UK

Tipico, Germany’s biggest betting firm, is reported to be ‘among the frontrunners’ vying to acquire William Hill’s UK and European offcuts, put up for sale by Caesars Entertainment. As reported by Sky News this afternoon, ‘City sources’ have disclosed that Tipico tabled a ‘credible offer to Caesars’ – who have priced William Hill’s surplus units at a combined value of …

The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) has published its annual report for the year 2019/20, reiterating calls for the creation of a gambling ombudsman to handle industry related complaints.  Overall, IBAS found that the volume of formal requests for adjudication were reduced by approximately 15%, largely attributed to the closure of betting shops, racecourses, casinos and bingo clubs, although the number …

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has launched a new service combining all applications for personal licences and Annex A approvals, entitled ‘Apply for a Personal Licence’. Covering both personal function licences (PFL) and personnel management licences (PML) – as well as the aforementioned Annex A – Apply for a Personal Licence is supported by an ‘updated processing tool’ enabling faster …

The Advertising Standards Association (ASA) has urged adult-content advertisers to make better use of audience and media targeting tools to minimise children’s exposure to age-restricted adverts.  The plea – directed to alcohol, gambling, and high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) advertisers – follows ASA’s latest ‘monitoring sweep’ of online advertising platforms measuring the coverage of age-restricted adverts to UK audiences. …

Entain Plc is planning on improving safety and support structures of its interactive entertainment projects as the company aims to implement lessons learned in other sectors to safeguard the growth of its wider customer base. Through its not-for-profit Entain Foundation, the Group plans to build on work initiated with partners in the US to help video gaming and esports players …

Gaming technology provider Playtech has received GamCare’s B2B Safer Gambling Standard, becoming the first gambling industry incumbent to receive the newly created certification. Playtech’s casino product and platforms licenced in Great Britain were the primary reason for the firm’s accreditation, in addition to its ‘Sustainable Success’ business strategy and its implementation of an external Stakeholder Advisory Board. These operations and …

Sportech Plc has confirmed that it has completed its full public listings migration onto the London AIM exchange.  As of 8:00 AM this morning, the London AIM accepted the admission of Sportech shares priced at 20 pence each, with the wagering and racing systems supplier maintaining its ‘SPO’ ticker. Sportech’s listings migration was first proposed last June, as the company’s …

DCMS has launched an inquiry to evaluate and examine its handling of the ‘competition process’ of the National Lottery’s operating tender.  Despite facing several COVID-19 related headwinds, the ‘Fourth National Lottery Competition’ was officially launched on 28 August 2020 – overseen by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) and its Advisory Panel. The ongoing multi-billion competition seeks to award the next …

GambleAware has published its list of Q1 betting industry donors, revealing that Entain topped its list of contributors with a donation of £2 million. GambleAware currently requests that all licensed operators donate 0.1% of their gross annual gambling yield directly to GambleAware, whilst firms with an annual gross gambling revenue under £250,000 per annum are asked to donate a minimum …