings by classifying the breaches as not serious, but “neither minor nor excusable”.

Last week, after Spelinspektionen issued a host of fees and penalties to licensees in 2019 for offering bets on sports games involving under 18s, a judge rejected eight appeals from the licensees, but reduced two of the penalty fees.

EveryMatrix joins the international lottery ogranisation effective immediately, having previously developed several partnerships with existing WLA members including the Norwegian State Lottery, Norsk Tipping, and Greek state-licensed lottery and gaming operator OPAP.

The supplier said that the WLA market is strategically important to its continued growth and that it shares values on responsible gaming, ethical business practices and supporting good causes with the association.

“We are looking forward to being an active and contributing member of WLA. EveryMatrix is committed to further developing its existing ties with the WLA world and has made significant investments in this direction over the years,” said Ebbe Groes, group chief executive of EveryMatrix.

“We will now certify against the WLA’s Security and Responsible gaming standards. Moreover, we are proud to be giving back to society since 2015 through our large-scale Kids Academy programme.”

Earlier today (5 July), it was announced that Italian operator Lottomatica’s sports betting arm Lottomatica Scommesse had also been named a member of the WLA.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday (5 July) announced that almost all Covid-19 restrictions and guidance would be lifted from 19 July as Britain moves to stage four of its roadmap out of lockdown.

Rules such as having to wear a face covering in certain environments and measures related to social distancing will be removed in England, but remain in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish government has said that it plans to keep current rules in place until at least 9 August, while Wales and Northern Ireland will review restrictions on 8 July and 15 July, respectively.

“Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our roadmap,” Johnson said. “But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.

“As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid-19 and exercise judgement when going about our lives.”

The relaxation of rules in England mean racecourses will be able to host capacity crowds for the first time since March 2020, while spectators in attendance will not be required to wear a face covering or social distance.

The BHA welcomed the announcement, with chair Annamarie Phelps saying the news comes as a “huge boost” to the racing industry that welcomes almost six million fans to race events each year.

“Everyone involved in our sport has been looking forward to this news for the last thirteen months and worked tirelessly and with great patience to safely keep the show on the road in this time,” Phelps said.

“Monday 19 July will be a significant day for all sports, and very much so for British racing.”

However, Phelps did concede that certain restrictions and measures may need to remain in place to ensure the safety of attendees and staff at race meetings.

“We are currently working with our industry colleagues to consider how this might apply to racing and how our racedays will therefore operate from 19 July onwards, and we await further clarity from government,” Phelps said. 

“We also look forward to spectators being permitted to return to sporting events in Scotland and Wales in greater numbers in due course and continue to engage proactively with the Devolved Administrations on this issue.”

Le Hiep, DiaComSuon, and Cuticini will not be able to take part in professional esports events or competitions until 16 June next year as a result of their actions during the ESL Mobile Open Legends of Runeterra (Ladder 2) tournament on 16 June this year.

ESIC opened an investigation in response to a report from ESL Asia relating to the abnormal progression of particular participants in the event. The probe focused on five accounts, with three operated by one individual, while the remaining two individuals held an account each.

During the investigation, ESIC found that the three individuals had colluded to cheat in the ladder-based tournament by engaging in so-called “boosting behaviour”. Boosting referes to high-skilled competitors accessing lower-skilled players’ accounts for the direct purpose of increasing the rank of the account, for monetary gain.

Reviewing the case, ESIC ruled the three individuals breached Article 2.4.4 of the Code of Conduct, which related to cheating or attempting to cheat to win a game or match.

ESIC said this constituted a Level 4 offence and, as such, each offending participant has been provided with a Notice of Charge detailing their offence and their sanction in the form of a 12-month ban.

The bans will apply to events run by all ESIC members including ESL, DreamHack, WePlay, BLAST, LVP and Eden, while ESIC also requested all non- member tournament organisers to honour the bans.

“ESIC is centrally focused on protecting the integrity of the esports landscape,” ESIC said. “ESIC believes that an effective integrity framework assesses the veracity of competitive integrity on all levels of esports competition.

“This comes from ESIC’s firm belief that the competitive integrity of esports is of central importance to the maintenance of its commercial longevity and viability.”

The body also revealed that the gaming industry contributed an estimated €924m to the economy in 2020, a decrease of some 40.8% on the €1.56bn it contributed in 2019.

The Authority’s total revenue for the year was €77.3m, a 5.3% drop from €81.7m in 2019.

Authority fees brought in €12.2m of this figure, comprised of €8.4m in licence fees, up 4.1% year-on-year, and €295,000 in application fees, down 38.2%, while other revenue brought in €3.5m, a €2.7m increase from full-year 2019.

Gaming companies’ compliance contributions and levies brought in the bulk of revenue at €65.0m, down 10.0% year-on-year.

Administrative and other expenses came in at €12.0m, made up mostly of staff costs at €7.2m, while general administrative expenses made up a further €1.1m.

Depreciation and amortisation on property, plant and equipment and intangible fixed assets amounted to €1.1m of the total expenses, while contributions to other entities accounted for a further €1.0m. The remaining expenses came from auditor remuneration, chairperson’s emoluments and board honoraria, promotional expenses, professional fees and provision for doubtful debts.

The total expenses left the regulator’s operating revenue at €65.2m, a decrease of 4.7% compared to 2019.

