Month: December 2021

The operator said the new name reflects its evolution from a pan-European lottery operator into a global business.

Sazka in April announced it was to bring together its UK operations under the new Allwyn corporate identity as it bids for the market’s latest National Lottery licence.

This brand will now be extended across the whole business, though its individual brands will be retained and continue to operate without any changes.

Headquartered in the Czech Republic, renamed Allwyn is also operational in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy

Allwyn is seeking to expand into the UK market through a bid for the fourth National Lottery licence.

Allwyn announced its intention to bid in October last year and faces competition from three other operators, with the National Lottery in October this year confirming it had received four final applications for the licence.

The National Lottery did not disclose the identity of these applicants, but, alongside Allwyn, Italian lottery operator Sisal, pan-European lottery and Health Lottery operator Northern Shell have applied. India’s Sugal & Damani applied, though has since dropped out the running.

Incumbent licensee Camelot completed the Selection Questionnaire in October 2020, but has not yet publicly confirmed whether it was bidding for the tender.

In September, Allwyn appointed Lord Sebastian Coe to its board as its first independent non-executive director.

Cameron-Doe will succeed Craig Billings, who was last month revealed as Wynn Resorts’ new chief executive, following confirmation that Matt Maddox would step down from the role early next year.

Cameron-Doe will assume the role of CFO with effect from the second quarter of 2022, after completing her notice period with current employer Aristocrat Leisure, where she has been CFO since January 2018.

She also served as group general manager for finance at Aristocrat, prior to which she had a spell as general manager for planning and finance at the business.

Before joining Aristocrat in August of 2013, Cameron-Doe spent time as finance director for Healthcare Australia, HotelClub and ebookers.

Cameron-Doe was also head of global finance for International Masters Publishers and spent time in a number of roles with The Walt Disney Company and KPMG.

“To me, Wynn Resorts represents the gold standard in resort companies,” Cameron-Doe said. “The opportunity to work alongside Craig and the team, building on their legacy of excellence, is incredibly exciting. I look forward to contributing to the company’s growth and future development.”

Billings added: “Julie is a proven leader and is a sitting public company CFO. Coming from the gaming industry, she understands many aspects of our business and she has diverse international experience.

“She is the clear choice for this position and her appointment rounds out our senior executive team. We are indeed fortunate to have her join us next year.”

Commenting on her departure from Aristocrat, its chief executive and managing director, Trevor Croker, said: “Julie has been an exceptional partner to me and the leadership group over the past four years, as Aristocrat’s scale, diversity, resilience and cultural growth has accelerated.”

“I regret but fully respect Julie’s decision to seek a new opportunity at this time, for personal and family reasons, after many successful years with Aristocrat. I look forward to working through a smooth transition process with Julie in the coming months, and to providing an update on Julie’s successor in due course.”

The appointment comes after it was last month confirmed that Wynn Resorts and Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation I cancelled a deal that would have seen the Wynn Interactive subsidiary spin off, merge with Austerlitz and go public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Billings said Wynn made the decision as it pursued a new strategy for its online WynnBet brand. This strategy, it said, would involve lower marketing spend, and so did not align with the capital-intensive approach that the merger would have offered.

Through the new long-term partnership Clarion Events will leverage its expertise in arranging trade shows and conferences, to grow NIGA’s annual Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention. 

Clarion Gaming’s, through its multi-platform ICE brand, will support and expand NIGA’s reach across all channels. 

The partnership aims to further highlight the key role of tribal gaming in the wider industry ecosystem. The $35bn sector is the 11th largest employer in the US, generating a further $6.2bn in ancillary revenue from hotels, entertainment, restaurant and retail operations. 

NIGA’s annual trade show, the Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, is a key tentpole of the event calendar. The 2021 edition, held in July this year, was the first large scale gaming event to run in person following the Covid-19 pandemic, matching pre-pandemic levels of visitor numbers and playing host to tribal leaders, commercial gaming operators and industry-leading suppliers. 

The 2022 show will be held over 19-22 April in Anaheim, California.
 
“Tribal gaming is a dominant force in the gaming community,” National Indian Gaming Association chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr (pictured above) said. “Before Covid, tribal gaming revenue had increased each year for the past decade – demonstrating the innovation and achievement of Indian Country. 

“The work we do empowers our tribal communities and generates important revenue for economic development,” chairman Stevens continued. “We are already building back. As we look to establish a new normal, we are excited to join forces with Clarion Events. 

“They honour the mission and vision of the National Indian Gaming Association, support its membership, and are experts in producing large scale tradeshows and conventions. With their partnership we will grow the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention and expand tribal gaming’s global reach through ICE.” 

