Experts Table: Gambling needs a sanity check on data discipline and business intelligence

Data management and business intelligence have been determined as the vital disciplines for all gambling-related businesses to maximise margins and reduce costs needed to compete in a cutthroat market.

Yet, despite AI innovations, gambling’s value-chain has become more convoluted in its data frameworks and processes. Hence incumbents require an intelligent approach beyond data collection, to benefit from a data-driven culture which ensures that effective insights are transformed into actions.

Participating in the Experts Roundtable were Etienne Azzopardi, COO of Swintt; Max Sevostianov, COO of BETBAZAR; Allan Stone, Managing Director of Intelitics; Thomas Kolbabek, CTO of Golden Whale Productions; Karl-Jorit Hausdorf, Head of Customer Experience, Data & aaS at Fujitsu; and Andrea McGeachin, CEO of Neosurf.

SBC: Are businesses really making the most of data? If not, why? What’s stopping them?

Etienne Azzopardi: Swintt
Etienne Azzopardi: I believe one only has to look at the term “d..

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Lawmaker in PA to introduce bill that prohibits credit card use for gambling

A lawmaker in Pennsylvania is planning to introduce legislation that bans the use of credit cards to fund sports betting, daily fantasy contests, iLottery and online casino activities.

Sen. Wayne D. Fontana has sent a memorandum to all members of the Pennsylvania Senate to give notice of a pending measure that will aim to prohibit the use of credit cards for gamblers in the state. Fontana’s consumer protection bill is being introduced to curtail problem gambling as online gaming and sports wagering continue to grow in the state.

According to Penn State’s 2022 Online Gaming Report, more than 36% of online gaming participants in the Keystone State reported at least one gambling problem. The report was conducted in partnership with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and the state’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Another factor in Fontana’s decision to a propose new bill is the average credit card balance for Pennsylvania residents being over $5,640.

Pennsylvania Senators h..

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GGL stands by disputed research of Gambling Survey 2023

Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), the Federal Gambling Authority of Germany, has stood by the findings of the Gambling Survey of 2023, emphasising its role in providing a ‘facts-based approach’ to the development of Germany’s Fourth Interstate Market (GlüNeuRStv).

The Authority states that it now has the relevant data and insights to make year-on-year assessments of the GlüNeuRStv market since its launch on 1 July 2021, which introduced Germany ’s new federal laws for online gambling and sports betting.

In 2021, the survey that had been conducted since 2007 undertook significant methodological changes under the stewardship of The Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research of Hamburg (ISD Hamburg) and the University of Bremen.

Methodological adjustments, including combining telephone and online survey techniques and a revised survey instrument for identifying gambling-related problems based on the DSM-5 criteria. These changes limit the comparability of its results with prev..

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NatCen to evaluate UK Gambling Act review’s effectiveness in preventing gambling-related harm

A monitoring and evaluation plan for the UK Gambling Act review will be developed by the National Centre for Social Research, a not-for-profit social research organisation.

NatCen has been commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media & Sport and the UK Gambling Commission to produce the plan to “establish the evaluation design to address how effective the Gambling Act review has been in preventing gambling-related harm to vulnerable groups and wider communities, gambling behaviours and the gambling market”.

“We are delighted to work on this project, to develop this monitoring and evaluation plan of the vital Gambling Act review,” commented Dr Sokratis Dinos, Director of Health Policy at NatCen.

“The past decade has seen a significant shift in the perspective of gambling harms, and this contract is pivotal in providing feasible approaches and practical recommendations.”

NatCen’s evaluation of the Gambling Act review will consider if the “appropriate balance” has been taken into ..

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Sportingtech supports community initiatives of The Malta Trust Foundation

Sportingtech has announced a charitable partnership with The Malta Trust Foundation (TMTF).

With an already-significant footprint in the country, the three-year deal will see the supplier support the ongoing initiatives of TMTF – which was founded by former President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, in 2015.

Colin McDonagh, Chief Sales Officer at Sportingtech, expressed that the group is extremely proud to establish a partnership with ‘such a worthwhile cause’.

“The Malta Trust Foundation does some outstanding work, and it is a humbling experience to see the projects and initiatives in action,” he said. “This is the latest of our charitable partnerships and we fully understand how important this work is for many communities.”

