Contracts for difference (CFDs), Foreign exchange trading, cryptocurrency exchanges and binary options will all be added to Gamban’s blocked list.
The decision was taken after Gamban conducted research last month into whether different forms of trading could be considered gambling. The results showed that an “overwhelming proportion” of those surveyed viewed cryptocurrency investment as a gambling medium.
While the company acknowledges the popularity of such platforms, it aims to prioritise the safety of its customers by shielding them from “significant capacity for harm due to exposure to risk from speculative trading and volatility”.
A statement from Gamban said: “We recognise to some of our users, this approach will appear quite blunt.
“However, we feel that where inappropriately regulated products emerge, which exist at the intersection between gambling and investing, but are more akin to speculating, Gamban must block these if it is to remain the safety net our users rely on.”
The supplier said it strongly supports Uefa to operate its Betting Fraud Detection System (BFDS), which analyses betting behaviour and patterns across international and domestic football competitions in Europe, and has done so for over 10 years.
During the tournament, which took place between June and July this year, Sportradar said no single match or betting market raised alarm, and that all Uefa BFDS alerts were reviewed and assessed to be explainable through logical sporting reasons.
The supplier also provided input and support to Uefa through its Anti-Match-Fixing Assessment Group (AMFAG) which operated throughout the tournament.
This group brought together different stakeholders from the world of sport and public authorities, to share and discuss information from a variety of channels during the tournament to ensure any integrity-related concerns were brought to light.
Sportradar also carried out an analysis of betting turnover on the tournament, and found that global wagers on the championship amounted to a record estimated €62bn (£53bn/$73bn).
On average, each match of the championship brought an estimated betting turnover of €1.2bn, with the final generating an estimated €4bn.
The championship’s winning team, Italy, had the highest betting turnover per match across the tournament, at €1.98bn.
Revenue for the six months to June 30 is set to amount to $32.0m (£23.3m/€27.2m), which would be 15.5% higher than $27.7m in the same period last year.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to decline 17.1% from $3.5m to $2.9mm but adjusted EBITDA is forecast to increase 37.3% from $5.1m to $7.0m.
As such, XLMedia said its full-year revenue guidance of between $65.0m and $70.0m stated on 27 May remains unchanged.
Going into detail on the first-half performance, XLMedia noted a “consistent performance” within its personal finance vertical, as well as record organic growth in the European sport sector.
XLMedia also referenced a positive impact from its recently acquired US assets. In March, XLMedia acquired US-focused sportsbook review website Sports Betting Dime, while it also purchased sports gaming and sports betting business CBWG Sports in December last year.
Alongside its financial update, the affiliate giant also published and operational update, in which it said the integration and commencement of a number of marketing initiatives across its US sports assets continues to gather momentum, helping boost traffic levels on all sites since their acquisition.
XLMedia said management also continues to accelerate efforts to reorganise the business, supported by a distributed shared services model.
This, XLMedia said, will allow it to better match the design of the group with strategic intentions and more effectively execute and deliver them.
However, the group said that this initiative will likely lead to a 15% drop in total workforce.
“Functional expertise will now be spread across multiple locations and organised in a way that, as the group builds new capabilities and enters new markets, the business will have an agile service delivery model that can provide timely and localised support while simultaneously controlling costs,” XLMedia said.
“The group continues to actively evaluate acquisition opportunities that would accelerate the company’s growth ambitions and be earnings accretive to the business.”
Hieu Duc Lam was working at Star Sydney Casino as a baccarat dealer in 2020 when he was caught on CCTV colluding with another employee and patron to cheat the casino.
Footage showed Lam looking at and memorising a number of cards that were to be used in a game of baccarat. He then used a secure messaging app on his phone to inform his accomplice – a player in the upcoming game – of the order of the cards.
The scam led to the casino losing AUD467,700 (£249,939/€291,843/US$343,905) in less than a month.
Lam was sacked and convicted of 15 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage in the Local Court of New South Wales – Downing Centre.
He was also sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of two years, which will run from 9 July 2021 to 8 July 2023, and was ordered to perform 250 hours community service work.
In addition, the New South Wales Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) cancelled Lam’s gaming licence.
“A casino special employee is licensed to supervise and facilitate gaming activities,” ILGA chair Philip Crawford said. “Their role is to help safeguard the integrity of casino operations from criminal influence, serious misconduct or exploitation, and a special degree of trust is placed in them. This case demonstrates a clear breach of that trust.”
The incident comes after two other employees at the casino in March were dismissed and convicted in courtafter attempting to steal over $30,000 in gaming chips.
In December last year, two other members of staff at the facility were banned from casinos in New South Wales for five years following serious misconduct.
A gaming attendant, who admitted to having gambling issues, was found to have placed 28 bets on a gambling app while on shift. An off-duty games dealer, meanwhile, was caught disposing of illicit drugs in a public area of the casino.
