Month: September 2022

PointsBet’s online sportsbook is now active in the state and taking bets after the operator secured approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

The roll-out marks the fourth state launch under the partnership with PNG, which was announced in August 2019 and extended in March 2021 to include Pennsylvania and Mississippi.

The launch represents PointsBet’s 12th online sportsbook operation in total in the US, with the operator also active in New Jersey, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and Kansas.

“The PointsBet team is excited to share that we are now officially live in the Pelican state and that Louisiana is our 12th state of online operations,” PointsBet US chief executive Johnny Aitken said.

“The sports community of Louisiana, one that our very own brand ambassador Drew Brees is very familiar with, is unmatched with their devotion and passion for their local teams, the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA and nationally recognised college football programs.

“We look forward to delivering Louisiana sports fans, from Bourbon Street to the Bayou, our fast, premium sports betting products. And, with the NFL and CFB season in full swing, the timing is perfect to showcase our live betting capabilities.”

The launch comes after PointsBet earlier this month revealed year-on-year losses increased 42.6% in the first half of its 2023 financial year with the company’s share price falling more than 11% after the release of the report.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, who was appointed to the role as part of new Prime Minister Liz Truss’s Cabinet, set out a package of measures today (23 September) in an effort to help improve growth and make the economy more competitive.

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said members of the standard body will play a leading role in this plan, adding that a further 15,000 in industry jobs are expected to be created by 2027, based on current growth trends.

“The regulated betting and gaming sector backs the government’s Growth Plan and is ready to play its part in its ambitious growth agenda,” Dugher said. “The government has set out a bold plan to revive the economy. This can only be achieved by setting the right regulatory framework for businesses to thrive.

“Our members are supporting the UK’s hard-pressed high streets with bookmakers, while casinos and bingo provide a key pillar to the hospitality, tourism and leisure sector.”

Dugher added that the BGC was also backing the Levelling Up initiative.

“They are also supporting the government’s Levelling Up agenda with huge and growing world-leading British tech in cities such as Stoke-on-Trent and Leeds. Betting and gaming supports over 8,500 jobs in these areas alone, while contributing over £630m to their local economies.”

“This is a sector that is already investing in communities, delivering growth, and creating jobs and wealth across the UK. All our members stand ready to see that vital contribution grow.”

Dugher once again toom the opportunity to call on the government to revisit the long-awaited Gambling White Paper, explaining that the right regulatory framework could support growth.

“We are committed to continuing to raise standards on safer gambling and urge the government to work with the industry to make progress on a gambling White Paper soon, so that our members have the regulatory clarity they need to invest in the future,” he said.

“We believe the right regulatory reforms can help a thriving sector reach new heights, while delivering on the government’s goal to improve player safety, a goal we share and are already working towards.”

Earlier this month, a report from Guardian chief political correspondent Jessica Elgot concerning general government plans to scrap a number of legislative proposals noted “rumours” that the Gambling Act review was among the proposals that could be axed.

Regulus Partners analyst Dan Waugh warned against the industry celebrating rumours Truss would abandon the Gambling Act review, instead arguing the news may be “worst outcome for industry”.

Player spending for the month amounted to $13.1m (£11.9m/€13.4m), which was 15.9% higher than $11.3m in July and also 5.7% up from $12.4m in August of last year.

Gross gaming revenue from sports betting during the month reached $1.8m, comfortably surpassing the $1.2m generated in July this year by 50.0%, while this was also 20.0% higher than $1.5m in August 2021.

In terms of individual operator performances, Caesars once again claimed top spot in the DC market with $683,326 off a handle of $5.7m.

Gambet, which is operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, ranked second with $557,987 in revenue from $3.4m in player spending. BetMGM, which operates in DC in partnership with MLB team the Washington Nationals, was next with revenue of $362,462 from a $2.5m handle.

Next, Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel, which opened a FanDuel-branded retail sportsbook at Major League Soccer team DC United’s Audi Field in July, followed with $170,938 worth of revenue and a $1.0m handle, in what was its first full month of operation in DC.

