Denmark’s gambling regulatory framework has undergone significant updates to enhance oversight and maintain the integrity of the gambling industry. The Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) has introduced new measures to combat illegal marketing practices, overhauled the certification program for betting and online casinos, and tightened regulations concerning high-risk jurisdictions. These initiatives reflect Denmark’s commitment to promoting responsible gambling and preventing financial crimes.

Stricter Controls on Gambling Marketing

The DGA, in collaboration with the Consumer Ombudsman and the Gambling Advertising Board, has forged a new agreement to intensify efforts against the illegal marketing of gambling services. This agreement aims to streamline actions taken against non-compliance by consolidating resources and information sharing among the three bodies. It establishes clear protocols for forwarding cases and addressing violations, particularly those that mislead or exploit vulnerable groups.

Under the new framework, the Gambling Advertising Board will escalate serious non-compliance issues to the Consumer Ombudsman or the DGA. Conversely, the ombudsman and the DGA will direct complaints regarding breaches of the industry’s code of conduct to the Advertising Board. This ensures a coordinated approach to uphold marketing standards, safeguarding consumers and reinforcing social responsibility within the industry.

Revamped Certification Program for Betting and Online Casino

Effective January 1, 2025, Denmark will implement a new certification program for betting and online casinos, with mandatory adoption by July of the same year. The updated program introduces significant changes to license holders’ and game suppliers’ requirements and responsibilities, such as the handling of game and RNG certifications. It also simplifies the reporting and testing processes, reducing the previous two-month deadline for submitting standard reports to one month.

This update is part of the preparation for the DGA’s introduction of a games register that will manage RNG and game certificates more efficiently. The new standards aim to enhance clarity and compliance in the rapidly evolving gambling landscape.

Enhanced Monitoring of High-Risk Jurisdictions

In line with updates from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the DGA has also revised its approach to monitoring high-risk jurisdictions. This includes detailed guidance on enhanced due diligence procedures required for players from countries listed on FATF’s Grey and Black Lists, denoting varying risk levels and recommended actions. This measure is crucial for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing through gambling activities.

Gambling operators are mandated to incorporate these lists into their risk assessments and apply stringent customer due diligence for players from these jurisdictions. This not only complies with international financial security standards but also strengthens the integrity of Denmark’s gambling sector.

Source:

Update to the FATF’s list of high-risk jurisdictions, spillemyndigheden.dk, July 8, 2024.

Consultation on updated certification programme for betting and online casino, spillemyndigheden.dk, July 15, 2024.

Ny aftale skal styrke indsatsen mod spilvirksomheders markedsføring, forbrugerombudsmanden.dk, July 11, 2024.

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For more than five years, sports betting has been expanding across the United States. After the repeal of PASPA, lawmakers in different states enacted retail, mobile or in some cases both retail and mobile sports wagering, allowing punters to be able to wager via legal operators. While there are unquestionable benefits of legal wagering, including support for teams and tax revenue that can be vital for different local and state programs, the activity raises concerns, especially about the integrity of sports and the safety of the professional players.

In a recent interview for NBC Sports’ Golf Central, Norb Gambuzza, PGA Tour’s senior vice president of media and gaming, spoke about the challenges the Tour is facing considering the growth of the legal betting sector and what actions it takes to ensure the integrity of the game.

One of the constant efforts of the PGA Tour is monitoring the betting activities across the world in real-time. This enables the Tour to determine if there are suspicious transactions across the market and if there’s a lot of money moving across the lines for certain players. Those efforts are completed under the PGA Tour’s integrity program.

“We are constantly, in real-time, monitoring betting activity around the world to see what is happening with individual players.“

Norb Gambuzza, senior vice president of media and gaming with the PGA Tour

PGA Tour Officials Are Prohibited from Wagering on Sports

Over the last year, several scandals emerged that involved NFL players engaging in sports betting. In a few cases, some fuming bettors used social media to threaten professional athletes, actions that shook the sports vertical and once again raised concerns about the safety of the players.