We have reached the summer doldrums as far as gambling policy is concerned. With parliament now not sitting until September and responses to the government’s Gambling Act review consultation now lodged, it is as good a time as any for the sector to take stock.
Sure, the pressure from the campaigners and its advocates in the press is unlikely to abate. But in terms of solid policy the likelihood is that the sector will be waiting until the end of the year at the earliest for any puffs of white smoke from the DCMS.
Scott Longley
But that doesn’t mean the sector can’t be do more under its own steam and one such move in the offing relates to the relationship between the sector’s suppliers and the issues around responsible gambling.
It might be said this relationship has previously been arm’s length. Yet, the focus across many regulated markets on the issue of responsible gambling is changing attitudes.
“There is a much wider perspective focused on the industry now,” says Richard Bayliss, senior regulatory affairs and compliance manager at Playtech. “It’s not just the high-street names. The spotlight in now on the industry as a whole. While companies such as Playtech aren’t in the spotlight as much as the likes of Flutter and Bet365, it would be dangerous to say we will always be in the background.”
Such are the pressures being exerted on the sector right now that Playtech will soon be announced as the inaugural company to be awarded GamCare B2B safer gambling accreditation.
The move recognises of Playtech’s efforts as to conduct its business in a sustainable manner. This includes the Playtech Protect effort which itself brings together the various strands of the company’s technology, compliance expertise and its BetBuddy programme to ensure responsible gambling is built into the company platform and casino offerings.
Hayley Jane Smith, head of safer gambling standards at GamCare, says the question facing her organisation is how to keep pace with the changes that are affecting the sector right now and the B2B accreditation effort is one of the “concrete steps” that can be taken to involve the whole of the sector in the safer gambling effort.
“We need to be flexible,” she says. “We need to know what safer looks like and we are evolving and changing to fit with that need.”
At issue is the heterogeneous nature of the UK gambling market. As Smith points out, designing a responsible gambling framework that worked for those at the top of the market would likely fail – and fail quickly – lower down the scale.
“If we just had standards that only fitted the top five, it would gut everybody else out,” she add. “So we need to be as connected to the smaller operators as the big ones. We need to respond to operators that do things differently. Not everybody has 30 people in the compliance department.”
One potential route towards connectivity is through the suppliers who can ensure that standards are accessible. “Suppliers can take the lead,” says Bayliss. “They are designing the product and capturing the data and are so central to this process. This is where they can really make a difference.”
As it stands, Playtech will be the first name to be added to the accredited list of suppliers but GamCare is obviously hopeful that others will take its lead. “We have done some basic communications to let people know we are out there,” says Smith. “We are also working with BGC and there are other suppliers within that group.”
Out of sight, still in mind
Although companies are still trying to push forward the agenda, there are issues. “Uncertainty regarding any process never helps when it comes to delivering real-world solutions,” says Bayliss. “We might implement things now which could be redundant post-Review. Meanwhile, the work being done by individual companies isn’t joined up and therefore any progress being made isn’t being done consistently.”
Once the Review is wrapped up, however, then it will be up to the industry to make good on what it has been saying in the run-up.
“This is the opportunity for the industry to get its house in order,” says Bayliss. “The collaboration piece will be a huge part of this. This is about thinking ahead of the review. It won’t stop criticism of the industry but efforts such as the B2B accreditation add up over time.”
As it stands, the sector in the UK can be somewhat reassured from comments emanating from the government that the worst of the proposals put forward by the advocates for a much harsher regulatory regime are not destined to be a part of the review.
But the last few years do certainly count as a near miss. The sector as a whole – operators and suppliers, companies large and small – would be well advised to look at what it can do better now to avoid sailing into much choppier waters.
Scott Longley has been a journalist since the early 2000s, covering personal finance, sport and gambling. He has worked for a number of publications including Investment Week, Bloomberg Money, Football First., eGaming Review and Gambling Compliance. Scott now runs his own editorial consultancy, Clear Concise Media, and writes for a number of online and print titles.
June saw the first month of retail betting activity since October 2020. This reopening – plus Euro 2020 – helped boost sports betting revenue to the highest total since October and third-best month ever with €215.8m (£184.7m/$254.3m).
However, with the return of the retail sector, online revenue declined. Total online gambling revenue came to €263.2m, the lowest total since November 2020, with online sports betting hitting its lowest total since September 2020, at €102.5m.
Online casino and slot revenue also declined to its lowest level since November 2020, at €134.0m. However, this total was higher than every month up to and including November 2020, showing the fast rise of online casino in the past two years.
Looking at market leaders, PokerStars remained on top in casino, restoring its 10% share of the market after slipping below that level in May. Second-placed Sisal’s market share also increased, but Lottomatica – which was sold in May to private equity fund Apollo Global Management – saw its share slip to 6.67%.
