Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. In our latest edition we take a look at a B2C divestment, rise of online casino and “another vital layer of protection” added for consumers.
800,000
The UK Gambling Commission’s ban on credit card usage comes into force today as the regulator states it will ‘add another vital layer of protection for consumers.’
In January, the Gambling Commission and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced the ban which means that, from today, players gambling will not be able to use a credit card as payment. This also extends to credit card gambling through e-wallets.
Neil McArthur, Gambling Commission chief executive, said: “This credit card ban will further protect consumers from financial harm and from today, nobody in Great Britain can use a credit card to gamble. It is a ban which ultimately reduces the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.
“The ban also comes at a vital time as we are seeing an increase in the use of some online products, such as online slots and virtual sports, and our online search analysis shows an increase in UK consumer interest in gambling products since the lockdown began.”
The sanctioned credit card ban will apply to all online and offline gambling verticals with the exception of non-remote lotteries.
Research undertaken by UK Finance showed that 800,000 individuals in the UK use credit cards to gaming. It also highlights that 22 per cent of online gamblers using credit cards are problem gamblers, with more said to be suffering some form of harm.
350,000
American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller has labelled changes to the US’ ‘Payment Protection Program’ as falling “woefully short of fully addressing antiquated, discriminatory policies”
Earlier this month the association stressed concern after small gaming entities and their employees were excluded from receiving economic support under the newly-established PPP.
This subsequently led to the AGA writing to President Trump regarding the program, with it also said that dozens of bipartisan members of Congress also called the administration regarding the exclusion.
Stressing that casino gaming is “vital” to local small business, supporting 350,000 jobs and delivering $52bn in revenue, Miller address the “critical lifeline” that is necessary for such entities.
Releasing a statement on the revised interim regulatory guidelines that the Small Business Administration issued for the PPP, Miller started: “The Small Business Administration today released revised regulatory guidelines that will allow additional small businesses that derive revenue from legal gaming to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program.
33
Betsson Group has closed the €33m purchase of Gaming Innovation Group’s B2C vertical, Zecure Gaming Limited, after the transaction was formally approved by antitrust regulators.
Made up of assets, business activities, operations, front-end and middleware technology and gaming licences attributable to the GiG operations, the fee includes a €2m for the cash deposit securing GiG’s Spanish casino license.
As part of the transaction 63 GiG employees and full time consultants are transferred to Betsson, with both firm’s entering a transition service agreement where GiG will offer services to support operations of the brands for an initial period. These services will be invoiced at cost and comprises an additional 54 GiG employees.
The sale also includes the operator brands Rizk, Guts, Kaboo and Thrills and related operational entities, which will continue to be operated on GiG’s platform for a minimum of 30 months.
100
Latest research conducted by BonusFinder.com has revealed that due to the closure of major US land-based gaming venues and cancellation of live sport there has been a 100 per cent rise in internet searches for ‘online casino’ across North America.
Carried out using Google Trends from February to the end of March this year, the research uncovered a sharp spike in players searching for ‘online casino’ following land-based venues switching off slot machines and sports events being rescheduled.
The tipping point, according to the research, came on the 12 March when more US players searched for ‘online casino’ more than ‘sports betting’ with numbers doubling in the following two weeks.
Fintan Costello, managing director, Bonusfinder.com, said: “The five states that have opened igaming are seeing month-on-month revenue rises with New Jersey leading the way.
“It has a robust and responsible framework in place to protect players and has shown that online and offline casinos can operate together within the same territory and consistently generate very healthy returns.”
45.3
Online gambling firm 888 Holdings has pledged increased commitment and activity towards safer gambling, with continuous improvements to be felt across three core areas.
This comes as the company delivers a financial report for the period ending December 31, 2019, which saw a 58.3 per cent drop pre-tax profit to $45.3m (2018: $108.7m) despite group record revenue of $560.3m (2018: $529.9m).
Recently introducing its proprietary safe gambling software, it follows 888 committing to its new corporate social responsibility framework centred around the three key focus segments under its ‘Safer. Better. Together.’ strategy.
Itai Pazner, CEO of 888, commented: “The board is closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on 888 and its customers. We continue to recognise that with people spending more time at home and with increased levels of stress and economic uncertainty, 888’s unwavering commitment to preventing gambling related harm is even more important than ever.
“We are proactively communicating with our customers to provide information on safer gambling and, where necessary, offer support. In addition, in recent weeks we have introduced several new alerts to our proprietary safe gambling software, the Observer, which constantly scans all customer activity and flags any potential areas of concern to our highly trained customer care team to act upon in order to prevent harm.”