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// PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL // November/December 2015
Amaya acquired the two online sites for
$4.9 billion back in 2014.
The United Kingdom has seen a
reduction in unregulated gaming
activity since they instituted their
new regulatory scheme
A report released by the UK Gambling
Commission for 2014-2015 stated,
“As far
as unlicensed activity is concerned, we have
found no evidence of the threatened move un-
derground or emergence on any scale of illegal
websites targeting Britain.”
The report also
noted that some operators halted operations
once being notified that others had been
cut off by payment processors and adver-
tisers. The United Kingdom now believes
that it regulates almost 100% of
“domestic
remote market instead of less than 15%.”
Sheldon Adelson’s Minions
Re-Floating ‘RAWA Lite’ Concept
Whereas the original RAWA would have
enacted a blanket ban in the US against
online gambling, the RAWA Lite version
would instead institute a “moratorium,”
attempting to forbid more US states from
legalizing and regulating online gambling
while “more studies are done.” Exactly
what the studies are supposed to accom-
plish that’s different than those that already
exist isn’t quite clear; online gambling
is increasingly understood to be a non-
cannibalising form of gambling that can
complement existing land-based venues.
But the Adelson camp doesn’t want to hear
about that research; they want to fund their
own, control the results through leading
questions and assumptive findings, then
reshape the argument in Congress. And in
the meantime, impose a cease and desist on
all internet gaming operations while these
studies are conducted.
RAWA Lite isn’t much more likely to
pass than its predecessor, the original
RAWA. And yes, the passage of the bill
would be bad news indeed for American
gambling interests. All that said, talk about
RAWA and the threat it poses isn’t much
of a bad thing at all. Already, legislators in
both Pennsylvania and New York have cited
the possible RAWA threats from Adelson
as a reason to move on online-gambling
legalization bills now, rather than allow
the US Congress any chance of usurpring
states’ rights and shutting down possible
revenue streams.
Veikkaus (Finnish Lottery) Issues
Revised Guidelines Governing the
Oral Marketing of Its Lottery Games
Shoppers in Finland will no longer be
verbally invited to purchase lottery tickets
by staff working at point of sale stations.
Police top brass say the practice constitutes
aggressive marketing and have persuaded
the national betting agency Veikkaus to
prohibit it.
South Australia Leads Fight Against
the Dirty Tactics Used by Online
Betting Companies
SA Business Services and Consumers
Minister Gail Gago said the changes were
prompted by questionable practices used by
sports betting agencies outlined in an Au-
gust report by Financial Counselling Aus-
tralia (FCA), as reported by The New Daily.
“In some cases, account holders are offering
credit ranging from $200 to the tens of thou-
sands [of dollars] with no consideration given
to the person’s circumstances, their capacity
to repay or their well-being.”
Also revealed
in the report is that betting operators were
offering credit to a person already in arrears
“and things like making it extremely difficult
to withdraw funds from their accounts.”
FCA
policy manager Lauren Levin said the or-
ganisation welcomed the proposed changes
and that SA was showing leadership, urging
other states and territories will follow their
lead. She said the effects on gambling
addicts by ruthless practices used by legal
online sports betting companies licensed in
Australia, was harrowing.
Sweden, Norway Media Outlets
Under Fire Over Gambling Advertising
It is illegal to advertise for gambling firms
not named Svenska Spel, but Sweden’s
media outlets have routinely flaunted this
prohibition. Across the border in Norway,
the government is asking local media out-
lets to be on the alert for stealthy advertis-
ing by companies other than the Norsk
Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto monopolies.
Last December, the Ministry of Culture
determined that unauthorized international
online gambling sites were responsible for
90% of all TV betting ads.
The Gaming Industry is Losing
Billions by Ignoring Women
The games industry appears to have only
focused on a rather narrowly defined demo-
graphic of males, aged 18 to 34 years old.
And by doing so, it’s been missing out on a
global market opportunity in the range of
$30 billion to $45 billion annually. Boys
and men still account for 83% of the audi-
ence for classic genres like shooter games
on PC. On mobile, however, there’s a much
more equal distribution, with women
accounting for 46% of the player base.
And if we look at casino-style games on
PC, mobile, or tablet, we even see women
accounting for well over two-thirds of the
player base. The notion that women don’t
play video games is absurd.
“Human-Centered Approach” Drives
e-Commerce: Walmart
Lotteries could take a page from the world’s
largest retailer, Wal-Mart, which is using
psychology to make shopping easier, more
enjoyable and more convenient by imple-
menting
“the human centered approach.”
Although personalization is a common fea-
ture of most modern e-commerce sites, @
WalmartLabs isn’t satisfied with that and is
going a step further to understand human
behavior. The result is a deeper knowledge
of what customers want and leads to people
see themselves using things when the
context is right. In turn, that can generate
sales. For example, one Walmart execu-
tive explains
“We identify non-traditional
customer segments. For example, ice cream is
popular in the South on hot days or gardeners