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Maria Guggenberger, head of corporate social responsibility at the former racing monopoly, which channels its profits to the racing industry, hit back at claims made recently by Anna-Lena Sörenson, head of the Swedish Gambling Market Inquiry, on a webinar hosted by the Swedish Gambling Association (SPER).

In the webinar, Sörenson, who late last year rejected the introduction of a racing levy following her inquiry, reiterated her position that the current model with financing from ATG’s surplus is sustainable. In the webinar, Sörenson, whose interim report is now out for consultation, argued that collecting the levy would cost more than it recoups.

However, Guggenberger argued in response that funding for equestrian sports from ATG is being diminished by the success of its competitors, so “for every market share that ATG may lose to competitors, equestrian sports lose that amount in financing”.

“It is flattering that the investigator has such confidence in ATG’s continued strong financial position, and we naturally hope that she is right in her forecast,” Guggenberger said in a statement issued by ATG. “The problem is that the values​ at stake are far too great to be able to rely on hope. Sweden’s horse racing entrepreneurs are entitled to a more long-term sustainable model than that.

“I do not dare to think about what 38,000 people who have their income from the horse racing industry think when they read the investigator’s conclusion.”

Guggenberger said surpluses from ATG have benefited the equestrian industry by up to SEK2bn (€200.0m/$240.0m) annually for the last 50 years, which is almost a half of its turnover.

“About half of the money goes to prize money for horse owners and other active people and about a third goes to the tracks to cover competition costs and maintenance,” she said. “The remaining funds finance central operations and the sport’s costs for audio and video production of its competitions.”

ATG has called for a levy ever since the Swedish gambling market was reregulated in January 2019, with the licensing of new competitors meaning the end of its long-standing monopoly on horseracing betting. While ATG has long said it did not mind competition, its complaints that other operators should also contribute towards racing led to the creation of the Swedish Gambling Market Inquiry under Sörenson.

Last October, Swedish online operator association Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) welcomed Sörenson’s recommendation against a statutory betting levy for horse racing.

BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt, who held a seat in the Gambling Market Enquiry’s expert group, said Sörenson made the right decision.

“I welcome this sensible conclusion from the inquiry,” he said. “On a principal level it regards whether one can own data that is open for everyone, it may be the outcome of a horse race, a presidential election or tomorrow’s weather. The answer to that question must be that there cannot be any ownership to such open and accessible information.”

Built on William Hill’s proprietary platform, the sports betting mobile app allows players to place pre-game and in-play wagers from anywhere inside Virginia.

Players can register for a new account via the app, as well as on William Hill’s desktop version of its online sportsbook.

“Just in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl, our Virginia app will give football fans over 1,000 ways to bet this incredible matchup, from the opening coin toss to whether the game will be decided in overtime,” William Hill US president of digital Kenneth Fuchs said.

William Hill joins BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive (RSI) brand BetRivers.com in launching sports betting in the state.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the agreement, BetMGM, the betting brand operated via the joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts, will become the official sports betting operator of the team.

BetMGM will also collaborate with RCR on a range of marketing and activation assets, including primary sponsorship for select races during the 2021 Nascar Cup Series.

This will begin with an associate partnership RCR’s No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, as well as No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Tyler Reddick, at the Nascar Cup Series at event at Daytona International Speedway on February 14.

“BetMGM is at the forefront of the sports betting and online gaming industry and RCR can certainly relate to their pioneering vision,” RCR chairman and chief executive Richard Childress said. “This innovative relationship will provide opportunities to collaborate in new and ground-breaking ways.”

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The deal will see Betmotion’s logo added to Fluminense’s shirts, and will last for 12 months, ending on 31 January, 2022.

The operator has also created a new landing page for Fluminense fans, where it offers customers an increased deposit bonus when they register with the club’s promotional code.

“We are still looking to expand our brand,” said Mário Bittencourtt, president of Fluminense FC.

“This new partnership, with an entertainment company, is the fourth we have closed during the pandemic. It is another demonstration of the value of the Fluminense project.”

Angelo Alberoni, country manager for Betmotion, added: “Betmotion has Brazilian DNA, and partnering with one of the giants of Brazilian football is a source of pride.”