Finally, Grand Central Restaurant, Bar and Sportsbook, which offers sports betting via an agreement with Elys Game Technology, posted $57,973 in revenue from $450,500 in bets.

Currently, the bill to implement gambling software licences has not yet become law. The measure was proposed by the government in an effort to increase the level of channelisation in the Swedish market, but has not yet gone to a vote in the Riksdag.

While the results of Sweden’s recent election mean that the government that introduced the bill no longer holds a majority, Spelinspektionen said it was still working to ensure the bill could come into effect as planned if it is passed. The text of the bill says that the new licence regime will come into force on 1 July, 2023.

In order to do this, it has now said that it will open applications for licences from 1 March, 2023, and encouraged suppliers to prepare applications to be submitted from this date.

The regulator said the new law would allow it to only licence suppliers that work in the legal market.

“The purpose of the license requirement for gaming software is to discourage illegal gambling,” it said. “Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install and/or change game software for game operators who have a license in Sweden.”

The government published details of the rules for supplier licences in March. Under the proposed rules, the application fee for supplier licences would come to SEK120,000. The government also revealed that it expected roughly 70 software licences to be issued at launch.

The six-year contract will make the supplier the exclusive provider of instant scratch games to the lottery, following more three decades of working together. Under the terms of the deal, Scientific Games will supply additional services such as analytics, insights and marketing –  with the option being open of renewing the contract for an additional four years.

South Dakota Lottery executive director Norm Lingle said: “We’ve created great momentum with our instant game performance through our long-term partnership with Scientific Games to benefit important programs in our state.”

“Our teams look forward to continued collaboration on the design and marketing of quality, secure, high-performance games that entertain South Dakota players.”

Scientific Games president, Americas and global instant products John Schulz added: “We are honored to be named the sole provider of South Dakota Lottery scratch games and will continue to support the Lottery in its mission to provide funding for vital state programs,”

“We are focused on using our world-leading industry analytics and insights to innovate new products for the South Dakota Lottery to help achieve responsible growth.”

Scientific Games is the former lottery services division of the business now known as Light & Wonder, which span its lottery arm off to private equity firm, Brookfield Partners.

This is the latest in a series of contract extensions in the last few months, most recently agreeing to new terms with the Latvian and Ecuadorian lotteries.  

The case, ruled on by anti-corruption hearing officer Jane Mulcahy QC, discovered Rivera committed a total of 64 offences, the highest number ever detected for a player by the ITIA or its predecessor the Tennis Integrity Unit.

Specific breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) included Section D.1.b of the 2017 and 2018 TACP, whereby no covered person shall solicit or facilitate any other person to wager on the outcome or any other aspect of an event or tennis competition. 

Rivera was also found in breach of Section D.1.d of the 2017 and 2018 TACP, which states players must not contrive or attempt to impact the outcome or any other aspect of events.

The ITIA also flagged Section D.1.f of the 2017 and 2018 TACP, which relates to individuals soliciting or accept any money, benefit or consideration with the intention of negatively influencing a player’s best efforts.

In addition, Rivera was ruled to have breached Section D.1.g of the 2017 and 2018 TACP, whereby no covered person may offer or provide money, benefit or consideration to any other individual to negatively influence a player’s best efforts.

The ITIA said Rivera, who had a highest ATP ranking of 705 and went on to be a coach, failed to engage meaningfully with the disciplinary process.

In addition to the lifetime ban, Rivera was fined $250,000 (£222,851/€254,843).

The collaboration includes Bally’s Corporation, BetMGM, DraftKings, Entain, FanDuel Group and MGM Resorts International, with the new, 12-point pledge to be recommended as the principles for an industry benchmark.

These principles are derived from four core attributes: only operating within legal markets that provide consumer protections; instill responsible gaming culture throughout the business; ensure all online gaming is fun and enjoyed as a form of entertainment; and to understand some players may need additional tools and support for their gaming activities.

The 12 principles are based on these four attributes and have been agreed to by operators that are taking part in the initiative include taking steps to prevent underage and excluded individuals from gambling, and helping players make informed choices about gambling.

