Month: June 2024

Four other players, including Oakland Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly, were suspended for up to a year, according to MLB.com. Prior to Tuesday, every other major professional sports league had banned at least one player. Marcano becomes the second player in a US pro league to be handed a lifetime ban this year. On 17 April, the NBA banned Jontay Porter for life after it was discovered that he had bet on the NBA and had shared personal health information with another bettor.

Last year, the NFL suspended 10 players for up to a year for various violations of league gambling rules. All have since been reinstated. The NHL suspended Shane Pinto for violating league rules last October. In addition, the PGA Tour last October suspended two players for breaking Tour gambling policy.

According to MLB’s Rule 21, league employees are subject to a lifetime ban for betting on their own team. Betting on other teams results in a year-long suspension.

Legal operators identify violations

In most, if not all, cases the violations were uncovered by legal operators that the players were betting with. In Porter’s case, DraftKings reported suspicious wagering activity to the NBA, which then opened an investigation. In the baseball cases, an unnamed legal operator reported suspicious activity to MLB in March, according to MLB.com. The Wall Street Journal on Monday (3 June) broke the story that MLB was investigating five players. Punishments were announced a day later.

MLB’s investigation included contact with more than one legal sportsbook, including “authentication data” for bets. None of the players are appealing the suspensions.

The Padres’ Marcano, who has not played in an MLB game since July 2023, was with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he wagering. Betting is legal in Pennsylvania and in Indiana, where he played some games for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians affiliate.

Sportsbook data reveals Marcano made 387 baseball bets, including 231 on MLB games. Twenty-five bets were on Pirates games while he was still on the roster. Marcano did not play in any of the games he bet on. Marcano’s bets were mostly parlays and he bet more than $150,000 on baseball.

A’s player bet less than $100

Data also revealed that Kelly placed 10 bets for a total of $99.22 between 5-17 October 2021 while he was with the Houston Astros. Kelly had a net win of $28.30, did not bet on any games he played in or any Astros games.

The Padres and A’s released statements saying they were “disappointed” that players on their rosters violated league rules. The teams were clear that the violations happened before the players joined their respective teams. Both teams said they support MLB’s betting policies and punishment.

“The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “The longstanding prohibition against betting on Major League Baseball games by those in the sport has been a bedrock principle for over a century. We have been clear that the privilege of playing in baseball comes with a responsibility to refrain from engaging in certain types of behaviour that are legal for other people.”

Long Phi Pham, also known as “Bruce,” was ordered held in custody until trial, according to a US Attorney’s Office press release. Per the NY Daily News, Pham was identified as one of the top 1% of poker players in the world at his arraignment on Tuesday.

He was arrested at JFK Airport on Monday after booking a one-way ticket to Australia. Pham is being charged with wire fraud. Pham was carrying about $92,000 in cash and cashier’s cheques, three cell phones and betting slips, according to the complaint.

Three more participants at large

Three other co-conspirators have not yet been arrested. Porter is not named in the complaint, although there is reference to a “Player 1”. The bet dates align with the dates of the key bets that led to Porter’s lifetime ban. The amount of Porter’s gambling debt has not been exposed.

The complaint details the scheme ex-Toronto Raptor Porter and Pham developed so Pham’s prop bets on Porter would pay. As the plan unfolded, Porter warned the group “might just get hit w[ith] a rico” or racketeering charge. He also asked in a group chat if participants had “delete[d] all the stuff” from their phones.

According to the complaint, Pham and his group suggested Porter do a “special” to settle his gambling debt. Porter sent Pham a text message that read: “If I don’t do a special with your terms. Then it’s up. And u hate me and if I don’t get u 8k by Friday you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up.”

Porter feigned injury, illness to settle gambling debt

According to the US Attorney’s press release, Porter was “encouraged to clear those (gambling) debts by withdrawing from certain games prematurely to ensure that under prop bets on Player 1’s performance were successful.” Between January and March of 2024, Porter twice removed himself from games.

On 26 January, Porter claimed he reaggravated a corneal injury and took himself out of a game against the LA Clippers. He played four minutes and had no points, three rebounds and one assist. Two bets placed by co-conspirators from that game cashed. One was for $10,000 and paid $85,000, while the other was for $7,000 and paid $40,250. Both were parlays.

On 20 March, Pham and his partners met in Atlantic City and placed “under” bets on Porter’s performance against Sacramento. Prior to placing the bets, the group agreed in a text chat that Porter would feign illness and take himself out of the game. Pham and his partners agreed to share the profits. Pham and Porter would each get a 24% cut. Porter removed himself from the game after three minutes. He scored no points and had three rebounds and no assists. Pham and his partners won more than $1m on the bets.