“Our intention is to promote the sport and our partnership with Fluminense shows that we are on the right path. There is nothing better than to associate our brand with a club that has so much tradition, a passionate fandom, history, victories and idols.”

In November 2020, Betmotion became a sponsor of Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB), Brazil’s premier men’s basketball league.

The deal saw Betmotion branding appear in the official communication channels of the league, as well as in on-court signage.

Sports betting regulation in Brazil has been repeatedly delayed since a measure to approve the activity was signed into law by then-president Michel Temer in December 2018.

After launching several consultations on the matter, Brazil’s current president Jair Bolsonaro appointed managers to oversee the sportsbook licensing process in August 2020.

It was expected at that time that legal wagering in the jurisdiction would go live this year.

The ‘Review of unlicensed online gambling in the UK’ was commissioned by industry association the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). It was compiled by PWC, using data collected during November and December 2020.

Key findings in the report included a significant rise in the number of British consumers using an unlicensed betting websites. This grew from 210,000 in a study commissioned by GVC Holdings (now Entain) and William Hill in 2019, to 460,000 in 2020.

The growth came despite the number of unlicensed sites listed in Google search results falling from 12% in 2019, to 5% last year.

The report also found that amounts wagered through illegal websites reached £2.80bn (€3.17bn/$3.81bn), compared to £1.4bn recorded in the 2019 study.

In response to the findings, BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said: “This new report by PWC is an impressive and comprehensive piece of work which demonstrates how the unsafe, unregulated black market is a growing threat to British punters.

“These illicit sites have none of the regulated sector’s consumer protections in place, such as strict ID and age verification checks, safer gambling messages and the ability to set deposit limits.”

Dugher urged the British government to take the report into account as part of its Gambling Act Review. The wide-ranging review of Britain’s gambling laws is aiming to ensure they are fit for the digital age.

The Gambling Commission in November launched a new consultation seeking feedback on its plans to introduce requirements to act on the information they have about a consumer’s potential vulnerability.

This included licensees putting in place stronger requirements, such as defined affordability assessments at thresholds set by the regulator.

However, the BGC raised concerns over the plans, saying affordability checks risk forcing ordinary punters towards the black market, should these checks on their income prove too intrusive and onerous.

“It is important to stress that the big increase in the black market is not an argument against more changes to the regulated industry, but an argument that we need to get them right,” Dugher said.

 “I know this evidence is inconvenient to those who seek to dismiss and play down the threat of the black market, but there is a real danger of complacency.

“The UK risks sleepwalking into changes where the main beneficiary is the unlicensed black market. We all have an interest in getting future changes right, so must take heed of this latest evidence and look at what is happening elsewhere around the world.”

Ian Proctor, chairman of Flutter Entertainment’s UK and Ireland division, said the PWC report highlighted the complex challenges operators, government and other industry stakeholders face. 

While he acknowledged that the industry had to improve consumer protection standards, Proctor warned that enhanced safeguards must not lead to restrictive regulation which makes the legal market less attractive to consumers. 

“The report on the growth of the black market published by PwC today, is an important reminder of the complex challenges operators, Government and other stakeholders must address to ensure that the review of gambling regulation delivers genuine improvements in customer protection, rather than cosmetic change which might inadvertently open the door to greater unlicensed participation in the UK market,” he explained.

The report did suggest a correlation between more restrictive regulatory conditions and offshore activity. Despite the growth in offshore players, it concluded that Britain’s black market was smaller than in other territories, where gambling regulations were stricter. 

It picked out countries such as France, Norway, Italy and Spain – where operators face tougher restrictions – as having particularly high levels of unlicensed activity.

“This analysis suggests that the UK has a more ‘open’ online gambling market and currently has a smaller unlicensed market share than our European benchmarks,” the report said.

“Whilst it is not possible to isolate the impact of individual regulatory characteristics, the above assessment suggests that jurisdictions with a higher unlicensed market share tend to exhibit one or more restrictive regulatory or licensing characteristics.”

The Gambling Commission has previously looked to play down the prospect of players migrating to offshore sites. Its chief executive Neil McArthur said figures used in PWC’s 2019 report should be treated “cautiously” in a letter to the All Party Parliamentary Group

for Gambling Related Harm.

