Standards body The Betting and Gaming Council has welcomed the modernisation plans for casinos, and called for their swift implementation.

Proposals outlined by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in their White Paper consultation response on land-based betting and gaming, included a host of modest, but mission critical, modernisation measures.

While it will take time to consider the full impact of the proposals, they did include the introduction of cashless payments, new rules on gaming machines allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting for the first time.

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In a further move welcomed by the BGC, the government said the Gambling Commission would consult on player protection measures to ensure the correct standards are in place where debit card payments are used on gaming machines.

While these proposals are welcome, the BGC urged ministers to act swiftly to implement the plans, so businesses could improve their offer to customers without delay.

Michael Dugher, CEO and Acting Chair of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “Casinos are a vital pillar of the UK’s leisure, hospitality and tourism sector and we welcome the Government’s consultation response which is positive progress on the modest, long-overdue but mission critical modernisation reforms needed for the land-based casino sector to compete and thrive.

“Casinos currently employ more than 10,000 people, contribute £300m annually in tax and generate an estimated £800m a year to the UK economy.

“Much needed reforms on cashless payments, gaming machine allocations and allowing all casinos to offer sports betting will strengthen the sector to better meet the needs and expectations of their customers.

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“While we welcome these proposals, attention must now shift to the timeline for implementing policy changes and we urge the Government to urgently set out a clear timeline for progressing the relevant legislation to make them reality for our members.

“Too many casinos have sadly closed in recent years as successive administrations failed to deliver the changes we needed to protect jobs and growth. The BGC and our fantastic casino members have campaigned for these new measures for years to allow businesses to modernise, innovate and grow, and we strongly welcome the Government’s approach to ensure casinos are better placed to make that happened.”

The new proposals were outlined in a Written Ministerial Statement, by Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society Stuart Andrew MP.

Announcing the new measures, he said: “As set out in the Gambling Act Review white paper, the measures we consulted on are therefore necessary to modernise the outdated and overly restrictive regulations that apply to the land-based gambling sector.”

Casinos are a vital pillar of the regulated betting and gaming sector, as well as the leisure, tourism and hospitality sector. In London alone, they deliver an additional £100m to the capital’s economy. Each month around 22.5m adults in Britain enjoy a bet, whether it’s buying a lottery ticket, having a game of bingo, visiting a casino, playing online or having a wager on football, horseracing and other sports.

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The regulated betting and gaming industry, including the land-based sector, already makes a huge economic contribution throughout the UK, with BGC members supporting 110,000 jobs, generating £4.2bn in tax and contributing £7.1bn to the economy. Meanwhile, the most recent NHS Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers.

In a strategic move to strengthen its foothold in the UK, digital sports media group Better Collective has acquired sports betting media AceOdds for a total consideration of 42 mEUR implying 4x last twelve months EBITDA.

AceOdds, a versatile multi-language sports betting brand, offers a comprehensive range of betting tools, odds, reviews and streaming schedules through its web and app based platforms. With a robust presence in the UK market, Better Collective’s global reach through local expertise aligns perfectly with AceOdds’s vision of expanding its influence outside the borders of the UK. Following the acquisition, Better Collective upgrades its 2024 full year financial targets.

Ian Bowden, Better Collective’s Senior Director for UK & Ireland, said: “I am thrilled to announce the addition of AceOdds to the Better Collective group. This strategic acquisition brings us a robust owned and operated sports betting media brand in the UK market, poised for global scalability. Aligned perfectly with Better Collective’s overarching strategy of acquiring leading sports media brands across various niches, the AceOdds brand fills a crucial gap by offering a vital sports betting affiliation brand in a pivotal growth market for the Better Collective group, along with an app benefiting from hundreds of thousands installs to further increase the reach we can provide our partners.”

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Established in 2008, AceOdds was founded with the aim of providing UK sports enthusiasts with an easy-to-use betting calculator. Over the years, the brand has expanded, offering a well-regarded web platform featuring a range of betting tools, comparison features, live streaming schedules, an odds and parlay calculator, and more. Additionally, AceOdds has introduced a popular app.

The acquisition aligns with Better Collective’s strategy of owning the full range of sports media across key regions, spanning from traditional sportsbook comparison brands to general sports media, social media content creators, podcast producers and beyond.

Regal Workspace, part of Regal, one of the capital’s leading privately owned mixed-use developers, has agreed a pre-letting of 63,527 sq ft – equivalent to 45% of the entire floorspace – to National Lottery operator Allwyn at The Clarendon Works, the best-in-class sustainable workplace in Watford set to open in Q3 2024.

Taking the building to close to 80% pre-let, Allwyn will occupy six floors of the Grade A speculative development in Watford, having chosen to relocate to a more modern building from its existing space on Tolpits Lane in Watford. Allwyn plans to move into its brand-new home by the spring of 2025.

The design-led office space will offer a dynamic and vibrant environment and will provide the perfect home for Allwyn to work towards the company’s overarching ambition to offer more games, attract more players, inject more excitement, create more winners, and raise more money for National Lottery-funded projects.

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The new building will also help Allwyn deliver on its commitments around social value and net zero. 100% powered by renewable energy, certified by Ofgem’s Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) scheme, the building is also targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A rating, which will ensure it is one of the most energy efficient buildings in Watford with some of the lowest operational costs.

It has also been pre-certified under the WELL Standard, a global marker of buildings that promote health and wellbeing and has already achieved Active Score and WiredScore Platinum. Over the course of construction as part of its social impact strategy, Regal hosted its Regal Academy, offering practical skills training and experience to groups including military veterans and other groups furthest from employment.

The deal follows that with global tech brand Seiko Epson Corporation in February this year, which took 30,530 sq ft, as well as an agreement with YoooServ, the premium flexible offices provider, in November 2023. The latter deal will see YoooServ take 16,795 sq ft on the ground and first floors for 15 years, providing fully customisable flexible workspace with private offices, tech-led meeting rooms, curated breakout spaces and videocall booths, in addition to in-house catering and event space. YoooServ will also manage the 13,767 sq ft of amenity space and services throughout the building.

With completion expected in June 2024 and the first tenants to move in shortly after, just 21% of the building – Regal’s first standalone office development – is now available. Earlier this year, Regal launched its Regal Workspace brand to reinforce its position in the UK office market, offering construction, asset management, and occupier engagement services on behalf of its partners.

“Allwyn’s desire to enable positive social impact through its business is one that thoroughly chimes with Regal, and we’re delighted that the team has chosen The Clarendon Works. With The Clarendon Works now merely a month from completion – and with two international brands confirmed soon to call it home and many more Watford-grown entrepreneurs and businesses having the opportunity to take flexible office space with YoooServ – we look forward to completing construction, opening the doors of the building to welcome its first generation of employees, and continuing Regal’s journey in the office development market,” Paul Eden, Co-Founder of Regal, said.

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