Revving up over rev shares
Affiliate practices in the regulatory spotlight, NCAA betting survey, Paddy Power’s self-exclusion fail, Australian offshore report +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
US regulators eye revenue-sharing deals.
NCAA survey finds gambling on campus ‘widespread’.
Paddy Power fined for push notification ‘mistake’.
Australian offshore market ‘costs economy A$3bn’, says report.
It's not a case of share and share alike, I take what i require.
Rev-share in the spotlight
The moves towards more revenue-sharing deals between operators and gaming affiliates has caught the attention of the regulators.
Cake and eat it too: Affiliates were more than happy to eschew revenue-sharing deals in favor of CPA agreements during the early stages of the US iCasino and OSB market. The major brands with US casino roots were uncomfortable with the idea of lifetime rev-share deals and affiliates were able to negotiate lucrative CPA deals.
In 2023, operators are more open to the rev-share model and, with the low-hanging fruit picked in maturing markets, affiliates are increasingly keen on rev-share.
As a result, CPA amounts have declined, with affiliates shifting to a combination of CPA and revenue sharing.
But regulators are beginning to step in.
Enter the regulators: Illinois, Massachusetts and New York are three of the biggest OSB markets, and all three have prohibited revenue-sharing agreements. Of interest, Connecticut prohibits CPA deals.
Illinois prohibited revenue-sharing from the outset.
Massachusetts’ initial regulations prohibited all third-party marketing agreements, but a waiver was issued just before launch to allow CPA agreements. The MGC has since codified the change.
New York initially allowed both CPA and revenue-sharing but recently changed its rules to prohibit revenue-sharing deals.
During the process, New York considered prohibiting CPA deals but later changed course, warning that they may revisit CPA deals if they are not in step with the responsible gaming ideals.
What if? A looming question is what happens to existing revenue-sharing agreements if other states decide to revisit their affiliate deal rules. The contracts would likely get torn up, with the operator no longer compensating the affiliate.
US notebook
Vermont is all but official: Vermont is on the precipice of becoming the latest state to join the growing ranks of legal sports-betting locales. The only holdup is Gov. Phil Scott’s signature, which he wants to put on the bill. The problem is the bill hasn’t been placed on his desk.
Per Gambling.com’s Lou Monaco, “Update: Vermont @GovPhilScott has yet to receive the state’s sports-betting bill on his desk for signature as of Saturday (5/27) – stay tuned next week.”
Sam McQuillan of Legal Sports Report laid out the proposed launch timeline on Twitter.
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NCAA betting survey
Two-thirds of College students living on campus bet regularly, according to a new survey.
Getting schooled: Betting on sports is “widespread” on College campuses, with 67% betting frequently and 63% of on-Campus students saying they have seen ads for betting.
The survey of over 3.5k young people between the ages of 18 and 22 found that 28% had made an online sports bet and a further 25% had played daily fantasy. It found that 12% had placed a bet offshore.
Varsity blues: The survey found that 16% of respondents had engaged in at least one of three risky behaviors, which included betting a few times a week or daily, betting more than $50 on a regular basis or losing more than $500 in a single day.
6% of those who had engaged in sports betting said they had lost more than $500 in a single day.
70% of higher-risk gamblers believed that they could win a lot of money if they consistently gambled.
When all respondents were asked whether they could consistently make money from gambling frequently, 11% strongly agreed and 26% somewhat agreed.
50% of those who say they bet said they agree they could make money betting.
It matters more: The survey found a strong correlation with betting on an event and watching it on TV, with 44% more likely to watch a live game if they had money riding on it. Another 34% said they were somewhat more likely to watch an event when they had bet on it.
Asked about the type of bet, 60% said they have bet in-play while 38% said they had bet on parlays.
44%, 40% and 36% had bet on the moneyline over/unders and the points spread respectively.
In terms of sports, NFL was most popular for those who had made a bet, with 57% having placed a wager on a game. Next came NBA and WNBA (39%), 32% on College basketball and 30% on College football.
76% of those who had bet did so on multiple sports.
The Super Bowl was the most popular single event (61% of those who had made a sports bet), followed by March Madness (30%).
The large majority, 60%, gamble less than $20 on each bet and nearly 83% less than $50.
Status symbols: The survey found that whether a state had regulated betting was somewhat irrelevant, with equal numbers of respondents taking part regardless of its legal status in their state.
Of the respondents, 71% were either too young to bet or resided in a state where betting was not legal.
Further reading: What the NCAA survey really says about young people gambling.
Malta courts controversy
Legislation that would give Maltese operators cover against being pursued for liabilities elsewhere in the EU risks Commission pushback.
Cover note: An attempt by the Maltese government to halt its licensed gambling operators being pursued by courts elsewhere in the EU with regard to the recovery of gray market earnings could be seen as “blatantly” undermining EU law.
According to a letter seen by iGB, Austrian-based lawyers Karim Weber and Benedikt Quarch said the legislation would “block the fundamental rights” of EU citizens.
Both have represented Austrian clients who have sought compensation from operators who, they claimed, were operating in the country illegally.
They have urged the Commission to intervene.
Self-exclusion promo fail
The UK Gambling Commission fines Paddy Power for push notification fail.
Unforced error: The operator was found to have sent promotional push notification messages to people and devices who had previously registered on the self-exclusion list of GamStop. The Commission said the mistake occurred in November 2021 with reference to an English Football League match.
The Commission said this breached rules on operators having to ensure that promotional materials are not sent to anyone who has self-excluded.
The rules also state that an operator must remove all contact details for a self-excluded person from their database.
Naughty, naughty: Despite there being “no evidence the marketing was intentional”, the Commission nonetheless opted to fine Paddy Power as a sign that it takes such breaches “seriously”.
It added that it hoped other operators “learn from the operator’s failings”.
Illegal gambling report
Offshore wagering to cost the Australian economy up to A$3bn in the next five years, says industry lobby group.
Responsible Wagering Australia, a lobby group set up by leading regulated operators Down Under has issued a report – put together on its behalf by gambling industry consultants H2 – that suggests the government will miss out on A$1.3bn in lost taxes between 2022 and 2027.
A further A$1.3bn in product fees to the country’s racing and sports bodies will also not be collected, the report estimated.
The report noted the offshore market represents around 15% of the total Australian market or A$1.13bn.
Via online searches, the report indicated that the number of illegal sportsbook offerings has risen from 47 to 84 sites in the past four years.
The total number of offshore sites found had risen to 440 from 400.
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Sports integrity notebook
Lowering the Tone: The final reckoning for Premier League striker Ivan Toney’s 232 betting breaches showed that he was more than willing to bet on matches where his club was involved, with 16 of 29 such bets placed on his team at the time to win and 13 on his team to lose.
These bets were on Newcastle but occurred when he was on loan at Wigan Athletic.
Toney was also found guilty of telling a friend he would be starting the next match.
A fair cop: Toney was eventually banned for eight months as of this month, but the FA said it would have been 15 months if he hadn’t eventually pleaded guilty to all charges.
The FA also found that Toney had a gambling addiction.
Toney responded to the judgment by saying on social media that he would soon be able to “speak with no filter”.
Tennis ban
Line call: The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned Bolivian umpire Heriberto Morales Churata for six years following multiple breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).
Morales Churata was found to have manipulated scores for betting purposes by incorrectly entering scores into a handheld device at ITF World Tennis Tour events in 2021 and 2022.
In addition to the ban, the official has been fined $10,000.
Golf partners
World Long Drive has announced a partnership with U.S. Integrity, which paves the way for the first legal wagers at the WLD Championship held in October in Atlanta.
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