#GamblingCompliance Notebook

Kick-start your week with this refresher of 6 of the #gamblingindustry stories, from across the world, that our Vixio analysts covered last week:

Kentucky #SportsBetting Set For Approaching Mobile Launch

Prospective Kentucky sports #bettors have pre-registered more than 60,000 accounts in advance of the state’s mobile launch next week, according to Governor Andy Beshear.

The state is set to launch mobile betting on Thursday, September 28, following a launch of retail #betting at state racetracks on September 7.

Seven mobile operators have been licensed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to begin accepting wagers on day one: bet365 ; BetMGM ; Barstool Sportsbook at Ameristar Black Hawk ; Caesars Sportsbook & Casino ; DraftKings Inc. ; FanDuel ; and Fanatics .

In addition, Circa Sports has been licensed, but plans to launch its mobile application later this year, the commission said in a release.

In the statement, Beshear said that the state saw more than $4.5m wagered in the state over the first two weekends of retail #betting.

“This is a strong number that certainly reflects the excitement Kentuckians have for the opening of sports wagering,” the Democratic governor said. “With college football and the NFL season underway, plus the launch of mobile wagering, we expect that number will grow significantly.”

The state projects that the sports-betting program will produce $23m a year when fully implemented.

Academic Report Says UK Ad #SelfRegulation Is Failing

Self-regulation of #advertising of #gambling is “completely failing”, a researcher at the University of Bristol has said, with researchers finding about 11,000 gambling messages across match TV and radio broadcasts and social media in the first weekend of Premier League football.

The study of media coverage between August 11-14 found that 92 percent of 391 marketing ads breached #adregulations because they were not identified as advertising.

Only about 21 percent included gambling harm reduction messages, while less than 19 percent included age warnings, the researchers said.

The Betting and Gaming Council challenged the research, saying it “fundamentally misunderstands advertising and how it is #regulated”.

“#Betting advertising and sponsorship must comply with strict guidelines and safer gambling messaging, which promotes safer gambling tools and signposts to help those concerned about their betting, is regularly and prominently displayed,” a spokesperson said.?

Ohio Fines Hollywood Casino Columbus $200,000

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCC) approved a settlement agreement Wednesday (September 20) with the Hollywood Casino Columbus property for violations that included failing to meet minimum security standards.

The PENN Entertainment, Inc property was fined $200,000 after regulators alleged that the #casino failed to meet required security staffing minimums on several occasions dating back to 2017.

The casino also failed to notify the commission that it was understaffed and was unable to properly respond to a March 2023 incident because the property was understaffed.

In addition, the commission said that the casino allowed an underage patron onto the casino floor despite failed #identityverification at the door.

According to the consent agreement, the casino has hired 18 additional security officers since March and is in the process of hiring more.

The casino has also implemented a revised security plan.

MGM Resorts International Restores Full U.S. Resort Operations

MGM Resorts International has resumed normal operations nationwide more than a week after disclosing a cyberattack had severely affected both its regional and #Nevada properties.

“We are pleased that all of our casinos, hotels, dining, entertainment, and resort services are operating normally, and are welcoming thousands of guests each day,” the Las Vegas-based company said Wednesday (September 20).

The company first disclosed it was #hacked on September 11, which affected the company’s hotel and casino operations in eight states. #MGM had struggled to return to normal operations for more than a week.?

In a research note Wednesday, Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon estimated MGM’s financial losses from the #cyberattack would be between $20m and $40m. He estimated the costs to Caesars Entertainment , which confirmed last week it also dealt with a cyberattack, would be $15m.

Beynon said he spent three days in #LasVegas last week while MGM was trying to recover from the attack on its company.

“Being in Vegas during the cyber attacks was eye-opening as property internet, reservation desks, check-in desks, elevators, and machines were not running smoothly,” he wrote. “That said, we believe the financial damage was contained and relatively minimal.”

Colorado Self-Exclusion List Tops 500

The Colorado Division Of Gaming has launched the state’s self-exclusion program, which allows individuals with gaming concerns to be excluded from the state’s regulated #gamingindustry.

Previously, the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado (PGCC) enrolled individuals and managed the self-exclusion list.?

“We currently have over 550 on the Division of Gaming's self-exclusion list, which includes names from the time when PGCC was maintaining the list,” Shannon Gray, a spokeswoman with the Colorado Department of Revenue , said in an email on Wednesday, September 20.?

The new self-exclusion program, which was launched earlier this month as part of Responsible Gaming Education Month, allows people to enroll voluntarily. Once enrolled, they are excluded from all Colorado regulated gaming, including #casinogambling and retail and mobile #sportsbetting.?

The exclusion period options are one year, three years or five years.?

The self-exclusion list has already been disseminated to licensees in Colorado, which will allow them to take the steps needed to prevent enrolled individuals from gambling, the division said.?

In a statement, the division stressed that the goal over the next year is to build a robust website to make signups and dissemination as efficient as possible.

Postcode #Lottery Ad Banned

An ad for the People's Postcode Lottery has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) because it appeared to suggest taking part in the lottery could solve people’s financial woes.

An ad for the lottery that appeared in the Daily Mail News newspaper depicted a couple who had cancelled their wedding after one of them was made redundant, but had resurrected their plans after winning a five-figure sum on the People’s #PostcodeLottery.

The UK-based lottery argued that the ad did not imply that the couple were hard up for money in general, simply that their ability to pay for an expensive wedding was in question.

The ASA rejected this argument, noting that the ad portrayed the couple as stressed over their wedding plans and that #gambling had relieved that stress and provided a solution to their financial concerns.