Retaining elements of entertainment, while eliminating the stigma associated with the betting and gaming industries, is the crucial task facing stakeholders, cites Chandru Mullaparthi, Director of Bluehouse Technology However, in order to achieve this, a very clear display of just how seriously player protection is taken must be demonstrated throughout each level of every organisation.…
DraftKings has announced the appointment of Lori Kalani as its first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer. Kalani, who will report to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, will be tasked with elevating and integrating the company’s player safety and protection activities and initiatives across all facets of DraftKings platforms and player communities. “Responsible gaming is one of our top priorities and it…
How to lead a company from an unpromising situation to market leadership is a secret most betting and gaming industry executives would love to learn. In Issue 30 of SBC Leaders magazine, FanDuel President Christian Genetski gives readers the inside track on how he and his colleagues managed to do just that.
In a revealing interview to mark Genetski’s imminent induction to the Sports Betting Hall of Fame during next month’s SBC Summit North America, he details not just the many positives of the FanDuel story, but also some of the greatest adversities it has faced.
“After the DraftKings merger was blocked by the FTC in August of 2017, FanDuel was pretty much out of money,” recalls Genetski. “So we had to immediately do an internal capital raise to keep the lights on and take in just enough money to say, ‘we’ve gotta sell the company, merge the company, or find a path to a much bigger capital infusion in the next nine months’.”
He also talks about his hugely important public affairs wo..
DraftKings has announced the appointment of Lori Kalani as its first Chief Responsible Gaming Officer.
Kalani, who will report to DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, will be tasked with elevating and integrating the company’s player safety and protection activities and initiatives across all facets of DraftKings platforms and player communities.
“Responsible gaming is one of our top priorities and it is a core part of our mission to build games that our customers can enjoy responsibly,” said Robins. “In this leadership role, Lori will further advance our responsible gaming initiatives and uphold our commitment to setting new industry standards.”
Before joining DraftKings, Kalani was a partner at the Cozen O’Connor law firm and Co-Chaired the State Attorney’s General Practice.
DraftKings says that her experience in consumer protection law and her working relationship with regulators, attorneys general, and other key stakeholders will allow Kalani to further cultivate DraftKings’ dedicati..
As part of its ‘Journey towards Zero’ initiative, Kindred has reported a slight increase in revenue share from high-risk players during the first quarter of 2024.
The ‘Journey towards Zero’ campaign of reaching zero per cent of revenue generated from harmful gambling sees the 32Red and Unibet operator provide quarterly data on revenue share from harmful gambling and improvement effect after interventions.
Kindred noted that, in comparison to Q4 2023, there has been a slight increase in the share of gross winnings revenue from high-risk players in Q1 2024 – a 90-day rolling period between December 19, 2023, and March 18, 2024.
The revenue from high-risk players rose to 3.2 per cent during the quarter, compared to Q4 2023’s 3.1 per cent. This figure has shifted between 3.1 and 3.3 per cent throughout the past year.
In addition, the operator said that it “remains fully dedicated to lowering this share of revenue and continues to see a positive behaviour change from players after inter..
The Parliament of South Africa has received the ‘Remote Gambling Bill of 2024’, tabled by the Democratic Alliance (DA), considered the main opposition party to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) government.
Sponsored by MP Dean Macpherson, the DA’s Shadow Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, the Bill seeks to address South Africa’s inadequate regulatory framework governing online gambling activities. The DA has accused the ANC of “failing to provide adequate protection and regulation within the online gambling industry”.
As such, the DA has submitted the Remote Gambling Bill in response to the ANC government’s 16-year delay in enacting the National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008, which is necessary to regulate online gambling.
The DA stated: “After nearly 16 years, it has still not been brought into operation, meaning that a legal gap continues to exist in the industry. This is highly concerning given the massive strides and advances in online usage since then.”
The..
UNLV is preparing to host its inaugural class of ESPN Research Fellowships.
The institution’s International Gaming Institute (IGI) has announced the recipients of the 2024 ESPN Research Fellowships. The group of scholars is tasked with researching the impact of RG messages used by media in the sports betting and gaming industry. Their work will be key in addressing and promoting healthy gambling practices.
“ESPN is proud to work with IGI to advance responsible gaming standards through this comprehensive research,” said VP of ESPN Corporate Citizenship Kevin Martinez. “These diverse research projects will help to inform how the industry can continue to respond to and improve upon responsible gaming practices in the sports entertainment ecosystem.”
Each of the five receipts of the fellowship will provide unique insights into the aspects of RG messaging in sports media. Dr. Hannah Borenstein, an Assistant Teaching Professor at the University of Chicago, will be investigating the integr..
With comings and goings commonplace across the industry, Mohegan, NeoGames and The Star Gold Coast are among those to have seen changes to their teams recently.
Mohegan
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has appointed Joseph J Hasson as interim Chief Operating Officer, who is currently the General Manager of Mohegan Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Effective August 1, 2024, Hasson will be replacing Jody Madigan in the COO position, who has resigned and will be taking a leave of absence pending his departure.
Reporting to President and CEO Ray Pineault, Hasson will serve as interim COO and retain his current General Manager role, subject to necessary regulatory filings or approvals.
Mohegan added that Hasson was an “obvious choice” with his more than 40 years of gaming and hospitality experience, as he has also been COO for Station Casinos and Red Rock Resorts.
Pineault commented: “Joseph J Hasson’s deep understanding of the gaming and hospitality industry makes him exceptionally qua..
Following either a hack or coding error, the International Betting Integrity Association websiteaccidentally displayed an out-of-place promotion for an online slots company.
Advertising a company known as Slot Online Gacor 2023, for a short period of time anyone visiting the IBIA’s website would find a blatant promotion for the online slots company that looked to be targeting South East Asian players.
Translated from its original Indonesian transcript, the advertisement read: “Through Gacor 2023 slots, you can play all the latest slot games using just one user ID via your device by relying on an internet connection. Online slots are one of the easiest slot games to play and do not require large capital or special skills to place bets.
“Only the Gacor 2023 slot site guarantees victory for its players, by registering the alternative link for the 2023 Gacor slot which has 24-hour online service and certainly not many other Gacor slot sites have it.”
Due to the nature of the IBIA an..
DraftKings Sportsbook is now facing a second class action, this time a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York for its promotional “risk-free” bets.
The lawsuit, filed by plaintiff Samantha Guery, says that DraftKings engaged in deceptive, misleading, fraudulent and unlawful by advertising a risk-free wager.
The suit claims that the way DraftKings awards its free bet resulted in compensation that failed to match the amount of money a person had to wager in order to receive the offer.
Suit says DraftKings free bets are fraudulent and misleading
“The promotion required that the customer place a bet with their own money. If a customer lost their bet, they were not returned to their original position. Instead, their accounts were credited with a “Free Bet” that was worth less than its counterpart in U.S. dollars implied by the promotional materials.”
The complaint went so far as to break down its mathematical approach:
“Free Bets cannot be withdrawn and must be wagered t..