DraftKings reported suspicious activity

DraftKings isn’t directly named in the complaint, but was previously identified as the sportsbook that reported suspicious activity to the NBA. The company reported unusual activity to the league after the 26 January game and also after the 20 March game. The NBA issued Porter a lifetime ban less than a month after the second suspicious report.

According to the affidavit, bets were placed at two sportsbooks that are “co-official sports betting partners of the NBA.” DraftKings and FanDuel are partnered with the league.

“Whether on the court or in the casino, every point matters,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “As alleged, the defendant and his co-conspirators, as well as an NBA player, participated in a brazen, illegal betting scheme that had a corrupting influence on two games and numerous bets.”

Safer Gambling Week 2023, the seventh edition of the annual initiative, took place from 13-19 November. Jointly run by the BGC, British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta) and the Bingo Association, it encourages industry members to promote responsible betting.

Having praised last year’s edition as the most successful to date, the BGC has now released further data. This focuses on consumers’ use of responsible gambling tools during the week, with the BGC saying overall use “soared”. 

During Safer Gambling Week 2023, the number of deposit limits set increased 18% year-on-year. Players setting reality checks rocketed by more than 300%, while the use of maximum stake limits also jumped 300%. 

The BGC also noted that deposit limits were set by 83,242 unique account holders. This is up 12.5% from Safer Gambling Week in the previous year.

Looking at engagement, the BGC praised the impact of social media. In total, activity across X, formerly Twitter, Facebook and Instagram generated more than 50 million impressions. In addition, messaging was placed on major social media websites almost 30 million times, up 70%.

BGC targets further improvement in 2024

Reflecting on the data, BGC CEO and acting chair Michael Dugher praised the efforts of industry members during the initiative. Safer Gambling Week covers the online and land-based sector, with support from bookmakers, amusement arcades, bingo clubs, casinos and online gaming operators.

The annual event also regularly draws backing from other industry stakeholders, charities, MPs and peers, and sports teams. Premier League football clubs West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion both championed the initiative in 2023.

Looking ahead to this year’s addition, Dugher is keen to repeat the success seen in 2023.

“These new figures show Safer Gambling Week continues to be a powerful advert for increasing use of safer gambling tools in the regulated industry,” Dugher said.

“Millions of customers now use safer gambling tools including deposit limits and time outs. This is a pillar of the regulated industry and is in marked contrast to the unsafe, unregulated and growing online gambling black market, which provides no safer gambling support, contributes zero tax and does not support sport.

“Our members promote these tools all year round. However, a single dedicated week, bringing together the whole sector alongside huge support from cross-party MPs, from the government and the independent regulator the Gambling Commission, really turbocharges that work – and these figures show it makes a real difference. 

“The record numbers for both impressions and use of safer gambling tools show the industry has never been more committed to ensuring the many millions who enjoy a regular flutter continue to do so in a safe and responsible environment.”

Safer Gambling Week 2024 takes place from 18-24 November.

Reimblad took up his current position in February 2021, overseeing the sportsbook offering at Kindred.

He joined the group in June 2012 as development manager of sportsbooks. Reimblad went on to serve in other roles such as head of sportsbook development and head of sportsbook product management and operations.

Prior to his time with Kindred, Reimblad had a short spell as product manager for betting and bingo at IGT. In addition, he spent two-and-a-half years in various bingo roles at Unitbet, including six months as head of bingo.

“I will shortly be leaving Kindred for a new and exciting opportunity around the corner,” Reimblad said in a post on LinkedIn. “I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in Malta, the UK, and Sweden. I’ve visited so many countries across the globe, meeting so many talented and great people who also have become life-long friends.

“I am immensely proud to have been part of, and led, such an amazing team, especially over the last couple of years. Firstly, we managed to do what a lot of people didn’t believe we could do – develop a proprietary sportsbook platform. At the same time, we grew the sportsbook team to over 100 talented individuals worldwide.

“While I won’t see the full roll-out, it was a proud moment when KSP was launched in production earlier this year.”

Kindred set for transformational year

Reimblad’s exit comes in the middle of what Kindred has described as a “transformational” year for the business.

At the end of last year, Kindred announced it will fully exit North America by the end of Q2 2024 as part of a strategic review. It is also cutting 300 jobs across the business.

Meanwhile, Nils Andén was appointed as permanent CEO in February after a temporary spell in the role. Andén took the helm when Henrik Tjärnström resigned as CEO last May.

