Europe

La Liga football clubs will be forced to remove all betting related sponsorships and in-stadia promotional materials in accordance with the government’s COVID-19 ‘Social Shield’ decree emergency response.  The top flight of Spanish football will return on Thursday 12 June with the Seville derby (Sevilla FC vs Real Betis) restarting La Liga’s postponed schedule after an 11-week hiatus.  Despite easing …

Gambling harm prevention consultancy EPIC Risk Management (EPIC) has become one of the first private companies to be listed on the UK Gambling Commission’s RET register. EPIC joins counterparts GambleAware, GamCare and YGAM on the list of approved organisations to which gambling companies are required to make social responsibility financial contributions in order to meet their licence conditions.  Under UKGC licence …

Spelinspektionen has issued a warning and SEK20m (€2m) penalty fee to Betsson Nordic for the sale of games through an unregistered agent and the use of an unauthorised bonus offer. Betsson was found to be allowing customers to fund their accounts through retail vouchers, while the regulator also ruled that a Betsson-branded Mastercard was offering players illegal bonuses. The online …

As technology continues to advance, so does the accessibility to gambling services, and the potential for it to become more normalised within our day to day lives. According to Paul Dent, Clinical Manager of Gambling Therapy at Gordon Moody Association, better technology can also be used to offer a wider support network to those afflicted by the issue of problem …

XLMedia has continued to pursue its expansion into ‘high-potential markets’ by instructing Akur Capital to commence its sales process for the majority of its Finnish-facing casino assets and publishing sites. The acquisition will allow XLMedia to ‘deliver more sustainable and predictable growth’ across regulated markets. It supports XLMedia’s three-pronged transformation strategy, which includes further investment into regulated markets, consolidation of …

Arena Racing Company (ARC) has confirmed that greyhound racing at Belle Vue greyhound stadium has been temporarily suspended. The racing group revealed that the lack of crowds has meant that fixtures have become ‘uneconomical’ to operate during the pandemic. As a result, Belle Vue’s existing BAGS fixtures will be moved to sister tracks within the ARC group. Rachel Corden, Greyhound …

Paddy Power has announced that it will reopen all betting shops in England, plus 150 Irish estates from Monday 15 June – ‘just in time for Royal Ascot’ (16-20 June). The bookmaker stated that its betting shops in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland remain closed until further notice by regional governments. Helping its retail staff work under unprecedented circumstances, Paddy …

French horseracing operator PMU has confirmed the election of Philippe Augier as new Chairman leading its corporate governance initiatives. Augier’s chairmanship was ratified following PMU’s annual general meeting and has received the approval of key racing stakeholders France Galop, as French horseracing’s governing body, and Le Trot – the operating company of French racing venues. The appointment sees PMU act swiftly …

Football media publisher Dugout has signed a collaboration deal with Sportal Media Group to distribute premium football video content via its new product Sportal365. Sportal365, a new Content Management System (CMS) tool designed for sports publishers and bookmakers, will be given access to Dugout’s collection of behind the scene and archived footage from over 100 of the world’s top football clubs, national leagues and federations. Sebastian Gray, …