UK broadcasters’ ITV and Sky have made their first moves into the burgeoning eSports market by investing in 24-hour video gaming channel Ginx TV. ITV and Sky have each invested £1.5 million in Ginx TV for a reported 16.5% stake in the company. Furthermore, as investors the broadcasters will be given first rights to increase their shareholdings in the TV …

European bookmaker Betway has announced that it has secured its second ‘landmark’ Belgium football partnership, by agreeing terms with the Royal Belgian Football Association (Belgian FA) to sponsor the ‘Croky Cup’ the country’s principal cup competition. The Croky Cup (Belgian Cup) which begins its first round of matches tonight, sees all levels of Belgium football compete in a knockout competition. …

Kicking off the first day’s breakout sessions at BOS, Future Shock – Money Laundering, Data Protection & Responsible Gambling was an interactive workshop presented by David Clifton and Suzanne Davies of Clifton Davies Consultancy and Roy Ramm of Extrayard, together with comment from Jenny Williams, former CEO of the Gambling Commission. It focused on key regulatory issues affecting the betting …

Updating industry stakeholders, the Greek Syriza government has announced that it will implement its new gambling licensing regime by October, opening its market to foreign operators. This September, Deputy Finance Minister Trifon Alexiadis informed Greek news sources that regulatory and business provisions would be made available ‘within a month.’ Following amendments, the Syriza government is confident that its new licensing …

Industry body The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) urges the Polish Government to change its online sports betting tax regime to one based on gross profits rather than turnover. The Polish Government adopted a Bill on 19 July to amend the existing online gambling law. Despite the stated objectives, which include reducing the size of the unregulated market, the Bill does …

The Belarusian Ice Hockey Association (BIHA) has become the latest European sporting body to sign up to Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System (FDS). Sports data, analysis and insights provider Sportradar will now monitor BIHA syndicated matches for the Belarusian ExtraLiga and Ruslan Salei Cup for the next two seasons. Signing the agreement BIHA governance stated that it was pleased to gain …

In a move to boost its cross-channel customer engagement capabilities, Ladbrokes has implemented industry marketing and CRM specialist Beehives tools’ across its retail estates. The FTSE-listed operator expands its current partnership with Beehive, who have delivered CRM solutions across Ladbrokes digital divisions in the past twelve months. Ladbrokes retail will be armed with Beehive’s ‘sophisticated CRM engine,’ allowing the division …

London FTSE-listed online gambling operator GVC Holdings Plc (GVC) has this morning announced that Group Chief Financial Officer Richard Cooper is set to step down from its board in February 2017. GVC governance informed that Cooper has decided to leave the company in order to ‘pursue private business interests’. The operator has found a direct replacement for Cooper, confirming that …

Changing political dynamics combined with unpredictable voter behaviour has seen politics return to the top of bookmakers’ agendas. Opening Betting on Sports (BOS) ‘Politics Session,’ Matthew Shaddick Head of Political Betting at Ladbrokes detailed to delegates that the market was no longer considered ‘expensive wallpaper’ used by bookmakers for PR outreach. Detailing a ‘vibrant market,’ Shaddick stated that recent political …

FTSE-listed gambling operator Rank Group Plc (Rank) has announced two leadership appointments for its core assets, Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo. Updating the market, Rank governance announced that Martin Pugh has been appointed Managing Director of its Grosvenor Casino division, having served as leader of Mecca Bingo (2014-2016). Pugh replaces Mark Jones as Grosvenor leader, who departed the company last …