French digital bill and ANJ report to dominate Sep23
Sep23 preview: SREN-JONUM bill and ANJ report on iCasino, Dazn to bid for Ligue 1 rights, In Touch Games suspended in UK & Co
Hello, it’s a busy return from the summer break for the French gambling sector:
The French industry will be dominated by the return of the digital bill SREN and the regulator ANJ’s report into the illegal iCasino market in France.
Dazn will bid for the TV rights to Ligue 1.
The UK Gambling Commission has suspended In Touch Games’s licence.
Ontario says no to professional athletes endorsing OSB products.
Results and news in brief.
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Headliners: Digital safety bill and ANJ report
The SREN bill and the ANJ report on the illegal online casino market in France will dominate discussions in September.
Back to school: France’s digital safety and regulatory bill (SREN) overseeing web3 actors as part of the JONUM regulations and the report from the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) on the illegal online casino market in France will dominate industry discussions in the coming weeks.
The SREN bill will be debated in the National Assembly from October 9 and it is within this regulatory project that efforts to regulate online casinos in France should be seen.
Among the iCasino bills that have put forward recently are that of the MP Philippe Latombe linked to the sociétés de fourniture et de maintenance (SFM), the companies that buy gaming equipment for French land-based casinos, and the JADE ((jeu à distance experimental/experimental remote gaming) project put forward by the Syndicat des Casinos de France (CdF) trade body.
JADE, like JONUM, advocates an initial experimental period of three years during which only French land-based casinos would be authorised to offer online casino products.
In July Philippe Bon, CEO of CdF, told Gaming & Co that the objective of JADE is to allow a “reasonable and responsible proposal that is correlated to the gaming offers available in physical outlets”.
Key factors
France is currently the largest European market (in terms of size) not to have regulated online casinos. Generally speaking there is consensus on the need for regulation, but any regulated context will also have to find a balance between a number of important factors.
Constant search for balance: These include operating a legal offering and minimising the potential for excessive gambling, channeling players to regulated sites and controlling the illegal activity, as well as maintaining the balance between the different verticals in the sector.
Crucial advertising: As in many regulated markets, gambling advertising is a sensitive issue and any regulation of online casinos in France would imply an increase in the marketing volume of these products.
However, as part of the JADE project, CdF members propose not to advertise directly to the public. Instead, an institutional campaign would introduce regulated online casino sites to consumers.
For supporters of JADE, such a system would allow French players to play with casino brands they are familiar with and would avoid a large number of casino sites flooding the digital advertising space from the start of regulation.
Highly anticipated
The report from ANJ on the illegal online casino market targeting France is eagerly awaited. Its publication was initially scheduled for July, but was pushed back to the end of September.
The activity is understood to generate between €1.5bn-€2bn in revenue and 1.4 to 2.2 million players are said to visit unregulated sites. The new report should provide more details on the subject.
However, any opinion ANJ has on the possible regulation of online casinos in France is also highly anticipated. That is because so far it has not expressed a position on the issue.
Dazn in the zone for Ligue 1 rights
Sports streaming CEO says the group will bid for French football TV rights.
Call for tender: Dazn is set to bid for the rights to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, France’s top two football leagues as the country’s Ligue de Football Professionnel prepares to call for tenders on September 12.
The next batch of rights will run from 2024 to 2028 and Dazn CEO Shay Segev told French media the group will be one of the candidates bidding for them.
€1bn target: French football currently receives just over €700m in domestic and international TV rights and Vincent Labrune, president of LFP, recently said he wanted to see that amount reach €1bn .
Dazn owns the rights to Serie A, La Liga as well as the German Bundesliga and launched in France during the summer following an agreement with Canal+.
The deal enables Dazn to broadcast its content in the Canal+ sports offering and to distribute the Canal+ Ligue 1 channel in the Dazn application.
