The bill, titled HB 5174, was introduced on February 17 2022. It was then referred to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security, and is now due for a public committee hearing tomorrow (February 22).
It is sponsored by Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria.
Introduced last week, House Bill 4826 would expand West Virginia’s legal sports wagering market and allow consumers to bet on esports events.
The bill classes an esports event as an “electronic sport or competitive video game played as a game of skill for spectators”.
West Virginia Delegates Moore Capito, Bennett Queen, Steve Westfall, Shawn Fluharty, Clay Riley and Daniel Linville have declared their support for the amendment and are sponsoring the bill.
HB 4826 was sent to the House Finance Committee for further discussion.
West Virginia was one of the first US states to legalise sports betting following the repeal of PASPA, launching online and retail wagering in August 2018.
Players in the state are currently able to wager on both professional and collegiate sports events and competitions.
The value of bets placed with STS was PLN4.50bn (£830.0m/€1.00bn) during the year, representing a 25.0% increase year on year.
The company recorded 693,000 active users in 2021, up from 557,000 the year before. There was also an 18.0% increase in new registrations, as 370,000 new customers signed up comapred to 314,000 in 2020.
249,000 players placed their first deposits with the company last year, which was a 21.0% increase on 2020’s figure.
CEO Mateusz Juroszek said: “As expected with previous predictions, 2021 was a record year for the group.
“We achieved high increases in key operational data, such as the amounts staked and the number of active users. This shows the dynamics of the growth phase the STS Group is currently in.
“We expect to continue to achieve our previously established medium and long-term goals in the coming reporting periods. What’s more, as we announced during the IPO and in the dividend policy, we intend to share all generated net profit with our investors.”
STS, who appointed Jarosław Walaszek as its new chief information officer earlier this year, launched its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last year as part of its initial public offering (IPO).
Vincze first joined Casino Guru in 2020, leading its global self exclusion initiative and its educational service Casino Guru Academy.
In his new role, Vincze will focus on implementing safer gambling practices and highlighting operators’ responsible gambling tools in Casino Guru reviews.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in making gambling safer and excited to see the future impact of our endeavors,” said Vincze. “I am also thankful for becoming a part of such a great team, as well as meeting many inspiring professionals at industry events and conferences.”
Casino Guru is currently working to release a blue paper, which will detail how a global self exclusion system could be applied. It will also include a proposal to create a tool that would provide guidance to players who wish to self-exclude.
“There is an exciting journey ahead of us, and I cannot wait to see our projects improved and developed throughout the year,” continued Vincze. “Apart from the initiative, I am also focusing on connecting problem gambling help organizations with players who need their help.”
“We are working on the first global database of these organizations to help struggling individuals find professional help quickly and effectively.”
Under the deal, Aspire Global will provide its full proprietary offering including player account management (PAM), casino games and sports betting through its BtoBet sportsbook.
Aspire Global said that it would consult with WIN Group throughout the migration process to ensure there is no downtime for customers.
Aside from Winners.bet, WIN Group is also the company behind the win.gg esports media website.
“As a market leader, we know that people betting on esports have high expectations for the user experience, and our research indicates that the platforms currently in the market haven’t matched their expectations,” WIN Group chief executive Stephen Shoemaker said.
“Our new 2022 platform will change this by bringing on online wagering platform built for the esports enthusiast.”
Aspire Global chief executive Tsachi Maimon added: “Esports is one of the most exciting segments in igaming and we are determined to lead the development in this important area.”
The agreement comes after Aspire Global last week posted €213.3m (£178.1m/$242.8m) in revenue for 2021, representing a 31.8% increase on the previous year.
Those results follow online lottery platform provider NeoGames submitting an SEK4.3bn offer to acquire 100% of Aspire Global’s shares.
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Glitnor said that the purchase would support its expansion into the lead generation space as part of its long-term growth plans.
Feda Mecan, the co-founder of KaFe Rocks, will join Glitnor’s board of directors as part of the deal, while its chief executive Simon Pilkington will join Glitnor’s executive management team. The day-to-day management of KaFe Rocks will continue in its current format.
KaFe Rocks has a global portfolio of assets across more than 10 markets, including its user-centric flagship brands time2play.com, USCasinos.com and Online-slot.co.uk.
Glitnor’s B2C business currently includes online casino brands Lucky Casino and Gambola, while the business also owns casino content supplier Swintt.
