Gaming Innovation Group (GiG), a provider of cloud-based products and platform services and performance marketing to the iGaming industry, has penned a Head of Terms agreement with a major casino company in Europe. Although the company did not disclose the name of its new partner, it noted that it is a “well-known” local land-based operator.

GiG to Supply another European Company with Its Solutions

As announced by GiG, the Head of Terms agreement outlines the provision of its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and its front-end delivery and content management system (CSM) to the undisclosed partner. This will help the operator in question make a foray into the iGaming sector.

GiG noted that its new partner has more than 25 years of experience in the live casino industry. The provider noted that the company in question is very interested in taking the rest of its content online, capitalizing on the quick growth of the European iGaming sector. Once it goes online, GiG mentioned, the major European company wants to tackle both established jurisdictions and emerging markets.

GiG said that the current agreement should be made formal within the next few weeks. According to the provider, the deal will be signed for an initial period of five years. If everything goes according to plan, it should go live in the second half of the current year.

GiG Is Excited to Help More Companies Enter the iGaming Sector

Gaming Innovation Group’s chief executive officer, Richard Brown, commented on the newly-penned Head of Terms agreement. He noted that the company will once again have the opportunity to help a land-based operator go online. Brown pointed out that his team is already experienced in executing such projects and will happily assist the established European operator tap into what the iGaming sector has to offer.

Having executed many of these projects across both emerging and regulated markets, we are happy to partner with another company that carries strong retail experience, and to drive value into the diversification of their organization.

Richard Brown, CEO, GiG

This agreement further cements GiG as a leading provider of solutions for operators wishing to establish a global presence through the Internet. The provider currently serves 29 regulated jurisdictions and is preparing to launch in another 8.

The current agreement mirrors a similar deal GiG signed at the beginning of this month when it announced its first Switzerland-oriented agreement. The provider agreed to power the Swiss brand with its PAM solutions and said that the deal should be made official by Q3 of 2023.

Leading iGaming supplier and aggregator Relax Gaming will onboard content from yet another gaming studio to its aggregation platform. The studio joining the Powered By Relax program is the Armenia-based provider Galaxsys.

Galaxsys Helps Relax Expand Its Portfolio

Galaxsys is an ambitious Yerevan-headquartered studio that has taken the iGaming market by storm, quickly gaining traction with its exciting games. A true disruptor, Galaxsys offers innovative content that has proven to be very popular among gambling enthusiasts.

The studio’s portfolio is continuously growing and currently includes over 20 unique games. Each title is different, allowing Galaxsys to appeal to gamers with varied preferences. Those who prefer fast-paced thrills will delight in playing Crash and Penalty or Rocketon. Meanwhile, skilled gamers might be interested in skill games like Belote, Backgammon, Dominoes and Hexagon.

The provider’s titles are currently available in more than 100 casinos across four continents. Thanks to the quality of its content, Galaxsys now has a presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and LATAM.

Relax Gaming, on the other hand, is one of the best aggregators in the contemporary iGaming sector. The Powered By platform offers a rich selection of over 4,000 iGaming titles from the best providers to Relax’s partnering operators. Relax Gaming also produces its own content, helping it power operators’ content offering with even more games of quality.

The addition of Galaxsys content will further diversify Relax’s already impressive content roster.

The Armenian Studio Is Delighted to Receive Relax’s Recognition

Galaxsys’ senior vice president of sales and business development, Gil Soffer, shared his thoughts about the agreement. He noted that his company and team feel “incredibly happy” to be recognized by one of the industry-leading aggregators. Soffer is certain that this agreement will further elevate Galaxsys’ portfolio, improving the company’s overall visibility and helping it launch its content with some of the best operators in the industry.

Simon Hammon, Relax Gaming’s chief executive officer, also shared his thoughts. He said that Relax Gaming is happy to welcome Galaxsys as the latest Powered By Relax partner.

The studio’s line of products is proving to be hugely popular around the world, and we’re happy to be working alongside one of the market leaders in this segment.

Simon Hammon, CEO, Relax Gaming

Relax Gaming is a critically-acclaimed business-to-business supplier of iGaming content that has been decorated with various awards thanks to its commitment to excellence. The latest honors Relax Gaming has received include being named Casino/Slot Developer of the Year at the SBC Awards, Best Mobile Gaming Software Provider at the EGR B2B Awards and Best Game Provider at the AskGamblers Awards.

