Danske Spil has a new leader after unanimous selection

Denmark’s gambling and lottery operator has a new captain at the helm. Peter Christensen, a former member of parliament (MP), has been tapped to lead Danske Spil into a new era of gaming, bringing with him a lot of political experience and connections. Christensen was selected to replace Peter Gæmelke, who is stepping down after ten years on the job and will take the wheel after a unanimous decision by the gaming operator’s board.

danske-spil-has-a-new-leader-after-unanimous-selectionChristensen is a member of the Danish Venstre Liberal Party and served as the country’s Minister of Taxation in 2011 and the Minister of Defense in 2015, according to SBC News. At the time, former Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen was running the show in the country, and Christensen is ready for his new role. He said in a statement, “It is a great privilege to help secure the financial foundation Danish sports and further social directive which I have personally benefited from. It is very important to me that gambling games remain as an entertainment feature. Danske Spil has an important social role in continuing to ensure a balanced and responsible gaming market in Denmark.”

Denmark’s finance minister, Nicolai Wammen, confirmed the appointment of the new chairman this week, which will lead to Christensen bowing out from his involvement with the Det Danske Klasselotteri, a state lottery operator. There, the new Danske Spil head had served as a non-executive director since 2018, and his resignation will take effect sometime during the latter half of this year.

Christensen is going to have his work cut out for him. In addition to having to deal with declining revenue as a result of the coronavirus, 2020 hasn’t been a good year for Danske Spil in general. The operator released its financial report for the first quarter last month, indicating that its year-on-year growth was not as strong as it had hoped. The quarter saw drops in iGaming and gaming machine activity, but these were offset by positive growth in the firm’s lottery operations. Overall, for the quarter, Danske Spil saw $186.3 million in revenue, of which $97 million came from lottery sales.

This year, already having gotten off to a slow start, won’t get any better. Revenue is bound to suffer because of COVID-19, and Denmark has just implemented a new online gambling tax increase that is going to scare off gamblers and push them to use offshore sites. As a result, Danske Spil has to be ready to weather a prolonged storm.

UK gambling regulator probing M88, Mansion Europe ‘model and operations’

Online gambling operator Mansion’s predominantly Asian-facing M88 brand is reportedly under investigation by UK gambling regulators, resulting in the brand losing its English Premier League sponsorship. 

On Friday, EPL club AFC Bournemouth announced that it wouldn’t be renewing its shirt sponsorship deal with M88 aka Mansion88 when it expired Sunday. The club thanked M88 for its support over the past three years but said it would finish the remainder of the EPL’s current season – which resumes play on June 17 – using a different kit. The sleeve sponsorship with parent company Mansion is reportedly unaffected. 

On Saturday, The Athletic reported that Bournemouth’s decision came after being informed that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was “currently looking at various aspects of M88 and Mansion Europe model and operations.” 

It’s unclear specifically what aspects of that model are under the UKGC microscope but in April, UK media reported that the UKGC was looking at the VIP scheme of Mansion’s MansionBet brand. The report quoted a Mansion rep telling a customer that the site didn’t like requiring customers to reveal the source of their gambling funds “but we have to do it because the UK gambling regulators make us do it.” 

The Mansion Group is no stranger to being on the receiving end of gambling regulators’ disciplinary tools, having been fined €150k by the Netherlands Gambling Authority several years ago for accepting Dutch customers without Dutch permission. 

M88 recently announced that it was withdrawing its services from Cambodia and Malaysia. The company didn’t specify the reasons behind the exits, although those two markets are believed to be small potatoes compared to the brand’s business in China, Thailand and Vietnam. 

The Daily Mail reported that if Bournemouth couldn’t come to terms with a new commercial sponsor, the club could end up featuring a ‘thank you’ message to COVID-19 frontline medical workers on its kit for the nine games remaining in the current EPL season.