UK White Paper ‘could be’ May
More delays for the White Paper, Texas potentials excite analysts, Tennessee rethink, Gib FATF grey list news +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
The UK’s gambling White Paper is months away, not weeks.
Gov Abbott’s comments give gambling proponents hope in Texas.
Bureau of Indian Affairs proposals in the spotlight.
Gibraltar still has work to do to get off the FATF grey list.
A gambling ad ban irks Belgian regulator.
There is a land that I heard of.
White Paper delay
The long-awaited UK government’s gambling White Paper isn’t likely to appear until late spring, according to sources .
Nuts in May: The recent reshuffle and government department reorganization has caused another delay to the long-overdue White Paper on gambling, which is now unlikely to appear until after the local elections in May, sources say.
The industry cannot even be sure which minister is currently in charge of the process.
Sports minister Stuart Andrew, tipped at the time of the reshuffle to take over the gambling brief from departing minister Paul Scully, told the House of Commons last week that he would inform MPs of who would be in charge at a later date.
DCMS refused to confirm or deny the appointment to C+M and Andrew himself has also refused to comment when approached.
All write on the night: Sources suggested the so-called write-around process, whereby other cabinet ministers and departments are informed of what is being proposed, has not yet started.
It is thought that it would take a number of weeks to complete, which would leave any decision perilously close to the period of government purdah ahead of the local elections on May 4.
Six is the magic number: If appointed, Andrew will be the sixth minister to take charge of the gambling brief since the government first announced a gambling review in 2020. His voting record suggests he is a friend of the industry, having consistently lobbied for less regulation; against giving local authorities more power over fixed-odds terminals; and against extending the horserace betting levy to overseas bookies.
Andrew has a lot on his plate. His first act as Sports minister was to announce the creation of an independent football regulator, with the aim of protecting clubs and encouraging financial sustainability.
The “bold plan” (their words) contained no reference to gambling or club sponsorships, which are expected to be featured in the much-delayed White Paper.
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Texas blossoms
Comments from Gov. Greg Abbott about what form of gambling expansion he might support has excited hopes about both land-based and online.
The last picture show: Speaking last week to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Abbott said he would likely support a broad entertainment–led resort with added gaming. “If it can be built (by) a professional operation that provides a form of entertainment for people, that’s something I can be open to,” he told the paper.
He added that a “gaming version of the Great Wolf Lodge” would fit the bill. Great Wolf is a nationwide chain of indoor water parks, which entered into a strategic deal with gaming REIT VICI in 2021.
Picking up on Abbott’s comments, analysts at Jefferies said their source and channel checks suggested there was “notable movement” on both land-based and/or OSB “for the first time in recallable history through a statewide voter referendum”.
Jefferies pointed out that the “openness” of the Governor has “historically been a critical success factor in legalization efforts”.
Deep in the heart of Texas: The casinos effort is led by the Texas Destination Resort Alliance, which is supported by Las Vegas Sands and other public operators. HB 2070/HJR 97 and SB 736/SJR 39 provide for licenses through the racetracks and investment of $250m-$2bn.
The bills include provision for OSB skins to be sold subject to a voter referendum to amend the constitution.
The legislature meets in March but any failure then could postpone any effort until the next session in 2025.
Houston, we have a problem: Commenting last Friday during the Gaming & Leisure Properties earnings call, CEO Peter Carlino was skeptical of the potential for resorts gaming in Texas. But he held out more hope for sports betting.
“The teams are involved,” he added. “Texas is tough; I think it’s going to be a multistep process.”
Meanwhile, Ed Pitoniak, CEO at VICI, which bought the Great Wolf Lodge park last year, said a market such as Texas would be exciting given the “capital allocation opportunities (that) a market like that could represent”.
Tribal power play
The Bureau of Indian Affairs proposals could significantly alter the balance of power between tribal and commercial gaming interests.
Tribal split: C+M previously touched on the proposed changes to tribal gaming rules by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). In today’s edition they will receive a much-deserved deeper dive. If enacted, the proposed rules would shift the balance of commercial tribal power in the US gambling space, by:
Providing tribes the opportunity to offer statewide online gambling without a commercial license.
Granting tribes the opportunity to increase their catalog of Class III games.
Allowing tribes to build and operate casinos outside of historically tribal lands.
Trust issues: Tribes overwhelmingly support the Class III and online provisions (which is covered in detail at Gambling.com). That is not the case with the proposed land-in-trust changes, which are far more divisive.
There are two main tribal camps:
Tribes that operate casinos, on tribal lands, under the existing rules.
Tribes that would like to operate casinos outside of historic tribal lands.
Tribes that own and operate profitable casinos are concerned that the new proposal would create a free-for-all, where tribes with strong real estate portfolios could create a chokepoint that decimates existing casinos on tribal lands.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are one such tribe.
In a letter to the BIA, the tribe stated: “The Tribe’s primary concern is that the proposed regulations minimize the importance of the location of land relative to the applicant tribe’s aboriginal lands and/or existing reservation.”
There is also opposition from commercial casino operators and towns.
The former is opposed for obvious reasons. The latter, like the town of Kent, CT, fears that non-gaming tribes (lacking land-in-trust or federal recognition) will be able to build casinos.
“Moreover, the proposed regulations, while giving “great weight” to the tribal concerns, give no weight to the comments or concerns of the local community or to the state in the decision-making process.”
Extension: The public comment period is slated to end tomorrow (March 1), but several entities have requested a 90-day extension:
Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association
Missouri Gaming Association
Iowa Gaming Association
Louisiana Casino Association
US notebook
Wait until your father gets home: The Tennessee Lottery will host a hearing on Wednesday, March 1 where it is expected to discuss the state’s unique-in-the-US rule that requires a 10% hold percentage. To date, the rule has been loosely enforced, but the Lottery could look to beef up enforcement and penalties.
Massachusetts: WynnBET at the Boston Encore Harbor has stopped all betting on NCAA women’s college basketball after illegal wagers were taken on a Boston College women’s basketball game in contravention of Massachusetts Gaming Commission rules.
The breach is the fourth of its kind since retail betting was introduced at the end of January.
Gibraltar FATF boost
Gibraltar goes some way towards removing its FATF grey listing.
Two out of three ain’t bad: Gibraltar has gone some way to removing itself from the increased monitoring on the part of the Financial Action Task Force and European AML oversight body MONEYVAL but remains on the grey list, according to the latest FATF update.
The FATF found Gibraltar had demonstrated that its service providers including gaming companies are now using a range of “effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” for AML and countering the financing of terrorism breaches.
The FATF added that specifically it had seen evidence of more enforcement actions, the imposition of financial penalties and the publishing of the results of cases.
Not there yet: However, the FATF said the authorities in Gibraltar should “continue to work on” implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies, including by showing that it is able to pursue more final confiscation judgments “commensurate with the risk and context of Gibraltar”.
In a press release, the Gibraltar government said a further progress report would come in May.
Background: Gibraltar was placed on the FATF grey list in June last year at the same time as the increased monitoring of Malta came to an end.
Awks: As detailed by C+M, Gibraltar is at the center of 888’s recently admitted AML failures around VIP customers from the Middle East.
The Gibraltar Gambling Commission said at the end of last month it was “reviewing and discussing the outcome of the internal investigation in due course”.
In other news: A Gibraltar court has issued a freezing order on £5m of assets of former Mansion CEO Karel Christian Mañasco. The company claims Mañasco dishonestly obtained luxury cars, high-value watches, bonuses and allowances using company money.
Ad ban irks Belgian regulator
The head of Belgium’s gambling watchdog has warned a proposed ad ban risks pushing punters towards the black market.
You’re not helping: Agali Clavie, president of the Belgium Gaming Commission, appearing on Bel RTL's morning show, said the Justice Ministry’s attempts to crackdown on advertising would only benefit illegal operators.
“We want the player to remain in the legal gaming circuit,” said Clavie. “And if this circuit can no longer advertise, there is a risk that the player will turn to the illegal circuit and there we cannot carry out real checks.”
“Unfortunately, these illegal operators are becoming more and more important on the internet.”
Last year, the Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Flemish Liberal) announced that, from July 2023, television, radio and cinemas would no longer carry gambling commercials.
Online ads that feature video images or imagery are also expected to be outlawed, with further measures entering force around sport sponsorship in 2024.
Missing you: Belgium’s National Lottery has escaped the embargo, however, which Clavie said was “double standards” given it is a monopoly run by the state.
“The question is not who organizes the game but what the game is,” she said.
“It is understandable that some games are less dangerous than others, but this is not necessarily the case with all National Lottery products.”
Fought the law: While the pendulum swings towards advertising prohibition across Europe, industry figures from the UK, Netherlands, and Denmark have all aired their fears that a draconian approach risks undermining regulated, legal markets.
“Situations across Europe differ of course, but it’s really important that regulators do publicly speak out in support of a well-functioning, regulated market,” said Maarten Haijer, secretary general at the European Gaming and Betting Association.
“The only alternative is the black market and that is in nobody’s interest.”
Copa del Rey match-fixing
A Spanish court is investigating alleged match fixing in a Copa del Rey game between Huracan Melilla and Levante in 2021, with a former player arrested over suspect bets placed.
Eight nil! Eight bloody nil! LaLiga filed a formal complaint to the National Police Center for Sports Integrity and Gambling (CENPIDA) following an anonymous tip-off after top-flight side Levante thrashed their fifth-tier opponents 8-0.
A regional court of Melilla has questioned six unnamed people, including a former Huracan Melilla player, about their involvement in fixing several matches in order to profit from betting, LaLiga said in a statement.
Huracan Melilla said in a statement that they will fully comply with the investigation having “always defended fair and clean play”.
The Copa del Rey is organized by the Spanish Football Association rather than LaLiga, which runs the top two divisions in Spain.
All the small things: In January, 23 people, including several soccer players, were arrested as part of a wider European probe into suspected match-fixing.
Individuals from non-professional leagues in Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar are accused of running a syndicate that won about $530,400 by placing minor bets across 30 games, with payouts too small to raise red flags, police said.
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Newslines
BetDeluxe has been hit with a fine of A$50k by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for breaching spam-unsubscribing rules.
Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen is set to become a BetMGM board member after Entain was unanimously approved for a gaming license by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
BetMGM has announced a new pledge to prominently feature responsible-gaming messages in its marketing and advertising campaigns beginning March 1, in alignment with the start of Problem Gambling Awareness Month.
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