Flutter Entertainment’s boss, Peter Jackson, believes a UK gambling industry review is “badly needed” but warned that MPs should avoid “cosmetic gestures” and introduce reforms that will deliver a meaningful impact.

Writing in the Racing Post, Mr. Jackson said that they all, industry, Government, and other stakeholders, should “get the balance right” so they can build a “much better industry which commands the support of its customers – and also wider society too.”

Flutter is one of the industry’s largest gambling operators with a portfolio of brands that includes the likes of Paddy Power, Betfair, Sky Betting & Gaming, and PokerStars, among others.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s election manifesto last year promised a review of the UK Gambling Act 2005 to reshape the nation’s gambling rules and regulations in line with how technology evolves. The review is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Mr. Jackson called for a range of reforms and protections aimed at young adults and other vulnerable people and urged the Government to recognize the “special relationship” between the betting and racing industry, noting that the latter is a key stakeholder in the reorganization process.

Stake Limits and Other Proposed Measures

Flutter’s boss, who stepped into the role in early 2018 and navigated the company through its mega-merger with The Stars Group earlier this year, said in the Racing Post that the Government should probably consider the introduction of a maximum length of time that a gambling customer should spend gambling.

He also noted that questions should be asked and discussions should be started about online spend and online stake limits. Germany, which is in the middle of reorganizing its online gambling industry, has introduced such measures.

Mr. Jackson said that while it may be a bit of a surprise that a CEO of a leading gaming and betting company calls for new, tougher, measures, he believes the review is “badly needed” and that the UK’s current regulatory framework has failed to keep pace with “how society has been changed by technology.”

According to Flutter’s CEO, regulation has progressed in certain areas, but in others operators have introduced their own measures. Mr. Jackson noted that there is one big downside to “this organic piecemeal approach” as it can lead to inconsistencies and gaps that the “less scrupulous” operators can exploit “with less regard for customer welfare.”

Government Should Acknowledge the Racing Industry

According to Flutter’s boss, MPs should recognize the importance of the racing industry and acknowledge the impact of the new gambling policy on “the wider ecosystem” that also includes that industry.

He also urged the betting and racing sectors to support each other as two key stakeholders in the looming review.

The Government has been facing mounting pressure to launch its review and campaigners for gambling reform have come forward from across the political spectrum. Some of the measures they are calling for include stake limits and restrictions on the speed at which casino games can be played online.

The review could also include new curbs on gambling advertising and sports sponsorship by betting brands.

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Private equity firms are believed to be doing the numbers on William Hill’s non-US operations after the British bookmaker accepted a £2.9 billion offer from casino giant Caesars Entertainment Inc.

Caesars has revealed plans to offload William Hill’s network of retail betting shops around the UK as well as the operator’s European operations after it finalizes the proposed acquisition.

According to recent reports, buyout firms CVC Partners and Apax Partners are lining up bids for William Hill’s European division. News about the private equity groups’ interest in the company emerge shortly after reports that Apollo Global Management was preparing a bid for the bookmaker’s betting shops and other non-US assets.

Apollo previously approached William Hill with an informal full takeover offer, but the legacy gambling operator accepted Caesars’ bid.

The Telegraph reported that both CVC and Apax are preparing bids of around £1.5 billion for William Hill’s non-US assets. None of the groups have commented on the matter.

Reports surfaced in early October that billionaire bookmaker Fred Done (owner of Betfred) was interested in William Hill’s UK operations, but a spokesperson for Mr. Done eventually said that neither the businessman nor Betfred would be bidding for the fellow bookmaker.

Mr. Done has built a significant stake in William Hill since March to become one of the company’s largest stakeholders.

Lockdown to Hit Profits

William Hill has recently warned that England’s second nationwide lockdown, which took effect last week, would hit profits significantly. The new Covid-19 measures resulted in the closure of all betting shops and other gambling establishments around the nation.

The company said in a trading statement last week that it estimates “on average, the closure of 100 shops for four weeks would reduce EBITDA by circa £2m.”

