SBC News

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..

“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..

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..

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..