Betting News

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..

California Democrats endorse “no” vote on online betting measure

The California Democratic Party has recommended that those in the state vote against a proposal that would legalise online betting.

The party – which dominates California elections, having controlled both houses of the state legislature since 1996 – announced its official list of endorsements for ballot measures that will appear in the 2022 November election.

That election will include two ballot measures related to sports betting. Tribe-backed Proposition 26, titled the California Legalize Sports Betting on American Lands Initiative. would allow for retail sports betting only on tribal lands.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Court unlikely to make decision on Florida sports betting until 2023

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has set out a timeline for the case that will determine the future of online sports betting in Florida, making it unlikely that any decision will be made until 2023.

The lawsuit – submitted by pari-mutuel operator West Flagler Associates – deals with the question of whether the Seminole Tribe is permitted to offer online sports betting statewide through a new tribal compact that came into effect last year.

The Florida constitution says that an expansion of gambling on non-tribal lands would require a referendum, but the Tribe contends that online bets placed on non-tribal lands would not violate this clause, as they would be accepted via servers in Seminole territory.

Rather than being against the tribe though, the lawsuit is filed against Debra Haaland, Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, which reviews and approves all tribe-state compacts in the US. As a result, it is being heard in the US Court of Appeals..

NFL’s Bengals apply for Ohio betting licence

NFL franchise the Cincinnati Bengals has applied for a sports betting licence in the state of Ohio, as have FanDuel and Fanatics.

The team becomes the fifth business – but the first professional sports team – to apply for an Ohio operator licence. It is the fourth to apply for approval as a type-A sports gaming proprietor – which would allow it to offer an online product – following Jack Cleveland Casino, Thistledown Racino and Hall of Fame Village.

Those other three business all also applied for a type-B licence, which would also allow for operation of a retail betting facility.

Elys Technology, meanwhile, has applied for a type-C licence, allowing for operation of sports betting at a licensed bar.

Read the full story on iGB North America

888 raises €700m to pay off William Hill debts

Online gambling operator 888 will raise €700m through a notes issue related to its acquisition of William Hill’s non-US business, despite reports last week that banks had struggled to sell on its debts.

The business will offer €400m worth of notes with an aggregate principal of 7.558%, due in 2027 plus €300m at a floating interest rate, due in 2028.

These notes form part of a wider financing plan as part of the operator’s recent £1.95bn acquisition of William Hill’s non-US business, also including revolving credit facilities and bonds.

These bonds, though, were subject to some uncertainty. 888 had issued the bonds underwritten by banking giants JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. These banks then intended to sell the bonds onward to investors, but allegedly found little appetite amid ongoing uncertainty related to the Gambling Act review, which is set to have a very large impact on 888 due to its large exposure to Great Britain.

A white paper, a key next stage of the review, was expected ..

Delasport secures new licences for Great Britain launch

Online gambling solutions provider Delasport has secured two new licences to roll out its products and solutions in the British market.

The B2B remote gambling software licence and remote betting host real events licence will allow Delasport to provide approved operators in Britain with access to its sportsbook and services.

Delasport’s iFrame and sportsbook offering, includes betting coverage of over 125 sports, 100,000 pre-match events, and 70,000 monthly live events across more than 3,000 markets, as well as personalisation tools such as geolocation content, favourites and personal trader.

The British launch marks Delasport’s seventh market entry in the past six month, with the provider having also gone live in the Netherlands, Sweden, Malta and Denmark this year, as well as securing approval in both Mexico and Germany.

“Entering the British market is the latest in a line of significant victories for our global expansion,” Delasport chief executive Oren Cohen Shwartz said. “We h..

Creating a market for free-to-play betting

Curating a strong repetoire of free-to-play products could be a valuable way of building an audience, at a time when US sportsbook operators are increasingly looking to differentiate their product ranges. Hussain Naqi of Inside the Pocket tells Marese O’Hagan about why he sees the free-to-play sector as similar to the field of his background: marketing.

Leaning into its name, free-to-play sports betting software platform Inside The Pocket packages its product offering in one compact solution.

Founder and chief executive Hussain Naqi believes this approach offers something unique in the market, as well as providing a range of new content for its clients.

“I would argue that we are distinctly different from the rest of the market, in that through a single integration, we open up an entire market of free-to-play content,” he says. “So we are distinctly different from a specific developer in that, through this one engagement in integration, you can open up an entire arena of products…

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..

OpenBet to power Sazkabet sportsbook

Light & Wonder has announced that its sports betting business OpenBet will power Sazka a.s and its Czech sportsbook brand Sazkabet's online and mobile sportsbook.

As part of the deal, Sazkabet has already deployed the OpenBet managed services platform, which includes a scalable betting engine and risk and liability management system.

In addition, OpenBet has now expanded its presence across Europe by partnering with Sazka , the largest lottery operator in the Czech Republic.

Jan Horyna, Sazka’s igaming director, said that the agreement is crucial to improving the company’s offerings.

“Transitioning to OpenBet’s sports betting technology and services is a key move for us to provide our customers with high-quality and responsible betting experiences,” said Horyna.

“With OpenBet’s transformed modern technology, we are delighted to have introduced significant improvements to our overall sportsbook offering and relish the opportunity to plan future collaborations with OpenBet over..

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