Month: March 2023

The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the University of Wolverhampton, in collaboration with Liverpool John Moores University, will look to identify how people who experience gambling harms are stigmatised and discriminated against by a range of groups and sectors across society.

Highlighted areas include service and healthcare providers, civil society and third sector and charitable organisations, their communities and families, popular media, and in political and policy discourse, and the gambling industry in general.

The research will also establish which communities are disproportionately impacted by stigmatisation and why, as well as how stigma can intersect and affect people who struggle with gambling in addition to other challenges. 

In addition, the initiative will identify the services, interventions, information campaigns and policies required to challenge stigmatisation and aim to reduce gambling harms for stigmatised communities. 

Findings are due to be made available in 2024.

“Currently there is limited research into stigma and gambling in Great Britain,” GambleAware chief commissioning officer Anna Hargrave said. “We know further research is needed to break down the substantive barrier of stigmatisation – and the discrimination it drives – faced by those experiencing gambling harms and their communities. 

“Stigmatisation causes significant harm in and of itself, and can lead to people feeling shame, experiencing mental health challenges and social exclusion. We also know that stigma can stop people from accessing essential support or treatment services such as the National Gambling Treatment Service. 

“This research with NatCen and the University of Wolverhampton will be an important step towards a programme of work that builds more knowledge in this area.”

Stigma focus

GambleAware said stigma would be a major focus of its work in 2023 and 2024, including plans to launch a major new behaviour change campaign in spring to the reduce the stigma associated with gambling harms.

Last month, independent evaluation commissioned by GambleAware revealed that stigma remains a personal and social barrier to people in Scotland seeking help for gambling harm.

This month, GambleAware also awarded £2.0m in funding to 10 organisations across Great Britain aiding the long-term recovery of people who have experienced gambling harms.

The funding, issued by GambleAware’s Aftercare Funding Programme, will be used to support the delivery of additional support that people might require as part of their ongoing recovery.

Organisations were chosen following a selection process that involved a panel of experts, including two members with lived experience of gambling harm.

In addition, GambleAware last month said it would distribute £1.2m to 22 organisations across Great Britain through its Community Resilience Fund to support individuals and communities affected by gambling harms.

Couture will join the operator’s executive team and support the development of strategies across operations as the Fanatics Sportsbook prepares to launch nationwide in the US in mid-2023.

He joins Fanatics after seven years with DoorDash, a technology business that connects consumers with local businesses. Couture served in several roles with DoorDash, most recently as vice president for the US marketplace.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

As part of the deal, SportyBet and Manchester City will create co-branded content, as well as offer exclusive betting experiences for fans in the region.

“We are pleased to welcome SportyBet as a new regional partner of Manchester City today,” said Kaitlyn Beale, vice president, global partnership sales at Manchester City. “Our fanbase within Africa continues to grow, shown by the interest in our fan events and trophy tour visits to Africa in recent years, and we look forward to working with SportyBet to bring fans even closer to the club.”

This deal marks SportyBet’s second club deal, the first being with Real Madrid – where SportyBet was also named as the club’s official partner in Africa.

“We are absolutely delighted to add Manchester City to our list of partners. Manchester City has consistently proven to be one of the most exciting teams in Europe,” said Oluchi Enuha, brand director at Sporty Group. “Their exciting brand of football and dynamic players perfectly represent the type of entertainment Sporty Group aspires to bring to their customers in Africa.

“We believe this is just the beginning of a uniquely innovative collaboration which we believe will elevate both brands in Africa.”

Playbook will now offer users access to a range of resources to ensure they fully comply with all relevant regulations within the US land-based gambling sector.

Information will include guides to regulations and requirements in each jurisdiction, as well as a library of relevant forms, documents, and other resources.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

In February 2022, Hungary introduced legislation aiming to end the country’s sports betting state monopoly system, to be replaced with a competitive licensing process more line with many of its neighbouring states and implemented by the SZTFH. The previous system had been ruled unlawful by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2017.

This new regime – which was launched on 1 January 2023 – brought in a number of requirements for applicants looking to launch in the state.

Operators who wish to receive authorisation from the SZTFH must have at least five years of experience offering licensed online gaming in an European Economic Area state. The law also explicitly forbids a business from being awarded a licence if the company has been involved in broadcasting unlicensed gaming within five-years of the application date.

The law established a HUF10m (£23,000/ €26,000/ $29,000) application fee for operators. In addition, businesses must have share capital of at least HUF1bn, pay a licence fee of HUF600m – as well as pay a supervision fee and gaming tax amounting to 2.5% and 15% of gross gambling revenue respectively. The supervision fee only applies to a maximum of HUF10m in costs.

As of today (29 March), the SZTFH has not yet approved any foreign operators to launch in Hungary, having only issued a licence state-owned former monopoly Szerencsejáték Zrt, which operates through the Tippmixpro.hu online portal. Three Hungarian land-based casinos are also approved to offer online casino through a tethered licence.