Furthermore, he suggested the claim there was 210,000 players gambling on the black market was “not consistent with the intelligence picture, including reports received by the Commission, from the public or other appropriate bodies such as law enforcement”.

In his response to the latest PWC report, William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson instead highlighted McArthur’s warning that criminals were “demonstrating increasing sophistication, complexity and capability” in circumventing British regulations. 

“This is also our view of the gambling black market: it is a growing problem that we must confront,” Bengtsson said. “The reason is that unlicensed operators do not offer the same protections as licensed companies. They do not have any of the safer gambling protocols in place that we use, there are no age verification checks, no anti-money laundering precautions, or any of the consumer protections that are now standard in the industry.”

Bengtsson said PWC’s evidence of the black market growing was backed up by the regulator’s own successes in tackling offshore activity. He pointed out that in 2019-20, the Commission carried out 59 enforcement action against unlicensed operators, a number that had already risen to 74 in 2020-21 to date. 

“We want everyone who gambles to be certain that the operator who’s taking their bets plays by the rules,” he continued. “The problem is, that’s not always the case, and that’s a problem for our customers, for us and for the whole betting industry.  

“We are pleased that the Government has rightly included this issue as an area of focus in the Gambling Act Review consultation.”

‘The Review of unlicensed online gambling in the UK’  was commissioned by UK cross-sector trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).

It acts as a follow-up to a 2018-19 PWC study commissioned by Entain (then known as GVC Holdings) and William Hill.

The 2021 report found evidence customers using and spending at offshore sites on the rise. This was in spite of these sites becoming less visible on Google, and with little evidence of growing public awareness of black market brands.

“While unlicensed operators appear to be less visible to unsuspecting UK customers now than they were in 2018-19, there is evidence of growing use and spend of these operators,” the study explained.

PWC added that this must be considered a “meaningful issue” for the industry, as these sites pose a risk to player protection, tax collection and the fights against money laundering and match fixing.

In addition, it said these sites may not treat players fairly or have adequate responsible gambling safeguards.

The study

The report used four metrics to determine the proliferation of unlicensed online gambling.

These were public awareness of unlicensed operators; public usage of unlicensed operators; spend at these operators, and the proportion of unlicensed operators in Google search results.

The first three categories were measured through a survey of 2,363 active British gamblers in November and December 2020, which asked questions about gambling activity in the last 12 months, including 19 major unlicensed brands. 

The fourth was measured by examining unique sites within the first 10 pages of Google results. In total, 9,313 sites were examined based on 47 search terms – 24 for betting and 23 for gaming – none of which were specific searches for unlicensed sites.

Awareness of unlicensed sites declined slightly, from 47% to 44%, suggesting that around 4.5m gamblers are aware of at least one unlicensed site. PWC noted, however, that the list of sites changed between the two versions of the study and awareness of the 11 sites that appeared on both years’ lists increased from 35% to 37%.

Players who gambled more across all sites regardless of licence, the study found, were both more likely to be aware of an unlicensed site and more likely to be aware of a large number of such sites. It found that 57% of respondents were aware of at least one; 35% at least two, and 14% at least five.

PWC added that players that had lived abroad were no more aware of unlicensed sites. This suggested awareness of these sites was not driven by players who had lived in countries where the sites listed may have held a licence.

However, both usage and spend increased, according to the survey. The amount of individuals that used an unlicensed site more than doubled from 2.2% to 4.5%, representing around 460,000 people if extended to the general population. The study added that this was confirmed by web traffic data, which showed an 85% increase in traffic at the 11 sites on both lists from October 2018 to November 2020.

Unlicensed usage increased across every gambling vertical measured, but especially for bingo, where it grew from 0.7% to 2.8%, while poker had both the highest usage and the second-highest growth rate.

Similarly, the amount spent at these sites almost doubled. Consumer spending on offshore sites rose from 1.2% of total stakes sites in the previous survey to 2.3% of spend in 2020. If this was extrapolated across the population of Great Britain, it would represent total spend of £2.8bn, double the estimated £1.4bn wagered via offshore sites in the 2018 edition.

The estimate of unregulated sites making up 2.3% of igaming spend was roughly in line with a European Commission survey from 2017. That study found 2% of stakes were placed offshore.

