This Week's Sports Betting Update

One big story

Australia steps closer to banning credit card gambling

On 13 September the Australian government officially tabled legislation that would make the use of credit cards at online gambling sites illegal nationwide.

If enacted, the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023 will ban credit-related products, credit cards, and digital currencies from being used in online gambling activities. Should the amendments become law, gambling providers will be given six months to conform.

Only those with a licence can currently offer sports betting or lottery products online in Australia – casino games of chance, mixed chance, and skill are still prohibited – and those licensees face fines of up to AU$234,750 for not enforcing the new rules, should the amendments be enacted.

The minister for communications, Michelle Rowland MP, states that people shouldn’t bet with money that they don’t have, and that, should it come into force, the new law will help to protect vulnerable Australians.

Click here to find out more about Australia’s move toward banning credit card use at online gambling sites.

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What you need to know

Commercial

• BetMGM has chosen to break into the UK market via LeoVegas, as opposed to Entain. To establish itself in the US iGaming market, BetMGM entered into a joint venture with Entain, but to get into the UK, Entain was excluded in favour of the MGM Resorts-owned LeoVegas brand. This puts BetMGM UK on a collision course with Entain’s UK-facing brands, Coral and Ladbrokes. More
• Ontario’s relatively fresh gambling market is already being dominated by iGaming. Hailed as “North America’s most competitive market,” it’s reported that of the total Q1 handle, 83% came via iGaming bets. The iGaming handle alone was CA$11.6 billion, or CA$392 million in revenue. More
• Detroit’s three commercial casinos saw a year-on-year dip in revenue in August. The revenue decline follows a city-wide, month-on-month drop. July saw $107.2m in revenue, while in August 2022 revenue fell to $104.9m. More
• Marking a 6.5% year-on-year rise in gross gaming revenue (GGR), Groupe Partouche brought in €178.7m in Q3 2023. The French operator’s at-home GGR received a 6% bump, but its main source of increase came from its presence elsewhere. Its GGR for all activities beyond France increased by a hefty 15%. More

Regulation

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the body charged with regulating the Dutch market, pulled up Betent and PlayNorth Limited for AML violations. Under the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act, KSA opened investigations into the two operators in May 2022. The body found that both provided unclear examples of customer investigations and that Betent was retaining the unique personal numbers issued to citizens of the Netherlands. More

Technology

In collaboration with iGB, Kambi has launched its own 2023 NFL Odds Tracker in time for the new season. The on-site tool tracks the most likely winners, most popular bets, historical stats, odds trends, and picks from upcoming odds. The tracker and standings will be updated as the season progresses. More

People news

Sean Wilkins named as 888’s new CFO

Following the news that Yariv Dafna will be leaving the company on 2 October, 888 moved to appoint Sean Wilkins as its new CFO from 1 February 2024. In the interim, chief strategy officer Vaughan Lewis will act as CFO.

Wilkins has held the position of CFO at several prestigious companies throughout his career, which includes stints at the Domino’s Pizza Group, Big Bus Tours, and the Asian division of O2.

However, his most relevant experience to the company comes from his current role; Wilkins is the standing group CFO of omnichannel operator Superbet.

Click here to get thoughts of 888 executive chair Lord Mendelsohn and Wilkins himself on this new stage for the company.

This week's talking point

Difficulties with turning the popularity of NFL betting into meaningful profit for operators

It’s impossible to overstate the popularity of the NFL in the US and, in turn, its draw and potential for sportsbooks positioned across the increasing count of regulated markets in the country. With the NFL going ‘on the road’ to the UK, Germany, and Mexico consistently, local bookmakers can also capitalise on the league’s pulling power.

However, as put forward by 10Star launch consultant Simon Trim, the number of US sportsbooks that actually translate their NFL betting revenue into meaningful profit is modest, to say the least.

At the crux of this is the belief that mass advertising campaigns and marketing-led business models are required to get a larger slice of the turnover. As Trim paraphrases, though: “turnover is vanity, and profit is sanity”. Business models that prioritise expensive promo campaigns seldom have much of an effect on growing a company’s market share.

Click here to find out more about how iGaming brands would ideally approach major events like the NFL season.

This week's insight

How does the gambling industry address the inherent overlap with mental health issues?

GambleAware has presented its Gambling and Mental Health report and the results of its Annual GB Treatment and Support Survey from 2022.

As expected, the survey found “a significant association” between the higher rates of gambling harm and mental health states worsening. There was also a correlation found between an increase in the Problem Gambling Severity Index and a person being diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Gordon Moody, an organisation that specialises in tackling gambling addiction in the UK, corroborates GambleAware’s findings in a report by the organisation’s Paul Dent.

Where GambleAware data shows that 47% of people classified as struggling with the most extreme forms of gambling harm are likely to be diagnosed with a severe mental health disorder, Gordon Moody finds that 70% of people dealing with that same level of gambling harm are at least struggling with mental health problems.

Click here to read more on the issues highlighted by Dent of Gordon Moody and how mental health specialists and the gambling industry should seek positive collaboration.

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