Month: July 2021

The OASIS player blocking system is being introduced under the terms of the State Treaty on Gambling (GlüNeuRStV), through which legal online gambling is allowed throughout Germany’s states.

OASIS, which is a nationwide instrument for protecting gamers and combatting gambling addiction, is currently undergoing final tests and optimisation ahead of its launch at the start of next month, according to an update from the state of Hesse. All operators in Germany must sign up to the OASIS system under the terms of their licences.

Under the GlüNeuRStV legislation, the lifting of a self-exclusion ban can only be requested by a player at the earliest after a minimum term. The minimum term for an unlimited ban is currently one year, with limited bans corresponding to the duration of the period requested.

The GlüNeuRStV, which legalises online poker and slots for all eligible operators, and provides for a more limited range of table games, was first approved as far back as March 2020 by Germany’s heads of state. It was then notified to the European Commission in May, before being ratified by Minister-Presidents in the 16 states in November.

Under the Treaty, the state is to host a new federal regulatory authority for gambling, that is likely to take two years to be fully operational.

Germany’s leading gambling operators this week urged politicians to clamp down on unlicensed brands ahead of the implementation of the legislation.

The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) said the “long overdue” regulation will create unattractive framework conditions for those who operate legally, so unlicensed operators must be rigorously sanctioned and deterred by the federal authorities.

The NZESF, which is a government-recognised national sporting organisation (NSO), will work with ESIC to integrate the commission’s integrity program into its operations and all of its sanctioned events.

One of the national body’s key areas of focus, aside from the regulation and governance of esports in New Zealand, is creating a pathway for young esports players to progress to higher levels of competition.

“Part of our mandate as an NSO is to monitor and enforce the integrity of events sanctioned by us,” NZESF president Ben Lenihan said.

“This is becoming increasingly relevant as gambling becomes a bigger part of the world of esports. We have engaged with ESIC in order to be able to supply sanctioned tournament operators with world-class monitoring and investigation services.”

ESIC commissioner Ian Smith added: “ESIC acknowledges the NZESF’s commitment and dedication to a uniform and global standard for competitive integrity in esports.

“As a member of ESIC, the NZESF will be able to engage with us on issues that are centrally related to youth protection and competitive integrity. Furthermore, the NZESF’s members will enjoy the benefit of a global network of information relating to the maintenance of competitive integrity in events.”

In April, ESIC hit out at what it described as a “false narrative” that it worked for the esports betting industry.

Esports betting has been going through constant growth with a very exciting phase that has provided an additional boost. Many of the bookmakers who invested into it in the past are already seeing the fruits of their work, while many others still struggle to see a value there. Yet it is extremely simple: if your betting solution is far from being engaging and you do not care about esports fans, why should those same fans come to you? The truth is that esports bettors are from different generations, they’re mainly zoomers and millennials. They’re more demanding and they are not easy to engage. 

Some operators have already started to realise that their current esports offering is not good enough to attract these demographics. But once they integrate a truly engaging solution and attract esports fans authentically, their volumes will significantly increase. Esports already has a massive fanbase and it has been growing steadily every year, while most of the traditional sports are losing popularity among younger audiences. The future of esports betting looks bright.

Markets with high growth potential

Scandinavia and CIS are already huge when it comes to esports betting, ticking two major boxes: esports has come to the mainstream, and betting is legal. There is a huge potential in Asia. The next big growth will come from America, though, both North and LatAm. The esports fan base is already significant and at the same time very specific. For example, in Brazil it would be all about CS:GO, while for Columbia, it would be Dota2. Mexico will be more inclined to favour League of Legends. Along with this, another story for LatAm will be the huge growth of mobile esports – and that will be followed by betting. 

A separate topic is the US. There are certain indications that the US esports market is already huge albeit mainly run by offshore bookies as the regulatory landscape still limits official betting. Oddin wants to become a thought leader in discussions with regulatory bodies in the US to help better position esports and address concerns. There is a huge opportunity in the US market for the first movers to grab a significant market share for the years to come. The process can take a while, but they will eventually get there.

Marek Suchar is the Head of Partnerships at Oddin.gg, a B2B esports odds feed and risk management provider. Oddin.gg delivers the most engaging esports betting experience with industry-leading uptime and a number of live markets.

The amendment relates to to financial conditions outlined in Kambi and MGE’s initial agreement, which was signed in 2019.

The agreement term was set for five years.

As a result of the amendment, Kambi will receive the full revenue stipulated in the initial agreement, while MGE can collaborate to incept land-based and online sports betting in Connecticut without affecting Kambi’s revenue.

“While we had been looking forward to supporting MGE to become a sports betting leader in the Connecticut market, the amicable discussions between both parties have found a positive conclusion, with MGE respecting Kambi’s financial interests for the duration of the original agreement.” said Kristian Nylén, CEO and co-founder of Kambi.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Her new role will see her take charge of the economic regulation of the gambling market, particularly the commercial and promotional strategies of operators.

