Industry Giant Entain Hires New CEO
Former Games Global chair Gavin Isaacs will replace Stella David as CEO of Entain. David had been serving as interim CEO since the exit of Jette Nygaard-Andersen late last year, and she will succeed the outgoing Barry Gibson as chair at the end of September.
Isaacs has also been a board member at DraftKings and chair of SBTech and prior to this, from June 2014 and December 2016, he was president and CEO of Scientific Games (now Light & Wonder).
U.K. Gambling Commission Releases First Gambling Survey
The U.K. gambling regulator’s first iteration of the annual survey revealed a new scoring system (PGSI) to determine player problem gambling risks. Broken down by age, the 18- to 24-year-old category had the most problem gamblers by PGSI score (9.1 percent). The figure dropped slightly in the next age bracket to 8.4 percent, with the 55- to 64-year-old bracket having the lowest percentage of high-risk players (0.7 percent)
In person betting on “non-sports events” represented the vertical with the highest average proportion of high-risk players (PGSI score of 8+). For online slots, rates were nearly 6 times higher than average.
German Regulator Bans Gambling Advertising Via Streamers
Germany’s Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder’s (GGL) has taken a hard line against gambling advertising via live streamers, to increase the protection of minors and at-risk players.
The decision follows a July 11 ruling by Germany’s Higher Administrative Court which backed the German regulator’s ban on streamers based outside of Germany from advertising illegal German gambling sites, in a specific case brought by a popular streamer.
The regulator said: “The GGL prohibits even licensed gambling providers from regularly advertising via streamers by including a corresponding additional provision [in its rules on player protection].”
Omnichannel Crucial for Balkans Gambling Growth
Online operators targeting growth in the Balkans gambling markets such as Serbia and Croatia must factor retail betting into their plans, local gaming expert and ex-MaxBet managing director Lazar Muicin told iGB.
While he believes tier one operators are eyeing up the region, he warned there are significant barriers to entry for those looking to gain a foothold in Balkans gambling markets. “It is one of the most difficult markets to operate in because of the huge impact of retail,” he explained.
U.K. Sports Bodies Unveil New Sponsorship Codes of Conduct
The U.K. Premier League and British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are among the U.K. sporting bodies that have issued new “socially responsible” codes of conduct for gambling sponsorships to protect vulnerable viewers.
The football code mandates, under the protection guideline, that sponsorship deals must avoid promoting to vulnerable groups such as minors. On social responsibility, gambling sponsorship must be promoted and delivered in a socially responsible way via education and awareness messages.
EGBA Chief Calls for Iceland to “Rethink” Monopoly
European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) secretary-general Martin Haijer believes Iceland can follow Nordic neighbors Denmark and Sweden by successfully adopting an open licensing regime for gambling operators.
A report earlier this year by the Iceland Review magazine claimed that Icelanders spend about ISK20bn (£112m/€134m/$146m) on unregulated foreign gambling websites annually.
