U.K. Sector Uncertain of Impact from Financial Risk Checks
“Light-touch” financial risk checks were implemented on Aug. 30, aimed at flagging players’ whose net monthly deposit hits £500 ($658) to operators and checking their credit history for unpaid debt or other financial concerns. A second phase will commence in February 2025 bringing the threshold down to £150.
The checks form part of a scheme by the U.K. Gambling Commission to better inform them and the wider sector on the affordability of gamblers in the U.K.
However, industry lawyer Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners flags huge gaps in the policy, causing confusion among operators. “Say you find somebody with a county court judgment for debt, what do you do with that information? That won’t be standardized across the sector,” he asked.
Additional checks are also in place for high spending players of top tier operators.
Finnish Trade Body: Bonusing Ban Could Drive Players to Illegal Market
The Finnish government’s plans to heavily restrict marketing in its liberalization of the gambling market will do little to channel players to licensed operators, warns Mika Kuismanen, CEO of Finnish online gambling trade body Rahapeliala Ry.
Finland is preparing to liberalize online gambling in early 2027. The ministry of the Interior said it was targeting a 90 percent channelization rate for licensed operators.
Regulations proposed strict rules around marketing, including a ban on bonusing and affiliates, as well as influencer marketing, which has been criticized by various industry stakeholders.
In the association’s response to the draft, Kuismanen said he supported market liberalization, but added restrictions around marketing were “unjustifiably limiting” and could impact channelization in the licensed market.
UKGC Delays Direct Opt-In Marketing Update to May 2025
The U.K. regulator is delaying the implementation of an update to the Social Responsibility Code on direct marketing by consent. The update will now come into force on May 1, 2025, instead of the original date of Jan. 17, 2025.
Operators said the original wording for paragraph six of the Social Responsibility Code section 5.1.12 was unclear and warned the language used suggested they would have to deny service to already opted-in customers until they confirmed their preferences.
The Gambling Commission confirmed marketing preferences can be mapped across. However, this is only permitted once the player has opted in to receive direct marketing for specific products and through specific channels such as email or text.
Livescore May Not Have Entered Netherlands Under Current Regulations
LiveScore Group CEO Sam Sadi has admitted he may not have entered the Netherlands under its current regulatory regime. “Single-digit market share owner operators are on the brink of being exited from the market due to regulation” he says.
Sadi believes the current business model is becoming too expensive for mid-tier operators to navigate. LiveScore Bet was among the first to enter the Netherlands’ licensed online gambling market in September 2021. However tightening regulations on advertising and tax hikes have created an increasingly onerous burden for licensees.
“Making decisions to enter a market rely on complex models towards investment and, at some point, reaching profitability. If the fundamentals change over time, you need to revisit and refinance your business and question whether there is long-term viability in the market,” Sadi says.
Svenska Spel Low-Risk Player Revenue Hits 93 Percent in Q2
Swedish monopoly Svenska Spel says 93.2 percent of its Q2 online revenue related to low-risk players, after the operator contacted 2 percent of its customer base in H1 about risky gambling behaviors.
Svenska Spel said its low-risk or “healthy” revenue had increased by 1 percent from Q1, on various measures that improved player protection. The data does not include its retail Casino Cosmopol player base.
Its in-house analysis tool Playscan is used to assess player risks and categorize them based on their gambling habits. This data was used to determine how much revenue was earned from low- versus high-risk players. Playscan, developed in collaboration with problem gambling tool developer Sustainable Interaction, is designed to help customers keep track of their habits and detect risky behaviors early on.
