regulation – Page 14

August 19, 2022

A lucky escape for Entain?

iGB op-ed: this week, the gambling industry was the subject of front-page news when gaming giant Entain paid a record settlement of £17m (€20.1m/$20.4m) to the GB Gambling Commission for a range of regulatory failings. Marese O’Hagan ponders whether another operator would have had its licence revoked outright.

News of the scale of Entain’s £17m regulatory settlement this week generally ignites sharp debate between anti-industry campaigners and those in support of the sector. And with social media playing such a large part in communication today, it is easier than ever to absorb both sides of the debate.

However, there was little sympathy for Entain on Wednesday morning when the penalty was announced.

In total, Entain has agreed to pay £14m for social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failures carried out by its online gaming business LC International Limited – which operates 13 UK sites, including Coral.co.uk, Ladbrokes.com and FoxyBingo.com – and a further £3m for simi..

August 17, 2022

Entain to pay record £17m for wide-ranging failings in GB

The GB Gambling Commission has ordered Entain to pay a record £17.0m (€20.3m/$20.6m) after it identified a series of social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML) failings across its online and land-based businesses.

Entain will pay £14.0m for failings from LC International Limited (LCI), which runs Entain’s online brands including Ladbrokes.com, Coral.co.uk and Foxybingo.com.

The remaining £3.0m is for the Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming Limited (LBG) land-based business, which operates 2,746 betting shops across Great Britain.

All £17m will be directed towards socially responsible purposes as part of a regulatory settlement, while the Commission will impose a series of additional licence conditions, with an Entain board member tasked with overseeing a new business plan for improvement.

In addition, a third-party audit of compliance with the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice will take place within 12 months.

As a result of the failings, Gambling Commission chief execut..

August 12, 2022

Flutter CEO: we are well-placed to “capitalise” on UK reforms

Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said that he expects his business to ultimately be a winner from the results of the UK Gambling Act review, as Flutter’s scale will help it navigate changes while smaller businesses may exit the market.

The comments came during Flutter’s earnings call for the first half of 2022, following results in which the business revealed that its FanDuel brand had turned a profit during Q2.

Jackson (pictured) argued that in both the UK and Australia, Flutter’s businesses had “outgrown regulations”.

He discussed the introduction of point-of-consumption taxes in these markets as an example of a regulatory challenge that had a short-term negative impact, but made Flutter brands stronger in the long term.

“Our scale and operating leverage have allowed us to mitigate the impacts, both through operational efficiencies, and also through market share gains as smaller operators were required to exit from the market.”

In the presentation, Flutter also noted that ..

August 8, 2022

Massachusetts commissioners: legal betting is “going to take some time”

Massachusetts gaming commissioners have warned that the launch of legal sports betting in the state may take longer than expected, as they prepare to create rules for the vertical.

The state legislature passed a bill to permit sports betting last week, in the final hours of the year’s legislative session, ending months of deadlock after the House and Senate had each passed their own bills with major differences between the two.

Under this bill, any operator of a land-based casino or racetrack in the state may receive a licence, and there will be an additional 7 online-only licences. All of these will carry a $5m licence fee.

Betting on college sports will be permitted, with the exception of matches involving in-state teams. Online betting will be taxed at 20% and retail at 15%.

Read the full story on iGB North America

August 1, 2022

Holding back the tide

René Jansen, chair of Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), speaks to Daniel O’Boyle about the challenges involved in fighting on two fronts since the country launched its regulated online gambling market. On one hand he’s keeping the unlicensed market at bay, on the other he’s working to ensure the licensed sector moderates its advertising

After eight years of anticipation, it could have been difficult for the launch of the Netherlands’ online gambling market to fulfil expectations.

For Jansen, chair of regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the launch did indeed live up to what he anticipated.

“It’s been a success in several aspects,” he says.

But going as expected is only a good thing if the predictions are optimistic. And it’s hard to miss the fact that one aspect of the market launch went exactly as Jansen predicted, in exactly the wrong way.

Advertising turmoil

In May 2021, the KSA chair warned of an advertising “bombardment” when the legal market opened.

