Tag: Compliance Updates

UK debut will significantly increase Bragg’s addressable market reach with supply of platform and content in the world’s largest regulated online gambling market

ORYX Gaming, a Bragg Gaming Group company, has been granted a UK license, a significant milestone which will see the Company enter one of the world’s most mature iGaming markets and substantially increase its global reach to the largest online gambling market.

The supplier license, awarded by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), will enable Bragg’s ORYX Gaming to provide its content to a wide range of operators, including some of the biggest and most established brands in the industry.

An initial batch of ORYX’s best performing slots have initially been certified for the UK market, including games developed by ORYX’s in-house studio and exclusive titles from Gamomat, with these titles expected to begin rolling out with operator partners before the end of the year.

The total addressable market (TAM) for the online casino sector in the United Kingdom in 2021 is approximately US$ 5.5bn (£4.1bn) according to H2 Gambling Capital, making it the largest regulated iGaming market in the world.

The license represents an important step in Bragg’s growth strategy as it continues to further grow its market share in regulated jurisdictions and secure entry into new markets including large established markets such as the United Kingdom.

The company expects its global market expansion initiatives will increase its TAM six-fold in 2022 to more than US$18bn, of which the UK market will account for just under one third.

Chris Looney, Chief Commercial Officer of Bragg Gaming Group, said: “The UK online gambling market is unmatched in terms of size and maturity and the world’s leading operators all have a presence in the jurisdiction.

“Receiving a UK supplier license offers significant growth opportunities for Bragg as we bring first-class iGaming entertainment to UK players together with local operator partners. This license and our pending entry into the UK market before the end of the year will help to accelerate our international growth trajectory and offers another proof point of the success we continue to achieve with the execution of our global market expansion initiatives.”

The Betting and Gaming Council have welcomed the news that Facebook are to introduce an opt out for the vast majority of betting adverts on their platform.

It means that Facebook users who no longer want to view such advertisements will be able to stop doing so.

The BGC have been working closely with Facebook over the past year and hope to come up with even more new tools in the future for those who want to see fewer betting ads.

The move is in addition to the updated Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising, which was released last year.

Under the code, BGC members must ensure that all social media ads must be targeted at consumers aged 25 and over unless the website proves they can be precisely targeted at over-18s.

In a further sign of the regulated industry’s commitment to raising standards, at least 20 per cent of their TV and radio ads are safer gambling messages.

BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said “This is yet more evidence of our commitment to raising standards in the regulated industry.

“I welcome this move by Facebook and I would urge all social media and search platforms to provide the ability for users to opt out of viewing betting adverts.

“The regulated betting and gaming industry is determined to promote safer gambling, unlike the unsafe and growing online black market, which has none of the safeguards which are commonplace among BGC members.”

An interim evaluation of the Gambling Commission’s credit card ban indicates the action is popular among consumers and has not resulted in harmful unintended consequences.

The credit card ban was introduced in April 2020 to add another layer of protection for consumers and add friction to the process of gambling with borrowed money. Evidence revealed some gamblers with high levels of debt were using credit cards to gamble.

When monitoring gambling and financial behaviours, the report found:

• support for the ban among consumers has been largely positive, qualitative data from consumers supports the conclusion that the ban helps people to gamble within their means and retain control
• the proportion of consumers reporting gambling with other forms of borrowed money has remained stable
• there has been no increase in reports of illegal money lending related to gambling
• while consumers are aware of ways to legally bypass the ban, far more people who previously gambled with a credit card now gamble with available (not borrowed) funds than other types of borrowed money
• bank data showed no observed spike for credit card gamblers in money transfers in the three months after the ban
• there was no spike in ATM withdrawals from credit cards around the time of the ban.

The report shows a major high street bank has observed the volume and value of gambling transactions with credit cards to the gambling merchant code reduced to a very low level. Continually low-level expenditure to businesses with gambling merchant codes was expected and can be explained by activities outside the scope of the ban such as lotteries and competitions spending.

Additionally, major e-wallet and electronic money providers have blocked gambling transactions if funding originated from credit cards.

Key sources used to inform the report were the Commission’s Online Tracker survey, which collects data quarterly from a nationally representative sample of approximately 2,000 adults aged 18+ in Great Britain, and Consumer Voice research completed by 2CV, which involved an eight-day online programme with 30 respondents.

Next steps: future evaluation activity

Ongoing monitoring of behaviours is important to ensure there is not an increase in harmful forms of funding gambling activity.

NatCen Social Research have been commissioned to conduct a full evaluation of the ban on gambling with credit cards by Greo as part of their programme of work to strengthen evaluation of safer gambling initiatives. This is scheduled for completion in early 2023 and the Commission will use these findings, along with our continued monitoring, to inform future policy development.

Andrew Rhodes, Interim Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission said: “Protecting consumers is at the heart of everything we do, we introduced this policy as part of our multifaceted work to reduce gambling harm.

“The successful implementation of the ban across the industry and the impact on consumer behaviour and financial spend we have monitored so far is an encouraging sign that the ban has reduced consumer reliance on gambling with borrowed money. We look forward to NatCen’s report on the long-term impacts of the ban and how this can inform our future policies.”