The EC study only focused on sports betting but included unlicensed operators across land-based and online.

However, the number of unlicensed sites in Google’s results declined sharply, from 12% to 5% in 2020. PWC noted the decline was more significant across the first two pages of search results.

It added that at the majority of these sites, it was not possible to create an account with a UK IP address and account details.

However, PWC said that one reason for the decline was that the overall number of unique operators in the results declined by 41.9%. This was due to an algorithm change in favour of higher-traffic sites, rather than de-emphasising unlicensed sites.

Unlicensed sites were also more prevalent in searches for gaming terms than for betting.

Factors in choosing an operator

The survey asked players the most important factors in choosing an operator. Across all players, trust in the operator was most important, followed by easy options for withdrawing funds and competitive odds.

However, among players who used unlicensed sites, ability to bet large amounts, offering bets or games that others don’t, and ability to place live bets were all popular responses.

In addition, the survey found that players were likely to say that unlicensed operators had easier account registration processes, a wider range of offerings, easier withdrawals and a better reputation than licensed sites.

The survey also asked if certain changes could lead to players looking for new operators. From these responses, PWC concluded that major changes to gambling laws or regulations such as possible results from the ongoing Gambling Act Review may have a significant impact on unlicensed play.

It said that changes requiring more information, such as affordability checks, could lead to more than 30% of gamblers looking for new operators, while monthly stake limits may lead to 18% moving elsewhere. Maximum slot stakes, it claimed, could lead to 27% of customers migrating offshore.

Of those who said they would look for a new operator, 36.3% said they would use online searches, and 20.1% online ads as the primary method of finding a site.

Data in perspective

PWC added its estimates of online gambling usage and spend are likely to be lower than the real figures, as it couldn’t account for the “long tail” of small but numerous unlicensed sites that were not mentioned in the list. In addition, it said players may not recall or may opt not to disclose their activity and spend. 

Furthermore, it looked to focus on sites that may be accessed by an “unsuspecting” customer, and therefore didn’t fully account for customers searching specifically for unlicensed sites or getting around restrictions to some of these sites through methods such as VPNs.

It added that, compared to the Gambling Commission’s data, its survey appeared to underrepresent high-spending customers.

PWC also compared its British figures to other European countries. This suggested that unlicensed online GGR in Britain is much lower than most other countries, but said this was mostly due to lower tax rates and fewer “administrative burdens” or product restrictions.

In comparison, it said, countries such as Norway and France – where legal products are limited – tend to have the highest levels of offshore GGR.

Countries with high levels of tax – such as France – or with difficult administrative obligations, such as Spain, tend to also see much more offshore spend than the UK, it said, but less than France or Norway.

The 19 brands in the survey were selected from those that ranked highly on Google for popular keywords; those with highly ranked mobile apps, and those with high levels of traffic. The 19 also reflected those most commonly promoted by popular affiliates; those that sponsored major football clubs, and lists of major unlicensed sites produced by William Hill and the Betting and Gaming Council.

This produced a list of around 200 unlicensed sites that was filtered down to the 19 highest-traffic sites that did not restrict UK-based IP addresses.

PWC added that it included two “dummy” brands which did not exist to ensure respondents were giving accurate answers.

The study has already prompted the BGC, William Hill and Flutter Entertainment to warn the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to be cognisant of the black market as it undertakes the review of the Gambling Act.

Lyne stepped down from the role of company secretary from 1 January this year, and was replaced in the role by Graeme Blackett.

Lyne, who is also the principal of Australian Company Secretary Service, has served as company secretary of Jumbo since October 2007.

Jumbo’s chair, Susan Forrester, said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Bill for his commitment and contribution to the business over the last 11 years, particularly as a member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Management Committee and as a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.”

“His support and counsel have been greatly valued. We wish him well with his retirement”.

Graeme Blackett, who replaced Lyne in the role, has over 25 years’ experience as a company secretary, and has been senior company secretary with Company Matters for over 2 years, where he acts as company secretary to range of listed, unlisted, not-for-profit and superannuation fund clients.

