All the latest stories in the betting world

One big story

AFJEL fears illegal sports betting market has now outstripped France’s regulated sector

France’s online gaming association, AFJEL, has sparked fears that the country’s black market for sports betting has surpassed demand with licensed French sportsbooks online.

AFJEL has found that the betting handle during Euro 2024 was much lower than the pre-tournament estimates of its members, with many operators citing the rise in black market betting as the root cause.

The country’s gambling regulator, l'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), anticipated ￡841 million being wagered through Euro 2024, but AFJEL revealed only half that amount was officially staked.

This represents a worrying downward trend, with the total handle some 25% lower than during the 2022 FIFA World Cup when France reached the final.

Click here to find out more about the surge of the French black market for sports betting and the threat it poses to the regulated marketplace.

What you need to know

Commercial

• UK Tote Group saw its losses double in its full-year 2023 accounts, despite resilience in the UK market. Underlying earnings fell to a ￡3.3m loss from a ￡2.9m profit in 2022, despite an 8% increase in UK host pool wagers to ￡577m This was partly due to a decline in wagering volumes across international markets. More ?
• Anna Johnson, CEO of Svenska Spel, believes the Swedish gambling operator has a bright long-term future despite a fall in revenue and net profit in H1 2024. Johnson believes recent actions, such as the discontinuation of its Casino Cosmopol arm, will underpin its broader growth plans going forward. More ?
• Grupo CIRSA has acquired a 70% stake in Apuesta Total, strengthening its position in the Peruvian betting market. CIRSA has been operational in Peru since 1996, while Apuesta Total posted revenues of more than ￡84m in 2023. CIRSA plans to assume full control of Apuesta Total in the coming years. More ?
• Parimatch has been named the regional sponsor of the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The move strengthens the AFA’s links with the sports betting and iGaming sector while increasing its exposure at upcoming corporate sports industry events scheduled in Asia. More

Regulation

• The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has confirmed it will be returning to quarterly reports on the regulatory picture of the UK gambling market. The UKGC’s Data Analytics Manager, Jason Davies, says the commission is moving toward an evidence-led direction, analysing changes in the market on a timelier basis. More

Technology

• MERKUR UK has confirmed a new academic alliance with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), with a view to researching the next generation of gaming technology. The UK-based arm of the German Gauselmann Group, MERKUR UK, is set to appoint ten students from UCLan’s technology department to enter a three-year project on how next-generation technologies will be deployed. More

People news

Alexa Roseblade becomes Chief of Staff at GamCare

Alexa Roseblade has been promoted to Chief of Staff at GamCare. Roseblade’s remit will be to underpin the organisation’s leadership team in delivering its organisational priorities and governance objectives as a registered charity.

Roseblade steps up having served for four years as manager of GamCare’s Children and Young People’s team. She also had a key role in the Young People’s Service and the Young People's Gambling Harm Prevention Programme.

Margot Daly, executive chair at GamCare, highlighted Roseblade’s important work in their Children and Young People’s services as one of the primary reasons for her promotion.

Click here to get the thoughts of Roseblade on her work to date and her ambitions in the new role.

This week’s talking point

Media rights war between Flutter and Arc shows no signs of abating

The ongoing media rights battle between Flutter Entertainment and Arena Racing Company (Arc) has sparked into life this week, with Flutter’s Paddy Power and Sky Bet brands opting not to offer early prices for Arc’s Thursday meeting at Chepstow.

The market leading bookmakers will only offer pre-race odds in the closing minutes before each race. A spokesperson for Flutter described it as a commercial decision.

Racing Post’s industry editor, Bill Barber, believes it’s Flutter’s latest ploy to entice Arc back to the negotiating table over the terms of its media rights deal. An arrangement which Flutter believes is currently too one-sided, making racing unprofitable.

Concerns linger over the amount of media rights payments filtering down into prize-money, a view that’s shared by many within the sport.

Click here to learn more about the long-running saga between Flutter and Arc, which is just one of several issues preventing the wider industry from thriving.

This week’s insight

France is on course for the regulation of its iGaming scene within 18-24 months

The French iGaming market is in good shape to be fully regulated and licensed within the next two years. That’s the view of Laurent Lassiaz, CEO of the country’s second-largest casino operator, JOA Group.

In a recent interview with SBC and Gaming&Co, Lassiaz believes the French gambling market is inching towards a “click-and-mortar model”, whereby operators deliver complementary online and offline gaming experiences.

Lassiaz added that he and others within the sector are banging the drum for regulation by the French government since four million players are said to be playing unprotected with unregulated offshore operators.

Lassiaz said that the country was also missing out on vital tax revenues by failing to properly regulate the industry.

Click here to read more about the French iGaming industry’s push to better educate its politicians about its services and the potential contributions it could make to local economies.