SZTFH implements amendments

In January 2023, Hungary introduced further legislation amending the country’s Gambling Act by implementing a number of more technical changes in order to facilitate the new gaming market. Previously, the law limited a player to have only one balance with an operator. Under the new rules, a consumer may have multiple balances linked to each game.

Among other changes, the legislation also allowed for businesses to provide users with the chance to cash out early if the game is designed in such a way. According to the text, cash out is to be subject to the same rules and restrictions governing the payment of winnings.

The regulator’s decree implements the newly amended Gaming Act on a state agency level. It announces a new safer gambling feature to accompany the roll-out of early cash outs in Hungary.

“The gambling operator is obliged to expressly draw the player’s attention to the fact that the use of this function entails an increased risk of excessive gambling and addiction and this information shall appear in the text of promotion in the same font size as the text,” reads the decree.

“The gambling operator shall also make available to the player on the gambling website the information that the use of that function entails an increased risk of excessive gambling and addiction.”

Nejad joins the business having most recently served as senior vice president and head of marketing for the US and Canada at Aristocrat Gaming, a role in which she led the overall brand and marketing strategy.

Prior to this, Nejad had a spell as chief operating officer for the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission in Canada, establishing the organisation’s provincial gaming direction, corporate portfolio, digital transformation and revenue forecasts.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

As part of the ULIS membership network, BCLC will support the group and its work with sport’s governing bodies, law enforcement agencies, public authorities and other stakeholders to combat sports competitions manipulations around the world.

BCLC becomes the third Canadian provincial lottery organisation to join ULIS, alongside Loto Québec and Ontario Lottery and Gaming.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Italy’s igaming revenue experienced a subtle decline, with December’s revenue of €315.8m showing a 2% decrease compared to the previous month. Despite this, there was a 1.2% increase year-on-year, indicating a stable increase in the industry.

Both retail sports betting and online sports were reflected in this decline, but the remaining products picked up from the previous month.

The stand out of the sectors was casino & slots, which witnessed an impressive 17% increase by reaching €206.1m revenue in December, compared to its €176.1m revenue in November.

In terms of market share, casino & slots dominated with the largest increase in market share, and online sports betting lost almost a third of its market share from November. Meanwhile, Lottomatica/Goldbet maintained its position as the leader in the online casino industry with a 12.4% market share, while there were no significant changes in the market share of other online casinos.

Online sports betting experienced a decline in market share, leaving it with a 27.4% market share in the igaming industry. Despite this, the market shares within the industry remained relatively stable, with the majority staying in the same position. Bet365 has faced some challenges in the past few months, but they have been slowly picking up its performance and have peaked this month at 13.1% market share.

In terms of Italy’s online and retail sports betting, Lottomatica/Goldbet continued to lead the industry with a 22.1% market share. Betaland, on the other hand, dropped to the bottom with a mere 0.9% market share, pushing Multigioco up to the 9th position with a 1% market share. Despite the ups and downs, the Italian igaming industry continues to thrive and looks set to achieve a significant increase in the coming years.

PokerStars remains the leader of the online poker tournaments market with a 42.87% market share, even with its 4.7% decrease. E-Play 24 had no significant movements, allowing it to be overtaken by Snai and Lottomatica, leaving E-Play 24 with the smallest  market share.

Lottomatica had the greatest increase in market share, placing it just behind Snai with a 9.14% market share. From this, it is evident that Lottamatic/Goldbet is on the rise in the Poker tournament industry as well as leading the sports betting market.

The full infographic of charts is available below, including all previous results.

Ficom Leisure is a leading European corporate advisory firm specialising in all segments of the betting and gaming sector.

Ficom Leisure also provides exclusive monthly estimates on the Spanish online market in the Spain iGaming Dashboard, including operator market shares across casino, sports betting and poker. It also provides monthly estimates on several US states, including New Jersey in the New Jersey iGaming Dashboard, Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania iGaming Dashboard and Iowa in the Iowa iGaming Dashboard.

The amount wagered in January was ahead of $563.7m in the same month last year and also 3.3% ahead of the $752.5m that was bet in December 2022.

Players bet a total of $585.4m on mobile and $4.8m at retail sportsbooks across the state.

Read the full story at iGB North America.

The project will focus on discovering the most effective forms of self-exclusion, the ideal times to self-exclude and the criteria that an operator and gaming regulator should use to decide whether someone should be allowed back.

“There is a necessity to determine whether enhancing these programs would result in more customer participation and whether this would be beneficial,” said Arthur B. Paikowsky, president of the ICRG.

In addition, the project will examine whether the term “self-exclusion” is stigmatising and may deter people from self-excluding, and what the best method of registering is.

The final results of the research will be released in October 2025.

“We have been committed to responsible gambling initiatives since forming GeoComply over a decade ago,” said Anna Sainsbury, co-founder and CEO of GeoComply. “We need more data to support the industry’s actions around RG, and I am really happy that we can support the ICRG’s research in this important area.”