Every week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most fascinating stories. Our latest reflection features an update on Brazil’s gambling regulation, GamCare research and a pre-close trading update from XLMedia.
3626
Online gaming has been left in limbo as there was long-awaited progress with the Brazilian sports betting bill.
After a myriad of delays, the Senate of Brazil did approve the ‘basic text’ of Bill 3626/2023, however, the bill will be subject to further analysis.
Nonetheless, the Senate detailed it has upheld an appeal by Liberal Party Senator Carlos Portinho (RJ) to exclude online casino modalities from the legislation.
It continued a period of indecision when it came to online casinos, as the sector failed to enjoy the same progress as sports betting in the region.
200
GamCare research has highlighted a connection between cryptocurrency investing and gambling, as people suffering from harm in either vertical experience similar difficulties.
The UK gambling charity noted that 200 calls were received by the National Gambling Helpline over the past two years from people who stated they were struggling with online financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.
Calls included “accounts of people losing over £50,000 through their trading, and young adults who spent mortgage deposits on cryptocurrency but ultimately lost large amounts of money to it”.
Raminta Diliso, Financial Harm Manager at GamCare, commented: “For many consumers, cryptocurrency purchases are a way to diversify their investment portfolio.
“However, what we have seen on the National Gambling Helpline over the past few years is that serious harm can occur if it goes too far and it’s not always the get-rich-quick opportunity some people may think it is.
“The volatility and unpredictability of these currencies can sometimes create a similar environment to gambling, where people are starting to chase the rush rather than feel they are engaging in a financial activity.”
52
XLMedia has published a pre-close trading update for 2023, noting that it has explored possibly selling the whole company but has been unable to find suitable value for its assets.
In addition, the company’s North American revenues for the year are expected to finish strong but below previous forecasts, group revenues to be between $50m and $52m, while adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $12m to $14m.
Regarding M&A activity, XLMedia noted that following the sale of three European casino assets in July, the company’s board is exploring further asset sales opportunities and has had early talks with potential purchasers.
However, the board stated that there is “no certainty that any sales will be completed”.
XLMedia has also explored the possibility of selling the entire company over the past couple of months. While there has been a “demand for the assets”, a sale of the whole company is “unlikely to create the most value for shareholders”.
The company added that no discussions are currently ongoing regarding a sale, so the board “does not plan to undertake the sale of the whole company at this time”.
2024
Colombia’s Federal Gambling Authority, Coljuegos, has revealed plans to overhaul the rules on owning and operating electronic slot machines in the nation.
Via the ‘regulatory project’, Coljuegos plans to initiate the changes in 2024 in a move deemed critical as the regulator aims to reduce illicit activity in the form of unauthorised ESMs across the country’s 32 federal territories.
Colombia’s regulatory overhaul for slot machines is accompanied by a ‘public comment period’, which will run until December 14 to allow industry stakeholders and interested parties to submit feedback on initial proposals.
According to the authority, the project will promote “territorial development with the replacement of illegal economies with legal ones, considering the productive capacities of intervened areas.”
35
Blackpool MP Scott Benton has been suspended from Parliament for 35 days following a standards committee report accusing the MP of corruption.
Benton currently governs as an independent after having the Tory whip withdrawn over a lobbying scandal, which saw two journalists pose as gambling industry investors, where Benton agreed to table questions for the industry.
The decision may well lead to a by-election in the region, which is home to a significant number of casinos and plays host to a large number of tourists each year.
2.25
AGCOM, the Media and Communications Authority of Italy, has issued sanctions of €2.25m and €900,000 on Google and Twitch respectively for violations of the advertising laws of the Dignity Decree.
Issuing the fines, AGCOM stated that its attention had been drawn to Google’s YouTube platform and the Twitch streaming service “following numerous reports received by the Authority”.
The Authority’s investigations uncovered in excess of 80 YouTube and Twitch channels with more than 20,000 videos promoting slot machines, gambling, sports betting, and scratch cards.
The channels infringed on the laws of the Dignity Decree, imposed in July 2018. Passed into federal law in 2019 by the former Lega-5Star coalition government, the Dignity Decree imposed a blanket ban on all forms of gambling advertising (legacy and online) and across all Italian sports (professional and amateur).
