‘A perfect way to mark the official launch of the ICE Sustainable Gambling Zone’ is how Ewa Bakun, Clarion Gaming’s Director of Industry Insight, described the€65,000 charity fund raised by sponsors and which will be awarded to a safer gambling organisation(s) at a presentation taking place in the late morning during the opening of the Safer Gambling Zone (SGZ) on the first day of ICE Barcelona. 

The 2025 charity fund which is the result of generous contributions from brands comprising Cirsa, Orenes, Betsson Grup, Flutter, Acordjoc, ALEA, Novomatic, Playtech and Novomatic Spain takes the total donated at ICE since 2018 to €385 000.

Reflecting on the initiative Ewa Bakun said: “ICE 2025 will witness the official launch of the Sustainable Gambling Zone and I am delighted that we will be able to help fund some of the powerful work being undertaken by international organisations in the field of player protection. The money is directed to tangible projects which deliver real benefits. For example, Bet Blocker, last year’s recipients utilised their award to produce a Catalan version of their acclaimed consumer app which fittingly is being launched at ICE Barcelona.

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“The relationship our sponsors have with player protection and the delivery of safer gambling goes beyond just financial donations and I am delighted that the Safer Gambling Zone which is situated in the Fast Forward area of the show floor will be the centre of debate, discussion and collaboration. It’s hugely gratifying that many of the safer gambling advances that will be introduced by the industry during 2025 and beyond will be as a result of discussions and partnerships that have taken place and been forged on the SGZ.”

The launch of the Sustainable Gambling Zone, which replaces the original Consumer Protection Zone reflects the latest approach to player protection. Ewa Bakun explained: “The overarching objective of the Sustainable Gambling Zone is to be at the vanguard of initiatives to help develop healthy play from the outset of the player journey. This includes the incorporation of safer gambling considerations from the very start rather than as just a compliance requirement. The goal is to create a more sustainable business in which players continue to enjoy their gambling entertainment experience but where the small proportion who are at risk of developing problems are pro-actively identified and assisted by operators.”

Clarion Gaming was the first event organiser to embrace safer gambling when it introduced the ICE Consumer Protection Zone seven years ago which went on to establish a template for other events to follow. The 2025 ICE Sustainable Gambling Zone will occupy 490sqm of space and underlines the importance the industry places on sustainability and player protection. Featuring a total of 26 safer gambling bodies including Spanish organisations ASENCAS and FEJAR the SGZ will host three days of educational content dedicated to consumer protection and ESG.

For more information on the world’s biggest gaming technology event and to register: icegaming.com

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Despite outstanding financial gains for 2024, casinos continue assault on skill games

Pace-O-Matic (POM), creator of Pennsylvania Skill games, applauds the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) and state casinos, which saw a record $562,368,782 in revenue in November and have broken records every month so far this year.

The numbers for last month follow a pattern set during the rest of the year of monthly revenue surpassing records set in 2023. November’s increase was 26% higher than last November, according to the PGCB. (December figures will be released in January.)

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The revenue increases come from slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests, and video gaming terminals (VGTs).

As the PGCB and casinos celebrate yet another enormous 12-month financial win, small businesses, veterans groups, volunteer fire companies, and other fraternal clubs across the state are also ending the year hailing the supplemental income they receive from operating legal skill games. Many would need to make difficult economic decisions without the revenue.

“It is outstanding that the state is ending the year on a high note with yet another month of record-breaking revenue from casinos and other gambling enterprises under the jurisdiction of the PGCB,” said Mike Barley, chief public affairs officer for Pace-O-Matic, which created legal Pennsylvania Skill games. “The end-of-the-year gaming numbers prove that ample room exists for casinos as well as small businesses, which operate skill games, to succeed. No competition exists between the two.”

Barley questioned why powerful casinos are targeting skill games when PGCB numbers show how successful they have been in 2024. For example, Hollywood Casino Morgantown saw an 85% increase in revenue compared to last November, Presque Isle Downs and Casino saw a nearly 34% increase and Parx Shippensburg Casino’s increase was 19%.

Barley said he hopes casinos will not use energy and capital to block expected legislation in 2025 that will regulate and tax skill games at a reasonable level. There has been bipartisan backing for a bill that will put guardrails around skill game operations and provide $250 million in new tax revenue for the state in the first year. The revenue could be used to address important state needs. Gov. Josh Shapiro supports taxing and regulating the games.

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That revenue, however, is generated only through a reasonable tax on skill games. Barley questioned the motives behind the casino industry’s push for a high tax rate when the current 16% tax on skill games will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue.

“Sadly, after years of unsuccessful legislation and legal challenges seeking an outright ban of skill games, the casino industry is now working to ban them through excessive regulation and taxation,” Barley said. “Instead, they want to kill small businesses, American Legions, volunteer fire companies, Moose Lodges, and other places that count on skill games by calling for an outrageous tax rate. These locations could never afford the same tax rate that wealthy casinos pay. Casinos know that and don’t care.”

Several courts have ruled Pennsylvania Skill games are legal, including a unanimous Commonwealth Court in November 2023. In addition to providing supplemental income to small businesses, the games are manufactured in Williamsport, and 92% of the income they generate stays within the local economy or the state.

CONTACT: Jeanette Krebs
Pennsylvania Skill  
717-418-6106
[email protected]

The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) launched a new awareness campaign to draw attention to the gambling stop. With the campaign “Pick up your life again, take a gambling stop,” KSA is aiming to increase attention to the risks of gambling and make the Cruks register more well-known.

Insights

The campaign is a follow-up to the pilot campaign from 2023. This pilot yielded many valuable insights, for example that more people are attracted to the word gambling stop. This name is therefore used in the new campaign.

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Positive effect

The campaign focuses primarily on young adults who (possibly) no longer have their gambling under control. That is one of the reasons why the campaign is largely running via social media instead of traditional (mass) media. The focus is on the positive effect that a gambling stop has on the life of a person with gambling problems. The powerful moments of young people who pick up their lives again can be seen in online videos, social ads and social posts (Google, YouTube, Meta and Snapchat).