Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov, outlined the importance of sports betting for his company’s future growth strategy. Speaking to investors after reporting Amaya Gaming’s Q3 results, Baazov confirmed that the operator would continue to “invest heavily” in developing a proprietary sports betting product.
Baazov outlined that Amaya would look to launch a sportsbook for its Full Tilt brand in the coming months. The CEO confirmed that Amaya would look to utilise third party technologies for non-differentiating components of the products development.
Amaya sports betting products will differentiate from competitors by building certain player mechanisms in-house, such as loyalty programs and customer services.
Baazov confirmed that Amaya sports betting products will be primarily attached to acquired poker brands PokerStars and Full Tilt. The brands will begin to operate sports betting verticals in select licensed European markets.
Amaya Gaming’s recent igaming technology acquisitions and its corporate strategy set on expanding its services for the US igaming market, have led financial news sources to speculate that the Canadian Gambling operator is preparing a $1.2 billion takeover of Gibraltar based bwin.party.
Last Friday Financial Times Alphaville Editor Paul Murphy reported that Amaya Gaming and igaming technology provider Playtech were the two rumoured parties bidding on acquiring bwin.party.
November 18, 2014
November 12, 2014
Bwin.party in takeover talks
The Board of Directors at bwin.party were forced to issue a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday as speculation about a possible takeover bid boiled over and became public knowledge.
The statement reads:
“Further to recent media speculation regarding a possible bid for bwin.party, the Board of bwin.party confirms that it has entered into preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a variety of potential business combinations with a view to creating additional value for bwin.party shareholders.
Such discussions may or may not result in an offer being made for the Company. However, as all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, there can be no certainty as to whether or not they will result in any form of transaction with any party.”
According to an article on the Financial Times Alphaville, it is Amaya Gaming Group who the potential buyers of what was once the largest publically traded online gaming company in the world. Amaya, of course, are the owners of bwin.party's partypoker's rivals PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Paul Murphy of the Financial Times wrote in his article, “We believe the bidder here is Amaya Gaming Group” and the potential price would be 145p per share, valuing the company at around £1.19 billion.
However, an article appearing in the London Evening Standard claims it is Playtech who are looking to acquire bwin.party after it announced it was raising a €315 million war chest for acquisitions and “organic opportunities.”
Bwin.party have so far declined to comment on who preliminary talks are with, but Amaya is set to publish its financial figures on November 14 so if it is one of the potential buyers we would expect an announcement before then.
It will be interesting to see if it is Amaya or Playtech looking at the buyout and what plans each company would have for bwin.party.
The stock market reacted positively to the news and bwin.party's share price rose 12.52% to 121.3p.
The statement reads:
“Further to recent media speculation regarding a possible bid for bwin.party, the Board of bwin.party confirms that it has entered into preliminary discussions with a number of interested parties regarding a variety of potential business combinations with a view to creating additional value for bwin.party shareholders.
Such discussions may or may not result in an offer being made for the Company. However, as all such discussions remain at a preliminary stage, there can be no certainty as to whether or not they will result in any form of transaction with any party.”
According to an article on the Financial Times Alphaville, it is Amaya Gaming Group who the potential buyers of what was once the largest publically traded online gaming company in the world. Amaya, of course, are the owners of bwin.party's partypoker's rivals PokerStars and Full Tilt.
Paul Murphy of the Financial Times wrote in his article, “We believe the bidder here is Amaya Gaming Group” and the potential price would be 145p per share, valuing the company at around £1.19 billion.
However, an article appearing in the London Evening Standard claims it is Playtech who are looking to acquire bwin.party after it announced it was raising a €315 million war chest for acquisitions and “organic opportunities.”
Bwin.party have so far declined to comment on who preliminary talks are with, but Amaya is set to publish its financial figures on November 14 so if it is one of the potential buyers we would expect an announcement before then.
It will be interesting to see if it is Amaya or Playtech looking at the buyout and what plans each company would have for bwin.party.
The stock market reacted positively to the news and bwin.party's share price rose 12.52% to 121.3p.
November 10, 2014
Boylesports seeks CEO for UK expansion
Irish businessman John Boyle, the founder of Boylesports, is ready to step back in as Chairman of the betting operator, as the company looks to expand its presence and operations in the UK betting and gaming market.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Boyle stated that he would return to managing Boylesport governance if the company could find a Chief Executive Officer to take management operations.
Boyle further stated that the operator needed to expand its operations and presence in the UK betting market, as it had reached peak expansion within Ireland were it operators 198 retail betting outlets.
Speaking on corporate strategy, Boyle detailed that the operator may look undertake a major betting acquisition in order to establish its presence in the UK betting market. Boylesport senior management were currently in the process of identifying potential targets.
“A big push into the UK would be one of the next steps for the business. And if it happens it will be done in scale. Now that we are debt free we would have backing from the banks,” Boyle commented.
The privately owned operator is in the process of moving its operational base to Gibraltar, which it believes will help it expand in the UK market. Boylesport is seeking acquire a top Chief Executive to undertake ambitious growth plans and execute dynamic strategies for its business divisions.
Speaking on the matter Boyle commented: “I was always looking for someone to come along and take my role, always looking for a good CEO. But to get someone who would have that passion and care, not just do the job, that’s the challenge.”
