Regulation round-up 17 November 2015
The biggest regulatory news from the egaming industry in the last seven days (11 November to 17 November 2015)
Ladbrokes holds hands up to “irresponsible” email
ASA rules email ad featuring 21-year-old Manchester United player Memphis Depay breached code
Ladbrokes has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over an “irresponsible” email campaign featuring Manchester United player Memphis Depay.
The advertising watchdog said the email, which featured an image of 21-year-old Depay, was irresponsible because he was under the age of 25 and therefore breached its Code.
The email showed Depay sitting on a football pitch with text that stated: “Money back offer. Don’t miss out! Bet now”.
In its response, Ladbrokes acknowledged the Code required images of under 25-year-olds to only be used in an ad where the individual is the subject of the bet offer and appear where the bet is placed.
Senet Group focuses online as new campaign launches
The Senet Group is in advanced discussions with a major online operator about joining the self-regulatory industry body, eGaming Review understands.
Speaking at the launch of the group’s new social media-focused campaign, Senet’s chair and independent standards commissioner Wanda Goldwag said there was a need for more “joined up thinking” when it came to online.
“We are also turning increasingly to look at online gambling,” Goldwag said. “We intend to work with our members on how they can best identify potential problem gamblers from their data and find ways to warn those people to stop or take a break.
Seven days in regulation:
FanDuel withdraws from New York market
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) operator FanDuel has confirmed it is no longer taking deposits from players in New York but will continue to fight the state attorney general’s ruling that DFS is “illegal gambling”.
In a statement issued Friday, FanDuel said it was with “great disappointment” that it had begun the process of limiting access to players in New York while it “pursues the opportunity to be heard in court”.
While the firm said it would no longer accept deposits from New York players, it confirmed they would still be able to withdraw money from their accounts.
Sportsbet makes responsible gambling plea
Sportsbet is calling on friends of gamblers to be on the lookout for signs of irresponsible gambling in a marketing push promoting its self-exclusion Take A Break product.
The Australia-facing Paddy Power-owned brand’s one-month campaign aims to drive community awareness primarily to ensure friends of those that display signs of problem gambling are encouraging them to use the self-service feature to self-exclude themselves for 24 hours or more.
The campaign features two 30-second adverts which will be screened across some of Australia’s most prominent TV channels while the message is also being pushed across digital, social and radio platforms.
DFS illegal in Canada, says Gaming Association
The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has obtained a legal opinion that claims daily fantasy sports is illegal under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The CGA commissioned Don Bourgeois, former general counsel for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, to examine the legal status of DFS, according to reports in TSN.
The Association plans to share the report with the province’s attorney general in the coming days, and may also contact local police about its findings.
US gaming body calls for change to sports betting law
A major US gaming association has spoken out against the country’s restrictive sports betting law and established an industry-backed coalition to look into the feasibility of legalising the activity at federal level.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) said current legislation, which prohibits sports betting in all bar four states, was “unsustainable”, in an intervention which marks a shift in opinion from a previously sceptical casino-led body.
The formed coalition will determine whether a “rational alternative” to current sports betting law exists, which could include strict regulation, rigorous consumer protections and robust tools to shut down illegal sites.