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Portugal versus live odds ads, and yet another US state is headed towards gambling legalisation

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4H and Legalbet present a new Betting Worldwide post.


Portugal

The local regulator external linkExternal links are prohibited live odds adverts during sporting events. This is going to be for both physical and online platforms. No live odds ads will be allowed at any stadiums or arenas.

The regulator has stated that publishing the live odds is considered a violation of the current rules which means that operators may be sanctioned for it. The regulator’s decision is a consequence of new gambling restrictions that have been implied since October 2021. The same measures have been introduced in some other countries, for example in the Netherlands.

Ivan Kurochkin´s comments

Not only does our beloved Dutch regulator want to tighten restrictions on bookmaker advertising - now colleagues from Portugal are implementing similar restrictions related to advertising live bets (and specifically their conditions) in various forms during sporting events.

It seems that such a restriction is precisely due to the fact that players who may have a gambling problem are among the most vulnerable players during the broadcast of sports events, especially when they become aware of the conditions for making bets.

The approach taken by the Portuguese regulator to this type of advertising is not new. For example, Australia and the UK have also already implemented similar restrictions on advertising. In addition, there is also talk in Denmark that, in order to better regulate responsible gambling, such restrictions could be a good tool to prevent the participation of gambling addicts.

Africa

The large gambling operator 888 external linkExternal links are prohibited to enter the African market. Five industry veterans have already been hired. A separate company, 888Africa, will pay a brand licence fee to use and operate 888’s online betting and gaming brands in certain regulated African markets. The brands will operate via a third-party technology platform, with products and content designed for the local preferences of the African market.

Initial plans are for 888Africa to launch in four markets across the continent during 2022. The founders of the company believe that the fast-growing African online market can bring millions of new users and the hope is to increase brand awareness.

USA

A referendum external linkExternal links are prohibited in the state of Georgia on the future of betting and other forms of gambling legalisation in the region. The people will be asked whether they want legal sports and horse race betting and casinos to be present in the region or not. Many professional sport clubs based in Atlanta, the capital of the state, support the idea of legalisation as they believe that fans will be more involved if this is the case.

Representative Rob Stephens has been supporting gambling legalisaton for many years, he claims that those who want to gamble do it using offshore websites anyway. The proposed taxation for sports betting proceeds is at 20 per cent and the income from the taxes are to be used in various social programs. Bettors would have to be 21, and betting on high school games would not be allowed. 

Ivan Kurochkin´s comments

The US state of Georgia has again appeared on the news agenda of the gambling world. It is worth noting that this time it is not the Eastern European sovereign state, but one of the US States. Parliamentarians propose to submit to a referendum a new draft law that would legalise gambling in the state of Georgia.

It is interesting to observe the United States as state by state it decides on the legalisation of the gambling business. At the same time the wording is interesting, showing that legislators have an understanding that there is an offshore operation without any participation of the state in this process already. This is therefore a reason why they believe that the gambling business should be legalized.

We think that this kind of desire and considerations of the Georgian legislators are not unique and on the contrary, they are the main incentive for all states who are beginning to regulate the gambling business. Similar considerations can be found in countries such as Kyrgyzstan (detailed analysis will follow later, so do not switch off), Uzbekistan, US states (for example, New York, New Jersey, Florida).

Of course, it still seems that the legislators of the state of Georgia, first of all, look over at their counterparts in other states and do not want to miss the opportunity to redirect financial flows in the form of taxes and (or) other contributions to their budget. The money can then subsequently be spent on social oriented programs.

The United Kingdom

A YouGov survey external linkExternal links are prohibited that inflation will do harm to bookmakers’ income. Half of the active bettors surveyed are planning to spend less on gambling. The survey found that 32% of the 700 respondents who are active gamblers planned to reduce their spendings on gambling in the coming months and that 18 per cent planned to no longer gamble at all. Some 38% of respondents said they were watching their spending but had not made changes while 43% were already cutting back on non-essential expenses. Some 11% were struggling to pay essential expenses.

DoTrust (a company that commissioned the survey) founder and chief executive Charles Cohen said the results were an alarm bell for the industry. He’s noticed that the current level of inflation means that the gambling industry is in crisis. He’s also added that wait-and-see is not an option: operators need real-time financial data more than ever to overcome the problem.

Further reading:

  Chilean and Dutch authorities fight gambling ads, whilst Kenya now has 100 bookmakers
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