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Boyle stated that he would return to managing Boylesport governance if the company could find a Chief Executive Officer to take management operations.
Boyle further stated that the operator needed to expand its operations and presence in the UK betting market, as it had reached peak expansion within Ireland were it operators 198 retail betting outlets.
Speaking on corporate strategy, Boyle detailed that the operator may look undertake a major betting acquisition in order to establish its presence in the UK betting market. Boylesport senior management were currently in the process of identifying potential targets.
“A big push into the UK would be one of the next steps for the business. And if it happens it will be done in scale. Now that we are debt free we would have backing from the banks,” Boyle commented.
The privately owned operator is in the process of moving its operational base to Gibraltar, which it believes will help it expand in the UK market. Boylesport is seeking acquire a top Chief Executive to undertake ambitious growth plans and execute dynamic strategies for its business divisions.
Speaking on the matter Boyle commented: “I was always looking for someone to come along and take my role, always looking for a good CEO. But to get someone who would have that passion and care, not just do the job, that’s the challenge.”
November 07, 2014
French Internet Poker Market Falls To €57m In Q3 2014
French online gambling regulator Autorité de Régulation des Jeux En Ligne (ARJEL), has released its third quarter results for the country’s gambling industry and while sports betting gross gaming revenues were up by a massive 94% to €60 million, online poker continued its dramatic decline with revenues shrinking by 2% to just €57 million.
Poker Declines For Third Consecutive Quarter
In the third quarter, ARJEL reported a 2% fall in the country’s online poker market to €57 million, and while cash games noted a turnover drop of €59 million to €1.040 billion, tournament entries actually improved slightly by €2 million to €354 million.
Earlier this year, ARJEL President Charles Coppolani declared that poker was a losing proposition, and issued a public statement saying; “The fad is over. Basically, the online poker market may be mature.” Unfortunately, France’s quarterly results seem to be leaning in that direction, and the country has now experienced three quarters of declining revenues.
Nevertheless, while Coppolani has dismissed poker as a “fad” and “too complicated for a young audience”, the ARJEL President seems to be overlooking what is likely to be the real root cause of the problem, namely a ring-fenced market with a lack of liquidity, and a French government which has placed too high a tax burden on online poker operators.
Unappealing French iPoker Market
French online poker operators are currently subjected to an extortionate 37% tax rate, and also find themselves further disadvantaged by an estimated 45% of French players preferring to play on unlicensed sites, representing a considerable drain on France’s online poker industry. While ARJEL’s current President Coppolani seems to have overlooked just how significantly these factors have affected online poker in France, ARJEL former President Jean-François Vilotte,at least seemed to have had a better grasp on the situation and previously warned:
“Poker is going through a difficult time, but this is not something that is happening only in France, as Spain and Italy are experiencing a similar trend as well. Seen from a broader perspective, this is a problem of legalized markets competing against non-legalized ones. If legalized markets won’t learn how to become more flexible and adjust themselves quicker to what people want, they will keep doing the work for illegal websites and help them to win against their legal competitors.”
In addition, this uncompetitive situation has recently affected the country’s players and on September 26th, Europoker.fr officially shut its doors leaving between €300,000 and €500,000 of customers’ bankrolls and bonuses stuck in their online accounts.
Signs That ARJEL May Finally Be Addressing Shortcomings
However, there are at last signs that France’s regulator is beginning to see the need to improve the condition of its online poker market, and Coppolani recently met with a select group of French players and journalists in an effort to improve communication between ARJEL and the players in the future. Amongst a number of issues he has promised to consider is the need to introduce more poker games to the French online poker community, to reduce tax for online poker operators, and to share liquidity with other European countries, such as the UK, Spain and Italy.
Sports Betting The Outstanding Performer
While online poker continues to struggle from a number of factors, France’s gambling regulator ARJEL had nothing but praise for the country’s sports betting industry, which reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €60 million, up by 94% compared to the €31 million generated in Q3 last year.
Helping France’s sports betting balance sheet was the country’s promising performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which saw the national team reach the Quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to eventual winners Germany. While French bookies took €47 million from punters during the World Cup, French sports betting in general was up by 34% to €245 million in Q3, with football betting the most popular attraction with 63% of the action. Tennis proved the next most popular sport with 24% of total sports wagering, while horse racing continued to wane, falling by 7% in GGR to €238 million.
Poker Declines For Third Consecutive Quarter
In the third quarter, ARJEL reported a 2% fall in the country’s online poker market to €57 million, and while cash games noted a turnover drop of €59 million to €1.040 billion, tournament entries actually improved slightly by €2 million to €354 million.
Earlier this year, ARJEL President Charles Coppolani declared that poker was a losing proposition, and issued a public statement saying; “The fad is over. Basically, the online poker market may be mature.” Unfortunately, France’s quarterly results seem to be leaning in that direction, and the country has now experienced three quarters of declining revenues.
Nevertheless, while Coppolani has dismissed poker as a “fad” and “too complicated for a young audience”, the ARJEL President seems to be overlooking what is likely to be the real root cause of the problem, namely a ring-fenced market with a lack of liquidity, and a French government which has placed too high a tax burden on online poker operators.