In the recent interview, Gambuzza was also asked how the PGA Tour monitors incidents related to golfers who engage in sports wagering. He revealed that after the repeal of PASPA, the Tour implemented robust policies related to integrity, setting clear rules for anyone who has PGA Tour credentials or otherwise people referred to as covered persons.

This policy effectively informs all covered persons about the integrity requirements that safeguard the sport. Not unexpectedly, PGA Tour’s covered persons are prohibited from engaging in wagering on golf, explained Gambuzza.

Besides enforcing internal compliance, the PGA Tour uses the services of Genius Sports and US Integrity, two of its partners that facilitate monitoring betting activities across the globe. Finally, Gambuzza explained that all of the PGA Tour’s betting partners have a list of the covered persons so if anyone places a wager on golf, they are going to be identified right away.

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BetMakers Technology Group, a leading wagering technology and data partner, has unveiled OneWatch, its new terminal monitoring solution. The innovative tool will allow companies to easily manage thousands of terminals.

BetMakers described OneWatch as a wagering terminal monitoring and analytics tool that has been designed to revolutionize wagering terminal operations from manual and reactive to smart and proactive.

According to the announcement, OneWatch will reinforce BetMakers and its Global Tote division with a robust tool for terminal maintenance and support services. OneWatch notably includes centralized monitoring of the entire wagering terminal estate with a single, consolidated dashboard. In addition to that, the tool provides real-time status indicators, alerts and general health reports.

Another thing OneWatch excels in is the analysis of historical data and its data-driven decision-making. Finally, BetMakers’ new solution offers dashboard integration with third-party automation tools.

Global Tote’s operation teams, for example, will leverage the solution to manage the company’s thousands of BetLine Series wagering terminals across the US. Global Tote clients will also be provided with insights into their BetLine terminals, a centralized dashboard and historical data.

In addition, clients who acquire BetLine terminals can also leverage OneWatch to gain visibility into their machines’ performance and secure access to tools they can use to improve customer satisfaction.

BetMakers Wants to Drive Innovation

BetMakers Technology Group’s chief technology officer, Karl Begg, commented on the launch, highlighting BetMakers’ goal to simplify betting. According to Begg, the company’s BetLine Series of wagering terminals seeks to ensure that all key elements of betting terminal service can be analyzed and monitored.

Whether deployed for our North American clients or by a client that owns their own BetLine terminals, OneWatch will give support teams comprehensive oversight of critical wagering terminal systems, ensuring that nothing escapes attention.

Karl Begg, CTO, BetMakers Technology Group

Begg added that BetMakers continues its mission to transform the global racing industry by enhancing the overall wagering experience. The BetLine Series and the OneWatch solution are just two of the ways in which BetMakers has supported the sector.

OneWatch will officially launch for clients in Q1 2024. In the meantime, the solution is being rolled out to BetMakers’ Global Tote operations.

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The partnership sees US Integrity, a specialist that focuses on integrity and monitoring, deliver its range of tools and solutions, along with its monitoring software, to Big 12.

Big 12 Wants Its Games to Have Integrity

The companies will focus on monitoring betting activities surrounding college games, and it comes at a time when the NCAA is rocked by a large scandal involving student-athletes and coaches who may have been betting on their own games.

Sports wagering is prohibited by participants in competitions, and Big 12 wants to ensure that it has the means to monitor and police its players and staff. Commenting on this new tie-up, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark had this to say:

The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to partner with U.S. Integrity as a continuation of its commitment to sports betting compliance. Given the current landscape of sports betting in our industry, it’s more important than ever to double down on ensuring sport integrity across our Conference.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark

Big 12 will gain access to the ProhiBet technology which is designed as a secure and transparent method for sportsbook operators and sports properties to track betting activity and flag instances where it’s suspected that student-athletes, coaches, or administrative staff may have had something to do with the outcome of an NCAA athletic contest.

Matt Heap, ProhiBet managing director, spoke about the significance of the partnership and what it meant for Big 12. Thanks to PhohiBet’s advanced system and Big 12’s dedication to ensuring that its contests have integrity, this partnership will allow the conference to ensure the transparency and trustworthiness of collegiate sports betting activities.