Clarion Gaming, meanwhile, provides business-critical intelligence, industry-leading events and meeting services across its portfolio of live and digital brands. This includes the ICE conference and digital brand, comprising live events and digital content, as well as its igaming brands iGB and iGB Affiliate, covering events and content for affiliate marketers in the gaming sector.
 
Clarion Events North America CEO Greg Topalian said the business had a great working relationship with NIGA, dating back seven years. 

“We greatly respect the work that the Association does for its members and the tribal gaming community,” Topalian explained. “As part of Clarion Events’ ongoing strategy, we are actively looking to expand upon our current partnerships and work together with new associations to scale events and support their missions. 

“Greater ties between the National Indian Gaming Association and our ICE brands will build on their standard of excellence and grow the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention to new heights.”  

The Administrative Committee commented on Veikkaus’ presence in Finland, stating that its monopoly is “practically broken” and other methods should be considered if Veikkaus’ monopoly can no longer be implemented.

In its recommendations for the Lottery Act, the Administrative Committee called on the Finnish government to launch an inquiry into this matter “without delay”.

The bill that proposed amendments to Finland’s Lotteries Act was filed in September. It outlines a multitude of proposals to promote responsible gaming in the country, including blocking payments from all operators except for Veikkaus.

In the Constitutional Committee’s response, released last week, the Committee argued that this would violate the constitutional right to operate business in the country.

However, the Administrative Committee has now argued that blocking should be implemented, but that only transactions from players to operators are to be blocked. This, it said, would avoid violations of Article 15 and Article 18 of the Constitution of Finland, which address property protection and business freedom respectively.

Under this proposal, if an operator transfers payment to a player, those winnings are now the legal property of the player.

Another major amendment regards penalty fees for advertising infringements. The Administrative Committee declared that no penalty fee should be proposed if an operator or company amends the advertising violation immediately after being notified, and if it is not a serious or repeated offence.

In addressing the proposal to extend mandatory identification to all types of gambling, the Administrative Committee agreed with this, adding that it will “strengthen the fight” for responsible gambling.

Previously, this only applied to slot machines.

However, the Committee noted that this proposal did not consider loss limits, which may be introduced as secondary legislation. It therefore added that games should be designed with responsible gaming measures in mind, and that loss thresholds should be “substantially reduced” to prevent harm.

The Committee recommended that measures be taken to estimate maximum loss limits for daily and monthly play.

Elsewhere the Committee acknowledged the proposed action of keeping ATMs out of sight in shop lobbies or other public places. The Committee agreed with this in part, but pointed out that ATM location is often a critical aspect of generating business revenue.

The White Paper forms part of the government’s Gambling Act Review, led by the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which looks to assess the 2005 Gambling Act and propose reforms.

It will cover a wide range of areas, including stake and spend limits, new rules around advertising and bonusing, and additional protections for younger adults.

The BGC was keen to highlight the steps forward taken by the regulated market with regards to child protection. A total of 15 measures have been introduced since the BGC’s formation in 2019, with more scheduled to come in the near future.

Such initiatives include the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme, delivered across the UK by gambling charities the Young Gamers and Gamblers Education Trust (YGAM) and GamCare.

BGC members also implemented rules that limited children’s ability to view gambling ads on football clubs’ official social media accounts earlier this year.

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said: “We strongly support the government’s Gambling Review, which highlighted the protection of children and vulnerable people in a fair and open gambling economy as one of the government’s main priorities. We therefore hope that child protection will be front and centre of the forthcoming white paper.

“The BGC and our members will continue drive further changes to prevent under-18s and other vulnerable groups from being exposed to gambling advertising online.

“The regulated betting and gaming industry is determined to promote safer gambling, which is in stark contrast to the unsafe and growing online black market, which has none of the safeguards which are commonplace among BGC members.”

The BGC was also keen to highlight the effectiveness of certain measures its members have implemented. It found that the whistle-to-whistle ban on pre-watershed TV betting adverts during live sport led to a 97% reduction in these ads being seen by children.

Another study also found that betting shops performed better than supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol forecourts when it came to child protection, as 90% passed secret shopper and age verification checks.

Overall the rate of problem gambling for 16 to 24-year-olds had fallen from 0.8% to 0.4%, according to a recent report by the Gambling Commission.

October’s handle was 50.5% higher than the $427.3m spent by players in Septemberand comfortably beat the previous monthly record of $304.1m set in March.

Players won a total of $397.2m from sports betting in October. After subtracting $15.8m in bonuses and promotional bets, and $4.6m in other deductions, this left $9.8m in adjusted gross revenue, down 4.9% from $10.3m in September.

The state generated $1.7m from the 15% tax on adjusted gross revenue, defined as total bets minus winnings and other authorised deductions.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Last week, Esports Technologies completed the purchase of Aspire’s B2C division for $75.9m (£57.3m/€67.2m), taking control of Aspire’s B2C online content portfolio and sportsbook brands.

