Month: November 2021

Under the new three-year partnership, the government will commit a total of AUS$328,000 (£175,133/€206,141/US$233,128) in funding for advertising across TV, radio, online, social media and outdoor to promote the ‘Here For The Game’ campaign.

These adverts will focus on the idea that fans can enjoy sport without gambling and feature messages such as ‘Here for the memories, not for the early bet pay-outs’ and ‘Here for the fans, not odds-on favourites’.

Adelaide United captain Stefan Mauk and young star Mohamed Toure will support the new campaign as ambassadors, alongside women’s forward Chelsie Dawber.

The new partnership comes after Adelaide United recently announced it would no longer form partnerships with sports betting brands.

“We want our supporters and community to focus on the positive involvement that football can have on their lives,” Adelaide United chief executive Nathan Kosmina said. “We know that the attitudes of young people towards gambling are heavily influenced by the sporting brands they engage with.

“Our obligation in this regard is to foster a love of the game first and foremost and to highlight the negative impact sports gambling can have.”

South Australia’s Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink added: “Sports betting is the fastest-growing form of gambling in South Australian and this is a huge concern, particularly among our young people.

“We are proud to partner with Adelaide United as we work together to raise awareness and educate South Australians about the risks attached to sports betting and ways to keep safe.

“Here For The Game has a focus on reaching young men, who are more likely to bet on sport and their parents, who are the biggest influence on their children and their attitudes towards gambling.”

The launch of the campaign comes as the South Australian government also published the result of a survey that found 78% of respondents in the state were concerned about the amount of sports betting advertising children are exposed to.

The study also found 75% of eight to 16-year-olds could name at least one sports betting brand, with 83% of respondents saying betting advertising makes children think gambling on sport is normal.

In addition, 32% of bettors in the state were found to be wagering on sport at risky levels, while total sports betting losses in Australia increased three-fold to $8.3m between 2005 and 2019.

“The research clearly shows we needed to tackle this issue from a young age and from the ground up, and that’s why using sports idols and fans to convey this message will be really powerful and hopefully make people think twice before they place a bet,” Lensink said.

The Macau government issued a release Saturday (27 November) confirming an individual named Chau had been asked to assist a police investigation, in the wake of an arrest warrant being issued by the Wenzhou Municipal People’s Procuratorate in Zhejiang Province. 

The mainland authorities allege Chau set up a cross-border gambling syndicate, illegally arranging for Chinese residents to travel overseas on VIP gambling junkets. These operations, the Macau government said, involved a “huge” amount of capital.

Chau was advised by the Wenzhou Procuratorate that if he surrendered, he may be treated leniently. 

In the wake of the police action, trading of shares in two companies controlled by Chau, SunCity Group and its subsidiary Summit Ascent Holdings, have been suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

Effective 29 November, this is “pending the release of an announcement in relation to news coverage” regarding the executive, according to a filing with the exchange. Having started as a junket operator, Chau has expanded into multiple businesses, including resort development. 

A separate release from the Macau Judiciary Police on 27 November, which did not name Chau, said 11 people had been arrested as part of an investigation that dates back to August 2019. 

It involves a criminal syndicate that allegedly exploited a VIP junket business in Macau casinos to recruit mainland Chinese residents to gamble illegally online, via offshore platforms. 

The proceeds were then laundered through the junket accounts, using illegal banks. 

This led to the 11 being arrested on 27 November, with computers, internet servers and electronic storage devices seized as part of the operation, as well as more than HK$3m (£288,219/€340,678/$384,624) in cash. 

“Upon investigation, the arrestees confessed to the syndicate’s operation of gambling websites or telephone betting activities overseas, but refused to cooperate in other investigations,” the Judiciary Police said. 

The 11 have now been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office to face charges of being involved in a criminal syndicate, illegal gambling and money laundering while follow-up investigations are ongoing. 

The investigation takes place amid a consultation on the future of Macau’s regulatory model, with the Special Administrative Region’s government looking to make a series of changes to the existing framework.

These include tighter regulations on junkets, at a time when Beijing is looking to limit the amount of money mainland China residents can gamble overseas.

