BetCity ends partnership with Netherlands-facing affiliates
BetCity will end at least some, and most likely all of its Netherlands-facing affiliate partnerships from July 1. The new restrictions on online gambling services, combined with the operator's liability for third-party advertising violations, make it impossible for the operator to continue its existing partnerships, BetCity said in an email sent to its current affiliate partners.
Furthermore, BetCity will be voiding all payments arising after July 1 that are related to prior referrals and existing revenue share models.
“Payment obligations under the affiliate agreement that would arise after July 1, 2023 will become void. Of course, outstanding payments from before that date will still be paid,” the email adds.
Entain to acquire Polish betting operator STS for £750m
Entain announced on Tuesday it will buy Poland-based sports betting operator STS Holdings for £750m.
STS, founded in 1997, is one of the largest bookmakers in Poland and has licenses to operate in the UK and Estonia.
“We are delighted to be acquiring the leading sports-betting operator in Poland, which is a hugely exciting and fast-growing market,” Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen said.
“The transaction is perfectly aligned with our Entain CEE strategy and our wider M&A strategy of acquiring high quality businesses with leading positions in attractive, growing and regulated markets.”
In recent years, Entain has expanded rapidly by acquiring successful local markets, including BetCity in the Netherlands.
Kindred sale price estimated at €4bn
Following the launch of Kindred's strategic review, several companies have expressed interest in potentially acquiring the operator.
Earnings+More reports that analysts at the Jefferies Group believe that – despite the minuses of a depleted top team, Norwegian legal woes, and 19% unregulated revenues – there may be significant upside to acquiring Kindred.
Because of this, the sale price of the company is estimated at approximately €4bn, or 11x EV/EBITDA.
OpenBet acquires Neccton
OpenBet, a leading service provider to the sports betting industry, has acquired responsible gaming and AML services provider, Neccton for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition of Neccton is intended to strengthen OpenBet's player protection offerings. OpenBet already serves an extensive roster of customers including FanDuel, DraftKings, Entain, Sky Bet, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Loto Québec, and more.
Neccton was founded by leading responsible gaming expert Dr. Michael Auer.
Jordan Levin, CEO of OpenBet, said: “Since the birth of online sports betting, OpenBet has been at the forefront of creating compelling and safe entertainment experiences built on solid technology foundations. We thrive on solving the most complex challenges our industry presents, and OpenBet’s acquisition of Neccton takes our commitment to player protection and AML to the next level."
Netherlands Gambling Authority issues fines, conditional penalty payments
The Netherlands Gambling Authority has issued a €400,000 fine to locally licensed operator Bingoal for failing to exclude young adults from receiving promotional email messages.
Dutch law stipulates that licensed operators cannot send any form of advertising to young adults between the ages of 18 and 23, even if they are registered with the operator.
Earlier, Nederlandse Loterij, Jacks.nl, Bet365, and BetCity were hit with identical fines for similar rule violations. All fined operators claimed that Dutch regulations only prohibit the specific targeting of young adults, rather than amount to a blanket prohibition on sending marketing messages to younger players.
In related news, the Dutch regulator also issued conditional penalty payments to unlicensed operators Winning Poker Network and Goldwin Ltd.
According to the Dutch regulator, Winning Poker Network failed to comply with the gambling authority's demands, causing the conditional penalty payment to be converted into a fine of €75,000.
Upcoming events
The following event(s) may be of interest to the GiH community.
Don't miss the virtual event “Using Gamification, Metaverse and AI in Gaming,” brought to you by the Gaming Operations Academy and Gamanza Group. The event has been scheduled to take place Thursday, July 6, 16:00-17:00 CET.
Trade show and conference iGB Live! will take place July 11-14 at RAI Amsterdam.
The 2023 Gaming in Germany Conference has been scheduled to take place October 16, 2023, in Berlin. Additional details will follow soon. Don't miss it. Save the date!
VIDEO | GiH Conference keynote speeches: René Jansen & Fedor Meerts
Last week saw another successful edition of our annual Gaming in Holland Conference. Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing video recordings of most of the individual sessions.
We are kicking off that series today by releasing video recordings of the presentations of René Jansen, Chair of the Netherlands Gambling Authority, and Fedor Meerts, Department Head Integrity & Gambling, Ministry of Justice & Security.
Mr. Jansen's speech addressed the new online gambling advertising restrictions, as well as operators’ duty of care and general market developments.
Unfortunately, Mr. Jansen's remark that the regulator would not immediately enforce the new rules with full strictness, due to these rules being “a new and uncharted area for us as well,” was not well received by several MPs who proceeded to submit Parliamentary questions to the responsible minister to demand immediate and uncompromising enforcement by the regulator (regardless of the lack of clarity of the new regulations).
Watch Mr. Jansen's speech below:
Fedor Meerts, who represented the Ministry of Justice & Security, also addressed the coming advertising restrictions, and furthermore, announced the next area of reform: the introduction of stricter and more extensive player protection measures.
Watch his full speech here:
Other news
The Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF) has elected several new board members, including Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, representing French regulator Autorité nationale des jeux, as the organization's new chair. Falque-Pierrotin succeeds outgoing chair René Jansen.
Bayton Ltd, owner of the JackpotCity brand, is no longer a member of trade associations NOGA, and appears to have abandoned its plans to enter the regulated Dutch market.
Greentube, the Novomatic Digital Gaming and Entertainment division, has launched its game library in the licensed Dutch market alongside operator bet365.
Flutter will roll out Stakelogic’s full portfolio of classic and modern video slots across Flutter's brands in the UK.
Sportsbook provider Kambi has secured B2B gambling licenses in Sweden from the country's gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen. All iGaming suppliers operating in Sweden must hold a B2B licence from 1 July, to facilitate the fight against illegal gambling and to promote market channelization.
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