Company Reports

The future of Crown Resorts’ casinos in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth is under question after a public inquiry into the gambling group’s operations heard that the company is unsuitable to hold a casino operating licence. On November 3rd, the inquiry also heard that the influence of the casino group’s major shareholder James Packer affected the mass arrest of Crown’s staff in China. The assertions came as part of the closing statement from the lawyer who was running the probe aimed at establishing whether Crown Resorts is fit for holding its…

The online gambling company Kindred Group revealed a decision to pull its 32Red brand from the Italian market after operating for about 8 years in the country. As confirmed in a statement published by the company, the Italy-facing website of the brand – 32Red.it – is set to cease operation as of November 30th. The gambling firm calls for local customers to make sure they withdraw their funds by November 29th as after that they will no longer be able to access the website. The message found by the Italian…

The British gambling and sports betting giant GVC Holdings has issued a statement to estimate the expected impact of the recently enforced sports betting outlets’ closures on the company’s operations. The gambling operator, which owns a number of brands, including Ladbrokes, Coral, Bwin and Foxy Bingo, confirmed that the safety, health and well-being of its employees and customers is a matter of paramount priority but also provided guidance about the expected effect that the betting outlet coronavirus-related closures across Europe and the UK retail sector is likely to have on…

The casino watchdog in the state of Victoria did not make an attempt to interview staff members of Crown Resorts, who were taken into custody and imprisoned in China for participating in the illegal promotion of gambling, until after one of them appeared on television. At the time this happened, the regulatory body’s investigation had been underway for two years. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) tabled its annual report in the state parliament on October 29th. The report unveils the lack of progress in the watchdog’s…

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against a gambling operator for using an advert that could be found particularly appealing to underage individuals. The gambling advert, which features fluffy animals, has been suspended after the regulator tagged it as “irresponsible”. The Gala Spins ad, which appeared as a paid-for post on Facebook, was seen by the complainant on August 12th, 2020. The post included a video that features five toy animals, as well as a caption “It’s a rollercoaster of cuteness!” The person who filed the complaint to…

Two of the most popular British betting brands – Ladbrokes and Coral – will no longer operate on the betting rings in the UK and Ireland after it was confirmed that the owner of the two companies, GVC Holdings, has reached an agreement to sell its 106 pitches to a competitor and exit on-course operations. In a statement released on October 27th, the trading director of GVC Holdings, Rom Ritzema, said that it was not an easy decision to make and explained that a number of factors had been taken…

One of the major retail and commercial banks in the UK, National Westminster Bank (NatWest), unveiled a gambling ban option on the use of debit cards that would provide the bank’s customers who may be problem gamblers with a “cooling-off” period of 48 hours before they are able to make such payments again. The new feature is part of the bank’s efforts to help customers who could suffer from gambling addictions to better control their spending on gambling services. As mentioned above, NatWest customers will be forced to wait 48…

The restrictions implemented by the UK Government because of the coronavirus pandemic are responsible for the decrease in prize money in the British horseracing sector. The trend has raised concerns that horse owners will disregard the prestige of the sector that has been built over centuries of tradition and shift their interests to overseas races. According to reports, the British horseracing, which is estimated at £4 billion on an annual basis, is asking the UK Government for some reforms and financial help that is supposed to help it survive the…

The boss of one of the largest casino and bingo operators in the UK – Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo – Jonathon Swaine – has criticised the country’s Government for what he called “senseless” closures of gambling venues in Tier 3 regions. Mr Swaine explained that the decision for the closures was extremely unfair and described it as a “targeted attack” to the gambling industry that had no justification at all. The Rank Group’s managing director shared his disappointment with the stricter rules that will be imposed by the Government…

The Nordic online gambling company Betsson AB has decided to make a significant reduction in its presence in the UK market. On October 21st, the Stockholm-based operator made an official announcement that it was to reduce its current market presence in the UK to a single brand from nine brands operating under four licences on three different platforms. The brand that will remain operational, Rizk, was purchased from Gaming Innovation Group earlier in 2020 along with other gaming brands. The Group is to hand three of its four licences back…