Latest Gambling News: Lawmaker Not Done Trying To Regulate Canadian Sports-Betting Ads, and more

Catch up on six of the stories our gambling compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Lawmaker Not Done Trying To Regulate Canadian Sports-Betting Ads

A legislative effort to establish a national framework for regulating sports-betting advertising in Canada has “effectively been wiped out,” according to Ontario Senator Marty Deacon, who authored the measure.

Deacon said prorogation or parliament means she will need “to start anew in the Senate, which I intend to do at the first opportunity.” Parliament has been suspended until March 24 to give the Liberal party time to choose a new leader following Prime Minter Justin Trudeau’s decision to resign.

“With the precarity of the current government, it’s not my expectation there will be enough time left in this parliament to see it through all stages to become law,” Deacon told Vixio GamblingCompliance on Thursday (January 9).

“I should note however that as a framework bill, this legislation doesn’t create new laws around gambling advertising, it only compels the government to take action.”

Bill S-269 would require the federal government in Ottawa to set limits on advertising and national standards for preventing problem gambling. It also proposes to extend a ban in Ontario on celebrities and athletes appearing in ads for gambling sites across the country.

“My bill is not necessary for the government to address this issue; they can do so at any time,” Deacon said. “If we were to have an early election as a result of a confidence vote — given the support my bill has received from Canadians across the country — I would encourage each party to make reining in gambling ads a part of their platform so whoever forms our next government can address this important issue on day one.”

ESPN Bet Receives $10,000 Penalty In Massachusetts For Impermissible College Wagers

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has approved a $10,000 penalty to Penn Sports Interactive, which operates the ESPN Bet platform, for accepting more than $12,000 in wagers on collegiate games that are prohibited in the state.

Although the state does allow betting on collegiate sports except an in-state team that is not playing in a sanctioned NCAA tournament game, it does prohibit betting on games outside the NCAA Division 1 level.

According to the commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB), Penn accepted bets on 27 games in November 2023 that included a team outside Division 1.

The commission voted 4-1 to approve the IEB’s recommendation and assess the $10,000 penalty, which Penn had indicated it would accept.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien was the lone holdout on the commission, expressing frustration that the operator had refunded losing bettors their stake while allowing winning players to keep their earnings, arguing that all of the bets had not been voided, rather than just the losing bets.

UAE Adds Xpoint To Gaming Supplier Licensees

The United Arab Emirates’ gaming regulator has issued a gaming-related vendor licence to Miami-based geolocation and data security company Xpoint Tech.

The entry for Xpoint Tech’s UAE subsidiary was uploaded last week to the licensee webpage of the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA), joining three other suppliers: Aristocrat; Smartplay International; and PayBy Technology Projects.

Xpoint’s securing of the UAE licence comes off the back of a second US court victory over geolocation services rival GeoComply, which alleged Xpoint breached a patent for anti-spoofing verification of online gambler locations.

Xpoint’s industry partners include PlayStar, SkillOnNet, Sporttrade and BettorFantasy, and the company was licensed to operate in 19 states in the US as of January 2024.

Tipico Group Acquiring ADMIRAL Austria From Novomatic

Tipico has signed an agreement with Novomatic to acquire a 100 percent stake in ATLAS Group GmbH, the parent company of ADMIRAL Group in Austria.

Gibraltar-based Tipico Group said the acquisition will bolster its position in Austria, while Novomatic says it will help it to focus on its international business, according to an update published on January 8.

The update does not include any financial details of the acquisitions.

Axel Hefer, CEO of Tipico Group, said the agreement is an “important milestone” in the company’s expansion strategy in the German-speaking market.

Stefan Krenn, member of the executive board at Novomatic, explained: “We have decided to sell the ADMIRAL Group in Austria in order to focus on international growth markets and drive further global expansion. In Tipico, we found a highly professional and reliable partner who will continue to operate ADMIRAL in Austria successfully and sustainably.”

The agreement is subject to certain conditions such as regulatory approvals.

Virginia To Revisit Casino Expansion Proposal

Legislation that would add a northern Virginia community to the list of cities eligible to host a land-based casino has again been introduced in the General Assembly in Richmond.

Senate Bill 982, whose primary sponsor is Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, a Democrat, seeks to designate a specific area within Fairfax County for a commercial casino. Currently, commercial casinos have been approved in Bristol, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville and Petersburg.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology for its consideration. Surovell takes over from fellow Democratic state Senator David Marsden, who unsuccessfully tried to get a similar bill through the legislature last year.

Senate Bill 675 would have allowed the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in northern Virginia to determine whether to hold a casino referendum. Marsden hoped a casino and entertainment venue would help retain some of the $150m Virginians currently lose across the Potomac River at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The idea of a North Virginia casino was first considered in the 2023 session before Marsden withdrew his bill from consideration.

Flutter Entertainment Lowers 2024 Revenue Forecast

Flutter Entertainment, owner of FanDuel and Paddy Power, has revised its 2024 financial outlook after reporting adverse U.S. sports-betting results in November and December, primarily due to National Football League (NFL) parlay and same-game parlay outcomes.

In a trading update, Flutter described the NFL season as the most “customer friendly” since the launch of online sports betting. The company noted that the results have a $438m gross gaming revenue (GGR), and estimated reductions in revenue of approximately $390m and adjusted EBITDA of some $260m for the period November 12 to December 31.

The company now expects U.S. revenue to be $370m lower than its previous guidance of $5.78bn, with fourth-quarter U.S. revenue now expected to be approximately $1.59bn.

“Given FanDuel’s revenue mix, this implies a 10 percent revenue hit for the full year for sportsbook specifically or 40 percent for the fourth quarter,” Regulus Partners wrote in a blog post on Flutter’s profit warning.

“After nearly four years of structural margin improvements, a brief run of bad luck was almost inevitable and Flutter is largely right to confirm underlying guidance, in our view.”

Regulus doubted that FanDuel would be the only U.S. operator to report disappointing revenue.

‍

Want to know more?

‍Request a demo with one of our experts today to gain full access to the stories we cover - and much more - and start learning how you can make compliance a competitive advantage for your organisation.