In sports betting, the return of retail meant that regular betting shop customers returned to the sector, allowing primarily online brands to increase their share of the online sports betting market. Bet365 returned to first place with 13.4%, after ranking sixth in May. Snai held onto second while previous leader Sisal slipped to third.
Across the entire sports betting market, the return of retail meant that Snai became the market leader, ahead of Goldbet in second, with Sisal close behind.
Looking at poker, market leader Pokerstars had easily its lowest market share for tournaments since the Dashboard began, though its share of cash games rebounded.
All data and figures from the regulator are processed by leading European corporate advisory firm Ficom Leisure, a specialist in all segments of the betting and gaming sector.
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The inquiry was initially due to run until November 14 this year, but the Royal Commission requested additional time to ensure its activities “properly serve the public interest” and produce a report and recommendations in line with expectations.
The new deadline for the Royal Commission – which will examine Crown suitability as a licensee to operate its Perth venue in the state – is now set for 4 March 2022.
The extension comes after the deadline of the Victorian Royal Commission was also moved from August 1 this year to October 15, allowing the Perth Casino Royal Commission to ensure findings and recommendations from that State can be fully considered.
Western Australia’s government said it has received the Perth Casino Royal Commission interim report and will table it when the Western Australian parliament next sits in August.
“This will provide commissioners with additional time to carry out their investigations and consider the findings of the Victorian Royal Commission,” Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said.
“The state government believes that public interest will be best served if the Perth Casino Royal Commission has sufficient time to produce its final report.”
The Victoria inquiry is focused around Crown’s suitability as a licensee within that state. Last week, the Victorian Royal Commission heard that Crown is still “not a suitable licensee”.
Adrian Finanzio, the counsel assisting the Commission into Crown pointed to AML failings and tax evasion efforts and argued that Crown may never be seen as suitable in the public eye.
Finanzio said that the Bergin Inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a licence in New South Wales revealed major flaws, and that – based on the evidence submitted to the Commission in Victoria – the operator remains an unsuitable licensee.
In May, Crown was ordered to pay a total of $22.5m as part of measures set out by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.
Crown must pay $12.5m towards the inquiry, and also pay an annual Casino Supervisory Levy of $5.0m in both FY2021 and FY2022, after the regulator found Crown “unsuitable” to operate a casino in the Barangaroo district of Sydney in February.
Concerns over regulatory probes led to Star Entertainment Group last week withdrawing its proposal to merge with Crown. However, Star said it still believes that “substantial benefits” could be unlocked by a merger with Crown, but the current uncertainty meant it was unable to continue at the present time with the merger.
Private equity giant Blackstone Group in March put forward an offer of $8.02bn to acquire the remaining shares in Crown, having already acquired 9.99% of the business in April 2020 with the purchase of a stake from Melco.
Blackstone then increased its offer to $12.35 in cash for each Crown share, up 4% increase on the previous offer of $11.85 per share submitted, but Crown rejected this proposal, saying the offer undervalued its business.
In addition, alternative investment management business Oaktree Capital Management last month put forward a funding proposal worth $3.1bn. Crown’s board has not yet formed a view on the proposal.
Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, figures for this year are compared to 2019 rather than 2020.
According to the body, which is China’s highest agency for prosecution and legal investigations, 46,575 people have been prosecuted so far this year for operating gambling. Gambling – aside from lotteries – is illegal in mainland China.
Of these, 40,217 of those were for crimes relating to operating a casino – accounting for 86.3%. This figure is on track to surpass 2019, when illegal casino operation accounted for 80.7% of gambling related crimes across the whole year.
Online gambling has also proved to be a major source of crime, and a more difficult one to prosecute as operators may set up servers outside of the country to evade detection from law enforcement.
While the Procuratorate claims domestic crimes have been effectively managed, cross-border gambling crimes have “gradually become a prominent problem, which requires continuous and in-depth combat”.
The Procuratorate added that these overseas gambling offenses often also endanger people in China. It said that crimes such as extortion, cyber crimes and illegal detection have been found to be linked back to cross-border gambling offences.
In addition, the body said that it was increasingly difficult to shut down illegal operations as these often involve a large number of people who may not all be arrested during a raid. The Procuratorate cited an example in the Guangdong Province where almost 700 people were arrested for a single operation.
A statement from the Procuratorate said: “In response to the long chain of new gambling crimes and the large number of people involved, law authorities at all levels have thoroughly implemented the criminal policy of combining leniency and strictness in handling cases, and dealt with organizations, commanders, planners, and backbone elements in gambling criminal groups, as well as cross-border gambling crimes.
“In the next step, the authorities will further increase the punishment of gambling crimes, and at the same time, work with relevant departments to strengthen gambling prohibition propaganda, guide the general public to stay away from gambling crimes, and curb the high incidence of gambling crimes from the source.”
