Entain’s CEO Steps Down, Italy Goes after YouTube and Twitch

What a week it has been! In today’s roundup we briefly touch on the main events in the gambling industry of the past five days and put the events in context.

First off, we have the confirmed decision of Jette Nygaard-Andersen to step down as Chief Executive Officer at Entain, a role she assumed in December 2019, and carried on with determination and focus to transform the company and break away with the GVC Holdings legacy, which proved too difficult at times.

Nygaard-Andersen’s surprise leave was reportedly caused by internal strife mostly driven by activist investors who were unhappy with the HMRC investigation into corrupt practices bequeathed onto Entain by its former operations.

Yet, the FTSE100 now former boss made sure that the company tided over this choppy patch with dignity and in ultimately what was an amicable outcome. Entain agreed to pay £585m, but despite her undeniable successes at the helm of the company, Nygaard-Andersen stepped down this week, replaced temporarily by Stella David.

Surprisingly, the market continues to show love for Entain, as today’s trading is up once again and the company’s stock seems to be in a good place, not least because of Corvex Management acquired a stake in the company.

Meanwhile, the Italian media watchdog has been implacable in its determination to go after technological giants the regulator suspects of breaching the blanket ban on gambling advertisements.

Amazon and Alphabet have been issued record fines in the country over their digital platforms, Twitch and YouTube respectively, which the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni accuses of having allowed 20,000 videos advertising gambling products to be shared across 80 channels.

Neither company is likely to leave matters as they stand as the penalty slapped on both is quite significant – more than €3m. YouTube would have to pay €2.25m and Twitch, €900,000, unless the companies appeal the fines and defeat them in court.

The Gambling Industry This Week

There was no shortage of interesting events to speak about definitely. For starters, the KSA outgoing Chairman, René Jansen spoke about the changing nature of the regulated Dutch iGaming market.

He said that the market was now entering a more "mature" phase of its development where the influx of new operators isn’t as high, and what local licensed entities there are, they are all competing to secure a larger share of the existing landscape.

Relax Gaming has announced that the company has been cleared for launch in New Jersey through its dedicated local entity, RLX Gaming. The company has now launched its products with BetMGM as it is ready to take on the iGaming market in the United States, which it has described as a highly important part of its core business strategy in 2024 and beyond.

Connecticut has welcomed the soft launch of the Fanatics Sportsbook, which is ready to take on local competition. A total of 2,000 online accounts have been allowed ahead of the official rollout on Monday, December 18.

This is the 9th state where Fanatics Sportsbook is available, following a similar rollout in Colorado. Starting today, though, players who are registered may access the sportsbook to gamble round-the-clock, as opposed to the controlled betting hours of the previous days this week.

EPIC Risk Management, a company specializing in educating various gambling industry stakeholders about how to fight back against gambling-related harm and addiction, has celebrated its 10th anniversary and used the opportunity to rebrand to EPIC Global Solutions.

This move reflects the company’s ambition to expand into new markets, including the United States, which is a pivotal part of its strategy. In the meantime, the NCAA launched a new partnership with Signify Group, with the association now attempting to stem the tide of online abuse that is directed at its student-athletes.

Although much of the most recent efforts by the organization have been directed at stopping students from placing illegal wagers on sports, a parallel effort has been launched to ensure athletes and members of the staff are protected from online vitriol by working closely with specialist and setting up benchmarks to track online abuse.

Our Conversations with the Industry

This week we had the chance to catch up with Playson’s Product Owner Natalia Shkarbanova with whom we discussed how the company remains competitive in a highly-demanding landscape. Slots are challenging products to compete in, but Shkarbanova believes her company has found the correct formula. Check out our full conversation with her to find out what that is.

Similarly, we published the latest episode of our webinar series, All Things Gambling. Our newest instalment, titled "The Lessons the US Can Learn from the Changing Regulatory Climate in Europe" with Martin Lyčka, SVP of American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling at Entain and Alan Feldman, Distinguished Fellow, Responsible Gaming at UNLV International Gaming Institute.

From cultural differences to the role of government in gambling regulation and consumer protection, we touched on all. You can check it out here.

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