Unappealing French iPoker Market
French online poker operators are currently subjected to an extortionate 37% tax rate, and also find themselves further disadvantaged by an estimated 45% of French players preferring to play on unlicensed sites, representing a considerable drain on France’s online poker industry. While ARJEL’s current President Coppolani seems to have overlooked just how significantly these factors have affected online poker in France, ARJEL former President Jean-François Vilotte,at least seemed to have had a better grasp on the situation and previously warned:
“Poker is going through a difficult time, but this is not something that is happening only in France, as Spain and Italy are experiencing a similar trend as well. Seen from a broader perspective, this is a problem of legalized markets competing against non-legalized ones. If legalized markets won’t learn how to become more flexible and adjust themselves quicker to what people want, they will keep doing the work for illegal websites and help them to win against their legal competitors.”
In addition, this uncompetitive situation has recently affected the country’s players and on September 26th, Europoker.fr officially shut its doors leaving between €300,000 and €500,000 of customers’ bankrolls and bonuses stuck in their online accounts.
Signs That ARJEL May Finally Be Addressing Shortcomings
However, there are at last signs that France’s regulator is beginning to see the need to improve the condition of its online poker market, and Coppolani recently met with a select group of French players and journalists in an effort to improve communication between ARJEL and the players in the future. Amongst a number of issues he has promised to consider is the need to introduce more poker games to the French online poker community, to reduce tax for online poker operators, and to share liquidity with other European countries, such as the UK, Spain and Italy.
Sports Betting The Outstanding Performer
While online poker continues to struggle from a number of factors, France’s gambling regulator ARJEL had nothing but praise for the country’s sports betting industry, which reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €60 million, up by 94% compared to the €31 million generated in Q3 last year.
Helping France’s sports betting balance sheet was the country’s promising performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which saw the national team reach the Quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to eventual winners Germany. While French bookies took €47 million from punters during the World Cup, French sports betting in general was up by 34% to €245 million in Q3, with football betting the most popular attraction with 63% of the action. Tennis proved the next most popular sport with 24% of total sports wagering, while horse racing continued to wane, falling by 7% in GGR to €238 million.
Russian Online Poker To Be A Victim Of Ukraine Conflict?
In June 2009, the Russian Federation ordered the Sports Ministry to remove poker from its national sports registry, and since then the government has intermittently ordered Internet Service Providers to block online gambling websites from the country. Recently, however, Russian authorities signaled a U-turn in its negative approach towards iGaming after it requested the Russian Ministries of Finance, Economics and Justice to prepare a report on possible legalization, but now the prospects for online poker regulation appears to have dimmed once more following the heightened tensions between Russia and The West following the Ukraine Crisis which began on 21 February 2014.
Russian online poker a $150m industry
Russia is a country heavily reliant on the revenues generated from its energy sector, and in 2012 oil and gas accounted for 16% of the country’s GDP, around half its federal budget, and 70% of total exports. Therefore, its not difficult to see how online poker regulation could significantly impact the country’s economic outlook, especially with the industry predicted to generate up to 3 billion roubles ($87 million) in its first year of operation, rising to 5 billion roubles ($146 million) by year four.
With proposed amendments to the law suggesting a competitive taxation regime of 20% on a company’s gross gaming revenues and 13% on withdrawals made by poker players from their accounts, the government could stand to collect more than half a billion dollars in tax revenues over the next five years. Interestingly, chief researcher at the Centre for Tax Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance, Vladimir Bauer, has indicated online poker would likely be categorized as an “intellectual and commercial game” so that it could be taxed as an electronic service.
Online poker legalization essential
Last month, a government ministries meeting concluded legalization of Russia’s online poker market was essential, with all arguments related to security and public safety subsequently dismissed. It was then decided the country’s interests could best be served by opening the industry to Western iGaming operators, and introducing a system whereby operators were required to store their customers’ personal data on servers hosted within Russia.
The country currently restricts all its gambling activities to five established gambling zones where casinos are permitted, but legislators even seemed positive towards allowing online poker to be offered outside of these far flung corners of the federation.
Online poker a victim of geopolitics?
While the Ukraine Crisis has been raging since February, recently the conflict involving Russia and The West has heightened following the introduction of a wave of sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses designed to impose a high cost on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Given the current climate with The West, which threatens to draw a cold war era type “iron curtain” across Europe, it has become increasingly unlikely the Russian parliament will react positively to any new bill which would give Western businesses access to Russian online poker players. A more likely scenario may now involve legislators restricting online licenses to just existing domestic casino operators already operating inside Russia.
No real alternative to Western poker rooms
Although sending a strong message out to its political opponents, the move to exclude Western operators from Russia could ultimately be self-defeating in the absence of any real home grown competitor. Outside of the country, ex-Soviet Republic, Georgia, may represent the best option to bring online poker to Russia, with its poker site Adjarabet currently ranked on PokerScout‘s ‘Online Poker Traffic Report’ in 10th place with 1,000 cash game players over a seven-day-period, and Europe-Bet in 22nd place with 350 players.
