Month: September 2021

The editorial-style adverts, which were published in Austrian newspapers Kronen Zeitung on 24 March and Kurier on 26 March this year, were found to be identical to an article published in another newspaper, Der Standard, where the piece was marked as a paid advertisement.

However, the Kronen Zeitung and Kurier articles were not marked as advertisements.

This was brought to light after a reader pointed out the inconsistency to the Austrian press council.

The unmarked articles were found to violate points three and four of the Austrian press code of honour, which call for distinctness and impartiality in editorial content.

The articles featured descriptions of charitable work supported by Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries, including a shelter for vulnerable people in Vienna and a Red Cross campaign.

In addition, a picture featuring two women with the text “Austria vaccines initiative” was included alongside each article, and was found to be owned by Austrian Lotteries.

Following an analysis, the Senate concluded that the articles were presented in a promotional fashion, with several hallmarks of a paid advertisement – including a lack of criticism or negativity towards the events presented.

In addition, the language used was of a promotional nature and the articles were replicated exactly across all three publications.

Even if a promotion is not paid for, it must clearly be marked as an advertisement in any press publication.

The Senate concluded that the articles should have been marked as advertisements and that readers were misled by the articles’ presentation as editorial content. It also called upon the publications to acknowledge this decision.

The report, commissioned by Poland’s lottery operator Totalizator Sportowy, estimated that unlicensed operators accounted for PLN627.4m of gambling revenue in 2020. 

This represents a market share of 25.6%, with a further PLN1.82bn generated via licensed betting operators, or via Totalizator Sportowy’s online casino offering. 

This follows the implementation of amendments to the company’s Gambling Act, which saw a 12% turnover tax introduced for online sports betting operators, and the country’s regulatory authority given the power to block offshore sites.

The re-regulation appears to have heralded a period of rapid growth for the online sports betting vertical, which saw revenue grow from an estimated PLN999.1m in 2018, to PLN1.50bn in 2020. Between 2016 and 2026, the market’s estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 12.5%, according to H2. 

Legal online casino, which launched in 2019, is expected to see revenue reach PLN675.2m by 2026, iGB’s principal data partner added. 

H2 director David Henwood said that more than 120 websites pursue Polish players without a licence, with a number of other operators accepting wagers from customers in the country without actively targeting the population. There are around ten companies, licensed in Malta, Curaçao and Gibraltar, that are responsible for around 80% of offshore revenue, he said.

“All this contributed to the estimated value of the online gambling shadow economy, amounting to approximately PLN629.4m in 2020,” Henwood explained. “However, it should be clearly emphasised that if it were not for the regulations introduced in 2017 with the amendment to the Gambling Act, this value would most likely be several times higher. 

“Our analyses show that, compared to several other countries, Poland is doing very well in the field of blocking websites of illegal operators and blocking payments. However, regulations, in particular tax regulations, and restrictions on advertising of legal operators, which redirect customers to the grey market, remain a problem.”

The 12% turnover tax has already prompted a number of high-profile operators to withdraw from the market, while Totalizator Sportowy is currently not permitted to advertise its Playtech-powered online casino, and online poker is not yet regulated. 

As a result H2 estimates that 1.5% of Polish adults have played at least once a month with an unlicensed betting operator, and 2.6% have played online casino or poker games via an offshore site.

“This means that a total of 1.16 million adult Poles have played online gambling games illegally in the last 12 months,” Henwood added. As a result, he said, the unlicensed market size could be reduced further by addressing the key sticking points. 

To do so, Totalizator Sportowy could be given the right to advertise its casino products, and permitted to add online poker to its slots and table games offering. The turnover tax could also be replaced by a uniform, gross revenue rate across all verticals. 

This tax shift could see tax revenue jump to PLN1.80bn, almost double the PLN900m generated by the country’s treasury in 2020. 

Despite the market’s significant offshore presence, Polish players that gamble with unlicensed sites can be severely punished, with fines of up to PLN1m. 