Operators will also support the adoption and promotion of a unified nationwide responsible gaming toll-free helpline, as well as abide by applicable standards of socially responsible advertising.

Other commitments include providing players with tools to play responsibly; adhering to all self-exclusion rules and regulations; encouraging customers to set budgets; promoting the value of time and financial limits; and delivering responsible gaming training to staff.

Operators in the scheme also committed to a shared responsibility approach to addressing problem gaming, including working with policy makers, academic experts and researchers, problem gaming treatment organizations and advocacy groups to promote and address responsible gaming problem gaming.

In addition, operators will support funding for problem and responsible gaming research, as well as ensure their respective responsible gaming programs and initiatives are evaluated and updated as necessary.

“Responsible gaming is at the forefront of everything we do at BetMGM,” BetMGM’s chief legal officer Joshua Jessen said. “While we operate in a highly competitive industry, we are proud to stand together with our colleagues to adopt these important principles.

“Creating a consistent standard of responsible gaming measures across the board greatly strengthens our collective commitment to our customers, employees, and the communities where we operate.”

Entain’s senior vice-president for American regulatory affairs and responsible gambling, Martin Lycka, added: “These principles mark an important milestone, and I am delighted other leading operators have joined us in this commitment to responsible gaming in the rapidly growing US markets, as responsibility sits at the heart of our business.

“It’s truly a first for this market and a significant step for addressing problem gaming on a consistent basis. We have the research, the data, the partners—all the tools to establish an effective nation-wide code of responsible gaming principles. And we hope our industry and state regulators will join us in advancing these principles.”

FanDuel’s vice president for responsible gaming, Adam Warrington, also said: “FanDuel is committed to collaborating and partnering with every participating operator, and our entire industry, on these 12 principles of responsible online gaming.

“Collectively, we have the privilege and opportunity to set the standard for what it means to be a responsible operator by leading from the front and collectively enabling our customers to enjoy our products, responsibly.”

2016

With gaming streaming site Twitch – and the streaming sector in general – having exploded in recent years, early casino streamers begin to get in on the opportunity. CasinoDaddy and Roshtein – some of the most-followed streamers at the time of the ban – both began streaming slots in 2016. CasinoGrounds – which became a hub for many slots streamers – also started as a community of those who streamed casino games in 2016.

“The casino streaming scene on Twitch was a cosy and intimate space for all the fans of video slots,” Roshtein said on the “About” section of his website. “There were only a couple of casino streamers(…) who welcomed me with open arms and encouraged me to pursue my passion.”

At the same time, though, Twitch attempted an early crackdown on one form of gambling: skin betting. After Counter-Strike: Global Offensive developer Valve sent out cease-and-desist notices to skin betting sites, Twitch warned users that it must stop any streams that promote these sites.

2018

Interest in casino gaming begins to reach a critical mass towards the end of the year. In September 2018, the platform created a specific category for casino gaming, initially made up of 18 channels, attracting around 4,500 viewers per day according to analytics site TwitchTracker.

In December 2018, the business then created a separate category for slots, which quickly attracted more than 10,000 viewers per day, and almost 5 million combined hours of viewership that month.

Already, the section becomes a source of controversy, as an article in video gaming news site Eurogamer notes that the section features little to no age-gating of content, and a number of unlicensed operators are promoted. An October 2018 article in Kotaku, meanwhile, pointed out that some casino-focused accounts appeared to be particularly suspicious, attracting overnight growth in viewership that many users said should not be possible by organic means.

2019

Streaming of casino gaming begins to gather momentum, with monthly viewing hours in the vertical doubling during the year. Mainstream igaming giants begin to jump on board, as PokerStars introduces an in-client integration that allows players to link their Twitch account and their PokerStars account.

Controversy continues, though. Casino channels repeatedly top the list of the fastest-growing channels on the platform, with some gaining more than half a million new followers in 30 days, but fans note the numbers showed obvious signs of being inflated by bots.

