Industry News
Racing TV survey uncovers significant black market threat
A recent Racing TV survey has drawn a strong response among its members, with more than 3,500 having their say on the Gambling Act Review and the spectre of the black market.
Racing TV is fully supportive of the objectives of the Gambling Act Review in protecting those at risk of gambling harm. In what is the first consumer survey to assess the scale of the black market and affordability checks, the key findings were:
- 80% of the 3,469 respondents said they would not like to see mandatory limits imposed by bookmakers
- 15% of 3,539 respondents said they bet, or know someone that bets, with an unregulated online bookmaker
- 22% of 3,575 respondents said they have been asked to supply personal information
- 50% (404 respondents) of those asked to supply this information, refused to do so
- 92% of 3,237 respondents said they would consider using a different bookmaker if no personal information was required
Affordability checks and loss limits have been key focal areas of the ongoing Gambling Act Review and will draw most attention when the White Paper is published.
Reports in the media last year indicated that a leaked draft of the White Paper contained fixed loss limit thresholds. These are highly contentious for our survey respondents. Nearly 80% of the 3,469 respondents said they would not like to see mandatory limits imposed by bookmakers.
Perhaps the most worrying of these findings was that 15% of the 3539 respondents to the below question said that they bet, or they know someone that bets, with an unregulated online bookmaker.
In the absence of clear direction from the Gambling Commission, and while the wait for the publication of the White Paper goes on, many bookmakers have introduced affordability checks, some of which, such as requests for payslips, bank statements or P60s, could be considered intrusive.
More than 22% of the 3,575 respondents to the below question suggested that they have been asked to supply such documents.
Just over half of those who had been asked to supply such documents declined to do so.
In addition, more than 92% of 3,237 respondents to the below question suggested they would consider using a bookmaker, which didn’t require documentation.
Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racing TV’s parent company Racecourse Media Group, said: “The widespread response to the Racing TV survey shows how much the ongoing Gambling Act Review, combined with their recent experiences, is affecting our members.
“Our survey revealed that 15% of respondents bet, or know someone that bets, with an unregulated bookmaker, which is of real concern. With millions of customers betting on racing, the findings of this survey indicate that hundreds of thousands of punters are potentially using the black market.
“This survey is clear evidence that shows that the black market is real and substantial and suggests that affordability checks are having the effect of moving a significant number of affected punters out of the UK-regulated environment and so exposing them to potential harm. This must be a pyrrhic victory and the opposite to what affordability checks set out to achieve.
“We have shared this information with the Gambling Commission and hope that they can take account of this in their assessment of the black market. The evidence suggests it exists and is only building.”
Stevenson went on: “Nearly a quarter (22%) responded yes to the question on whether they had been asked for personal information, with 50% refusing to comply. This is a strikingly high percentage, demonstrating consumers’ rejection of this intrusion on their leisure activity.
“The inference that 22% of racing punters are at risk of harm is very challenging to believe and appears excessive when compared against the overall prevalence of problem gambling.
“In addition, RMG has seen a material decline in online betting turnover on horseracing in 2022. The Racing Post has estimated the sport could lose up to £40m of funding each year. Everyone involved in the industry should be deeply concerned. The impact of affordability checks is that the sport is suffering a heavy financial toll.”
The former Minister with responsibility for Horseracing and Gambling, Paul Scully, recently indicated how the Government were approaching affordability checks, saying: “It is not the role of the government, it is not the role of the Gambling Commission, to tell people how much of their salary they are ‘allowed to’ spend on gambling.”
Stevenson continued: “I hope that the new Minister with responsibility for Horseracing and Gambling will also consider the results of this survey as part of the ongoing work on the Gambling Act Review. It has been long overdue, in this process, to consider the attitudes of the consumers themselves in regard to how they choose to spend their time and money. I was very glad to hear the former Minister acknowledge that in his recent speech.
“Applying universal limits does not recognise the wide range of natural betting behaviours, events, seasonality or differing individual financial circumstances. The undoubted highlight of the Jumps season, the upcoming Cheltenham Festival – which is the major focus for many punters – is clearly a case in point. To that end, I was pleased to see the former Minister stating that a ‘one size fits all approach’ was not the intention.
“I’d like to thank all our members who took part in the survey.”
July’s iGB L!VE is helping to fuel the future of iGaming innovation courtesy of the new iGB Startup Summit which will be launched July 1st at ExCeL London – the new home of the world’s fastest growing iGaming exhibition.
The influential Summit represents a must attend for start-up businesses and will facilitate invaluable introductions to top-tier venture capital, private equity and institutional investors.
Curated in partnership with Defy the Odds, a specialist start-up accelerator founded by Kelly Kehn, Paris Smith, and Sue Schneider, it will feature private networking, roundtable discussions, panels and fireside chats providing the leaders of early-stage businesses with the insights and connections to help take their enterprises from concept to execution.
Expanding on the role of the Summit, Naomi Barton, Clarion Gaming’s Global Portfolio Director responsible for iGB L!VE said: “We know from working with the start-up community that new businesses struggle with securing funding, meeting mentors and entering the industry. Equally, investors lack a centralised, professional and sympathetic environment where they can connect with talented entrepreneurs and in the process gain early access to iGaming’s cutting-edge start-ups.
“In order to bring these two important communities together we are creating an exclusive Chatham House style high-value networking environment where start-up enterprises can meet with iGaming founders, spark new partnerships and potentially attract long-term investment. The Start-Up Summit reflects iGB L!VE’s status as the go to platform for new entrepreneurial businesses which are the future of iGaming.”
Aimed at a broad audience of Investors and VCs, looking for the next big idea in iGaming, entrepreneurs and start-ups seeking insights and funding, industry leaders wanting to connect with the next wave of innovators and business development professionals exploring strategic partnerships, the invite-only stream, which will take place above the show floor in the South Gallery Rooms at ExCeL London, will include practical workshops led by investors and successful founders providing real-world strategies for scaling a start-up.
To register interest in participating visit: igblive.com/igb-startup-summit
iGB L!VE (2nd– 3rd July, ExCeL London) will welcome a projected 15,000 igaming and affiliate pioneers, helping businesses throughout the online gaming ecosystem to navigate an ever-changing landscape via networking opportunities, cutting-edge innovations and crucial market knowledge-sharing. To register for the first edition of the show to be held in London visit: igblive.com
The post iGB Startup Summit will connect igaming entrepreneurs with top-tier investors appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.
Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.
“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.
Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.
In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.
“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.
“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.
The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.
In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.
Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”
The post Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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