With Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party winning its biggest parliamentary majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, the last chance of stopping Brexit and saving the United Kingdom has vanished.

Labour: Sabotaged by its own leader

Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to step down, and hand leadership of his party to someone more acceptable to his own MPs and the British public, has condemned his party to the wilderness and assured the certainty of Brexit and the disintegration of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Time and again Labour MPs and supporters have urged Corbyn to step down for the sake of his party and the country, but time and again his own ego has prevailed. Only ever party leader because of the dysfunctional British system for electing party leaders (where only paid-up party members can vote – which, in Labour’s case, unfortunately consists mainly of washed up old hard left activists), Corbyn will be remembered as playing an instrumental part in facilitating Brexit and the destruction of the nation.

As has been noted many times over the past 24 hours, this election wasn’t won by Johnson because most people like him, but rather because people truly hate Jeremy Corbyn.

Scotland: SNP seize almost complete control

Reflecting the alienation from Westminster felt by the majority of Scots, who have always opposed Brexit, the Scottish National Party wiped the floor, seizing almost complete control of the country. It now seems certain, as we previously predicted here at AYO.NEWS, that a new Scottish independence referendum will be held in the very near future – maybe even before the end of January, when the UK is now expected to exit the European Union.

Liberal values crushed by populism

Despite enjoying increasing support since the 2016 Brexit referendum, the Liberal Democrats were easily brushed aside, with party leader Jo Swinson losing her Dumbartonshire seat to the Scottish National Party, and promptly stepping down. Whether the Liberals lost votes due to their supporters tactically voting for Labour in a vain attempt to keep the Conservatives out remains to be seen, but the bottom line is that the only openly anti-Brexit party has now ceased to exist as a fighting force capable of putting up any meaningful resistance.

What now?

Boris Johnson, in true Trump-style, will no doubt now boast loudly of his “stonking mandate” for Brexit, and with his increased parliamentary majority, will force his version of Brexit (whatever that version is) through in January.

All industries, including iGaming, can now expect to have to deal with all the difficulties we’ve previously discussed, from travel and employment complications and expenses, to mountains of extra paperwork and administration costs, and an uncertain regulatory environment (see UK GOV’T URGES GAMBLING OPERATORS TO PREPARE FOR ‘NO-DEAL’ BREXIT NOW).

Of course, the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, one of the world’ major gaming industry hubs, faces some of the most immediate and potentially dislocating issues – particularly regarding staff living in Spain and commuting into the British territory. Crown dependencies like the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney may also find things get complicated – as they are not part of European Union, but enjoyed a kind of defacto ‘membership’ through their association with the United Kingdom (which they also aren’t technically part of).

That other Mediterranean gaming hub, Malta, could also be in for a shock. In April the Maltese government issued a warning that Brexit could spell the end for UK-facing operators on the island (read more).

But, all of these issues may well pale in comparison to the problems that could emerge if, or should we say ‘when’, Scotland makes a bid for independence and when the inevitable reunification vote comes in Northern Ireland…

The Independent summed things up well: 

This article features opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Malta-based Kindred Group is the first commercial community partner of the European Football Development Network (EFDN).

A network of more than 85 European professional clubs, leagues and FA’s that are committed to their communities and social responsibilities, EFDN aims to promote the power of football as a tool for social development.

The new partnership with Kindred follows the gambling group’s previous sponsorship of EDFN’s “Active Fans” program in spring 2019.

Commenting on the news CEO of EFDN, Hubert Rovers, said:

“We are proud to present Kindred as our first commercial Community partner. There is a natural fit between EFDN and Kindred as we both share the love for football and are leaders in our industries in terms of taking responsibility for the community and in contributing to sustainability.

“Kindred uses a new sustainability-driven framework for sponsorships and promotes community initiatives through its partnerships with clubs and leagues. At EFDN, we strive to raise the quality and impact of community programmes through knowledge exchange and collaboration.”

While CEO of Kindred Group, Henrik Tjärnström, added:

“We are very proud and excited to be a part of the EFDN network. We feel that the work EFDN do is very important and aligns well with Kindred values. We truly believe that this will be a successful partnership where we will be able to build great things together. For example, we will share our knowledge and experience by developing and implementing an anti-match fixing programme to the extensive network of EFDN member clubs.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Hats off to Kindred for this partnership – its great to see companies are increasingly getting involved with real projects to help promote social responsibility, rather than just talking about it.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

STS is the first Polish bookmaker to officially launch in the United Kingdom after being granted a license from the Gambling Commission.

The Polish bookie already operates in more than a dozen European countries, but its entry into the world’s largest regulated market is a major milestone for the operator.

Commenting on the news STS CEO, Mateusz Juroszek, said:

“Obtaining a license in the United Kingdom is the result of a consistently implemented international expansion strategy. We are always looking at other prospective foreign markets.”

Apparently, STS has been getting frustrated with its home market, feeling the Polish government is more concerned with collecting taxes than ensuring a sustainable and responsible gambling market, though it has stressed it remains committed to Poland.

In addition to its new UK license, STS has also said it is interested in obtaining a license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), and named Germany as a key target market.

Last week STS announced a partnership with Enteractive, which will see the operator use the company’s Reactivation Cloud, to increase player retention rates (read more).

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the very strong Anglo-Polish connections and large Polish expat community in the UK, we’d say it could be a lucrative market for STS. Of course, its also one of the most saturated markets, and competition is brutal – as evidenced by the slew of gambling brands, including Expekt, Betclic, Everest (read more), Mustardbet, ComeOn, Intercasino and Vera & John (read more), to exit it over the last year.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Blockchain and crypto analytical research house Blockfyre has awarded Bethereum the highest rating out of any of the 60+ projects it has so far reviewed.

