Last updated: September 02, 2024
This week, significant events in the gambling industry occurred, including BlueBet’s exit from the US market, DraftKings’ acquisition of Simplebet, and high-profile legal rulings. Regulatory changes continue to shape the landscape, with Australia debating a gambling ad ban and the UK introducing affordability checks. Responsible gambling initiatives also gained traction globally.
There are drastic changes in the gambling business this week, where strategic changes and major business moves were set in place. BlueBet decided to pull out of the United States market with the company stating that it’s a result of a strategic review of its operations in several states.
This way the Australian-based company expects to shave between 3 to 5 million US dollars. 42 million annually.
Originally BlueBet had aimed to remain only an American company but with the changing business environment and its recent acquisition of Australian-based Betr has had a change in direction. The company has found that it has to deal with various regulations and standards issues in its region and therefore it has decided to refocus on it.
This continuing trend of the scaling back or the complete partial or full exit from the US market remains partly or fully intact due mainly to the hegemony of FanDuel and DraftKings over the market. These two companies have continued to dominate the market which has limited the competition that other players could mount.
Recently, in an attempt to cement its industry standing, DraftKings purchased Simplebet – a micromarket betting platform that favors real-time betting among the youth. It was not stated just how much of FanDuel was purchased, but it is expected that the acquisition will improve DraftKings’ technological strengths and product portfolio.
In fairly recent Industry news, DraftKings acquired Simplebet, a micro market betting firm easily recognizable for its ‘moment-based’ betting model favored among young people. The financial terms of the deal are still unknown but this deal will help DraftKings to strengthen the technological side.
In another rather large news, Kambi Group and Rush Street Interactive have extended their agreement for an additional multi-year period. With this extension, both firms will be in a position to upscale their sports betting services and cope with the competition in key areas.
In the legal framework, Aviator LLC has some significant victories on the side of the regulation. In Georgia Court of First Instance recognized Aviator LLC’s right for 330 Million dollars from Spribe OÜ and Adjarabet.
Spribe’s “Aviator” game infringed Aviator LLC’s copyrights, it said that the name “Aviator” was registered in bad faith. The court’s ruling sheds light on burning issues associated with the gaming industry that pertain to ownership of ideas and legal requirements.
In the recent past, a Court of First Instance in the state of Georgia has decreed that Spribe OÜ change the name of its ‘Aviator’ game and has restrained Adjarabet from using the same name.
The website Aviator LLC which sued Spribe obtained $330 million accusing the latter of registering in bad faith and copying copyright materials. This can lead to an appeal by Flutter Entertainment whereby it owns Adjarabet and Spribe.
However, there was a decision of the Austrian Supreme Court: He lost €2 but the court said it was fair and reasonable to, play. A total of € 8 million while gambling at Bet-at-Home in the period between 2013 and 2017.
The court concluded that the player was a gambling addict, and legally incompetent to gamble and shifting the burden on bet-at-home to avoid such actions. Even though one of the subsidiaries bet-at-home Entertainment Ltd stopped its operations, bet-at-home.
Another subsidiary, com Internet Ltd, has been ruling the player under the tort law to pay back the amount. The Australian Medical Association has demanded that all forms of gambling adverts should be banned, arguing that anything short of this will not suffice for addressing the difficulties that Australia has in the gambling sector.
The Australian government is at the moment considering a ban on gambling ads as there is growing pressure from the public, politicians, and celebrities. However, this trend indicates, that the Albanese government has not taken concrete steps on the issue yet.
In the UK, for instance, the Gambling Commission better known by its trading name, UKGC has recently unveiled a new pilot program that aims to offer emphasis on affordability checks.
Helen Rhodes, Director of Major Policy Projects and Evaluation, stressed on such shields for preserving the vulnerable players who possibly are overspending. Not surprisingly, the UKGC wants to have these checks in place in a manner that is not inconvenient for the regular player base.
On the responsible gambling aspect, BetStop, Australia’s self-exclusion program, has turned one year old, and it has been a success. It has enrolled 28,000 participants, young people are also quite many, indicating that the country is willing to sponsor those who want to exercise restraint in gambling.
The ACMA has also stated that there are positive results from their unified self-exclusion program that has recorded high participation, thus showing Australians’ active participation in self-exclusion for gambling activities.
At the same time, in the United States, the American Gaming Association noted in this regard that American society has changed its perception of sports betting and gaming.
Another study shows that more people in America today are developing positive attitudes towards gambling firms and the industry, and it is putting efforts into ensuring that people gamble responsibly.
A conversation with Kenneth C. Wilbur, Professor of Marketing and Analytics at the Rady School, revealed insights into industry-related aspects of gambling policies. According to Professor Wilbur, a data-driven approach to regulation offers significant benefits, including increased tax revenues and enhanced efforts to promote responsible gambling.
In the recent interview with Sam DeMello the owner and CEO of Evive, the focus was set on how the company is addressing itself to the issues that go beyond the monetary aspect that is associated with gambling.
The author mentioned that DeMello has described these aspects in context to Evive and how they seek to ensure safe gambling and help their users understand the ways of changing the problematic behavior and becoming healthier gamblers.
