The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) is extending its Spelpaus self-exclusion system awareness campaign.

During summer, the SGA ran a high-profile public information campaign about Spelpaus.se, featuring adverts on TV, social media, and websites. According to research, the campaign has resulted in awareness of the self-exclusion system rising from 54% to 71%, and some 58,000 Swedes are now registered.

Despite this, the SGA says it wants to improve awareness further, and intends to extend the information campaign until mid-January 2021.

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite responsible gambling and player protection initiatives being welcome in principle, exclusion systems like Spelpaus only block access to licensed operators, leaving vulnerable gamblers completely exposed to unlicensed offshore operators. 

Logically, this means that until unlicensed black market operators are effectively blocked, Spelpaus may actually be doing more harm than good, by pushing vulnerable gamblers to sites which offer no checks or protection whatsoever. 

‘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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GiG has added a new language detection feature to its marketing compliance tool, GiG Comply. 

The Malta-based company has added the feature to enable operators to easily identify what language a website is promoting their brand in. The new feature will help operators achieve compliance with regulatory requirements in specific markets, like Germany, where strict new rules regarding marketing are being introduced soon. 

Commenting on the new feature CCO at GiG, Ben Clemes, said:

“We are continuously improving and advancing on our products not only to ensure they reflect what is happening in the market but also so that we can continue to meet the needs of our partners. The new language feature not only helps to ensure that our partners are ahead of the game and are fully compliant in newly-regulated markets, but it also enables them to do so effectively and efficiently via a fast and automated process.”

AYO.NEWS says:

With marketing rules tightening across many regulated markets, it’s never been more critical to remain compliant, so anything that can automate some of the process will be welcomed by operators. Obviously, this kind of tool will work well for languages that are only used in a handful of markets, like German or Italian, but will be less helpful for more widely used languages. 

Staying with GiG, last week the company announced it was resurrecting its Betspin.com brand as a live casino-focused affiliate site. 

‘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. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Caribbean online gaming hub Curaçao, is set to tighten its regulations, with major consequences for gambling companies licensed there.

Despite promising to strengthen oversight for several years now with little appreciable results, the tiny Carribean island country, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has now agreed to take concrete action.

The measures are being supported by the Dutch government, which has helped the island through the COVID-19 crisis, and will see the launch of a new independent regulator by March 2021. 

Currently, Curaçao license holders pay a 2% corporate profit tax, and annual master license fee of ANG 240,000 (approx. $134,000 USD). However, the launch of the new regulator may also coincide with fee and tax rate changes. 

More concerning for operators relying on a Curacao license, is the prospect that they may be prohibited from accepting customers from other regulated territories, including those from the Netherlands itself – whose regulated gambling market is finally set to launch in 2021. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s no secret that, while many reputable companies operate with a Curacao license, the island’s soft touch regulation has also made it attractive to those looking to get away with shady business practices. If the new regulatory regime ends up being even half as strict as what’s on the cards for the Netherlands itself, then more than a few operators are likely to find themselves with tough choices.

‘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. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Carousel Group, operator of SportsBetting.com, has secured a B2C online sports betting and casino gaming license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). 

SportsBetting.com launched in Colorado in September, and is slated to go live in four more US states before the end of 2021. 

The company says the new license will help it position SportsBetting.com for potential favourable legislation in Canadian provinces like Ontario, and for marketing spillover from extensive advertising in the United States. 

An MGA license will also give Carousel Group a tax-efficient structure for entering European markets in the future. 

Commenting on the news CEO of Carousel Group, Daniel Graetzer, said:

“Receiving our license from the MGA is a major achievement for our company and a catalyst for our future goals. After two years of product development and building our team of more than 100 employees, SportsBetting.com is now live in the U.S. and we could not be more excited to compete. We have built a proprietary and hyper-personalized sportsbook that gives bettors the content they want, timely betting information and market-leading pricing and limits.

“We’re thrilled about our U.S. expansion and we look forward to bringing SportsBetting.com to more markets. As our brands become household names in the gaming space, we will make a positive and everlasting impression on the global gaming community.”

AYO.NEWS says:

With a domain as strong as SportsBetting.com, you could argue it would be hard for Carousel not to succeed as it builds its presence in the rapidly growing United States markets. But, behind the 1st class domain is also an experienced, well-resourced team with big ambitions, so we’re expecting them to give FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM a run for their money stateside. And, now the company has a Maltese license, the path into Europe is open.

‘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. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Omni-channel turnkey supplier Oryx Gaming has partnered with Maxima Compliance to assist new market entries. 

The deal will give Slovenia-based Oryx Gaming access to the Complitech compliance database, which includes all technical compliance requirements for nearly 30 regulated markets, and a suite of tools to perform gap analysis. 

According to Maxima Compliance, Complitech users are able to enter regulated markets on average 60% faster than others, and net considerable cost savings in the process. 

Commenting on the news Oryx Gaming CEO Matevz Mazij, said:

“In regulated markets, meeting technical compliance requirements faster and more efficiently is a significant competitive advantage for Oryx Gaming.

“This is why we are so excited to be using Complitech, a one-of-its-kind tool which is already helping us make more informed strategic decisions about future market entries.”

While Maxima Compliance Managing Director, Antonio Zanghi, added: 

“Oryx Gaming is not only one of the most innovative and fastest-growing suppliers around, but also a company which takes a modern approach to compliance.

“So, we are thrilled to see Oryx utilising Complitech to create additional efficiencies and cost-savings. We continue to build new features into Complitech, and will work closely with Oryx to ensure it delivers exactly what is required.”

Complitech launched earlier this year as the gaming industry’s first technical compliance database. It lists over 10,000 requirements from almost 30 regulated markets.

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BoyleSports has been fined £2.8M (€3.15M) by the UK Gambling Commission for anti-money laundering (AML) failures.

The Ireland-based operator was found to be using unsuitable and ineffective AML policies for its Boylesports.com and Boylecasino.com sites. 

As a result, in addition to the fine, stricter conditions have been applied to the operator’s license. These include the requirement to appoint a qualified Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and to ensure all staff, including senior management, undertake AML training. 

Commenting on the case executive director of the Gambling Commission, Richard Watson, said:

“It is vital that all gambling businesses have effective anti-money laundering policies and procedures firmly in place and as part of our ongoing drive to raise standards we will continue to take tough action against operators who do not.”

Earlier this month, the UKGC also revoked the license of Silverbond Enterprises, operator of Park Lane Casino, London, after changes regarding the control of the company. 

Staying with BoyleSports, at the end of October, the company extended its partnership with gambling technology company Playtech for another five years. 

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