SCOTUS clears tribal compact in Florida, Finland breaks up gambling monopoly, NYGC targeted by cyberattack

The US Supreme Court has put a possible end to the long-wounded saga involving the Seminole Tribe of Florida and pari-mutuel businesses that objected to a tribal gaming compact signed in 2021 that essentially allows tribal operators to launch online sports betting in the state.

The matter has been circulating in courts for the past three years with SCOTUS finally reaching a decision that the gaming compact was legal and could proceed. The only possible challenge to the compact at this point could be issued at the Supreme Court of Florida after the federal government has given the green light.

Pari-mutuel businesses in Florida argue that they stand to suffer economically if online sports betting is allowed. In the meantime, Finland has confirmed that it will break up the state gambling monopoly and will introduce a new license model where Veikkaus Ltd. will not be the only company to operate gambling products in the country anymore.

This is done after careful consideration of the implications. A survey submitted to the government indicated that consumers are spending increasing amounts and time on unregulated gambling websites, leading to an increase in gambling-related harm. To this end, the Finnish government has decided to act and change the licensing model to allow more competition in.

Veikkaus has appeared mostly optimistic about the change, although previously, the company said that it expects to see job cuts as a result of market liberalization. In the latest cybersecurity incident, the New York Gambling Commission (NYGC) has been targeted by an unknown hacking group.

The NYGC confirmed that a security event did take place and that its systems have been compromised to an extent. Several state properties are known to have experienced a disruption of service as well. The attack has had unclarified consequences and the regulator had not reported whether data has been leaked. This is one of the latest incidents against gambling businesses following attacks against Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International.

Focus on the Industry

There have been many interesting developments that have a less commercial nature this week, and we intend to start there. For starters, a new English Gambling Education Hub was rolled out this week, as the latest initiative seeking to address gambling-related harm in Great Britain. The project is backed by seven organizations, including YGAM and GamCare, and it focuses on addressing vulnerable groups, specifically those under the age of 18 and 21.

Similarly, Australia has praised the early-day success of its national self-exclusion program, BetStop, which is designed to allow residents to enrol in a country-wide initiative that excludes them from all legal and regulated forms of legal. This is a step up for the country’s self-exclusion programs as previously, all self-exclusion was done on a state-by-state basis. Almost 10,000 people have registered already.

In the meantime, the Australian Media and Communications Authority (ACMA) has continued to work on restricting the access of unlicensed gambling websites to the local market. The regulator has handed two more bans this week to unauthorized gambling entities in the country. Norway is actually too determined to pursue a similar course of action.

The country is actively discussing the introduction of DNS bans which will also restrict the unauthorized access of casinos and gambling sites to Norway. This measure has been criticized as somewhat inefficient but ACMA’s experience is proof enough that it can work if applied correctly and consistently.

Meanwhile, the industry has also been doing its thing. Light & Wonder finalized the 17% outstanding stake in SciPlay Corporation, for a sum total of $485m, and now fully owns the social gaming company. However, SciPlay will operate independently and continue to work on its own projects, strengthened by Light & Wonder’s reach and expertise.

iTech Labs has appointed Alvin Rizaldi as its new Chief Executive Officer after the leave of MD and ex-CEO Kiren Sreekumar. Rizaldi has been with the company for 16 years and is one of its most well-versed executives.

Kindred Group’s ambitious push towards zero harmful gambling revenue has been determined, and yet, the company has struggled to fully bring down the numbers. The company posted 3.3% of revenue derived from harmful gambling in the third quarter of the year, still a miss of its target of zero.

What the Industry Had to Say

We actually had the chance to catch up with quite a few people this week, including Gaming Realms Senior Account Executive Davide Colosimo who spoke about the company’s expansion in North America and its data-driven approach to building a loyal customer base and competitive products. He similarly spoke about the supplier’s efforts to expand well beyond these jurisdictions as well.

Our team also caught up with Emily Micallef, who was recently appointed at the helm of SiGMA Group and who spoke about her short and long-term goals. She called her company’s mission nothing short of revolutionary and assured that more great things are coming from SiGMA’s corner.

This week also saw a contribution by Soft2Bet David Yatom Hay who discussed the merits of iGaming user experience and compliance, making for an interesting insight into how companies can navigate this challenging aspect of the industry with success.

Not least, we caught up with RiskCherry’s COO, Mihael Mladenov, who spoke about how his company helps studios in the iGaming sector to license their product and bring them to market sooner rather than later. He spoke about the pent-up demand in the industry and how RiskCherry is determined to be everywhere where its clients need the company.

We also wanted to wrap up the week with a kind reminder that the nomination deadline for Casino Guru Awards 2024 is almost upon us. You can still sign up by October 31.

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