Latest Gambling News: Videoslots Dutch Fine Slashed, 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.

Videoslots Dutch Fine Slashed

A previously record find for Videoslots issued by the Netherlands Gambling Authority (KSA) has been cut by more than 90 percent on appeal.

In 2023, the KSA announced it was issuing the Malta-based operator a €9.9m fine, based on a series of mystery shopper checks that the regulator said showed that Videoslots was offering its services to Dutch players.

The company complained at the time that it had been treated unfairly and that the regulator had acted poorly.

However, in announcing that the fine has now been reduced to €975,000, the KSA said only that it had reassessed "turnover figures", which means the amount of money generated by allegedly illegal Dutch gambling at Videoslots.

German State Offers Online Table Games

Schleswig-Holstein has become the first German state to licence private companies to offer online table games.

Under Germany's regulations, slots games can be offered online via a federal licence, but online table games are the purview of individual states.

Schleswig-Holstein, a state of some 3m people, announced this week that it had licensed BluBet Operations Limited, Cashpoint Limited, Skill On Net Limited and Tipico Karlsruhe Limited.

"By allowing an attractive online offer, we want to prevent players from taking advantage of illegal offers if, for example, they want to play the games known from casinos online," said interior minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack (CDU).

North Carolina Regulators Propose Sports-Betting Rule Tweaks

North Carolina regulators have released a new set of proposed rules that make minor changes to several sports-betting provisions and add new rules governing pari-mutuel wagering.

The North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s Sports Betting Committee approved a notice of proposed rulemaking Wednesday (September 18) and set an October 8 hearing for public comment on the modified rules.

Among other provisions, the new rules codify a key responsible gaming provision that is already implemented by many operators that requires that any cool-down or timeout period requested by a player to block themselves from wagering be at least 72 hours in length.

In addition, the rules require operators to submit a monthly report to the commission detailing all wagers deemed cancelled or voided by the operator as an “obvious error” without prior authorization from the commission. The current standard does not set a time period for those cancelled wagers to be reported.

The new rulemaking also sets standards for pari-mutuel wagering, which was permitted as part of the state’s sports-betting legalization but has yet to be implemented.

The commission said in a report to a legislative committee earlier this year that it intended to proceed “deliberately and incrementally” in bringing pari-mutuel wagering to market.

Betfred Latest Bookmaker To Exit Arizona

Betfred has added its name to the list of sports-betting operators who have left Arizona.

The British bookmaker blocked new customers from creating an account and wagering with the platform on Thursday (September 19). Betfred plans to cease all operations in Arizona on November 4.

Customers have until early November to withdraw funds from their accounts.

Betfred become the eighth operators to exit Arizona. SaharaBets announced in July it was exiting the state after securing a license through a partnership with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, which have relocated to Salt Lake City.

The other operators include SuperBook Sports, Betway, Fubo Sportsbook, WynnBET, TwinSpires and Unibet.

The Arizona Department of Gaming (DGE) awarded two new licenses last month to Plannatech, which partnered with the San Carlos Apache Tribal Gaming Enterprise, and Sporttrade, which partnered with the Quechan Indian Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation.

Although the ADG successfully issued two licenses, the exit of companies has made several other event wagering operator licenses available. Arizona law allows 20 sports-betting licenses, with ten for tribes and ten for Arizona sports franchises that have partnerships.

Tabcorp Replaces Chairman In Latest C-Suite Blow

Australian wagering giant Tabcorp Holdings has announced the resignation of chairman Bruce Akhurst amid shareholder unease, and his replacement by non-executive director Brett Chenoweth.

Akhurst will retire from his post at the conclusion of the Tabcorp AGM on October 23, the company said in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday (September 19).

He will remain a director until the end of the year as incoming CEO Gillon McLachlan awaits regulatory approval.

Akhurst has chaired the company since its mid-2022 demerger with its lucrative lottery operations, but has presided over a rocky period for the retail wagering monopoly, culminating in heavy regulator fines, a plummeting share price and a surprise A$1.36bn ($927m) loss for the 2023-2024 financial year.

McLachlan, meanwhile, is set to formally replace Adam Rytenskild, whose alleged sexual comment targeting Victoria state gambling regulator Annette Kimmitt triggered his removal from the company.

Tabcorp also announced the resignation of non-executive director Justin Milne after 13 years on the board, pending appointment of his replacement.

EveryMatrix Backs Acquisition Of Fantasma Games AB For €18.5m

Online gambling supplier EveryMatrix announced a recommended public offer to acquire all shares in Stockholm-based games developer Fantasma Games AB for SEK 209.8m (€18.5m).

The acceptance period for the offer, which is SEK59 (€5.21) in cash per share, is expected to commence on September 19, 2024, and expire on October 10, 2024, according to an update published by EveryMatrix on September 18.

More than 50 percent of the Fantasma Games shareholders have signed binding agreements to sell their shares, with the bid requiring at least 90 percent of shareholders' approval to accept the offer.

EveryMatrix said the deal will improve its games output, and strengthen its games division with strong synergies between both companies.

Fantasma recorded an EBITDA of €395,000 in Q2 2024, a profit margin of 36 percent.

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