Disrupt Entertainment, which owns the Casinosinners brand, was found to have targeted the Swedish market without the necessary licence.

Spelinspektionen provided Disrupt Entertainment with the opportunity to comment on the ban, but did not get a reply.

In the course of an investigation by the regulator, Casinosinners’ website was found to have information in Swedish, including the conditions for game participation.

In addition the site did not appear to have measures to block Swedish players from registering.

This infringed chapter one section two of Sweden’s 2018 Gambling Act which stipulates that gaming promoted to the Swedish market is considered to be offered in Sweden. As Disrupt Entertainment was targeting the Swedish market, it was under the jurisdiction of the Act and therefore it was required to have the appropriate licence.

Spelinspektionen’s decision lies on chapter 18 section 23 of the Act, which states that a supervisory authority can issue injunctions and bans to ensure compliance.

Spelinspektionen has issued a number of bans this year for similar violations of the Act. In May Cerberlot NV, Digi Markets NV and Prism Marketing Limited received bans for operating unlicenced sites, while Nero Media received an injunction last week.

Gamstop, which surpassed the 200,000 registration milestone in April, said that more than 67,000 people have registered so far this year, which is already more than the 51,000 that signed up during the whole of 2020.

March 2021 also proved to be the second-highest registration month in the history of the service, with Gamstop recording 7,047 new registrations during the month.

Of the 250,000 people that have registered with Gamstop, more than 228,000 are currently self-excluding through the service.

As of 31 March 2020, it is a requirement for all licensed online operators in Great Britain to be registered with Gamstop.

“The registration levels are higher than anticipated this year, though we cannot pinpoint one specific reason for this,” Gamstop chief executive Fiona Palmer said. 

“We have developed the scheme to make it easier to register and have worked hard on raising our profile to make sure we are more visible to those who might need us. The effects of the pandemic might also have something to do with the rise.”

The milestone comes after Gamstop published the results of an independent evaluation of its scheme during the first three months of the year. This study found that the majority of consumers said Gamstop had been helpful to their ongoing recovery

“This was very reassuring to the Gamstop team, the wider stakeholders and hopefully anyone thinking about registering,” Palmer said. “We are fully committed to improving the Gamstop service to make it even better next year.”

Gamstop is supported by a host of financial services organisations and treatment providers including Citizens Advice, Gamcare, the Northern Gambling Clinic, Gordon moody, Peer Aid and Betknowmore. 

A number of football clubs have also pledged their backing to the scheme such as Premier League teams Crystal Palace and Brentford.

Certified by national regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), Betixon will now be able to provide titles such as Boots of Luck, Wild Wolf, Book of Sheba, Vampire Call, Age of Halvar and Reign of Zeus to licensed operators in the Netherlands.

Betixon said it has already lined up a number of strategic partners in the country and will begin to roll out its content shortly. Talks are ongoing to go live with other operators active in the market.

The developer is also certified to offer games in Great Britain, Lithuania, Estonia, Italy, Colombia and Romania.

“The Netherlands is one of the most important markets in Europe and we believe that it will grow at a rapid rate in the coming months and years now that a proper regulatory framework is in place,” chief executive Lior Cohen said.

“Our slots have been designed to deliver an exceptional player experience on mobile and each game is packed with eye-catching graphics and animations that we combine with smart math and mechanics to ensure players are entertained with every spin.

“We will be going live with our first operators shortly and looking forward to partnering with more as we establish Betixon as a leading content provider in the Dutch market.”

The Dutch regulated online gambling market opened on 1 October, clearing the way for players in the county to place legal sports bets and play casino games online.

The market launched with an initial 10 licensees, including Bet365, UK-based bingo operator Tombola, Play North, Dutch land-based operator Holland Casino and state lottery Nederlandse Loterij with its Toto Online brand.

The Janshen Hahnraths Group with FPO Nederland, Italy-based Betent, Belgian brand Bingoal, NSUS Malta, which runs the GGPoker.eu brand and sports media and betting business LiveScore Malta also secured licences.

Last week, JOI Gaming, a division of Dutch land-based casino operator JVH Gaming & Entertainment Group, became the 11th licensee in the market.

