Dugher lambasted for suicide comments
Samaritans criticism, Irish racing fears, no in North Carolina, Malta arrest, Tabcorp CEO inducements plea +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
BGC chief lambasted by the Samaritans.
Irish racing warns of the ill effects of a gambling ad ban.
It’s a no to iCasino in North Carolina, says state senator.
Malta gaming boss held over punter winnings theft.
Tabcorp: don’t ban bookie inducements.
Don't know how to take it, don't know where to go.
Samaritans clash
Samaritans CEO “appalled” by Betting and Gaming Council chief’s “twisting” of Samaritans advice.
Julie Bentley, CEO of the Samaritans charity, has accused Michael Dugher, CEO at the BGC, of using “diversionary tactics” in his defense of the industry during a recent parliamentary committee meeting, according to a report in The Times.
Questioned during the meeting regarding the death of Luke Ashton, where the official coroner cited gambling disorder as a contributory factor in his suicide, Dugher said the Samaritans advice was that “suicide is complex”.
In a letter to the head of the parliamentary select committee seen by The Times, Bentley said that suicide is usually caused by inter-relating factors.
But she added that in his response, Dugher appeared to be trying to “evade recognition of the established link between gambling and suicide risk”.
“I am appalled that someone would attempt to twist Samaritans’ words in an effort to deflect from the devastating harm that gambling products can cause.”
War of words: The BGC reacted to the letter, telling The Times that neither Dugher nor the BGC “has ever sought to manipulate guidance supplied by the Samaritans while discussing the tragedy of suicide”.
A spokesperson told The Times that “to suggest otherwise is a smear”.
Dugher, they said, “quoted directly – word-for-word – from the Samaritans’ own public guidance on the reporting of suicide”.
“He did not interpret it or pass comment upon it,” the spokesperson added. He was “clear in his evidence that while recognising suicide cases are complex, he understood and acknowledged the full findings of the coroner in the tragic case of Mr Ashton”.
This included noting that Mr Ashton was “suffering with an undiagnosed gambling disorder, a recognised psychiatric condition and that the coroner had highlighted a failure of the systems used by the operator at that time”.
UK notebook
Ban it 1: The Times also reported on Monday that a new survey from the Social Market Foundation found a third of all British voters want an outright ban on gambling and 82% believe there are too many opportunities to gamble. Only 13% said gambling was a net positive for society.
Ban it 2: Meanwhile, the English Football Association is reported to be set to ask gambling operators to stop accepting bets on the number of yellow cards handed out in matches, according to the Daily Mail.
The move follows in the wake of the allegations surrounding West Ham and Brazil striker Lucas Paquetá.
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Reputation Matters
An +MoreMedia event to discuss the future of the UK gambling sector takes place in London at the Barbican on the afternoon of October 26.
After the White Paper: Reputation Matters returns on October 26, this time to the Barbican in London, where representatives from Entain, Playtech, Gamban, Regulus Partners and many others will convene to discuss the next steps for the sector following the publication earlier this year of the UK government’s Gambling Act Review.
Sponsored by UK law firm Wiggin, the event consists of an afternoon of panels, fireside chats and keynotes.
Tickets can be purchased for the event via the Reputation Matters 2023 Eventbrite page.
Irish TV warning
The proposed gambling ad ban could make racing on TV no longer viable.
Bloodstock lifeblood: Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing have warned the gambling advertising ban proposed in the Gambling Regulation Bill will make their Irish broadcasts unviable, causing uproar among all sections of the Irish racing industry.
The Bill is currently in the report stage in the Dáil Éireann, where amendments can be considered.
The racing industry is furiously lobbying for at least a carve out for subscription channels like RTV and Sky, which show all British and Irish horseracing in the Republic.
Blackout: The Bill proposes a ban on all gambling advertising between 5.30am and 9.00pm on TV, radio and audio-visual services. Matthew Imi, CEO of At The Races, which provides horseracing content for Sky Sports, told the Irish Independent that the ban would cause huge disruption to TV racing services.
“It’s our view that such a ban may render Sky Sports Racing economically unviable in Ireland if the option for bookmaker advertising and sponsorship support is no longer open to us,” he told the paper.
“Not only would this penalize the multitude of horseracing fans in Ireland, but it would also have a negative impact on the industry as a whole, which we know is worth €2.4bn to the Irish economy and which supports more than 30,000 jobs,” Imi added.
Rallying round: Among those voicing their concerns are the Irish Bookmakers Association, Horse Racing Ireland, the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association. Over 40 trainers and point-to-point handlers from Wexford have written to justice minister James Brown to urge him to intervene.
Broadcaster, former bookmaker, Fine Gael TD and agriculture minister Ivan Yates believes that unless racing’s subscription channels are given an exemption, the ban could become an election issue next year.
US notebook
North Carolina iCasino a no-go, suggests state senator.
File under hell freezes over: North Carolina state senator Jim Perry has said there’s “not a chance in hell” that the legalization of iGaming will be included in the state budget, PlayUSA reported. When asked about putting iCasino on the agenda for the appropriations bill, Perry said “I would vote ‘no’ and work hard to bring others with me”.
