Regulation round-up 16 May 2017
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (10 May to 16 May 2017)
British regulator places 888 under review
Gambling Commission says it’s assessing 888 subsidiary, which EGR understands to be operating arm Cassava, for possible breach of social responsibility requirements
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission is currently reviewing whether an 888 Holdings subsidiary has breached its social responsibility requirements and licence conditions, it was announced Monday.
888 informed the market the Commission was conducting a review into “the manner in which a subsidiary of the Company (the “Licensee”) has carried on its licensed activities to ensure compliance” with the licence held by the licensee.
EGR Intel understands the “subsidiary” in question is 888’s operating arm 888 UK, which effectively means the entire UK-facing business is under review.
“The review has been initiated to assess certain measures that the Licensee employs to ensure social responsibility to its customers including, amongst other items, effective self-exclusion tools across different operating platforms,” an 888 statement read.
PKR administrators actively seeking a sale
PKR’s newly appointed administrators insist a sale of the full business is their number one priority.
David Taylor and Matthew Meadley Wild of RSM Restructuring Advisory were last week appointed administrators of PKR by the High Court, after the 3D poker site filed for administration earlier this month.
Taylor, one of the joint administrators, said in a statement: “In the first instance, the administrators will be actively seeking a buyer for the business and assets as a whole.”
Seven days in regulation:
Gambling Commission appoints new COO
The British Gambling Commission has appointed former Business in the Community executive director David Pemberton to replace Sue Harley as chief operating officer (COO).
Pemberton, who will join the regulator in June, will oversee the Gambling Commission’s corporate services including HR, finance, IT, planning and risk.
He joins after previously working for the business-led charity Business in the Community for more than 13 years, where he ran regional operations in the East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber.
Closing EuroMillions betting loophole “not in public interest”, Lottoland says
Lottoland has warned the UK government against making any knee-jerk regulatory or legislative changes following its consultation into whether betting on EuroMillions draws should be allowed to continue.
In March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said it would look at whether it should close a loophole which enables operators such as Lottoland to take bets on the outcome of the EuroMillions draws.
According to the DCMS, the offer of bets on the lottery meant ticket sales could “continue to be hit” and “draw money away from good causes in the UK that benefit as a result”.
Sportsbet defends ad featuring drug cheat
Sportsbet has rejected calls to pull its latest TV advert, which features Olympic drug cheat Ben Johnson promoting the Paddy Power Betfair operator’s new “juiced up” app.
The ad, which debuted over the weekend, features lines like: “Everyone’s on it and it’s an unfair advantage,” and “Sportsbet’s new jacked up, feature-injected Android App, puts the “roid” in Android”.
The ad prompted an immediate backlash in Australia, with politicians and anti-doping agencies among those filing complaints.