UK prison reform charity, the ‘Howard League for Penal Reform’ has launched a new commission investigating links between problem gambling and criminal behaviours. The Howard League has disclosed that the first meeting of its ‘Commission on Crime & Problem Gambling’ took place in London on 20 June, kick-starting a three-year research project led by Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith QC …
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Swedish state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel has confirmed the promotion of Mikael Franzén to the position of Group IT Director. Franzén currently serves as Vice President of Svenska Spel’s B2B sports & casino division and will assume his new role on 1 September 2019, reporting directly to Svenska Spel Group CEO Patrik Hofbauer. An expert in the development of gambling systems …
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Irish Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has backed the country’s betting tax regime following a number of claims from Irish TD’s that the increased levy has put over 1,800 jobs at risk. Speaking at the Dáil yesterday, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty emphasised to the committee that first quarter results for the industry have demonstrated that smaller, independent …
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Five of the industry’s big guns have shed light on recent revelations that there would be a collaborative effort in improving problem gambling initiatives by boosting levy contributions from 0.1 per cent up to 1 per cent over the next five years. It was reported by the BBC yesterday that CEOs from Bet365, Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, Sky Betting & …
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Highlight Games Limited announces a major coup partnering with the NBA and its syndicate National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to launch new virtual sports property – ‘NBA Last 90’. Highlight Games is a developer of specialist virtual games content, utilising real sports footage to engage wider audiences. The announcement sees Highlight Games launch NBA Last 90, which will ill utilize actual …
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The governances of bet365, William Hill Plc, Flutter Entertainment, Sky Bet and GVC Holdings have pledged to the UK government that they will commit to increasing ‘voluntary contributions to 1% of gross-gaming-yield revenues’ – helping raise funds for UK problem gambling addiction, treatment and research initiatives. This morning the BBC reports that the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has …
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Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson has published the full transcript of his speech on gambling reforms delivered yesterday to UK ‘cross-party’ thinktank DEMOS. In his opening statement, Watson outlines his belief that the UK gambling sector’s defence of FOBTs machines through ‘unacceptable lobbying’ has seen its incumbents ‘fall beyond public accountability’. Watson states that any future Labour government ‘must …
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FTSE bookmaker William Hill Plc has moved to strengthen its governance and corporate advisory confirming the appointment of Jane Hanson as a new Independent Non-Executive Director. An expert in risk management and corporate governance strategies for ‘highly regulated industries’, Hanson will join William Hill’s board on 1 July 2019, becoming a member of the FTSE firm’s nomination and audit committees. A …
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The management of Royal Ascot has disclosed that its 2019 Festival will feature its highest international broadcast coverage, with festival programming made available to over 650 million homes worldwide. Beyond extensive UK coverage offered by ITV and Sky Sports Racing, Royal Ascot programming will be broadcast in Japan, the US, China, Australia, France and the Middle East. Regarded as the …
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The newly relaunched International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA -formerly ESSA) has today announced that industry business data and information supplier H2 Capital will formerly act as its lead market data provider. The tie-up will see IBIA teams supported with access to the extensive H2 Capital database covering industry insight across 2 million data points reaching 150 jurisdictions, significantly strengthening IBIA …
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