Legal & compliance Archives

November 7, 2022

The 2022 US midterm elections: What we are watching

As the US goes to the polls for the midterm elections, there are plenty of races that could affect the progress of sports betting regulation and gaming expansion. Paul Girvan picks out the states to watch.

The 2022 US midterm elections, while important in so many ways, contain few issues directly related to gambling regulation.

Rather, they represent an opportunity to extract a thorn that has irritated the body politic and coloured the consideration and adoption of more gaming legislation, whether it be sports betting legislation or casino regulation.

Only in two states does gaming appear directly, or indirectly, on the ballot: California and Georgia.

California

In California, a statewide ballot measures voter approval for constitutional changes, through Propositions 26 and 27.

Polling suggests both the tribal and commercial sports betting ballot measures are doomed to fail.

Prop 26 permits Native American casinos and four..

November 7, 2022

Analysts divided on potential value of FanDuel IPO after court ruling

Analysts are divided on the value that may come from a potential FanDuel IPO, after a court ruling left the hopes of a potential spin-off for the US market leader up in the air.

The reactions come following a New York court ruling that media giant Fox must pay $4.16bn if it wishes to acquire a 18.6% stake in FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment

While the court ruling settled the question of the value of the stake that Fox had the option to buy, it left the question of a FanDuel spin-off up in the air until next year. The tribunal will determine early next year the conditions under which Fox may be able to participate in a FanDuel IPO, which Flutter had raised the prospect of before the legal dispute began.

Analysts at Barclays said that this factor was “dampening the enthusiasm” of the main ruling.

“The path to a FanDuel IPO is not yet clear with Fox stating that ‘Flutter cannot pursue an IPO for FanDuel without Fox’s consent or approval from the arbitrator’,” Barclays ..

November 4, 2022

Fanatics hires Brandt Iden as VP of government affairs

Fanatics Betting and Gaming has hired former Michigan legislator Brandt Iden as its new vice-president of government affairs, as the business edges closer to launching its betting product.

Iden was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014, until 2020 when he reached the state term limit. During this time he spearheaded the efforts to legalise both sports betting and online casino gaming in the state.

He then joined Sportradar, where he was head of government affairs during a period in which the business went public on the Nasdaq exchange.

Now, he joins Fanatics ahead of the apparel brand’s long-rumoured launch of a sports betting operation.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 4, 2022

So what went wrong with California sports betting?

iGB Op-Ed: Both Prop 27 and 26 look like they are headed to defeat in next week’s vote; Zak Thomas-Akoo asks what went wrong, and how can the industry learn to better sell itself to the electorate?

With 39.2 million people, California is the most populous state in the union. If it was an independent country, it would have the fifth largest economy on earth. The state is home to the jewel of the global modern economy, Silicon Valley; has one of the most potent network of colleges on the planet and is the site of America’s second city, Los Angeles. But it’s looking like none of that wealth will be flowing into sports betting any time soon, as the state’s duelling sports betting proposals are both likely heading for defeat.

According to polling by the Berkeley Institute of Government Studies (IGS), both ballot initiatives are underwater: The tribe-led Proposition 26, for retail betting only, sees numbers of 31% for and 42% against, while the commercial-led effort – which would permit o..

November 3, 2022

World Series of Politics episode 7: Election preview special

The World Series of Politics returns just in time for the 2022 US midterm elections, with analysis of a number of key races across the US.

Ahead of the elections, Brendan and Brandt take a look across the US, including a final examination of whether there’s any hope of the people of California voting to legalise sports betting.

In Texas, there may be less clarity as the industry may have to consider whether to prioritise betting or casinos, while Brandt is “optimistic” that sports betting legislation could be passed in Georgia once a new legislature is elected.

There’s also a look at Washington DC’s efforts to fix what has been a struggling sports wagering regime, and at efforts to get legal betting up and running in Massachusetts.

The pair look further afield as well, pondering the impact of Lula da Silva defeating Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential election while, in the UK, Brandt throws his name into the ring as a prime ministerial candidate, but Brendan has other ideas.
..

November 3, 2022

Taking cover: How to handle bettors’ sensitive data

The popularity of legal sports betting and igaming has quickly spread. But challenges have surfaced in issues related to intellectual property, data protection and security. Russell Karp of DataArt explains how sportsbooks can manage and secure their data to overcome these challenges.

Nowadays, data collection, reporting and protection are as urgent as ever. These issues often intertwine with compliance within and across jurisdictions. With a mound of information to manage, operators must put extra effort into ensuring that bettors’ data is secure both on sportsbook platforms and mobile apps. So how can a sportsbook manage and protect data?

Data Management

Three of the most common data management challenges for sportsbooks include:

The inability to load high volumes of transactional data from gaming machines to legacy systems due to formatting and support issues. Many legacy systems exist in silos and don’t communicate well with other technologies, making it difficult to manage and..