2020

The Covid-19 pandemic allows casino streaming to take off more rapidly than ever before. With many other forms of entertainment unavailable, both the online casino sector and the streaming world experience major growth – in particular, streams of online casino games.

In April, Kim Hultman, who hosts the LetsGiveItaSpin channel, raises €47,000 for Covid relief charities with a 24-hour streaming challenge. 

A survey released in July 2020, meanwhile, found that 4.1% of respondents in a sample of 1,081 UK adults said they had watched a live stream of someone gambling online in the past 12 months.

At the time there weren’t many obvious signs of the gambling crackdown to come. Towards the end of the year, Twitch introduced “Twitch predictions”, a free-to-play feature where users could bet points on the outcomes of games being streamed, suggesting a certain amount of sympathy for the sector.

Early 2021

Both the wider streaming community and the online casino world begin to take more notice of the opportunities present in casino games.

Superaffiliate Acroud is among those to take advantage of the new acquisition channel, announcing plans to build a new streaming community and offer an “all-in-one service” to any streamer looking to grow their channel.

At the same time, popular video game streamers such as Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel and Tyler ‘Trainwreckstv’ Niknam agree sponsorship deals with cryptocurrency casinos.

June 2021

The controversy around casino streaming on Twitch begins to truly take off. Lengyel announces on June 28 that he would stop gambling streams, saying that he had become “slightly, if not moderately, addicted” to gambling.

Meanwhile, many content creators discuss the open secret of streamers using funds provided by casinos, or otherwise misrepresenting the risks involved. Niknam argued that many content creators use “fake balances” to “eliminate the risk of losing their own money”.

By this point, Stake.com – a cryptocurrency casino licensed only in Curaçao but accepting customers from a wide range of other markets – had become the most-promoted gambling operator on Twitch.

Much of the wider Twitch community began to speak out against the rise of casino games on the platform. On Twitter, World of Warcraft streamer Zack “Asmongold” Breen calls for a complete ban on streaming casino games, while Imane “Pokimane” Anys – among the most popular users on the site – also criticised the number of popular streamers that opted to take casino deals.

July 2021

Adin Ross accidentally broadcasts his direct messages on a stream, giving users a sense of just how much money was in the world of casino streaming. Ross’ messages with cryptocasino Duelbits shows the operator claimed to offer $1.6m a month, while in Ross’ replies to these messages he revealed that he was “getting more” from Roobet.

Following this, Niknam revealed on stream that he was earning $1m a month from promoting gambling sites.

August 2021

Twitch made its major crackdown on the gambling sector. It bans links or referral codes for all sites offering slots, roulette or dice games from 17 August. 

“To prevent harms and scams created by questionable services that sponsor content on Twitch, we will prohibit sharing links and/or referral codes to sites that offer slots, roulette or dice games,” Twitch said in a creator update.

Some gaming-first businesses were quick to take advantage. Time2play, an affiliate site owned by the Kafe Rocks Group, launched a new streaming platform, with age-gating and other player protection features to ensure that it did not face the same challenges that streamers on Twitch saw.

“There is clearly a desire for the content the gambling streamers produce,” Kafe Rocks CEO Simon Pilkington said. “What we want to do is to help ensure that it is shown in the right context and to the right people.”

Soon afterwards, LiveSpins launches, offering streaming integrated directly into operator sites, and the ability for viewers to bet along with streamers.

Late 2021

The ban had an instant impact on slots streams, but it definitely didn’t kill off the genre. Slots streams hit a trough in October 2021 with 18.3 million hours watched, which was still more than the total a year earlier.

From there, viewership numbers began to slowly pick up again.

Spring 2022

Slots viewing hours on Twitch hit a new high at 36.3 million in March, overtaking the levels reached before the link ban.

The segment gained more scrutiny in May when Lengyel returned to streaming slots. That month, a Change.org petition called for Twitch advertisers to push for a ban on promoting gambling on the site.

League of Legends streamer Sykkuno – who left twitch for YouTube in April – coined what would become a popular phrase in May when he decried the “gambling meta” on Twitch.