Just like Ukraine, however, Russia has extremely hostile relations with Georgia and in 2008 it invaded South Ossetia in the north of the country, and has continued to occupy the region ever since. Creating “frozen conflicts” is widely seen as a tactic Russia employs in order to destabilize former USSR neighbors and keep them in its orbit of influence. Therefore, it’s anyone’s guess how long the stand-off between the West and Russia will last, and at which point a regulated online poker market may see the light of day in Russia.
Russian online poker a $150m industry
Russia is a country heavily reliant on the revenues generated from its energy sector, and in 2012 oil and gas accounted for 16% of the country’s GDP, around half its federal budget, and 70% of total exports. Therefore, its not difficult to see how online poker regulation could significantly impact the country’s economic outlook, especially with the industry predicted to generate up to 3 billion roubles ($87 million) in its first year of operation, rising to 5 billion roubles ($146 million) by year four.
With proposed amendments to the law suggesting a competitive taxation regime of 20% on a company’s gross gaming revenues and 13% on withdrawals made by poker players from their accounts, the government could stand to collect more than half a billion dollars in tax revenues over the next five years. Interestingly, chief researcher at the Centre for Tax Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance, Vladimir Bauer, has indicated online poker would likely be categorized as an “intellectual and commercial game” so that it could be taxed as an electronic service.
Online poker legalization essential
Last month, a government ministries meeting concluded legalization of Russia’s online poker market was essential, with all arguments related to security and public safety subsequently dismissed. It was then decided the country’s interests could best be served by opening the industry to Western iGaming operators, and introducing a system whereby operators were required to store their customers’ personal data on servers hosted within Russia.
The country currently restricts all its gambling activities to five established gambling zones where casinos are permitted, but legislators even seemed positive towards allowing online poker to be offered outside of these far flung corners of the federation.
Online poker a victim of geopolitics?
While the Ukraine Crisis has been raging since February, recently the conflict involving Russia and The West has heightened following the introduction of a wave of sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses designed to impose a high cost on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Given the current climate with The West, which threatens to draw a cold war era type “iron curtain” across Europe, it has become increasingly unlikely the Russian parliament will react positively to any new bill which would give Western businesses access to Russian online poker players. A more likely scenario may now involve legislators restricting online licenses to just existing domestic casino operators already operating inside Russia.
No real alternative to Western poker rooms
Although sending a strong message out to its political opponents, the move to exclude Western operators from Russia could ultimately be self-defeating in the absence of any real home grown competitor. Outside of the country, ex-Soviet Republic, Georgia, may represent the best option to bring online poker to Russia, with its poker site Adjarabet currently ranked on PokerScout‘s ‘Online Poker Traffic Report’ in 10th place with 1,000 cash game players over a seven-day-period, and Europe-Bet in 22nd place with 350 players.
Just like Ukraine, however, Russia has extremely hostile relations with Georgia and in 2008 it invaded South Ossetia in the north of the country, and has continued to occupy the region ever since. Creating “frozen conflicts” is widely seen as a tactic Russia employs in order to destabilize former USSR neighbors and keep them in its orbit of influence. Therefore, it’s anyone’s guess how long the stand-off between the West and Russia will last, and at which point a regulated online poker market may see the light of day in Russia.
November 04, 2014
Japan casino bill now set aside
Japan is now almost certain NOT to have casinos before the 2020 Olympic Games, says sources close to the bill in pushing it through parliament and there are now questions if it ever will be passed into law to permit casino resorts in Japan.
According to reports in Japan newspapers quoting sources close to the government who are supporting casino resorts, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is struggling to hold on to any majority support for the casino bill following months of political scandals and the coalition government fracturing to the point where any consensus is unlikely to happen.
The source is quoted as saying that the casino bill will now be set aside to at the earliest beginning of 2015 and maybe not even then. The current parliamentary session ends on the 30th November and the source says; “That if they can’t pass it now, I doubt whether they’ll ever be able to pass it.”
The news will be a major blow to international casino operators that saw Japan as possibly the second largest gambling hub after Macau, but with the lack of support for the bill amongst parliamentarians now, any casino bill in the future is unlikely to happen as the major driving force was the 2020 Olympic Games.
According to reports in Japan newspapers quoting sources close to the government who are supporting casino resorts, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is struggling to hold on to any majority support for the casino bill following months of political scandals and the coalition government fracturing to the point where any consensus is unlikely to happen.
The source is quoted as saying that the casino bill will now be set aside to at the earliest beginning of 2015 and maybe not even then. The current parliamentary session ends on the 30th November and the source says; “That if they can’t pass it now, I doubt whether they’ll ever be able to pass it.”
The news will be a major blow to international casino operators that saw Japan as possibly the second largest gambling hub after Macau, but with the lack of support for the bill amongst parliamentarians now, any casino bill in the future is unlikely to happen as the major driving force was the 2020 Olympic Games.
Spain re-opens licensing window for new online gambling applicants
Spain’s gambling regulator La Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego (DGOJ) has re-opened its online gambling licensing window, in a move to create new market entrants for the Spanish online gambling market.
The DGOJ will review new business submissions of online gambling operators who wish to participate in Spain’s regulated online gambling market. The regulator confirmed that the window would be opened from the 1November until 8 December.
Interested operators have been asked to submit applications via the DGOJ’s website, the regulator stated that the process of issuing new operator licenses would take up to six months for applicants.