888 William Hill, the entity formed in the wake of 888 Holdings’ acquisition of William Hill, has designated Phil Walker as its managing director for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Walker, a former William Hill director, will essentially carry on with his duties as a part of the newly-formed company.

Walker to Serve 888 William Hill after the Merger

Phil Walker served as the UK managing director of William Hill prior to the latter’s acquisition by 888. The experienced director boasts 20 years of experience across stores, catalogs, internet, telephone and mobile channels, thanks to which he was selected to support 888 William Hill.

Walker made the announcement on his LinkedIn account, sharing that he will now be serving as the UK and Ireland MD at 888 William Hill.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as UK & Ireland managing director at 888 William Hill!

Phil Walker, UK & Ireland MD, 888 William Hill

The MD Has a Lot of Experience

Walker has a lot of experience in high-profile positions, having previously served as the group chief operating officer of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, a non-exec chair at KeyCom Limited and the owner of Sandstar Consulting.

He is no stranger to the gaming industry either and has previously worked for Ladbrokes Coral and Gala Interactive. At Gala Interactive, Walker occupied a variety of important positions, including online director, managing director of remote gambling, a management consultant for Eurobet Italia and marketing and customer operations director. Following the Ladbrokes-Coral merger, Walker served as a chief marketing officer and MD of sports brands.

His earlier career included tenures at a variety of companies.

Walker joined William Hill in 2019, first serving as online managing director before taking the mantle of UK managing director. The specialist’s responsibilities have now been extended to include Ireland as well.

888 Struggling to Consolidate Revenues

Several days ago, 888 posted its financial results for the last quarter of 2022. The company recorded disappointing results in spite of the World Cup boost. According to the company, the suboptimal performance was due to the regulatory headwinds in the United Kingdom, which affected its online business negatively.

The company’s annual revenue from online gambling took a 5% dip year-on-year in 2022. Meanwhile, the company’s overall revenue for the year declined by 3%.

Amid the aforementioned financial troubles, 888 announced that it is parting ways with its chief financial officer, Yariv Dafna. The latter is scheduled to depart from the company at the end of the fiscal year on March 31.

In December, 888 Holdings welcomed Anna Barsby as its new chief product and technology officer.

Omnichannel sports betting operator Star Sports Group of Companies announced the appointment of gambling industry veteran Russ Wiseman as the group’s first Chairman.

‘Valuable Addition’ Going Forward

The addition of Wiseman to Star Sports Group brings nearly 30 years of gambling industry experience gained across senior commercial, strategic and operational roles at industry leaders such as Sporting Index, Sportech, Betdaq, and Entain.

Commenting on the appointment, the founder of Star Sports Group, Ben Keith, was thrilled to announce Wiseman as the company’s first Chairman, convinced that his “wealth of experience in the industry” will become “a valuable addition” to the senior management team at the group.

“I look forward to working with him personally over the coming years,” Keith added, outlining the future objectives for the business to expand its existing portfolio of businesses, as well as complement the work done at both Star Sports and Playbook Engineering.

Joining Star Sports Group at a time when the gambling industry in the UK is eagerly awaiting the changes to the regulatory regime following the Gambling Act review, Wiseman will be tasked to weather regulatory headwinds and continue the momentum of growth for the group.

Wiseman’s area of expertise seems to be public relations, with much of his responsibilities over the past 20 years focused there. His career in the gambling industry dates back to the nascent stages of the sector in 1999, and his previous roles include Director of Public Relations at Sportech, Business Development Director at Betdaq, Head of Media at Sportingbet, and others.

Growth and Responsible Operations

On his appointment, Wiseman said: “I am genuinely delighted to join Star at this exciting period in its development and expansion,” Wiseman said on his appointment before going on to pay tribute to Keith and his management team.

“Ben [Keith] has been a respected industry figure I have known and admired for over 25 years and I’m hugely looking forward to working closely with his management team to fulfill the group’s growth strategy and commitment to operating responsibly,” the newly-appointed Chairman of Star Sports Group concluded.

As an omnichannel operator, Star Sports Group operates both retail high-street betting shops and online and mobile sports betting channels, offering telephone credit and debit betting, spread betting and services for bookmakers, including white label and affiliate programs, as well as hedging.

Among the group’s partners is Spotlight Sports Group, after a strategic agreement signed last year saw the supplier of tech, media and content boost Star Sports’ offerings with numerous daily informative print products.

