D’Oklahoma: Gov. Stitt makes OSB move but without the tribes
Oklahoma OSB, Commission criticism, Kindred’s consultation response +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
Gov. Stitt puts forward an Oklahoma OSB proposal, but tribes oppose it.
Kindred weighs into the debate over financial risk checks.
Career path: a gambling experience-lite UKGC council.
We play the game strictly to our rules.
Promise kept
“I promised Oklahomans if we pursued sports betting, we would do it right – and this plan does just that,” says Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Having none of it: The governor may believe his plan to allow both retail and online betting “would protect tribal investments in brick-and-mortar facilities”, but the tribes are having none of it. The move drew an immediate response from the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA), which said it was not consulted prior to the plan being released.
“The members of the OIGA have been preparing to receive an offer from the state on sports betting for the past couple of years,” said Matthew Morgan, chair of the association.
“And while we appreciate Governor Stitt finally joining the sports-betting conversation, to date he has not engaged in meaningful and respectful government-to-government discussion with tribes.”
He added that any attempt to legalize sports betting must involve the legislature and a supplemental gaming compact that protects the tribes’ “substantial gaming exclusivity”.
“To approach it otherwise is simply to invite failure.”
Choctaw Nation chief Gary Batton said Stitt did not seek input from his tribe, either.
“Upon initial review, we do not believe the plan represents the best interests for the people of Oklahoma or the tribal nations that have done so much to support the state,” he said in a statement.
Mere details: Stitt’s plan would allow federally recognized tribes to conduct in-person retail sports betting as per a state–tribal compact. Revenue would be taxed at 15%. Mobile wagering would also be allowed on gaining a state-issued license. This would involve an initial licensing fee of $500k, an annual fee of $100k and a tax rate of 20%.
The governor’s plan would prohibit wagers on the individual performance of student-athletes, coaches, referees, player injuries and prop bets at the college level.
But the statement added the governor was “actively awaiting input from the NCAA and athletic conferences that impact Oklahoma to see how they choose to regulate the industry”.
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Notebook
Videoslots: The operator has found itself in hot water with the Swedish authorities after “serious” AML shortcomings were uncovered. The company was fined SEK9m ($827k) and issued with a warning over future behavior. The company said it was “surprised” by the decision and said it would appeal.
In a press release, Spelinspektionen said the company had not taken “sufficient measures to assess the risk of their operations being used for money laundering and terrorist financing”.
Curaçao: The Curaçao Gaming Control Board’s license application portal is now accepting account registrations for applicants and sub-licence holders.
Georgia: The tax rates for gambling operators is set to rise from 10% to 15%, according to Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, who announced in a recent budget speech that consumers will also have to pay a new withdrawal fee of 5%, up from the current 2% rate. The new rates will apply from Jan 1, 2024.
Petition watch: The petition to ask the government to stop the implementation of betting affordability/financial risk checks has gathered over 70k signatures to date.
Kindred’s consultation response
Fact or friction: In its response to the UK Gambling Commission’s consultation on the introduction of financial risk checks, the operator Kindred said, while it is generally supportive of the efforts, the necessary element is that such checks should be frictionless.
Kindred’s head of corporate affairs Tom Banks added in his blog post that the checks would also need to be “piloted by operators and tested extensively before rolling out via a license requirement”.
He said the company believed technology has a role to play in keeping players safe and added it is supportive of the £125 net loss limit as proposed “predominantly because we already have this on our platform at registration”. But he added further work is needed on the frictionless check itself.
“A pilot of this technology is critical to its future success,” Banks argued.
“Operators have the experience and systems in place to understand whether it will work in reality and, crucially, if it meets the government’s ambition as genuinely targeted and frictionless for players.”
“That is why we disagreed strongly with the proposal for operators to manually review all checks – on the simple basis this would be impractical and unreasonable – and does not take into account the automated, frictionless nature of the potential checks.
Banks said Kindred also disagreed with the proposal that would require operators to acquire postcode and job title data from customers.
“Not only is this not helpful when assessing affordability, it would create friction in the customer journey that the UK government wants to avoid.”
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Career path
Need industry experience to be a gambling regulator? Not according to the UK government following the appointment of seven new commissioners who will sit on the British regulator’s board for the next cycle.
Seven wonders: The secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has chosen Charles Counsell, Helen Dodds, Sheree Howard and Claudia Mortimore to serve for five-year terms. Lloydette Bai-Marrow, Helen Phillips and David Rossington have been appointed for four years. The seven will serve under Gambling Commission chair Marcus Boyle.
None of the new appointees have specific experience in the sector, which has raised eyebrows among industry veterans.
On the outside looking in: Experts believe their skills may give an indication of where compliance priorities should be as the new reform agenda takes shape, with strong links to the health service, corporate governance, risk and financial crime.
Bai-Marrow is an anti-corruption expert and economic crime lawyer, having founded an economic crime investigations consultancy, while Dodds is also a lawyer and a consultant with expertise in financial services.
Howard is a financial services grandee with specialisms in regulation, risk management, and audit and controls, and also sits as executive director of Risk and Compliance Oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority.
