Ivan Rudyi has been elected Chairman of the Commission on the Ukrainian Gambling and Lotteries Commission (UGLC).

Rudyi is a former military general, who commanded the country’s ATO anti-terrorist unit, which has been heavily engaged in combat against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbass Conflict. Before joining up, he was an executive producer with Ukraine TV. 

The Kiev-based UGLC will be responsible for monitoring all licensed gambling in the newly regulated market, and is currently attempting to fill some 230 positions, including six regional directors. 

Commenting on the appointment, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, Oleg Nemchynov, said:

“Today, in addition to the next government meeting, we also had an extraordinary one, at which we considered several personnel issues. One of them was the announcement of preliminary results of selection for the post of the chairman and members of the Commission on the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. 

“Based on the results of this meeting, (candidates) were recommended out of 378 persons who submitted their CVs and applications, and out of 42 persons who were admitted. In particular, 20 persons were submitted to the post of the head of the commission, 32 persons were submitted to the members of the commission.”

Olena Vodolashko and Yevhen Hetman have also been recommended for appointment as commission members. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As previously reported, the Ukrainian government has already made it clear it wants to keep Russian involvement out of its gambling industry, and the appointment of Rudyi seems very much to underline they are serious about it!

Though Ukraine has long been a technical services hub for gambling operators, and has a deeply embedded local gambling culture, the upcoming establishment of an organised, regulated framework offers the potential of the country becoming a major online market in its own right. 

Earlier today, we reported on the upcoming CIS edition of the world’s largest online betting and gaming event, SBC Digital Summit, which is scheduled for the 4-5 November, and will shine a spotlight on opportunities in Ukraine, Georgia, and Uzbekistan. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) have announced a partnership. 

By working together the two organisations are aiming to maximise opportunities for effective and efficient gaming regulation. 

The initiative will focus on two key priorities over the coming year:

• Discussion and information exchange concerning known and emerging issues impacting regulatory policy and practice;
• Identifying opportunities to leverage standards and technology to advance efficient and effective gaming regulation;

Commenting on the collaboration, IAGR President, Mabutho Zwane, said:

“As regulators, we recognise that dialogue with industry is fundamental to both understand the sector and make informed decisions which can advance efficient and effective gambling regulation.

“This is particularly important at this time where there is opportunity to leverage technology to drive innovation in regulatory practice.”

While IGSA President, Peter DeRaedt, added:

“IGSA is the single technology standards setting organization in the gaming industry. We strongly believe that collective dialogue with regulatory authorities on an international level is crucial to enhance regulatory oversight while driving efficiencies for operators and suppliers. 

“Our collaboration with IAGR is an enormous step forward towards the betterment of the gaming industry as a whole.Our organisation is very excited about the opportunities this new collaboration presents.”

IGSA members include Aristocrat, IGT, Microgaming, Novomatic, Playtech, and Scientific Games. 

IAGR members include dozens of regulators from across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and North America – including the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. 

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The American Gaming Association (AGA) has teamed up with the National Hockey League (NHL) to promote responsible gaming. 

Though a public service campaign called ‘Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly’, which is also supported by NASCAR, the organisations hope to encourage bettors to take a safe approach to gambling through habits like setting a budget, keeping betting social in nature, and playing only with trusted operators. 

The NHL says it will be promoting the message through co-branded videoboard images, public address announcements, and other hockey-focused marketing materials, with unique assets provided to each team. 

Discussing the initiative NHL chief business officer, Keith Wachtel, said:

“The fan experience remains one of our highest priorities as more hockey fans than ever have the opportunity to legally and responsibly bet in their home states. Ensuring that our passionate fans know how to participate in this exciting new opportunity is important, and we’re thrilled to be working with the AGA to share the responsibility in this worthy education.”

While AGA president and CEO, Bill Miller, added:

“Teams and leagues are increasingly embracing sports betting as they explore new fan engagement opportunities during COVID-19. Educating patrons about how to engage in this activity responsibly is critical to the success of the sports betting opportunity as it continues to expand throughout the country. 

