Compliance Updates
The Edge Interviews Steve Bittenbender: Discusses Sports Betting in Georgia, Alabama and Missouri
Half of all SEC states do not have legal sports betting. On The Edge with Larry Henry, Gambling.com Group’s Steve Bittenbender predicts sports betting legislation could be approved during this year’s legislative sessions in Alabama and Georgia in part because of ‘more acceptance among some conservative’ lawmakers.
Sports betting then would require a public vote in Alabama and possibly Georgia. Bittenbender said those two states stand a good chance of legalizing sports betting. “Those are the two, I think, I’m most bullish on,” Bittenbender said of Alabama and Georgia.
In Missouri, ‘rancor’ in the state Senate means a sports betting bill probably won’t pass, Bittenbender said, but the state’s major sports leagues are circulating a petition among registered voters to let the public decide on the November ballot.
The pro sports teams aren’t waiting for the Legislature, Bittenbender said.
“They’ve been down that road before and they’ve seen how that story ends up,” he said. “The best chance that it’ll have is through this referendum process.”
On Alabama and Georgia:
“In Georgia, it passed the Senate and it’s now going over to the House. And in Alabama, it’s the other way around. It cleared the House first and now it’s going to the Senate. The Senate in Alabama; there’s going to be some opposition to it (sports betting legislation), some conservative opposition.
“But you’ve got Governor Ivey who’s a big supporter of this and I think that’s going to help tip the scales in gaming’s favor.
“And it’s not just sports betting in Alabama, it would give them a lottery. They’re one of five states that don’t have a state lottery so it would give them that. It would give them fully-fledged casinos. There’s a couple of tribal casinos in the state but now they would have, I think, seven Class 3 casinos across the state. And then you would also have sports betting as well.
“That kind of omnibus legislation, especially with the people that are supporting it, will help get that through in Alabama.
“Georgia is a similar situation but they’ve actually scaled it down. There had been talks in recent years about doing casino resort legislation but they’re just focused right now on doing sports betting, getting that through and maybe looking at other expanded gaming later on down the road.
“In Georgia the question is going to be whether or not it will need a constitutional amendment. There are proponents for it that cite a former Supreme Court judge from the state, who says: sports betting is a lottery game, the lottery is legal under the constitution, so you don’t need an amendment.
“Some people though are kind of concerned, they fear a legal challenge might happen. So, they want to see a referendum on it.
“If it requires a referendum, that would require essentially two votes in the legislature. One to pass the enacting legislation, which would need just a simple majority in both chambers. But a second one for a resolution calling for the referendum, that would require a two thirds majority in both chambers. That’s a little trickier.
“The way the vote came down in the Senate earlier this month, they had the votes for the two thirds majority in Georgia in the Senate, but I don’t know if they would have that in the House and that’s a key concern that needs to be addressed.”
On Missouri:
“I think it’s happening already (the sports betting petitions having success). The proponents have already started in St Louis, right around the time of the Cardinals FanFest event earlier this month.
“So, they’re not waiting for the legislature, they’ve been down that road before and they’ve seen how that story ends up. And with the way that there’s a lot of rancor right now in the Missouri Senate, not just about sports betting but a lot of things in between, there’s a real fracture between Republicans in that chamber and that’s stalling a lot of things.
“I’m not optimistic at all that a sports betting bill would pass the legislature even though there’s support for it in Jefferson City. The best chance that it’ll have is through this referendum process.”
Source: Gambling dot com
Compliance Updates
574 Slot Machines, Bingo Halls and Online Betting Modules were Destroyed by Coljuegos
The Illegal Operations Control Department destroyed 574 gambling items that had been seized because they were operating without authorization in departments such as Cundinamarca, Atlántico, Valle del Cauca, among others, and which stopped transferring around $63.545 million to the health system.
“The destroyed items were valued at around $169 million and belonged to criminal structures that were dedicated to operating games of chance and luck without authorization and without paying the respective monopoly rents,” said Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Coljuegos.
Among the destroyed items were electronic slot machines, bingo chairs, roulette wheels, poker tables, Keno and online betting modules, each of them composed of computers, CPUs, televisions, ticket machines, among others.
“In total, we have completed 7,934 destroyed items, valued at more than $1.5 billion. Due to these illegal activities, the health system has lost more than $200 billion in recent years, resources that would have allowed us to serve more Colombians under the subsidized regime,” said the president of the entity.
Hincapié also said that in the coming days, Coljuegos will continue destroying another 117 electronic slot machines, 350 bingo elements (chairs, tables and boards), 8 poker tables and 252 sports betting modules.
“Never before has an administration attacked illegality in the industry so strongly. We are doing this at the behest of our president Gustavo Petro, who has always asked us to fight corruption and to decisively strike the mafias that operate unauthorized games in various regions of the country,” said Hincapié.
It is worth mentioning that illegal gambling organizations in Colombia are failing to pay the State around $1.5 billion annually for exploitation rights, resources that could be allocated to the health of low-income citizens.
