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The crackdown of online gambling by Governments of multiple countries

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There is no doubt that online gambling has emerged as a common yet amazing way of entertainment. In fact, it can be said that the internet becomes popular due to gaming, especially gambling games.

Some people think both gambling games and adventure games are different. However, the law seems like it does not support them. 

Till now, there are some countries that are debating on whether to allow gambling games for several years or not. However, some data showed that the gambling industry had impacted severely. So, let’s talk about this in detail.

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The biggest impacts

The recent share price graph indicates that some companies’ values are now going down, revenues from sports betting are now vanishing, and there is a great sense of uncertainty. It is true that the gambling industry is now facing a short-term crisis. 

Sport betting companies like Betgenius and Betradar try their best to keep it up with Russian table tennis and Myanmar U21 football. On the other hand, bet365 moved into FIFA games. But the truth is it has become a sector with no products. It is like selling empty beer glasses, hoping people will fill them.

If we talk about one of the biggest gambling sites of the UK, now all the gamblers are shifting from offline port betting to the online casino games. The major reason behind this is the recent lockdown restriction imposed by the government. 888Holding informed that the company had been severely affected by this event.

It has canceled or postponed some events like Grand National and the Premier League. The company used to earn 16 percent of the total revenue from sports betting.

Now gamblers are moving to alternative products. That means they are now shifting toward online poker and casino games. 

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However, governments are also taking steps to prevent people from getting addicted to the game during this lockdown time. As per a report, the government has considered ordering online gambling companies to set the daily betting cap at £50.

Online sports betting comes with a higher rate of gambling disorder, around 2.5 percent. However, online casinos, bingo, and slots are attracting more potential addicts, with around 9.2 percent of customers who spend their money on gambling products having the problem. 

However, the government’s advice for setting a cap on daily betting has gone unanswered.

On the other hand, 888Holding has informed that it is trying its best to identify signs of the problem in gambling among the customers. The company informed that the board had recognized that. 

Now people are spending their time at home. On the other hand, economic uncertainty is also rising after the COVID-19 breakout. That’s why it is the primary duty of 888Holding to keep an eye on safe gambling. Besides, the company is trying to prevent gambling-related issues.

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Online gambling situation in other places

Ukraine is also taking the necessary steps to control the online gambling industry. For a few days, Ukraine has intensified its process to find unauthorized online gambling companies. Ukraine is now trying its best to regulate the online market.

The Cyber Police of Ukraine, recently stated that it had built a team with the Strategic Investigation Office located in Kiev to find out all the online casinos running illegally. Some are running their casinos as legitimate IT development companies.

As per the report, the illegal casinos generally target customers of Ukraine and other countries having a monthly income of about USD 1 million. The government has cracked down some online casinos and detained some computers and documents. Now, the authority is trying to trace down the illegal online gambling operation.

In January, the authority busted a Kyiv-based online casino service operating disguised as a software company. The authority arrested around 50 IT staff, serving more than 300K gamblers across the world. The authority also has cracked down other illegal land-based gambling operations, which were giving access to slot machines.

To reduce such activities, the NBU- National Bank of Ukraine has issued a notice reminding the payment processors, associated businesses, and local merchant banks that even though the government has updated the law, the gambling activities still remain illegal. The NBU is now following a strict observance.

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The crackdown of online gambling in Ukraine has led to the shutdown of the Ukraine Poker Open, which was planned to begin on 26th January in Kyiv. Along with that, Full House, the host of the Ukraine Poker Open, was also shut down. During the same time, the authority raided the Favbet office, a local bookmaker.

The company was serving local gamblers through different websites. The websites were offering sports betting, casino games, poker, and slots. A few years ago, Luck Land LLC, parent of Favbet company, was accused of tax evasion. 

The company was doing that by selling lottery tickets through different land-based venues. But later, the local courts didn’t approve the further investigation as there was no sufficient information.

Situation in Spain

In Spain, all online gambling service providers are advised to reduce marketing efforts. This way, the authority can prevent gambling operators from taking advantage of gamblers during this lockdown time.

The country’s Council Ministers had been advised by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to eliminate gambling advertisements till the end of the lockdown. Some bookmakers can use anxiety and concern factors of people to do business. 

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Pablo Iglesias, Spain’s government official recently issued an order informing that the decision was taken to keep problem gamblers protected. As per the report, the ongoing lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak is extended to 12th April, and it can be extended further if the community transmission rate increases more.

Around nine gambling companies in Spain, after the announcement, informed that they would support the anti- coronavirus efforts as well as the initiatives. Spain is now taking strict action to prevent online gambling companies from exploiting the current situation. 

Conclusion

The governments of different countries are now trying their best to reduce online gambling activities. It will also be good if they can limit the public advertising of gambling. Limiting the betting limits can be an effective way, but some online gambling companies in the UK are not considering this as an effective method. It may not stop people from betting.

