Isle of Man-based online gambling operator 188Bet withdraws from British and Irish markets with immediate effect, though company says it is solvent.

This morning Isle of Man-based online gambling operator 188Bet ceased offering services to players in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Ireland.

According to Annatar Limited, the owner of 188Bet, the decision to cease operations was a commercial one taken in light of a very competitive market, and it was stressed that the company is solvent and will meet its financial obligations.

Information has been posted on the 188Bet site advising customers of what to do, and letting them know that they will be able to log in and withdraw their funds until 23:59 (GMT) on 30^th August 2019.

The operator has said all pending bets for events up to 23:59 on 20^th June will be honoured, but single bets for events after that will be voided and stakes returned. Likewise, multiple bets for events up that date will be settled normally, but wages with winning multiple selections as of 23:59 on 30^th June, that still have unsettled specifications for events after that date, will have those specifications voided and the bet settled within 48 hours.

188Bet has been no stranger to controversy, making the headlines for offering live bets on academy games that featured players as young as 14 – though the company insisted this was to cater for its large customer base in Asia.

The brand has been closely involved with English football, at times being the official gambling partner of both Chelsea FC and Aston Villa FC, and shirt sponsor of Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic.

AYO.NEWS says:

The news that 188Bet has decided its no longer worth catering for the markets covered by the UKGC and ASA is hardly surprising, given the increasingly draconian nature of their rules which are turning marketing and advertising in those markets into a high risk minefield. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more operators follow the same course in the next few months, as they decide to concentrate on higher-growth, less regulation-heavy markets around the world.

NBA superstar LeBron James breaks organisation’s rules by re-tweeting video from Curacao-licensed sportsbook MyBookie.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is in hot water after promoting a tweet from Curacao-licensed online bookmaker MyBookie over the weekend.

The video in question featured MLB team Los Angeles Angels’ baseball player Mike Trout, who just signed a record 12-year contract worth $426.5m with the team, stepping up to the plate.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 BIG FACTS though! https://t.co/iSnvfCvXiY

— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 22, 2019

Though it is not known if James received any payment for the re-tweet, or if he just did it without thinking, the post got more than 7,000 re-tweets and almost 56,000 likes, making it potentially valuable marketing for the bookies.

The problem is that, although the NBA itself and teams can enter partnerships with gambling companies subject to certain restrictions, under current rules which the NBA have been keen to stress this year, it is strictly prohibited for players to engage in this kind of promotional activity with gambling operators.

As Manging Editor of LegalSportsReport.com and PlayNJ.com, Dustin Gouker, summed up in a tweet “January: NBA reinforcing gambling policy. Great! March: Biggest star in the game re-tweeting MyBookie.”

January: NBA reinforcing gambling policy. Great! https://t.co/SAU0u7Yz5z

March: Biggest star in the game retweeting MyBookie.

— Dustin Gouker (@DustinGouker) March 22, 2019

AYO.NEWS says:

Even if LeBron didn’t receive payment, and simply wasn’t thinking when he re-tweeted MyBookie, the event illustrates the urgent need for the NBA (and other American leagues and sporting organisations) to educate their players, athletes and staff regarding what is and isn’t appropriate in terms of endorsements and marketing.

The world of social media marketing is particularly murky, with blurry boundaries between marketing and personal engagement. We’ve seen the same problem with social media influencers who were plugging products and not even realising they were engaged in marketing.

One things for sure, MyBookie’s marketing department will be patting themselves on the back this week!  

Swedish gaming regulator hits Genesis Global Limited and Paf Consulting Corporation with fines for failing to implement self-exclusion registry.

The Swedish gaming regulator, Spelinspektionen, has slapped Malta-based Genesis Global Limited and Finland-based Paf Consulting Corporation with fines for failing to implement the self-exclusion registry.

Under the country’s new gaming act, which came into force on 1^st January 2019, all Swedish-licensed gaming companies are required to join the self-exclusion registry. However, in the days following the launch of the new gaming regime, the Gaming Inspector was contacted by self-excluded players who were still able to bet at sites run by the companies.

In response to the failings, Genesis has been issued with formal warning and a fine of SEK 4,000,000 (approx. €383,000) and Paf warning and a fine of SEK 100,000 (approx. €9,500).

Genesis provides games for sites including casinocruise.com, casinogods.com, casinojoy.com, pelaa.com, sloty.com, spel.com, spinit.com, and vegashero.com. While Paf has games on paf.com and paf.se.

AYO.NEWS says:

It seems very unlikely that Genesis and Paf would have deliberately flouted the self-exclusion policy, given how well-publicised the rules were in good time prior to the introduction of the new gaming act. Considering that the plethora of other operators managed to abide by the rules from the get go, it can only be assumed that there were internal systems failures.