Spanish gambling market commentators have speculated that Spain’s regulated igaming market could see ten or twelve new betting operators enter the market.
Having reviewed its policies and frameworks in May, the DGOJ confirmed that it would approve betting exchanges and slots to be serviced by licensed online gambling and betting operators.
The DGOJ confirmed that licensed gambling operators would have to re-apply in order to provide slots in their product inventory.
The Spanish regulator had garnered pressure from igaming operators, who have felt restricted by regulations concerning product inventory for the market. The DGOJ further stressed that it would need a six month window to implement changes to current Spanish provisions in order to monitor and regulate the market.
The DGOJ will review new business submissions of online gambling operators who wish to participate in Spain’s regulated online gambling market. The regulator confirmed that the window would be opened from the 1November until 8 December.
Interested operators have been asked to submit applications via the DGOJ’s website, the regulator stated that the process of issuing new operator licenses would take up to six months for applicants.
Spanish gambling market commentators have speculated that Spain’s regulated igaming market could see ten or twelve new betting operators enter the market.
Having reviewed its policies and frameworks in May, the DGOJ confirmed that it would approve betting exchanges and slots to be serviced by licensed online gambling and betting operators.
The DGOJ confirmed that licensed gambling operators would have to re-apply in order to provide slots in their product inventory.
The Spanish regulator had garnered pressure from igaming operators, who have felt restricted by regulations concerning product inventory for the market. The DGOJ further stressed that it would need a six month window to implement changes to current Spanish provisions in order to monitor and regulate the market.
November 03, 2014
Synot Group targets Spanish gambling market
Czech Republic licensed lottery and gambling group, Synot has announced its expansion into the Spanish gambling market. Synot Group will launch its Spanish gaming initiatives under the name Synot Gaming Spain SL.
Synot Gaming Spain will look to offer video lottery and gambling terminals to local gambling providers. Synot have chosen to enter the market, as Spanish gambling regulators allow for new gaming provision contracts to be permitted by Spain’s governing provinces.
Synot Group senior management confirmed that it would look to quickly establish set up Gaming Spain, and establish working partnerships with regional gambling operators. Synot Gaming Spain will look to become a market leader in gaming provisions for the region.
Neophytos Neophytou, Director of Synot International, said: “Spain means to us a great perspective. Local market is now opening to video lottery terminals that enable thorough and transparent supervision of bets, wins and revenues by the state supervisory authorities.
At present Spain has seventeen self-regulated provinces, each of which serves its own individual lottery and gaming legislations.
Synot Gaming Spain will look to offer video lottery and gambling terminals to local gambling providers. Synot have chosen to enter the market, as Spanish gambling regulators allow for new gaming provision contracts to be permitted by Spain’s governing provinces.
Synot Group senior management confirmed that it would look to quickly establish set up Gaming Spain, and establish working partnerships with regional gambling operators. Synot Gaming Spain will look to become a market leader in gaming provisions for the region.
Neophytos Neophytou, Director of Synot International, said: “Spain means to us a great perspective. Local market is now opening to video lottery terminals that enable thorough and transparent supervision of bets, wins and revenues by the state supervisory authorities.
At present Spain has seventeen self-regulated provinces, each of which serves its own individual lottery and gaming legislations.
October 27, 2014
China Online Gambling. Illegal But Everywhere.
Media reports state that online gambling in China soared during the recent World Cup. Interest was so intense that gambling income in Macao significantly declined, causing a major blow to the bottom line of major casinos that normally rely on a steady flow of high and low rollers from mainland China. The punters seem to have put their money into online gambling on the World Cup, with revenue at the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) government run lottery site increasing by over 80% during this period. Steve Dickinson and Arlo Kipfer of Harris Moure PLLC, China, explore the upsurge of online gambling in China during the World Cup given that gambling is illegal in China.
This then raises the big question: the Macao casinos exist because gambling is illegal in China. No substantial casino business exists in China, forcing punters to head to Macao. If gambling is illegal in China, how does online sports gambling work? If gambling is illegal in the PRC, how is it possible for the World Cup to have made such an impact? As always in China, the story is complex. It runs as follows.
The general ban on gambling in China is subject to one exception. The PRC government operates two legal lotteries: the China Welfare Lottery and the China Sports Lottery. The China Sports Lottery experienced its 20-year anniversary in April of this year. The sports lottery allows legal betting on all sporting events. By far the most popular is betting on football: both Chinese national football and the European leagues. As a result of this opportunity for legal gambling, China has become a nation of football fans. But these fans are bettors, not players.
At its inception, sports lottery tickets were sold at exclusive outlets found in all of China’s cities. The number of oudets has always served as a limitation in the number of potential customers. In order to expand access, the China Sports Lottery entered the online world in 2010. The new online rules allow licensed sports lottery vendors to partner with website providers to offer online lottery purchases. Such legal websites must be approved by government regulators and are subject to strict regulation. Due to the tight regulation, licensed sports lottery websites are still uncommon in China. As might be expected, the national lottery administration has monopolised access to its great profit.