“Major player”: In a recent interview with L'Équipe, Segev said the group “wants to be an important broadcaster of Ligue 1, a major player. France is a great football nation (and) in the long term, DAZN can reduce the fragmentation of sports rights in France.”
He added that the group wants to become “the home of sport”, where consumers would be able to purchase single matches, tickets and merchandising or place a bet.
Dazn does not offer sports bets in France currently, but operates the Dazn Bet brand in the UK and recently obtained an OSB license in Germany.
In Touch Games licence revoked by UKGC
UK regulator suspends casino operator’s licence for failure to comply with money laundering, terms and practices and reporting obligations.
Breach of licensing conditions: The UK Gambling Commission has suspended In Touch Games’s operator licence with immediate effect.
UKGC’s decision follows a review of the group’s activities which concluded that In Touch Games had failed in its obligations to prevent “money laundering, fair and transparent terms and practices, and reporting key events”.
In Touch Games comes has already been fined three times by the British regulator, with financial penalties amounting to almost £12m since 2019.
The most recent fine was in February this year and came to £6m for “social responsibility and money laundering breaches”.
In Touch Games has not published results for the 2022-23 financial year, but in 2021 recorded a turnover of £76.5m and gross profits of £52.6m.
The group was acquired by Skywind Group in 2022 and operates around 11 sites in the UK, including the mFortune and Mr Spin brands. Skywind is a B2B provider of iCasino games established in 2012 by Playtech founder Teddy Sagi.
Ontario bans pro athletes from OSB sponsorships
Banned: The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has banned online betting operators from using the images or names of professional athletes as part of their advertising and promotional campaigns.
The rules around the activities have also been strengthened with regard to the use of celebrities for any marketing campaigns that could appeal to under-age players.
AGCO arrived at its decision following a series of consultations held in April with members of the public, the gaming industry and media groups as well as with mental and public health specialists.
The new system will come into force in February 2024.
Results in brief
Codere Online said it would be profitable in 2024 following a 34% YoY increase in Q2 revenues to €39m and EBITDA “dropping by more than half” to €4.5m. The group expects to record FY revenues of €150m-€160m and adj. EBTIDA of €15m-€25m.
EveryMatrix saw YoY net revenues rise 82% to €27m and EBITDA shoot up 182% to €15m in Q2. The group's profit margins reached 55% during the financial year. During the period the group finalised its acquisition of affiliate analysis specialist Depp CI.
Sportradar confirmed its forecasts for FY23 and said it expects revenues to rise 25% YoY to €900m-€920m and adj. EBITDA to be up 17% to €157m-€167m. The group also renewed its partnership with NASCAR for a period of four years.
News in brief
Pan-European lottery and sports betting operators Allwyn has appointed Naida Buljugic as it Global Chief People and Culture Officer. The role is a first for the group.
Statscore has extended its partnership as the official sports data provider of the Orlen Superliga, the Polish women's handball league. The group said it will now two data scouts present at each women's handball match instead of one previously.
Betsson has launched in Denmark with its flagship brand, which will operate in tandem with NordicBet, the group's other sports betting brand in Denmark. In May Betsson launched a new NordicBet site and ended Betsafe's operations on the market.
The group also appointed Nordea to assess investor appetite for a €50m-€75m fundraise. If successful, the funds would be used for general purposes and potential acquisitions.
Betway is the new global betting partner of Arsenal Football Club. The group said the agreement will enhance the match experience for supporters and create exclusive activation content. Betway is also global betting partner of Brighton & Hove Albion.
Mateus Mazij is the new CEO of Bragg Gaming. He replaces Yanniv Sherman who previously had been head of 888 in the US. Mazij is Bragg Gaming’s largest shareholder and is the founder of Oryx Gaming, which was acquired by Bragg in 2018.
Reading material: September will also be an important month in Brazil.
Calendrier
Sept 7 : Playtech
Sept 19-21: SBC Summit, Barcelona.
Contact
Contact Jake Pollard to find out more about Gaming&Co: jake@gamingandco.info