SBC News

A public statement by the Dutch Gaming Authority Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has revealed that the regulator has renewed its collaborative project with the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).

Both organisations exhibit shared values and responsibilities towards consumer protection, and it is understood that the renewed cooperation agreement will increase their mutual efficiency to strengthen the Dutch market in the years ahead.

Recently, the KSA took additional steps to control the sports betting scene in the Netherlands after several reports suggested that there is currently an increased risk of match-fixing in amateur sports competitions due to a fragmented approach towards the analysis of matches.

These developments reflect the evolving gambling landscape, which is why the renewed cooperation between the KSA and ACM will aim to create a tighter regulatory belt around the challenges that could potentially endanger Dutch consumers.

The new protocol is being enf..

Kindred has donated its branding space on Middlesbrough FC’s first team shirts to the MFC Foundation logo for this weekend’s match against Rotherham.

As the Championship club’s principal sponsor, Kindred supports the move as part of the club’s ‘Foundation Weekend’ in removing its Unibet branding for the cause.

The initiative aims to highlight the Foundation’s ‘life-changing work’ for participants of all ages in the local community, as well as how people in the area can access its projects and services.

Sam Mead, General Manager of Kindred Group, said: “It’s important for all of us at Kindred to use our position as principal partner to help the Foundation achieve the visibility and recognition that its work deserves.

“We’re proud not just of our relationship and partnership with Boro, but also our sponsorship model that has helped so many people in the local community.”

In detail, the MFC Foundation works to ‘raise aspirations’ and ‘improve the life chances’ of young people and ad..

More than half of compliance professionals from the international betting and gaming industry believe the implementation of financial risk checks in the UK will have a negative impact, the SBC Media Challenges in Compliance Survey, commissioned by IDnow, has found.

The study surveyed 100 senior compliance representatives from operators in Europe, North America and Latin America about existing issues and concerns over upcoming changes to market conditions. The full report will be published in late February 2024.

One topic that garnered strong and polarising views was the UK’s proposed financial risk checks – the affordability checks that the UK Gambling Commission is currently running a consultation on – and their impact on the domestic and international market.

When asked about the impact the checks would have, 67% of respondents said they would lead to a reduction in customer sign-ups at licensed operators, compared with 26% who predicted the move would have no effect.

Interesting..

Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s Gambling Authority, published its ‘Game Consumption Report’ stating that land-based gaming venues experienced a decline in bets volume towards the end of 2023.

Data highlighted by the paper reports that land-based betting activity for November dropped to 15.5% from the 27.27% in October.

Overall, the market’s entire gross gaming revenue (GGR) from sports betting in October fell from September’s strong estimates of DKK 184m (£21.1m) to around DKK 52m (£5.9m) – a 76% decline on corresponding results.

Though yet to be specified, it is suggested that the notable drop of engagement in the fourth quarter of 2023 might be related to what is now known as the ‘Safe Play’ cards – a form of ID verification first introduced by Denmark’s national lottery Danske Spil.

Back in 2019, the Danish operator brought the idea to light as a method to limit underage gambling and money laundering in the country by rolling out physical and electronic ID cards to its network o..

Uruguay has doubled down on its commitment to strengthening the country’s responsible gambling strategy, with policymakers in the capital of Montevideo signing a long-term agreement with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the Republic.

The municipality’s decision follows that of the national Directorate of State Casinos, which strengthened its efforts against gambling harm by teaming up with the faculty after a report commissioned by the educational body highlighted that “in Uruguay there are more than 35,000 people who are gamblers and almost twice as many suffer from the problematic game”.

As reported by SBC Noticias, the government of Uruguay will look to expand its 2009 Program for the Prevention and Treatment of Pathological Gambling by placing a magnifying glass on Montevideo’s population.

The program itself provides therapeutic support services at no cost to bettors who are experiencing problematic gambling disorders.

Furthemore, the Faculty of Medicine added tha..

Lottstift, the Gambling Authority of Norway, has expanded its funding coverage to support volunteer groups treating gambling addiction.

The authority has reminded volunteer groups and related organizations of its 31st January deadline to secure financial support for the treatment of gambling harm.

The directive is part of the Norwegian government’s 2022-2025 action plan, which tasks Lottstift with expanding a network of stakeholders to improve early interventions for gambling risks and harms.

Organizations eligible for financial support under the program of grants, effective from January 1, 2023, include voluntary support groups for gambling addicts and their relatives, and groups addressing gambling and compulsive gaming addictions.

For 2024, up to NOK 4.1m (€400k) will be available for grants, contingent upon criteria established by Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Lottstift.

The program will review grants for operational support and for project-specific support related to impro..

An agreement has been reached between the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) to extend their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The AGCC was first established in 2000 as Alderney’s gaming regulatory body responsible for the supervision of the gaming sector, overseeing the licensing and regulatory enforcement procedures on the island.

Malta’s regulatory body, on the other hand, recently announced Charles Mizzi as the successor of the regulator’s current CEO Carl Brincat, who will step down from the role at the end of January.

Both regulators first signed the MoU into power back in 2013 with the goal of strengthening their collaboration.

With the renewal now in fruition, the MGA and AGCC can deepen their commitment towards achieving their common objectives for a better regulated gaming sector, and continue working on joint initiatives that put the focus on crime prevention, consumer protection and gambling harm reduction.

Brincat comm..

GambleAware has stated that the government must prioritise the development of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Treatment of gambling harms in its ongoing review of gambling laws and duties.

The statement was made by GambleAware in its response to the Statutory Levy consultation as proposed by the Gambling Review’s White Paper, authored by CEO Zoë Osmond.

Under consultation, GambleAware is set to be replaced by the NHS and UK Research and Innovation as the chief commissioner of funding for Research, Education, and Treatment (RET) projects and organisations.

As outlined in the White Paper, the government aims to raise £100m per year by 2027 for gambling research, education, and treatment (RET) across England, Scotland, and Wales, proposing a 1% fee on gross gambling yield for online operators, with land-based betting shops and casinos paying around 0.4%.

GambleAware reiterated its support for the introduction of a statutory levy needed to bring clarity in funding and supp..

The German gambling regulator, Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL), has secured financing for the country’s free gambling addiction hotline of the Federal Center for Health Education – BZgA – for the next few years.

The GGL declared that the main associations of the German gaming industry have jointly- backed the BZgA hotline with further funding. Covering a third of the funding will be the German lotto and totoblock DLTB and the German slot machine industry DAW.

Additionally, financial support will also be provided by the country’s sports betting association DSWV, the online casino association DOCV, the federal association of private individuals casinos BupriS, the casino association DSbV and the lotto association DLV.

The GGL noted that the hotline’s financing is regularly renegotiated, but the regulator is committed to ensuring it is permanently secured.

“Free telephone advice on gambling addiction is an important offer for those affected,” emphasised GGL board membe..

If state-of-the-art technology and marketing expertise can be used in combination as a highly-effective player acquisition tool, they can do exactly the same for player protection, Entain’s Group Operations Director Peter Marcus told Issue 27 of SBC Leaders magazine.

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Entain’s Group Operations Director Peter Marcus
When a member of the Entain’s management team says that, “the board are 100% supportive of it. I would say I get more questions each month from the board than anyone else on how’s it going”, you could be forgiven for thinking that the project he oversees is a new revenue-generating powerhouse.

What Group Operations Director Peter Marcus is actually talking about is the company’s safer gambling efforts and in particular its state-of-the-art Advanced Responsibility & Care (ARC) player protection programme.

The importance that the board and C-Suite have attached to ARC is illustrated by the fact that it was Entain’s second biggest project globally in 202..