A former senior civil servant with accounting credentials, Rossington served in the DCMS, while Mortimore has held senior enforcement positions at the Financial Reporting Council, which regulates accountants and auditors.
Counsell served as CEO of the Pensions Regulator for four years, but is more widely known for overseeing large-scale change programmes in both the public and private sector.
Lastly, Dr Phillips has a career spanning public, private and not-for-profit sectors, and is currently chair of NHS Professionals and chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute, following a nine-year stint as chair of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
You don’t know me: Whether all of these competencies can transfer over to the gambling sector is up for debate, with Betfair joint-founder Andrew Black stating the new board is “not fit for purpose”.
Having previously slammed the Commission’s members for a lack of experience, he got stuck in again following the announcement.
“They are not fit for purpose,” he told the Racing Post. “Unless they give us seats at the table they will never have anything other than a narrow perspective; they will never develop the understanding they need to regulate our industry in an empathetic manner; and if they are not with us, they will inevitably be against us.”
The chief exec of top lobby group Betting and Gaming Council, Michael Dugher, welcomed the news and urged the new commissioners “to get out and about, and to meet with people who are working across our diverse and vibrant sector, in order to truly understand these world-leading operators”.
Another point of view: In September, the regulator announced the creation of a new industry forum consisting of representatives from operators, which Boyle said would give the Commission “another way to work with… the industry we regulate”.
In a recent episode of the The Gambling Files podcast, Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes defended the regulator’s level of engagement with the industry against accusations it isn’t on the same page as operators.
He said the GC is keen to broaden its perspectives and bring in new voices.
“It’s partly how you see your relationship with the industry that you regulate,” Rhodes said.
“It can be adversarial at times, I mean there is always a natural tension that’s bound to exist between the regulator and the regulated, but it doesn’t have to be a corrosive relationship and I’d like to think that is a lot better.”
Malta move
Firm goodbye: Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) chief executive Carl Brincat is to step down when his term ends in January. Brincat has helmed the Malta regulator since January 2021 and will not seek renewal of his current contract once January 25 rolls around.
The MGA will launch a public call for applications and hopes to have a replacement in place prior to Brincat’s exit.
The CEO leaves during a period of regulatory tumult for Malta, which is fighting to pass a controversial bill that will offer protection to domestically licensed online operators facing litigation overseas.
Sky blues
Someone else’s star: The chief executive of New Zealand’s troubled SkyCity Entertainment Group is stepping down immediately and will quit the company as of March 2024. Michael Ahearne’s exit was revealed via filings on the New Zealand and Australia stock exchanges and comes amid a possible license suspension for the group.
Ahearne, who joined the company as Group COO in December 2017 before a promotion to CEO in November 2020, is to return to Europe with his family.
Ahearne previously held a number of senior commercial, operational and product leadership roles at UK giant Paddy Power Betfair.
He served as COO for Aristocrat in Australia and New Zealand and filled several senior management positions at The Star Sydney.
“Michael has led the business through a very complex and demanding period,” said SkyCity chair Julian Cook.
“This has included dealing with the significant fire at the New Zealand International Convention Centre and its rebuild, navigating the business through Covid-19 and the recovery, and responding to regulatory matters relating to the SkyCity Adelaide business. Michael has also led significant investment and improvements in SkyCity’s compliance functions.”
Welcome gift: SkyCity said it has started the search for a replacement and will consider both internal and external candidates, with a baptism of fire awaiting the new boss.
New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) wants the New Zealand Gambling Commission to temporarily shutter three SkyCity casinos in the country.
The DIA has approached the gaming regulator with a request to temporarily halt SkyCity’s gaming license after a former guest complained about their accumulated debt at the Auckland casino.
The suspension of the license, which would affect SkyCity’s Auckland, Hamilton and Queenstown properties, is currently under deliberation by the commission, along with its duration.
Price tag: While the closure would only affect SkyCity’s New Zealand’s casinos, SkyCity Adelaide casino in South Australia may also have its license yanked as it sets aside A$45m (~$30m) for a potential civil penalty.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has accused the business of serious and systemic non-compliance with anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Austrac’s court documents stated SkyCity “failed to carry out due diligence on 124 customers”, which could ultimately result in fines of more than A$2bn.
“Cash that was soiled with a strong aroma of dirt,” Austrac said.
The group now has more than 80 compliance staff dedicated to financial crime reduction, it said in a presentation to investors.
The business is “unsure” when a resolution to both matters is likely.
Star appointment
This is not a test: Jess Mellor has been promoted from COO of The Star Gold Coast as part of an organizational restructure amid “testing times” for the group. The Star is creating property-based operational business units in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney, each led by a CEO reporting to the group CEO and managing director, Robbie Cooke.
Mellor will take charge of the Gold Cost unit, with Sydney and Brisbane bosses still to be appointed.
The group has identified more than A$2bn in outgoings for the financial year to 30 June 2023 after being dogged by regulatory issues, penalties and fines. This followed a string of fines and penalties in recent years.
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