EU court hands Dutch lottery win to EGBA
Dutch lottery, North Carolina regs, UK White Paper consultations, regtech focus – Future Anthem +More
Court orders EC to reopen Dutch lottery state aid case.
North Carolina opts not to exclude pick’em language in regulations – for now.
The next slew of seven UK White Paper consultations opens up.
Regtech focus speaks to player personalization provider Future Anthem.
Send lawyers, guns and money, Dad, get me out of this.
A rare lottery win
Court orders European Commission to reopen Dutch lottery state aid case.
Breaking the law: A top European Union court has ordered a probe into the granting of lottery licenses by the Netherlands government amid claims of illegal state aid. On Wednesday, the Court of Justice of the EU sided with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) in its appeal against the European Commission’s refusal to investigate the matter.
The EGBA has been fighting the case of possible unlawful licenses since 2016, and said “frankly speaking, we are not surprised” by the court’s decision.
The original complaint alleged the Netherlands granted licenses to multiple incumbent lotteries and betting operators worth billions of dollars behind closed doors at below market rates.
Shut it down: In 2020, Brussels said a formal EU investigation was not necessary and it closed the case, only for the EGBA to take the matter to the European courts. It argued that the process of renewal of multiple lottery licenses of incumbent holders was not transparent and constituted illegal state aid.
The CJEU sided with EGBA and stuck a knife into the Commission, noting “the complete absence of appropriate investigation” as it ordered Brussels to pay the lobby group’s legal costs.
Smells like mean spirit: “The facts and data of this case raised serious doubts about the compliance of the Dutch licensing procedure with EU law, which should have warranted the Commission to open a formal state aid investigation to address those doubts,” said Maarten Haijer, secretary-general, EGBA.
Haijer called the court’s withering verdict of the Commission’s procedures a “pretty grim assessment” and said it should serve as a wake up call for the bloc’s ruling executive.
“Especially because the facts at hand were evidently of concern from an EU law point of view, and we only ask for existing rules to be applied fairly and without favor,” he said.
In toto
Pay the man, dammit: Meanwhile, four Dutch gamblers have sued sports-betting operator TOTO after it refused to pay out on a bet having set wrong odds. A Dutch court ruled that although operators could cancel such bets, TOTO didn’t act quickly enough.
TOTO offered to pay out limited winnings in accordance with the corrected odds instead of canceling the bet outright, but the court ruled it had not met its obligations to follow a clear and transparent process.
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Notebook
Chinese walls: ESPN distributed guidelines to its ~5,000 employees ahead of the launch of the ESPN Bet sports-betting app designed to establish a wall between its journalism and the sportsbook, according to Front Office Sports.
The list of prohibited activity begins with a ban on sharing non-public information for any betting-related purposes, citing as an example information about a player’s injury status.
The rules also state that ESPN employees may not place bets on games or events they’re assigned to work on or to cover.
Talent designated as reporters and insiders are prohibited from placing, soliciting or facilitating any bet on the properties they regularly cover.
Checks mate: Arena Racing Company CEO Martin Cruddace has added his voice to those suggesting the financial risk checks proposed in the UK White Paper by the UK Gambling Commission could be potentially fatal for the horseracing industry. He has written to ministers expressing his “grave concern”.
Meanwhile, the Racehorse Owners’ Association president Charlie Parker told the Racing Post of his fears regarding the potentially "disastrous" consequences of the checks.
What a drag: Mecca Bingo has been ordered by the Advertising Standards Authority to remove an Instagram post featuring celebrity drag queen Baga Chipz, which the advertising watchdog felt breached the rules by suggesting gambling enhanced a person’s self-esteem.
Caught out: Essex County Cricket Club has fallen foul of rules on marketing crypto assets following a tweet that promoted non-fungible tokens (NFT) for developer FanCraze Technologies.
Strict new rules around the marketing of crypto assets entered into force in October, and are policed by financial services regulators.
NFTs are not covered by the new regime, however, advertising regulators stepped in, having noted the ad wasn’t obviously identifiable as marketing or that it referred to risky investment products.
Career paths
FanDuel has hired Rikki Tanenbaum, former chief operating officer for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, as senior vice-president of strategic partnerships, according to PlayUSA.
“FanDuel was already embarking on a listening tour to seek a better understanding of tribal views in California and elsewhere, and we both thought I could be helpful in those conversations,” she told the publication.
What we’re reading
At large: The FBI is struggling to stop a hyper-aggressive cybercrime gang that’s been tormenting corporate America over the last two years, says Reuters.
