Legal Archives

August 2, 2023

PlayUp accused of falsifying documents as Mintas case expands scope

Former PlayUp US CEO Laila Mintas’ updated suit against the troubled gaming operator and its global CEO Daniel Simic accuses the business of falsifying documents, as the legal action expands in scope to the Australian parent company.

The updated suit, which is seeking approximately $100m in damages, details previously unheard allegations including PlayUp falsifying the dates on Australian government paperwork.

Mintas also alleges PlayUp manufactured and manipulated other documents submitted in response to discovery requests and accuses the operator of improper conduct throughout the legal action. There is also the allegation of PlayUp running a “concerted campaign” to ruin the former executive’s reputation.

Simic accused of falsifying of documents

In the third amended counterclaim – the latest filing from the Mintas camp in the legal fight – PlayUp and Simic are accused of making “egregious discovery abuses such as the falsification of corporate documents”.

the suit alleges play..

July 31, 2023

Massachusetts casinos fined for college betting rule breaches

Three land-based casinos in Massachusetts have been fined for breaching state rules related to betting on college sports events.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) flagged MGM Springfield, Plainridge Park Casino and Encore Boston Harbor for separate offences.

Both Plainridge Park Casino and MGM Springfield were fined $20,000, while Encore Boston Harbor was handed a $10,000 penalty.

Each casino was penalised after allowing players to bet on regular-season games featuring teams from colleges in Massachusetts. State law prohibits wagering on events involving Massachusetts colleges unless it is part of a tournament of at least four teams.

The rules have been in place since the state opened its regulated sports wagering market in January this year. Retail betting launched first, followed by online in March.

Read the full story on iGB North America

July 13, 2023

Gambling Commission fines Star Racing £594,000

The GB Gambling Commission has issued a fine to Star Racing Limited for a series of anti-money laundering (AML) and social responsibility failings.

Star Racing, trading as Star Sports, will pay a penalty of £594,000 (€693,376/$772,840). It was also handed an official warning and had extra conditions added to its licence.

Setting out the charges, the Commission listed a number of failings that occurred between March 2020 and May 2021.

AML failures included having ineffective policies, procedures and controls in place at the time. Star Racing also allowed customers to deposit large amounts before obtaining source of funds information and failing to analyse source of funds information when it was obtained.

In terms of social responsibility failures, these included not demonstrating an understanding of the impact and effectiveness of customer interactions in terms of the minimisation of customer risk.

Licence breaches

Specific breaches noted in the case included Paragraphs 2 and 3 o..

July 11, 2023

Kentucky to launch legal sports betting on 7 September

Kentucky will launch legal retail sports betting on 7 September, with online wagering to follow on 28 September.

The schedule was agreed yesterday (10 July) by the state’s governor, Andy Beshear, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and state lawmakers. This means Kentuckians can begin placing legal sports bets in less than 60 days.

This followed a KHRC meeting where members unanimously approved emergency administrative regulations to govern sports betting. Governor Beshear immediately signed off on these at Red Mile, a gaming and racing venue eligible to apply to be a sports betting location.

The 7 September launch date for retail comes just days before the start of both the 2023 NFL and collegiate football seasons.

Read the full story on iGB North America

June 21, 2023

AGCO penalises BetVictor and Fitzdares over sports betting breaches

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has issued penalties to BetVictor operator BV Gaming and Fitzdares Canada for offering prohibited bets on major junior hockey.

Both operators allegedly offered bets on Canadian Hockey League (CHL) contests. These included Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Bets were taken during the 2022-23 season.

This, AGCO said, violated standards that prohibit betting on minor league sports including the CGL’s three major junior hockey leagues. Specifically, Standard 4.34, paragraph 15 outlaws wagering on this level of sporting event.

As such, BV Gaming (BetVictor) and Fitzdares Canada were each ordered to pay a penalty of CA$15,000 (£8,913/€10,380/US$11,337).

Read the full story on iGB North America

June 21, 2023

Malta regulator cancels MKC Limited’s licence

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has cancelled MKC Limited’s licence after ruling that it breached a number of regulations.

Malta-based MKC had been operating the Betworld247 sports betting and casino site under its B2C gaming service licence. However, the regulatory decision means that it is no longer authorised to offer online gambling via this licence.

Setting out its decision, the MGA said MKC breached regulations 9(1)(c), (d), (i), (l) and 10(1)(a) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations.

Specific breaches included not making required licensing payments to the MGA and failure to meet other financial commitments related to its operations.

