Dutch Regulator Warns of Illegal Market Targeting Self-Excluded Users
Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) chairman Michel Groothuizen told the iGB Live audience on July 17 that illegal operators were “stretching the limits of what is permissible” in the Netherlands.
According to Groothuizen, illegal operators have been utilizing the KSA logo and Google Maps ads to target players via the national self-exclusion register Cruks.
“That simply beggars belief,” he said in his first speech since taking on the role on 1 July.
888 Parent Company Misses H1 Earnings Expectation
Evoke Plc missed its H1 2024 adjusted EBITDA target by £35m to £40m due to high marketing costs and lower than expected revenue, it said in a trading update this week.
The 888, William Hill and Mr Green parent company expects to mitigate its losses in H2 by employing up to £30m in cost savings and meeting its full year earnings expectation.
A change in leadership and operational overhaul were cited as key drivers for cost efficiencies in the second half of the year. This includes 888’s new strategy and value creation plan, set out in March.
Illegal Market Outstrips Licensed French Gambling
The illegal gambling problem has reached a tipping point, l’Association Française des Jeux En Ligne (AFJEL) has warned, with illegal players totalling four million in 2023, ahead of the regulated sector’s 3.6 million.
While French gambling regulator l’Autorite Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) predicted €1bn would be wagered on the tournament via licensed sites, AFJEL said around half of that figure was staked.
Ukraine Blocks More Illegal Sites, Self-Exclusion Register Surges
Ukraine’s gambling commission blocked 11 more unlicensed casino sites last week as new entries to the country’s national self-exclusion register surged 139% in the first half of 2024.
The data, revealed during a Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (KRAIL) meeting on 10 July, showed registrations were up 4,585 from the end of 2023, to 7,874 self-excluded players on 1 July.
Men accounted for 87% of the new sign-ups, while 41 new people were added to the register by the regulator via applications registered by their relatives.
DOCV Dismisses GGL Black Market Data, Warns of Regulatory Delays
Germany’s black market is far bigger than the country’s regulator claims, the Deutscher Online Casinoverband (DOCV) argued this week, as it lobbies for an accelerated review of the State Treaty on Gambling.
“The GGL stated the [black market] market share of around 4%. You would have €400m to €600m in illegal online gambling and €3 billion of legal online gambling, which would be a 20% market share for the black market,” DOCV vice-president and Entain regulatory affairs counsel Simon Priglinger-Simader told iGB.
Svenska Spel Bullish on Long-Term Growth Despite H1 Declines
Svenska Spel CEO and president Anna Johnson says despite reporting a decline in revenue and net profit during H1, recent action taken by the operator will support growth plans in the longer term.