Pick’em inclusion
Language lessons: The proposed sports-betting regulations in North Carolina has seen the language that would have restricted the offering of pick'em fantasy sports games removed after a vote by the sports-betting committee of the state lottery commission on an amended version of the text.
The missing amendment would have prohibited fantasy contests based on proposition wagering or those that “have the effect of mimicking proposition wagering or other forms of sports betting”.
Contests where players do not compete against other individual fantasy players, including those where players compete against the operator, would also have been banned.
Split decision: Billy Traurig, the NC lottery’s chief legal officer, said the committee was evenly split on whether to include the language around the banning of pick’em games, though he suggested the decision merely kicked the can down the road.
“We are going to monitor the developments in other states and put this aside for now,” he said. “We suggest this definition is removed from the rules for the time being, as we focus on the launch of sports betting.”
At the same time, the launch date for the market opening has also been postponed. Originally, Jan 8 had been penciled in but Traurig said the authorities wanted more time to “focus on moving the rules forward, getting the operators licensed, and have sports betting launched in a timely and efficient manner.”
Further pick’em reading: A wise opinion from Daniel McGinn, attorney at Dean, Mead and Dunbar. Via LinkedIn (and h/t to Dustin Gouker from The Closing Line).
“UIGEA is a payment statute and the reddest of herrings in the context of whether any contest is legal or illegal in any jurisdiction.”
Consultation time again
The magnificent seven: Taking to the Gambling Commission blog, executive director Tim Miller has outlined the next slew of consultations around the Gambling Act Review White Paper to follow the four currently ongoing processes. The seven topics up for further discussions include:
A look at socially responsible incentives, meaning the proposals relating to incentives such as free bets and bonuses.
Proposals around customer-led tools.
The issue of transparency of protection of customer funds.
The proposed requirement to make annual financial contributions to research, prevention and treatment.
Regulatory data reporting.
Proposed changes on financial penalties.
And finally, proposals around financial key event reporting.
Miller time: He added the consultations would last for 12 weeks with closing dates in February and March. The first four consultations on age verification, remote games design, marketing and cross-selling and the vexed issue of financial risk checks closed last month.
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Regtech focus – Future Anthem
Don’t stop believin’: The player journey is central to the efforts at responsible gambling and particularly so at an individual level – and it is here that the AI-assisted offering from personalization service provider Future Anthem can help, says CEO and founder Leigh Nissim.
“We have been doing this since 2019, designing, building and integrating AI products with players always at the heart of our process,” he says.
The company’s Amplifier AI “humanizes” data and manipulates it to provide gambling operators with quick-to-deploy modules across the entire player journey.
“Anthem harnesses real-time machine learning to acquire, onboard and retain customers responsibly,” he adds.
The customization can be directed at creating personalized risk profiles, effectively identifying real-time high-risk behaviors, such as excessive spending, prolonged sessions or chasing losses. “Amplifier AI is equipped to alert players should they display any risky gambling characteristics, and it provides insights into the specific behaviors triggering these alerts,” Nissim says.
He notes that regulators are understandably interested in the product capabilities.
“They understand AI’s potential to discern and flag high-risk behaviors, early signs of problem gambling and concerning gambling patterns in real time,” he adds.
Operators can then more promptly intervene and implement personalized responsible gambling measures, such as spending limits and self-exclusion tools, thus bolstering customer protection.
“Additionally, the AI’s prowess in analyzing extensive customer data helps shape evidence-based policies that prioritize responsible gambling,” he says.
Like what they see: As far as what happens next with Amplifier AI, Nissim says there is already widespread sector support for measures that can “effectively and efficiently raise standards”. “AI is proven to be able to do this, but experience and expert knowledge is essential to implement the processes and programs,” he adds.
“In terms of some of the future developments, positive play – encouraging players using gamification to promote positive gambling behaviors – will have a profound effect on the safety of gambling once it comes fully into force,” he adds.
“This is an area we have begun to work on. Watch this space.”
Customer management driven by AI-assisted responsible gambling may face initial hurdles, but a standardized and regulated approach “will help to overcome the likes of data privacy concerns, accuracy in detection, bias mitigation, seamless integration and user acceptance,” Nissim argues.
“Once users become accustomed to these systems – and see the difference they can make – such obstacles are likely to be swiftly surmounted,” he says.
“With operators and regulators recognising the benefits, the adoption of AI in responsible gambling will become a standard requirement.”
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