Unreliable witness: UKGC chief avoid stats question
UK official statistics furore, GambleAware under attack, Betsson blacklisted, Gammix’s record Dutch fine, regtech focus – IGT/Everi +More
Gambling Commission CEO refuses to answer yes or no question on the organization’s own stats.
In +More: Iowa nixes college betting charges, Virginia skill games.
GambleAware under fire from Good Law Project over charitable status.
Betsson blacklisted after targeting Finnish market without a license.
The Netherlands regulator slams Gammix with biggest fine yet.
A look at what the IGT/Everi merger might mean in the regtech space.
Any way you say it, the charade goes on.
UKGC’s commitment issues on PG data
Wherever I lay my stat: There are doubts about the reliability of the data used in the government’s Gambling Act Review after the Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes refused to answer a direct yes or no question about whether the statistics on the prevalence of problem gambling are reliable.
Off Rhodes: At the Betting and Gaming Council AGM last Thursday, Rhodes was asked whether the rate of problem gambling relied upon by the Gambling Commission in recent public consultations was in fact reliable. He was also asked whether the problem gambling rate from the new Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) – due to be published in July – would be reliable.
In both instances he refused to give a straight yes or no, despite repeated prompting.
The Commission’s reticence was picked up the following day by racing journalist Lydia Hislop on the Nick Luck Daily podcast.
No comparison: The Commission has previously confirmed the new GSGB, which in November appeared to show a problem gambling rate of 2.5%, could not be compared with rates of problem gambling from previous telephone surveys (0.2%) and the NHS Health Survey (0.25%).
Another fine mess: Rhodes’ aversion to answering questions on the subject comes as the Commission faces criticism over its plans to replace the so-called ‘gold standard’ NHS Health Survey as the source of its official statistics with its own in-house push-to-web survey.
Overstated and over here: Last month, the regulator announced its development work on the GSGB had been endorsed in an independent review conducted by Prof. Patrick Sturgis of the London School of Economics. However, the Commission failed to mention Prof. Sturgis’ warning of a “non-negligible risk” that the GSGB could “substantially overstate the true level of gambling and gambling harm in the population.”
In a blog published last week, the Commission stated the “key is to be open and transparent about the strengths and limitations of the GSGB methodology approach.”
But once again it failed to mention Prof. Sturgis’ doubts.
The blog claimed the review had concluded the GSGB is “robust” but this appears to be untrue. The review contains no such assessment.
Injudicious silence? Rhodes’ refusal to back the Commission’s stats is awkward given the organization’s stated aim of increasing trust. There may also be legal ramifications if the Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have willfully used unreliable statistics in their public consultations.
Prevailing wind: The problem gambling prevalence rate from the NHS Health Survey was used to calculate thresholds for (among other things) the forthcoming affordability check thresholds, interaction quotas for remote operators and safer gambling levy rates.
One industry source said: “It is astonishing that the Gambling Commission is not prepared to confirm that it has confidence in its own statistics.”
“If it transpires that it knowingly included unsound evidence in its consultations, it is possible we may see legal challenges. Indeed, a review of policy would appear almost inevitable.”
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North America
Iowa: Prosecutors have asked a Story County District Court judge to dismiss all criminal sports-betting charges against four Iowa State University athletes, according to the Des Moines Register.
Defense attorneys pried loose evidence in recent weeks that raised questions about the legality of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI’s) gambling probe into student athletes
Specifically, GeoComply reportedly told the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Jan. 26 it was disabling the DCI’s account because criminal investigators “may have exceeded the intended and outlined scope of its… access-and-use privileges.”
Virginia: The state legislature has passed a bill that re-legalizes skill games and has sent it to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk for approval. In October, the Supreme Court of Virginia overturned an injunction issued by a lower court that prevented enforcement of a statewide ban enacted by the General Assembly in 2020.
North Carolina: Seven licenses are set to launch OSB operation on March 11 when the market officially opens. Caesars, via a partnership with the Easter Band of Cherokees, has already launched on or near two tribal properties.
The seven waiting for the starting pistol are bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics, Flutter’s FanDuel and Underdog Sports.
Ontario: The ban on operators using athletes and celebrities to advertise their online offering has come into force. Under the new rules, no active or retired athletes can be used in anything other than RG messaging.
Alberta: The province has earmarked $1m from the provincial budget to inaugurate a study into online gambling. It has the express intention of “reducing the regulatory burden on business and finding ways to increase contributions to Alberta charities and community facilities.”
Georgia: A standalone bill to regulate DFS failed to advance from the state House’s Economic Tourism and Development committee. The hope now is that DFS language can be included in the sports-betting-enabling legislation passed by the Senate on Feb. 1 that is still awaiting a hearing in the House.
Alabama state senators are this week expected to debate a revised version of the gambling and lottery legislation passed by the House in February.
Incoming amendments, to be voted on September 10 by senators, include a statewide lottery and a requirement that the governor negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Global
Malaysia: The messaging app Telegram has pledged closer cooperation with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to better combat scams and illegal online gambling, according to Asia Gaming Brief.
The pledge was the result of a meeting between Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov and Malaysia’s communications minister Fahmi Fadzil in Dubai.
