UKGC to move quickly on White Paper changes
Implementation a priority says UKGC, Nevada modernizes, Vikings Casinos’ cyberattack, Crown Resorts’ multi-million dollar fine +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
Gambling Commission director says implementation is a priority.
Nevada aims to modernize gaming regulations.
Vikings Casinos suffers a cyberattack outage.
Crown Resorts fined for illegally accepting uncleared bank checks.
UKGC in a hurry
The UK Gambling Commission hopes to make “rapid progress” on key areas of the White Paper.
Miller time: The Commission has already started working on the various recommendations made in the Gambling Act Review White Paper regarding the authority’s future role, according to a blog posting from executive director of research and policy Tim Miller.
Miller noted that when the Commission makes changes to the “rule book” of licensing conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) it is “legally obliged” to consult on any changes.
But these will be “sharply focused” and he warned that with many questions of public policy having been “settled by the White Paper itself”, the consultations will “not be an opportunity to reopen those debates”.
High times: Recall, the ‘High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age’ document released last week set out plans for a new levy to fund responsible gambling research, stake limits on online slots, establish a gambling ombudsman and introduce new affordability tests.
Specific to the Commission, Miller noted it now had increased regulatory powers to tackle illegal gambling and to facilitate “cross-government collaboration on a number of areas”.
“The scale of work outlined in the White Paper is significant, and rightly so,” he added.
Move fast, break things: Miller did suggest the Commission was mindful of the trap of pushing implementation too quickly and ending up with “unintended consequences”. He also noted that the workload associated with the implementation meant there would be “very little space for the Commission to consider other policy developments”.
And he added that the focus on implementation as fast as possible “will not distract us from continuing to robustly pursue compliance with our existing requirements”.
Frictionless fiction: Meanwhile, analysts at Regulus have warned that with the Commission running at least five of the White Paper consultations, there is a “risk of distortion by regulatory fiat”.
“In the absence of good governance and robust scrutiny, these measures could be used to exert institutional control over the market by anti-gambling public health ideologues,” the team warned.
They added that the paper also appears to open up the door to the Commission to “new mechanisms for the regulator to tighten measures at whim”.
As a coda, they said that “an awful lot depends upon how stakeholders interpret one word: ‘frictionless’”.
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Nevada modernization
Nevada is the oldest legal gambling jurisdiction in the US, and a perusal of some of its antiquated gambling regulations speaks to the market’s longevity.
Per a directive from Gov. Joe Lombardo, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is seeking to alleviate some of the burdens of these outdated rules and eliminate regulatory bloat while modernizing the industry.
File that in the waste bin: Some of the recommendations are holdovers from a bygone era.
This includes the removal of 5.200(3)(a), a regulation that requires licensees to: “Provide the enforcement division of the Board prior notification by telephone, followed immediately thereafter by electronic mail transmission, each time the gaming salon is opened to patron play.”
The problem is the NGCB no longer monitors the opening and closing of gambling salons.
That means licensees are doing this for no reason, and someone at the NGCB is spending time filing these reports and taking these phone calls.
These numbers don’t match: Another recommendation harmonizes the regulation with changes in law, such as reflecting the correct commission and tax percentages for parimutuel wagering pools as 18% and 3% and not as the regulation currently reads, 13% and 2%.
Remove the handcuffs: A handful of changes have been proposed for Regulation 14, which deals with the licensing and technical standards for equipment manufacturers and distributors. In public comments, several suppliers told the NGCB the onerous licensing process puts Nevada at a disadvantage in product development.
It’s not only the industry that would like the NGCB to relax its regulations. Former NGCB chairwoman Becky Harris suggested: “Regulation 14 is probably ripe for massive editing.”
Next workshop: The NGCB is hosting meetings and workshops on the proposed regulatory changes, including one today, May 4.
US notebook
Vermont: A bill to legalize mobile-only sports betting passed its second reading in the state Senate yesterday after the addition of amendments on advertising and licensing fees. A final vote is due later today, Thursday, and if passed it is expected to gain Gov. Phil Scott’s signature.
The bill would allow for between two and six operators with a tax rate of at least 20% and a licensing fee of $500k.
Advertising restrictions include the banning of the term ‘risk-free’ from promotions.
Local reports suggested launch in January 2024.
NFL wakes up to geolocation
The NFL Players Association has sent an email to agents on the subject of gambling violations.
You got mail: The NFLPA has sent an email to all agents about the recent player suspensions related to gambling violations, according to ProFootballTalk. The email reportedly states that during the NFL’s investigations, they have learned that gambling apps are “highly sensitive and very sophisticated at tracking, among other things, user location”
We know where you live: Given this, the email suggested that agents should “be sure that the people using the app are not ‘prohibited gamblers’ and/or that the person using the app is in a location where they are allowed to place bets on the app”.
“We have confirmed that some states monitor/audit FanDuel and the other gambling apps to ensure that the companies are in compliance with state law.”
The email noted that it was as part of that monitoring that the NFL “learned of the players using the apps at work in violation of NFL rules”. “At no time should players open or use any mobile gambling app while at work,” it added.
Sports integrity notebook
The NCAA has initiated a probe into betting irregularities after suspicious activity around the baseball game between Alabama State and LSU was notified by the regulators in Ohio and New Jersey, according to AL.com.
IBIA: The International Betting Integrity Association said there were 40 incidents of suspicious betting activity identified by its members in the first quarter. The incidents were across nine sports in 22 countries, with football seeing the highest reported alerts at 15.
