SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
We saw some big decisions transpire in the gambling industry in the first few months of 2024. SBC’s year in review takes a closer look at the first three months of the year.
January started off strong with the news that Brazil’s President had signed Bill PL3626/23 into law – establishing the regulatory framework for the country to launch its federal sports betting marketplace.
Lula da Silva’s endorsement completed the legislative process, steering clear of the 2022 impasse when former President Jair Bolsonaro withheld federal sign-off of sports betting.
In the same week, Italy announced that it would undertake a sweeping reform of its online gambling laws in 2024, as the government approved the ‘Reorganisation Decree’ mandate needed to settle long-standing industry conflicts.
Meanwhile, we saw a gigantic boom in interest for darts following Luke Littler’s debut at the World Championships. The tournament saw Paddy Power pledge £1,000 to Prostate Cancer UK for every 180 thrown.
Following the most-ever viewed darts final, and with 914 180s being hit, the Irish bookmaker rounded the figure up to a whopping £1m.
Also in January came a big decision for Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén – who founded the company back in 2010 – as he expressed his intention to step down as CEO of the Stockholm-listed sports betting technology group.
Similarly, over at the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), Brigid Simmonds OBE also confirmed that she was to step down as Chair of the industry trade and standards body for UK gambling.
“It has been a privilege to play my part in the development of the BGC since its formation in 2019 and it has been an honour to represent the 110,000 people whose jobs rely on the regulated betting and gaming industry,” she said.
Rod Street too opted to step down as CEO of Great British Racing Limited (GBR) not so long after.
Furthermore, the first month of 2024 also saw Groupe FDJ first outline its ambitions to create a “new European gaming champion” by launching a €2.6bn all cash tender offer to acquire Kindred Group Plc outright. The offer – which was said to come at a crucial time for the online gambling industry in France – was completed in October.
A couple of significant rebrands occurred in January too, with German gaming giant Gauselmann Group officially changing its name to Merkur Group and Oddschecker Global Media becoming FairPlay Sports Media.
“It’s been a long standing key component of the Oddschecker Group, so Fair Play just enables us to bring this to life in a more meaningful way and share that capability a lot more transparently with operators and the industry, to understand what we’re all about,” Oddschecker CEO, Stuart Simms, told SBC.
Next, in February a few significant sports deals were secured. Betano was named the official partner of the South American Football Confederation, CONMEBOL, in a deal that is set to run until 2028.
That same week, Unibet partnered with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) to become the official sportsbook and betting partner of PFL Europe in the UK and France in 2024 and 2025.
Stake also announced a collaboration with the UFC in the first quarter of the year, and Betano was also named the new shirt sponsor of Aston Villa FC.
Affordability remained a hot topic during Q1 with several discussions taking place between industry leaders.
“We are clear that financial risk checks should not overregulate the gambling sector, should not unduly disrupt the millions of people who gamble without suffering harm, and should not cause unnecessary damage to the industry,” noted then-DCMS Undersecretary Stuart Andrew.
“As there is currently no legislative opportunity to amend the levy, I have encouraged the betting and racing industries to work together on a voluntary deal. I am very grateful for the constructive manner in which those negotiations have taken place.”
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) was also persistent in advocating for the government to comprehensively evaluate the implementation of financial risk checks on UK gambling customers.
Going back to the DCMS, March oversaw Stuart Andrew explaining that the Gambling Review’s White Paper carries the “clearest mandate to strengthen protections against gambling-related harms”.
The statement was made at a Parliamentary Forum hosted by Gambling with Lives (GWL), the charity and industry reform organisation supporting families bereaved by gambling suicides.
Finally, Q3 closed with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) confirming that all licence holders must submit regulatory returns on a quarterly basis from 1 July.
It said that quarterly submissions will enable the Commission to improve its budget and forecasting “through an improved ability to understand income levels on a more regular basis”.
