George Rover: on a mission to make affiliates responsible
New RGAA director says affiliates can have a role in countering the black market
New RGAA director says affiliates can have a role in countering the black market
Harris Hagan has announced the promotion of Senior Associate David Whyte to Partner at the City of London law firm.
The decision follows Whyte’s successful tenure as a Senior Associate, where he supported Harris Hagan’s legal practices and framework within the global gambling sector.
Whyte joined Harris Hagan in 2019, having previously worked in-house within the online and land-based sectors. Furthermore, he served for nine years with the Gambling Commission, supporting the authority’s enforcement and legal departments.
Harris Hagan highlighted Whyte’s practical experience and unique insights into gambling’s regulatory framework as “invaluable to the firm and our clients, particularly in high-profile compliance and enforcement mandates, including some of the most significant cases in the recent history of the UK gambling industry.”
Clients were informed that Whyte will continue to work alongside Partner Bahar Alaeddini on the subsequent developments of the UK Gambling Review, which..
Seven major U.S. sportsbooks have launched a united effort to tackle problem gambling.
The new Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) will serve as an independent trade association focused on developing and implementing responsible gaming best practices in the most impactful way possible across the industry. The founding members are BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and PENN Entertainment, a septet that ROGA says accounts for more than 85% of the legalized online sports betting and gaming industry in the U.S.
Initiatives from the association will include funding and supporting research, helping to lead both consumer-facing and industry-facing responsible gaming education and awareness and promoting responsible gaming best practices. It will also aim to create a database to facilitate information sharing in the industry as well as launch an independent certification program to evaluate members’ responsible gaming efforts.
ROGA will be led by Execu..
Several US online gambling operators have teamed up to establish the Responsible Online Gaming Association, an independent trade association that seeks to develop and advance responsible gaming practices.
Seven operators – bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital and PENN Entertainment – have come together to help “educate, equip, and empower consumers to enjoy the fun of online gaming in a responsible way”.
The ROGA will be led by Executive Director Jennifer Shatley, who has more than 25 years of industry experience. She will be responsible for facilitating “widespread education to all relevant parties on the subject of responsible gaming”.
Over $20m has been committed by the group of operators to fund the association and help promote responsible gaming.
“I am humbled, honoured and excited to be selected to lead ROGA during this important period of growth in legalised mobile gaming,” stated Shatley.
“Many of America’s largest legal mobil..
French online gambling operators have been instructed to identify and remove ‘problematic clauses’ related to customer terms and conditions.
The command has been issued by Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s unified gambling authority, as a part of its review of ‘general clauses’ used by online gambling operators.
The review was initiated due to customer complaints submitted to Mediateur des Jeux en Ligne’ (Mediateur) regarding the validity, context and content of certain clauses.
Established in 2019, Mediateur provides an independent dispute moderating service between French online gambling consumers and licensed operators, including monopoly incumbents FDJ (national lottery) and PMU (French horseracing).
The ANJ seeks to achieve a ‘satisfactory level’ of legal compliance on the general clauses of gambling operators – without the need to standardise a ‘contractual obligation’ on licensees.
As such, the review focused on identifying and removing illegal, ambiguous, or pot..
Svenska Spel Sport & Casino AB has been given a warning and a penalty fee of SEK 100m (€8.7m) by Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling inspectorate, for duty of care failures.
In response, Fredrik Wastenson, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino’s President and Business Area Manager, has stated that the operator does not share the same opinion as the authority and will be considering whether to appeal the decision.
In its report, Spelinspektionen noted that it began an audit of Svenska Spel’s operations on December 21, 2021, investigating how the operator complies with the Swedish Gambling Act’s duty of care.
The authority reviewed how Svenska Spel handled ten customers who lost the most money during the supervision period of October 17, 2021, to December 17, 2021.
In terms of the violation, Spelinspektionen declared that all customers during the audit period showed signs of excessive gambling; there was a lack of protection, follow-up and help to reduce gambling; and that the operator didn’t..
MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani has denied any wrongdoing following allegations of his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stealing millions from him to wager on sports.
Ohtani spoke to the media on Monday for the first time since allegations were made against his former confidant, Mizuhara, who allegedly partcipated in an illegal gambling operation run by California resident and bookie Matthew Bowyer. According to the LA Times, Mizuhara allegedly siphoned at least $4.5 million from Ohtani’s bank account to cover gambling losses. Mizuhara had previously told authorities the money was transferred by Ohtani.
“I’ve never bet on baseball or any other sports or asked someone to do it on my behalf,” said Ohtani during Monday’s press conference. “I’ve never asked a bookmaker to do it on my behalf. Up until a few days ago, I didn’t know this was happening. In conclusion, Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies.”
Ohtani was first informed of Mizuhara’s allegedly stealing la..
Sports betting data platform OddsJam has partnered with responsible gaming and behavioral health treatment company Birches Health to offer resources, education and care for problem gambling addictions.
All OddsJam users will now have easy access to a wide selection of responsible gaming resources and treatment services. Birches Health aims to help problem gamblers who would otherwise have been unable to access care through traditional channels immediately get the support they need.
The service provides a program covered by insurance and the government and run by a clinical team with decades of experience in gambling-specialized care.
“OddsJam is passionate about educating our users to bet smarter by focusing on value when it comes to decision-making, so working with Birches Health is a win-win,” said OddsJam CEO Matt Restivo. “We have a duty to partner with entities in our space who are doing the right thing, and Birches Health is the epitome of this philosophy.”
“We are thrilled ..
Tipico Sportsbook is making history as an operator in America’s gaming market.
The Malta-based operator has earned Internet Compliance Assessment Program (iCAP) accreditation in New Jersey and Ohio becoming the first sportsbook in the U.S. to receive the accreditation for best practices in consumer protection. Tipico earned the iCAP accreditation following the launch of its Fair Play Pledge, a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to foster a safe and enjoyable betting experience for users while maximizing value.
The National Council on Problem Gambling is the administrator of iCAP accreditations.
“ICAP accreditation is a meaningful award for Tipico because it validates our approach to make fair play a companywide initiative that requires buy-in by our employees,” said Tipico Compliance & Legal SVP Bryan Schroeder in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of our team for rallying around our efforts to continuously improve safety and clarity. Our primary goal is to ensure customers hav..
ESPN host Rece Davis is under fire for equating a college basketball wager to a “risk-free investment.”
During an ESPN Bet segment on Sunday, betting analyst Erin Dolan and Davis were discussing the rationale of betting the under for a team’s total points in a March Madness matchup between UConn and Northwestern. Dolan explained her decision to bet Northwestern to score under 60.5 points in which Davis replied with a controversial comment.
“Some would call this wagering, gambling. I think the way you’ve sold this; I think what it is, is a risk-free investment,” said Davis during the segment.
Davis describing a sports wager as a risk-free investment is an issue that continues to be a topic of discussion throughout America’s regulated gambling industry.
In 2022, FanDuel and DraftKings eliminated “risk-free” and “free bet” terminology in their marketing following criticism of advertising practices in gambling.
Last year, New York became the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to take le..