Bally’s-owned Gamesys under fire
UKGC action, California rejection, Georgia moves, the Token Word +More
Bally’s-owned Gamesys hit with £6m fine by UK Gambling Commission.
In +More: Vermont launches, Malta operator suspensions.
California sports-betting bill doomed as operators back tribal opposition.
Sports betting back on the agenda in Georgia.
Chilean self-exclusions soar.
The Token Word: Talking Turkey + SEC approves a Bitcoin ETF.
So don't you play with me, 'cause you're playing with fire.
Gamesys under fire
UK Gambling Commission fines operator £6m.
Customer failings: The UK Gambling Commission has fined Gamesys £6m for repeated AML and customer care failings, causing UK anti-gambling charity Gambling With Lives to attack it on a number of fronts.
The charity did not respond when Compliance+More asked it to substantiate its claims.
Gambling With Lives was formed by bereaved parents who blame their children’s deaths on gambling harm.
“You cannot even begin to understand their loss but they are a campaign group – a very powerful one and a very aggressive one,” said an analyst in the sector.
Sitting duck: The fine makes Gamesys an easy target for anti-gambling campaigners. The Gambling Commission’s assessment of its operations between November 2021 and July 2022 concluded Gamesys:
Was not always interacting with customers who may be at risk of or experiencing harms associated with gambling.
Relied on historical financial records (such as bankruptcies) as an indicator of gambling harm.
Failed to implement a system around deposit limits to identify potentially risky behavior.
And perhaps most alarmingly, responsible gambling interaction involved the recommendation of new games and promotions.
Small beer: One analyst noted the numbers quoted by the Commission were at the lower end of the scale compared to previous actions:
One customer deposited £8,255 within three days of opening an account, another lost £5,968 within five weeks of opening an account and another lost £17,482 within 34 days of opening an account.
AML checks did not take place despite one customer depositing £14,585 in a 28-week period, another depositing £18,884 in just over six months and another depositing £34,280 in five-and-a-half months.
Inadequate customer due diligence and being over-reliant on third-party information (such as internet research) or the customer’s verbal assurances, including one who deposited over £25,000 in three months, another who deposited over £58,000 in six months and another who deposited over £65,000 in six months.
A Bally’s statement released to Compliance+More said: “The UK operations have since implemented design enhancements to its customer journey, including introducing stake and additional deposit limits for all customers, and further strengthening the approach used to identify at-risk customers.”
It added that the UK operations will “undertake an independent audit of its enhanced processes by November 22, 2024.”
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+More
US
Vermont today becomes the 38th state nationwide to allow sports betting. Three legal betting apps have been approved to offer wagering: DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel. The launch comes ahead of the first round of the NFL playoffs and during the NBA and NHL regular seasons.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will convene a regional conference to discuss responsible gaming policies on May 14, State House News Service reported. Officials of the Northeast Council on Problem Gambling from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont and industry stakeholders will be present.
With the one-year anniversary of legal sports betting in the Bay State around the corner, the gaming authority is meeting with operators in anticipation of strengthening responsible gaming policies.
The Alabama House Republican Caucus met this week to discuss how legislation could help reduce underground activity. Last year, a group of Alabama House members began studying illegal gambling in the Yellowhammer State and how possible legislative updates could reduce the huge number of illegal casinos that are active.
They will present findings and suggestions for a bill in the session that starts February 6.
Two sports-betting bills have been introduced in Missouri including one that links OSB legislation with the approval of VLTs. SB 852 would allow the state’s 13 riverboat casinos to operate retail betting and partner with up to three online sports-betting operators, and each professional sports team to partner with one sports-betting operator.
SB 824, meanwhile, would legalize sports betting with a 10% tax rate and regulate VLTs across the state.
Global
Duck and dive: UK advertising regulators have said a TV ad for Happy Tiger Bingo, which aired in October and November 2023, flaunted age-restriction rules. The ad featured a testimonial by a man described in on-screen text as a “postgraduate student” telling viewers how much fun he had playing bingo.