In his new role, Robson will be tasked with leading Eminence’s growth strategy, including the launch of CasinoCoin a new digital token designed for the regulated gambling industry.

Robson joins Eminence from Champion Sports, a B2B software business that he founded in January 2018 and led until April of this year.

Prior to this, Robson was chief executive of King Gaming for four years and had a two-year spell as head of egaming for the Isle of Man government.

Earlier in his career, Robson had a spell as senior account executive for SHFL Entertainment and also spent almost eight years as a senior account manager at Microgaming.

“We have ambitious plans to harness the power of blockchain and deliver better experiences for players and operators,” Robson said. “The use of digital currency is growing and in CasinoCoin we have a token that has been designed specifically for the regulated online gambling industry and I look forward to delivering valuable utility to both holders and operators.”

Eminence chief technology officer Daniel Keller added: “Mark is one of the most experienced and respected executives in the sector and his appointment as CEO is a major coup for Eminence Holdings as we continue to deploy our aggressive expansion plans. 

“I would like to officially welcome him to the business and look forward to seeing him lead the organisation through the next stage of its journey towards being an industry leader.”

The operator agreed in September to purchase the non-US business for £2.2bn (€2.6bn/$2.9bn), in a deal it said would create a global online betting and gaming leader.

The acquisition will also see the online-only 888 move into the retail channel for the first time, should it opt to retain the William Hill retail estate.

As part of the acquisition process, 888 has over the past few months secured all mandatory anti-trust and gaming regulatory clearances.

The deal is still subject to the satisfaction of certain other remaining conditions, including the approval of 888’s shareholders, with a meeting and subsequent vote set to take place early next year. The shareholder circular and prospectus, required for shareholders to vote on the deal, are set to be issued in early 2022.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority must approve the re-admission of 888 ordinary shares to the premium listing segment of its Official List, while the London Stock Exchange is also required to approve re-admission to trading on the main market for listed securities.

In addition, the William Hill group must be reorganised to separate the US and non-US businesses.

Should all these conditions be met, 888 said the acquisition could complete in Q1 next year.

The operator said integration planning has also progressed well. It has appointed Guy Cohen as senior vice president and director of integration to assist with this process. Cohen, who was previously senior vice president and head of B2C at 888, will work with the senior team at William Hill to advance integration preparations ahead of the deal completing.

888 also reiterated plans to raise approximately £500m by issuing new equity in a capital raise, with this expected to take place prior to the acquisition being finalised.

“This transaction will create one of the world’s leading online betting and gaming groups with superior scale, leading technology, increased diversification, and a platform for strong growth, supported by a portfolio of iconic brands,” 888 chief executive Itai Pazner said.

“The appointment of Guy Cohen also strengthens our leadership and commitment to this important process, as we look to leverage the significant expertise and talent from both businesses to benefit the combined group.

“I’m delighted that we have now checked off a number of important milestones towards completion of the acquisition. Given the strong progress we have made, we now expect the transaction to complete in the first quarter of 2022 and are excited about the opportunities ahead of us as we combine two powerful and complementary businesses.”

The William Hill International business currently operates as part of Caesars Entertainment, which acquired the entire William Hill group in April 2021 in a deal worth £2.9bn. However, Caesars made clear the target of the purchase was William Hill’s US business and that it would seek to sell the international division.

Caesars in May said it was to begin the process of selling off William Hill’s non-US assets over the summer, with the aim of finding a buyer and completing the sale within one year.

Parker will take on the role of independent non-executive regulatory director from 1 January 2022.

He will step in to replace Sir Paul Stephenson, who joined the BHA board in 2015. Stephenson’s term ends on 31 December 2021.

“We are delighted to welcome Raj to the board. His prodigious experience in regulatory matters and sports law will be a valuable asset to the goard and to the sport,” said BHA chair Annamarie Phelps.

“We are also extremely grateful for the contribution made by Sir Paul Stephenson to the sport over his six years at the BHA. He has played a pivotal role in what has been a period of significant change when it comes to regulation and compliance within British racing. He is a person of utmost integrity who carries the respect and appreciation of everyone on the board.”

