Published 18.08.2019 Author: J.D Category: News
eSports is an industry that has been flourishing for a number of years, with player competition for millions of dollars all year round. It’s no surprise that there are a number of people around the world who are looking to add to their spectating experience and gamble on the outcome of matches and events.
A new report from the Department of Management at the University of Bristol entitled “Biddable Youth” explores the industries shortcomings when it comes to underage gambling exposure. Due to the nature of these video games being vastly popular with young people, there is a need to implement some additional age verification measures to help combat the issue.
Social media pages play a big role in promoting eSports events and betting odds across the internet and into the hands of young users. Additionally, it was found that 74% of eSports betting tweets were not in line with the UK’s advertising regulations, including misleading text and imagery, as well as featuring actors under the age of 25. The report found that around 50% of all users to interact with these tweets, are under the age of 16
Josh Smith, the co-author of the report addresses his findings by saying – “This report explores a vital new field of gambling online, which encourages people to bet on the outcome of video games. We found that high volumes of messages are produced to appeal particularly to children, with thousands of children in the UK following and responding to this content. We hope this report serves as a call to action – both to technology companies to make it easier for gambling customers to get a clear picture of what they’re getting into, and to regulators who must continue to ensure that these new actors are compliant with regulation.”
Published 17.08.2019 Author: J.D Category: News
The governing body of Cambodia are planning to halt all local online gambling operators, with the intention to preserve public order. Early last week, the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, issued a notice from the government stating that they “will stop the issuance of online gambling policy and licenses, both within and outside the Kingdom of Cambodia” effective immediately. The operators who still have a valid licence can continue until they expire, as they will not be renewed.
The change was justified by the government by claiming “foreign criminals have taken refuge in the form of this gambling to cheat and extort money from victims, domestic and abroad, which affect the security, public order and social order.” They followed this by saying that all levels of government, including the police “must take strict measures to implement this directive effectively.”
Lt. General Chhay Kim Khoeun, Police Spokesman stated that the authorities “have already been cracking down on illegal gambling operations and have already arrested hundreds of people.” He explained that, the police in Sihanoukville arrested 127 Chinese nationals, who were accused of running an illegal online gambling ring last week
This decision seems abrupt, as last week the only action taken on the matter was Cambodia’s Interior Ministry warning local gamblers who access internally licensed sites could fall victim to phishing schemes and theft of data. It seems this decision was quickly overruled by implementing a much stricter approach.
Published 16.08.2019 Author: J.D Category: News
Popular online gambling operator Kindred Group, has been hit with a fine of €470,000 after they were found guilty of serving Dutch gamblers without a local license. The online casino brand, Unibet was announced to be receiving the six-figure penalty by the Netherland’s regulatory body, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).
The KSA claimed that the illegal activity took place between August and December of last year, when Unibet was offering a chat service that supported Dutch, processed a number of player transactions through the popular Dutch payment processor iDeal and failed to include the Netherlands as a forbidden country in their terms and conditions.
The regulation team have repeatedly warned operators, especially after issuing a €350,000 fine to GVC Holdings’ Bwin last month, for a similar offense. Much like GVC, Kindred plan to appeal the KSA’s ruling and will attempt to apply for an online gambling license.
It’s said that the new Dutch gambling market is expected to launch in January 2021, giving plenty of time for them to review the applicants. They have recently announced that they have already received interest from around 200 operators and plan to begin the reviewing process in July 2020
This is the second large fine that the Kindred Group has received recently, after they were fined £1.6 million by the UK Gambling Commission after they allowed a customer to gamble with stolen funds in Unibet.
Published 14.08.2019 Author: J.D Category: News
The movement towards sports betting in the US has shown us a number of different approaches, with each state having a different process and rule set to what operators are allowed to offer. One common trend between the states is that sports betting is restricted to professional sport, with a ban on wagering on collegiate events.
However, a New Mexico casino going by the name of Isleta Resort & Casino has decided to accept bets on both football and basketball college games. The only condition to this, is that they must involve in-state teams from the University of New Mexico and the New Mexico State University.
Harold Baugus, The CEO of Isleta Resort & Casino said - “There is a huge Lobo and Aggie following in this market. We feel there is enough training and measures in place that taking bets on UNM and NMSU games won’t be a problem.”
The University of New Mexico’s Athletic Director, Eddie Nuñez commented