Author: Olivia Cole

MPs have learned from the UK gambling regulatory body that video game developers could face prosecution should they fail to prevent children from reaching gambling services by using special features in games such as Counter-Strike and Call of Duty. In an evidence session with the select Committee of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which has been empowered to examine the links between gaming and gambling, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that it has been greatly concerned about some video games features such as skins and loot boxes.…

Regardless of the criticism which gambling operators have been facing lately, 50% of Premier League clubs would have a gambling company as their shirt sponsor in the 2019/20 season. According to reports, English Premier League clubs are likely to generate record earnings of more than £340 million from shirt sponsorship agreements in the upcoming season. The figure represents an increase of over 10% in comparison to the earnings of £315.6 million registered over the 2018/19 season. Now, ten of the 20 leading football clubs are set to display a gambling…

The UK gambling operator Betfred has reached a technology and operations agreement with the premier gaming and resort destination operator Elite Casino Resorts. Under the contract, the two companies will join forces to operate a sports betting service in the state of Iowa. The agreement would have to get the approval of the state gambling regulator. If it is given the nod, the two companies would work in collaboration to offer visitors of Elite Casino resort both retail and online sports betting services, which would feature a full range of…

Today, one of the leading gambling operators in the UK – GVC Holdings – announced its trading update for the first half of the current year. The company, which is the current owner of the betting shop chain Ladbrokes Coral, revealed double-digit growth of its online operations, which it uses to offset a sharp decline registered in the revenue generated by its UK retail operations. As revealed by the gambling group, the revenue generated from its online operations increased by 18% in constant currency in the year which ended in…

The iconic Hippodrome Casino in London reported that its profits suffered a sharp decline over the past fiscal year, blaming economic and political turbulence for diminishing its patrons’ confidence. As revealed in the latest financial filings published by the casino operator a few days ago, its revenue over the twelve months which ended on December 31st, 2018, fell by about 2% from £77.8 million to £76.5 million, while its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was down from £8.6 million in 2017 to £5.2 million in fiscal 2018.…

The invasion of gambling operators into football and sports is still proceeding, despite the strong wave of criticism faced by the companies over the past few years. The beginning of the week saw two professional English football clubs announce sponsorship agreements with gambling companies. First, it was Chelsea FC, which is to start the 2019/20 season at the third position of the English Premier League, to reveal a new sponsorship agreement with 1xBET. The football club revealed that has named the online global gambling operator as its latest commercial partner…

The UK Gambling Commission came up with new licence conditions for a casino operator that has faced criticism for money laundering and social responsibility failures. After UKGC officers held an investigation, they detected failures of the operator to ensure adequate Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Source of Wealth (SOW) and Source of Funds (SOF) checks for 33 of its customers. Apart from that, the Commission also revealed that Casino 36 failed to make sure there was sufficient customer interaction at the time when customers were potentially showing signs of problem gambling…

Today, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has published a new ruling on Bonne Terre Ltd, trading as Sky Bet, which is to replace a previous ruling published on March 13th, 2019. The new ruling of the UK advertising regulatory body reverses the previous one, making the complaints challenging the TV gambling advert as irresponsible “not upheld”. The decision to reverse the ruling under which Sky Bet saw the advert banned for suggesting that people who had knowledge of sport were more likely to gamble successfully came after an appeal by…

The British bookmaker Betfred has revealed that it is to roll out an operation in Spain as part of its ongoing expansion strategy worldwide. The company has shared that it has received an operating license to run an online casino and sportsbook in the country. Both services are to be run from a new office situated in Ceuta. The player account management and sports betting system is set to be provided by the award-winning sports betting and e-gaming platform OPTIMA. As mentioned above, the operating licence granted to the company…

Today, the British gambling charity GambleAware has published an interim report produced by Ipsos MORI. The recent research is aimed at examining the frequency and format of gambling marketing and advertising, as well as gambling exposure rates among children, young individuals and vulnerable adults. The research is the first of its kind of Great Britain. It was carried out in collaboration between the Institute for Social Marketing and Ipsos MORI. The survey has also been held as part of the research programme of the UK Gambling Commission and forms a…