Month: October 2021

The percentage of the 4,009 Yonder phone survey respondents who were classed as problem gamblers – using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) – was 0.3%. This was down from 0.6% in the September 2020 edition of the survey, while in the June 2021 edition of the survey this figure was 0.4%.

The report also found a statistically significant decline in problem gambling levels just among males, where the rate dropped from 0.8% to 0.3%.

The percentage of the population at moderate risk of gambling harm also dropped by a significant amount year-on-year, to 0.7%, though this level was the same as recorded in June.

The portion of people classed as being at a low risk of harm was less than in 2020, but the difference was within the margin of error.

The total portion of people at risk was 2.9%, compared to 4.0% a year earlier.

The problem gambling rate – as well as the overall rate of people at any level of risk – was the joint-lowest recorded in the Gambling Commission’s data going back to 2016.

This decline in gambling harm came despite levels of overall gambling remaining fairly stable, with 42.0% of respondents reporting gambling during the four weeks prior to the survey. However, this figure was still notably below 2019, when 46.7% reported gambling.

Of those who did gamble, more people said they did so infrequently, with 18.0% of gamblers reporting they did so less than once a month. 

Excluding the National Lottery, 28.3% of people said they gambled in the previous four weeks.

Online gambling, meanwhile, rose in popularity, with a new high of 25.0% of people reporting gambling online, or 17.7% without the National Lottery. On the other hand, in-person gambling levels dropped from 28.6% to 23.9%, and were a long way below the pre-pandemic level of 34.9%.

The National Lottery remained easily the most popular gambling product, with 26.5% of the population playing. Meanwhile, 7.8% played scratchcards and 12.8% other lotteries. 

Bingo, football pools and gaming machines in bookmakers – such as fixed-odds betting terminals – all saw statistically significant declines in play.

In addition, 3.4% of people said they played slots and 5.6% bet on sports.

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The study – which can be read here – aims to provide benchmarking data and information, giving insight into the best regulatory models for global betting markets. 

By translating to the study Spanish and Portuguese, IBIA said it hopes to assist Latin American markets in developing betting policy. The study covers three existing regulatory models in Latin America: Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina. The organizations hope that the study will help spur regulations in major potential markets such as Brazil. 

H2 Gambling Capital estimated Latin America’s value at $1.3bn. The same report forecasts an increase to $3.4bn by 2025. 

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA said: “The burgeoning Latin American sports betting market is an increasingly important focus for IBIA members’ business operations. It is also unfortunately the focus of corrupters seeking to manipulate sporting events to defraud betting operators. Indeed, between 2017 and the end of the third quarter of 2021, IBIA alerted the relevant authorities to 112 cases of suspicious betting across 15 Latin American countries and four different sports.

“It is hoped that this report will provide some assistance to Latin American policymakers, sports and betting operators in responding to the threat to the integrity of sport and to developing effective betting regulation. Integrity has been a core part of the betting market discussion in North America, with the integrity standards recently published by Ontario seen as a best practice model; IBIA would like to see this focus and approach replicated across Latin America and beyond.”

The three LatAm markets appeared in the IBIA and H2’s market assessment and ranking. In total, 20 markets were analyzed and ranked in the report.  

Argentina ranked 18th, receiving a provisional score due to expected regulatory changes. Argentina’s markets vary in terms of tax rate and exact regulations, but both the city and province of Buenos Aires have issued licenses, setting the stage for more growth throughout the country. 

Mexico ranked 15th. The report said country’s outdated legislation presents an obstacle to future growth, but that setback and others are offset by the opportunity for unlimited licenses. 

Colombia, meanwhile, tied with Germany for 10th in the rankings. It was the first Latin American country to regulate online betting, giving it a leg-up on its regional competitors. A 15% GGR tax boosted Colombia’s ranking, though its lack of formal integrity practices held it back from a higher score.

Published today (26 October), the report is the result of an inquiry by the Royal Commission into Crown’s Casino Operator Licence in Victoria, concluding that failings at the operator meant it is not suitable to hold such a permit in the state.