Prior to joining Company Matters, Blackett held company secretarial and governance roles with National Australia Bank, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, financial services provider AMP, software company Reckon Limited, the former retail group Westfield and the former National Roads and Motorists’ Association Group.

In November, Jumbo finalised its first agreement with a government-owned lottery, as it agreed to supply Western Australia’s Lotterywest with its online software platform and related services for a period of 10 years.

Later that month, the retailer was granted a remote gambling software operating licence by the British Gambling Commission, enabling it to supply its proprietary software-as-a-service (SaaS) online platform to Commission-licensed operators.

The regulations, which had largely been submitted in consultations and to the European Commission, set out how online gambling may be conducted in the Netherlands once the vertical is legalised later this year.

Earlier versions of the regulations already banned gambling businesses from using individual athletes in advertising in an effort to protect young people, as it said these athletes were likely to be seen as role models. Non-sporting celebrities with particular appeal to young people were later added as well.

However, respondents to consultations pointed out that “sports teams are also role models for minors and young adults”, prompting these to also be covered by the ban, with an exception carved out for sponsorship of sports clubs.

While the Government noted that some gambling operators may be concerned about the effect these marketing restrictions could have on channelisation, it said that player protection was more important, and argued that channelisation should not be an end in itself but rather was only valuable if the regulated market protected players.

The rules also state that the processing fee for licences is set at €48,000.

Also outlined are certain sporting events on which operators may not accept bets. In football, there would be a ban on offering bets matches in the Dutch third division or lower, matches in under-21 or younger age categories and friendly matches not organised by global governing body Fifa.

Bets on major sporting events such as leading Dutch domestic football, Uefa and Fifa competitions, ATP and WTA tennis, horse races organised by the Dutch Trotting and Racing Foundation or the sport’s European or global governing bodies will automatically be permitted. All other events will require an analysis to be submitted beforehand.

Among the changes to the regulations following consultation is that bonuses may now be offered to players who do not explicitly opt in to receiving them. In addition, the blanket 60-day restriction on bonuses for players who have received an intervention because of their gambling habits has now been altered so that the length of the restriction now depends on the type of intervention made, with lighter-touch interventions seeing shorter restrictions and more direct action seeing a longer time period in place.

In addition, lottery providers are no longer required to engage in addiction prevention courses as other operators are, as lotteries are not required to implement the same intervention policy, so it was determined that the course would be “superfluous”.

As well as this, the regulations also include a ban on offering timed bonuses and a requirement for operators to conduct risk analyses of all their games.

In addition, the rules outline the ways in which operators must intervene when a player shows signs of problematic behaviour and sets out various technical standards, such as those for self-exclusion system Cruks.

The Dutch Remote Gambling Act is set to come into force on 1 April, with the online market set to open six months later.

Initially, KOA was scheduled to enter into law on 1 July 2020, with the market to open six months later at the start of 2021. However, in November 2019, the act’s start date was pushed back six months, meaning the market would open on 1 July 2021.

In September 2020, the launch was pushed back again until September 2021. Last month, Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker announced a third delay of one further month.

Dekker said this was because he felt slower implementation would mean a stronger environment of regulation.

The agreement will see the 2021 edition of the annual tournament renamed as the Betfred Challenge Cup.

The deal also includes sponsorship of the Women’s Challenge Cup.

Betfred’s has a long-running association with rugby league, as the bookmaker has sponsored the Super League for a number of years and will this year also become the first title sponsor of the Wheelchair Rugby League Challenge Cup.

In addition, Betfred is already title sponsor of the Women’s Super League, winning sponsorship rights in 2019.

“The Challenge Cup is Rugby League’s oldest knockout competition and even in the challenging circumstances of 2020,, we were reminded of its enduring appeal with a national television audience of 1.6m watching Leeds Rhinos beat Salford Red Devils,” Rugby Football League chief executive Ralph Rimmer said.

“We are convinced that sport will play a key role in the regional and national recovery from Covid through 2021, and determined that Rugby League and the three Betfred Challenge Cups will be a big part of that story.”

Betfred boss Fred Done added: “The Challenge Cup obviously has a rich heritage and I was also very keen to include both the Women’s Challenge Cup and the Wheelchair Challenge Cup in what is such an important year for the whole sport culminating with the World Cup in October and November.”