The nature of Telegram’s anonymity and encrypted messaging capabilities have made it attractive to those seeking to engage in illicit activities, including gambling and scams.
Telegram has a Malaysian user base of around 15 million.
Careers+More
New Jersey: Having ushered in both sports betting and iCasino on his watch, David Rebuck is hanging up his regulatory spurs after 13 years as enforcement director at the Division of New Jersey Gaming Enforcement.
Betr has poached FanDuel’s director of regulatory affairs, Andrew Winchell, to be its new head of government affairs. He will have a full in-tray, with Betr having recently exited Florida after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the Florida Gaming Control Commission.
GambleAware under fire
Charity case: The Good Law Project (GLP) in association with Gambling with Lives has launched an attack on GambleAware, claiming the funding it receives from the gambling industry disqualifies it as an independent charity.
The campaign wants the Charity Commission to “take action and investigate whether GambleAware is breaking the law by failing in their duties to provide unbiased information.”
The GLP said GambleAware accepts the “false narrative that gambling is a problem for individuals instead of a problem with the industry.”
The great divide: The GLP effort drew criticism on LinkedIn from Lee Willows, founder and executive chair at social responsibility organization ESG Gaming, who said the move was “incredibly divisive.”
“The consequence of this action, if true, may well be a lengthy investigation that will go on for several months,” he added.
“During this period of change in the sector, is that the best thing right now?” he asked.
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Betsson blacklisted
Cross the Finnish line: Betsson has been placed on Finland’s blacklist after losing a court case against the country’s police force.
All banks, payment service providers and virtual currency providers are now required to block money transfers from Finland to the Maltese-licensed operator.
It is the first time a gambling operator has appeared on the National Police Board (NBP) blacklist.
Betsson, headquartered in Sweden, was fined $2.6m in May 2023 for allegedly targeting the Finnish market without a license.
Karma police: According to the NPB, Betsson had created and promoted content tailored to the Finnish market in violation of the Lottery Act, including banner advertisements on affiliate websites, blogs and videos.
The firm appealed, lost the case, and now all 14 of Betsson Group’s brands are shut out of Finland.
Only the state-owned Veikkaus is allowed to provide gaming activities within the country; however, Finland is transitioning away from the monopoly model from 2026.
Legal experts said there are questions over Betsson’s future chances of obtaining a license when the market does open, given it has been found to be in breach of the rules.
Gammix’s record Dutch fine
The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has fined Malta-based online casino company Gammix €19.7m for operating in the Netherlands without a license. This is the highest fine the KSA has administered.
The amount of the fine was decided by, among other things, the estimated turnover from Dutch players, the lack of age verification, the possibility of autoplay and turboplay encouraging excessive gaming and “other unreasonable conditions.”
Not you again: The fine follows a previous penalty of €4.4m imposed on Gammix in June 2022 for failing to bar Dutch players from rantcasino.com and nordslot.com. Both are still in operation along with other Gammix brands such as betoriginal.com, bluvegas.com, cashimashi.com, goslot.com, vegadream.com and scatters.com.
The original fine was “collected”, according to the KSA, although Gammix has objected to the KSA’s action.
The KSA fined at least 12 operators last year, with three of them being repeat offenders. In addition to Gammix, Bingoal and Goldwin have been punished twice.
Out with a bang: KSA chair René Jansen, who is set to retire in July, said his organization would continue to take action against illegal operators: “We often see that illegal operators pay little attention to player wellbeing and do not adhere to responsible gambling practices. This case exemplifies this with the absence of clear age controls, which can be highly detrimental.”
Regtech focus – IGT/Everi
An important element highlighted on the call with analysts following the announcement of the split-then-merger of IGT’s gaming and iCasino business with Everi is the potential to integrate the latter’s regtech products across IGT’s systems.
Joining the dots: Randy Taylor, Everi CEO, said that by pairing IGT’s business system with Everi’s fintech capabilities – within which sits the regtech elements – the combination would be able to “connect the patron with our casino customers.”
This can reduce friction and create a better patron experience, he added, suggesting: “We believe our combined products and services will provide superior customer support.”
One example of this, he said, comes with Everi’s digital wallet where it connects to a game either by connecting directly to a casino operating system or through a third-party connection. The complementary combined offerings “should create a best-in-class wallet solution for casino operators and improve the patron experience, which will ultimately increase the adoption of cashless wallet solutions,” Taylor argued.
“We plan to improve the operability of features and functions and drive more innovation that broadens the ecosystem of product and service offerings for customers and their patrons,” he added.
“Additionally, there’s an opportunity to leverage global reach to more rapidly expand every fintech product and service into new international markets.”
GuardDog invests in idPair
Underdog Fantasy’s responsible gambling innovation fund GuardDog has completed its first investment, selecting single-customer-view provider idPair as its first recipient.
Further reading: idPair investor Roger Ehrenberg on the importance of getting it right on RG.
Calendar
Mar 5-7: SBC Summit Rio
Mar 20: Kindred Sustainable Gambling Conference, London
Mar 27-28: Player Protection Forum, London
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