She will also be tasked with overseeing the prevention of excessive gambling, a problem which ANJ pays close attention to, and formed a key part of the body’s five-year strategy set out earlier this year.

Fiorina, a civil administrator, has previously held senior roles in various fields.

She served as project director at the Directorate-General for Enterprises for four years, during which time she deployed initiatives for the promotion of the video game and esports industries.

She also worked as deputy director at the Ministry of Transport, where she was responsible for policies concerned with changing the national road network.

ANJ signed an agreement with French addiction group OFDT earlier this week, in order to gain more understanding of the triggers of gambling behaviour and addiction.

The heightened levy and fees were announced through the Rijksoverheid, the Netherlands’ central government. The Ministry of Justice and Security, which is responsible for games of chance, cited costs incurred through the introduction of the KOA as the reason for the increase.

The increased gambling levy, which was previously set at 1.75% of GGR, is set to take effect from the market’s launch on 1 October 2021.

In addition, fees are set to rise as previous fee estimations were incorrect, and must now be adjusted to support costs incurred by the Netherlands Gaming Authority, Kansspelautoriteit.

For example, after 1 October, lotteries that offer prizes of more than €1m but less than €5m must pay a fee of €1,029, an increase from the €1,000 previously designated.

Casinos that offered gaming machines previously had to pay a €219 fee per machine, but will have to pay €232 after the 1 October deadline.

For charity lotteries that offer more than €50,000 but less than €500,000 in prizes, licence fees will increase significantly from €2,000 to €4,100.

The KOA was passed in February 2019, but faced three significant delays before it became law in April this year. It was to be enacted in June 2020 initially, followed by delays that saw the date move to 1 March 2021 and finally 1 April, 2021.

The Ministry of Justice and Security stated that the 1 October date for the market’s launch had been chosen to consider how operators are recovering from the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

In the role, Henzgen will be responsible for marketing, politics and communication at Novo Interactive, whilst maintaining his management duties at Löwen Entertainment.

He will form part of the management team alongside Oliver Bagus and Jürgen Irsigler from 1 July.

Henzgen said: “The appointment to the management of Novo Interactive is a great honour and a vote of confidence for me. It is an incentive to take advantage of the opportunities that the legalisation of online gaming opens up for our group of companies.

“With Novoline we are creating an offer that transfers our strengths from terrestrial gaming into the digital world: games that inspire.”

Löwen Entertainment president and CEO Christian Arras added: “The entry into online gambling and its further development is one of the great challenges for us in the coming years. We are very pleased to be able to rely on Dr. Daniel Henzgen and his expertise in the areas of politics and communication.”

Henzgen recently criticised Germany’s new State Treaty on Gambling, accusing the government of showing contempt for gamblers and gaming providers.

Governor Janet Mills will be given the chance to sign off the bill if it passes through the state’s Appropriations Table – a joint committee that is expected to convene as early as today (1 July) – and then receives the backing of the full Senate.

Mills vetoed a previous mobile sports betting bill in January 2020. It is expected that the new law, which includes updated responsible gambling guidelines, is more likely to succeed, although local reports have suggested that the Governor remains split on the issue.

The Senate voted 23-12 to pass the bill on to the next approval stage earlier this month.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Fertitta Entertainment, the parent company of Golden Nugget operator Landry’s, announced in February that it would merge with Fast Acquisition Corporation, with Tilman Fertitta selling a minority stake in the business and retaining a 60% shareholding.

However, the terms of the deal have been updated, with Fertitta Entertainment now set to add “42 incremental, high-quality business assets” to the public company, including a range of restaurants, such as the Mastro’s brand, and other entertainment venues. As part of the transaction, the company will also become the full owner of the Catch restaurants chain.

As a result of the amendment, Tilman Fertitta will now retain a 72% shareholding after the transaction closes.

Fertitta Entertainment said that the combined entity will be valued at $8.6bn following the addition of the new business assets, with Bloomberg having reported that the previous value had been tagged at $6.6bn.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the partnership, BettorView will deliver Nascar content at venues located in states where online sports betting is legal and regulated.

This will include showcasing customised Nascar stats, analytics and odds alongside sports betting promotions in restaurants, bars, stadiums and Nascar tracks.

BettorView currently provides on-screen touch technology, brand ambassador activations and digital content marketing to more than 1,000 in-venue screens across the US, though the deal with Nascar marks its first partnership with a professional sports league.

“This collaboration will allow us to deliver Nascar-specific content to a massive number of people actively engaged with sports betting,” Nascar’s managing director for sports betting, Joe Solosky, said.

Read the full story on iGB North America.