Social responsibility Archives

October 6, 2022

ATG chief slams bonuses as “embarrassing”

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of Swedish state-affiliated horse racing operator ATG, has said that bonuses are “embarrassing” and “drive gambling addiction” in a blistering critique of the common industry practice.

Bonuses are the practice of offering free or extra bets to consumers in order to attract or retain players to their platforms; with the method sometimes coming under criticism as an inducement that helps contribute to negative social responsibility outcomes.

Sweden has a stringent bonus regime, only allowing operators to offer one bonus per player at sign-up, worth no more than SEK100. This has been criticised by the Swedish Moderate Party – which have called for the rules to be reformed:

Hasse Lord Skarplöth

“This would make it easier for gaming companies to retain customers in the licensed market and have long-term relationships with the players, both of which increase consumer protection,” said the party.

Much of the industry has also opposed the bonus ban. However, as ..

September 27, 2022

Dutch minister defends sponsorship transition timeline

Dutch minister for legal protection, Franc Weerwind, has defended the timeline of the country’s sponsorship ban, amid further questioning on the subject from MPs.

In July, the Dutch government announced a number of measures to curb gambling advertising, following severe pressure from MPs. Many forms of ads will be banned from the start of next year, while gambling sponsorships in football will be banned from 2025.

When asked about the upcoming sponsorship ban, Weerwind said that the two-year adjustment period set out for the ban is a “reasonable” length of time.

“That is why a period of two years has been provided for the entry into force of a ban on sports sponsorship,” he said.

“In view of the serious importance of addiction prevention and the special importance of sport, I consider this a short, but reasonable period of time.”

He was questioned in parliament last week (23 September) by Mirjam Bikker, a member of political party ChristenUnie.

The questions mostly dealt with foo..

September 23, 2022

English football must distance itself from the Pogos

iGB op-ed: Zak Thomas-Akoo argues that in the wake of criminal scandals regarding offshore operators based in the Philippines, the continued association by English football clubs with the sector could be a ticking time-bomb for scandal.

Most fans of Premier League clubs probably couldn’t tell you much about the Pogo sector, but it has become deeply embedded in top-flight English football.

A Philippines Offshore Gambling Operation (Pogo) is a Philippines-based gambling site that broadcasts games of chance to other jurisdictions – usually elsewhere in Asia. Almost by definition, this comes without approval by local authorities in the operator’s target markets. While China has been the highest-profile target, a number of Pogos also specialise in the Korean or Vietnamese markets.

The sector is also widely believed to be infiltrated by criminal organisations and has been linked to crimes such as human trafficking, slavery and prostitution, with the situation getting so bad that a senator..

September 21, 2022

FanDuel expands responsible gambling efforts

Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel Group has announced a series of new responsible gambling initiatives to coincide with the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Responsible Gaming Education Month.

The group hosted its first, business-wide “Play Well Day” where workers were invited to an employee-only event, promoting the role of staff in creating a culture that embraces safer play.

During the Play Well Day, FanDuel announced the appointment of professional boxer, mixed martial artist and wrestler Amanda Serrano as a responsible gaming ambassador.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

September 21, 2022

Betway fined £400,000 for marketing on “children’s webpages”

Online gaming operator Betway has been fined £408,915 ($463,178/ €467,776) by the Gambling Commission for marketing on “children’s webpages”.

The regulator determined that the Super Group-owned brand was marketing on the children’s pages of the West Ham United Football Club’s website, breaching Commission rules on socially responsible advertising.

The Commission said that the operator’s logo – which linked to its website – appeared on a page on the West Ham site which offered the option of printing off a picture of a teddy bear for children to colour in. It was visible on this page between 14 April 2020 and 6 November 2021.

Additionally, between 24 October 2021 and 15 November 2021, a similar logo that linked to Betway’s homepage was featured on the “Young Hammers at Home” page of the club’s site.

GC director of enforcement, Leanne Oxley, said the regulator had no reason to believe Betway was targeting children deliberately, but that the rule breach was still serious.

“Protecting ..

September 14, 2022

Danske Spil GGR remains steady as slots growth offsets betting decline

Danske Spil, the Danish National Lottery, reported that gross gambling revenue (GGR) has largely remained steady year-on-year as positive and negative trends intersect.

The lottery received DKK2.35bn (£271m/$317m/€316m) total GGR in the first six months of 2022, which results in an after-tax revenue of DKK796m.

This result is largely similar to the total which the lottery achieved in the first half of 2021; with the lottery receiving DKK11m less in GGR in that period. However, after-tax revenue slightly fell by DKK4m.

The small increase in GGR can be explained by the increased popularity of lower-revenue-per-unit games such as lottery draws in tandem with a small decline in sports betting and casino. The decline in sports betting revenue can be attributed, in part, to the 2021 UEFA European Championship football tournament which was delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the games beginning 11 June that year. The fact that 2022’s Fifa World Cup has been delayed until the..

July 27, 2022

Pinnacle makes integrity push by joining IBIA

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has announced online sports betting brand Pinnacle as its latest member.

Pinnacle, previously known as Pinnacle Sports, will now feed into IBIA’s global betting integrity monitoring and alert platform.

The operator joins a group of other sports betting operators that have joined the IBIA, with the association’s members accounting for more than $137bn (£114bn/€135bn) in global betting turnover per annum and almost 50% of all regulated commercial operator online betting activity.

“Our focus on integrity not only applies to our clients but also the governing bodies themselves, an area which is increasingly important for responsible gaming operators,” Pinnacle chief executive Paris Smith said. “We are delighted to become members of the IBIA and look forward to working closely with the organisation to combat betting-related corruption and manipulation.”

IBIA chief executive Khalid Ali added: “The size and scope of Pinnacle’s sports ..

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..

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Tag: Social responsibility