Alabama swings for the fences
Alabama proposals, GAMSTOP numbers, NSW ATMs, Canadian warning +More
Alabama proposes bill to legalize gambling following black market investigation.
In +More: Eagle 1 ends California bid, Virginia gaming bills.
GAMSTOP reports record numbers opting to self-exclude.
New South Wales battles rogue ATMs.
Canada sees spike in suspicious transactions related to online gambling.
Alabama proposals
Politicians back bill to legalize gambling in the Yellowhammer State.
Roll Tide: A year-long investigation into Alabama’s gambling black market has resulted in proposals to bring retail casinos, lottery and sportsbooks to the Yellowhammer State. Rep. Andy Whitt, among others, is sponsoring a bill set for the fresh legislative session, beginning February 6.
Whitt and wisdom: Whitt did the rounds of both legal and illegal venues across the state, and during his trip learned that officials had mistaken many underground operations for legitimate businesses.
Serving a district with no legal gambling facilities and no apparent possibilities of having one, Whitt is serving up proposals that would create a gambling commission tasked with licensing and regulating operators, and enforcing any wrongdoing.
Initially, industry watchers had expected limited proposals around gaming, however Whitt has promised a wide-ranging bill that will account for multiple parts of the industry, at once.
Whole nine yards: “We don’t want to have to keep coming back and doing things one at a time,” he told the Alabama Political Reporter. “The Speaker wanted this bill to be comprehensive. The governor’s office has been clear that she wants a comprehensive bill. That’s what we’re doing.”
Get off my land: Immediate (and somewhat unusual) opposition has appeared in the form of the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), which has been busy lobbying elected officials to shoot down any gambling legislation.
Local media reported an unnamed politician stating the organization would “make my next election pretty difficult” if they backed Whitt’s bill.
ALFA issued a statement noting it would do all it could “to prevent the passage or limit the expansion of gambling in the state.”
“We oppose gambling in all forms, including casino gaming, state lottery, sports betting, electronic gaming and online gambling,” it said.
Several neighboring states have opened their doors to sports books in recent years and, with Georgia taking another run, several major cities on the Dixie border face the prospect of watching tax dollars slip away.
Feels so right: The first version of the bill is expected to appear in the coming weeks, which Whitt noted is being “written 100 percent by legislators without any input from special interests.” Having the backing of the Speaker and leading Republicans in the House gives it a better shot of passing than any previous effort, experts believe.
“I think we have a real chance to pass this one, because it will address every issue that people have brought up over the last several years,” Whitt said.
“In fact, I’d say that even with the new casinos that will be allowed in the bill, we’ll have an overall reduction in gambling in the state because we’ll finally be able to close down a lot of these illegal operators and keep them closed.”
Looking to break into North America? Need help with your license applications?
Compliable’s platform guarantees a smoother licensing journey for operators and suppliers and can be applied across multiple states.
Our team will be at ICE London (6-8 February). Click here to book a meeting.
+More
North America
California: To no great surprise, the sports-betting initiative launched by Eagle 1 Acquisition Company has been officially withdrawn by the sponsors after running into implacable opposition from the tribes.
Coming up: See next week’s Compliance+More for more on what is next for any effort to bring sports betting to California.
Virginia: Two new gaming-related bills were approved by a state Senate sub-committee earlier this week, including one to allow wagering on Virginia college teams and another that would allow for a sixth casino in the state.
The gaming sub-committee of the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee approved Senate Bill 124 permitting betting, with the exemption of proposition wagering on Virginia college sports.
Meanwhile, Bill 628 would replace Richmond, which has twice voted against a casino, with Petersburg as the venue for a sixth casino.
Global
India: The Finance Ministry has confirmed the Indian government is unlikely to change the 28% goods and services tax on the gaming industry, according to reports. Under Indian law, operators are required to pay 28% to the government on each bet placed.
The law took effect on October 1 last year but the authorities are seeking to apply it with retroactive effect to July 2017.
GAMSTOP breaks record
Calling it quits: The UK’s self-exclusion program for internet gambling, GAMSTOP, has reported its largest ever intake, with a 9.5% YoY increase from 2022 to 2023. According to data from the charity, a record-breaking 92,000 vulnerable punters chose to self-exclude in the last year.
In May 2023, some 8,590 people signed up, making the month in which the Premier League season ended the busiest for the charity.
By the end of December 2023, GAMSTOP recorded a total registration figure of 433,357 since its founding in April 2018.
