SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
CopyBet has joined the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the standards body that represents around 90% of the regulated gambling industry in the UK.
Launched in 2016, CopyBet allows users to copy the bets made by others on the platform, which also includes tipsters rankings based on both their recent betting performance and profitability.
The firm, which operates under a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence and also holds a Class B bookmaker license in Cyprus, supports both pre-match and in-play betting markets.
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the BGC, stated: “We are thrilled to welcome CopyBet as a member of our expanding and diverse membership at the BGC. We look forward to collaborating with CopyBet, and all our members, as we work together to raise standards across the industry.”
Integrity is key
The news comes not long after Coybet was welcomed by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as its newest member.
CopyBet now feeds integrity data from its online betting platform into IBIA’s global monitoring network, joining more than 80 companies operating over 140 sports betting brands with a total handle of $300bn per year.
The operator has been working to enhance its brand visibility over recent years, including through several sports sponsorships. This association with sports betting may have influenced the firm in deciding to take a more active role in integrity.
Currently, the brand is the official front-of-shirt sponsor of EFL’s Queens Park Rangers FC, as well as the partner of several Cyprian football teams such as AEK Larnaca, PΑC Omonia 29M, Enosis Neon Paralimni and Aris Limassol.
It also made its racing debut last year as sponsor of the November Racing Weekend at Ascot. Meanwhile, Irish jockey Jonathan Burke is also a CopyBet brand ambassador.
Anton Ivanov, Business Development Director of CopyBet UK, said of the firm joining the BGC: “CopyBet is pleased to announce its membership of the BGC. We look forward to working with other members to help raise industry standards further and create a culture of safer betting.”
Black market concerns loom
As the BGC continues to prioritise player safety, earlier this month, the group commissioned research which has sparked several fears that a tax increase on online gambling in the UK would make customers turn to unregulated betting sites.
Remote activities are currently hit at 21% of operator profit, while General Betting Duty is taxed at 15% of profit and Pool Betting Duty at 15% of net stake receipts. The rate of the potential new Betting & Gaming Duty (BGD) is not yet clear.
The BGC warned that this shift could not only fail to generate more tax revenue but also jeopardise player safety, as well as severely impact the financial health of sports, particularly horse racing.
Hurst said: “It’s clear it will not raise more tax, it simply risks forcing huge numbers of customers out of the regulated market, with its world leading standards on player safety, into the arms of the growing, illegal, unregulated and unsafe gambling black market online.”
“Any tax rises would make a mockery of the Government’s growth strategy and be catastrophic for horseracing, which is already facing a bleak financial outlook.”
