SBC News

Flutter maintains laser focus on sustainable corporate governance

Flutter Entertainment is making significant progress towards achieving its 2030 sustainability goals, corporate leadership asserts.

Initially set out in its 2022 ‘Positive Impact Plan’, the strategy focuses on improving four key areas revolving around Flutter’s impact on the environment, employment conditions, community support, as well as player safety.

Measuring each initiative against the importance it bears to stakeholders and the overall impact on the business, Flutter’s latest report identified safer gambling as ‘very high’ on the agenda, alongside staff inclusion and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, community investment, anti-money laundering measures and reduction of carbon emissions were classified as ‘high’ priorities for Flutter’s governing board.

Play Well
One of the main pillars of the Positive Impact Plan is the Play Well approach, where Flutter promotes RG education, engagement and use of safety tools among players – with the end goal being 75% of its customers using these tools by the end of 2030.

Since the launch of the sustainability plan in 2022, the percentage of Flutter customers using a Play Well tool seems to be well on its way to meeting the end goal. In 2022, that number was 37.7%. This then rose to 39.7% in 2023, only to reach 44.5% in 2024.

Peter Jackon, Flutter CEO, said: “Flutter is committed to sustainable growth and setting the agenda for positive change. Something I am particularly proud of is how we are continuing to help our customers to Play Well.

“We invested $139m to support and promote safe play across our global operations and saw 44.5% of our active online customers use one or more Play Well tools.”

Lifting communities
Flutter’s social impact is also on track to achieve its 2030 goal of improving a total of 10m lives globally. This includes the collaboration with new and existing partners to empower communities through fundraising and donations.

In 2022, Flutter managed to help 430,000 people, while in 2023 that number was increased to 1.53 million. For 2024, the number of cumulative lives improved stood at 2.55 million, with a total of $16.4m donated just in that year alone.

Sue Albion, Group Director of Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, concluded: “Our Positive Impact Plan is at the heart of our business and I’m extremely proud of the progress we achieved in 2024, which wouldn’t have been possible without the shared commitment and passion from our colleagues across the globe.”

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Dutch offshore plague continues despite Google oversight

Google asserts that it already has active anti-offshore gambling policies in the Netherlands in response to a motion filed by two Dutch politicians.

Mikal Tseggai, a member of the Dutch Labour Party, and Willem Koops, from the New Social Contract Party, requested a direct government intervention to restrict unlicensed operators from being shown to Dutch residents in Google searches.

“The House of Representatives heard the deliberation…requesting the government to include a ban on advertising and making gambling websites findable in search engines in the new gambling law, unless the Gambling Authority (Kansspelautoriteit) has exceptionally certified a provider as a reliable organisation, the so-called whitelisting, on the basis of a careful review.”

In other words, the motion essentially asked for Google to refrain from giving advertising space to gambling operators unless the same ones have been explicitly cleared by the Kansspelautoriteit through the granting of a Dutch licence.

However, in an official response to CasinoNieuws.nl, Google confirmed that such measures already exist in the form of a whitelist incorporated within the US technology giant’s very own advertising policy.

This obliges the tech firm to only give region-specific advertising space to firms officially licensed by the relevant gambling regulators, including the Netherlands’ KSA.

Similar measures were most recently rolled out by Google across Nigeria and Germany.

Persistent issue
Despite this, illegal websites keep finding new ways to abuse Google’s search results to find new potential customers. In 2023, the tech firm reported a total of 5.5 billion ads taken down from its engine globally as they displayed content that violates its guidelines, including unlicensed gambling ads.

Earlier this year, Google’s EU headquarters in Ireland were contacted by the Dutch Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA) organisation that highlighted an increasing number of domains popping out after putting the term “casino without Cruks” in the search engine.

Dutch traffic towards such domains remains high, with the KVA reporting more than one million Dutch users lost to the black market by March of this year.

The development comes amid continuing political pressure on the Dutch gaming industry as the government looks at potential amendments to the 2021 Remote Gaming Act (KOA Act).

This review has been spearheaded by the State Secretary for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken, while proposed amendments have been subject to extensive parliamentary debate.

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Kindbridge teams with UCLA for cross-sector financial harm initiative in the US

Nonprofit organization Kindbridge Research Institute (KRI) has launched the Financial Stability and Responsible Gambling Initiative in the US to confront gambling-related financial harm as a public health and financial stability issue.  Key elements of the initiative include a national working group spanning finance, health, and research;  a UCLA-led study on early risk patterns and effective…

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BetMGM prevails over Antar in appeals court over VIP casino case

Sam A. Antar’s push to hold BetMGM accountable for his losses gambling on the site once again failed in court

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals sided with BetMGM, upholding the decision by the New Jersey District Court that the online gambling company was not liable for Antar’s losses on the site.

The lower court determined that the state’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) did not override the state’s casino laws and concluded that Borgata Casino and BetMGM were under no legal obligation to compel problem gamblers from not gambling.