The regulator also flagged how MKC failed to meet commitments to customers in a timely manner but did not go into further detail.

“One of the grounds for suspension envisaged in regulation 9 arises and the Authority, in its sole discretion, determines that cancellation of the authorisation is the most appropriate measure,” the MG..

June 15, 2023

Vermont governor signs sports betting bill into law

Vermont has become the latest US state to legalise sports betting after governor Phil Scott signed a bill into law.

House Bill 127 was introduced earlier this year and passed through the state’s house and senate before landing on Scott’s desk last week.

Scott, a long-term supporter of sports betting, signed off on the bill yesterday (14 June), clearing the way for the market to open next year.

“I first proposed Vermont legalise sports betting several years ago and I’m happy the legislature has come to an agreement as well,” Scott said. “We know many Vermonters already participate in the marketplace and bringing it above board provides important resources and consumer protections.

“Vermont now joins many other states who have made this move, and I want to thank Commissioner [Wendy] Knight and her team, as well as members of the legislature for their collaborative approach on this issue.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

June 2, 2023

Administrator appointed as Tipster insolvency ramps up

Insolvency proceedings at Tipster Ltd are progressing with the appointment of lawyer Dr Jörg Gollnick as the troubled operator's provisional insolvency administrator.

Gollnick works at Cologne law firm Heidland Werres Diederichs Rechtsanwälte. He is also the provisional insolvency administrator for Tipster Service GmbH, a company that is part of the Tipster group.

Gollnick said that the restructuring hinges on the sports betting operator’s value.

“With the insolvency application for Tipster Ltd in Germany, the course has been set for the restructuring of the entire Tipster group of companies,” said Gollnick. “The group is very valuable: the annual turnover of Tipster Ltd alone was more than €250m.”

“We have set up a structured investor process in order to use a strong partner to support the business operations for the Tipster Group including its franchisees in the long term.”

Alleged Tipster raid

In April, raids took place in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen, Berlin, Saxony an..

June 1, 2023

North Carolina edges closer to legalising sports betting

North Carolina has moved closer to legalising sports betting, after a bill that would do so was voted through by its state senate.

House Bill 347 was introduced on 13 March. It passed North Carolina’s House of Representatives on 30 March before being moved to the senate, where it passed on its second reading.

If passed into law, the bill would allow bets to be placed on sports and horse racing in North Carolina.

Read the full story on iGB North America

May 23, 2023

MA regulator “frustrated” by DraftKings betting violations

Commissioners from state gambling regulator, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC), said they were “frustrated” by DraftKings' betting violations.

DraftKings reported itself to the Commission after discovering it had offered bets on the tennis UTR pro-series, which is not an approved betting event in the state.

The MGC’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) looked into the case. The wagering took place over a 12-day period from 10 March to 22 March.

During this time, players placed 864 bets on three events for a total handle of $7,867. DraftKings said the reason the error took place was because of a “miscommunication” between its trading and trading compliance teams.

The fault occurred after the operator copied a list of tennis offerings from a different jurisdiction without verifying if the event was approved in Massachusetts.

After discovering the issue, the DraftKings returned stakes to the players who had placed a bet, as well as removed any winnings and return..

May 12, 2023

Texas House clears online sports betting amendment bill

The Texas House of Representatives has voted through a constitutional amendment bill that would allow voters in the US state to legalise online sports betting.

HJR 102 cleared the House by a vote of 101-42 yesterday (11 May) and will now progress forward to the state’s senate for further debate.

Should it pass into law, the constitutional amendment itself would not legalise wagering, but would permit a state-wide vote to be held on the issue. This would take place at an election on 7 November this year.

Read the full story on iGB North America

May 10, 2023

Episode 16: Hugo Baungartner talks Brazilian gaming regulation

Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann step outside the US to discuss ongoing sports betting developments in Brazil, plus the all-important go-live date for the market.

The development of sports betting in Brazil has been happening over the last 20 years, with people waiting eagerly for just as long, says Hugo Baungartner, the special guest this week on World Series of Politics.

A law that could legalise sports betting in Brazil is said to be imminent

“It’s the giant,” he says. “Everyone is talking about it. Everybody wants to come to Brazil.”

He notes that law has been in place to allow sports betting in Brazil since 2018, but that there has been no regulation yet, and nothing was made official by then-president Jair Bolsonaro.

But this regulation is imminent, Hugo insists, with ministers working for Brazil’s newest president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva preparing a law that could be signed in the coming days.

What can Brazil expect?

Hugo says Brazil’s government will impose a 15% tax ..

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Tag: Legal