This Week's Sports Betting Update
Spotlight Sports Group
Evolved from the Racing Post, we deliver distinctive sports betting experiences
Hello, we’ve taken a look at what’s new, trending and being talked about in the sports betting world this week. Grab a coffee, take five minutes and we’ll fill you in on everything you need to know.
One big story?
Safer Gambling Week 2022 drives increased use of responsible gambling tools
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) revealed a significant take-up in responsible gambling tools following the success of Safer Gambling Week 2022.
The campaign, launched in collaboration with the BGC, the Lotteries Council, the Bingo Association and Bacta, took place between October 17-23 2022.
The BGC collated operator data during and after the campaign and found that 200,000 users set deposit limits following Safer Gambling Week 2022. This is up 12.5% year-on-year, with 61% of users setting deposit limits doing so for the first time.
Click here to get more figures from the Safer Gambling Week 2022 campaign, as well as the thoughts of BGC CEO, Michael Dugher.
What you need to know
Commercial
Regulation
The University of Warwick has researched how impactful the ‘Take Time To Think’ slogan is on UK betting behaviours. Following a randomised experiment staged online, one group played an online casino game with the slogan in the background, one group played with it displayed in a pop-up and one group played with no slogan visible. Lukasz Walasek, associate professor of psychology at the University of Warwick, determined the slogan had a negligible effect on the betting decisions of participants. More
Technology
Betfred has enlisted the services of Esports odds compiler PandaScore to redefine its Esports betting offering. The terms of the arrangement will see PandaScore’s in-house trading teams offer odds across 308 unique eSports markets, covering 32,000-plus eSports events annually. PandaScore will also supply its eSports-specific BetBuilder widget, which is considered the “best-in-class” solution for online sportsbook operators. More
People news
Genius Sports confirms brace of appointments to its board of directors
Genius Sports has confirmed the appointment of two new members to its board of directors, Kenneth J Kay and Michael Messara.
Kay is the new independent director, succeeding Harry You as the firm’s chair of the audit committee. Kay was previously the Chief Financial Officer at MGM Holdings and has also worked for the likes of Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
Messara is also joining the board as an independent observer. Messara is currently co-chief investment officer at Caledonia Investments, which is an active shareholder in Genius Sports.
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Click here to get the thoughts of both Kay and Messara on their new roles with the sports data giant.
This week's talking point
Stuart Andrew is confirmed as the UK’s new gambling minister
Stuart Andrew has been formally confirmed as the UK government’s new gambling minister. Following significant speculation, Andrew has been handed the gambling white paper on top of his existing responsibilities as parliamentary under secretary of state for sport, gambling and civil society and minister for equalities.
Andrew becomes the sixth gambling minister to hold the brief of the government’s gambling review, which launched in December 2020.
It’s hoped that Andrew’s appointment will facilitate the publication of the white paper by the end of this month. However, if it misses this deadline, the political calendar could prevent it from being published until May at the earliest.
Michael Dugher, CEO, BGC, hopes that Andrew will listen to the concerns of British horseracing, as well as the “millions of punters” fearful of blanket and intrusive affordability checks.
Click here to get more from Dugher on Andrew’s appointment and the importance of publishing the package of reforms in the white paper without delay.
This week's insight
The state of Ukraine’s iGaming sector 12 months on
It’s been 12 months since the war in Ukraine started. The nation has been home to a string of iGaming companies in recent years and a recent roundtable series has delved deeper into the impact of the war on Ukraine’s iGaming experts.
The discussions, made in collaboration with the Bet On Good Foundation, assessed the consequences of war on Ukraine’s indigenous iGaming suppliers. Vlad Slyusarenko, CEO, Bet On Good Foundation, said the war was affecting the “solvency” of bettors. Meanwhile unreliable energy sources “reduces the involvement” of players in the latest promotions and products.
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO of iGaming content supplier Evoplay spoke of the “full-scale relocation” that many studios had to make to maintain their operations, many of whom are now back working at full capacity, which is a testament to the determination of the sector.
GR8 Tech’s CEO, Evgen Belousov, said its decision to launch a new safe remote space in Prague for staff was essential. Belousov revealed the company also used the time to reflect and rebuild, including its rebranding from Parimatch Tech.
Click here to learn more about the realities of Ukraine’s iGaming industry in recent months.
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