Most GAMSTOP registrants (55%) choose the longest exclusion period that is presently offered, which is five years. Customers can self-exclude for shorter periods, from six months to a year.
Young money: Data from the second half of 2023 revealed a consistent rise in the number of registrations from youths and young adults, with the 16-to-24 age group clocking a 31% YoY increase in registrations.
The charity has been conducting proactive outreach in universities and is gearing to publish findings of its annual report on student gambling.
“We want to continue raising awareness of GAMSTOP to anyone who might benefit from self-exclusion and to the friends and families of anyone affected by gambling,” said CEO Fiona Palmer.
BettingJobs is the global leading recruitment solution provider for the iGaming, Sports Betting, and Lottery sectors. Backed by a 20-year track record of successfully supporting the iGaming industry, it's no surprise BettingJobs is experiencing rapid growth and outstanding results. Does your company plan to expand its teams to cope with strong demand and growth?
Contact BettingJobs today where their dedicated team members will help you find exactly what you are looking for.
New South Wales penalties
Fortune teller: The Australian state of New South Wales has issued 16 penalty notices and opened 13 prosecutions for venues that have placed ATMs inside their premises in breach of regulations. Regulators in the Liquor & Gaming NSW body are engaging in a “significant escalation in enforcement.”
Licensed venues are being warned to comply with gaming harm reduction measures or face enforcement action.
The regulator recently published details of all penalty notices and prosecutions for corporate bookmakers in 2023, including previously undisclosed prosecutions.
In a press release, the regulator singled out the successful prosecution of the licensee of an inner Sydney venue that breached the Gaming Machines Regulation 2019.
The operators had installed an ATM in a room adjacent to where gaming was occurring.
Take it away: Jane Lin, L&G NSW’s executive director of regulatory operations, said the position of the ATM was a clear breach of rules, which stipulates that a licensee must not permit a cash dispensing facility to be located in a part of a hotel or a club premises in which approved gaming machines are located.
“This is important because having such ready access to cash withdrawals can make it easier for gamblers to lose track of what they are spending, while locating ATMs further away from gaming machines can encourage them to have a break in play,” Lin said.
L&G NSW is also targeting other gambling harm minimisation measures involving withdrawals from credit cards, as part of a targeted compliance campaign over the summer.
Inspectors have carried out nearly 500 visits to high-risk hotels and clubs since December 1, 2023.
Canadian warning
Laundromat blues: Canada’s financial intelligence agency has issued new research revealing how online gambling sites are being used to wash dirty money. In a bulletin, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac) said the popularity of online gambling soared during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 legalization of single-event sports betting in Canada.
As a result, suspicious transaction reports related to online gambling between 2016 and 2023 have spiked.
“Online gambling sites offer prospective money launderers opportunities to conceal the source of their funds by using multiple different deposit and withdrawal methods,” the bulletin said.
That old chestnut: A frequent tactic was the purchase of prepaid cards or vouchers using suspected proceeds of crime, which were then used to deposit money into gambling accounts, followed by withdrawals through wire or e-transfer to a Canadian bank account under the guise of winnings.
Bank accounts also let criminals place and layer proceeds of crime through licensed and unlicensed online gambling sites, it said.
“Other accounts appeared to exist mainly to facilitate money laundering through online gambling activity,” the bulletin said. “This included transactional activity that appeared circular in nature where funds were received and sent back to the same gambling sites multiple times.”
In one case, an organized crime group washed illicit cash by operating an unlicensed gambling site through the accounts of unrelated businesses, Fintrac said.
Although unlicensed gambling sites may not hold accounts at financial institutions in Canada, the companies and individuals that operate these sites have been observed sending funds to Canada-based accounts.
“Frequently, these gaming companies are located in jurisdictions that have weak anti-money laundering regimes, engage in highly secretive banking and provide tax haven capabilities,” the bulletin added.
Calendar
Feb 6-8: ICE, London incl. World Regulatory Briefing
Mar 5-7: SBC Summit Rio
Mar 27-28: Player Protection Forum, London
ComplianceOne Group, the leader in iGaming Compliance solutions incorporating ComplianceOne, our services division, and ProductsOne, our products division that includes Complitech.
We guide online gambling operators and suppliers gain a competitive edge through technical and regulatory compliance. We cover any areas on the spectrum to ensure you operate a compliant organization.
For more information, click here.
An +More Media publication.
For sponsorship inquiries email scott@andmore.media.
