Major sporting events across Ireland are to face further setbacks after the Irish government confirmed that all mass gatherings of over 5,000 people will be banned until 1 September. The new restrictions will impact the 2020 All-Ireland championships, the League of Ireland, racing festivals and a number of other sporting events. Issuing a statement, government sources have said that local …
Read More »
A strong opening to 2020 trading for Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) has been halted by COVID-19 disruptions, said the company, impacting its lottery and sports betting retail networks. According to its Q1 2020 trading update, FDJ has recorded a 5% decline in stakes to €4.1 billion (Q12019: €4.3bn), underlining a 60% drop in retail sales since 16 March – the …
Read More »
The Parliamentary All Party Betting & Gaming Group (APBGG) has confirmed that it has launched its review of the Gambling Act 2005, pre-empting the review to be launched by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). The review, which will take place online, will consider written evidence from industry stakeholders and hold a series of meetings with experts …
Read More »
Closing Tuesday trading, Flutter Entertainment governance confirms that company shareholders have approved the FTSE100 firm’s merger bid with Toronto TSX rival The Stars Group Inc (TSG). This afternoon, Flutter governance confirmed that following the conclusion of its extraordinary general meeting, group investors backed the Flutter-TSG combination by 99%. The merger which seeks to create a new $11 billion global gambling …
Read More »
As the race to offer ever more varied and engaging markets to punters continues, a start-up B2B supplier has made the familiar experience of fantasy football games the central theme of its fixed-odds betting product. 20Shots has developed software that allows operators to offer a range of fixed-odds fantasy football markets, with fans able to bet on the performance of …
Read More »
The government has urged UK gambling operators to ramp up its protection measures during the COVID-19 lockdown in a bid to mitigate what it has described as a “heightened risk of problem gambling”. In a letter to five chief executives of the largest gambling companies, the sports minister Nigel Huddleston (DCMS) has emphasised that “messages warning of risks and signposting …
Read More »
GML Interactive, the operating company of Greek online bookmaker Stoiximan, has disclosed that OPAP SA will increase its majority shareholding in the betting group to 84.5%. The transaction will see Athens-listed OPAP continue to increase its equity in Stoiximan’s Greek and Cypriot operations, having become the majority shareholder of the betting asset in 2019 after securing a 51% stake for …
Read More »
Businesses the world over are facing unprecedented challenges and our industry is no different, writes Digitain Head of Sales Simon Westbury. Heading into a summer when an eagerly anticipated calendar of live sporting fixtures has been derailed, operators and suppliers alike are searching frantically for alternatives. Despite the extensive disruption to live sport, there remains a whole host of options …
Read More »
GambleAware has revealed that donations to the charity have surpassed its £10 million minimum target for the first time. Publishing the full list of donations received between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, it revealed that gambling operators and suppliers had made £10.05 million in voluntary donations to the charity, which is not inclusive of money received through regulatory …
Read More »
Paddy Power has backed ‘Too Hot To Handle’ , a dating show recently launched by Netflix, to outperform ITV’s ‘Love Island’ – the current kingpin of reality TV. Launched this weekend, Too Hot To Handle sees US streaming giant Netflix develop its first exclusive reality dating series, seeking to woo audiences starved of entertainment content during the lockdown period. Noting a positive reaction to the …
Read More »
SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry