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 UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s




UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s
Published: 2016-11-16

The UK’s competition watchdog has launched a probe into whether online gambling sites are breaking the law via misleading promotions.

On Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announcing an investigation of “potential breaches of consumer law, including misleading promotions and unfair terms, being used by firms to block players’ payouts.” The CMA said it was prompted to act after the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) raised similar concerns.

Nisha Arora, the CMA’s senior director for consumer enforcement, said the CMA was “worried players are losing out because gambling sites are making it too difficult for them to understand the terms on which they’re playing, and may not be giving them a fair deal.” Arora said the CMA would work closely with the UKGC during its investigation.

The UKGC’s CEO Sarah Harrison said she had concerns that betting operators’ terms and conditions “appear to bamboozle rather than help the customer make informed choices.” Harrison said too many of the UK’s estimated 5.5m online gamblers felt like “the deck is stacked against them because of an obscure condition that they did not properly understand.”

The probe will focus on whether online gambling promotions are too difficult to understand or may in fact be unachievable. The CMA will also look at whether bookies attempt to prevent players from withdrawing stakes and any winnings.

The CMA said it recognizes betting operators’ right to close any punter’s account, cancel bets or amend odds after bets are accepted due to the odds having been inaccurately set. But the CMA will examine the fairness of the terms the bookies rely on to make these changes.

The CMA says it will require evidence from online gambling firms and is also soliciting UK punters to relay first-hand accounts of perceived shady behavior by bookies.

In response to Friday’s news, Remote Gambling Association CEO Clive Hawkswood said it was the CMA’s job to point out operators’ shortcomings but insisted there was “no reason to believe that there are widespread failings” in the industry and “it would be wrong to pre-judge the outcome of an inquiry that has only just begun.”

The CMA probe is the latest barbarian at the gate of the UK gambling industry. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that the government was planning to implement a total ban on daytime gambling TV advertising. In September, rumors spread that the government was planning a review of the fixed-odds betting terminals in betting shops. Just this week, online bookies learned they would have to pay 10% of race betting revenue to racing stakeholders.

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Gambling companies face heightened financial risks owing Swedish Court verdict. 

UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s

Swedish Court Orders Refund of Losses for Gambling Addiction

 

In December 2023, a groundbreaking judgment was delivered by the Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal in favour of a former gambling addict who incurred a loss of over EUR 500,000 through gambling.

 

 

The court ruled that the individual was entitled to reimbursement from the gambling company, as the bets were deemed void under the Swedish Contracts Act. The landmark ruling allows individuals who lost money under similar circumstances to seek similar compensation from Swedish gambling companies.

 

In 2019, the Swedish gambling market was substantially regulated, resulting in many of the marketing tactics employed by the gambling company in this particular case being deemed illegal. As such, this case is unlikely to significantly impact the current marketing practices of gambling companies. Nonetheless, it does present an opportunity for individuals with a history of gambling addiction to seek reimbursement for money they have lost, provided that the gambling companies utilized comparable marketing strategies and were aware that the individual had gambling problems.

 

Swedish gambling companies face heightened financial risks in this regard.

 



Finland's state-owned operator increases profits by 3% and protects players. 

UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s

The year 2023 was successful for Veikkaus' digital channel initiatives, and the company's overall result was in line with its goal. 180,000 new Veikkaus customers were registered, and the company's customer base now exceeds 2.5 million registered customers.

 

 

Digital games grew by 4.5% and accounted for almost 55% of Veikkaus' gross gaming revenue. The company channeled its development investments particularly into its digital channel, where games created by Veikkaus' own game studio also accounted for a large portion of the gross gaming revenue generated by the company's online casino, eArpa service and other offers. At the end of 2023, Veikkaus had approximately 2,520,000 registered customers. The number of registered customers increased by approximately 180,000 (+8.0%) during the year.

 

Data obtained through identified gambling activities can also be used to prevent and reduce gambling harms.

 

 

All games will be covered by the ID requirement.

 

Veikkaus began requiring player registration as Veikkaus customers for ticket-based games in mid-May. The impacts of the ID requirement on gameplay have been as expected. Veikkaus also made preparations for the ID requirement for scratch card games, which came into effect on January 1, 2024 and meant that all Veikkaus games now require identification.