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Blake Sartini

Golden Entertainment Announces Leadership Changes

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Golden Entertainment Inc. announced that effective March 20, 2024, Blake Sartini II, Golden’s Executive Vice President of Operations, became the Company’s Chief Operating Officer.

“Blake has worked in every capacity throughout our organization since he started at Golden almost 17 years ago. His unique knowledge of our Company’s culture, commitment to operational excellence, and strong leadership skills make him the ideal individual to be given responsibility for all our Nevada casino resorts, locals properties, tavern operations and related corporate functions,” Blake Sartini, Chairman and CEO of Golden, said.

Blake Sartini II initially joined Golden in June 2007, working with Golden’s tavern operations and building what is now the largest branded tavern portfolio in Nevada with 69 locations. Currently, as Executive Vice President of Operations, in addition to oversight of Golden’s taverns, he has direct responsibility for the Company’s five local casinos in Las Vegas and Pahrump.

Steve Arcana, Golden’s current Chief Operating Officer, became the Company’s Chief Development Officer also effective March 20, 2024. In this newly created role, Mr. Arcana will be responsible for all new tavern development, finding new third-party food and beverage concepts for the Company’s casino resorts, and exploring opportunities to unlock value in the Company’s excess real estate in Las Vegas, Laughlin and Pahrump. Mr. Arcana initially joined Golden in 2003 and has overseen the Company’s operations as it has grown from a privately held, 900-slot machine route operation to a publicly traded gaming company with casinos in Las Vegas, Laughlin and Pahrump in addition to its significant tavern portfolio.

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“Steve has been with Golden for over 20 years and has been an integral part of growing our business and guiding us through many challenges. Steve has established a strong operating team and has been a consistent leader throughout his decades at Golden. His long history and extensive experience in the industry will continue to benefit the Company in his new role focused on creating value from new tavern development and unused assets in our casino portfolio,” Mr. Sartini said.

“These management changes will allow Golden to focus on maximizing performance in our core operations while exploring opportunities to drive future improvement by bringing potential new concepts to our existing portfolio. I am confident the changes to Blake and Steve’s roles with the Company will position us well to create additional shareholder value,” Mr. Sartini added.

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Barclays Capital Inc

MGM Resorts International Announces Proposed Senior Notes Offering

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MGM Resorts International announced that it proposes to offer $750,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2032.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the notes to repay existing indebtedness, including its outstanding 6.750% senior notes due 2025. Pending such use, the Company may invest the net proceeds in short-term interest-bearing accounts, securities, or similar investments.

The notes being offered will be general unsecured senior obligations of the Company, guaranteed by substantially all of the Company’s wholly-owned domestic subsidiaries that guarantee the Company’s other senior indebtedness, and equal in right of payment with all existing or future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company and each guarantor.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, Fifth Third Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., and Truist Securities, Inc. will act as joint book-running managers and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, PNC Capital Markets LLC, U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC will act as co-managers for the proposed offering.

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The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024

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The Nomination Committee of Catena Media proposed re-election of the following members of the Board of Directors:

Øystein Engebretsen

Theodore Bergquist

Adam Krejcik

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Sean Hurley

The Nomination Committee proposed that Erik Flinck and Dan Castillo be elected as new members of the Board of Directors.

Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members.

The Nomination Committee proposed that there will be six (6) members of the Board of Directors, changed from seven (7).

The Nomination Committee also proposed Erik Flinck to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

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Erik Flinck, born in 1980, currently provides high end business consulting combined with serving as Chairman for the digital health startup, dr HUD. Mr Flinck previously served as Head of BCG Sweden and has extensive experience from corporate management, growth and turnarounds from nearly 20 years of Management Consulting and serving as Head of Group Strategy and M&A at Sandvik AB. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering (Software development and Financial Mathematics) from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a Masters Degree in Business and Administration from Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Business.

Born in 1980, Dan Castillo has accumulated over 20 years of experience across startups, growth companies and turnarounds. Since 2015, Castillo has invested in Catena Media, maintaining a close watch on its progression, especially after its IPO in 2016. He has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza which Orkla acquired in 2018. He currently serves on the boards of five companies in different sectors, including Quartr.com in Fintech and Hope Studios in movie production. His academic background includes studies in Finance and Economics at Linköping University.

The Nomination Committee of Catena Media consists of:

Nicklas Paulson, representing Investment AB Öresund (chair of the nomination committee)

Marianne Stenberg, representing Second Swedish National Pension Fund

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Martin Zetterlund, representing Niklas Karlsson

Göran Blomberg, chairman of the board of Catena Media.

The post The Nomination Committee’s Proposal of Catena Media’s Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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