Furthermore, the future for Kindred could look very different after French lottery and gaming giant La Française des Jeux (FDJ) submit an offer worth SEK27.96bn (£2.10bn/€2.47bn/$2.68bn) to acquire all outstanding share capital of Kindred.

FDJ said that the deal would create the second largest operator in Europe. It is billing the combined business as a “European gaming champion” with stronger revenue and earnings growth.

Work continues on the proposed deal, with FDJ in February publishing the public tender offer document for the acquisition. This effectively kicked off an acceptance period, which will run through to 19 November this year. 

Kindred has “unanimously” recommended shareholders accept the offer. 

News of the proposal came in Q1, during which Kindred reported a 22.7% increase in net profit to £31.4mhelped by cost reduction initiatives across several areas of the business. Revenue in Q1 was also higher, albeit only marginally, with the reported £307.7m being 0.4% higher year-on-year.

Historic Sweden fine reduced 

As for other recent developments and Kindred, the group last week confirmed an historic fine for its Spooniker subsidiary in Sweden has been reduced for the second time.

Kindred and Spooniker now face a fine of SEK30m. Sweden regulator Spelinspektionen first issued Kindred with a fine and penalty in March 2020. This was in reference to offering unauthorised bonuses and lotteries without a licence, with a fine set at SEK100m.

In response, Kindred filed an appeal with the Administrative Court in Linköping. Incidentally, the court in July 2021 chose to reduce the fine, slashing it in half to SEK50m. 

The same Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping has now ruled that the fee should be reduced further.

Virginia reported an increase in both sports betting revenue and handle in April. However, while Colorado saw player spending rise year-on-year, total wagering revenue was lower. 

Beginning in Virginia with player spending, this amounted to $563.5m (£442.4m/€519.2m. This represents a year-on-year rise of 32.3% but 11.3% less than March’s $635.5m total.

Bettors spent some $559.3m betting online, plus $4.2m at retail sportsbooks in land-based casinos across Virginia.

As for adjusted gross revenue, this hit $54.6m, which is 40.4% higher than April last year and 28.8% more than $42.4m in March this year. 

Of this total, $54.5m came from online betting, while just $110,208 was generated in retail revenue. 

Adjusted gross revenue is calculated by taking off player winnings, bonuses and promotion and other deductions from gross revenue. Virginia takes adjusted gross revenue at a flat rate of 15.0%.

Players won a total of $502.9m from sports betting in April, with the state generating $8.2m in tax. Virginia does not disclose information on individual operators, but it was revealed that 12 of its licensed operators posted positive adjusted gross revenue during the month.

Revenue down despite higher spending in Colorado

Turning now to Colorado and there were somewhat mixed results from sports betting in April.

Player spending during the month reach $509.5m, which is 22.0% higher year-on-year but down 14.1% from March. This includes $507.1m worth of online bets and $2.4m from the retail market.

Basketball drew the most bets, with consumers wagering a total of $169.6m during April. A further $85.9m was bet on baseball, with tennis betting amounting to $32.5m. 

Turning to revenue, total gross gaming revenue from sports betting hit $32.0m. This is 8.8% less than last year and also 28.9% behind the $45.0m posted in March this year.

Online gross gaming revenue amounted to $32.2m, but the overall market figure was hit by a $160,166 loss from retail betting.

Players won a total of $477.5m from sports betting, with the state collecting $1.9m in tax.

The 2023-24 figure exceeded the previous year by £3.1m. GambleAware uses the funding to support work including public health campaigns, education and training, harm prevention tools, treatment and research.

Of all funding committed, some 94.0% came from the four largest gambling operators in the UK: Flutter, Entain, Bet365 and William Hill. The quartet pledged to gradually increase their donations to 1% of gross gambling yield over four years, topping 1.0% in 2023-24. This was the final year of the pledge.

On this point, GambleAware warned of “uncertainty” over funding for the 2024-25 financial year. This is due to the transition to a statutory levy, as set out in last year’s white paper.

As such, GambleAware chief executive Zoë Osmond is calling for minimal disruption during this process to ensure funding continues to flow into the organisation. 

“While we await the implementation of the new statutory levy, donations from the voluntary funding system are key to ensure GambleAware can continue to deliver the essential gambling harm prevention and treatment programmes we commission,” Osmond said.

“For many years we have been calling for the introduction of a statutory levy on the gambling industry and we are pleased the government has committed to delivering this as part of the gambling white paper. 