Court said Antar knew what BetMGM was offering

Antar’s original complaint alleged the BetMGM VIP coerced him to keep playing on the site even though they allegedly knew he could not afford to gamble on the site anymore. Antar claims his VIP hosts kept him addicted to playing on the site and he wagered more than $24 million with the company.

The Circuit opinion noted that Antar argued that the online casino site violated the CFA by deceiving him into continuin..

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Kenya regulator suspends gambling adverts for 30 days

Issuing a public notice on X, the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) in Kenya has confirmed a sweeping move to prohibit adverts for 30 days.

It comes as scrutiny over the Kenyan gambling market is being intensified, especially as reports underline that a new generation of players are engaging with wagering.

Providing the update on X, the BCLB stated: “Kenyans will NOT see betting adverts on TV or hear them on radio for the next 30 days.

“We have SUSPENDED all gambling advertisements across media platforms until promoters fully comply with our set guidelines on responsible marketing.”

Recently, the country’s regulator also sought to cool claims that Kenyan players spent Ksh 766bn (approximately £4.4bn) on gambling in 2024.

The BCLB issued a statement to challenge the report, conducted by GeoPoll and titled Betting in Africa 2024, claiming that the figure “inaccurately inflates the size of the regulated market” by including figures from offshore platforms.

Reports had fur..

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BetOnline hit with cease and desist order by Michigan regulator

BetOnline.ag and SportsBetting.ag have been issued cease and desist orders from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) for conducting illegal gambling in the state.

The MGCB has determined that the two Panama-based operators are violating Michigan’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act, Gaming Control and Revenue Act and Michigan Penal Code by illegally accepting wagers from customers in Michigan without proper licensing.

“The Michigan Gaming Control Board is committed to enforcing Michigan’s gaming laws and protecting consumers from illegal gambling,” said MGCB executive director Henry Williams. “We encourage residents to only engage with licensed and regulated online platforms for a safe and fair gaming experience.”

The MGCB has ordered BetOnline and SportsBetting to exit Michigan following an investigation sparked by an anonymous tip. The probe found SportsBetting to be illegally accepting wagers on sports, politics, horse racing and online casino games. The platform also violates Michig..

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Michigan regulator orders 11 more offshore casinos to exit state

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) is protecting players across the state by issuing cease and desist orders to a group of unlicensed offshore casino operators.

The MGCB has sent cease and desist orders to 11 offshore iGaming operators that are accepting customers in the Wolverine State without adhering to required consumer protection and fair play standards. The lack of protections and standards include the unregulated acceptance of digital wallets and cryptocurrencies as payment methods.

Michigan’s gaming regulator has also recognized the failure of the offshore operators to offer data protection to players, which is also required for licensed gaming operators.

“This should serve as a strong warning to illegal operators: Michigan does not tolerate unauthorized gambling activity,” said MGCB executive director Henry Williams. “We will continue our relentless pursuit of actively identifying and disrupting these operations.”

The operators that have received cease and desist le..

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Illinois regulator adopts rule to ban credit cards to fund online gaming

The Illinois Gaming Board is changing its policies regarding sportsbook payments.

The gaming regulator has announced that it has adopted a proposed rule to ban credit cards to fund gaming accounts for online sports wagering. The IGB has implemented changes to its practices to protect players and promote responsible gaming.

The regulator has adopted the new rule following a review of sports wagering practices and rules as Illinois reached the five-year mark as a regulated online sports betting market.

“As part of our review, we determined that prohibiting the use of credit cards to fund sports wagering accounts is a justified and impactful advancement in Illinois sports wagering,” said IGB Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter. “There is a growing body of recent research showing that restrictions on credit usage to fund wagering accounts encourages responsible gambling and mitigates the harms of compulsive gambling.”

The proposed rule adds to existing standards in Illinois regarding cred..

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New Jersey Task Force recommends advertising restrictions and more

The New Jersey Responsible Gaming Taskforce has delivered its first report to the state’s Governor recommending a series of statutory changes, including adding a warning on all advertising that gambling can be addictive, and a ban on advertising on public transport. In addition to the advertising rules, the Taskforce recommends a law requiring operators to…

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DGOJ re-issues warning of ID theft in gambling

Spanish authorities and financial institutions have once again been urged to remain vigilant against identity theft and fraud linked to gambling transactions.

The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) in Spain has re-issued its warning concerning the risks of identity theft, first made at the beginning of the year.

The Directorate continues to receive complaints relating to identity theft in connection with fines issued to residents who were not in control of the accounts in question.

The problem stems from criminals exploiting the ID verification requirements of Spanish-licensed online gambling platforms and their payment processing systems.

As reported, Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs recorded 7,700 incidents of identity theft last year related to online gambling and associated payment processing liabilities.

“Current regulations do not require that the payment method be personal or personalised. This opens the door to the use of fake or third-party acco..

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