“Glitnor is not shy about its ambitions to become a leading igaming group and the acquisition of KaFe Rocks and our move into the lead generation space is evidence of this,” Glitnor chief exectuive David Flynn said.
“In KaFe Rocks we have an established business being run by an incredibly talented team that owns and operates a network of successful, reputable affiliate assets that will drive growth for the wider group.”
KaFe Rocks’ Pilkington added: “I’ve been hugely impressed with the leadership team at Glitnor and am massively excited for what the future holds for both KaFe Rocks and the Glitnor Group.
“Since initial talks began, it’s been clear that both companies share a vision for growth, but that they also value the people driving it and believe in developing a culture where people can thrive.
“The trust that they are showing in us to continue being KaFe Rocks is gratefully received, and I’m extremely driven to deliver the results that will help the new group achieve its goals.”
TTB Partners approached Playtech over a possible takeover after Australian slot manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure’s own bid to acquire the supplier was voted down by shareholders.
TTB had been under certain restrictions that would have prevented it from making a bid for six months after it advised Gopher Investments on its own effort to acquire Playtech. Gopher later opted not to make a firm bid for the business.
After receiving a request to do so, Playtech released it from these restrictions, allowing it to make an offer.
Now, both current Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer and former chief executive Tom Hall have approached TTB “with their interest in participating in the investor group”.
As a result, Playtech will now form a new independent committee – made up of all of its directors except Weizer – to review any matters related to the possible bid, as well as any other potential M&A offers Playtech could receive.
TTB later confirmed that Hall and Weizer had approached it over joining the bid. It said it had agreed to “explore” this proposal, but that there was not yet certainty over whether they would join.
Prior to confirmation of the TTB talks, Playtech’s board said the business could be broken up and sold off in parts, a prospect first raised last month.
Currently, TTB has still not submitted a firm bid, and Playtech said that “there can be no certainty” over whether Weizer and Hall do end up in any investor group that does plan to make a bid.
In the open letter sent to both the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Gambling-Related Harm and Peers for Gambling Reform, Kindred used itself as an example as to how the industry can provide accurate information to any debate around the gambling industry.
In 2021, Kindred opted to reveal what percentage of its revenue was derived from those considered to be problem gamblers. By the year’s third quarter, Kindred’s revenue from harmful gambling fell to 3.3%, though this figure was up to 4% in Q4.
Addressing these figures, Kindred dismissed a claim that more than 60% of operator’s profits come from the 5% of gamblers at risk of harm as inaccurate after it was circulated in media publications including the Times.
The operator said that gambling companies have a financial incentive to to prevent harm among their players, and that any claims that operators use an exploitative business model “fundamentally misunderstand the economics of listed gambling operators”.
Kindred’s UK general manager Neil Banbury said: “Our data shows that the risk profile of revenue on higher spending accounts is significantly lower than the risk profile of lower spending accounts, indicating that the narrative of higher levels of spend automatically equating to higher levels of harm is not accurate.
“Our data also indicates that tailoring measures according to risk profile (rather than applying blanket fixed measures) helps ensure low risk customers are not needlessly pushed outside safer licensed environments. Working with partners on affordability, Kindred Group has been able to reduce the revenue from potentially financially vulnerable accounts to below 1%.”
Kindred remains encouraged by the potential of AI and other technology in helping companies to identify at-risk players. This includes Kindred’s Player Safety Early Detection System which, using more than 25 data points to trigger customer interaction when risk increases, showed that four out of five Kindred players displayed improved behaviour after interaction.
Kindred’s letter comes in the midst of the ongoing Gambling Act Review, with a white paper forming part of the review due to be published later this year. The review has received support from a number of groups, such as the APPG for Gambling-Related Harm and the Betting and Gaming Council – the latter of which also expressed the need for an evidence-led review.
Banbury added: “At Kindred, we are clear that a healthy debate based on facts and evidence is what is required to improve outcomes for those who do have problems with their gambling. By ensuring we all use accurate data and information in the public debate, we can achieve that.”
Howard has amassed 17 years in the sports betting industry, working for businesses including William Hill, BetFred, BetConstruct and Aspire Global.
Daniel’s career in the field has also spanned 17 years, having spent seven years at Unibet and 10 years working for Kambi.
Propus founding partner Mark Israney said: “Over the last couple of years there has been a clear pattern of requests from clients to help them better understand the world of risk management, and to define and implement effective trading strategies.
“With the vast knowledge and experience that Matt and Tom have, I’m excited that we can service this demand, and can focus the business in this direction going forward”.
