Reshuffle sows further White Paper confusion
Doubt cast on White Paper timings once more, VGTs are the block in Indiana, ASA ads decision, Cali tribes on the attack +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
Another ministerial reshuffle leaves the UK gambling White Paper in limbo – again.
VGTs are the cause of Indiana iCasino angst.
Sky Bet and Paddy Power will face no further action over use of footballers in ads.
California tribes go on the attack.
You cause me confusion, you told me you cared.
White Paper limbo
The news of a new gambling minister, the fourth in six months, once again puts the publication of the UK gambling White Paper in doubt.
Fluxus: Confusion over the direction of UK government gambling policy would appear to be absolute after the ministerial reshuffle this week, which has seen the previous minister with responsibility for gambling, Paul Scully, moved on to a new department.
The new under secretary of state with responsibility for the gambling brief is Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.
He is the fourth minister in six months.
The news comes as the industry awaits the publication of the White Paper. While it is understood that the department wants to see the publication as soon as possible, the official line is that it can neither confirm nor deny the potential for further delay.
“The constant government merry-go-round has already caused significant delays to a process that everyone wants concluded,” said Stephen Ketteley, partner at Wiggin.
“One hopes the new minister will simply pick up where the predecessor(s) left off and see this through.”
A brief moment in time: One compliance source suggested it was a shame to see Paul Scully move on just when he was “starting to understand the brief”. Still, they were hopeful that any delay caused by the new minister wanting to get up to speed with the content of the White Paper proposals wouldn’t be too long.
But they will need a modicum of time. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to move the process forward coherently,” the source added.
The fear is that Andrew signals another change of direction at a ministerial level. “Gambling policy involves subjective judgements,” said Dan Waugh from Regulus. “From what we can tell, [the former, former, former gambling minister] Chris Philp drew rather different conclusions from the same evidence as Paul Scully.”
John Hagan, partner at Harris Hagan, made a similar point. “It will depend on whether he is personally content with what is presented to him,” he suggested.
“If he has strong views on the contrary, then he will want to take time to meet with the relevant people.”
The other issue is the length of time it has already taken for the White Paper to be published and what Hagan calls the Kafkaesque status of the proposals due to be published ‘in the next few weeks’ for the last six months or more.
“It is not solely that evidence from the consultation is now rather last decade – but also that so much new evidence appears to have been presented since then,” said Waugh.
Meanwhile, the speed of the ministerial revolving door means any incumbent might well feel that “if they procrastinate long enough, they too will be shuffled on before they have to do anything with it”.
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No child’s play
Sky Bet and Paddy Power will face no further action following investigations of their use of famous footballers in ad campaigns, after concerns the marketing may appeal to children.
A promoted “free bet” tweet for Sky Bet using an image of Micah Richards and two emojis, seen on 2 October 2022, was reported to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) by two complainants.
The former England defender retired from the game in 2019, and after assessing his social media profiles, TV appearances and other endorsements, officials said his use in the ad did not break rules on targeting kids.
Two November 2022 TV ads for Paddy Power featuring former striker Peter Crouch conducting a choir also did not contravene guidelines, the ASA said.
Old boys network: The regulator dismissed complaints that accompanying images of Christmas may also have drawn in children, adding that the popular ex-pros have established adult audiences.
Investigators reviewed demographic data of the former sports stars, looking at Facebook, Twitch, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube followers to ascertain their reach.
Under existing guidance on gambling and lotteries advertising, long-retired footballers now known for punditry are considered “of low risk of strong appeal to children”.
A VGT wrench in Indiana
VGTs are the roadblock thrown in the way of iCasino in Indiana.
Six bucks and my right nut: Indiana was the top candidate to legalize iCasino this year. HB 1536 was expected to have a smooth trip through the House Public Policy Committee (chaired by the bill’s sponsor Ethan Manning). That smooth trip has turned into the plot of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, as the bill has been put on hold indefinitely.
At the root of it all is the controversial topic of VGTs.
As one source put it, VGTs were a “major roadblock that popped up at a point where the general consensus was that the bill would be heard and received in a positive way”.
Domino effect: VGTs also allowed some whispers of concern to turn into screams.
Some stakeholders are worried online gambling will cannibalize their existing businesses.
PPC members are concerned about social harms and the actual size of the market.
Zooming out: The situation in Indiana doesn’t bode well for other states considering online casinos and online poker.
99 bills in Texas
There is no shortage of efforts to legalize sports betting in the second most populous state.
The outlook for these bills isn’t great – particularly bills with a mobile component. “We don’t want slot machines at every corner store… But, if there is a way to create a very professional entertainment option for Texans, Governor Abbott would take a look at it,” Renae Eze, Gov. Greg Abbott’s press secretary, said last fall.
House Speaker Dade Phelan echoed Abbott’s vision of gambling expansion in January: “I want to see destination-style casinos that are high quality and that create jobs, and that improve the lifestyles of those communities.”
Adding insult to injury, the man the sports-betting sphere has used as one of the faces of legal sports betting opposes legalization in his home state. Mattress Mack appears to have turned his back on the industry.
“My change of heart is that I know myself and I’ve seen the light as far as impulsiveness on me to sports gambling,” Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale told the Houston Chronicle.
“Because I’ve got to drive to Louisiana, it limits those impulses by a factor of 1,000. So I’m not in favor of sports gambling in Texas.”
The sports-betting world (who created the mystique of Mattress Mack) was none too happy with Mack, but as Dyve Agency founder Jamie Salsburg pointed out, betting has always been business for McIngvale. His new position is no different, because he is putting on a masterclass in free publicity:
European ad restrictions
France is gearing to introduce more advertising restrictions following a record-breaking World Cup for online wagers, while other European nations also consider their options.