During the World Cup craze in China, operators of the major retail sales websites in China saw an opportunity to cash in. These websites partnered with licensed local lottery vendors to offer their lottery products online through retail sales websites. The lottery sales were offered just like any other retail offering on the site. This form of lottery betting was technically in violation of the regulations. The website is licensed as a commercial website. The local lottery agent is licensed to sell lottery tickets. But, the regulations require specific approval to sell those lottery tickets online. No such approval was obtained, making sale on the major retail websites technically illegal.
However, there was money to be made and no one in China worried about the technical details. There is good reason for this. The major retail websites are well run, reducing to a minimum the chance of deceptive practices against the consumer. The government ultimately received a share of the proceeds through income earned by the local licensed vendor. The total income earned by the government was greatly increased due to the massive advertising power of the websites. In this setting, the government regulators had no motivation other than to say: send us the cheques.
It is not clear whether this very successful foray into the sale of sports lottery tickets on the part of the e-commerce giants will continue. The current feeling is that this was just a temporary event created by the unique interest of the Chinese people in the World Cup. However, the substantial income earned must be attractive to all involved and it is certainly possible that this semi legal sale of sports lottery tickets will continue.
But the story does not end here. From the gambler’s point of view, there is a major problem with betting in the China Sports Lottery: the payouts are low. The dedicated gambler is therefore provided with an incentive to seek a higher return. This higher return is offered by unauthorized online gambling websites. Take an example: a 100 RBM bet on Croatia to win its first game in the World Cup through the official sports lottery would have paid out about 8 RMB; the same bet made through an overseas online gambling site would have paid out about 60 RMB.
The Chinese bettor is therefore obviously attracted to betting on the foreign site. The only problem is that the site is illegal in China. It is illegal to access the site from China, it is illegal to send funds to the site from China and it is illegal to receive funds from the site in China. The PRC government has the technical ability to enforce these rules. Using the great firewall, access to foreign gambling sites can be blocked. Domestic websites that provide access to the foreign sites can be located and shut down. The major search engines like Baidu and Sina can be instructed to filters search terms that allow Chinese residents to find gambling sites. Banks and online payment services can be instructed to deny all payments to gambling sites and to refuse to accept payments from gambling sites.
Even though all these techniques of control are possible, during the World Cup Chinese citizens found that they had almost completely open access to wagering on the World Cup. Access to foreign online gambling sites entirely focused on Chinese citizens was entirely open. While specific numbers are not known, it is generally understood that the amount of betting on the World Cup by Chinese citizens on foreign sites actually dwarfed the amount legally wagered on the World Cup through the China Sports Lottery.
So how does a Chinese citizen make a bet through a foreign online gambling site? First, the Chinese gambler has to find a betting site written in Chinese and focused on Mainland Chinese bettors. Serious gamblers will learn the names of the most popular sites through the Chinese online forums dedicated to gambling. For newbies, a search on a Chinese search engine will result in hundreds of hits for online gambling sites. Normally, the potential better will be led to what is known as a portal site listing hundreds of online gambling sites. Normally, the potential bettor will be led to what is known as a portal site listing hundreds of online gambling sites. One click on the portal listing and the gambler will access the site of choice. Several sites have become overwhelmingly popular in China.
After the bettor finds a site, the next issue is determining how to place the bet. The RMB is not a convertible currency and gambling online is not legal. Not a problem. The site will provide clear instructions to the bettor on how to proceed. The system is simple and direct. The site will provide a list of online payment service providers (PSP) that have been approved to work with the site. The customer contacts his preferred service provider and sets up an account. The betting accounts normally require payment of a minimum deposit the customer will normally fund the account using a standard Chinese bank issued debit card. The deposit is made in RMB and the PSP handles the conversion into foreign currency, payment to the online gambling website and collection and payout of winnings.
The website is accessed in China with all communication in Chinese. For the major sites, there is a Chinese speaking voice operator available 24 hours a day. Payments are made and payouts are received in RMB, collection and bank processing are all handled online by an experienced operator, relieving the bettor of any need to discuss the process with bank personnel. A certain amount of fraud protection is provided by the PSP. Where the website is located in a country in which gambling is legal and supervised, there is even more protection from fraud.
The only issue is that the entire program is illegal under Chinese law. So far, the illegality does not seem to have had an impact on the business. Websites are adept at dealing with being blocked by operating with a large list of revolving URLs. PSP’s come and go using the same revolving URL technique. Chinese banks are desperate for deposits and processing fees and therefore cooperate with the PSP’s in ways that are difficult or impossible for the government regulators to monitor. Individual gamblers are prosecuted only when they have committed some other crime such as embezzlement of the funds used to fund their gambling addiction.
The World Cup has not introduced online gambling to China. Both legal domestic and illegal foreign online gambling were already well established. The effect of the tremendous publicity surrounding the World Cup instead introduced huge sectors of the Chinese public to online gambling. The support of online gambling on football provided by the China Sports Lottery convinced the Chinese public that online gambling is a safe form of amusement. The danger of this is that in the pursuit of higher returns the Chinese public will gravitate towards online gambling sites that are illegal in the country. This type of site is not regulated or supervised in any way and is often in the control of criminal organizations.
Reports are now coming out of China about deceptive practices arising from such sites that are typically based in SE Asia. Legal and social issues arising from gambling on such sites may cause the Chinese government to take more aggressive actions against illegal online gambling. The current anti-corruption drive in china focuses on control of overseas gambling, which also may lead to an additional push for regulation. For this reason, though the business is now thriving, there is no certainty about its future in China.