The nationwide closure of betting locations comes as another big blow to William Hill’s retail betting arm. Last year, the company was forced to shutter 700 betting shops after a Government crackdown on the controversial fixed-odds betting terminals. It also announced this past August that it would close permanently 119 retail betting locations as it did not expect to reach pre-pandemic levels anytime soon.

The bookmaker’s acquisition by Caesars is subject to William Hill shareholders voting in favor. The transaction will be put to a shareholder vote on November 19.

Caesars already owns a 20% stake in William Hill’s US arm. The casino operator inherited the partnership with the British bookmaker from former Eldorado Resorts when Eldorado and the old Caesars closed a $17.3 billion tie-up this summer.

Eldorado and William Hill teamed up in 2018 to jointly explore sports betting expansion around the US. As part of their partnership, William Hill became the exclusive operator of sportsbooks at Eldorado properties. After Eldorado and Caesars combined, the British bookmaker also became the exclusive operator of betting facilities at Caesars properties.

When it tabled its offer to fully acquire William Hill, Caesars said that it would be able to exercise the right to terminate aspects of its US joint venture with the sports betting operator if the latter chose to accept a rival takeover from other potential bidders.

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Online casino games maker BF Games has significantly bolstered its presence in Romania’s regulated iGaming market through a recent content supply deal with major local operator Baumbet.

The deal has seen Baumbet go live with BF Games’ entire, ever-growing games library, including player-favorites Book of Gods, Hot Classic, and Crystal Mania, among others.

In addition, titles from the supplier’s Remastered series have also become available to Baumbet’s players. The series includes revamped and enhanced versions of some of the iGaming studio’s most popular titles.

BF Games’ partnership with Baumbet strengthens significantly the game maker’s footprint in Romania. Baumbet is a well-known name in the local market. The company has been operating retail betting outlets for more than two decades and has recently begun building its online gaming brand.

BF Games first entered the Romanian market this past January when its content went live with MaxBet.ro, another major locally licensed iGaming brand. The online casino supplier was able to premiere its games in Romania after it obtained a license from the local gambling regulator, the Romanian National Gambling Office, late last year.

The London-based iGaming studio also holds licenses from the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission and its content is available in some of the largest regulated markets.

Thrilled to Further Expand in Romania

Commenting on their partnership and going live with Baumbet, BF Games Head of Business Development Claudia Melcaru said that their games portfolio has been received extremely well by Romanian players and that they are thrilled to be able to further expand their reach in that market.

Ms. Melcaru went on to say that this latest partnership demonstrates the demand for BF Games-produced content in Romania.

Baumbet COO Daniel Cordos said that BF Games has a “solid portfolio of games” that appeal to a wide range of players, and that the studio’s content already boasts a proven track record in Romania and that they are thrilled to have added its ever-growing portfolio to their existing offering.

BF Games’ partnership with Baumbet was the latest of a slew of commercial deals signed by the provider in recent months. In April, the company celebrated its entry into the Lithuanian market through a content delivery deal with Uniclub Casino.

Over the summer, BF Games also expanded its presence in Georgia through a duo of deals, first with Crocobet and later on with Leader Bet. The iGaming studio has also been able to debut its content in the regulated Latvian market through a partnership with locally licensed operator Klondaika.

It also announced an alliance with French gambling group Betclic to enter Portugal’s online casino space.

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Even Halloween is becoming digital, just like so many other aspects of everyday life. The annual spooky holiday is usually filled with ghosts and goblins (and Baby Yoda) walking the streets and knocking on doors to see who can score the most, and best, candy. However, everything changes at some point and there’s a new rival to sweets that, to many, is much more appealing. Move over candy – digital currency is now being handed out on Halloween.

He may not be the first to come up with the idea, but Canadian Brad Mills decided to hand out digital currency when trick-or-treaters came knocking on his door this year. He tweeted about his idea, even showing the reaction of one youngster as he realized what he had received. There’s a lot to be said about digital currency when a 10-year-old yells, “Dude I just got Bitcoin!” after seeing what he has scored in his bag of goodies. 