“However, during the transition period it is vital that steps continue to be taken to ensure there is no disruption to existing services and provisions in the wider system as they adapt to the new levy funding model.”

Flutter leads the way with GambleAware donations

As was the case in 2022-23, Flutter pledged the most money to GambleAware. In total, the group donated £18.0m on behalf of its brands, which include Paddy Power and Sky Bet.

Also in the big four donators is Entain, which pledged £16.8m to the organisation. Hillside, the operating company of Bet365, made three separate donations of £1.3m, £1.4m and £3.1m, with its total pledge being £5.8m.

William Hill rounded off the leading quartet with a donation of £6.0m to GambleAware.

Other notable pledges in 2023-24 include £451,800 from Camelot UK Lotteries, now under the ownership of Allwyn. Petre (Gibraltar), trading as Betfred, donated £215,595, while a further £50,000 came from Betfred owners the Done brothers.

Les Ambassadeurs pledged £208,920 from its club business and £49,254 from its online arm. Meanwhile, Virgin Bet donated £123,967, while gambling centre operator Talarius put forward £103,619. 

Other larger pledges include £154,871 from BV Gaming/BetVictor, £106,158 off LiveScore Betting and Gaming and £110,263 Luxury Leisure.

On top of this, the Gambling Commission directed £33.5m from regulatory settlements reached in the past year. Like the voluntary donations, these funds go straight into the GambleAware organisation.  

In addition, GambleAware reported a further £241,613 in funds from unclaimed winnings and dormant accounts during 2023-24. This came from brands such as 888, BetVictor and Betfred.

GambleAware hits back at criticism

The rise in funds comes after GambleAware CEO Osmond last month stood up to defend the charity’s work. This followed a complaint by the Good Law Project.

In March, the Good Law Project submitted a complaint to the Charity Commission over how GambleAware spreads information. The Good Law Project accuses GambleAware trustees of not meeting the charity’s objectives to offer adequate gambling harm education.

In a fresh statement on the case, Osmond defended GambleAware, saying she is confident the complaint will not be upheld. It is understood the Commission’s assessment of whether it needs to intervene remains ongoing.

The April revenue was a sizeable rise on the $63.8m reported in Ohio in March. The figure also takes Ohio to a year-to-date sports betting revenue of $317.1m.

Online accounted for $72.8m in revenue, 98.5% of the total. Retail, meanwhile, was responsible for $1.1m.

The rise in revenue was despite handle dropping 16.7% to $673.2m from March’s figure of $808.2m. Ohio operators paid out $593.1m in winnings, while $20.1m was attributed to promotions.

Year-on-year, handle was up 29.3% while revenue was 16.7% higher than the same month last year.

FanDuel still on top

FanDuel again led the way in April with online handle and revenue of $226.7m and $34m respectively.

DraftKings, meanwhile, reported April online handle of $216.8m and revenue of $20.8m.

Bet365 was third again for handle with a total of $48.9m, generating $5.1m in revenue. BetMGM and ESPN Bet reported handles of $45.2m and $35.8m respectively.

Ohio regulator examining Dave & Busters situation

In April, adult amusement company Dave & Busters announced plans to allow adult rewards customers to bet against each other.

However, the Ohio Casino Control Commission is investigating whether the six Dave & Busters venues in Ohio would violate state laws if they were to offer wagering.

In nearby Illinois, Representative Dan Didech filed the “Family Wagering Prohibition Act”. The bill would ban establishments such as Dave & Busters offering wagering.

Investor letter sparks Penn stock rise

After a Penn Entertainment shareholder sent a letter urging Penn to sell assets last week, the company’s shares rose by 20% on the New York Stock Exchange to $17.50 as the market showed confidence over change at the company.

On Friday, the Donerail Group, a shareholder of Penn Entertainment, sent a letter calling for the company to generate “meaningful and certain” value creation by selling assets.

Donerail’s letter stated Penn’s shares were down 80% over the past three years. Donerail criticised Penn’s interactive strategy and condemned the $99.3m (£78.2m/€91.6m) in agreed compensation for chief executive Jay Snowden between 2020 and 2023.

Icahn’s Caesars stake instigates share rise

On Friday, Bloomberg News revealed activist investor Carl Icahn held “sizeable” stock in Caesars Entertainment.

Caesars shares increased by 15% following the report of Icahn building his stock in Caesars.

In 2019, Icahn pushed for Caesars to either merge or sell itself. The following July, Eldorado Resorts completed an acquisition and merger with Caesars.

State exec pushing for Alabama special session

David Bronner, chief executive of Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), has urged the state’s governor, Kay Ivey, to call a special session on gambling.

