ACMA first targeted Sportsbet over an alleged prohibited betting offer concerning the Brownlow Medal, which is granted to the fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) every season. The award is decided by umpires at the end of each season, and it has become an event that fans follow passionately.

However, Sportsbet earned itself the regulator’s ire after offering in-play betting during the September 18 ceremony this year. Placing a bet on live events is not permitted and thus, ACMA said, that Sportsbet might have breached the Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.

The Devil Is in the Details

However, ACMA has acknowledged that the rules that it tried to uphold against the operator could not quite apply. For one, the acting regulation of 2001 explicitly said that in-play betting is prohibited at sporting events.

The awarding ceremony of the medal could hardly be regarded as such, and ACMA concluded itself debating the matter. As such, Sportsbet did not offer a prohibited in-play betting product during the ceremony.

This ruling is fundamental for how the regulator wants to moderate gambling content in Australia and when breaches happen. ACMA similarly looked into other popular offers launched by Sportsbet and followed the same pattern.

Similar Betting Options – Also Not a Breach

Sportsbet has markets on the Norm Smith medal for the AFL and the Clive Churchill medal for the National Rugby League.

ACMA briefly considered whether the events could in any form constitute a sports betting event, but this was not the case the regulator said. Despite the regulatory action that the regulator embarked on, it found no evidence to support its own claims and said that the matter was now considered closed.

However, ACMA reminded operators that they were still obligated to uphold high industry standards and comply with the Interactive Gambling Act in full. ACMA has been particularly active against unregulated gambling websites in the meantime.

The regulator brought the total number of blocked illegal operators to more than 650 blacklisted operators earlier in December.

The company announced the landmark partnership which allows it to further expand its reach in the Latin American market and establish itself in a confident manner in one of the biggest-to-be iGaming regions.

Pragmatic Play continues to Grow in Latin America with Aposta Ganha

Pragmatic Play’s dominance in the Latin American market has been distinguishable with the supplier looking to deliver both its live casino and slot products to various operators, and most recently, Aposta Ganha. The operator’s CEO, Ramon Lima, welcomed this partnership and said that Pragmatic Play enjoyed worldwide popularity.

The accolades won by the company were “a testimony” to the company’s content and what it brought to the table. Lima also spoke about Aposta Ganha’s own market presence and strength in Brazil:

Aposta Ganha has become synonymous with providing high-quality entertainment experiences and Pragmatic Play strongly aligns with this key aspect of our growth strategy.

Aposta Ganha CEO Ramon Lima

Aposta Ganha will have access to a number of slot games that are some of the players’ favorite choices all over the world, including Pizza! Pizza? Pizza! and Hot Pepper. Other popular slot games include Sugar Rush and Gates of Olympus.

As to the live casino games available, Pragmatic Play will provide players with a list of its traditional and gameshow-inspired titles, to wit blackjack and roulette, Boom City, Sweet Bonanza, and CandyLand. The launch is clearly another important step for Pragmatic Play in the still-developing market which the supplier appreciates and seeks to expand rapidly into.

Pragmatic is keen to increase its commercial growth in the market by securing linkups with prominent and trustworthy operators in Brazil, but also elsewhere in the region. The past months have been busy for Pragmatic. The partnership was similarly welcomed by Pragmatic Play VP of LatAm Victor Arias who said that going live with Aposta Ganha was an important stepping-stone for the supplier to further expand its reach in the market.

The operator has a track record and core set of values that “strongly aligns” with Pragmatic’s own growth strategy, Arias added. He further said that the company was very happy to see a push with both product lines at the same time.

“Going live with Aposta Ganha aids us in this mission via its strong market position and we look forward to seeing player’s reception to the delivery of two of our most beloved verticals simultaneously,” Arias wrapped up.

Rivalry’s key finding in its 2022 Rivarly Wrapped report was that the most important leverage factor and a sign of success for esports and sports, in general, is engagement. The report highlighted that when viewers have placed a bet on a certain event or tournament this increases their watch time and the extent to which they are paying attention to the game.

The report draws the conclusion that regulated esports betting is in perfect alignment with the KPIs the various publishers, tournament organizers, and esports organizations are striving for and further advancement of the regulation of the sector can help with driving the engagement of fans and eventually monetization.

Most Popular Еsports Titles Among Bettors

The Counter-Strike esports betting culture that the title has been developing for about two decades was evident in 2022 as well as without surprise Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ended up in the top three titles that accumulated the most wagers.

The other two were of course League of Legends and Dota 2. The wagers placed on these three titles accounted for 90% of Rivalry’s esports handle.