This then raises the big question: the Macao casinos exist because gambling is illegal in China. No substantial casino business exists in China, forcing punters to head to Macao. If gambling is illegal in China, how does online sports gambling work? If gambling is illegal in the PRC, how is it possible for the World Cup to have made such an impact? As always in China, the story is complex. It runs as follows.
The general ban on gambling in China is subject to one exception. The PRC government operates two legal lotteries: the China Welfare Lottery and the China Sports Lottery. The China Sports Lottery experienced its 20-year anniversary in April of this year. The sports lottery allows legal betting on all sporting events. By far the most popular is betting on football: both Chinese national football and the European leagues. As a result of this opportunity for legal gambling, China has become a nation of football fans. But these fans are bettors, not players.
At its inception, sports lottery tickets were sold at exclusive outlets found in all of China’s cities. The number of oudets has always served as a limitation in the number of potential customers. In order to expand access, the China Sports Lottery entered the online world in 2010. The new online rules allow licensed sports lottery vendors to partner with website providers to offer online lottery purchases. Such legal websites must be approved by government regulators and are subject to strict regulation. Due to the tight regulation, licensed sports lottery websites are still uncommon in China. As might be expected, the national lottery administration has monopolised access to its great profit.
During the World Cup craze in China, operators of the major retail sales websites in China saw an opportunity to cash in. These websites partnered with licensed local lottery vendors to offer their lottery products online through retail sales websites. The lottery sales were offered just like any other retail offering on the site. This form of lottery betting was technically in violation of the regulations. The website is licensed as a commercial website. The local lottery agent is licensed to sell lottery tickets. But, the regulations require specific approval to sell those lottery tickets online. No such approval was obtained, making sale on the major retail websites technically illegal.
However, there was money to be made and no one in China worried about the technical details. There is good reason for this. The major retail websites are well run, reducing to a minimum the chance of deceptive practices against the consumer. The government ultimately received a share of the proceeds through income earned by the local licensed vendor. The total income earned by the government was greatly increased due to the massive advertising power of the websites. In this setting, the government regulators had no motivation other than to say: send us the cheques.
It is not clear whether this very successful foray into the sale of sports lottery tickets on the part of the e-commerce giants will continue. The current feeling is that this was just a temporary event created by the unique interest of the Chinese people in the World Cup. However, the substantial income earned must be attractive to all involved and it is certainly possible that this semi legal sale of sports lottery tickets will continue.
But the story does not end here. From the gambler’s point of view, there is a major problem with betting in the China Sports Lottery: the payouts are low. The dedicated gambler is therefore provided with an incentive to seek a higher return. This higher return is offered by unauthorized online gambling websites. Take an example: a 100 RBM bet on Croatia to win its first game in the World Cup through the official sports lottery would have paid out about 8 RMB; the same bet made through an overseas online gambling site would have paid out about 60 RMB.
The Chinese bettor is therefore obviously attracted to betting on the foreign site. The only problem is that the site is illegal in China. It is illegal to access the site from China, it is illegal to send funds to the site from China and it is illegal to receive funds from the site in China. The PRC government has the technical ability to enforce these rules. Using the great firewall, access to foreign gambling sites can be blocked. Domestic websites that provide access to the foreign sites can be located and shut down. The major search engines like Baidu and Sina can be instructed to filters search terms that allow Chinese residents to find gambling sites. Banks and online payment services can be instructed to deny all payments to gambling sites and to refuse to accept payments from gambling sites.
Even though all these techniques of control are possible, during the World Cup Chinese citizens found that they had almost completely open access to wagering on the World Cup. Access to foreign online gambling sites entirely focused on Chinese citizens was entirely open. While specific numbers are not known, it is generally understood that the amount of betting on the World Cup by Chinese citizens on foreign sites actually dwarfed the amount legally wagered on the World Cup through the China Sports Lottery.
So how does a Chinese citizen make a bet through a foreign online gambling site? First, the Chinese gambler has to find a betting site written in Chinese and focused on Mainland Chinese bettors. Serious gamblers will learn the names of the most popular sites through the Chinese online forums dedicated to gambling. For newbies, a search on a Chinese search engine will result in hundreds of hits for online gambling sites. Normally, the potential better will be led to what is known as a portal site listing hundreds of online gambling sites. Normally, the potential bettor will be led to what is known as a portal site listing hundreds of online gambling sites. One click on the portal listing and the gambler will access the site of choice. Several sites have become overwhelmingly popular in China.
After the bettor finds a site, the next issue is determining how to place the bet. The RMB is not a convertible currency and gambling online is not legal. Not a problem. The site will provide clear instructions to the bettor on how to proceed. The system is simple and direct. The site will provide a list of online payment service providers (PSP) that have been approved to work with the site. The customer contacts his preferred service provider and sets up an account. The betting accounts normally require payment of a minimum deposit the customer will normally fund the account using a standard Chinese bank issued debit card. The deposit is made in RMB and the PSP handles the conversion into foreign currency, payment to the online gambling website and collection and payout of winnings.
