Gaming Report: Glaws.in Completes Merger With Cricketprediction.com, UKGC Bans Credit Card Use For Gambling & More

India-facing news portal Glaws.in known for its comprehensive and research-based reporting on India’s gaming sector, has finally completed its merger with cricket betting and prediction website Cricketprediction.com that is run by Nordavind Investments, a subsidiary of Kingline Ltd. All visitors to the Glaws website are being re-directed to CricketPrediction.com, signaling that the sale we had first reported in November last year has been completed.

The Coronavirus outbreak has resulted in an extended global lockdown raising fears of problem gambling among people who are stuck in their homes with little else to do. To curb this, gaming regulators of several countries have pro-actively placed restrictions on the gambling industry. The most stringent of these restrictions was recently issued by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) that has set a blanket ban on the use of credit cards for all online and offline gambling transactions, except for the national lottery.

The COVID-19 pandemic had sent the global economy in a tailspin, and like Europe, many countries in Asia have been hit hard. One such country is the Philippines that has reported over 5,233 COVID-positive cases with the death-toll standing at 335. Struggling with a financial crisis, the government of the Philippines is now mulling at selling assets like the under-performing casinos owned and run by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR).

ARJEL – the gaming regulator of France has also issued guidance to online gambling operators and discouraged them from offering bonuses to players.

In the US, Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam has refused to approve the two bills that envisaged legal casino operations in the state. Instead, the Governor has recommended proposed amendments involving a rework of the proposed tax revenue distribution.

Glaws.in Completes Merger With Cricketprediction.com

Yes, you heard it right. India’s first news portal specializing in legal news about the country’s gaming industry, Glaws.in, has completed its merger with Cricketprediction.com.

We had first reported of this deal last November when the founder of Glaws, Jay Sayta, had struck an all-cash transaction with the Malta-based Nordavind Investments, which is a subsidiary of Kingline Ltd. The latter had taken over Glaws, merging it with its own cricket-centric site CricketPrediction.com.

Talking about the merger, Director of Kingline Ltd., Pontus Lemberg, said, “We are very excited to merge Glaws.in with our flagship cricket news website Cricketprediction.com. Glaws’ brand and readership will provide an added boost to Cricketprediction.com. Our team of reporters will continue to report the latest breaking news and developments about the online gaming, casino, sports betting, poker, rummy, and fantasy sports space in India. Further, the revamped website will provide readers with live cricket updates, news, and analysis on everything relating to cricket and the gaming industry.”

Glaws.in was founded by Sayta in 2010.

UKGC Bans Credit Card Transactions For Gambling

Back in January, the country’s regulatory body, UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), and UK’s Department of Culture, the Media and Sport (DCMS) had announced that credit card transactions would be disallowed for gambling. The ban has finally come into force from April 14.

As a result of the ban, all retail betting outlets, land-based casinos, and online gaming sites licensed in the UK are prohibited from accepting credit cards. The ban also prevents the use of credit cards through e-wallets like PayPal and applies to all forms of online and offline gambling, except for the National Lottery.

According to the UKGC, an estimated 10.5 million people gamble online, and out of them, 800,000 use credit cards. Of that figure, around 22% of online users who use credit cards are problem gamblers. The ban intends to prevent these problem gamblers from running up credit card debt.

Elaborating on this ban, Gambling Commission Chief Executive, Neil McArthur said, “This credit card ban will protect consumers from financial harm and from today, nobody in Great Britain can use a credit card to gamble. It is a ban which ultimately reduces the risks of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have. The ban also comes at a vital time as we are seeing an increase in the use of some online products, such as online slots and virtual sports, and our online search analysis shows an increase in UK consumer interest in gambling products since the lockdown began.”

“This highlights just how important it is for gambling operators to keep people safe, and the credit card ban will help that. This is another milestone and we will continue looking for ways to make gambling safer.”

The UKGC and DCMS had announced the ban following a 12-week consultation. According to reports, they will continue to seek assistance on combining new technologies with consumer data for strengthening UK’s gambling policy frameworks, technical standards, and best practices.

Sharing his views on the current ban, UK Culture Minister, Helen Whately said, “There is clear evidence of harm from consumers betting with money they do not have, so it is absolutely right that we act decisively to protect them.”