However, a new contender for the top three appeared, which is likely to take one of the top three spots next year – Riot Games’ Valorant. The game is a first-person shooter very similar to CS:GO so it is somewhat familiar to bettors who are already used to placing wagers on CS:GO. Valorant enjoyed a 264% yearly increase in betting volume compared to 2021.

Rivalry, which was started in 2018, reports that Valorant’s significant growth in terms of esports wagering is a precedent in the company’s operating history. No other title has come out so strong in such a short time.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Another Successful Newcomer

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the first mobile game that has landed in the top 5 most wagered on esports. It removed Starcraft 2 from the fifth place it held last year. The game was most popular in Southeast Asia with the major part of bets on it coming from that region. The game also became the most-watched esports tournament this November.

Mobile games are becoming more and more popular and they are turning into the latest trend in esports betting. Rivalry expects mobile games wagering to grow even further in 2023 with new names coming out on the betting market. Rivalry only added mobile games to its product offering in March 2022.

Rivalry is a worldwide leader in esports betting with over 90% of its handle coming from esports wagering. The company’s main target is the young audience so 82% of its customers are under 30 with an average age of 25.

The review of the Gambling Act in the UK, the law that regulates gambling activities in the country is ongoing. Despite setting several deadlines, the review is yet to be published and the government has still not set a solid date for the release. Participating in a recent meeting, the UK’s gambling minister, Paul Scully, revealed that the outcome of the review is unlikely to please everyone involved, a recent report reveals.

Finding the Right Balance Is Important

On Monday, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the British Horse Racing Association, the House of Commons and other stakeholders held a reception that saw Scully, who spearheads gambling as well as racing at the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), participate, reveals the Racing Post. He explained that the review is unlikely to have a pleasing result for everyone in the industry.

Still, Scully said that the government will work toward finding the right balance and ensuring that betting and horseracing activities continue to benefit the operators and provide safe entertainment for the consumers. Moreover, the minister vowed to continue his collaboration with the gambling sector and said that he will keep his door open for further discussion.

“As I say, nobody is going to get everything they want but I will try my very best to make sure we get that balance absolutely right to make sure that horseracing and the betting sector can thrive for many, many years to come.“

Paul Scully, gambling minister in the UK

Further Gambling Legislative Changes Are Possible

According to Scully, it is significantly important to find the right balance especially when it comes to affordability checks. He acknowledged that the rate of problem gambling is low, but warned that gambling harm has a massive impact on people, their families and loved ones.

The UK gambling minister explained that the “white paper is a moment in time, it’s not a silver bullet that everything is done.” He added that even after the review is published, there may be consultations. What’s more, Scully did not rule out further legislative changes to ensure the well-being of people affected by gambling harm.

Despite being launched two years ago, the review of the Gambling Act is yet to be published. Ultimately, the government in the UK launched the review to make the regulation more suitable to the growing online gambling industry and help prevent gambling harm.

Provider of sports data solutions and services operating out of Israel, LSports, announced that BetBooster has expanded with the addition of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coverage.

BetBooster’s First Esports Title

Following the new addition, the automated sports insights feed based on historical data and AI analyses, and covering over 100 popular betting markets, including player props, for both pre-match and in-play, now features more than 10 sports, among which football, soccer, tennis, basketball and others.

Commenting on the new development, Yoav Ziv, chief revenue officer at LSports outlined that BetBooster was the result of the company’s efforts in the past two years during which it had invested “a lot of resources into providing the best esports data out there,” seeking to offer its customers “an edge.”

“With the support of both pre-match and in-play tips, sportsbooks can be sure that CS:GO betting is going to get a lot more stimulating and rewarding,” he concluded.

The addition of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to LSport’s real-time betting tips generator is the first representing a leading esports title and is expected to be followed soon by other major titles such as LOL and Dota 2 as the esports vertical keeps growing in popularity and the need of additional stimulation is rising.

The esports betting market size reached $1.22 billion in 2021 according to Statista and is expected to grow more than four times to $5.48 billion in 2029, and LSports believes that the overall role of esports on the betting scene would place it within the interest of industry stakeholders.

“The incredibly fast-paced growth of the market has quickly marked Esports as a leading point of interest for bettors and consequently for bookmakers,” LSports stated.

Expanding and Growing

Founded as a family company in 2012, the sports data and insights provider first displayed its products at the 2015 ICE London and is now creating an immersive sporting experience for industry operators by tracking over 160,000 pre-match and 110,000 in-play events monthly.

In November, LSports opened a new chapter in its development by marking its first acquisition, Polish-based sports data company Statscore, to reinforce its data collection capabilities and display its ambition to establish a foothold in Europe and use it as a springboard for further expansion into the US, Latin America and Asia.

In the US, LSports has a major partnership with Gibraltar-based gambling group 888 Holdings to power with sports data and analytics the group’s SI Sportsbook in Colorado.