June-August 2022

Casino streams become one of the top 10 categories on Twitch, overtaking Call of Duty: Warzone, and landing just one place behind esports phenomenon Dota.

Hip-hop superstar Drake becomes the biggest name to enter the casino streaming space, agreeing a deal of undisclosed size with Stake.com. On his second stream, he brought in a peak of 112,000 concurrent viewers. Within two months, affiliate Casino.org claimed that the rapper had already put down more than $1bn.

However, the genre continues to face more scrutiny, and told Bloomberg that it was “currently in the midst of a deep-dive look into gambling behavior on Twitch”. Breen, meanwhile, reached out to US Senator Ted Cruz, encouraging the Republican Party heavyweight to push for a ban on gambling on the platform.

September 2022

The controversy around gambling on Twitch heats up amid a brand new scandal. Abraham “Sliker” Mohammed admits that he had scammed fans and other content creators out of at least $200,000 after developing an addiction to betting on esports matches.

While Mohammed did not stream casino games, the news prompted a greater backlash against the category. A group of streamers, led by Anys, threatened to boycott the platform if it did not do something about the prevalence of gambling, while Anys also regularly took to Twitter to call for new restrictions and discussed the issue on her own streams, to an audience of more than 9 million followers.

Amid this latest controversy, Twitch announced its new crackdown on slots, roulette and dice games, banning any streams of these games if they are played on unlicensed sites such as Stake.com.

The future

The new ban will come into force next month, so its effects will only be felt then. Before it comes into place, though, the platform has promised more clarity on the specifics. At the moment, a lack of clarity over what counts as an appropriate level of regulation or as a casino-first site may lead to uncertainty.

At the same time, other businesses in the streaming space may hope that the ban creates an opportunity for a new gambling-focused streaming platform to rise, and be better equipped to tackle the problems that have plagued Twitch.

Sports betting handle for the month was 15.9% higher than $18.3m in July, but 0.9% down from $21.4m in August of last year.

Revenue also increased month-on-month, with the $2.7m generated in August being 8.0% higher than $2.5m in July, while this total was also 42.1% up from $1.9m in August 2021.

Coastal casinos were again most popular with consumers in Mississippi, with these venues drawing $14.2m in bets and turning $1.7m in total revenue for the month.

Spending at central casinos amounted to $4.2m, with revenue at $618,375, while northern casinos processed $2.2m in bets and generated $1.7m in revenue.

Baseball was the sport of choice for consumers during the month, with players wagering $8.5m at coastal casinos, $1.4m at central casinos and $1.3m at northern casinos.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission also noted that percentage for the month was 12.7%, a drop of 17.2% on August last year.

Most fans of Premier League clubs probably couldn’t tell you much about the Pogo sector, but it has become deeply embedded in top-flight English football.

A Philippines Offshore Gambling Operation, or Pogo, is a Philippines-based gambling site that broadcasts games of chance to other jurisdictions – usually elsewhere in Asia. Almost by definition, this comes without approval by local authorities in the operator’s target markets. While China has been the highest-profile target, a number of Pogos also specialise in the Korean or Vietnamese markets.

The sector is also widely believed to be infiltrated by criminal organisations and has been linked to crimes such as human trafficking, slavery and prostitution, with the situation getting so bad that a senator earlier this month proposed a ban on all online gambling operations within the country.

In this context, is it wise for English football teams to continue to make deals with organisations operating within this sector?

Many English football teams have made lucrative sponsorship agreements with Philippine-based operators, such as W88, Fun88, i8.bet, Leyu and SBOTop.

To be clear, there is currently no evidence directly linking any club’s sponsor’s to the aforementioned crimes – but is it worth the money to have ties to a sector that is so embroiled in controversy?

It has been proven that the line between legal and illegal organisations is at least somewhat blurred; a recent Filipino police raid rescued enslaved foreign workers from a licensed Pogo, previously considered by the regulator to be a legitimate organisation.

Are POGOs’ days numbered?