Esports Technologies said the deal would allow it to enter into tier one regulated markets including Great Britain, Germany and Denmark, with the acquisition having given it access to Aspire’s licences in those countries.

The provider has now confirmed it has reached an operator services agreement to launch in Great Britain, utilising the online sportsbook and casino brands Karamba, Hopa, and Griffon Casino previously operated by Aspire.

“Gaining access to this gaming licence is a massive strategic milestone for Esports Technologies; we’re thrilled about this highly lucrative gaming market, and we look forward to bringing our portfolio of esports products to the UK,” Esports Technologies chief operating officer Bart Barden said. 

Esports Technologies first agreed the acquisition deal in October, with the purchase also seeing it take control of the BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP brands. Aspire will run back-end operations for the acquired brands.

Aspire in March announced a review of its B2C segment, with the idea of allowing it to focus on its core B2B operations. 

Entain has estimated that customers have placed 2.8 million bets on cricket matches so far this year across 30 regulated markets worldwide.

It went on to suggest that around 500,000 bets could be placed in the month of December alone, taking the total this year to 3.3 million by the end of the year.

This total would beat the record figure recorded in 2019 when 3.2 million cricket bets were placed. The UK contributed heavily to the total that year as England hosted the Ashes series and won the Cricket World Cup.

The Big Bash League in Australia also opens in December, giving customers further betting opportunities.

“Cricket fans in both the UK and Australia most enjoy betting on who will lift the Ashes, with Australia entering this series as the strong favourites to win, but we also see fans from many other countries – notably South Africa and Germany – getting involved,” said Andrew Harriott, cricket trading leader at Entain.

“While the Ashes are an iconic international fixture, the rise of short form white-ball cricket events like the Big Bash or IPL have captured fans interest creating exciting events that have helped grow the interest in cricket and generates the majority of betting interest from fans.”

Entain experienced a 4% year on year increase in gaming revenue for the third quarter of 2021 due to the growth of its online sports betting division.

The advert in question, which appeared on 18 September this year, said “Top tier esports for UK games … Crazy odds Huge Wins Blitz pay-outs”, alongside an image of a tweet that said “I’m so hooked on CS:GO bets rn I’ve been making the craaaaaziest [sic] calls”.

A single complainant contacted the ASA saying the advert encouraged problem gambling behaviour and challenged whether the ad was irresponsible.

Dribble Media responded by saying the ad was created by a third-party company that did not comply with its policies for social media ads. Dribble Media added that the advert was removed and said would no longer work with the third party.

In its assessment, the ASA referenced how the CAP Code states marketing communications must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.

The ASA said references to “hooked on CS:GO bets” portrayed an addiction to gambling in a positive light and therefore condoned and encouraged problem gambling behaviours. 

The authority also said that the claim “making the craaaaaziest [sic] calls” presented betting recklessly in a positive light and therefore in a manner that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. 

Considering these two factors, the ASA said the overall impression of the ad was to condone and encourage betting in a way that could be harmful.

The ASA acknowledged the ad was created by a third-party company and that Dribble Media informed the authority that the ad was not in keeping with its policies. However, it said that Dribble Media was still responsible for its advertising.

The ASA added that the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 related to responsible advertising and 16.3.1 in reference to gambling.

As a result, the ASA told Dribble Media not to portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm in the future.

All active professional football players and coaches at the 32 clubs across the Allsvenskan and Superettan will undertake online training courses in player responsibility and safer gambling.

Online training will commence immediately, following the conclusion of the 2020 season in Sweden, with the integrity officer at each club to ensure training is conducted.

As the main partner of SEF, the training forms part of the sponsorship agreement between Unibet and the two leagues.

This latest training initiative follows on from a match-fixing course conducted earlier this year.

“During our partnership with SEF, we have made several efforts to fight match-fixing and harmful gambling,” Unibet’s country manager in Sweden Philip Lagström said. “This training is only one example of the work we do with SEF and we will continue our great efforts throughout the contract period.

“For us, it is very important to share and contribute our knowledge through this sponsorship. Unibet wants a sustainable gambling industry and our ambition is to reach 0% revenue derived from harmful gambling by 2023.”

SEF league integrity officer Anders Wikström added: “For some individuals, in society as well as within the athletic environment, gambling can, unfortunately, become a problem. Together with our partner Unibet, we want to take responsibility and offer an additional responsible gambling tool through this training.

“The online training contains a self-assessment where by answering certain questions, you get insight into your current gambling behaviour. Something that we see as a very important measure. The training also contains contact information for those who feel that they might be in a harmful situation, which provides us with reassurance.”