Legal & compliance Archives

January 30, 2024

Caesars agrees tribal deal to launch online sports betting in North Carolina

Caesars Entertainment has announced it will launch mobile sports betting in North Carolina after expanding its relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The operator is set to go live when North Carolina launches its online sports betting market on 11 March. Ahead of the launch, the Caesars Sportsbook app will start accepting sign-ups and deposits from 1 March.

On 24 January, the North Carolina State Lottery Commission approved the launch date of online sports betting. The market will be live for those aged 21 and over in time for March Madness. Charlotte in North Carolina is set to host some of the tournament’s early-round games.

Caesars already has two land-based locations with the tribe, with Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy. As part of the expanded deal, Caesars will now hold exclusive rights to mobile sports wagering at those two casinos, as well as on Eastern Band of Cherokee tribal lands in w..

January 25, 2024

Svenska Spel loses appeal against ATG over naming rights

Svenska Spel has lost its appeal against Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) over the use of the phrase “Trav och Galopp” in a new racing product.

Svenska Spel’s use of the phrase, which translates to “trot and gallop” in English, was considered by the Patent and Market Court of Appeal to be an infringement on ATG’s company name.

ATG launched the initial trademark lawsuit back in December 2020. This was after a war of words between ATG chief executive Hasse Lord Skarplöth and his Svenska Spel counterpart, Patrik Hofbauer.

In a statement announcing ATG’s court victory, Skarplöth said: “That the supreme court also followed our line was expected. It must never be okay to use someone else’s company name and it feels good that the matter is now settled once and for all.

“It was important to establish that a competitor does not have the right to use our company name and exploit its good reputation.”

Another blow for Svenska Spel

The failed appeal comes in the wake of Svenska Spel announ..

January 25, 2024

IBIA partnership with Norway signals end of monopoly

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the Norwegian Industry Association for Online Gaming (NBO) have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on regulation and betting integrity.

The organisations will work to establish a framework for cooperation to promote a safe and effective licensing and regulatory regime. Both the IBIA and Norway-facing NBO will work on specific betting integrity provisions.

The partnership comes with both the IBIA and NBO urging Norway to withdraw its gambling monopoly system. At present, Norsk Tipping has rights to online casino gaming and sports betting, while Norsk Rikstoto covers horse racing.

the european gaming and betting association has previously called on norway to end its monopoly system

However, Norway faces calls to drop this system and open up licensing to other approved operators. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is among several other organisations backing such a move.

Norway remain..

January 24, 2024

North Carolina to launch mobile sports betting on 11 March

North Carolina will launch online sports betting on 11 March 2024, with retail wagering to follow shortly afterwards.

Today (24 January), the North Carolina State Lottery Commission approved the launch date.

Players can begin to register for accounts on 1 March 2024. They can also begin to fund their accounts from this date.

If all goes to plan, North Carolina’s online sports betting market will be up and running in time for March Madness – the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) yearly college basketball tournament and a crucial time for sports betting.

Speculation ramped up over North Carolina’s go-live date earlier this month, when the Commission set 26 January as the deadline for operators to submit their proposed internal controls. Those hoping to operate in North Carolina must receive approval for their internal controls.

Start of the journey for sports betting in NC

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission is currently overseeing the licensing process. Cha..

January 22, 2024

Michigan online gambling revenue hits record $2.30bn in 2023

Gross online sports betting and igaming revenue in Michigan hit $2.30bn (£1.81bn/€2.11bn) in 2023, the highest annual total since the Great Lakes State opened its legal market.

Revenue for 2023 was 18.3% higher than the $1.98bn generated in Michigan in 2022. It also far exceeds the $1.40bn from the first year of legal betting in 2021.

Reported figures include licensed commercial and tribal igaming operators in Michigan.

Breaking this down, $1.90bn of total revenue came from igaming and $420.4m gross sports betting receipts. Both of these figures were also new annual records, despite total annual sports betting handle remaining steady at $4.60bn.

After accounting for promotional deductions, adjusted gross receipts (AGR) from igaming and sports betting was $1.96bn. This was up 18.8% from the previous year’s total.

TOTAL revenue for 2023 was 18.3% higher than the $1.98bn generated in 2022

AGR from igaming amounted to $1.73bn, with adjusted gross sports betting receipts hitting $223..

January 19, 2024

Waterhouse VC: A year in review

In his first column of the year, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC looks back at the ups and downs of 2023 – and discusses what lies ahead in 2024.

While company valuations broadly increased in 2023, there was significant divergence across geographies and sectors. With the increase in interest rates globally, investors have grown more selective, preferring to invest in profitable businesses.

Waterhouse VC’s gross performance, as at 31 December 2023

Performance of various asset classes and sectors in 2023. Source: Topdown Charts, Refinitiv Datastream

In 2023, there were two stand out contributors to the fund’s +39.5% performance:

Project Tennis – a professional betting syndicate founded by Tom Dry focused on tennis. It was first discussed in December 2022 and invested in on 1 July 2023.Saintly – a crypto wagering operator and B2B platform. Position exited in August 2023.

Beating the house

We are very pleased with the operational performance of Tom Dry’s betting syndicate going into..

