FRA reaction: Gambling Commission slammed by figures in and out of the industry

Safe Bet Show: Brandt Iden, VP of Government Affairs, Fanatics Betting & Gaming

In depth: Is it time for Canadian gaming to ban credit cards?

PGA of America joins AGA RG campaign following ESPN Bet partnership

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Following the announcement of ESPN Bet as the official betting partner of the PGA Championship, the PGA of America has confirmed that it has partnered with the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) ‘Have a Game Plan. Bet Responsibly’ campaign.

The partnership will feature co-branded responsible gaming content, educational materials, and strategic activations across the PGA of America’s digital and social platforms throughout next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY.

“As the PGA of America welcomes ESPN BET as the Official Sports Betting Sponsor of the 106th PGA Championship, it is core to our values to ensure golf fans have the right tools in their bag to bet responsibly,” said PGA of America Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Price. “Activating AGA’s Have A Game Plan campaign during this year’s PGA Championship and beyond will be an integral part of our strategy as interest in golf wagering grows.”

Introduced by the AGA in 2019, the Have a Game Plan campaign ai..

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Player Protection Symposium: Combating responsible gambling’s identity crisis

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Does responsible gambling have an identity problem? And if so, is that identity problem holding it back?

At the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium, experts suggested the answer to both questions is yes.

“In the U.S., many people don’t engage with responsible gambling because it’s associated with problem gambling,” said Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley in a panel session entitled Conscious Commerce: The Interplay of Branding & RG.

“They think ‘I’m not a problem gambler, I don’t need these tools.’ But it’s for every single customer.”

Shatley and her other panelists, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG)‘s Director of Policy, Research and Strategy Aaron GlynWilliams and Kindbridge Behavioural Health CEO Daniel Umfleet, stressed that removing those misunderstandings and that stigmatization of responsible gambling is critical to improving the health of all players and the industry on the whole.

“It’s abou..

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Player Protection Symposium: NCAA highlights March Madness harassment

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According to NCAA Managing Director Mark Hicks, the organization has a pretty clear understanding of the scope of bettor harassment on social media. Speaking to Entain’s SVP of American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling Martin Lycka as part of the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium, Hicks cited data from ethical data group and NCAA partner Signify collected during March Madness earlier…

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SBC North America: DGE AG issues federal intervention warning

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The SBC Gaming Regulation and Compliance Forum gazed into the crystal ball this week, providing a closer analysis of what the future holds for igaming regulation, while urging operators to take a leadership role when it comes to social responsibility.

Moderated by James Kilsby, Chief Analyst at VIXIO, the panel entitled ‘Regulation 2030: Anticipating Future Compliance Challenges’ emphasised the importance of collaboration as the framework around social responsibility evolves and the potential for federal intervention increases.

Painting a picture of her ideal outcome for the industry Cathy Judd-Stein, the Former Chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, emphasised her optimism that regulators will embrace further collaboration with operators as ambitions to eradicate the threat of the black and grey market are realised.

Louis Rogacki, Assistant Attorney General, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, echoed this sentiment as he urged operators to be more forthcoming with s..

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Legal Eye: UK Gambling braced for its defining summer test series

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Harris Hagan dissects the affairs of a busy opening to May, in which the Gambling Commission published its Summer 2023 Consultation Response providing its timelines to test key proposals of the Gambling Review’s White Paper.

The spotlight glares on the compliance of UK gambling, entering a transformative phase as the Commission seeks to apply comprehensive changes from financial vulnerability assessments to game design, aiming to bolster consumer protection and ensure responsible gaming environments.

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On 1 May 2024, the Gambling Commission published the response to its Summer 2023 Consultation on Proposed Changes to the LCCP and RTS (the “Summer 2023 Consultation Response”), confirming widespread changes to the rules that regulate licensed gambling operators in Great Britain, including in relation to financial vulnerability checks and financial risk assessments; remote games design; direct marketing; age verification and personal management licences.

Meanwhi..

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Gibraltar Minister: No operator is too big to fail

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Set against the backdrop of the glorious Gibraltar sunshine, the third intention of the Ethical Gambling Forum sprung into action this week aboard a superyacht whose name will be familiar to many across the industry. The sublime Sunborn.