Compliance Updates
GAMING POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE – NOTIFICATION OF SEATS WITH TERMS EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2024
The Gaming Policy Advisory Committee (GPAC) is a ten-member committee established pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 19817 to provide advisory recommendations to the California Gambling Control Commission (Commission). Its membership, as appointed by the Commission, includes equal part appointments from the public as well as the cardroom industry.
The GPAC has the following five highlighted seats that have a term limit ending on December 31, 2024.
PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES:
Category A: An employee from the Bureau of Gambling Control (BGC), Department of Justice (1 seat)
Category B: A representative from an agency or nonprofit concerned with problem gambling and/or gambling addiction (1 seat)
Category F: A representative affiliated with local law enforcement from a local government where an approved ordinance allows legalized gaming (1 seat)
Category G: A professional with an accounting or business background and not currently affiliated with a California legalized gambling entity (1 seat)
Category H: A general member-at-large not currently affiliated with any California legalized gambling entity (1 seat)
INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES:
Category C: A licensee, agent, or employee from a Third-Party Provider of Proposition Player Services (1 seat)
Category D: A licensee, agent, or employee from an actively licensed cardroom with 25 tables or more in operation (2 seats; 1 seat vacant ¹)
Category E: A licensee, agent, or employee from an actively licensed cardroom with less than 25 tables in operation (2 seats; 1 seat vacant)
The Commission is currently accepting applications through November 1, 2024, from all eligible applicants for the GPAC seats in the following categories: C, D1, E1, G¹ and H.
The GPAC Application and Selection Process can be found on the Commission’s website at www.cgcc.ca.gov. Applications should be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Interviews will be scheduled shortly after the application deadline (mid-November).
GPAC’s mission is:
The Commission is currently accepting applications through November 1, 2024, from all eligible applicants for the GPAC seats in the following categories: C, D1, E1, G¹ and H.
The GPAC Application and Selection Process can be found on the Commission’s website at www.cgcc.ca.gov. Applications should be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Interviews will be scheduled shortly after the application deadline (mid-November).
GPAC’s mission is:
“Provide advisory recommendations to the California Gambling Control Commission concerning matters of controlled gaming regulatory policy and other relevant gambling related issues, with special attention to guaranteeing the integrity of gambling operations and to deal effectively with problem gambling.”
The GPAC currently meets every eight weeks. GPAC meetings will be held via Zoom through the end of 2025 whereupon meetings will have to be a combination of in person and via Zoom. Audio recordings of previous meetings can be found on the Commission’s website.
The GPAC is an asset when addressing matters of importance for the cardroom industry. GET INVOLVED, whether through attending the GPAC’s public meetings, submitting an application for consideration of appointment to the GPAC, or by simply sending in comments for the GPAC’s consideration and discussion via the email address below.
“Provide advisory recommendations to the California Gambling Control Commission concerning matters of controlled gaming regulatory policy and other relevant gambling related issues, with special attention to guaranteeing the integrity of gambling operations and to deal effectively with problem gambling.”
The GPAC currently meets every eight weeks. GPAC meetings will be held via Zoom through the end of 2025 whereupon meetings will have to be a combination of in person and via Zoom. Audio recordings of previous meetings can be found on the Commission’s website.
The GPAC is an asset when addressing matters of importance for the cardroom industry.
Compliance Updates
GiG grows regulated market footprint with new B2B supplier authorisation for Peru
Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has been awarded an authorisation and registration (homologation) for Peru, officially allowing it to partner with operators based in the newly regulated Latin American market, as GiG continues to grow its regulated market presence with over 29 complex regulated markets now available globally, on its revolutionary iGaming technology.
The accreditation process, which opened its doors earlier this year, marks an early entry for GiG that will allow it to serve a market expected to grow post regulation by up to 104%, up from €194m to €397m, in gross gaming revenue (GGR) over the next three years, according to H2 Gambling Data.
This new authorisation from the Peruvian authority, granted to GiG by Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo de Perú (MINCETUR) , and covers its award winning PAM, as GiG continues a long-standing commitment to regulated market expansion, reaffirming’s its position as a global leader for growth in highly regulated markets.
GiG’s Peruvian presence gained prominence with the announcement of the launch of Betsson Group’s Inkabet brand, in July, expanding on the successful partnership between the two, in regulated markets around the world.
GiG is continuing to expand its presence in global regulated markets, and across Latin America, with its innovative iGaming platform, as its powerful, secure, and scalable platform offers operators significant opportunities for exponential revenue growth, with a suite of dynamic localisation features. Peruvian operators will benefit from GiG’s integration with leading content and payment providers, with advanced AI tools, DataX and LogicX, enhancing decision-making and rule-building processes. This balance of cutting-edge tools and best-in-class features have proven highly effective in increasing player acquisition and retention, highlighting GiG’s competitive edge in complex regulatory environments like Peru.
Claudio Caruana, General Counsel for GiG says; “The addition of the Peruvian authorisation to our ever expanding list of supported regulated markets continues to demonstrate the focus we at GiG have placed on legislation, providing the framework essential for sustainable and prosperous growth within the online igaming industry. We are delighted to be fully prepared to power new and potential partners with our award winning technology in the area.”
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