November 3, 2022

Austrac orders SportsBet and Bet365 to conduct money laundering audits

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has ordered an audit of both Bet365 and Flutter-owned SportsBet, to determine if the operators have broken money laundering rules.

If SportsBet or Bet365 is found to be non-compliant with the rules, Austrac may then take further action, such as a court-ordered fine.

Austrac, a government body focused on money laundering, noted the action was “the result of an extensive supervisory campaign that assessed entities within the corporate bookmaker sector and follows the recent commencement of an investigation into Entain”.

The auditors will examine compliance with four areas of money laundering laws.

The first is whether the two operators adopted and maintained “an AML/CTF programme that has risk-based systems and controls in place to effectively identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks”.

They will next look at whether the operators conducted proper money laundering risk assessments.

November 2, 2022

EU ups money laundering risk from online gambling to highest level

The European Commission has raised the threat level for money laundering in online gambling to its highest possible rating, and called for lower thresholds for due diligence checks to prevent criminal activity.

The European Commission carries out periodic supra-national risk assessments, determining the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing across the European Union in various sectors. The 2022 edition is the third such risk assessment, after previous versions in 2017 and 2019.

“As with the previous reports, this third edition analyses the present ML/TF risks and proposes comprehensive action to address them,” the European Commission said. “It also assesses the degree to which the Commission’s recommendations for mitigating measures in the 2019 report have been implemented and evaluates the remaining risks.”

One area of particular focus in the report was gambling, with each gambling vertical receiving its own risk assessment.

Online gambling was found to be especially vu..

November 2, 2022

BetDex launches first regulated blockchain betting exchange

The BetDex Exchange – created by FanDuel founder Nigel Eccles – has announced that it has been licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, making it the first regulated blockchain betting exchange.

The operator has received licensed approval for all kinds of online gaming, including online sports betting, under the Isle of Man Online Gambling Regulation Act.

Former FanDuel executives Varun Sudhakar, Stuart Tonner and Nigel Eccles serve as CEO, CTO and chairman of the new business, which they founded just over a year ago. Soon after founding, BetDex announced an initial investment round, raising $21m.

Varun Sudhakar, CEO and co-founder of BetDex said: “Today’s news is an exciting step forward for the BetDex Exchange. With the licensing and regulatory approval, BetDex now boasts the first fully-regulated sports betting platform in the Web3 space, and we’re excited to welcome bettors from approved regions.”

Abby Kimber, head of egaming with the Isle of M..

October 31, 2022

Nigeria introduces new permit for offshore-licensed operators

Nigeria is set to introduce a new remote operator permit for offshore-licensed operators, allowing businesses to offer online gambling in Nigeria without a local presence.

Businesses will be eligible for a remote operator permit if they already hold a licence in another jurisdiction and wish to offer their services to Nigerian players.

It will allow operators to offer casino games, bingo, slots, sports betting and poker.

The permit will be valid for five years. Operators will pay an initial $100,000 to receive the permit, followed by fees of $50,000 in each of the next four years.

The Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission will issue terms and conditions which permit-holders must adhere to.

Holders of the new permit will be allowed to offer their services in Nigeria and to advertise within the country in print media or via affiliate programmes.

Key to the new regime will be an updated tax collection system, powered by UK-based fintech company E-Technologies Global Limite..

October 26, 2022

World Series of Politics: Bill Miller of the American Gaming Association

The World Series of Politics welcomes Bill Miller of the American Gaming Association as first guest.

AGA CEO Miller joins Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden to look back on this year’s Global Gaming Expo.

American Gaming Association, G2E and illegal gambling

Miller discusses this year’s Global Gaming Expo after almost 25,000 visitors descended on the Sands Convention Centre earlier in October. He also talks about the US gaming industry’s post-Covid recovery and the threat of the illegal market.

Read his interview, published earlier this week, with iGB for more from the AGA.

Maryland sports betting

This episode also features Maryland, where lawmakers have taken a step towards launching mobile sports betting after a fraught process. There’s a wager on the line between our hosts on this one, just to up the stakes further.

Brendan also discusses the state of play for Macau casinos, where recovery has been hindered by China’s zero Covid policy.

And there’s even more intrigue aroun..

October 26, 2022

Ontario report

iGB’s new report on Ontario offers exclusive insight into Canada’s most populous province – the first to regulate betting and igaming.

When the Ontario market opened in April this year, it wasn’t quite brand new ground.

Anyone in the industry could tell you that the grey market in Canada’s largest province had been thriving for quite some time.

Still, bringing the province from grey to white offers certainty and new opportunities for many.

Six months on, we have a sense of the spoils available. Operators – excluding the lottery – brought in a combined CA$267m in the three months ended 30 September.

The biggest challenge in the province, however, may be marketing rules. Operators can offer bonuses, but may not promote them. As Marese O’Hagan writes in our progress report, that’s been difficult, but it hasn’t seriously dampened excitement about the jurisdiction.

And for now, those complying with the rules still need to compete with some unlicensed brands, which continue to do busin..

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Tag: Legal & compliance