The Commission said that Crown engaged in conduct that was “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative”, adding that the scale of the wrongdoing was so widespread and egregious that “no other finding was open”.

The report also built on findings uncovered during the Bergin Report in New South Wales, in which widespread failings were identified at Crown and was, as a result, also deemed as being “unsuitable” to operate a casino in Sydney’s Barangaroo region.

More failures were identified across governance, risk management and responsible service of gaming in the Victoria Royal Commission, including “grave, ongoing legal breaches” and misconduct that contravened Australian laws and the laws of other countries often with the knowledge of Crown executives.

The Commission also uncovered consistent patterns of non-cooperation with the regulator, including bullying, providing it with false or misleading information, delaying the investigatory process and frustrating the regulator’s investigations.

Evidence was also found related to tax breaches that were instigated by or undertaken with the knowledge of multiple senior staff, which were then intentionally concealed from the regulator for fear of being caught out.

In addition, the Commission cited cases of “serious, systemic breaches” of responsible gaming obligations, including the way in which Crown dealt with vulnerable people who experienced gambling harm.

“The Royal Commission finds that Crown’s board failed to carry out its responsibilities to ensure that the organisation satisfied its legal and regulatory obligations,” the report said. “It also finds many senior executives involved in the misconduct were indifferent to their ethical, moral and sometimes legal obligations. 

“The Packer/CPH influence which the Bergin Inquiry found ‘encouraged Crown to put profit ahead of other motives for action’ was confirmed in this Royal Commission.”

However, the report went on to say that weighing up the importance of maintaining the integrity of the licensing system, an immediate cancellation of the licence would not be in the interests of the Victorian community.

This, the Commission said, was due to a risk of significant harm to the Victorian economy and to innocent third, as well as the Commission’s belief that Crown Melbourne has the will and the capacity to reform and become suitable to hold a casino licence again.

As such, the Commission recommended Crown be permitted to continue operating under the oversight of a special manager for two years, while undertaking comprehensive reforms to make it suitable to hold a licence independently. 

This must address a total of 33 recommendations made by the Commission, including in relation to the powers of the regulator and its inspectors, the obligations and structure of the casino operator, the prevention of money laundering at the casino, unpaid casino tax, penalties and the responsible service of gaming.

Victoria’s government accepted the findings but said that while it would implement the priority recommendations of the Commission, it would go further in a number of areas, including imposing “tough new measures and stringent oversight” on Crown to avoid any similar failures in the future.

As part of this, the government today introduced the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021, which will implement the nine priority recommendations of the Commission, with further legislation planned for next year.

The bill also establishes the special manager who will have “unprecedented powers” to oversee Crown, veto decisions of the board and have unfettered access to all areas of the casino, its books and records. Crown will cover all costs related to the special manager.

Subject to passage of the new bill, it is proposed Stephen O’Bryan QC be appointed as the special manager. O’Bryan was Victoria’s first independent broad-based anti-corruption commissioner and will bring integrity and accountability to the casino’s operations.

Other restrictions set out in the bill include that Crown would be prohibited from dealing with junket operators, as well as required to remove any restrictive provisions that stop the state from making changes to the regulatory arrangements for the casino without having to pay compensation.

Should Crown not make enough progress during the two-year period, then its licence would be automatically cancelled 

“The onus will be on Crown to clearly demonstrate through its operations and the progress on its reforms why its licence should not be cancelled,” the government said. “Unlike the Royal Commission’s recommendation, Crown’s licence will be presumed cancelled unless there is a decision otherwise.”

The bill will also have a wider impact on land-based casinos in Victoria, including that the maximum penalty under the Casino Control Act 1991 would be increased from AUS$1m (£545,857/€647,292/US$751,045) to $100m to ensure meaningful consequences for breaches of the law. This reflects the Commission’s recommendations that penalties under the Act was inadequate, having called for the fine to be increased to at least $10m.

In addition, the bill would establish the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission to provide dedicated focus on the casino, as well as strengthen and expand the powers of the regulator to hold the casino operator to account.

