High tension: France's Web3 amendments
High tension: France's Web3 amendments
Tense debates on Web3 amendments, Betsson France, PMU-UK Tote, NIBS &Co
Hello, on Gaming & Co today:
High tension: Web3-JONUM amendement debates were tense and revealed sharp disagreements with draft bill’s premise .
Betsson France: After Belgium, Betsson will be active in France.
Liquidity pools: PMU extends partnership with UK Tote.
Mad Max: Flutter to enter Serbia.
News in brief : 888, AFJEL, Better Collective, Tottenham-Socios.
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High tension: France’s Web3 amendments
Debates on the Web3-JONUM amendments led to tense exchanges between MPs from all sides and the French government.
Tense present: The deadline for amendments on France’s regulation of Web3-JONUM (games with monetisable digital objects) gaming companies is this weekend, but parliamentary exchanges so far have revealed sharp tensions between MPs of all sides raising questions about key issues of the JONUM legislation and government representatives.
Key issues: The debates revolved around lobbying, the parallels between JONUM-Web3 gaming products and real-money games and measures, or rather lack thereof, to protect minors.
Tensions running high: Article 15 of the bill to secure and regulate the digital space (SREN) concerns JONUMs, and from the record of the debates, they were tense.
The clue’s in the name: Notably, a French government representative stated, somewhat surprisingly, that a "fundamental difference" between JONUMs and gambling is "that the company operating JONUMs does not monetise them".
Criteria to back this up: But Sophia Chikirou of the leftwing LFI-NUPES group replied that "JONUMs meet all the criteria for gambling” (Ed: product communicated to the public, financial sacrifice, expectation of monetary gains due to chance) and added that "the only reason you are passing this article is because it has the name Sorare on it", in reference to the French web3 unicorn.
Lobbying isn’t so rare
Philippe Latombe of the centre-right group Modem, who tabled the 'SFM' online casino bill in May, added:
"Article 15 is the Sorare article. That's what the (French) press calls it. Yesterday, I went to meet the Sorare representatives because they're not happy with my amendments! They are exerting phenomenal pressure to ensure that Article 15 remains as it is and that their model is confirmed."
With regard to the protection of minors, as presented the regulation does not require proof of identity or age when users open JONUM accounts, but only when withdrawing winnings.
No age verification: "While the text is supposed to protect minors," added Ms Chikirou, "you are refusing crucial sub-amendments on advertising aimed at them; you are not planning to make the creation of a player account conditional on age verification - you only want to make the withdrawal of winnings conditional."
Emeline K/Bidi (GDR-NUPES) added: "You tell us that a simple message on the game interface will warn that games are prohibited to minors, while their identity will be verified when withdrawing winnings."
Betsson France set for Q4 launch
Betsson has received its OSB licence operator and will launch in the French market in Q4.
JV in France: The launch will take place through a joint venture between Betsson and Sabri Tekaya and Nadir Ounissi, two long-standing gaming executives who will be in charge of developing the brand in France.
Tekaya will be CEO of Betsson France and was previously CEO and COO of the Belgian games provider Gaming1, while Ounissi is head of Casino Secret, a Cyprus-based site targeting the Japanese market.
Active in the flat country: Betsson is active in Belgium via its takeover of Belgian bookmaker BetFIRST, where it also operates a B2B online casino partnership with Groupe Partouche.
Betsson President Pontus Lindwall said France was an "important market with huge long-term potential" and that the launch was "another positive step" in the group's "strategic plan to diversify geographically".
During the SBC Summit in Barcelona, Betsson CEO Jesper Svensson said it was important to operate in a wide range of markets in order to "diversify risk".
Recreational focus: Nadir Ounissi will be Partner of Betsson France and said the group will introduce "a different dimension” to betting and “way of communicating with players" with an offer tailored to recreational gamblers.
Tekaya added that the group has "worked closely with the regulator ANJ to meet all requirements and ensure that our operations achieve their objectives while addressing current societal concerns related to gaming."
Sportradar will provide its betting data and managed trading services to Betsson France, with the player account management (PAM) system to be operated by Malta-based supplier OMEGA Systems.
PMU expands partnership with UK Tote
Totalise this: PMU has extended its partnered with the UK Tote and will provide UK and Irish punters exclusive access to PMU's French pools via the Tote's .co.uk and .ie sites.
The agreement is effective immediately and will be in place for Sunday's Prix De l'Arc De Triomphe in Paris .
According to the UK Tote press release, PMU offers prize pools of more than €750K on each of its races and recorded more than €15m in stakes during the 2022 edition of the Prix De l'Arc De Triomphe.
Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet, CEO of PMU, commented: "We are very proud of this new step that marks the recognition of our expertise as a global horse racing operator and highlights the excellence of French races. This exciting development will enhance the already highly attractive horse betting offering of the UK Tote.”
Alex Frost, CEO of UK Tote, added that the co-mingling of liquidities allows the Tote's "UK and Irish players to bet in huge player pools on top races in France".
Flutter to the Max
Max effort: Flutter Entertainment has taken a 51% majority stake in Serbian bookmaker MaxBet for €141m. Flutter will have the option to buy out the remaining 49% of the group in 2029.
MaxBet is the number 2 betting operator in Serbia and recorded revenues of €145m in the last 12 months for an adjusted EBITDA of €32m, with 55% of revenues coming from its outlets and 45% from its website.
According to Flutter, Max Bet has a 20% share of a market valued at around €700m and the market is growing at an annual rate of 15%.
News in brief
According to Isabelle Djian, CEO of AFJEL, 3 million French players are active on illegal online casino sites and generate revenues of €1.6bn for unregulated operators targeting France. In an article published in Les Echos, the head of France’s online gambling trade group called for "effective legislation" of the vertical in France.
Betclic and the Ligue Nationale de Volleyhave announced a three-year partnership that will see France's leading online sportsbook become an official partner of the France’s naitonal volleyball league.
888 will miss its EBITDA targets for 2023 and Q3 revenues will be down 10% year-on-year to around £400m due to responsible gambling measures introduced by the UK's leading operators over recent years.
888 added that unfavourable sporting results had contributed to a fall in its sporting margins during the period. The group made a loss of £32m in H1 and is operating with £1.6bn of debt, which it took on to acquire William Hill in 2021.
Per Widerstrom, 888's new CEO, will take up his post in mid-October, one of his key objectives will be to reduce the costs and create savings.
Better Collective is to carry out a dual listing on the Nasdaq Copenhagen market. The affiliate giant is already listed on the same market in Stockholm. The listing is expected to take place in Q4.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust has criticised the club over the deal it has signed with fan token operator Socios.
THST said fans run the risk of entering a cryptocurrency eco-system few understand and that "there should be no technological or financial barriers to fan engagement" with the club.
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