Beginning proceedings, Co-Founder Adrian Sladdin promised “something a little bit different”, before a tentative “be prepared” word of warning was offered as the ESG focus, noted as “something the as should all embrace”, of the two-days came to the fore amid a shifting landscape across the industry.

“The pace over the last seven months has been relentless,” opening keynote Nigel Feetham, Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, who officially assumed office on October 13, 2023, began his opening address.

In a wide-range ten minute speech, attention was first reserved for that of the significance of the country’s licensing regime, overall value of the industry to Gibraltar and potential expansion that could be looming on the horizon.

“The underly..

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NCAA counted 2K instances of bettor harassment during March Madness

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According to NCAA Managing Director Mark Hicks, the organization has a pretty clear understanding of the scope of bettor harassment on social media.

Speaking to Entain’s SVP of American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling Martin Lycka as part of the SBC Summit North America Player Protection Symposium, Hicks cited data from ethical data group and NCAA partner Signify collected during March Madness earlier this year.

Around 2,000 incidents of bettor harassment this March Madness

Hicks said the group counted 50,000 incidents of athlete harassment online, 4,000 of which were serious enough to be turned over to the platform, law enforcement, or, in some cases, both.

Of those 4,000, roughly half could be tied back to sports betting, which explains why Hicks and the NCAA have become increasingly focused on athlete protection as it develops and expands its sports betting protocols.

“The policies that went into NCAA legislation years and years ago were really integrity-focused, but ..

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Women in Gaming takes step towards African inclusivity with All-in Diversity Project

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Women in Gaming Africa has initiated a partnership the All-in Diversity Project, hoping to collaboratively foster greater representation across the African gaming industry.

Boasting a joint aim to “drive positive change by promoting diversity and inclusivity”, WiG’s partnership has laid out plans to ensure that “underrepresented voices and perspectives are valued within the global gaming community”.

Kelly Kehn, Co-Founder of All-in Diversity Project, commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Women in Gaming Africa in our ongoing pursuit of fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within the gaming industry.

“This collaboration not only extends our reach across the globe but also underscores our belief in the mutual benefits of partnering.”

The two organisations will combine their expertise, resources and networks in hope of driving “meaningful change” within the gaming community. This includes working towards inclusivity, opening up more opportunities for individuals from all..

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Spain’s Influencer Law to carry Decree rules on Gambling Advertising

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Spain aims to be Europe’s trailblazer by adopting the first dedicated framework to regulate the content, standards, and advertising practices of social media influencers.

Last Friday, the Council of Ministers received the draft of the New General Law on Audiovisual Communication (LGCA) – commonly referred to as the ‘Influencer Law‘.

Filed as a ‘digital transformation’ project by the Ministry of the Economy, Spain seeks to determine the legal rights of content creators, vloggers, and influencers engaging Spanish audiences on social media platforms.

Marked as primary objectives, the new LGCA aims to protect the content and intellectual property (IP) of creators, safeguard minors from viewing adult content, and apply specific rights on social media platforms.

The LGCA will apply changes to Spain’s media laws, recognising content creators as ‘audiovisual content service providers.’ This requirement is due to the increasing relevance of content creators and their impact on Spain’s media..

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Swedish Sports and Gambling to prepare for common exchange on match-fixing data

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Swedish gambling will enter a transformative phase during H2 as the government launches its new cooperative framework to combat match-fixing across all levels of professional and amateur sports.

Yesterday, Camilla Rosenberg, Director General of Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Inspectorate, joined Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman to inform stakeholders of upcoming duties.

Approved by the Riksdag in 2023, Swedish gambling and sporting bodies will adopt the “Measures Against Match-Fixing and Unlicensed Gambling Operations,” applying new controls and duties to report and co-share data on threats related to match-fixing and sports integrity.

As such, all relevant stakeholders in Swedish sports and gambling will share a cooperative platform for data sharing, and will be required to flag any suspected event of match-fixing on the common platform.

The platform sees the government change its approach to coordinating match-fixing investigations, by applying a data-led multi-st..

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