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Sportsbook

UK: A gambling white paper by Easter would be a turn-up for the books

Tuesday 07 de March 2023 / 12:00

2 minutos de lectura

(London).- The weariness was palpable as members of campaign group Gambling With Lives gathered in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons last Wednesday. The group, founded by bereaved parents whose children took their own lives after a struggling with a gambling addiction, has been waiting six years for an overhaul of UK betting laws.

UK: A gambling white paper by Easter would be a turn-up for the books

During this time, co-founders Liz and Charles Ritchie have met 12 ministers with responsibility for gambling policy.

A white paper outlining a proposed shakeup, promised since December 2020, has been repeatedly postponed, to the dismay of addiction clinicians and campaigners, who say despairing addicts are being failed by the current lax regulation.

But the wait may soon be over. New culture secretary Lucy Frazer (in the job just three weeks) promised the assembled families an overhaul of Labour’s ill-fated 2005 Gambling Act “soon”. They have heard that pledge many times, but Whitehall sources insist the white paper could, with a fair tailwind, be published before Easter. So what could it bring for Britain’s £10bn gambling industry, its customers and the people some would call its victims?

Maximum stakes on online slot machines, which are associated with elevated addiction rates, are likely to be restricted to between £2 and £5, bringing them into line with high street machines. Dan Waugh, of gambling research group Regulus Partners, says some operators, conscious of increased scrutiny, have already reduced the maximum stake. “It will be a revenue and profit hit, but less than it would have been a few years ago,” he says.

Reformist MPs believe they have won the political argument for a statutory levy on operators to fund addiction research, education and treatment, despite misgivings among some Tories about earmarked taxation. If the levy goes ahead at a suggested 1% of revenue, it would cost firms about £100m a year and mark a bruising defeat for lobbyists who had proposed an enhanced version of current voluntary contributions.

There is still uncertainty about some of the most important battles, however. An early draft suggested bookmakers use “affordability checks”, demanding bank statements or payslips from anyone losing between £100 and £500 a month.

Waugh says this could be “catastrophic” for the industry, because heavy gamblers would seek alternatives such as the black market, while casual gamblers would simply stop bothering. Ministers are now considering lighter-touch “financial health checks”, perhaps using open-source credit information.

Another high-profile area still up for grabs is football sponsorship. The government would rather not legislate on this and has instead leaned on the Premier League to persuade clubs to voluntarily eschew multimillion-pound shirt sponsorship deals from gambling firms. An agreement is thought to be in the pipeline but questions remain over the LED ads on pitchside hoardings. Logic suggests they, too, should be axed if shirt sponsorship is, but logic and political compromise seldom go together.

Another option is for some knotty issues to be farmed out to the Gambling Commission. This could include the use of what Frazer last week called “enticements”, such as “free” bets or bonuses to lure back lapsed gamblers.

The regulator may also be asked to recommend a way forward on advertising. This could address bizarre discrepancies such as the industry volunteering in 2019 to ban gambling commercials during TV football broadcasts, while airing radio ads for online casinos during the school run.

Waugh anticipates a lengthy post-white-paper process in which the Gambling Commission does the government’s homework on the finer detail. This prospect keeps industry executives up at night, he says, as some feel the regulator has become more hardline in recent years.

But he points out that big players such as Flutter – owner of Paddy Power Betfair – and Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain have bigger fish to fry. Their sights are set on opportunities opening up in the US, after sports betting was legalised in many states.

“There’s less agitation from the industry,” Waugh said. “They’re just saying ‘For Christ’s sake, just publish it’.” On that point at least, the industry and Gambling With Lives are aligned.

By Rob Davies

Categoría:Sportsbook

Tags: Sports Betting, Sportsbook ,

País: United Kingdom

Región: EMEA

Event

SBC SUMMIT RIO 2024

05 de March 2024

Andre Gelfi explains the new regulation in the Brazilian gaming and betting market

(Rio de Janeiro, SoloAzar Exclusive).- The Managing Partner of Betsson group in Brazil, Andre Gelfi, was another key figure present at the inaugural SBC Summit Rio. In this exclusive interview with SoloAzar, he shared insights about the gaming and betting market in Brazil. Gelfi emphasized the hot topic of Brazilian regulations for the iGaming industry. In fact, he expressed his anticipation that the regulation, expected to be approved this year, will create a new landscape in the Brazilian market

Wednesday 27 Mar 2024 / 12:00

Influencers: "Between Effectiveness and Responsibility in the Gaming Industry".

(Rio de Janeiro, SoloAzar Exclusive) - As part of the Conference "Influencers: The Next Frontier of Social Media Marketing", as part of the Conference Agenda held on 6 and 7 March at the SBC Summit Rio 2024, leading industry personalities gathered in a panel to discuss the impact of the power of celebrities and influencers in generating engagement, as well as the proposed law that seeks to restrict their promotion of gambling.

Wednesday 27 Mar 2024 / 12:00

Pay4Fun: “We have ambitious expansion plans in the Brazilian market”

(Rio de Janeiro, SoloAzar Exclusive).- Leonardo Baptista, CEO and co-founder of Pay4Fun, is a key figure in the world of iGaming. His company, Pay4Fun, is a leading Brazilian online payment provider specializing in the iGaming market. During the first edition of the SBC Summit Rio, Baptista spoke exclusively with Soloazar, sharing insights about the new services that Pay4Fun will introduce to the market. He also discussed his vision for the future of iGaming in Brazil and Latin America. Another unmissable note by SoloAzar.

Wednesday 27 Mar 2024 / 12:00

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