“There are no jobs created in the state,” he told the website.
“There are no entertainment districts created. There is no development that provides a recurring ad valorem revenue stream.”
C+M noted last week that the addition of iCasino and VLTs to expanded gambling discussion in North Carolina would likely make any further legislation unlikely.
Petition response
Florida: The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ordered the Seminole Tribe of Florida to respond to West Flagler Associates’ petition for an en banc rehearing of the decision to restore the 2021 Florida gaming compact that would authorize sports betting.
The Seminole have until August 31 to file a response. If the court denies the petition, the Seminole Tribe would be able to relaunch its sports-betting operations seven days after the filing of its official notice of ruling.
Better late than never: Steve Ruddock’s Straight To The Point reports on the arrest at JFK of Richard Sullivan who was indicted on RICO charges in 2010 for his role in a sports gambling ring tied to the site Sports Offshore.
Malta theft
A Maltese-based gaming company director has been caught stealing nearly a million dollars of winnings belonging to a punter.
Jones Addiction: Andrew Martin Jones, a 55-year-old Briton, pleaded not guilty to misappropriation, acquiring money through fraud, making other fraudulent gains, money laundering, embezzlement and other financial offenses.
The court froze Jones’ assets and he was arraigned under arrest following a criminal complaint lodged by a client who said Jones’ company hadn’t paid out at least $985,000.
A request for bail was upheld under certain conditions, including signing the bail book once a week and binding himself by means of a personal guarantee of €25,000.
The Times of Malta first reported the case, however the court hasn’t released several details including when the alleged theft occurred and the name of the gaming company.
An unidentified customer filed a criminal complaint several years ago, it was reported, and an investigation into the financial transactions during the subsequent inquiry resulted in Jones being charged.
The money was just resting in his account: Jones’ lawyers Giannella de Marco and Charles Mercieca said he had returned the cash and all was forgiven with the complaint withdrawn, but the prosecution has not backed down. Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace upheld the charges and issued the freezing order.
Jones is linked to Plus 5 Gaming and, according to Offshore Leaks and the Paradise Papers, MIGS and Aliquantum Gaming.
However, none of the company names nor associated license numbers feature in the Malta Gaming Authority’s (MGA) register.
The MGA has not offered comment.
Bill 55 row
The political ping-pong between Germany and Malta over a bill that would stop overseas litigants targeting operators located in the offshore hub has ramped up a notch following an intervention by the local regulator.
To serve and protect: Bill 55, signed into law by Malta President George Vella in June allows Maltese courts to reject overseas litigation attempts relating to online gambling in the hub. The legislation, which updates the country’s existing Gambling Act, aims to protect Malta-licensed operators from legal liability resulting from certain gambling activities.
What has riled other countries is Malta’s attempts to protect its firms even if they have been targeting punters in jurisdictions where online gambling is unlawful or a local license is needed.
Germany has been leading the fight against Bill 55, which it recently claimed was “incompatible with European Union law”.
The MGA has now waded into the row, arguing that Bill 55 is “is in full conformity with EU law and is based on the freedoms afforded to an entity established within the internal market”, according to a statement.
Brussels is yet to make a decision, however lawyers expect the case will eventually make its way to the European Court of Justice given the strength of feeling on both sides.
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Ad ban endorsement
Tabcorp’s boss says a ban on advertising would be good for everyone, except bookmakers.
Hold your horses: Adam Rytenskild, MD and CEO of Tabcorp, told Australian racing site Racenet that he agreed with the findings of a recent parliamentary inquiry that all forms of online gambling advertising in Australia should be stopped. But, he drew the line on the ability for sportsbooks to offer inducements to customers.
“We don’t support that,” he said. “We don’t think there should be a ban on inducements, but we agree you shouldn’t be able to advertise inducements.”
Rytenskild reasoned the need for innovation across Australia’s racing and wagering industry to ensure it appeals to the next generation of punters.
He also suggested merging pools between states in the short-term as a means of providing extra liquidity.
“If we secure the Victorian tote, once we know what’s happening, we are very happy to merge pools,” Rytenskild said. “We totally support it and are ready to get on with it.”
Everybody knows: On the wider ban, still to be decided by the federal government, Rytenskild said Tabcorp “supported and advocated for it” because “punters want a sustainable industry”.
“They also talked about the potential for a federal regulator [and] we support that, we support nationally consistent regulation,” he said.
“There is no point if you have one operator in a jurisdiction subject to a bunch of rules and then everyone else is subject to a different bunch of rules.”
Australia notebook
Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group has been fined $356,000 for installing 220 gaming machines without adequate player protection measures. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) said YourPlay, which allows players to set time and loss limits, wasn’t implemented on machines in 62 of ALHG’s 77 venues following an examination in November 2022.
YourPlay is mandatory in Victoria for gaming machines.
The fine was reduced from $840,000 by judges after an early guilty plea and cooperation with the regulator.
SkyCity Entertainment: The South Australian Liquor and Gambling Commissioner has appointed investigators at Kroll Australia to review anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing measures at SkyCity Adelaide.
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