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Safe Bet Show: Arthur Paikowsky on the future of fundraising 

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For the latest episode of the Safe Bet Show, Martin Lycka satdownwith Arthur Paikowsky, President of the International Centre for Responsible Gambling, as he revealed that fundraising has become increasingly driven by technology.

Paikowsky also disclosed how the ICRG, formerly known as the NCRG, has evolved in recent years and how the standards of excellence in fundraising involve interacting with people.

Analysing the future of fundraising, he stated: “In a lot of industries, everybody’s looking for the next best thing, the next big idea. And I have to tell you, I’m pretty old school when it comes to this, because if you find something that works, and it worked in the first 10 years of my career and the next 10 years of my career and so on and so forth.

“I’m going back to the well. I keep doing what I do best. In fact, I had a conversation yesterday with an extremely well-known senior executive in the field. And he said to me, I learned a lot about fundraising from you. To me, t..

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KSA confirms Responsible Gaming Policy implementation dates

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The Dutch gaming authority, Kansspelautoriteit, has confirmed that most of its new Responsible Gaming Policy will be implemented on June 3, followed by the remainder of the policy in October 2024.

Earlier this month, the KSA announced that its amended policy would be pushed back from May 2024 to June 3, 2024, due to the response period extension it gave to gaming industry stakeholders to comment on the proposed changes, as well as the large number of responses the authority received.

In December last year, the extension was issued to give stakeholders across the gaming sector extra time to provide feedback on the proposed Responsible Gaming Policy changes, including a tightening of the duty of care of online providers for their players.

Providing an update, the authority has now confirmed that there will be two definitive dates for when parts of the policy will come into effect for providers, with most of the amended rules being implemented and published in the Government Gazette on..

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IBAS supports mechanism for punters to query betting data disputes

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IBAS, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, has clarified its position on matters related to settling disputed bets between bookmakers and customers.

Recognised as the UK’s most referred-to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service, IBAS issued its response related to this weekend’s BBC article referencing its ADR service used by customers to challenge the outcome of disputed bets.

The BBC highlighted concerns by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that wrong results were being determined by bookmakers due to inaccurate data being recorded from feeds provided by third-party partners, monitoring match events.

Of significance, disputes on bet-builder outcomes were highlighted as customers ‘felt robbed’ by inaccurate data used to determine match statistics.

The article referenced IBAS’s Richard Hayler, who detailed that “nearly 300 people tried to appeal their football data bets”, and that data disputes “made up around 15% of their workload.”

On arbitrating disputes, the BBC..

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New online casino payments solution launched by Paysafe

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Paysafe is diversifying its offerings for online casino operators.

The payments platform announced on Monday the launch of Pay by Bank, a new product that allows iGaming players in America to fund their gaming accounts directly from their online bank accounts. Pay by Bank, which is part of Paysafe’s Gateway payments solution, also allows online bettors to cash out their winnings seamlessly to their banking accounts.

“We’re delighted to unveil our new Pay by Bank product for our iGaming solution, which will almost certainly prove very effective in both converting and retaining players for U.S. operators, with the product’s impressive transactional speed and robust security,” said Paysafe President of Global Gaming Zak Cutler. “Through Pay by Bank, we continue to grow the Paysafe Gateway by providing American operators and their customers with unparalleled payment choices, all through a single integration.”

Paysafe has launched its new iGaming solution amid demand from U.S. players fo..

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UKGC to probe bet settlements…but where is the Ombudsman?

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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will probe how football betting markets are settled, following concerns over wrong results being determined by bookmakers.

The Commission confirmed to the BBC that it would “meet figures in the football betting industry over claims that wrong results are being recorded”.

The probe follows consumer disputes concerning the use of inaccurate data used to settle football wagers referencing “statistics like the number of tackles or shots in a match.”

Customers have “felt robbed” due to incidents of inaccurate data being recorded by bookmakers using third-party feeds to monitor match play and to settle final outcomes.

Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission, will meet with key betting data stakeholders to ensure the settlement of football markets is both accurate and fair.

The BBC’s report cited two customer disputes related to bet-builder wagers. These disputes involved misreported shots by Mo Salah and tackles made by Sunderland FC, errors attri..

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Iowa athletes file federal suit against sports betting investigators

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A group of 26 athletes from Iowa and Iowa State University are suing the state for its allegedly unconstitutional investigation into their sports betting activity.

