The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has established a data-sharing agreement with the Slovak Football Association. 

As the governing body of football in Slovakia, the Bratislava-based Slovak Football Association (SFZ), has ultimate responsibility for the development of football in the country, and runs its national teams. 

Commenting on the news the MGA’s Sports Integrity Manager, Antonio Zerafa, said:

“The agreement with the Slovak Football Association joins a continuously growing list of data-sharing agreements with international partners from the sporting world. We are proud that through such agreements we are placing ourselves as an important contributor to match-fixing investigations across the globe, and we hope that we can now provide the same level of assistance to the Slovak FA also.”

While Integrity Officer of the Slovak Football Association, Jakub Čavoj, added:

“I hope that this agreement will be very useful for both sides and help us achieve a common goal – protecting the integrity of sport competitions.  For the Slovak FA and police investigations this exchange of information could be important in collecting evidence because many betting companies popular in Slovakia have a Malta gambling license. Sharing best practice and exchange of information is key in the fight against match-fixing.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The MGA has been busy strengthening its monitoring capabilities by forming partnerships with a number of associations recently. In May it announced a data-sharing agreement with the World Professional Billiards & Snooker Association (WPBSA), while in April it inked a partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC). In October 2019, the MGA also entered a data-sharing agreement with the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) – the anti-corruption body that covers all professional tennis tournaments.

Meanwhile, at the end of November, the MGA launched its Suspicious Betting Reporting Mechanism (SBRM), making it available to all B2C Malta-licensed operators which offer betting on sports events.

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The General Workers Union Malta (GWUM) has declared an industrial dispute with NetEnt and Evolution over last week’s redundancies. 

In a statement, the GWUM said it was declaring the dispute due to the following:

1. The Companies’ failure to acknowledge the GWU as an employee representative for the purpose of collective redundancies  under the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

2. The Companies’ refusal to provide the union with a statement in writing giving all relevant information, with the reasons for the redundancies, the number of employees the company intends to make redundant, the number of employees normally employed by it, the criteria proposed for the selection of the employees to be made redundant, details regarding any redundancy payments which are due and the period over which redundancies are to be effected.

3. The Companies’ wholesale breach of the Collective Redundancies (Protection of Employment) Regulations and the Transfer of Business (Protection of Employment) Regulations.

The union added that it reserved the right to take industrial action with immediate effect. Elaborating, it said that the measures had become necessary due to the “manifest unwillingness” of both NetEnt and Evolution to consult it. 

The news follows last week’s shock announcement that over 300 employees would be laid off in Malta, following NetEnt’s acquisition by Evolution. 

AYO.NEWS says:

This is a tough one. As we said last week, the timing of these redundancies is unfortunate, coming immediately before Christmas and during the COVID-19 employment crisis – but it was also entirely foreseeable.

Malta needs to think carefully about the long-term consequences of any industrial action. Both NetEnt and Evolution already have facilities around the world, and could very easily relocate operations. Plus, with so many markets now regulated, the Maltese license isn’t as valuable as it once was. 

Aside from tax rates, what really still makes Malta attractive to gaming companies is access to a relatively cheap, flexible, and skilled workforce (and, crucially, the ability to attract foreign workers to the island fairly easily). For some time the soaring cost of living has been making it harder to attract workers, and the COVID crisis has exacerbated that. If Malta now gets a reputation for industrial action, it may well cause many gaming operators to think twice about investing in the country. 

But, it is the season of goodwill, so maybe Evolution will step up, and do something to diffuse the dispute?

‘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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A wide ranging review of gambling laws will commence in the UK next week, with a possible ban on sports sponsorship to be considered. 

The review, which could start on 7 December, may result in a number of changes to the Gambling Act 2005, including a ban on sports sponsorships, and the introduction of online stake limits, affordability checks, tougher testing of new products, and more powers to tackle the grey market. 

Earlier this year, over 50 MPs and peers called for stricter controls on gambling advertising, and there is mounting media and public pressure to introduce maximum stakes and loss limits for online casinos. 

New gambling products will also soon be subject to review from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) before being cleared for release. 