Massachusetts is set to launch its sports betting market in a week. This has raised the question of athlete safety as certain people fear that disgruntled bettors might target pro players and their families.

The Players’ Association Demands Action

As the concerns grow, the Players’ Association, a union representing the United States’ biggest sports leagues, asked Massachusetts’ Gaming Commission to take player safety in mind in its regulations.

The association said that it would be content with any measure that provides pros sports players with the necessary protections. It proposed solutions such as barring aggressive people from betting or stopping sports betting on a certain sport altogether.

This Monday, the issue was discussed in depth.

Steve Fehr, special counsel to the NHL Players Association, noted that the sports industry is wholly dependent on players and must protect them. He said that the Players’ Association does not ask for funds, only for the Gaming Commission to make things safer and fairer.

Harassment by angry punters may vary in nature. Oftentimes, such people would send threats to a sports professional on social media after losing a big bet. Sometimes, however, they may go further and harass the player’s relatives or even assault them in real life. In 2018, for example, a fan threw a beer at Tyreek Hill during a Patriots game – an incident that is currently being provided as an argument for imposing extra regulations to ensure players’ safety.

David Foster from the National Basketball Players Association noted that more betting brings increased tension, anxiety and anger. Because of that, it is important to enforce discipline.

Extreme Harassment Is Rare but Safeguards Must Be Implemented

The Players’ Association added that extreme bettor behavior tends to be rare. Even so, it is important to have safeguards and the certainty that the Gaming Commission would intervene if needed.

Association representatives believe that the commission may have to cancel games only on very rare occasions that are more of an exception rather than a rule, if at all. Despite that, it is important to have certain safety measures to discourage unruly behavior. In addition, such measures may encourage athletes to speak up when they are being harassed.

Commissioner Eileen O’Brien believes that the most important thing is to ensure that sportsbooks are responsible and take a stance against unruly bettors. She added that she is happy that there is enough awareness of the problem to lead a productive discussion on it.

Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein said that it is “paramount” to make sure that no bettor is in a position to intimidate sports players, league officials and their families. She believes that the commission should work on the regulation language and prioritize player safety. Judd-Stein noted that licensed sportsbooks are also going to be a part of these efforts.

The Gaming Commission has so far been inclined to agree with the Players’ Association’s proposals but is uncertain whether it can legally impose any of the proposed measures. Representatives promised to look into the matter and see if they can add anti-harassment measures to the local sports betting regulations

PredictIt, the popular futures exchange tied to political events, has until February 15 to close all existing markets and shut down, putting an end to the legal availability in the US of bets on political events.

Violation of Terms

Established in collaboration with the Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand, PredictIt is now facing the dire reality of permanent closure, reported The Washington Post.

“They grew to a point where they violated the terms of the letter,” a spokesman for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the regulatory body overseeing such types of trading markets, told the reporting media in an email.

The political betting exchange, albeit illegal in the US, was allowed to operate as an exception for non-commercial purposes after the CFTC had issued to Victoria University of Wellington a “no-action” letter, stating that the exchange should only continue as an “academic exercise” and the university should not profit from it.

“The Chairman did meet with representatives of Victoria University and others at their request to hear them out,” the spokesman continued outlining that “the reality is that the university did not operate its market in compliance with the terms of the No-Action Letter.”

PredictIt founder, John Phillips, filed a lawsuit against the CFTC when the exchange was shut down in August arguing that the regulator’s move was “arbitrary and capricious” and the watchdog did not provide any feedback to justify its actions to close the site after years of operation. PredictIt was founded in 2014.

Gamification of Politics

Phillips also argued that the site that makes its data publicly available to allow dozens of research institutions to benefit from it for studies of microeconomics and political behavior, serves educational purposes as it inspires people to pay closer attention to politics.

The reality is that authorities are concerned with the gamification effect on the political system that is exacerbated by gambling on the outcome of political events. Some people even consider that allowing gambling on elections could encourage the corruption of democracy as those who work in politics may be privy to inside information.

Shutting down PredictIt will be detrimental to thousands of outstanding bets which are due to settle after the February 15 deadline day but it can be prevented if the US Fifth Court of Appeals in Louisiana issues an injunction to keep all current markets open.

If PredictIt is shut down permanently, the interest in gambling on politics creates a market niche that will always be filled with alternatives, even if some of those alternatives may not be quite legal such as an offshore crypto exchange that only requires users to be outside of the US to place their bets.