Twitch extends gambling ban, ICE moves house, the industry talks regulation

In the week that has passed, we saw 888 strengthen its payment capabilities in the United States, while the African-facing venture made an important acquisition. Clarion Gaming confirmed that ICE is changing venues, and GambleAware has launched a new process to guarantee the stability of the system in the short term.

Twitch further cracked down on gambling content, and we spoke with GiG’s Luis De Prat, tackling the Latin American market, and Alan Feldman, Chair Emeritus at International Center For Responsible Gaming, with whom we addressed the current legislative landscape and whether it was guided by empirical evidence or a method that lacked scientific foundation.

Twitch Goes after Gambling – Again, 888 Expands Presence in US, Africa

Twitch has introduced subtle changes to its Community Guidelines that now include more restrictions on promoting gambling. Specifically, the Amazon-owned platform has introduced a paragraph in which it prohibits Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skin promotions and bonuses.

"Skins" are digital cosmetic goods used in the video game, and they are considered illegal when used as a means to acquire real money outside the game and platform. Some content creators have been pushing these products onto Twitch viewers, prompting Twitch to step in. The platform originally suspended most of the unregulated gambling on its platform on October 18, 2022. Since then, gambling content viewership has dropped by 75%.

888 has strengthened its payment capabilities in the United States by working on a new partnership extension in the country with Nuvei Corporation.

The new partnership sees the company leverage Nuvei’s Instant Bank Transfer which facilitates payments for players by allowing them to use account-to-account solutions and deposit & withdraw instantly into and from their 888 accounts.

This solution has been described as "critical" to ensuring that 888 continues to exercise a strong position in the market and grow its footprint in the local iGaming market. Meanwhile, 888’s African-facing joint-venture, 888AFRICA, has confirmed the acquisition of BetLion, a local operator with an established presence on the continent.

The acquisition is considered an important step forward in the African market for 888AFRICA, as the company is now able to further solidify its presence in existing jurisdictions, as well as add new names to the list of places where it operates in.

Kick on the Offensive, GambleAware Launches New Initiative

Kick, the streaming platform launched as a rival to Twitch, has been confirmed as Everton FC’s Official Sleeve Partner and Official Streaming Partner. Everton is a top-flight Premier League soccer club with millions of fans around the world, allowing Kick to reach new audiences.

The platform was launched as a response to Twitch’s changes in Community Guidelines, including a revenue-splitting model that infuriated many of the platform’s top content creation talent who has since left for Kick instead. In comparison, Kick offers a 95-5 revenue split model, which benefits content creators greatly.

Kick is also laxer when it comes to gambling rules, allowing content creators to stream gambling products that are currently prohibited on Twitch, and also letting consumers opt out of seeing such content if they choose to.

Meanwhile, GambleAware has announced that it will now allocate a portion of the regulatory settlement to organizations that have been experiencing a shortage of revenue to carry on with important problem gambling and gambling-harm minimization campaigns.

This is mostly because of the expected obligatory levy that the Gambling White Paper is expected to introduce, marking a period of transition where voluntary contributions have been put on pause, or at least reduced, as stakeholders await to see the outcome of public consultations.

GambleAware and the UK Gambling Commission have agreed to support and strengthen organizations that may be suffering from a shortage of funding in the short term before an obligatory levy kicks in.

The Industry Talks

This week did not pass without its fair share of interesting conversations with Casino Guru News having had the opportunity to speak with Alan Feldman, Distinguished Fellow, Responsible Gaming at UNLV International Gaming Institute and Chair Emeritus at International Center For Responsible Gaming, with whom we discussed how effective the current efforts to regulate and re-regulate the gambling industry in the United States, and beyond are.

For the most part, Feldman agreed that there is little evidence-based approach to back many of the regulatory changes that are being discussed. As he puts it, "There is little evidence to support what has been put in place." You can read the full conversation with Feldman here.

Our other conversation this week was with GiG’s Luis De Prat, who is the Regional Head of Sales, and who discussed the Latin American market at length. He stressed the importance of proven, companies that deliver resilient and user-centric solutions and helped us better understand the current makeup in Latin America, including the incredible number of untapped players that GiG is moving in to engage with. Our conversation with De Prat can be read in its entirety here.

Content Partnerships and Suppliers

Livespins, the innovative developer that has revolutionized the way we consumer slot streaming, has added another prominent partner over the week, with EveryMatrix’s SlotMatrix aggregation solution becoming the latest partner to the company.

SlotMatrix brings a range of excellent games that Livespins content creators and audiences can enjoy, including Aladdin’s Rollover Respins, Fairy Fantasy Exotic Wilds, Wild Willy’s Gold Rush, Hot Hot Honey, and The Lioness, among many others.

Michael Pedersen, Livespins CCO, has hailed the opportunity to see another big-name company join the award-winning platform and assured that SlotMatrix’s games will now have a stronger reach with broader audiences.

In the meantime, Playson managed to expand its content reach in the Netherlands, with the supplier forming a content alliance with Betnation, a well-established local operator.

Playson has been actively looking to expand. Playson Sales Director Blanka Homor has confirmed that the supplier is looking to actively reinforce its position in the market and ensure that it remains one of the go-to suppliers of iGaming content for market leaders.

BGaming, another prominent supplier has received an important certification in Spain. The company has been cleared by BMM Testlabs and will be now able to provide its products locally in the jurisdiction with the supplier securing an important opportunity as Spain is one of the biggest and fastest-growing markets in Europe.

People on the Move

In the meantime, BMM Testlabs has also been doing some changes to its internal structure, with the company appointing Zeena Rossouw as its Senior Vice President, Africa. Rossouw has been with the company for a while now since she joined in 2018 as VP of Operations and Sales. Her promotion is relevant as the company is continuing to build up its localized footprint in important markets that are evolving and need to be addressed by a team of professionals as new operators and suppliers continue to set up shop.

Rossouw is not the only appointment this week, however. Relax Gaming has picked Shelly Hannah as its new Chief Product Officer. She is an experienced iGaming veteran with two decades of experience and has also held roles in software development. She is an internal promotion, having previously worked as Director of Casino Products at Relax.

She will now continue to work on helping the company achieve growth and leverage her strong understanding of the sector to help develop new products that are fit for the evolving preferences of the company partners and their audiences.

The Week in Future Events

The week was again an interesting one when you consider industry events. The biggest announcement came from Clarion Gaming’s corner which confirmed that the iconic ICE industry gathering will be moving from ExCel London to Fira de Barcelona in 2025. The new event will be hosted out of the iconic venue in Spain with the dates already booked for January 20 and January 22, 2025. Fira de Barcelona and Clarion Gaming have an understanding running through 2029 included.

Not least, Hipther Agency revealed the shortlist for the GamingTECH Awards 2023, which features a number of prominent companies, including Casino Guru, which has been nominated in the Best Support for Responsible Gambling in CEE 2023 category.

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