NCAA Looking to Ensure Integrity of College Sports

Big 12 is also looking to presently strengthen the way it disseminates its data and is working closer with partners to ensure that suspicious betting patterns are tracked in a timely manner. In the meantime, the NCAA has been stepping up its efforts into potential breaches of the association’s betting rules.

In July, the NCAA confirmed that there were 175 infractions on record with 17 ongoing investigations tying them up.

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The Directorate General of Gaming (DGOJ), Spain’s national regulator, has launched a public consultation on the data requirements needed to update its monitoring framework. The industry will have around two months to express its thoughts on the matter.

The DGOJ is looking to introduce further changes to the Spanish regulatory landscape, as required by new Royal Decrees on safer gambling. Until September 7, industry stakeholders and the public can express their thoughts on the matter and provide feedback to the authority.

The regulator needs to amend how data is regulated in order to enhance the information monitoring system and prevent gambling harm. Under the latest Royal Decree, all Spanish operators must adopt sufficient monitoring and record-keeping protocols to protect gamblers from harm. In addition, companies will be required to keep risk profiles of customers of consumers under 25.

The new rules seek to shield young adults from the dangers of problem gambling. Since people aged 18-25 are considered to be very vulnerable to gambling harm, Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs wants companies to be extra careful with such demographics.

Online gambling will have to implement the new know-your-customer requirements in H2, paving the way to a safer gambling ecosystem.

Spain’s New Safer Gaming Measures Should Be Implemented by 2024

Spain approved the Royal Decree on Responsible Gaming Environments in March. The decree outlines a number of safer gambling measures that will be gradually implemented in the country.

In addition to closely monitoring the activity of young players, the Decree prevents operators from targeting young people with promotional offers and bonuses. The Decree furthermore requires companies to intervene within 72 hours when harmful activities are detected. Failure to comply with these rules can earn gambling companies fines of up to €50 million.

The DGOJ hopes to fully implement all the requirements outlined in the Decree by 2024.

Spain is known as one of the strictest gambling jurisdictions in Europe because of its refusal to compromise with the safety of its citizens. As a result, companies in Spain must abide by strict rules, lest they risk problems with the DGOJ.

In the meantime, the DGOJ is working on a cross-operator deposit limit system which it believes to be crucial for the safety of the market. As its name implies, the system would introduce self-control tools that apply to all legal platforms, encouraging players to play safely.

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The Osaka prefecture has selected the business consultancy Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu for the provision of support services for the development of its upcoming integrated resort. The construction of the new casino and hospitality venue is expected to revolutionize gaming in Japan.

Under its contract with the prefecture, the consultancy will be tasked with overseeing various aspects of the special-purpose company that is working on the resort on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay. Deloitte will, therefore, be responsible for watching over the financial, legal and technological details of the project.

During the financial year 2023-24, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will closely follow the business activities of the consortium working on the Osaka resort. As first reported by GGR Asia, Deloitte was the only bidder in the Osaka prefecture’s request-for-proposal. The fee for its work will be around $593,000, including consumption tax.

The IR Project Had to Be Delayed

The Osaka integrated resort is a multi-billion project backed by a consortium that encompasses major gambling powerhouses such as MGM Resorts and Orix. The two companies have a 40% equity stake each, while the remaining 20% is distributed among other investors in Japan.

The realization of the project will cost an estimated $8.4 billion and is expected to be completed by 2030. This is a significant delay from the original deadline, which expected the construction to finish in 2025, in time for the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

The original time frame was rendered unrealistic because of various setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal of bidders. The political conflicts in Japan, which included accusations of bribery and influence peddling also affected the projected opening date.

Despite the setbacks, Osaka’s governor, Hirofumi Yoshimura, is confident in the success of the project. Speaking about the delay he said that the postponement might have been for the better. Yoshimura added that he believes the cultural significance of Japan will attract many tourists to the new integrated resort, once it has been completed.

However, not everyone is optimistic about the prospects of an integrated resort in Osaka. Last year, opponents of the project tried to push for a referendum that would cancel the development. Despite the pessimism of anti-gambling activists, MGM Resorts is convinced that the property will contribute millions to local taxes.

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