“We’re thankful for the NHL’s continued leadership on responsible sports betting. Their partnership on this initiative will be important for hockey fans everywhere as they cheer on their teams in coming seasons.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s great to see the AGA and NHL take the initiative on this – it will be far more effective to embed responsible gambling from the outset in the United States, rather than try to tackle a deeply embedded social issue later on – as is so often the case in mature European markets.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Authorities in Italy have hit search giant Google with a €100K fine for violating the country’s ‘Dignity Decree,’ which bans all gambling advertising.

Google originally pledged to remove all gambling-related content from Italian search results back in 2018, but last month the country’s communications regulator, the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), began an investigation after a series of gambling ads showed up in Italian searches.

According to Reuters, AGCOM has now found Google guilty of allowing a paid advert for online casino www.sublimecasino.com to show up in search results for Italian residents, and has sanctioned Google based on Regulation (EU) 2019/1150, which specifically authorises it to take action against indexing services based abroad that offer services to the Italian public. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While we doubt that Google will even notice the €100K fine, AGCOM’s ruling does show that it is serious about enforcing the country’s controversial Dignity Decree, and will likely make the search provider even more cautious of dealing with gambling advertisers everywhere. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The UK could be about to ban celebrities from appearing in betting and gambling advertisements. 

The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) has launched a public consultation on the proposed ban, saying it is part of its drive to stop advertisers targeting under-18s. 

Advertisements that are deemed likely to appeal to under-18s are already banned in the UK, but the proposed blanket celebrity ban would apply to all advertisements, even if they were clearly targeted at adults.  Additionally, the proposals call for the rules about imagery, themes and characters to be strengthened further, to include characters’ behaviour, language, fashion, and appearance etc. 

Discussing the proposals Director of the Committees of Advertising Practice, Shahriar Coupal, said:

“The consultation proposes a strengthening of our rules and guidance which will help us in our ongoing work to prevent children, young and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling advertising. 

“It responds to valuable research commissioned by GambleAware that has highlighted how gambling ads have more potential than previously understood to adversely impact these audiences – that’s something we take very seriously and that we are aiming to address.”

Though the CAP has so far resisted growing calls for a complete advertising ban, it has said it thinks celebrities should be banned from featuring in such adverts. By way of an example, the CAP said that, under its new rule, the England football captain would be prohibited from featuring in gambling advert. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It doesn’t take a genius to realise the absurdity of these proposals. In the age of social media, who exactly is going to define what constitutes a celebrity? And, who is going to define what fashions or actions are acceptable?

The simplistic example (England football captain) shows just how basic the CAP team really is, and the entire episode is indicative of how the committee has been hijacked by politically-correct, nanny state insanity. 

Really, if the CAP is going to go this far, they should just shoot for the heart, and ban all gambling advertising, rather than creating yet another unworkable nightmare. 

Illustrating just what a minefield the UK market has already become for operators, earlier today Betsson announced it is immediately withdrawing 8 out of its 9 brands from the market, citing the constantly changing regulatory environment in the country as one of the reasons.

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The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Netherlands Gaming Authority (Kansspelautoriteit). 

The agreement promises increased corporation, information sharing, expertise exchange, and joint enforcement against operators, and is aimed at preventing criminal activity, ensuring fair and transparent gaming, and protecting players against gambling harm. 

Commenting on the development Director General of Spelinspektionen, Camilla Rosenberg, said:

“By opening the communication channels between the authorities we become stronger in our supervisory activities. This is the fourth MoU we sign with European gambling authorities since the new Swedish regulation came into force in 2019.”

While Kansspelautoriteit chairman, René Jansen, added:

“Such a Memorandum of Understanding forms a good basis for sharing knowledge, collaboration and a smooth exchange of information. A clear signal is also sent to providers of games of chance that they are joining forces internationally.”

Spelinspektionen has also signed similar agreements with other international regulators, including the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though international regulatory cooperation is crucial to fighting crime and keeping gaming safe, considering the recent track record of Spelinspektionen (which has effectively become a political tool) many will be hoping that its ways don’t rub off too much on the relatively inexperienced Dutch regulator.

Staying with Northern European gaming regulators, earlier this month the Danish Gambling Authority, Spillemyndigheden, appointed Anders Dorph as its new director. 

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