Mills, who had left a box of treats on his doorstep to adhere to social distancing protocols, reportedly gave away $200 in digital currency gift cards – two worth $100 each. He also gave away candy, but the gift cards were definitely the highlight of the evening. While the lucky recipients most likely won’t be able to convert them into cash for a number of years, due to age requirements, at least they’ll learn the value of saving. If they decide they would prefer a new gaming controller, they could hit a digital currency ATM, or they could decide to spend it at any of a number of eCommerce shops, but storing it would be a smarter option at this point.

The fact that the trick-or-treating age group knows what Bitcoin is speaks volumes of what’s to come. Millennials and Gen Z-ers will grow up in an age that welcomes all things digital, from Alexa controlling the home to how monetary transactions are conducted. The groundwork is already in place, and the next several years are going to see a substantial increase in awareness and adoption of digital assets. Those that are already helping the transition move forward are rewriting financial history for generations to come. 

This process won’t happen overnight, just like it hasn’t happened overnight with any monetary system – the U.S. dollar needed 100 years before it became accepted around the world. However, digital currency has found its place much quicker, and the fact that it is becoming regulated by governments shows how legitimate it has become. Add to that the acceptance by younger generations, and it becomes easy to realize that, in less than a decade, digital currency will be everywhere consumers want to be. The gambling industry has already realized its potential, and most online operators now accept digital currency alongside fiat. This trend is gaining steam and more gamblers are finding out that it’s much easier to use digital money than any other alternative. It’s not unrealistic to envision a time, in the very near future, that digital currency vastly outperforms fiat in most consumer segments, especially gambling.

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Online casino operators quitting Manila and their employees gradually emptying the Philippine capital’s residential towers are pulling rent prices down and the worst has not even come yet, according to a recent report by property broker KMC Savills Inc.

The Philippines’ once thriving online gambling industry helped boost Manila’s property prices and rents in the past three years. However, higher taxes have slowed the sector’s growth. It took another heavy blow this year from weaker demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The online casino industry mostly caters to gamblers in Mainland China and the vast majority of its employees are Chinese nationals who occupy customer support and marketing jobs.

Gambling Companies Push Philippines Office Space Market to Record Heights

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, online gambling companies have either given up their licenses or have reduced their operational capacity to add to the rent pressure caused by the fallout from the worst health crisis the world has seen in many years.

Amid dearth in expats and as hundreds of thousands of employees have left business districts to work from home, there has been a “massive demand destruction,” KMC Managing Director Michael McCullough said.

He further noted that they have seen entire residential towers emptied out as online casino operators reduce or shut completely their Manila operations. Mr. McCullough noted that while vacancies created from online casinos were just a “rounding error” in a multi-million-square-meter home market, a lot more of that “continuing compound” will be seen in the coming months.

“Massive Losses” in Q3

KMC said in its recent report that the third quarter of the year saw “massive losses” in the office market as the coronavirus shut many businesses, including online gambling operators. Metro Manila occupancy recorded a second consecutive quarter of a steep drop, with just under 48,000 square meters of vacated office spaces.

Property broker Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. notes that the online gambling industry’s exposure to the Philippines’ residential market stood at around 1.8 million square meters in 2019. KMC said in its recent report that office space vacancy has increased to 7.3% in the third quarter up from 5.4% in the last quarter of 2019.

All these has resulted in a drop in Manila’s residential condominiums. KMC estimates that the fall would reach 10% on average by the end of 2020. The broker further points out that the drop would depend on Metro Manila’s exposure to the online gambling industry.

If iGaming operators continue to flee the Philippine capital, some areas would probably see as much as 25% decline in residential prices in the coming months.

KMC Senior Research Manager Fredrick Rara said that “it’s hard to tell when this will be bottoming out” and that hopefully, “the worst scenario” will unfold in the first half of 2021.

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