‘Sharpen your pencils’: UKGC opens consultations
UK consults, Brazil regulates, Massachusetts fines, EU scrutinizes, financial risk checks series +More
Good morning. On today’s agenda:
The hare is running on the UK’s White Paper consultations.
Esta aqui: President Lula signs Brazil’s sports-betting legislation.
Massachusetts hits sportsbooks with only modest fines.
Malta’s controversial plans to head for EU scrutiny.
Financial risk checks series: how we got here.
And something's on your mind, isn't it?
UK consults
A multi-pronged set of gambling reform consultations launches.
Feedback to the future: The Gambling Commission and government want views on financial risk checks; online slot stake limits; new marketing standards; age verification procedures; remote game design; extending management liability schemes; and the regulator’s decision-making panel.
The proposed risk checks have generated significant interest from industry, which has 12 weeks to respond.
New obligations would force operators to carry out financial risk assessments that could mean reviewing a punter’s spending and bank balance in the context of their gambling.
A series of measures to help casinos compete with online were also proposed, concerning machine allowances.
“It reinforces that the government sees this as a priority in assisting the land-based industry,” said Andrew Cotton, director of betting and gaming at Ince & Co.
For online slots, a maximum stake of between £2 and £15 per spin has been proposed by ministers, with a smaller limit for players between 18 and 24 years of age.
More, more, more: Also floated are plans to reduce the speed and intensity of online games; strengthen age verification in casinos and other land-based venues; review management licenses for operators and the processes of the Commission’s regulatory panel.
“Sharpen your pencils,” said Steve Ketteley, gaming expert and partner at Wiggin, who called it “potentially the most impactful consultation the Commission has ever conducted”.
“It will be the most impactful consequence of the government’s stated aim of re-assessing the balance between consumer protection and consumer freedom,” he said.
Later this summer, the government will also consult on a new operator levy, a charge on betting companies to fund research, education and treatment.
The stake limit consultation published will be open for eight weeks, with the land-based consultation lasting 10 weeks.
Note: See below for the first in C+M’s four-part series on the UK’s plans for financial risk checks.
** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** With Kentucky, Maine and Vermont set to go live within the next six months, operators in these regions can use Compliable’s platform to ensure a smoother licensing journey.
Simplified license applications – ability to apply across multiple states
Help along the way – FAQs portfolio and 1-to-1 support available
Unique Compliance Dashboard – manage licenses and track applications
Read more about the onboarding process here
Esta aqui
The provisional measure that implements the 2018 law to legalize sports-betting gets the President’s signature.
Halle-Lula chorus: One president later than expected and nearly five years after the law was first passed, the legalization of sports betting in Brazil has formally been approved after President Lula da Silva, on Monday, signed the provisional measure N°1182. Congress now has 120 days to consider the reforms, after which the market can officially be declared open.
Among the changes contained within the provisional measure are a tax rate of 18%, up from 16% previously.
The cost of a license has also increased to R$30m ($6.3m) from R$22.2m.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has been given the task of establishing the National Secretariat for Games and Betting (SNJA).
The language of the law with regard to allowing foreign entities to enter the market appears to have also been clarified.
For some time, rumors had been circulating that the publication of the provisional measure was imminent. It brings to an end one of the longest sagas in the global gambling market and sets the scene for an official market launch by the end of the year.
For more on the Provisional Measure – and for regular news on the betting and gaming scene in Latin America – sign up to LosIngresos+Mas.
Massachusetts fines
The MGC issues small fines to all three of its land-based casinos for taking bets on Massachusetts college sports, which is against state regulations.
Out of character: The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is known for being no-nonsense and holding operators to the highest standards. That reputation was expected to result in significant fines for three licensed sportsbooks that took unauthorized wagers in the early days of Massachusetts sports betting.
In a complete departure, the fines handed down by the MGC on Tuesday were modest.
Plainridge Park Casino was issued a $20,000 fine for accepting wagers on a Merrimack College vs. Long Island University men’s college basketball game.
MGM Springfield was also hit with a $20,000 fine for accepting wagers on two Harvard men’s basketball games.
Encore Boston Harbor was fined $10,000 for taking bets on a Boston College women’s basketball game.
The $20,000 fines involved multiple wagers, with Penn accepting $6,848 in bets and MGM $1,230 in bets. Encore took a single $70 bet, resulting in a $10,000 fine.
Penalty kick: In addition to the MGC considering the severity of the infraction, the punishment for subsequent violations will likely increase.
With the divergent fines handed down based on the severity of the infraction, the recent violation by DraftKings, which accepted 860 bets on unauthorized tennis matches over 12 days, could receive a much stiffer first-time penalty.
Encore is facing a second fine after it accidentally turned back on betting on Boston College women’s basketball. A second offense for the same infraction will likely produce a much stiffer penalty.
Candy man: Massachusetts likely feels like a slap on the wrist compared to Ohio, where regulators handed out six-figure fines for first-time transgressions like they were candy.
Malta flashpoint
The gambling island’s controversial plans to absolve licensee firms from liabilities is being assessed for compatibility with EU law.