Lawsuit alleges 4th and 14th Amendment violations

In a federal complaint filed in the Southern District of Iowa, the group claimed the state of Iowa, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and individual DCI employees Stephan Bayens, Paul Feddersen, David Jobes, Troy Nelson and Brian Sanger violated their 4th and 14th Amendment rights with warrantless searches and unlawful seizures.

Per the complaint, the athletes allege that the DCI launched a sports betting investigative division in 2021. As part of an investigation conducted in tandem with the state of Illinois, the DCI became aware of GeoComply’s geolocation tech and how it can be used to identify fraudulent activity and pinpoint when betting is taking place from a restricted location such as a prison or a school.

Before DCI was able to utilize this software, Ge..

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Safe Bet Show: Arthur Paikowsky talks his life in fundraising and the work of the ICRG

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The Martin Lycka Safe Bet Show returned this month and Arthur Paikowsky, President of the International Centre for Responsible Gambling (ICRG), was the man in the hot seat.

In the podcast, the pair discuss Paikowsky’s life in fundraising and the work of the ICRG in progressing the industry’s knowledge of responsible gambling.

Paikowsky has spent over four decades working as a fundraiser for multiple organizations, in which time, he has raised over $1 billion. Lycka started by asking how fundraising has changed throughout Paikowsky’s career.

RG donors experiencing some fatigue

He noted that the main difference is that the industry has become more technology-driven, which he believes has not been for the better. Later in the podcast he also touched on how technology has led to donor fatigue due to people being bombarded daily with requests for money.

“When you talk to people in the fundraising world and you say how many of these hits do you get on your computer every single day [and..

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Charity amendments denied for Ireland’s stuck GRB

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The passage of Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) has become further muddied, as conflicts emerge on the framework’s rules and determinations related to fundraising activities connected with gambling.

Concerns were raised to Minister of State, James Browne, who oversees the GRB’s agenda, to exclude charity draws and schemes from being included in the Bill’s framework.

An amendment, carrying a specific exemption for charity purposes, was proposed by Labour Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin but was rejected by Browne, who stated that the GRB must remain as it stands.

Browne cited that “excluding charities could remove important safeguards against the misuse of charitable status for gambling.”

Furthermore, the minister scolded deputies for attempting to modify the Bill at its review stage before proceeding to the Seanad (senate) to be determined as a law.

Deputies were reminded that amendments can only be considered during the ‘committee phase’ and therefore cannot be reintroduced durin..

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Reformist Peers demand White Paper intervention on gambling advertising

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Industry reformists at the House of Lords have stated that the Gambling Review’s White Paper falls significantly short on advertising policies and reforms to protect the public from harm.

This afternoon, the House of Lords hosted a short debate on the “Impact of gambling advertising, marketing and sponsorship on problem gambling”, put forward by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrats).

As the Chair of the Peers for Gambling Reform, Lord Foster is pleased that the majority of the group’s recommendations ‘in whole or part’ were included in the Gambling Review’s White Paper. However, “except for the Gambling Commission taking a closer look at bonus offers such as free bets and spins, and the Premiership’s voluntary ban on front-of-shirt sponsorships, the White Paper proposes very little on gambling advertising reforms.”

The scarcity of advertising policies saw Foster state that the White Paper had failed to achieve one of its primary objectives: rectifying the conditions of the 2005 Ga..

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New illegal gambling prevention campaign launches in Colorado

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The Colorado Division of Gambling is taking steps to combat illicit gambling.

As part of the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR), the state’s Division of Gaming has launched a new campaign aimed at preventing illegal gambling by Colorado residents and visitors. The campaign, “Play Legit. Gamble Only Where Legal,” is designed to educate bettors in the Centennial State about the risks of illicit wagering and the importance of betting with licensed online operators and brick-and-mortar casinos.

“With many certified and legal gambling sites available, it’s never worth it to put yourself in danger,” said Colorado Division of Gaming Director Chris Schroder. “Together, let’s play by the rules and ensure that Colorado remains a safe and responsible gaming destination. By recognizing and preventing illegal gambling, we all win.”

Colorado is taking steps to educate residents and visitors about the risks of illegal gambling to mitigate crimes associated with wagering, including fraud and bur..

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