Europe

Sky Sports Racing secures NYRA and Woodbine partnerships

SBC News Sky Sports Racing secures NYRA and Woodbine partnerships

Demonstrating its commitment to North American racing, Sky Sports Racing has secured two multi-year partnerships with New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Woodbine Entertainment Group.  The two new agreements will see the broadcaster acquire the exclusive UK and Ireland broadcast rights for all races from Woodbine, Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont Park Racecourses  Matthew Imi, Chief Executive of At The Races, …

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Finnish ombudsman seeks to break-up Veikkaus control by state departments

veikkaus

Political debate on how to reform Veikkaus continues, as Finland’s Consumer Ombudsman urges the government to overhaul the gambling monopoly’s operational procedures and governance structures. Speaking to media, Krisi Leivo, Director General of Finland’s KKV Consumer Authority, stated that Veikkaus profits should be directly controlled by the state. Leivo believes that Veikkaus would be a more beneficial state asset if the monopoly …

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UKGC reports drop in underage gambling but maintains its concerns

SBC News UKGC reports drop in underage gambling but maintains its concerns

Publishing the results of its 2019 Young People & Gambling survey, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has found a decline in participation of gambling activities among 11 -16-year-olds in Great Britain.  The research, carried out by Ipsos MORI, looks at forms of gambling and gambling style games that young people legally take part in along with gambling on age restricted …

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Double zero roulette delivers income gains for Chisholm

Chisholm

The introduction of double zero roulette has made a “small but definite improvement to gaming machine income” at Chisholm Bookmakers. Three weeks ago, the game was introduced on a trial basis by Howard Chisholm, the bookmaker’s managing director, to offset the huge loss of income as a result of the government reducing max stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) …

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IBIA records ‘significant downturn in alerts’ in Q3 report

SBC News IBIA records ‘significant downturn in alerts’ in Q3 report

Publishing its quarterly report for Q3, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has noted a ‘significant downturn in alerts’ of suspicious betting activity to the relevant authorities. The IBIA has recorded 50 cases of suspicious betting during Q3, with tennis and football making up 90% of the alerts.  Khalid Ali, Secretary General of the International Betting Integrity Association, stated: “The …

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IGT & Scientific Games consortium secures Brazil’s LOTEX tender

SBC News IGT & Scientific Games consortium secures Brazil's LOTEX tender

Following seven failed attempts to sanction an effective tender process, BNDES – Brazil’s national development bank – has confirmed the sale of state-owned instant win games (scratchcard) operator LOTEX to ‘Consórcio Estrela Instantânea’ – a 50/50 joint venture consortium formed by IGT and Scientific Games Corporation (SGC). The IGT-SGC vehicle secures a 15-year concession, having been the only entity to bid …

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Chris Nikolopoulos, Betby: Striking out with a slicker sportsbook product

Betby

Betby is a new challenger in the sportsbook supply market having launched in late 2018. Fast forward just a year, and the company’s fully managed sportsbook service is already live with 16 brands, each offering odds on more than 400,000 sporting events across 60+ sports. We caught up with Chris Nikolopoulos, Commercial Director at Betby, to discuss the challenge of …

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Barcelona City Council gets tough on gambling venues

SBC News Barcelona City Council gets tough on gambling venues

Barcelona’s City Council has ruled that it will not permit the opening of any new gambling establishments, arcade, bingo hall or casino, as communicated in a statement sent to Catalunya’s municipal government. Barcelona’s executive states that it will trial its mandate for a period of one year in support of the city’s health networks dealing with addiction, and further underling …

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William Hill announces SBOTY2019 finalists

SBC News William Hill announces SBOTY2019 finalists

William Hill has announced the ‘final six’ books and authors that will compete for its ‘Sports Book of the Year’ (SBOTY2019) heritage award, a prize recognised as the most prestigious accolade in English sports literature. The bookmaker’s judging panel, which this year is led by The Times lead football journalist and author Alysson Rudd, has narrowed SBOTY2019’s initial longlist of …

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