Viking raid
The Vikings Casinos group is still not fully operational after a cyberattack forced the closure of 11 venues.
Luc Le Borgne, director-general of the French group, said eight casinos had been reopened following the incident on April 19, but one only at 80% capacity. The remaining three are expected to reopen by May 12, but the group said it couldn’t make any guarantees because it was still investigating the hack.
Vikings IT systems found evidence of an ongoing cyberattack, and on April 25 a crisis meeting decision was taken to shut the entire system down in order to protect data.
With computers out, Vikings had no way of checking the identity of players at the entrance to the casinos, or verify ID when paying out winnings.
No theft of information has as yet been disclosed, and the group has filed an incident report with the National Information Systems Security Agency (ANSSI) and the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL).
‘Atrocious’ Crown checked
Australian casino operator Crown Resorts has been fined A$30m ($20m) for illegally accepting uncleared bank checks from gamblers at its Melbourne venue worth A$1.5bn.
Check mate: The group may have taken up to A$50m in extra profits over a 20-year period from the outlawed practice, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) said.
Players were given casino chips by signing the back of uncleared checks made out to themselves rather than the casino, which regulators said amounted to giving gamblers lines of credit.
Casinos can only accept checks in limited circumstances under state laws.
The practice, first uncovered by national newspaper The Age in 2014, was a “serious contravention” because it had not been documented, and a further regulatory probe from the VGCCC will follow.
Crown said the practice has been discontinued.
Three times a shady: It is the third fine for Crown in quick succession, following an eight-month royal commission into its failings; it was given two years to reform after being found unfit to run its Southbank complex.
Last year the beleaguered company was clobbered with penalties topping A$200m for responsible gambling failures, which included illegally allowing customers to use their credit cards.
Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation minister Melissa Horne said the Victorian government and regulator have warned Crown that there is no hiding such “atrocious” behavior.
“It’s incumbent on Crown to prove they are suitable to hold their license – otherwise they will lose it,” she said.
Betfair’s Swedish trouble
Betfair must pay Sweden’s regulator SEK4m ($390k) after offering bets on Under-21s football matches.
Don’t know they’re Bjorn: Spelinspektionen said the violations were “serious” and “occurred systematically”. Operators can only take wagers on the top four leagues in Sweden.
Betfair, part of the Flutter stable, was found to be offering odds on 148 U21 Allsvenskan matches during 2021 and 2022.
The company said it has blocked all betting on Swedish football except for the top two leagues to avoid future trouble.
St Louis’ smoking dilemma
St. Louis County is mulling a smoking ban for its casinos, in what would be a first for Missouri.
Smoke break: An indoor ban applies everywhere else in the county, except for casinos, which were excluded when the rule entered force in 2011.
The measure is up before the County Council, with health officials arguing the status quo poses a significant health threat to customers and employers.
Critics said the bill could send customers to casinos in neighboring counties where smoking is allowed.
A 2022 report from Las Vegas-based consultants C3 Gaming found smoking bans don’t contribute to any drop in revenues.
“A total smoking ban that only applies to casinos in St. Louis County would place us at a considerable competitive disadvantage to nearby casinos in Missouri, risk hundreds of good-paying jobs, and substantially impact the tax revenue and significant economic activity our properties generate,” said Michael Jerlecki, general manager and vice-0president of Hollywood Casino in Maryland Heights.
Atlantic City casino dealers, some with breathing ailments and health problems, are fighting for a landmark ban in an ongoing case with potential ramifications far beyond New Jersey.
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Waterhouse on crypto betting
CIO of the eponymous VC fund tells of his road to crypto conversion.
Not once, not twice: Tom Waterhouse, ex-founder of the eponymous Australian bookmaker and now head of his own venture capital fund, said he first encountered the phenomenon of crypto-based betting a decade ago on a trip to Asia.
“We were amazed to find operators who were doing more than ten times our volume, with turnover almost entirely in crypto,” he said.
He remains bullish on its prospects, citing the success of Stake.com and Sportsbet.io. “The growth of crypto wagering is poised to be the most significant industry shift in the coming years.”
Ride the lightning: Crypto casinos have been around almost since the inception of Bitcoin in 2008, notably providing a decentralized and untraceable workaround in regulated and unregulated markets alike.
A survey last year from blockchain analysis company Chainalysis identified about 70 overseas-based crypto casinos targeting the US, pulling in more than $10bn per year.
With the regulatory environment unclear, Waterhouse said crypto casinos and sports books must think differently in how they reach an audience.
But he added he would welcome regulation arguing that the borderless nature of industry and pace of change will force supervisors to act.
This will lead eventually to just white and black markets “with the number of unregulated (gray) markets decreasing over time”.
People get ready: The addition of crypto “is turning traditional wagering on its head”, Waterhouse said, and it will force the rest of the betting industry ecosystem to reconfigure itself in response. “Operators who embrace this shift and adapt to the changing landscape will be best positioned to succeed.”
Supply/demand: For now, Waterhouse is focused on B2B technology suppliers and helping forward-thinking operators use new tools to take on incumbents in big markets. “In highly taxed and mature markets, a select few operators earn the majority of profits due to their superior operational efficiencies and low customer acquisition costs,” he said.
“By utilizing AI, wagering operators can gain a competitive advantage by providing a more personalized and targeted experience to customers.”
Event calendar
May 8: GeoComply Challenger Series Summit, New York
May 9: SBC North America Player Protection Symposium
May 18: Gaming in Spain, Madrid
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