“We welcome the remaining recommendations and recognise their breadth and complexity in relation to minimising gambling harm, structural reforms to the casino operator, and addressing anti-money laundering risks,” the government said. 

“The government supports these recommendations in-principle subject to further detailed analysis and consultation being undertaken. A second tranche of legislation next year will acquit actions arising from these recommendations.

“Our government is taking action right now to hold Crown to account and is committed to further reform next year to address the findings of the Royal Commission.”

Crown is yet to issue a detailed response to the report, saying only that it was currently reviewing the fundings and the Victorian Government’s response.

“Crown will work cooperatively and constructively with the Victorian Government in relation to the findings and recommendations of the report and their response,” it said.

Group revenue for the three months to the end of September amounted to SEK1.73bn (£146.3m/€173.6m/$201.4m), up from SEK1.68bn in the corresponding period last year.

Casino accounted for 74% of total revenue in Q3, but revenue from the vertical was down 2.4% to SEK1.28bn. This was blamed on struggles in Germany, as a result of the limits on slots and removal of table games in the wake of the Glücksspielneuregulieurngstaatsvertrag in July this year. Casino also suffered from reduced activity in Great Britain, after Betsson consolidated its operations in the region under the Rizk brand.  

Turning to sportsbook, revenue here jumped 23.6% to SEK435.7m, representing 25% of group revenue for the quarter. This, Betsson said, was helped by betting on the final stages of major national team football contests including Euro 2020 and Copa América, as well as the return of the club football season from mid-August.

Revenue from other products including poker and bingo accounted for the remaining 1% of revenue, with these operations generating SEK21.9m in the quarter, up 24.4% year-on-year.

In terms of geographical performance, the Nordics accounted for 32% of total revenue in Q3, though the SEK544.9m generated was 2.5% down on the prior year. 

Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) revenue climbed 21.4% to SEK543.0m, or 31% of total revenue, then Western Europe with SEK352.9m – down 27.5% after changes in British and German operations – and the Rest of World with SEK292.6m, up 58.8% after growth in Chile and Peru.

Looking at spending in the quarter, operating expenses climbed 5.3% to SEK796.9m, while after also taking into account SEK13.3m in financial expenses, this left a pre-tax profit of SEK310.3m, down 1.2% year-on-year.

Betsson paid SEK23.0m in tax, resulting in a net profit of SEK287.4m, down by 1.1% from SEK287.4m in 2020.

For the year to date, revenue in the nine months to the end of September was 11.4% higher at SEK3.33bn and despite operating costs increasing 7.6% to SEK2.35bn, pre-tax profit was up 23.7% to SEK943.3m and net profit 21.4% to SEK865.5m.

“After several records during the previous quarter, we managed to increase revenue by just over 3% during the third quarter, compared with the corresponding quarter last year, which was a very strong quarter; at that time, the strong increase in revenue was driven by a surge in demand for digital entertainment,” Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall (pictured) said, shortly after his planned departure was reversed.

“The further increase in revenue is explained by the successes with our sportsbook in combination with good results in the ending rounds of the Euro 2020 and Copa América and the return of the domestic football leagues from mid-August. All in all, this has resulted in sportsbook revenue increasing by approximately 24 per cent year-on-year.”

Lindwall also referenced Betsson’s acquisition of the B2C online gambling business of Latin American sportsbook and casino operator Inkabet and purchase of a 27% stake in Canadian start-up Slapshot Media, saying these investments would help support further growth in Q4 and beyond.

“Strengthening our business through acquisitions is an important component of our strategy and it has been a successful way to create growth but also to build competence in the organisation,” Lindwall explained. “In this way, a dynamic business is created that also positively impacts existing operations.”

In addition, he spoke about Betsson’s decision to halt operations in the Netherlands after the country opened its regulated market earlier this month. The operator would seek to secure a licence in the country and hopes to resume operations in the middle of next year, he said.

“The application is expected to be submitted no later than at the end of the first quarter 2022 in connection with the end of the cooling-off period,” Lindwall said. “The outcome of the application process is expected to be communicated after the summer of 2022 and I then hope our position in the Netherlands gradually can be regained thanks to strong brands and an organisation with good local knowledge.”

