UK

There will be no time to celebrate Christmas for Paddy Power and Betfair governances as the shareholders of both companies have agreed outright to approve the £6.2 billion merger deal. Holding simultaneous ‘extraordinary meetings’ on Monday 21 December in which shareholders filed their votes, the merger deal saw a 99% investor approval, gaining a further significant step towards the creation of …

MRG Systems has developed a new system that gives bookmakers more control over what information to promote to their customers. The Summary Screen has been developed as the next generation of MRG’s popular All-in-One display screen and allows bookmakers the flexibility to choose which meetings get priority in their shops. The Summary Screen is the latest version of a digital …

Jorn Starck has been appointed as the new Executive Director of regulator Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). Starck replaces the outgoing Andre Wilsenach, who’s left the AGCC for an academic role at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Starck is currently the AGCC Director of Regulatory Operations, a position he’s held since 2014 having been promoted after he originally joined the AGCC …

Netplay TV has asked for its shares to be suspended on the AIM after an announcement that it was considering a reverse takeover of the Sportech owned football pools business estimated to be worth around £100m. The football pools, formerly the backbone of the gambling industry in the UK, still attracts 300,000 weekly players though this is down from 10m at …

Scott Longley assesses the upcoming UK CMA review of the Ladbrokes-Coral merger and how the deal will shake-up all sections of the UK betting sector. The phony war is over. The announcement yesterday that the £2.3bn Ladbrokes Coral merger has been officially notified to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) means we now have something of a timetable for whether …

In its bid to strengthen the integrity and credibility of sport and for the successful protection of clean athletes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today published the Olympic Movement Code on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions. A first of its kind, the Code aims to provide the Olympic Movement and its members with harmonised regulations to protect all …

  Following its commentary invitation and review of the merger of Paddy Power – Betfair, the UK Competition & Markets Authority (UK CMA) has officially cleared the £6.2 billion deal. The Paddy Power-Betfair merger clears its most important regulatory hurdle, which had been placed under review by the UK CMA in November and opened to public and industry commentary. The …

Pool and racing wagering technology supplier Sportech Plc, has announced the appointment of Mickey Kalifa as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Kalifa is set to takeover full group auditing and financial responsibilities upon the announcement of year-end corporate results for 2015 (date set for 3 March 2016). Sportech governance has detailed that Kalifa has begun the handover from outgoing …

The World Darts Championship begins at the Alexandra Palace today, with bookmakers expecting a record £50 million to be wagered on the showpiece tournament. As the big guns roll into town to compete for the trophy, SBC News caught up with Tony Kenny, Head of Sponsorship and PR  for main tournament sponsor, William Hill. SBC: Tony, thanks very much for …

Ladbrokes CEO Jim Mullen has expressed concern regarding the ongoing tense stand-off between UK Racing and the betting industry concerning the BHA’s ‘authorised betting partner’ (ABP) policy. Mullen states that the current scenario does not benefit any stakeholders, as both industries’ are mutually “intertwined”, hence there should be no need for “backdrop of scores, injustices – or perceived injustices – …