Canada

Lottery.com, Inc. appoints new Chairman and additional Board directors

Published

1 year ago

November 14, 2022

Lottery.com, Inc., a global tech company delivering trusted gaming solutions wherever lotteries are played, announces the appointment of an existing director, Matthew Howard McGahan as Chairman of the Board. This announcement comes at a transformational time for the Company.

The company has also appointment two new Board members; Barney Battles and Naila Chowdhury. These appointments fill two recent vacancies on the Company’s Board. The Company looks forward to benefiting from Barney’s significant professional accountancy related expertise and Naila’s experience in building global business partnerships.

Matthew H. McGahan is a seasoned investor and entrepreneur with vast experience in turnarounds and distressed projects. After graduating from Guildford Engineering Technology College, he joined his family’s business, Pinewood Motor Group, which was founded in 1969. He became the first dealer to bring Toyota Motor Corporation to the United Kingdom. Matthew also founded Magic Automotive Group which developed into one of the largest Harley-Davidson and BMW dealerships in Europe. He sold the Group in 2010 and went on to become a successful investor building a portfolio which included a sizeable property portfolio, as well as investments in several sectors including motorsports, EV, technology, minerals, mining, recycling, fintech and medical research. Matthew is also the founder of the UK charity “Mask Our Heroes” created in memory of his father, who was a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first months of the pandemic, it flew in over 30 million surgical masks for distribution to hospitals and care homes throughout the UK.

Barney Battles is the Founder of The League of Angels, a network of UHNW international members investing in fast growth British ventures with a global impact and strong corporate values. Barney is also the former co-owner of Jackpot Games, a Maltese online gaming venture that was sold to a large German media group. Additionally, Barney is the former senior advisor to the Rank Group PLC (LSE: RNK), where he focused on Grosvenor Casinos and Bingo, a UK-based chain of 53 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK and 76 bingo clubs located in Belgium, Spain, and the UK. During his time at Grosvenor Casinos and Bingo, Barney focused on delivering interactive digital gaming formats across their retail footprint. He also has extensive FTSE experience working in Executive Chairman and CFO roles in turnaround or high growth sectors and is a former CFO of London’s largest digital [marketing] agency. Barney has a master’s degree in computing science from the University of Aberdeen and was formerly a Scottish Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young.

Naila Chowdhury has 25 years of leadership experience in senior management in private, public, and non-profit organizations globally. She is co-founder and former CEO of “Pillar 4 Dignity” that supports and empowers underserved women and girls worldwide who face social and economic challenges. For many years, she actively worked for the economic empowerment of young people through a heavy focus on digital inclusion in technology, and programs to change specific national policies and procedures. Her experience therefore perfectly syncs with action that Lottery.com is taking to fundamentally change how non-profit donors are incentivized to action by gamifying charitable giving. Naila is also a global networker with a proven record of building bridges to foster strategic partnerships. She holds an Executive MBA from the Stockholm School of Economics.

Matthew McGahan, Chairman, Lottery.com, said, “My appointment as Chairman comes at an important inflection point for the Company. We are now seeking to recapitalize and engage in a revitalized growth strategy in a changed business environment. Lottery.Com, Inc. has fine-tuned its management team, who work together with an outstanding, knowledgeable, and self-driven staff dedicated to operations, technology, revenue generation, and legal compliance.”

Naila Chowdhury said, “I am extremely pleased to be working with a tech company that promises to deliver highly responsible and trusted services to its customers. I look forward to driving the Company’s transformation into an ethical and secure workplace and working with the team who has a vision to fulfill it.” Barney Battles added, “I am committed to building and improving our services and enhancing our policies and procedures and financial discipline. I am delighted to join the Board of a forward-thinking, proactive company committed to growth.”

Sohail Quraeshi, CEO, commented, “I would like to welcome all the new directors to the Board, and am delighted at Matthew’s appointment to Chairman. Each of them brings considerable and relevant experience, which will substantially enhance our senior leadership team, compliance, CSR and strategic capability. These appointments are a crucial next step as we complete the turnaround of the business and implement a strategy for future growth.”