In detail, the trust is dedicated to assisting children and young individuals who encounter daily challenges and are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

Through ‘educational and empowering’ projects, TMTF aims to bridge gaps within existing service..

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YGAM & GAMSTOP report that 28% of student gamblers are at risk of harm

“Nearly half of British university students who gamble, report doing so beyond their financial means” is the headline finding of the third Annual Student Gambling Survey, commissioned by YGAM and GAMSTOP.

Research conducted by a Censuswide survey, polling 2,000 students on UK campuses, revealed a decrease in gambling participation among participants over the last year, from 71% to 60%.

Providing a breakdown of student gambling trends, 46% of respondents detailed that gambling had impacted their university experience. Impacts included missing study deadlines and social activities, as well as adding pressure to cover basic expenses such as food.

Insights revealed that male students tend to spend more on gambling than female students, with an average loss of £35.25 per week among student gamblers. The most common forms of gambling are online sports betting for male students and the National Lottery for female students.

On spending habits, student gamblers fund their gambling through v..

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Revamped West Virginia problem gambling bill passes into law

What started out as a bill to provide West Virginia universities with anonymized player data to study problem gambling ended up as a law that could establish West Virginia University as one of the premier higher education institutions on the East Coast for gaming-related degrees.

And that is the version of the bill passed by the Senate and concurred by the House this weekend.

The House passed the original version of the bill, sponsored by Delegate Shawn Fluharty, but a Senate committee substitute revised large swaths of the language. For example, the word “required” was removed from the section involving operators providing player data and the new version does not seem to mandate the data is provided. The new section reads:

“For the purposes of research only, West Virginia University shall be permitted to analyze transactional data and metrics of the type collected and maintained by the West Virginia Lottery as of March 1, 2024, related to gaming operations conducted in the state. F..

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Self-exclusion sports betting bill en route to Gov. Justice’s desk

The West Virginia Legislature has passed a self-exclusion sports betting measure into law.

The bill, which is headed for Gov. Jim Justice’s desk, means that an individual can be banned from sports betting if they have “harassed or shown a harmful pattern of conduct directed at a sports official, coach or any participants of a sporting event.”

House Bill 4700 passed out of the Senate with an amended title of “banning certain persons from sport wagering activities” on March 8. The House then passed the Senate’s amendment on the same day allowing for the legislative action to be completed before the close of the 60-day legislative session on March 9.

The legislation, introduced by state Delegate Shawn Fluharty in January, has been added to the existing West Virginia Lottery Sports Wagering Act, which was signed into law in 2018.

The bill states that anyone found guilty will be notified of the commission’s intent to ban them from sports betting and also the person will be given a heari..

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UKGC finalises board of new Industry Forum

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has announced the newly appointed members of the ‘Industry Forum’ to provide greater insights and feedback from licensed operators.

The initiative was launched by UKGC Chairman Marcus Boyle in September 2023, to establish an Industry Forum providing feedback from licensed operators accommodating new regulatory and compliance demands across their platforms.

The Industry Forum is recognised as the UKGC’s fourth ‘special advisory’, in which the regulator is currently supported by the Lived Experience Panel, the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling, and the Digital Advisory Panel.

At the close of 2023, the Commission confirmed the appointment of Nick Rust (OBE), former Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), as the first chair of the Industry Forum.

The former Managing Director of Ladbrokes UK, Coral Group, and BSkyB Gaming, Rust will serve a three-year tenure as inaugural chair of the Industry Forum.

The Commission announced that Rus..

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GamCare: Deeper pathways needed on financial harms linked with problem gambling

GamCare has stated that greater cross-sector cooperation is needed to intervene on financial harms and debt impacting the lives of victims of gambling harms.

The treatment and support charity has published the independent evaluation of its Gambling Related Financial Harm (GRFH) project, undertaken by Rocket Science. The project is referenced as the first evaluation gathering evidence of financial harms linked with problem gambling.

GamCare launched the project due to feedback gathered in 2022/2023, as “60% of callers to the National Gambling Helpline disclosed some level of gambling-related debt, while 76% of the callers reported financial difficulties”.

“These harms are, of course, not just limited to those who gamble, with 47% of other individuals affected, who contacted GamCare, also reporting financial difficulties.”

The project brings together insights from key sectors, including banking, debt, and money advice and gambling treatment, to raise awareness of the issue of the sca..

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