In an extensive report, Blockfyre praised the Bethereum peer-to-peer betting platform for providing a real solution to industry challenges, highlighting how it is implementing industry-first gamification and social elements.

Blockfyre also drew attention to Bethereum’s large and active community and solid team and advisors, saying:

“As the market matures, the only projects that will survive are the ones with market-fit products and a good revenue model. Bethereum has a very interesting idea that can potentially disrupt the online betting market, combined with a small market cap and a working product, which makes it a project to keep an eye on. The Bethereum team has a very strong presence at conferences and pitch contests, which brings a lot of awareness and networking and with the amount of awards and pitches they managed to win show the potential of the project and the recognition of the idea.”

Commenting on the report CEO at Bethereum, Giacomo Tognoni, said:

“I was very impressed with the professionalism of the Blockfyre team. Their analysts asked us very meaningful questions and were capable to derive powerful insights. The report is succinct, well written, and captures the essence of our vision and current standing. We are truly honoured for being evaluated as their highest-rated project to date, and we will keep doing our best to deserve this kind of recognition.”

You can read the full Blockfyre report here.

AYO.NEWS says:

Bethereum sure is getting a lot of kudos recently! At the recent SiGMA iGaming show in Malta, the company was recognised as Best iGaming Startup of 2019. But, while it is certainly innovative and very appealing, there’s no doubt that the P2P blockchain-based business model being promoted by the company could well end up presenting a nightmare for the traditional bookmaking industry. Times are changing!

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

London-based IMG ARENA, the sports betting service and content hub has entered a long-term rights agreement with the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).

Starting with the 2020/21 season, the 5-year agreement will see IMG ARENA provide SPFL content to the international betting market and introduce an automatic production set-up covering selected matches.

The major deal covers the Ladbrokes Premiership, featuring the multi-million TV viewer ‘Old Firm’ Glasgow derby between Celtic and Rangers, the Championship, League One and League Tow, along with the Betfred Cup and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup.

In support of the new agreement, IMG ARENA has also partnered with AI-automated sports production company Pixellot, to enable it to provide an increased depth of coverage, with the aim of improving experience and encouraging fan engagement.

The deal, which will see Pixellot’s patented tech installed at SPFL Championship grounds, is the first of its kind of IMG ARENA. The equipment harnesses advanced production algorithms and a network of cameras to track play and generate math footage that can be used online and on mobile devices. The footage produced will be restricted to the international market, outside of the UK and Ireland.

Discussing the deal SPFL Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster, said:

“Deepening our mutually successful partnership with IMG ARENA creates a range of increased commercial benefits, allowing us to reinvest significant revenues across the SPFL. It will also help to increase the international visibility and popularity of our competitions through innovative, best-in-class production.”

While Managing Director at IMG ARENA, Freddie Longe, added:

“We are proud to renew our longstanding partnership with the SPFL. The extension of our relationship will see our remit grow further over a lengthy period and secures a key product in our portfolio. Signing this deal is a strong endorsement of our streaming product.

“The Ladbrokes Premiership is an exciting competition that attracts sport fans from across the world. Our full SPFL offering means that we will be able to present an unprecedented level of Scottish football action to our international audience.

“Adding our innovative AI-automated solutions to IMG ARENA’s world-leading production expertise creates a new template for sport streaming. This new venture will lead to audience growth for the SPFL’s competitions and will help take its content offering to the next level.”

IMG Arena now provides services to more than 350 sportsbook operators globally, including always-on services like 24/7 live streaming and on-demand virtual sports products. The company processes official data for more than 45,000 sporting events per year, and in 2018 more than 70 million hours of its content was viewed by around 42 million unique viewers worldwide.

AYO.NEWS says:

In a world where so much is constantly competing for our attention, it’s about fan engagement, so it will be interesting to see just how effective Pixelott’s tech is at making IMG’s product stand out from the crowd.

Staying with IMG and fan engagement, in October AYO.NEWS reported the company had partnered with Mixed martial arts organisation UFC® to launch UFC Event Centre (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Sweden-based Betsson Group has acquired a majority stake in Brazil-based licensed horseracing operator Suaposta.

The deal, which was brokered by Partis Solutions, saw Betsson purchase 75% of the Brazilian operator, and gives it access to the huge country’s sports betting market ahead of its online market regulation.

The remaining 25% of Suaposta will continue to be owned by founders Andre Gelfi and Fernando Correa, who will also remain in their respective roles of CEO and CFO.

Commenting on the acquisition Suaposta CEO, Andre Gelfi, said:

“We are delighted to announce this agreement with Betsson Group, who are perfectly positioned to enable our business to realise its full potential in the newly regulating Brazilian market.”

While Partis Solutions Co-founder, Rob Dowling, added:

“This deal provides an excellent outcome for both parties. Suaposta’s Founders are excited to maintain an active role and to realise their significant growth plans, and Betsson Group have gained unrivalled access into the emerging LATAM online gaming market.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The potential of the Brazilian online betting market is absolutely enormous, so the value of this deal to Betsson should not be underestimated – especially at a time when many European operators are finding growth plateauing in their established markets.

Staying with Betsson, in November AYO.NEWS reported the company had announced a slew of ethically-focused initiatives as part of a wider effort to prioritise positive social impacts in their business dealings (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.