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)

Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario

Published

20 hours ago

May 6, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

soft2bet-strengthens-integrity-monitoring-with-ibia-membership-in-ontario

Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.

Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.

IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.

David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”

IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.

Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.

IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.

IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.

British Columbia Lottery Corporation

SCCG Management Signs Contract with British Columbia Lottery Corporation

Published

1 week ago

April 29, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

sccg-management-signs-contract-with-british-columbia-lottery-corporation

SCCG Management has signed a contract with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the B.C. Crown corporation which conducts and manages commercial gambling in the province, including lotteries, casinos, and online gaming. This partnership aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment and strategic enhancement of BCLC’s diverse operations.

The work between SCCG and BCLC will involve a thorough review of technological infrastructures, strategic market positioning, and the integration of various gaming modalities. SCCG’s extensive expertise will be pivotal in harmonizing BCLC’s online and physical gaming experiences.

Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, said: “Our collaboration with BCLC represents a remarkable opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation within the gaming industry. We are committed to deploying our resources and expertise to enhance BCLC’s operational efficiencies and customer engagement strategies. It’s an honor to partner with an organization that has a robust impact on the community through its support of public initiatives.”

AGCO

AGCO Requires Ontario Gaming Operators to Stop Offering WBA Bets Due to Integrity Concerns

Published

2 weeks ago

April 22, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

agco-requires-ontario-gaming-operators-to-stop-offering-wba-bets-due-to-integrity-concerns

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has mandated all Ontario-registered sportsbook operators to halt offering and accepting wagers on World Boxing Association (WBA) events immediately. This measure is being taken to protect the Ontario betting public following concerns that WBA-sanctioned boxing matches are not adequately being safeguarded against match-fixing and insider betting.

Since December 2023, the AGCO has been conducting a comprehensive review of suspicious wagering activity on a WBA-sanctioned title fight between Yoenis Tellez and Livan Navarro that was held in Orlando, Florida. Suspicious betting patterns on the bout lasting over 5.5 rounds were reported to the AGCO by two registered independent integrity monitors and detected in Ontario by a registered igaming operator. Media reports also alleged that Tellez’s Manager placed $110,000 on the match lasting longer than 5.5 rounds at a Florida casino. The bout ended with Tellez knocking out Navarro in the 10th round.

Following an intensive review that included outreach to the WBA, Ontario-registered gaming operators, independent integrity monitors, and regulators in other jurisdictions, the AGCO has concluded that bets related to WBA events do not currently meet the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

The AGCO requires all Ontario-registered gaming operators to ensure the sport betting products they offer are on events that are effectively supervised by a sport governing body. At a minimum, the sport governing body must have and enforce codes of conduct that prohibit betting by insiders.

Registered gaming operators were unable to demonstrate to the AGCO that the WBA prohibits betting from insiders, which could include an athlete’s coaches, managers, handlers, athletic trainers, medical professionals, or others with access to non-public information. Further, registered gaming operators were unable to demonstrate that the WBA took any action to investigate or enforce the allegations of potential match-fixing and insider wagering.

The AGCO has indicated to registered operators that in order for WBA betting products to be reinstated in Ontario, operators must demonstrate that the WBA effectively supervises its events, thus bringing them into compliance with the Registrar’s Standards. In December 2022, the AGCO required gaming operators to stop offering bets on UFC events for similar issues related to insider betting safeguards. Within a month, UFC amended its policies and implemented new protocols that allowed the AGCO to reinstate betting on UFC events in the province.

“Ontarians who wish to bet on sporting events need to be confident that those events are fairly run, and that clear integrity safeguards are in place and enforced by an effective sport governing body. Knowing the popularity of boxing in Ontario, we look forward to reinstating betting on WBA events once appropriate safeguards against possible match-fixing and insider betting have been confirmed,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, Registrar and CEO of AGCO, said.