As reported by 1819 News, Bronner believes the legalisation of gambling would bring welcome revenue to Alabama.

“I am asking each member of the RSA to encourage Governor Ivey to continue to make Alabama a little better and get the essential funds to continue improving the state with a special session on gaming,” he said.

Ivey has indicated she has no plans to call for a special gambling session. In May, a house bill to legalise digital and retail sports betting failed in the senate. Three of Alabama’s bordering states offer a form of legalised betting.

Pritzer: Illinois tax rise about paying “fair share”

Illinois’ governor, JB Pritzker, believes the proposed gambling tax rise in the state will lead to companies paying their “fair share”, believing larger operators won’t decide to halt operations in the state.

Last week, Illinois’ general assembly sent a FY2025 budget to Governor Pritzker with a progressive gambling tax rate topping out at 40%.

The rise from the current 15% rate to 40% for top operators has led to questions of whether the likes of DraftKings and FanDuel will continue to operate in the state.

A Pritzker spokesperson told the Chicago Sun Times: “Governor Pritzker believes corporations should pay their fair share in Illinois. Now, thanks to these adjustments, which put the state in line with similarly sized markets, they will.”

England cricketer banned for betting offences

England cricketer Brydon Carse has received a three-month ban for breaching betting rules.

Carse, who last played for England in December, was found to have made 303 bets. None of the bets involved games in which Carse played.

While his total ban is 16 months, 13 of those will be made up by a suspended sentence and therefore he could be eligible to play again in August.

The punishment from the Cricket Regulator states 13 months of Carse’s 16-month ban will be suspended.

Brydon’s team Durham says he can train during his ban, which will run until 28 August.

The 28-year-old is charged with placing 303 bets on various matches between 2017 and 2019.

Carse did not place any bets on games in which he played. He accepted the charges and “demonstrated significant remorse”, the Cricket Regulator said.

The Cricket Regulator is responsible for monitoring compliance and enforcement of the game’s regulations in England. It was established in December 2023 and is ring-fenced from the rest of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Educational example

“We take these matters extremely seriously and do not condone any form of anti-corruption breach in cricket,” the ECB stated.

“We support the Cricket Regulator’s decision and their consideration of the mitigating factors in Brydon’s case. He has co-operated and shown remorse for his actions. We are satisfied that Brydon has shown growth in the five years since this breach and has demonstrated a greater understanding of his responsibilities.

“We are hopeful that his case can serve as an educational example for other cricketers.”

The Cricket Regulator added there is no evidence to suggest any other integrity concerns relating to Carse.

Under current rules, no professional players, coaches or support staff can bet on cricket anywhere in the world.

Cricket Regulator

“The Cricket Regulator takes any breach of integrity or misconduct rules seriously,” the Cricket Regulator’s interim director Dave Lewis said.

“Therefore, I encourage any participant, from within the professional game, who has gambled on cricket to come forward. They should not wait to be discovered.”

Carse was born in South Africa but qualifies to play for England through ancestry and completed his England residency qualification in 2019.

He made his England one-day international (ODI) debut in July 2021 against Pakistan. Carse has made 14 ODI appearances in total and has played in three Twenty20 internationals.

Anti-corruption breaches

Cricket authorities are increasingly cracking down on players who breach anti-corruption rules.

In January, Bangladesh cricketer Nasir Hossain was banned by the International Cricket Council for two years.

Two months earlier, former West Indies star Marlon Samuels was handed a six-year ban over a series of anti-corruption code breaches.

The affiliate-media partnership deals that were in vogue the last few years were the primary target. If I can be so bold as to quote Happy Gilmore: “Talk about your all-time backfires.” The overall outcomes are mixed depending on the company, but the partnership deals specifically have turned decidedly sour.

Affiliates – companies that make revenue by referring customers to operator websites – have trumpeted the benefits of these deals with more mainstream media outlets for several years. Thanks to the legacy media sites’ reputation in searches, affiliates brought in tons of new depositing customers (NDCs), padding their key performance indicators (KPIs).

Now, after 5 May, those sites are missing from searches. That has boosted affiliates’ core content but leaves them trapped in what increasingly looks like costly zombie deals. In some cases, these are deals with eight-figure annual guarantees and highly unfavourable revenue splits.

According to several sources with knowledge of the situation, this is the new reality. Even with cleanups and content removal, Google is unlikely to reverse course and bring these sites back into the search engine results pages (SERPs).

That raises the question: Are the affiliates finished taking their lumps, or should they brace for more?

Read the full story here.