#GamblingCompliance Notebook

#Argentina Lawmaker Files Bill To Ban #GamblingAdvertising

A bill to severely restrict advertising of online gambling in Argentina was introduced in the National Congress on Thursday (August 10) by Deputy Marcela Campagnoli of the opposition Juntos por el Cambio parliamentary bloc.

Similar to Spain, Campagnoli’s bill would restrict all broadcast and online advertising of online gambling platforms to between 1am and 5am in the morning. Ads also could not induce players to gamble, while players bonuses would be prohibited. A further provision of the bill would limit payments for online gambling platforms to debit cards only.

“Gambling addiction is one of the addictions that has increased the most among young people, adults and more vulnerable people since the pandemic,” Campagnoli, who represents Buenos Aires Province, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in confirming the introduction of her bill.

Buenos Aires is one of a handful of Argentine provinces to license and regulate online gambling, although several others offer legal online betting through incumbent land-based operators or public lotteries.

Wynn Resorts Pulls WynnBET From Eight #US States

Wynn Resorts announced Friday (August 11) it will close its online sports betting and #iGaming platform WynnBET in light of “outsized market spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting.”

The Las Vegas-based gaming company is working with state regulators to exit Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia as soon as possible. WynnBET will remain available in Massachusetts and Nevada, where Wynn Resorts operates land-based casinos and sportsbooks.

The company will review continuing operations in New York and Michigan.

Julie Cameron-Doe , chief financial officer, said the company believes there are better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders.

"While we believe in the long-term prospects of iGaming, the dearth of iGaming legislation and the presence of numerous other investment opportunities available to us around the globe have led us to the decision to curtail our capital investment in WynnBET to focus primarily on those states where we maintain a physical presence," Cameron-Doe said in a statement.?

Cameron-Doe told analysts during an earnings call on August 9 that Wynn Interactive’s EBITDAR burn rate decreased year-over-year to $15m in the second quarter of 2013.?

When asked if WynnBET was on track for profitability in the fourth quarter, CEO Craig Billings reminded analysts that he did not think “we ever said it would be break even in the fourth quarter.”

“But what we are focused on is making sure that it goes down every quarter,” Billings said.?

Cameron-Doe added that sports betting is a “tough business.”

“It’s about the game of community,” she said. “They’re difficult businesses, but we’re very focused on managing this business. We’ve got a very long-term shareholder friendly view on it. So that’s our focus.”