We gotta act now: Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, chairwoman of the l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the French gambling regulator, told a panel at ICE London that a “critical report” would be published “within months” calling on the government to introduce tougher measures.
“There has been progress from the industry, but is it enough? Do we want to go further?” she said, before answering her own questions that France indeed would.
The report is likely to suggest a time-period ban on advertising; ‘whistle-to-whistle’ restrictions as those favored elsewhere; and more powers to curb influencers.
Presently, online celebrities with a following comprising 16% of young people or more are banned from punting gambling products. That percentage is expected to rise.
Even the losers: ANJ figures recently revealed €597m was waged by French punters during the country’s unsuccessful run to the Qatar World Cup final, up 56% on the 2018 World Cup and up 37% on Euro 2020.
The total amount for online and retail, not yet released, is expected to have topped €900m.
“The industry realized they had gone too far during the Euros, and post-World Cup we consider the commitments have been respected, meaning the ad content has been reorientated,” Falque-Pierrotin said.
“But the studies are showing, however, that we may need additional measures.”
57 channels (and nothin’ on): The Netherlands is also considering a near-total ban, according to Fedor Meerts, head of department at the Holland Ministry of Justice and Security.
“Advertising on certain channels will no longer be allowed,” he told the same panel.
“So, television, radio, outdoor and print, anywhere it is not sufficiently possible to exclude persons under 24.”
“We’re hoping to finalize in the coming weeks and then come up with a proposal.”
Give me just a little more time: Denmark may break with trends elsewhere in Europe, however, as the new government is a bipartisan power share for the first time in the country’s history and may bend a little more to the right on matters of corporate intervention.
The new government is still gathering evidence before it leans either way, said Anders Dorph, the director of the country’s gambling regulator.
However, public opinion is not on the industry’s side, he added, citing a recent poll that found 77% of Danes want a total ban on gambling ads.
“There is a big wave against the industry right now,” he said. “Even though it’s not evidence-based really, and we cannot see the link between ads and problem gambling, there is a want to ban it.”
“The new government will have to react, they have to because of the reaction it has provoked.”
Cali tribes on the attack
California’s Indian gaming tribes have a strong message for anyone poring over the defeated sports-betting ballot measure Proposition 27: nothing will pass without their support.
Come at me, bro: Speaking at a tribal gaming panel at ICE London, leading figures from California’s tribes gave withering assessments of the “strong-arm” tactics that failed to win over voters.
“This attempt by the corporate outsiders, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Rush Street and others, was completely miscalculated, bungled,” said Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians.
“They did no due diligence, and they lost. To have sports betting, or add any additional gaming… the tribes need to be in the driver seat. Get rid of your consultants.”
Losing bigly: Prop. 27 was a huge blowout, with 80% of voters rejecting the ballot measure to legalize sports betting online and in brick-and-mortar venues in California in spite of the $169m spent by sports-betting firms in support. The tribes confirmed there is no appetite for reviving Prop. 26 – which would allow in-person roulette, dice games and sports wagering on tribal lands – on the 2024 ballot.
“We are the gatekeepers for what happens legally in California,” Macarro said.
“Sports betting needs to take into account the tribes and what their values are.”
“Failure will happen again and continue to happen without our backing.”
Where is the love? The disparity in tactics of the campaign compared to other areas of the US where sports-betting operators had engaged the tribes and won their approval also stood out, said Jason Giles, executive director of the National Indian Gaming Association.
“It’s such a sea-change in how they approached California as to elsewhere, like Michigan, or Mississippi, Maryland, Virginia,” he said.
“This was a full on ‘give us what we want, we don’t care about your jurisdictional issues’. When you do that, it won’t end well.”
Don’t call us, we won’t call you: There will be no olive branch from the tribes to bring the issue back to the table any time soon, added James Siva, chair of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association.
“If you want to come into the market, the tribes will dictate how and why that will happen,” he said.
“But we’re not going to reach out to them.”
I see no changes: Macarro said there may be “an inevitability” to sports betting in California, but he did not expect any real movement in the next two years given the “lack of appetite” on both sides and the further leverage the defeat has given the tribes.
“Free advice: get on the same page as us if you want to be successful,” he said.
“It’s astounding they thought they could throw enough money at this. But while monetary costs is one thing, the real cost is the high degree of untrustworthiness that DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and the others earned themselves.”
“It would be nice if DraftKings and FanDuel could ever turn a profit; that’s what they should be concentrating on first.”
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European notebook
Very important message: Peter Marcus, group operations director at Entain, told the audience at law firm Wiggin’s regulatory briefing on the first morning of ICE that “VIP is a bit of drug that (operators) have to get out of... We’ve become a much better industry.”
“It’s hard for marketing teams, but they have to learn to change,” he added. “That is why the whole business is changing because they had to change.”
Belgian operator Bingoal has been fined €350,000 by the Netherlands’ gambling regulator for registering new players without consulting the Cruks self-exclusion system.
Sports integrity notebook
Slap happy: U.S. Integrity has announced a monitoring service deal with Power Slap, which it says will mean it will be “capable of identifying and analyzing unusual wagering activity” to reinforce Power Slap’s “efforts to maintain the highest levels of integrity.”
Global notebook
The Curaçao finance regulator told an audience at ICE on Tuesday that the restructuring of the country’s licensing regime will be passed by the country’s legislature within the next six months, a move that will transform the country's online licensing system.
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