Pantomime villain
Evolution admits to UK licensing review
Availability of games on UK-facing black market sites at issue.
In +More: sports-betting bill filed in Oklahoma.
Shazam: the Brazilian market is now officially open.
Whack-a-mole: Philippine authorities press on with POGO shutdown.
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He’s behind you
The nightmare before Christmas: Evolution stunned its investors before the holiday season when it revealed via a press release it was the subject to a licensing review being undertaken by the UK Gambling Commission.
The Stockholm-based company said the review might have a range of outcomes, up to and including either a license suspension or a revocation of its license to operate.
The UK Gambling Commission did not respond to requests for comment.
Evolution’s share price fell over 10% on the day.
Fuss in boots: The press release said the Commission was looking into the issue of the apparent availability of Evolution’s games to UK customers via offshore operators. The company stressed in the release that it was “cooperating fully” with the Commission and had taken “requested immediate actions to remedy the situation.”
“Games on the identified websites not holding a Commission license have been made unavailable from the UK,” the statement added.
“Evolution continues to actively work with the Commission to resolve this matter.”
Jack and the beanstalk: The company stressed that only ~3% of Evolution’s revenue is from the UK market. However, investors will be worried about potential regulatory contagion given the possibility that offshore clients will be taking business from other licensed jurisdictions as well.
CEO Martin Carlesund said Evolution “embraces the objectives of the review” by the Commission and was “committed to support the licensed UK market as well as preventing unlicensed traffic.”
“We are now taking forceful action using all technical tools available to us to ensure that our games only are available in the UK through Commission-licensed operators,” he added.
Principles, boy: Carlesund said the company believes a “close collaboration” with the Commission “to address our joint concerns will lead to swifter and better results.”
“As always we remain committed to an open and transparent relationship with our regulators,“ he concluded.
Pantomime dame: The news of Evolution’s licensing review comes a matter of weeks after the Commission’s CEO Andrew Rhodes called on UK operators to do more due diligence on their suppliers to “ensure” they are not also supplying operators in the black market.
Taking the opportunity of a speech at the UKGC’s CEO Briefing, Rhodes said the Commission expects more policing on the part of operators.
Beauty and the beast: Previously, Rhodes had “encouraged” operators to use their influence on suppliers with regard to “not supporting” black market activity, but in his November speech he said he was “going to go one step further than that.”
The new request demanded operators undertake due diligence to ensure none of their suppliers are “directly or indirectly engaged in supporting unlicensed activity in this market.”
Sources pointed out at the time the inconsistency of the Rhodes approach, saying it brought into question the Commission’s own processes when it comes to the licensing of suppliers.
“One would think [the operators] are entitled to rely on the Commission's licensing process when it comes to the suitability of their suppliers,” one source told C+M.
💥 Evolution’s shares see worst one-day drop in three years on December 23
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+More
Oklahoma: State senator Dave Radar has introduced a bill ahead of the 2025 legislative session, which begins in early February, to authorize the tribes to enter compacts to offer sport betting.
The bill is similar to previous efforts that have foundered due to disagreements between the tribes and Gov. Kevin Stitt.
LegalSportsReport suggested the rift between the governor and the tribes has not healed and that any solution would need “deep conversations.”
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association chair Matthew Morgan previously suggested the tribes were open to discussion.
The bill would allow tribes to amend their compacts with the state to offer in-person and mobile wagering.
Ireland: Two banks, Allied Irish Bank and EBS, are reported to be implementing a voluntary block feature on gambling-linked debit and credit card transactions. This is ahead of the full implementation of the gambling regulation bill that was passed in October.
Isle of Man: Betsson subsidiary BMO Manx Ltd has been ordered to pay a £700k penalty after being found to have committed a series of compliance breaches by the Isle of Man regulator. The breaches include a failure to carry out enhanced due diligence on customers deemed to be a risk.
Sweeps news: High 5 Entertainment is being sued in the San Francisco Superior Court over claims its social sweepstakes operations are an illegal gambling website. The lawsuit alleges that High 5 is utilizing an ‘internet cafe gambling scam’ to work around state gaming laws.
Turkey: The Cyber Crimes Combat Department has arrested 35 individuals across multiple provinces suspected of financial and cyber fraud ranging from social media scams to illegal betting platforms and data exploitation.
What we’re reading
Whoa there: Under the headline ‘Legalizing sports gambling was a terrible bet’, an op-ed from the editors of the The Washington Post suggests that with “societal ills and sports scandals on the rise,” Congress should act to rein in the betting industry
In a spin: Rory Campbell, the son of ex-Labour spin doctor and now podcast host Alistair Campbell, has been threatened with bankruptcy and police action over a £5m loss from his failed football betting syndicate. In The Times.
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New beginnings
I declare this market… open: The regulated market in Brazil was officially launched yesterday, January 1, with 67 participants going to post and over 300 attached brands.
Listicles: On New Year’s Eve, the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance published a list of 15 companies that had received definitive licenses, while a further 52 were handed provisional licenses. Many of the licensees operate multiple brands.
Among those given definitive clearance were Superbet Brasil; the soon-to-be-Flutter majority owned NSX, the company behind Betnacional; and BetMGM
Also included in the list of provisional licensees were Stake; alongside grey market leaders Kaizen, with its Betano brand; and bet365.
Each licensee has completed the mandatory payment of R$30m ($4.8m) to the federal government and the establishment of an emergency fund of R$5m. They will also be liable for the 12% gross profits tax.
A report in December from analysts at Vixio suggested the Brazilian market would be worth $2.9bn in annual GGR in 2025, rising to almost $6.3bn by 2028.
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POGO no more
Hide and seek: Formerly large-scale offshore operators working under the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) structure have been scrambling to downsize in order to attempt to go below the radar of the authorities.
According to an official at the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Gilbert Cruz, clandestine operations are using condominium buildings, gated subdivisions, beach resorts and small hotels to continue their activities.
This is in defiance of President Marcos’ directive to shut down POGOs by the New Year.
Hold your hands up: Cruz said in a radio interview last week that to counter these efforts, PAOCC was collaborating with law enforcement agencies and preparing a series of raids to dismantle illegal POGO hubs early this year.
“We’ve received numerous reports that these former big-time POGOs are scouting for safe places to operate on a smaller scale,” he is reported to have said.
Hanging around: Even though the authorities have successfully closed down the vast majority of POGOs, it is thought an estimated 8,000 foreign nationals who previously worked in POGO hubs have stayed in the country despite having their work visas downgraded to tourist status.
The authorities suspect that some of these individuals may be behind the small-scale POGO setups.
Meanwhile, the government has also proposed four new bills designed to close loopholes in the system.
Events calendar
Jan 20-21: World Regulatory Forum, Barcelona
Feb 26: Regulatory and compliance track, SBC Summit, Rio de Janeiro
Mar 10-13: Regulating the Game, Sydney
Mar 12-13: Next: NYC 25, RG Hub, New York
May 8-9: Leaders in Compliance Conference, Frankfurt
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