“In the past year, we have introduced a wave of tougher measures, including cutting the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals, bringing in tighter age and identity checks for online gambling, and expanding national specialist support through the NHS Long Term Plan. We have also secured a series of commitments from five leading gambling operators that will include £100m funding towards treatment for problem gamblers. But there is more to do. We will be carrying out a review of the Gambling Act to ensure it is fit for the digital age, and we will be launching a new nationwide addiction strategy in 2020.”

Philippines Govt Looking to Sell PAGCOR-Owned Casinos

Due to economic stress caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the government of the Philippines is considering the sale of all under-performing Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) owned casinos.

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and PAGCOR are two state assets that the government may sell to generate funds for COVID-19 relief measures. The Philippine government believes that they can earn an additional PHP300 billion in revenue after the privatization of PAGCOR.

In this context, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said, “The government does not have to look far to raise additional revenues. There are ‘low-hanging fruits’ the government can immediately tap to provide the much-needed resources for our country to survive this pandemic”

Interestingly, the idea of privatizing PAGCOR’s casinos was proposed back in 2016 as part of a plan to raise funds for the 2017 national budget.

PAGCOR’s new CEO, Andrea Domingo, confirming the same, said, “Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has told us to privatise PAGCOR-owned casinos, we are now preparing the template for the planned privatisation so we could maximise the benefits for the government.”

PAGCOR’s casinos operating under the ‘Casino Filipino’ brand, recorded gross gaming revenue (GGR) of PHP15.80 billion, while private-sector casinos achieved a GGR of PHP49.75 billion during the same period.

In a statement to the media, Domingo said, “We had a discussion and I suggested that PAGCOR should limit itself in the regulatory functions and should privatise their casino operations, because quite frankly it is very difficult for them to outplay the [privately-owned] casinos, it’s improper, even dangerous, to give out haphazardly computed estimates.”

However, the privatization of PAGCOR owned casinos would most likely be a time-taking process, so the government may not be able to raise funds in time to meet the crisis caused by the global pandemic.

ARJEL Warns Online Poker Rooms Against Promoting Deposit Bonuses

French gambling regulator ARJEL has directed operators to refrain from offering online poker bonuses to players during the Coronavirus pandemic. In a guidance note on responsible gambling, the ARJEL noted that there has been a significant increase in the number of new online poker players in the absence of sports betting and horse racing. The regulator said that operators need to do their bit to control gambling and discouraged online poker operators from using bonuses to attract new players.

In its advisory, ARJEL stated, “Echoing operators’ initiatives in the area of responsible gambling, ARJEL remains particularly attentive to the risks of excessive gambling and advises players to keep control of their gambling so that it remains a recreational leisure activity.”

Reminding players that most of them are not professional gamblers, the regulator laid out a list of measures that gamblers can take to check the risk of problem gambling.

Asking the players to keep the games a leisure activity, it encouraged them to set deposit, play time and stake limits and to self-exclude from gambling if they feel they’re losing control.

Virginia Governor Wants to Divert Casino Revenue to Schools

The Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, had received two bills in March that would allow construction and operation of up to five casinos in the state. Northam had a deadline till April 11 to act upon the bills, and he has proposed significant amendments to them before they can be enacted into law.

The main alteration is related to how the tax revenue from the casinos will get distributed. Northam wants to divert a bulk of that towards the public school system for their construction, renovations or upgrades.

Under the current version, apart from the majority of these funds going into the general fund, a small portion would be given to local governments (6% of the first $200 Million of adjusted gross receipts, 7% between $200 to $400 Million and 8% if the gross revenue exceeds $400 Million). A small percentage of the tax has also been assigned for the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund along with Family and Children’s Trust Fund. In case the casino is operated by an Indian tribe, 1% would go to the Virginia Indigenous People’s Trust Fund.

Clarifying the Governor’s stand, Northam’s deputy policy advisor, Carter Hutchinson, said, “The Governor is going to amend that provision of the bill that says roughly two-thirds of the [tax] revenue goes to the general fund. He is going to amend that language to designate the funding go to school construction, renovation, and repairs. The language is going to be relatively broad given the revenue from the casinos won’t start coming in for at least a couple years, probably more.”

The General Assembly will next reconvene on April 22 to either approve or reject the amendments, but they won’t be allowed to make changes to them. In case the bills are passed, they will be enacted as law, and the local residents of eligible cities i.e., Richmond, Danville, Norfolk, Bristol, and Portsmouth, will be able to approve the measure via referendum in the 2020 general ballot.