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), which represents many of the biggest UK betting operators, has warned that implementing such strict measures may have unintended consequences, and actually push customers to unlicensed offshore operators, thus significantly increasing the risk they are exposed to. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It seems almost unbelievable that, in light of how Sweden’s ‘emergency controls’ have dramatically backfired, pushing vulnerable gamblers to the unlicensed market, the UK can seriously be considering tightening what is already one of the world’s most strictly regulated online gambling markets. 

The inescapable truth is that no controls will ever be tight enough for those who have been personally affected by gambling problems, and politicians and the media know the gambling industry is an easy target that few outsiders will even attempt to defend. 

Of course, the BGC is also extremely biased, but there’s no denying that it and its members have been taking proactive steps to address problem gambling. What is needed now is a calm, rational, pragmatic review of gambling laws, not an emotionally-driven, reactionary offensive. 

‘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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Stefan Lundborg has resigned from his role as non-executive director at Kindred Group with immediate effect. 

The resignation is related to Lundborg being investigated for insider crime by the Swedish Economic Crime Authority (SECA). Kindred Group has said it has no further information at this point, and is cooperating fully with the Public Prosecutor and SECA in their investigations. 

Chairman of the Board at Kindred Group, Anders Ström, said:

“The resignation of Stefan Lundborg was unavoidable considering the investigation against him by the Swedish Economic Crime Authority. The Board would like to emphasize that no other representatives of the company have been served any suspicion of misconduct and neither is the company itself under any suspicion.”

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The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) says the number of safer gambling messages displayed by operators has more than doubled since it launched its COVID action plan.

Launched in March, when the UK entered its first lockdown, the 10-point plan included the pledge to significantly increase the number of safer gambling messages online. 

According to the BGC, the number of safer gambling messages has actually rocketed by over 100%, and the number of customers receiving such messages directly has risen by 150%. 

There has also been a 25% rise in the number of interventions, carried out by operators who detected players were spending more money or time gambling than prior to the pandemic. 

Reflecting on the news BGC chief executive, Michael Dugher, said:

“The Betting and Gaming Council was set up last year as a standards body committed to driving big changes across much of the regulated industry.These latest findings show that the BGC has led the way and is achieving real results on safer gambling.

“The introduction of the ten-pledge plan at the start of lockdown was further evidence of success – and our members re-affirmed their support for the pledges when the second lockdown began.”

Looking ahead, the BGC is expected to introduce more measures, including an agreement that at least 20% of all TV and radio advertising should consist of safer gambling messages. 

AYO.NEWS says:

On the surface this seems like a success, but in reality the number of safer gambling messages is not as important as the effectiveness of specific campaigns. For example, simply increasing the number of safer gambling messages posted on social media, does not mean anymore people are actually seeing them or engaging. 

‘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 Swedish government has announced an investigation into unlicensed gambling and sports betting integrity. 

Headed by Director General of the Swedish Chambers of Commerce, Gunnar Larsson, the investigation will aim to identify ways to improve channelisation and anti-match fixing safeguards. 

Larrson will be particularly focused on the issue of combating unlicensed offshore gambling operators, and will follow up on issues raised by the Swedish Gambling Authority regarding payment blocking. 

In terms of improving sports integrity, Swedish authorities are looking to improve collaboration with both betting operators and sports organisations. 

Commenting on the news Minister of Social Security, Ardalan Shekarabi, said:

“We have a responsibility to protect, above all, vulnerable consumers from illegal gambling, but also to protect the serious players in the gambling market from unfair competition. 

“Increased efforts are needed to exclude illegal gambling from the Swedish gambling market. We are now also intensifying the work against match-fixing and organized crime.”

Recent surveys have indicated that only a small minority of Swedish gamblers check to see if an online sportsbook or casino holds a Swedish license. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering the ridiculous hoops the Swedish government, egged on by the likes of Shkarabi, has made licensed operators jump through over the past year, it’s high time they started taking serious action to stop unlicensed sportsbooks and casinos operating in the market. 

Of course, whether this investigation is just theatre to assuage the licensed operators who are rapidly losing faith in the government, or a genuine effort to improve things, remains to be seen…

‘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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