Looking at..

July 13, 2022

Industry shares resilient amid report of white paper details

Industry share prices rebounded from an initial dip following a report that the new Gambling Act white paper will include a £125 monthly soft cap on affordability – with harder checks for players losing £2,000 in three months.

Industry commentators Earnings + More reported a number of details this morning related to the content of the Gambling Act White Paper.

Industry sources confirmed to iGB it matched up with their understanding of the document.

Perhaps the most significant detail in the report was detail of the affordability checks that operators may be required to perform. Players would be allowed to have a net loss of up to £125 per month or £500 per year before “passive” checks – to see if players have obvious signs of financial difficulties such as county court judgements – kick in.

Those who lose more than £1,000 in 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days will face “more detailed” checks.

New accounts will face lower thresholds.

Sources raised questions, however, of what the d..

July 11, 2022

Dutch minister defends Curaçao reform timeline

Dutch Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind has defended the timeline towards reform of Curaçao’s gambling system, noting the progress the island is making towards implementing the reforms demanded by the Dutch government.

Although the island’s Council of Ministers recently approved new gambling legislation that would drastically overhaul gambling from Curaçao – by replacing the master licence system with a new licensing authority – Weerwind still faced questions on illegal gambling from Curaçao.

The new rules are expected to raise the bar to entry, potentially forcing some operators out of the market, though Finance Minister Javier Silvania said that operators who cannot meet the new standards would not be a great loss.

The questions came just over six months after his predecessor Sander Dekker faced similar questions about the steps the Netherlands was taking to deal with the sector.

In response, Weerwind said that the Dutch government was already working to pressure Curaç..

July 11, 2022

Curaçao minister: Risk of market exits will not stop us raising standards

Curaçao Finance Minister Javier Silvania has “no issue” with the island’s planned gambling overhaul resulting in operators pulling out of the jurisdiction, saying those who fail to meet its new standards will not be missed.

Speaking to iGB, Silvania explained the rationale and context behind Curaçao’s plans to drastically reform its gambling laws.

Among the changes will be the introduction of the Curaçao Gambling Authority (CGA), a body that will oversee licensing and enforcement.

The CGA will replace the current system, whereby four private entities hold master licences from the government, and offer sub-licences to operators with little to no government oversight.

Silvania noted that under the current system there had been a number of “shortcomings and challenges” and that the master licence system was “not an ideal situation”.

“The new bill ensures the monitoring is under the control of the government,” he explained to iGB. “It is important for the government to know who has l..

July 11, 2022

Curaçao to overhaul regime with new regulator, higher bars to entry

Curaçao is set to drastically reform its entire online gambling regime, setting up a new licensing body – with higher barriers to entry and the ability to cooperate with other regulators to tackle illegal gambling – to replace master licences.

The island’s licensing regime was notable for its extremely liberal system and low barriers to entry with little scrutiny for operators, but the government intends to change this.

Currently, only four businesses are licensed by the government. Each of these then offer out their own licences on their own terms, meaning that private entities rather than the government wielded most practical control of licensing.

This will be drastically changed under a new bill that has been approved by the Curaçao Council of Ministers, part of an overhaul of gambling regulation on the island.

A new system will be set up, with licences for both B2C operators and B2B suppliers issued by the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), an independent body set up by the gover..

June 28, 2022

Towards intolerance of illegal operators

Illegal online gambling remains a threat to both player protection and government tax yields. Yet, as Paul Girvan explains, most regulated jurisdictions continue to tolerate operators making money outside of the regulatory environment. Could more be done to fight the unlicensed sector?

Online gambling has existed since the inception of the internet, and over time we have seen increasing concern arise from the issue of black market gambling.

Equally, nearly all countries implementing legal market controls have encountered rising rates of gambling harm and negative social consequences, the causes for many of which remain outside the licensed market.

While there is much talk about the “licensed level playing field”, it’s hard to see how any marketplace is effectively levelled to the benefit of any parties if it tolerates the presence of the illicit black market. These shadow operators reap a competitive advantage as their regulated competitors pay a licence fee and taxes and comply wi..

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Tag: regulation