We’ll be the judge of that: Malta’s attempt to make prosecuting Maltese gaming companies from abroad more difficult is currently being scrutinized by the European Commission to see whether it is compatible with EU law, according to the European Commission.
Answering a question from a German MEP Sabine Verheyen, European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said the body has requested further information from the Maltese government over its controversial Bill 55.
Reynders said it would “decide on the appropriate follow-up steps” to be taken and refused to answer a question on potential sanctions.
Fishing: Verheyen also asked whether the Commission had any information on whether the Maltese Government or whether individual members of the government had “maintained links” with the gambling industry on the island.
Reynders answered with a straight bat that the Commission “does not have any information about possible links”.
Singapore sting
Singapore police arrested 25 people following a raid on a suspected illegal gambling den last week (July 20).
Cash amounting to about $15,000, 11 handphones and gaming-related paraphernalia were seized during the operation on a building in Sembawang, northern Singapore.
A 39-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were charged with acting as a gaming service provider to 23 people at the Gambas Crescent industrial premises.
Singapore introduced harsher laws during a revamp of betting regulations in 2022, with six-figure penalties and jail time for those found guilty.
Financial risk checks series
With the UK Gambling Commission’s financial risk checks consultation underway, C+M is launching a short series of articles on how it emerged as one of the central areas of change in the recent Gambling Act Review White Paper. First up, how did we get here?
Risk on: The exact shape of the financial risk checks regime to be instigated by the UK government and the Gambling Commission will have to wait until the end of the 12-week consultation process.
But the market does at least have confirmation that some form of regime is coming.
The White Paper set out two types of checks. The first are background checks at moderate levels of spend of £125 net loss within a month or £500 within a year.
The second check would occur at higher levels of spend where there may be indications of harmful binge gambling or sustained unaffordable losses.
These are set at £1,000 net loss within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days and should be a “more detailed” look into a customer’s financial position and “narrowly targeted”.
The government went on to estimate that only around 3% of online gambling accounts will be affected.
Clunk, click: The contentious part is that the White Paper stated that these checks “will also be frictionless for customers” and would be “conducted online by credit reference agencies or through other means such as open banking in the first instance”.
“Further information will only be requested from customers as a last resort,” it added, with operators required to “respond appropriately” to any risks on a case-by-case basis.
But it added that “it is not the intent” of the government or the Gambling Commission that they should be setting a “blanket rule on how much of their income adults should be able to spend on gambling”.
No direction home: Some perhaps hoped for a clearer statement of what exactly the government does want from the new regime. But as Jonathan Jensen, regulatory policy expert at GB Group, says, what they got was more a sense of direction of travel rather than a precise map.
“I think the Commission and the DCMS have deliberately avoided being prescriptive in saying how it should be done because they want to promote innovation,” he says.
“They want the market to identify the optimum solutions in this space.”
“It's an evolving debate, regardless of what position the Commission says now, actually,” says Kirsty Caldwell, director at Betsmart Consulting.
“I do still think there's an element of operators just hanging back and not wanting to make a change until they know what’s coming down the line,” she adds.
So what’s new? As Tom Farrell, head of marketing for affordability solution provider ClearStake, says, there is nothing particularly new about what the White Paper is suggesting operators should be doing from now on.
“They’re doing the checks today, they’re just doing them in a terrible way that sends 80-90% of your customers off somewhere else,” he points out.
Charles Cohen, CEO at Department of Trust, agrees. “The hope is that the operators will be able to move away from the stop-and-search method being employed right now”.
Next week: Friction or non-friction.
** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** BettingJobs is the global leading recruitment solutions provider to the iGaming, Sports Betting and Lotteries sectors. Boasting a 20-year track record supporting the iGaming industry, and with a team of experts and world class knowledge, it’s no surprise BettingJobs is experiencing rapid growth with outstanding results. Does your company have plans to expand teams to cope with strong growth and demand?
Contact BettingJobs.com today where their dedicated team members will help you find exactly what you are looking for.
UK notebook
The Betting and Gaming Council has welcomed the UK government’s moves to take tougher action against social media platforms to prevent children seeing age-restricted adverts for products that include gambling.
The BGC said that DCMS minister Stuart Andrew has confirmed he will convene a meeting to discuss what can be done in this area.
BGC CEO Michael Dugher used his appearance before the DCMS select committee to call on social media giants to cooperate with the gambling operators to protect vulnerable groups.
Currently all social media advertisements for BGC members must be targeted at those aged over 25, unless platforms can provide evidence to verify the accuracy of their targeting to over 18s.
Asian notebook
India: Esports have been officially recognized as a sport by the Indian government, meaning they do not fall under the country’s 28% goods and services tax, according to the eSports Federation of India.
Sports integrity notebook
NFL: The league has indefinitely suspended Denver Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike for allegedly betting on league games during the 2022 season, according to AP. Uwazurike is the 10th player this offseason to be suspended for violating the NFL’s gambling policies.
Tennis: Mark Philippoussis, former top-10 player and now a professional coach, has been fined nearly $15,000 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for breaching betting sponsorship rules. The 46-year-old was paid for “providing a voiceover to promotional content for a gaming operator”.
An +More Media publication.
For sponsorship inquiries email scott@andmore.media.