Lindwall’s exit was announced in September, and originally explained as coming after he had completed his turnaround of the business. This, however, promoted a shareholder revolt, which ultimately saw chairman Patrick Svensk resign after receiving a no-confidence vote.

At Betsson’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) yesterday (25 October), shareholders confirmed new board appointments, and the new board swiftly restored Lindwall in the role.

“An important guiding star for my leadership has always been to drive the company towards the goals set for it, regardless of obstacles along the way and I intend to continue according to that,” Lindwall said.

“We have built a very strong and competent team at Betsson and I look forward to continuing to build the company even stronger in the future.”

Lindwall (pictured) announced his exit in September. He was first appointed CEO of Betsson in 1998 and served until 2011, beginning his second term in 2017.

Lindwall’s departure was announced via press release earlier that month. At the time, the business said he had “completed” his goals in the role.

Due to his handling of Lindwall’s exit, former chair Patrick Svensk then announced his resignation after receiving a no-confidence vote.

However, at Betsson’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), shareholders confirmed new board appointments, and the new board swiftly restored Lindwall in the role.

“We have had several discussions with Betsson’s main stakeholders, the Betsson management team, Betsson employees, as well as many of the largest shareholders,” new chair Johan Lundberg said. “Based on those discussions the current Board does not believe that it would be good to change leadership now.

“The company need to focus on all important work that lays ahead, such as for example the unexpected Dutch situation.”

At the EGM, the resolutions of which were announced today (October 25), Lundberg was announced to replace Svensk as chair.

Lundberg was also re-elected, along with Eva Leach and Fredrik Carlsson, to the board.

Lindwall, meanwhile, will join Peter Hamberg as a new member of the board, until the end of the next annual general meeting (AGM).

Betsson’s shareholders also approved other motions related to the board,such as that the board would consist of five members without deputies until the end of the next AGM.

Last week, unrelated to Svensk’s departure, board member Jan Nord resigned with immediate effect. He said the reason for his exit was to “prioritise other commitments that require greater efforts in the future”.

Revenue was also up 14.4% month-on-month.

Betting revenue was DKK214m for September – a 26.2% increase on the same time last year.

The figure is also an increase on the DKK128m recorded last month, taking the total for the year to date to DKK1.82bn.

Online casino revenue for the month was DKK207m. While this is up from the DKK170m recorded in 2020, it is also a 6.3% decrease from August’s total.

Slot machine revenue slightly increased from 2020, rising DKK1m to DKK109m. The revenue for slot machines is starting to return to the stable level it was experiencing prior to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Research carried out by Spillemyndigheden showed that slot machine activity tended to spike when players get paid.

Land-based casino revenue in Denmark was DKK35m for September. In addition to being a 34.6% increase on the same time last year, the figure is also the highest recorded since March 2018.

The Authority, which operates under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, reminded operators that the Gaming Law of the Republic of Lithuania states that all operators require a permit to offer remote gambling services.

Instances of offering remote gambling illegally will see operators added to Lithuania’s blacklist of illegal gambling operators.

In addition to the warning, last week the regulator added a number of sites using the Slottica brand, owned by Atlantic Management, to the list. The original Slottica.com domain had already been on the blacklist, with the new additions being a number of other backup domain names that also directed to its site.

For offering illegal gambling services, the Authority stipulated that operators can face payment blocking and domain name system blocking, which prevents those with Lithuania-based IP addresses from accessing the site. This is outlined in Lithuania’s Gaming Law.

The regulator has also taken recent action against licensed operators that violate its rules. Enlabs subsidiary UAB Baltic Bet was found to have broken the country’s bonus ban, but the regulator opted not to apply sanctions.

Earlier this month, Lithuania’s anti-corruption body warned that a proposed bill, which would allow online gaming licences only, would provide an unfair advantage to online operators compared to land-based. Currently, all online licensees must have a land-based operation or partner with a business that does.