January 17, 2024

Tiers and turbulence in US sports betting

The US sports betting sector has grown rapidly, but Paul Girvan sees trouble on the horizon for the early leaders.

The rapid development of US sports betting has been astounding. Currently some 32 states have legalised some form of sports betting and, of this number, 28 provide either mobile or online access.

Within the 32, there are five states where tribal operators provide the only betting option. To date the markets have been characterised by a hierarchy of operators that have gained access primarily via partnerships with land-based casino operators, both tribal and commercial.

A further eight states are considering the issue and could pass legislation in the coming year. Beyond these is a disparate group of states that have been resistant to passing sports betting legislation – although some have been actively considering the issue.

Among these are three powerhouses of tribal gaming; Minnesota, Oklahoma (with its proximity to Texas) and the behemoth of California. Trouble, ho..

December 18, 2023

Episode 24: Victor Rocha on California’s betting ballot measure

The industry was shocked when a new California sports betting ballot measure landed after last year’s bruising fight, but Pechanga.net's Victor Rocha tells the World Series of Politics that tribes are up for the next battle.

Rocha, one of the most eloquent and influential voices in the Indian Gaming Association and host of The New Normal, tells Brendan Bussmann and Robin Harrison how any California sports betting debate will shake out.

“Smoke and mirrors”

“It’s insulting,” Rocha says of the new ballot measure, arguing it looks to drive a wedge between Californian gaming and non-gaming tribes. A set of amendments doesn’t make it any more palatable. “It’s all smoke and mirrors.

“These guys are not listening, because they don’t care. They want to go forward and they are shocked they don’t see Indians running towards them throwing flowers at their feet.”

California sports betting: All roads lead to the tribes

Gaming tribes aren’t trying to be obstructionist, he explains, in fig..

December 15, 2023

ACMA flags gambling giants for breaching in-play betting rules

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has revealed four leading online gambling brands have breached in-play betting rules in the country, with Ladbrokes and Bet365 among those flagged.

ACMA said the operators breached interactive gambling rules through the use of “Fast/Quick codes” to facilitate in-play betting on sports. Entain-owned Ladbrokes and Neds, as well as Hillside’s Bet365 and Sportsbet, were the four guilty parties named by ACMA.

Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits in-play betting on sports matches, with only limited exceptions. These include placing the bet over the phone, whereby the player must make an actual phone call to make the wager.

Players must first gain a Fast/Quick code from an operator’s website or app to build an in-play wager. This code embeds the event, bet selection and bet type of the in-play bet. The player then quotes this code when making the call to finalise the bet.

However, ACMA said this was not the case with..

December 13, 2023

Brazil’s senate votes to approve sports betting – igaming removed

Brazil's senate plenary voted yesterday (12 December) to approve the amendments to Bill 3,626/2023, which will regulate sports betting. However, igaming was removed from the bill.

Originally scheduled for 6 December, the vote was delayed due to a lack of available senators to vote.

The bill was presented by Senator Angelo Coronel to the senate yesterday evening. It contained the latest round of amendments following initial approval of the bill three weeks ago by Brazil’s Economic Affairs’ Commission.

While the bill faced significant opposition, three key highlights were focused on in yesterday’s voting session.

The first, and most notable, is that the senate voted to remove igaming from the bill. The amendment was presented by Senator Carlos Portinho, with 37 votes in favour of excluding igaming and 27 against.

In addition to the exclusion of igaming, the senate also voted to exclude virtual games and sports betting terminals. An amendment that would prohibit sports betti..

December 11, 2023

FanDuel lobbied against New York rules on advertising near colleges

FanDuel Group lobbied against rules that prohibit advertising sports betting near colleges and universities in the state, according to unredacted documents released by the New York State registrar.

Updated rules on sports betting in New York were introduced in October. This came after the New York State registrar considered opinion from various licensees, including Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel.

The ban on betting adverts near education establishments is now in place. However, state registrar documents now show that FanDuel voiced its opposition to such a move.

NEW YORK STATE REGISTRAR DOCUMENTS SHOW FANDUEL LOBBIED AGAINST ADVERTISING NEAR COLLEGES

Dated 18 October, the document said FanDuel objects to a ban on adverts in the “area of a college or university campus”. This, the document says, may be interpreted to “include unaffiliated residential and commercial areas that border a college or university campus”.

However, the New York State Gaming Commission disagreed. The r..

December 7, 2023

Brazil gambling regulation vote delayed to 12 December

Originally scheduled to take place at 2pm local time (5pm GMT) on 6 December, Brazil's senate vote has now been rescheduled until Tuesday 12 December.

Prospects are now bleak that it will be approved this year.

While the proposal of Brazil’s gambling regulation remained on the agenda, senators were unable to vote on the bill due to the lack of quorum.

As the minimum number of senators needed to vote was not met, it was not possible for the vote to go ahead as approval of the bill risks being compromised.

Factors behind the delay

When Brazil’s Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) approved Bill 3,626 two weeks ago, the industry thought the senate plenary vote would follow shortly after. But this has not been the case.

The senate plenary’s vote was scheduled for 29 November – but the vote was delayed until December after more than 100 amendments were added to the bill.

The major reason behind the delay is that 15 key senators were attending the United Nations Climate Summit (C..

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Tag: Legal & compliance