Sensitive topics
A whistle to whistle ban on advertising has been rejected, but with presidential elections looming next year, France's Budget and industry talks enter a crucial period
Hello, on Gaming&Co today:
Handle with care: Financing pro sports, advertising, protecting 18-25 year olds - all are highly sensitive for French stakeholders
UK: PM hands powers to local authorities, Sarah Gardner is committed
Ukraine’s high channelisation, Mexican MP: declare gambling health crisis
NIBS: Evoke, Catena Media, Tabcorp-Betmakers
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Sensitive topics
Proposals for a French whistle to whistle ban on gambling advertising have been rejected, but with presidential elections looming next year, Budget and industry talks enter a crucial period
New phase: Consumer protection, social responsibility and responsible gambling have always been key topics surrounding online sports betting and gaming in France and are gaining in salience as part of the debate around the organisation, management and financing of professional sport in the country.
They came into sharper focus during the debates on the country’s professional sports bill that took place at the Assemblée nationale before the summer recess and, with long-term financial sustainability of professional sports bodies a key issue in France, will continue to emerge in the coming months.
Beyond sports finances, gambling advertising, illegal streaming, politics and the protection of 18-25 year olds will also all be part of the debates as political parties gear up for momentous presidential elections next year.
Read the full article on SBC News.
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Read the full analysis to discover how localisation is becoming the defining competitive advantage for operators.
Andy Burnham hands powers back to UK councils
Betting shops in cross-hairs of PM’s plans to change UK high streets
Power grab: The UK government has announced plans to give councils greater control over high streets by introducing stricter planning rules for betting shops, adult gaming centres and vape shops. The measures will give councils across Great Britain greater powers to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour gambling venues, while new vape shops will need planning permission in England and will no longer be able to present themselves as general retailers.
One of the new measures will scrap a rule known as “aim to permit”, which currently restricts councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops, while new adult gaming centres in England which offer 24-hour access to gambling machines will also require planning permission.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said UK high streets had been “hollowed out” and that communities should have more influence over which businesses operate in their town centres.
According to the BBC, illegal tobacco and vape sales, drug dealing and money laundering have been linked to some high street shops, with the National Crime Agency estimating that at least £1bn of criminal money is laundered through high street businesses each year.
The Betting and Gaming Council supported action against criminal operators, but rejected claims that betting shops are spreading unchecked as 3,000 shops have closed since 2019. It added that morer than 540 betting shops had closed and 4,500 jobs had been lost since the government’s remote gaming duty tax hike to 40%.
“Thankless task” of UK regulation too interesting to leave, says CEO
Glutton for punishment: Acting UK Gambling Commission CEO Sarah Gardner says that regulating one of the world’s largest gambling industries is often a “thankless task”, but is nevertheless too compelling to leave behind.
In an interview with Global Gambling Business magazine, Gardner reflected on 17 years of service to the UK’s gambling watchdog, during what has often been an intense period for the regulator.
Hot potato: She now finds herself in the hot seat as the commission approaches the conclusion of its most controversial projects to date.
Last month saw the announcement that the long-running pilot of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) would be proceeding into regulatory reality.
Sudden exit
The CEO who oversaw the implementation of the pilot, Andrew Rhodes, left the commission in April and has since joined industry consultancy Hawkridge, in what some see as a controversial about-face for the country’s former arch-regulator. That has left GC-veteran Gardner holding the torch for FRAs.
Balancing act: “What we’re currently doing on financial risk assessments, controversial though that it is, is a really good example of striking a balance [between player enjoyment and consumer protection] because that is about finding a more sophisticated way than currently exists to hone in on the consumers who actually need the support,” she told GGB.
Reinforcements: With prominent Gambling Commission executive Tim Miller also imminently departing the regulator after a decade, Sarah Fox has been drafted in from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to head Miller’s Policy and Research and Statistics team.
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Ukraine’s positive channelisation despite Russian invasion
Vast majority of players have moved to the regulated market
Patriotism: Online gamblers in wartime Ukraine have largely shifted to the regulated market, according to new data collected by the nation’s government.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation says that 86% of online gambling consumers in the country are playing with one of the country’s licensed operators. A total of 2,676 individuals were surveyed during May and June this year.
No going back: Around 78% of those questioned claimed they have no intention of switching to the black market, the government said.
Top of the class: A figure of 86% puts Ukraine well ahead of several other regulated European online casino sectors.
For example, official estimates in the Netherlands put its market channelisation below 50% and Sweden’s regulator most recently said that 68% of players are inside the regulated market, although this is believed to be a vast overestimate by many in the industry.
Mexico bill would declare gambling public health crisis
Proposals also take aim at prediction markets
Too spicy: A Mexico City politician has begun a drive to redefine gambling harm as a public health issue and to put pressure on prediction operators to fall in line. Alberto Martínez Urincho has presented a bill that would require operators in Mexico to add significant new player protection measures.
Keep out: The draft proposes that advertising carries mandatory health and risk warnings and would require gambling providers to enhance age-controls to ensure that minors do not access their platforms.
And stay out: Several of the proposed measures appear to be targeted at prediction markets, which currently exist in a grey market space in Mexico. Urincho’s bill calls for a ban on bets on political events, armed conflicts, natural disasters, humanitarian crises or any other event that “violates human dignity”.
Public health crisis: The Mexico City-based politician argues that between 4-8% of the country’s adolescent population displays signs of problem gambling and that as many as 3.9m Mexicans could be suffering from gambling harm.
Play’n GO is launching into land-based casinos.
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With cabinets already placed with one of the biggest casino chains in the world, Play’n GO’s CEO Johan Tornqvist said: “We are bringing the best of online casino content and features to casino floors worldwide.”
For more info, visit www.playngo.com
News shorts
Evoke revenue was flat at £887.5m and adj. EBITDA was down 10% to £150m as tax rises cost the group an extra £46m. The 888 and William Hill parent added that its recommended acquisition by Bally’s Intralot was on track and scheduled to close by Q4 or early 2027. Shareholders are set to vote on it at the company’s general meeting on 17 August.
The group recorded post-tax losses of £70m as UK & Ireland online revenue increased 4%, international revenue was down 2% despite rising 21% in Italy and 13% in Denmark.
Catena Media revenues were down 1% to €9.5m and adj. EBITDA dropped 11% to €1.2m due to ongoing “organic search headwinds”. The affiliate group said it continued to invest to become “a technical infrastructure platform provider that brings together industry players in a single ecosystem”.
Australian giant Tabcorp is set to acquire the sports betting platform BetMakers Technology for approximately AU$267m (US$188.6m). BetMakers reported an unaudited EBITDA of $14m for the 12 months period ending 30 June.
Calendar
Results: Aug 13: Entain, Grandstand (ex-Gambling.com), Bragg Gaming
Events: 29 Sept-1 Oct: SBC Summit Lisbon, 15 Oct: Gaming in Spain, 10 Nov: Gaming in Germany, Berlin
Contact
Get in touch with Jake Pollard for all editorial, sponsorship and partnership opportunities at Gaming&Co: jake@gamingandco.info