Elsewhere in the report, the MGA revealed that the number of gaming machines in Malta’s 4 licensed casinos, Dragonara Casino, Portomaso Casino, Casino Malta and Oracle Casino, had fallen from 954 in 2019 to 909 in 2020.

In total, 387 gaming licenses were issued throughout the year, 82.1% of which were for remote gambling. This was 35 more licences issued than in 2019.

The annual report also detailed that the MGA had issued 69 warnings, suspended 3 licenses and cancelled a further 12 during the year.

In addition, during 2020, the MGA carried out 1,475 criminal probity screening checks, an increase of 13.5% year on year.

ISS had previously been in favour of the offer from Barinboim, which was worth up to $210m depending on certain clauses being met, before Gopher Invesments made a $250m counter offer on Friday.

Voting against Barinboim’s original offer will free Playtech’s board of any obligation they have to Barinboim, thus paving the way to continue negotiations with Gopher Investments.

ISS advised Playtech’s board to vote against the proposal, citing the board’s inability to engage with third parties, the lack of urgency to sell the business, and the undervaluation of Barinboim’s original offer.

A statement from ISS said: “This offer (from Gopher) represents a material premium to the $185 million offer (plus contingent consideration) from the consortium that signed an agreement with Playtech.

“Gopher asserts the offer will be financed from funds which are immediately available and that it is prepared to perform only limited due diligence, anticipated to take no more than three weeks, before seeking to enter into a fully binding offer for Finalto on terms that are materially equivalent to those entered into with the Consortium.

Playtech initially struck a deal with the heavily-backed Barinboim Group back in May after lengthy negotiations.

The policy rules have been published in anticipation of the online gaming market going live in the Netherlands in October, in an attempt to give clarity to prospective licence holders.

Licence holders will be obliged to to report any relevant changes in behavior or events to the KSA board of directors as soon as possible.

Operators have until 13 August to make known any queries they have regarding the policy rules. They have been told to do so via the KSA website, and have been advised that the regulator will not respond substantively to individual responses.

Changes deemed as relevant are wide ranging, starting with any changes to primary licence holders and any legal issues such as criminal convictions, settlements or tax fines. Any changes to the payment method between player and operator also need to be reported.

Changes from the national self-exclusion system Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (CRUKS) should also be disclosed to the regulator.

Any potential licence holders had until 15 April to submit their applications ahead of the October launch – the KSA ended up receiving 28 applications in total, although it anticipated granting up to 35 licences.

Tabcorp’s announcement that it would demerge the divisions to create two standalone ASX-listed businesses was the result of a strategic business review started in March, which saw the operator consider a sale of its wagering and media division.

In February, Tabcorp said it had received several “unsolicited approaches and proposals”, with Entain among those to have put forward an offer.

In April, Entain confirmed it had made a revised AU$3.5bn (£1.96bn/€2.25bn/$2.72bn) offer to acquire the wagering and media division.

Following Tabcorp’s announcement today (5 July) that it would demerge the two divisions of its business and list them separately, Entain said it was “disappointed” by the decision of the operator’s board.

It said it believed its all-cash offer would have delivered superior outcomes for shareholders, customers, employees and the wider industry.

Price discipline is essential in building on the shareholder value it expects its global growth strategy to deliver, it said, and pointed out that its Australia-facing brands Ladbrokes, Neds, Betstar and Bookmaker, were continuing to build on a record year in 2020.

Entain expressed confidence that its Australian business would go from strength to strength, on the back of the quality of its products and support of the wider Australian racing industry.

Results published from the first quarter of 2021 showed that Entain’s net revenue was down 13% year-on-year for the period, mainly due to the continued closure of a large part of its retail estate.

Its online business, however, saw revenue rise 33% year-on-year, marking the business area’s 21^st consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.

The consultation is designed to gather the opinions of industry experts and stakeholders regarding the rules of whip usage, and subsequent penalties for rule breaches.

The first part of the consultation is an online questionnaire, which will run for 10 weeks until 6 September. The questionnaire can be accessed by anyone with an interest in the subject, allowing them to make suggestions.

After detailed discussions with the relevant parties, suggestions will be considered by the Whip Consultation Steering Group which is comprised of industry experts.

The Group will determine which recommendations are suitable before presenting them to the BHA board for consideration and approval in early 2022.

BHA chief executive Julie Harrington (who was appointed to the role in August) said: “At a time when societal and political views are constantly changing, the future health of our sport will depend in part on the maintenance of social licence and the trust that the public and politicians have in us. The racing industry must be willing to listen to and understand a range of perspectives if it is to prosper and safeguard its long-term future.

“By carrying out this consultation we are looking to signal and facilitate a positive, open debate about this important issue for our sport from the viewpoint of perception and fairness. We encourage everyone with an interest in the subject to take part in the consultation. This is your opportunity to be heard.”

Brant Dunshea, chief regulatory officer for the BHA, added: “We encourage all respondents to make use of the supporting information in the consultation, which explains the current design of the whip, and the rules and penalties relating to its use, to ensure that anyone responding to the consultation is informed by the facts.

“This is a complex issue and not a binary one. The consultation will cover a broad range of ground regarding the use of the whip for encouragement, the rules under which the padded whips are used for this specific purpose, and the penalties for breaches of those rules.

“We ask everyone involved to take part in this debate constructively and respectfully.”

Last year, the BHA formed a steering group to collaborate on proposals for reforming the horseracing levy.