Pogos existed in the twilight world of the grey and black markets long before they were regulated – with 2003 often being cited at the date when the first organisations were set up. In 2016, the Duterte administration decided to regulate the already-thriving vertical: the hope was that it might bring some order to what had been a largely unregulated sector, as well as allow for the industry to be subject to taxes.

But only six years after the founding of the market, the legal Pogos’ days may be numbered, with senior figures in the legislature and government coming out in support of a blanket ban on the business. Among those who have said they would support a ban include senate president, the finance secretary and the president’s sister. A bill has already been filed in the Philippines Senate by senator Joel Villanueva that would ban all forms of online gambling.

In his explanatory note accompanying the bill, Villanueva said:

“The consequences of gambling and online gambling are too severe to be ignored. The cost of gambling is no longer limited to the loss of money, but extends to the loss of values and lives.”

“This bill seeks to prohibit online gambling and the placing of wagers or bets through the internet or any form of online gambling activities to prevent further deterioration of morals and values, encourage people to work instead of relying on a game of chance, stop addiction and save lives.”

The senate minority leader has stated that she believes it would be possible for the country’s leader, president Ferdinand Marcos Jr to unilaterally impose a ban via executive order.

Whether he will do that is less clear, but it’s a sign that there clearly has been a new wave of popular support to get rid of the sector.

Humanitarian crisis

The proximate cause for this is a humanitarian crisis that the Pogo boom has triggered.

Local reports note that police initially dismissed claims of wide-reaching Pogo-crime, but recent raids by the Philippines National Police (PNP) have silenced any doubts. Just on Saturday, 140 enslaved migrant workers were rescued in raids on two Pogo businesses.

The litany of alleged crimes associated with the sector is extensive, involving money laundering, systematic human trafficking, murder, torture, prostitution, kidnapping and slavery.

Pagcor chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco has said that if the issue is not solved quickly then the entire industry is at risk:

“If these kidnapping incidents and other illegal activities persist, it is clear that not only will we cancel the licences of Pogo operators, but the entire industry may be affected by whatever decision will emanate from the national government. So let us help each other solve these issues as soon as possible,” said Tengco.

Crucial timing

And at the same time, the UK is on the precipice of major gambling reform.

Active steps taken by the industry to prove that it is capable of self-regulation could matter a great deal in shaping what UK policy will eventually be.

In anticipation of reform, operators such as Flutter, Kindred, Entain and 888 have self-imposed a suite of player protections and affordability checks themselves, at a cost to their own profits.

In July, reports in the press outlined that the Premier League was mulling putting a voluntary shirt sponsorship ban to a vote in its annual shareholder meeting.

These measures prove that industry and the sports clubs it helps fund are capable of being responsible – but public perceptions matter a great deal.

In fact, they may matter more than ever if rumours of the Gambling Act review being scrapped turn out to be true. In its place, we may see authorities attempt to bring in changes unilaterally, listening to the prevailing sentiment of the time rather than completing a thoughtful and deliberative process. If so, a single scandal could shape the future of the sector for years.

A bad look

Of course, a front-of-shirt ban may not be enough to sever ties between English football and Pogos.

Even if that measure is introduced, operators may be able to keep deals in place with regional partners, many of which operate in the Philippine offshore sector.

That doesn’t mean English football clubs should end every single betting partnership they have in place. There’s still plenty of room for betting in football in a way that can appease the more reasonable reformers.

But if press reports unveil a direct link between an English football sponsor and crimes such as human trafficking, the consequences would be catastrophic in terms of public opinion – with dark implications for the eventual shape of reform.

In the minds of the public, it won’t matter that the implicated business has little interest in the UK market; the entire sector will likely be affected.

The clubs don’t need the money, not when the Premier League is comfortably the richest in the world, and the industry could do without the bad press.

Rather than a blanket pro- or anti- stance on gambling companies, it’s time that football clubs looked more closely into the specifics of their potential partners. It would not take much due diligence to see that most Philippine-based operations are not comparable to locally regulated businesses.

It’s a bad look. English football must distance itself from the Pogos.

Image: Pagcor