SBC News

France’s upcoming hosting of the 2023 Rugby World Cup has prompted l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) to refresh its nationwide safer gambling campaign.

The tagline, “Rugby has its codes, so does betting,” will be front and center for the ANJ, France’s unified gambling authority, during rugby union’s premier tournament taking place across France from 8 September to 28 October.

For this campaign, the ANJ has re-engaged research agency Toluna-Harris Interactive to provide insights into ‘French betting intentions’. The research found that “13% of French people say they intend to bet money during the RWC.”

In anticipation of the tournament, the ANJ estimates that wagers on the RWC could range from €85m to €150m. The French team’s on-field performance is expected to play a critical role in determining the final betting amounts.

Record TV viewership is anticipated, with “47% of French citizens planning to watch the Rugby World Cup.” This interest surpasses the levels observed preceding ..

EPIC Risk Management has revealed Teresa Fiore as the company’s new VP of Partnerships.

The gambling harm minimisation consultancy cited its continued expansion in the US, stating that this has led to the key appointment.

Joining from PointsBet – where she held the role of Manager of Responsible Gambling and Corporate Social Responsibility for several years – Fiore will now apply her experience in the gambling industry to work alongside partners of EPIC.

Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Risk Management, commented: “This appointment is a key marker of the expansion that EPIC continues to make within the US.

“We’re delighted to bring Teresa’s extensive knowledge and vital experience into our organisation and value the perspective that she can bring from both a regulatory and industry angle.”

Meanwhile, Fiore has previously represented the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for five years as Programme Manager of Research and Responsible Gaming, where she oversaw state-wide responsible gambling pr..

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has posted a personal response from CEO Andrew Rhodes regarding “misunderstandings around financial risk checks and what they really mean”.

In a blog and video posted on the Commission’s website, Rhodes seeks to answer important questions and clarify the most frequent misconceptions related to financial risk checks.

Having initiated the consultation phase of the gambling review’s white paper, Rhodes notes: “In the past six weeks, we have seen a significant amount of misinformation about proposed financial risk checks in direct responses to the consultation, both in the media and on social media.

To aid responses during the remaining weeks of the consultation, the Commission has published a series of questions and answers for UK stakeholders. The UKGC stands by its aim to strike the “right balance between allowing people the freedom to gamble and also conducting proportionate checks to identify and protect the most vulnerable customers from harm”.

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Gluecksspiel (GGL), the Federal Authority of German Gambling, will host its first “joint exchange meeting of state coordinators” in Halle.

The meeting will convene representatives from Germany’s 16 Federal States (Bundesländer). They will share their specific experiences and challenges in prevention work in the online gambling sector since the inception of the Fourth Interstate Gambling regime (GlüNeuRStv) on 1 July 2021.

Hosting the Bundesländer, GGL emphasized its objective to “intensify cooperation” with the public health institutes of each Federal State. GGL envisions itself as the “coordinating entity” for all stakeholders in the GlüNeuRStv market.

By consolidating feedback from prevention institutions, GGL aims to gain deeper insights into implementing player protection regulations as mandated by law.

GGL Co-President Ronald Benter explained: “We have achieved this goal. After an initial board meeting last year, a personal meeting took place between the state coordinators and..

Issue 27 of SBC Leaders Magazine takes a tour of global gambling to get the lowdown on the ever-closer relationship between the betting and media industries, operator efforts to improve player protection, scaling a gaming supplier business, and even the use of rappers in marketing.

The publication underwent a full redesign ahead of this SBC Summit Barcelona issue and, in addition to a stylish new look, it also now features opinion columns from some of SBC Media’s most experienced writers.

One thing that has not changed though is that the magazine includes interviews with a selection of industry big hitters, including cover star Vladimir Malakchi, Chief Commercial Officer of games developer Evoplay, who detailed his approach to leadership and scaling a business.

Elsewhere, LiveScore Group’s CEO Sam Sadi discussed the increasing convergence of the sports betting and sports media industries, and took aim at one of the great clichés of the online age.

