Supply and demand
Gambling Commission reminds operators to scrutinise suppliers or face consequences
Good morning, on Gaming&Co today:
UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes says operators must sharpen up and puts focus on suppliers
François Bayrou safe, negotiations start with Socialists
Netherlands: two MPs demand action against Unibet
BeIN signs Ligue 1 TV deal to end delays, news shorts: Genius Sports, Betsson, Kambi, Italy
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Gambling Commission doubles down on suppliers
UKGC CEO follows up on Evolution licence review with calls for increased due diligence
Getting on with DD: UK Gambling Commission CEO Andrew Rhodes (above) has once again called on online gambling operators to carry out due diligence when working with suppliers. Speaking at a webinar hosted by the gaming law firm Harris Hagan this week, Rhodes said operators will suffer if some of their suppliers’ licences were to be revoked.
Move fast and disrupt things: The news comes as the Commission continues its review of leading live casino supplier Evolution’s UK licence. In November, Rhodes said UKGC’s strategy to combat illegal gambling was to cause “as much upstream disruption as we can” by focusing “on ISPs, payment providers, search engines, software suppliers and more”.
In December, Evolution announced its UK licence was under review by the Commission for providing its services to unlicensed operators targeting the UK. The topic was analysed last week by Gaming&Co.
Really? One gaming lawyer hit back and told iGB that licensed operators would find it “incredibly difficult” to pressure suppliers and would not necessarily know “if the non-GB operator was allowing GB customers to gamble” on its site.
Vice versa: This line of argument was similar to Evolution’s, which as G&C reported last week, told SBC Leaders that it does “not control which markets our operator customers operate in. The decision about which markets to target with their services lies with the operators”.
During the webinar, Rhodes said he didn’t “understand why anyone in the licensed industry would want to be in business with a company supporting illegal competition”.
He added: “It doesn’t make sense to me, but it might suggest that the (illegal) industry isn’t as big as some say, which I don’t think is what people think.”
Vive la différence: In France, however, the situation is different to that of many of its neighbours since online casino is not regulated there, while sports betting providers must be certified by the Autorité Nationale des Jeux to supply licensed bookmakers. However, should iCasino become legalised, the issue of companies having either operated or supplied technology to groups operating there illegally would likely be a key topic.
Frame building: Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst added that the BGC was in the process of establishing a framework for members who are suppliers to not do business with unlicensed companies targeting the UK. G&C asked the BGC if it had been influenced by UKGC’s licence review of Evolution but had not received a reply at press time.
Impact status: Looking further afield, UKGC is viewed as a leading regulator in Europe. The impact of its decision about Evolution, which might range from a fine to licence suspension, could have serious implications for the European industry and for the company, which has a market value of €16bn.
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French politics in negotiations
Socialists refuse no-confidence vote, situation stable for time being
Bayrou is safe (for now): French PM François Bayrou should be relatively safe for the foreseeable future after France's Socialist Party rejected the vote of no confidence put forward by La France Insoumise yesterday. With the Rassemblement National saying it would not be voting against the government, the motion had no chance of bringing down the government for a second time in the space of barely two months.
Going forward, however, the socialists will play a key role in maintaining, or not, Bayrou in his job.
Still, the Budget negotiations will start on a better footing but that does not guarantee that the online casino regulatory project will be included in any new draft.
(© AFC Ajax. Unibet partnered with AFC Ajax when it re-entered the Dutch market in Jun22)
Dutch MPs call for action against Unibet
Concerns cover activity of Kindred Group’s flagship brand pre-regulation
Going Dutch: Two Dutch MPs have submitted parliamentary questions to the State Secretary for Legal Protection asking the government to investigate whether Unibet's remote license can be suspended or repealed, reports Gaming in Holland. The move follows reports that Unibet, the flagship brand of La Française des Jeux’s Kindred Group, is no longer sharing players’ transaction histories from before Oct21, when the Dutch market became regulated.
Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage: MPs Michiel van Nispen and Mirjam Bikker said Kindred was trying to “sabotage” attempts by former players to reclaim their losses suffered during the period that Unibet operated in the Netherlands without a licence.
Kindred has paid out more than €200K to three Dutch claimants since Aug24 and says it no longer has access to the data following its acquisition by FDJ and the resulting split of its previous parent company Trannel International Ltd.
It also cited differences in GDPR enforcement between Malta (where Trannel is based) and the Netherlands. “The media attention surrounding these legal cases led to an exceptional situation last year, in which we faced a significant increase in requests from Dutch customers to access their transaction records,” it told SBC.
Memory lane: Kindred left it to the eve of regulation in Oct21 to withdraw from the Netherlands as it had not applied for a licence or submitted to the six-month cool-down phase ordered by the authorities before the regulated launch.
Back to the future: This meant it did not return to the market until summer 2022. While the country represented close to half its EBITDA in 2021, the more significant outcome of the decision was that it enabled Bet365 to gain share. The UK group is now believed to be neck-and-neck market leader with Unibet there.
(© DAZN)
Relief for Ligue 1 as BeIN signs TV deal
Qatari network finally signs broadcast agreement to end months of uncertainty
Be here now: BeIN Sports has finally agreed the terms of its broadcast deal with Ligue 1, ending months of uncertainty for French football. The deal, initially struck in Aug24, saw coverage split between the French-Qatari network and DAZN. But BeIN has been delaying the signing of the deal, believing it to be too favourable to DAZN, according to L’Equipe.
A resolution this week ensured the network will pay €98.5m annually until 2029, with a recent €15m settlement covering January fees.
BeIN has committed to broadcasting one Ligue 1 match per week and supporting unsold sponsorship sales to benefit clubs. The collaboration will offer mid-sized and smaller teams crucial revenue streams, mitigating the financial risks that threatened several top-flight and Ligue 2 clubs.
The agreement also includes provisions for promoting Qatari businesses, potentially diversifying income for Ligue 1.
The protracted sale of the rights last summer was recently described as a “fiasco” by industry watchers, while viewers have not taken to DAZN’s offer with subscriber numbers understood to be down on previous seasons. This has had a ripple effect on betting markets, with Ligue 1 turnover also dropping.
DAZN meanwhile looks set to receive a cash injection from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is reportedly set to invest $1bn for a 10% stake in the streaming giant. The investment has been on the cards for some months now - although PIF publicly denied reports in October - and follows DAZN landing the rights for the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia next year.
Humour : L’Équipe tackles DAZN (tip: turn on instant subtitles)
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News shorts
Genius Sports issued a public offering of 17.6 million shares this week at $8.50 per share. The operation closed yesterday and raised c$144m for the group. The funds will be used for general business purposes including investments or potential M&A deals. Genius also confirmed FY25 revenue guidance of $511m and adj. EBITDA guidance of $86m.
Italy’s tax adjustments to specific gambling segments have been incorporated into its 2025 Budget Law and were signed off by President Sergio Mattarella earlier this month. The provisions of the law have elicited both positive and negative reactions from Italian gambling stakeholders. Read the full story on SBC News.
Swedish casino games provider Yggdrasil has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Aristocrat Interactive for the US and Canada.
Betsson has rejigged its leadership team. Jesper Svensson has been made operational CEO and Kristian Saliba is now operational CFO. Pontus Lindwall and Martin Öhman remain as President and CEO and CFO respectively, but VP of Global Tax Amandus Jabin and VP of Investor Relations Roland Glasfor are no longer part of the executive management team.
Kambi has appointed Mattias Frithiof as SVP of Investor Relations & Sustainability. Frithiof brings over 15 years of experience in IR and finance, most recently at the audiobook firm Storytel, and will report to CFO David Kenyon.
Calendar
Jan 20-22: ICE 2025, Barcelona
Jan 30: Evolution FY24
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