Although 25 in real life, his billing as a student was enough to breach the rules on featuring anyone who is or appears to be under that age.
Game off: The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has suspended the B2C license of Rush Gaming – which operates FansBet.com and OneBet.com – with immediate effect. Although it did not disclose the full reason for the suspension, the MGA said licenses “can be suspended if operators breach gambling-specific regulations or laws.”
Cali. opposition
Killing it: The major operators have lined up behind the tribal opposition to the latest sports-betting initiative put forward by the Eagle 1 grouping, apparently dooming the always sketchy plans. The Sports Betting Alliance, which includes MGM Resorts and Entain’s BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel, has publicly joined the critics representing the majority of tribes in opposing the planned measure.
“We recently learned that the authors of two sports-wagering initiatives in California are trying to find financial support for signature gathering from sports-betting operators,” the alliance said in a statement
“In the interest of clarity, and consistent with our previously stated opposition to these measures, we can commit that SBA won’t be funding or otherwise supporting either of these sports-wagering initiatives.”
Kasey Thompson of Eagle 1 Acquisition had previously indicated that, despite having launched the petition process, it would be up to the operators to pitch in to further the measures chances.
But Thompson told PlayUSA yesterday that he hadn’t asked the operators to contribute financially to the effort.
Merely a flesh wound: “That is natural for them to come out against as we are the most tribal initiative ever that puts 100% ownership and control in tribal hands,” Thompson told the website.
The key California tribes have remained steadfast in their opposition to the Eagle 1 proposal, calling it a “clown car” effort on social media.
Georgia OSB move
Peach cobblers: Georgia’s Senate Regulated Industries voted 8-4 on Tuesday to advance Senate Bill 172, which would legalize, regulate and tax sports betting in the state. It will now go before the full Senate for further debate. However, a constitutional amendment is eventually required to ensure it takes effect.
Two-thirds of both the House and Senate would have to back the proposals before they go before voters in a statewide referendum.
Having failed in an attempt to get a bill through last year, Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert is once again the driving force.
Cowsert will float a new constitutional amendment this year to authorize only sports betting, after conceding that logging support could be like finding “a magic potion.”
Last year, senators also rejected a bill that would have authorized sports betting and betting on horse races without a constitutional amendment.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Carden Summers plans to introduce an amendment allowing sports betting and casinos, and Sen. Brandon Beach, also a Republican, plans an amendment allowing sports betting, casinos and betting on horse races.
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Chilean regulation
Self-excluded individuals increase by 62%.
You do it to yourself: Following the introduction of the new regulations contained in Circular 102, the number of players who have voluntarily excluded themselves from betting has risen from 1,600 in September 2021 to 2,571 as at the end of November 2023.
According to the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos in Chile, of the 2,571 self-excluded players, two-thirds are men and nearly 15% are located in the BioBio region.
The next largest number came from the metropolitan area of Santiago with 13.8%, while 13.7% are in La Araucanía.
Chore: Half of the players who self-excluded did so in person – at a casino or at the Superintendence of Gaming Casinos headquarters – while 47% completed their self-exclusion through their unique password and only 1% did so through the authorized website.
This is perhaps not surprising given the last option forces users to download the unique voluntary self-exclusion form, fill it out and sign it before a notary and then re-upload it.
Any adult can undergo the voluntary self-exclusion procedure, which involves renouncing their right to enter all gambling establishments, whether private or state-owned.
The Token Word
Turkey’s finance minister has said the country is finalizing crypto regulations that aim to make the industry safer for its citizens and help it off the naughty list of countries with weak anti-money laundering controls.
In an interview with domestic media, Mehmet Şimşek said the rules are near completion, with Turkey’s central bank to regulate and oversee crypto exchanges in a manner akin to its oversight of traditional financial institutions.
Turkey is on the Financial Action Task Force gray list, and is considered to have strategic deficiencies in its regimes to combat flows of illicit money.
The country is only behind the US, UK and India in terms of raw crypto transactions per year, topping $170bn in activity, according to experts Chainalysis.
Breaking: SEC (finally) approves first spot Bitcoin ETFs.
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