SBC News

The Ministry of Finance of Georgia has updated the ‘electronic registry of citizens’ to comply with upcoming changes to the Caucasus nation’s gambling laws.

Applied via an executive order from the Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, from 1 July 2024, the new laws of the ‘Code of Administrative Offences’ will come into force in Georgia, which involves a strict tightening of compliance rules across all gambling segments.

Georgia will enforce new gambling laws prohibiting all citizens under the age of 25 from participating in gambling activities (land-based and online).

The Code will further prohibit all government and public sector employees from gambling and those registered with criminal offenses by Georgian courts.

This initiative has been overseen by the Revenue Office of the Ministry of Finance, which updated the government’s ‘electronic registry’ as the central database that will monitor Georgian citizens’ activities with gambling.

As reported by SBCEurasia, the Ministry of ..

South Wales’ Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) has collaborated with the UKGC, HMRC and Cardiff City Council Licensing to issue seven warrants across Cardiff on reports of an illegal gambling den in Splott.

The warrants, issued on 28 February, saw the arrest of two males on suspicion of money laundering and breaches of the gambling act. After conducting a search of the Splott premises, authorities seized gambling-related paraphernalia, including six poker tables, a spinning prize wheel, as well as poker coins and chips.

“We are committed to tackling illegal gambling activity across the UK and will continue working closely with law enforcement and partner agencies to achieve this,” a statement issued by Tarian ROCU read.

The operation nicknamed ‘Henhouse’ was part of a wider effort to combat fraud, funded by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and organised in conjunction with several police forces and organised crime units across the UK.

Detective Sergeant Emma Br..

The NHS has reached an operating milestone in the support and development of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) by opening its fifteenth clinic in Sheffield.

The clinic opened this weekend, expanding dedicated NHS treatment support and recovery services for problem gambling in Yorkshire and the North of England.

Amid growing demand for services, the opening of the new clinic in Sheffield means that the NHS has now almost doubled the number of specialist clinics available within the space of a year in England.

The Sheffield facility sees the NHS expand its network of problem gambling clinics to 15, operating across England with specialist treatment centres located in London, Milton Keynes, Thurrock, Bristol, Derby, Liverpool, Blackpool, Preston, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, and Telford.

NHS Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, said: “The opening of the new NHS gambling clinic is a significant milestone and amid record demand for help, it is tim..

London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been urged to fulfill his 2021 manifesto commitment and introduce a ban on all forms of gambling advertisements across the Transport for London (TfL) network.

The demand has been made by the London Assembly Health Committee (LAHC), which has highlighted the need for Londoners to understand the severity of the problem gambling issue in the capital.

The Health Committee’s motivation stems from concerns that “London’s rate of ‘problem gambling’ is almost double the average seen across Britain.”

The demand arises from a two-part investigation conducted by the LAHC, taking feedback from individuals with lived experience of gambling harms, key public health figures, and charities.

As a result, the LAHC has determined that “a correlation exists between exposure to gambling advertising and increased gambling participation, particularly among young people and those with gambling issues.”

However, the report cited recognised the need for more research into the ..

Kindred Group has published its combined Annual and Sustainability Report for the 2023 financial year.

Providing an introduction to the company and its strategy and key value creation drivers, Kindred detailed its focus on expanding its share in locally regulated markets under the leadership of CEO Nils Andén.

Emphasising the importance of navigating complex regulations to deliver compelling experiences to its customers, the CEO summarised: “The geopolitical situation across Europe and other parts of the world continues to bring unrest, and during this time we have remained focused and supported each other when needed.”

This strategy, Kindred explained, has not only enabled the firm to build further market share, but also to reinforce its commitment to providing a safe and secure gambling environment for customers.

“Kindred is an extremely successful growth story over the years, partly thanks to our ability to come together as a team, and we remain committed to our purpose of tra..

Compliance specialist, The Department of Trust (DoTrust), has partnered with lotto betting and igaming operator, Lottoland.

Through the agreement, the operator aims to improve compliance and enhance customer service with advanced automation in identifying vulnerable customers, with DoTrust selected following a thorough period of due diligence and evaluation.

Michael Byrne, COO at DoTrust, said: “Lottoland is a much admired and significant player in the lotto betting and iGaming space. With the White Paper reforms looming, their high level of engagement and foresight means Lottoland, like our other partners, will be amongst the best positioned operators to move into the new era. We’re proud they have chosen us for this.”

Furthermore, Lottoland plans to incorporate the latest automation features offered by DoTrust, which are designed to anticipate upcoming regulatory changes this summer as announced by the Gambling Commission.

These anticipated regulatory changes may mandate operator..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has reminded stakeholders that the consultation on proposed changes to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) duties and enforcement policies will close on Friday, 15 March 2024.

The UKGC launched the consultation on 15 December 2023, seeking feedback on the transparency of financial penalties and the financial key reporting duties outlined in the LCCP.

The Commission is consulting on two sets of ‘business as usual’ proposed changes: one relates to clarifying and adding transparency to how financial penalties are calculated, and the other concerns financial key event reporting by licensees to ensure the Commission has the appropriate information for risk-based regulation.

The consultations aim to make the process by which enforcement actions, including financial penalties, are calculated more transparent. Penalties would start with a base determined by the severity of the breach and a percentage of the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) or othe..

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..

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..

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..