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February 26, 2024

Affordability checks: Everything you need to know

With parliament to debate the introduction of affordability checks today (26 February), here’s everything you need to know about the proposals so far.

The long-awaited release of the Gambling Act white paper in April was the most transformative review of UK gambling in 18 years. It marked a key landmark in how the market will be regulated in the future – with affordability checks a key part of that discussion.

The government has already introduced some measures, such as the establishment of stake limits for online slots. However, other resolutions are also being worked upon as the UK government and the Gambling Commission (GC) looks to ease concerns over gambling harms in the country.

The strongest industry response to these proposals has been towards the potential implementation of affordability checks. They have met fierce opposition from operators and trade bodies.

With parliament set to debate financial checks this week, let’s take a look at how we got here.

White paper’s rele..

February 26, 2024

Ohio bans player prop bets on NCAA games

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has banned player prop bets on college sports after granting a request from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The OCCC’s decision came after NCAA president Charlie Baker sent a letter to the commission’s executive director Matt Schuler, requesting a ban to be implemented on player-specific prop wagers for its games. The letter was also endorsed by Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine.

Bettors will no longer be able to wager on markets such as a quarterback’s passing yards or a basketball player’s points for NCAA games. Operators have until 1 March to introduce the restrictions.

In the OCCC’s announcement, the commission stated it would become the 25th state to either prohibit or limit player-specific prop bets on NCAA contests. The ban’s aim is to protect NCAA athletes against potential harassment from bettors, as well as curb match fixing.

Ohio only launched legal sports betting in January 2023. In July, the state passed a law t..

February 20, 2024

PFL strikes regulatory compliance partnership with ProhiBet

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has partnered with ProhiBet to strengthen betting compliance.

The PFL will use ProhiBet’s technology to help improve sports integrity and ensure compliance with state-specific betting regulations.

The partnership aims to prevent PFL individuals, such as athletes and coaches who are banned from placing bets, from wagering on the league’s events. ProhiBet will use its cross-monitoring and notification platform to achieve this.

Matt Heap, managing director of ProhiBet, said the deal would see the PFL and ProhiBet strengthen compliance within sports betting.

“We are thrilled to partner with the PFL,” said Heap. “The combination of ProhiBet’s state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and the PFL’s dedication to upholding the integrity of sports will undoubtedly enhance the transparency and trustworthiness of sports betting activities.”

ProhiBet’s role with the PFL

ProhiBet is a joint venture between US Integrity and Odds On Compliance. US I..

February 19, 2024

Brazil ban on celebrity sports betting ads to be considered

A potential ban in Brazil on celebrities being used in betting advertising is ready to be included on the senate’s agenda in 2024.

Brazil is expected to finally have a regulated sports betting market in 2024. This is after Brazil’s chamber of deputies voted to approve Bill 3,626/2023 in December. There have been plenty of ups and downs and the topic of advertising is still proving contentious in the country.

Bill 3,405/2023 seeks to prohibit the use of celebrities in sports betting advertising, with Senator Eduardo Girao, who has long been against gambling in Brazil, presenting amendments that would ban anyone considered to have influence being involved in marketing of gambling.

In Girao’s view, Bill 3,405/2023 would protect Brazilian citizens from the risks of gambling harms, both emotional and financial.

Similar advertising bans worldwide

sports betting advertising is coming increasingly under fire

In August 2023, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario announced a ban on athl..

January 26, 2024

Online sports betting bills filed in Mississippi

A fresh bid to legalise online sports betting in Mississippi has been launched, with two new bills introduced this week.

Sports betting was legalised in Mississippi in 2018, following the repeal of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). However, the only online sports betting currently available is through geofenced sportsbooks on land-based casino properties.

Bill HB271, filed by Rep Cedric Burnett, and Bill HB635, introduced by Rep Jay McKnight, are both bidding to change that, allowing bettors to wager on sports through their mobile devices in the state regardless of whether they are in a casino.

This latest attempt to introduce online sports betting in the state is the sixth, with House Bill 606 signed into law last year. The bill authorised a Mississippi sports betting task force to “undertake a comprehensive analysis” of sports betting in the state.

The bill was initially far more expansive, aiming to allow all of the state’s land-based casinos to pa..

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 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

ATG CEO Skarplöth calls for differentiated tax following 4% rise proposal

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, the chief executive of Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG), has called for differentiated tax in response to the government announcing proposals to increase gambling tax by 4%.

In September, Sweden’s government (Regeringen) outlined plans to hike the gambling tax rate in the country from 18% to 22% of gross gaming revenue (GGR). If approved, the tax rise will come into effect in Sweden from 1 July 2024.

While Regeringen believes the move could bring in an additional SEK540.0m (£39.3m/€45.5m/$48.4m) in tax revenue each year, the proposals met with strong opposition from the industry, including the ATG.

In a blog, Skarplöth labelled Regeringen’s plans a “shock”, and called for taxes on horse and other sports betting to remain the same, while increasing those on igaming. Skarplöth cited examples of other European countries with differentiated gambling taxes as reasons for the Regeringen to rethink its proposals.

Skarplöth said: “It came as a shock, the proposal fo..

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 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..

December 6, 2023

Brazil: Could today’s vote be delayed?

Today (6 December) Brazil's senate plenary is set to vote on whether to approve Bill 3,626/23, which would legalise sports betting and igaming. But could this crucial vote be delayed?

When Brazil’s Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) approved Bill 3,626 two weeks ago, the industry thought the Senate plenary vote couldn’t be too far away. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

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

This takes us to the present day. The senate plenary’s vote is scheduled to take place at 2pm local time (5pm GMT).

iGB understands that this vote will be delayed by six days, to take place on 12 December. Senators have allegedly been told that the minimum number of senators needed to vote today will not be met.

In this case, the vote could not go ahead because approval of the bill may be compromised.

What effect would this have?

If this vot..

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Tag: Legal