Should the regulations remain unchanged, however, the market is still expected to grow significantly. By 2026, H2 estimates that total on- and offshore GGR will come to PLN4.14bn, a 12.7% CAGR from 2018. 

Of this total, PLN3.24bn would come from the regulated market, with a further PLN901.3m from offshore competitors. 

The programme is being developed with the support of the Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin) and international human rights research and policy centre the Nexus Institute. It is aimed at innovation managers, founders and start-ups, as well as R&D personnel in the private sector, higher education and research organisations.

The concept of Gendered Innovations was developed by a large international research consortium led by Stanford University and funded by the European Commission, in response to a lack of consideration of the impact of gender perspectives in R&D processes.

This has led to products, services and measures typically being designed from a male perspective, which therefore fail to account for the usage needs specific to females and create experiences which are sub-optimal for women and girls.

Gendered Innovations employs methods of sex, gender and intersectional analysis to create new knowledge in medicine, engineering and IT, and has gained more attention in recent academic discourse and is supported by numerous case studies, for example on gender bias in artificial intelligence.

Until now, Entain said, there has not been a set curriculum for teaching Gendered Innovations at universities or via online courses for industry representatives.

“Some products and services on the market were developed from a male perspective and can have negative consequences for women when using such products,” Franziska van Almsick, ambassador of the Entain Foundation, explained.

“For example, facial recognition technologies trained with biased datasets may be worse at recognising women than men. I’m delighted that the Entain Foundation is addressing this important issue, and I’m very impressed by its dedication to promoting diversity in the technology sector.”

Consisting of seven modules, the course combines theoretical teaching on Gendered Innovations with practical tips for implementation in participants’ own organisations.

The programme is being developed by a team led by Professor Hans-Liudger Dienel, head of the Department of Work, Technology and Participation at the Institute for Vocational Education and Work Education at TU Berlin, and also director of the Nexus institute.

The first two members of the programme’s advisory board are Professor Martina Schraudner and Dr. Elizabeth Pollitzer.

Schraudner leads the Fraunhofer Centre for Responsible Research and Innovation, as well as the Department of Gender and Diversity in Technology and Product Development at TU Berlin. Since 2018, she has also been Member of the Management Board of acatech, Germany’s National Academy of Science and Engineering.

Pollitzer is the director of the London-based not-for-profit organisation Portia Ltd, which was founded in 2001 by a group of women scientists at Imperial College London to advance understanding of gender issues in science and organisational practices. Pollitzer is also the founder of the Gender Summit.

The permit will enable Leadstar to offer its sports betting affiliate services to licensed mobile and online sportsbook operators active in the state.

This latest approval means Leadstar is operational in seven states across the US, having also gained approval to launch in Colorado in June.

Leadstar launched its first products in the US market – UnitedGamblers.com and BettingScanner.com – in 2019, while it also runs the Bookiesbonuses.com and Sportsbooksonline.com sites.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

BlueBet had put forward a submission for a licence and paid all the relevant application fees but was informed by the Virginia Lottery that it was not eligible.

The Virginia Lottery said that licences would, at this stage, only be granted to operators that had experience in other US states and have equity interest owned by minority individuals or minority-owned businesses.

To date, the Virginia Lottery has received 18 applications for five available licences in the state.

As such, BlueBet withdrew from the licensing process and will have all of its application fees refunded.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The Tonto Apache tribe, in Payson, operates the Mazatzal Casino, while the Quechan tribe of the Fort Yuma reservation operates the Paradise Casino.

Last week, the Yavapai Prescott Indian tribe asked the Maricopa County Superior Court to halt the implementation of House Bill 2772, which grants sports betting licences to ten sports franchises and ten tribes, allowing licensees to begin accepting wagers later this week on 9 September.

The case is due to be heard in the court later today (6 September).

The suit also aims to void an amended gaming compact negotiated by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and 20 of the state’s 22 federally recognised Indian tribes, which was approved by the US Department of Interior in May.