Parker is experienced in sports integrity and governance issues, having worked on high-profile cases across multiple sports, and currently sits on the Football Association’s Judicial Panel, and as an independent anti-corruption hearing officer for the Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board. He is also a senior advisor at the Financial Conduct Authority.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining the board of the BHA at this particular time, and becoming involved in the horseracing industry,” said Parker.

“I very much look forward to helping the board with its commitment to effective regulation and integrity and to ensure that the sport continues to be clean, fair, and well governed.”

The funding consists of $575m in equity, comprising MGE’s $300m investment and $275m raised through private global equity firms Bain Capital and MBK Partners.

A project finance loan of $890m has also been raised through a bank consortium of KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities and Hana Financial Investment. In addition, general contractor for the project Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corp provided a subordinated investment of $85.5m.

“We have a proven track record in developing and operating leading integrated entertainment resorts in North America with our successes in Connecticut, Las Vegas and Niagara Falls, and we look forward to taking this success abroad as the first American Integrated Resort (IR) launched in Korea,” said James Gessner Jr, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe and MGE Management Board.

The funding will be used to develop phase one of the resort, which will include three five-star hotels, a 15,000 seat performance facility and the biggest convention centre in Seoul’s metropolitan area. The resort is expected to open in 2023.

It is hoped that the resort will reignite the tourism industry in South Korea following the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

“We anticipate a significant rebound in the tourism and leisure industry following the pandemic, and we look forward to contributing to the Korean economy while at the same time opening and operating a successful, state-of-the-art resort,” said Bobby Soper, international president for MGE.

“I’m thrilled to see our international vision for IR development reach this important milestone.“

Mohegan’s progress in Korea follows its consortium pulling out of the race to build and operate an integrated resort in Japan earlier this year. The tribal operator was part of the Oshidori consortium, which withdrew from the competition to build a property in Nagasaki in August, saying the project was no longer viable.

It also sold its stake in business selected to build an integrated resort in Greece in October, to joint venture partner and local construction giant GEK Terna.

Speaking at its annual general meeting, Bacta president Greg Wood said the sector was “currently restrained, restricted, and controlled by outdated and blunt legislation”. 

As a result, the association has called for a new, two-step process, or regulatory sandboxes, for machine development in its submission to the UK government’s call for evidence as it reviews the 2005 Gambling Act. This, he explained, would give operators greater impetus and flexibility to create new products and services.

“We must have the opportunity to try and develop new ideas in the real world,” Wood said. “Our position is that we need flexibility, to introduce and enable this innovation.

“This is where our approach for a two-stage process or regulatory sand boxes for development comes in; setting the legislation up for the future, giving the ability to test new machines in venues, and to review the data and impacts of this in a controlled way. This will allow us to then provide the data that we are always asked for, but so far have been unable to provide on new concepts and technologies.”

In addition, he said regular reviews of stakes and prizes should be reintroduced, arguing that since these assessments were stopped operators have had less scope to update their products. Lifting the ban on debit card payments directly to machines was “critical” he said, after Covid-19 shifted the UK towards a cashless society.

Other requests include a subdivision of category C gaming machines for the development of new products, as the current category C parameters allow for machines to be used in an alcohol licensed premises and members clubs with a £1 maximum stake and a £100 maximum prize.

The number of gaming machines permitted in an alcohol licensed premises should be increased from two to four – while removing the requirement for a notification for the local authority – and allowing linked jackpots in all venues.

Wood went on to highlight a number of successes of the past year, such as Bacta’s role in guiding the industry through Covid-19 enforced lockdowns and increased investment across gaming divisions.

Bacta also launched a Technical Standards Working Group in August, designed to ensure regular reviews of gaming machine industry standards.

He also admitted that there had been a number of setbacks. In particular he picked out the failure to secure a 5% value added tax (VAT) rate for seaside hospitality, and delays in the reopening of adult gaming centres following Covid-19 lockdowns. He also said there had been a lack of formal support for the amusements sector’s supply chain from the government.

“Learning and using these experiences to help us move forward, and to borrow a phrase from Boris, we need to build back better,” Wood added.

“With most of us looking forward at how we can rebuild, reinvent, and continue to offer the best to our customers, the building back better has already started. It is amazing to see the levels of investment that have already been made post reopening.”