“People say content is king,” sa..

EPIC Risk Management has announced the addition of former Premier League and international footballer Simon Haworth who will help deliver its education sessions on gambling-related harm.

The ex-Wales, Coventry City, Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic forward has recently joined the gambling harm minimisation consultancy’s long-standing partner WHYSUP as a programme facilitator.

As an extension of that arrangement, Haworth will join WHYSUP Founder Mark Murray in supporting EPIC’s session delivery across a range of high-risk sectors as an associate.

Haworth said: “It’s brilliant how EPIC raises awareness and educates. It means a lot to me to be able to share my lived experience within the sports industry. I’m looking forward to being part of the EFL programme we deliver, and the prospect of the MLS Players Association sessions too.”

Having seen his professional football career curtailed due to injury during his time at his final club Tranmere Rovers, the player said that he turned to ‘i..

Flutter Entertainment has joined the charter of WiHTL, a business collaboration community devoted to increasing diversity and inclusion in the hospitality, travel, and leisure industry (HTL).

The initiative sees Flutter become a sponsor of WiHTL’s Women Non-Executive Director (NED) Programme. CFO Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson will also become a founding member of WiHTL’s CFO Committee.

Founded in 2016, WiHTL is a collaborative organisation formed to help HTL businesses establish diverse, inclusive, and understanding environments for a sector impacting five million people globally by 2025.

Tea Colaianni, Founder and Chair of WiHTL, said: “I am thrilled to welcome Flutter Entertainment to our Collaboration Community and delighted that they are sponsoring our Women NED Programme, which is key to increasing diversity in boardrooms across the industry. With its global reach and high-profile brands, Flutter will make a significant contribution to our community.”

Flutter underscored the import..

BetCity.nl has initiated an upgrade of its responsible gambling practices and solutions by partnering with Mindway AI.

The Dutch-facing Entain-owned sportsbook brand will utilise Mindway’s technology and knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI), neuroscientific insights and analysis to deliver a safer gambling experience to its customers.

Mindway’s GameScanner tool will play a particularly important role in the partnership, due to be used by BetCity to analyse player behaviour and detect early signs of problem gambling.

“We are thrilled to partner with BetCity.nl,” remarked Rasmus Kjaergaard, CEO of Mindway AI. “By combining our expertise in early detection of at-risk and problem gambling with BetCity.nl’s innovative online gaming platform, we can provide a comprehensive and effective solution that prioritises player protection and minimises the risks associated with gambling-related harm.”

BetCity aims to better conduct interventions with problem gamblers by leveraging Mindway A..

GamCare has launched its new ‘Online Community’ to provide users with seamless access to its online support services.

Branded as a ‘space to connect’, GamCare’s new Online Community has integrated the problem-gambling’s treatment support charity’s forum, chatrooms and MyGamCare into a single destination for users.

“Now through one login and in one integrated space, users can view our growing selection of online tools to help connect with others, as well as manage gambling behaviours,” GamCare explained.

Changes will see users log in through an Online Communities area, using their same GamCare account and password. Once in the Online Communities area, users can navigate back to the main GamCare site through the main menu.

In addition, GamCare has bolstered its Online Community with new features including a new chatroom calendar to see all upcoming sessions, as well as a new forum design and layout.

GamCare maintains that its Forum and Chatrooms will remain strictly confidential ..

Australia has welcomed the launch of BetStop, the new ‘single point’ gambling self-exclusion scheme available across all six federal states.

BetStop is operated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which in 2022 was instructed to develop a federal self-exclusion scheme to protect vulnerable consumers from gambling risks better.

As agreed by the gambling authorities/boards of the Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania, all licensed operators must register their player databases with BetStop, regardless of the state in which they are licensed.

The ACMA has been entrusted to operate a “comprehensive self-exclusion system, encompassing all licensed wagering providers in the country, covering both online and telephone-based platforms.”

Changes will require operators to prevent self-excluded players from creating accounts, accepting their bets, and sending them marketing content. Furthermore, all licen..