 

 

"Today, all our games, including all physical scratch cards, are subject to the identification requirement. This means that we have become global pioneers in ensuring the responsibility of our gaming operations," said Susanna Saikkonen, Vice President of Sustainability at Veikkaus.

 

Player identification allows for a safer gaming environment where customers can be offered various services, such as loss limits and money transfers, and the possibility of self-exclusion from all games.



Ainsworth accused of a bad move to sell cheap to Novomatic. 

UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s

An American shareholder of pokies supplier Ainsworth Game Technology has accused the company of talking down the value of the stock and limiting it to “obscurity”, slamming a strategic review process which he says has depressed the share price.

 

Ainsworth is considering whether to take itself private for its next stage of growth and has hired Macquarie to conduct a review designed to maximize value for shareholders.

 

At the company’s annual results last week, Ainsworth chief executive Harald Neumann ruled out one option – listing the stock in the US. He said the outcome of the review would be determined later this year.

 

 

Speaking with the Australian Financial Review over the weekend, David Kanen of Kanen Wealth Management – which holds around 8 million Ainsworth shares, stated his belief that the business was “severely undervalued” after Ainsworth CEO Harald Neumann told investors a secondary listing in the United States was not an option.

 

“I believe our CEO talked the stock down,” Kanen said. “By limiting themselves to being in obscurity, solely on the Australian exchange … they’re missing a much bigger sized audience. Remaining in obscurity results in low volume, lower valuation and lack of price discovery, no US research coverage.”

 

According to the AFR report, Neumann claims a secondary listing would cost the company around AU$10 million but a number of shareholders, including Karen, dispute this – instead putting the cost at less than AU$2 million.

 

The AFR has named Oaktree, American Gaming Systems, Zitro Games and Merkur Group among other potential suitors for the Australian firm.



BetMGM disembark on UK with Chris Rock on board. 

UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s

As BetMGM has embarked on its growth into the UK market, sponsorship and advertising has enabled the firm to showcase the authenticity in bringing Vegas to the UK. 

 

LeoVegas Group Director of UK, Ireland, and Sponsorship emphasised that the firm’s ambitions to breathe life into what had become a relatively stable market were accelerated through engagement with impactful partnerships. 

 

One of the main ambassadors of the brand that BetMGM has brought to the UK is comedy legend Chris Rock, and Behar revealed that he epitomised the freshness they are seeking to enrich the UK market with. 

 

He’s been very important to us”, stated Behar, “we really wanted a hero name and a hero ambassador to help launch the product and to drive some credibility in what we’re trying to achieve, the way that we look and the energy we are bringing to the market. 

 

We take your expectations and raise them – so whilst other brands have retired footballers, we have Hollywood A-listers.” 

 

It comes down to not how we one up the opposition, but how we 10 up the competition, So when we looked at ambassadors and we were presented with lots of different talent options that were from lots of different nationalities, what was clear to us is that we just didn’t wanna be another operator taking some old retired football talent.”



Not good news for BETSSON from Finland. 

UK competition watchdog launches probe of online gambling T&C’s

The Betsson Group, through its parent company BML Group Ltd, has been placed on Finland's blacklist. The presence on Finland's blacklist has been officially confirmed, as its parent company BML Group became the first gaming operator ever, licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, to be included in the NPB's publicly available list of prohibited operators. The Betsson Group owns a total of 14 brands, which include popular names such as Betsson, Star Casino, and Betsafe.

 

These brands are also specifically listed. The NPB's blacklist was introduced in December 2022 as part of an enforcement effort to protect the gambling market in Finland.

 

 

The company BML Group Ltd, belonging to the BETSSON group, has been blacklisted IN FINLAND, and all banks, payment service providers and virtual currency providers are required to block all money transfers from Finland to BML.

 

 

The news of Betsson Group entering Finland's blacklist comes as a consequence of them losing a court battle against the National Police Board on February 19, 2024. As a result, all banks, payment service providers, and virtual currency providers are now required to block money transfers from Finland to the company.

 

It is certainly not a positive development for Betsson Group's brand and reputation. Still, it serves as a critical reminder that companies must adhere to ethical standards and comply with laws and regulations to avoid such consequences.


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