The Yavapai Prescott are claiming that the legislation is unconstitutional, and that the tribe will be unfairly disadvantaged by the expansion and new wagering opportunities created by the bill and amended compact.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The initiative was created in support of the UK government’s own Plan for Jobs programme and plans to increase employability among young people, who the BGC said have been hardest hit by the pandemic.

The plan comes as the Government prepares to publish its white paper on the Gambling Act review by the end of 2021.

The BGC, which represents casinos, betting shops and the online gaming sector, said its members currently support 119,000 jobs throughout the UK.

In addition, operators are also partaking in the Government’s Kick Start scheme, to give job opportunities to 16 to 24 year-olds on Universal Credit.

“As the UK emerges from the pandemic, creating more good jobs and training for young people will be more important than ever before,” said Michael Dugher, chief executive of the BGC.

“The Government’s own Plan for Jobs is a fantastic opportunity to create more apprenticeships and traineeships, tackle unemployment, increase productivity plus support British business overseas through Global Britain.”

In July, the BGC called for the establishment of a gambling ombudsman to address customer complaints, a call supported by the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS).

Lin joins EveryMatrix after spending the last 10 years working in venture capital and private equity, including as a partner at a private equity and cross-border M&A fund. 

With a focus on business-to-business SaaS and healthcare companies, Lin is a lecturer on finance at the English NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme and a senior fellow at the Institute for Statecraft think-tank focusing on governance. 

“It’s a pleasure and an exciting opportunity to be working with such a professional team. EveryMatrix has positioned itself at the forefront of the igaming industry and has generated plenty of opportunities in the past months, which I’m confident will lead us to an even more prosperous future,” Lin said.

EveryMatrix group chief executive Ebbe Groes said: “As a new member of our leadership Team, I’m sure Anton will have a fresh take on our strategic long-term business plans. 

“Together with the other key executives of EveryMatrix, Anton will oversee the wellbeing of the business and make sure we’re stronger than ever, especially after five years of consecutive strong growth.”

Designed to strengthen protections for younger players and encourage sensible spending, the new measure will apply across Flutter’s Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Betting & Gaming brands in the UK and Ireland.

Flutter said the limit is based on a recognition that early adulthood is characterised by a range of major life changes. It aims to bring its operations in line with businesses in other areas that recognise this, similar to the way finance and car insurance companies recognise younger customers have a higher risk profile. 

The operator said its own research suggested support for the scheme, with 77% of regular gamblers approving additional measures for younger people, while 78% of 18-24-year-olds polled backed the new restrictions. 

Flutter added that the deposit limit could be removed for certain customers who are able to demonstrate income to sustain an increased level of spend, though they would be subject to a detailed process before an alternative limit could be set.

This, it said, forms part of its Affordability Triple Step, a risk-based framework that uses real-time data to monitor customer activity and behaviours to ensure that gambling remains safe and enjoyable.

“People under the age of 25 are likely to be experiencing a number of significant life changes, such as gaining independence for the first time and learning how to manage their finances,” Flutter UK & Ireland chief executive Conor Grant explained.

“We want anyone who decides to gamble when they come of age to get in the habit of setting sensible spending limits and this measure is the latest we are introducing to help make this happen.” 

Grant added that it would share details of the scheme with the government to support with the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, with the aim of providing further ideas, evidence and potential solutions for future laws. 

“The review provides a once in a generation opportunity to bring gambling rules into the digital age, and while we believe that the changes it will bring are critical, we won’t wait to implement ground-breaking policies that will make a difference for our customers,” Grant added.

Playmaker Betting will feature a range of sports betting content, events and games with the aim of improving engagement with players and fans between the ages of 21 and 34.

Playmaker soft-launched the new sports betting vertical in early August in partnership with a number of operators including BetMGM and Circa Sports, and will now seek to extend this across the industry.

“We see the future of sports betting content being short-form, snackable video and audio content, as well as two-way, conversational live experiences, from events to SMS, streaming and everything in between,” Playmaker chief executive Brandon Harris said.

“We will create content and experiences that are fun, engaging and informative first, and naturally introduce sports betting into the conversation,” continued Harris.

Read the full story on iGB North America.