The website is accessed in China with all communication in Chinese. For the major sites, there is a Chinese speaking voice operator available 24 hours a day. Payments are made and payouts are received in RMB, collection and bank processing are all handled online by an experienced operator, relieving the bettor of any need to discuss the process with bank personnel. A certain amount of fraud protection is provided by the PSP. Where the website is located in a country in which gambling is legal and supervised, there is even more protection from fraud.
The only issue is that the entire program is illegal under Chinese law. So far, the illegality does not seem to have had an impact on the business. Websites are adept at dealing with being blocked by operating with a large list of revolving URLs. PSP’s come and go using the same revolving URL technique. Chinese banks are desperate for deposits and processing fees and therefore cooperate with the PSP’s in ways that are difficult or impossible for the government regulators to monitor. Individual gamblers are prosecuted only when they have committed some other crime such as embezzlement of the funds used to fund their gambling addiction.
The World Cup has not introduced online gambling to China. Both legal domestic and illegal foreign online gambling were already well established. The effect of the tremendous publicity surrounding the World Cup instead introduced huge sectors of the Chinese public to online gambling. The support of online gambling on football provided by the China Sports Lottery convinced the Chinese public that online gambling is a safe form of amusement. The danger of this is that in the pursuit of higher returns the Chinese public will gravitate towards online gambling sites that are illegal in the country. This type of site is not regulated or supervised in any way and is often in the control of criminal organizations.
Reports are now coming out of China about deceptive practices arising from such sites that are typically based in SE Asia. Legal and social issues arising from gambling on such sites may cause the Chinese government to take more aggressive actions against illegal online gambling. The current anti-corruption drive in china focuses on control of overseas gambling, which also may lead to an additional push for regulation. For this reason, though the business is now thriving, there is no certainty about its future in China.
October 26, 2014
Seven arrested in football match fixing claims in Latvia
Seven people have been arrested in Latvia over alleged match fixing claims in football.
Latvian police raided Daugava Daugavpils training ground on Wednesday over allegations key domestic and international football games had been rigged, LETA reports.
Responding to the police raid on the training ground, Daugava Daugavpils club director Edgars Limans said: "I believe that the raid was more of a shock therapy for the players before the actual interrogation took place, which lasted for about 40 minutes for each.
"The raid took place about ten minutes after we started training, therefore, the detainees should return to Daugavpils already by Friday," Limans believes, adding that the team should be back in its full makeup already by Sunday.
The arrests come after UEFA alleged a Champions League game between the Daugavpils side and Finnish side FC Elfsborg was fixed. The Latvian team lost the game last year 7-1.
It's not the first time match fixing allegations have been exposed in Latvian football.
Former Daugava striker Stanley Ibe from Nigeria caused uproar last year after saying that all the club players knew that several games had been rigged. Ibe said that the club's coach and players were paid for doing what former president Olegs Gavrilovs told them.
Gavrilovs was disqualified from Latvian football for life in 2009 and is believed to be one of the arrested, media reports say.
Dinaburg later merged with Daugava. Despite the ban, Gavrilovs can still be seen in the stands during almost every game Daugava plays.
Former Dinaburg head coach Tamaz Pertia was also disqualified in 2009 over corruption allegations. but his disqualification was lifted whilst he currently coaches Riga Skonto football club.
Meanwhile, it's believed police searches will be carried out other Latvian football clubs, sportacentrs.com reports. UEFA said it was investigating the conduct of Latvian football club FC Jurmala earlier this year.
Daugava is set to play its next Latvian Higher League match on Sunday against Daugavpils. The club became the Higher League champion in 2012.
Latvian police raided Daugava Daugavpils training ground on Wednesday over allegations key domestic and international football games had been rigged, LETA reports.
Responding to the police raid on the training ground, Daugava Daugavpils club director Edgars Limans said: "I believe that the raid was more of a shock therapy for the players before the actual interrogation took place, which lasted for about 40 minutes for each.
"The raid took place about ten minutes after we started training, therefore, the detainees should return to Daugavpils already by Friday," Limans believes, adding that the team should be back in its full makeup already by Sunday.
The arrests come after UEFA alleged a Champions League game between the Daugavpils side and Finnish side FC Elfsborg was fixed. The Latvian team lost the game last year 7-1.
It's not the first time match fixing allegations have been exposed in Latvian football.
Former Daugava striker Stanley Ibe from Nigeria caused uproar last year after saying that all the club players knew that several games had been rigged. Ibe said that the club's coach and players were paid for doing what former president Olegs Gavrilovs told them.
Gavrilovs was disqualified from Latvian football for life in 2009 and is believed to be one of the arrested, media reports say.
Dinaburg later merged with Daugava. Despite the ban, Gavrilovs can still be seen in the stands during almost every game Daugava plays.
Former Dinaburg head coach Tamaz Pertia was also disqualified in 2009 over corruption allegations. but his disqualification was lifted whilst he currently coaches Riga Skonto football club.
Meanwhile, it's believed police searches will be carried out other Latvian football clubs, sportacentrs.com reports. UEFA said it was investigating the conduct of Latvian football club FC Jurmala earlier this year.
Daugava is set to play its next Latvian Higher League match on Sunday against Daugavpils. The club became the Higher League champion in 2012.
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