Latest News
BGC Members Donate Record £172.5M to Tackle Problem Gambling and Gambling-related Harm
The Betting and Gaming Council’s largest members have donated £122.5m over four years to tackle problem gambling and gambling-related harm, new figures reveal.
This record funding increase is £22.5m more than the £100m the BGC’s four largest members pledged to contribute between 2020 and March 2024.
Around a further £10m has also been donated annually from other BGC members and UK-regulated licensees, taking the contribution over the last four years to approximately £172.5m.
This year alone, BGC members expect to provide RPT funding of around £50m to a host of vital charities.
For over 20 years, the regulated betting and gaming industry has contributed millions to fund Research, Prevention and Treatment services to tackle problem gambling and gambling-related harm, via a unique voluntary levy on all operators.
This record contribution helps sustain a network of entirely independent third-sector RPT providers, which currently treat around 85% of all problem gamblers receiving treatment in Britain.
All RPT donations only go to charities accredited by the independent regulator the Gambling Commission to deliver these services, and BGC members have no say on how the money is spent.
The BGC called for the current voluntary model to be replaced with a statutory levy, as long as it is independent, protects longstanding, expert providers of RPT in the third sector and is tiered to protect land-based operators.
Those expert providers include GamCare, with over 200 staff members, who have delivered over 38,000 structured treatment sessions between 2022/23. And Gordon Moody which operates the country’s only residential care centre for women problem gamblers.
In September last year, Stephanie Peacock MP, the newly appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS got to see Gordon Moody’s world-class support and treatment services firsthand when she visited their Residential Centre in Dudley.
She praised the safe environment they provide and thanked service users and staff for sharing their experiences and providing a tour of the centre.
In addition to RPT donations, BGC members have raised millions more for a host of other charity initiatives. The BGC alone has raised more than £6m for veterans, sports and health charities through the Grand National Charity Bet Campaign and Britania Stakes Charity Bet campaign.
Wes Himes, BGC Executive Director of Standards and Innovation, said: “Around 22.5 million people in this country enjoy a regular flutter, and the overwhelming majority do so perfectly safely and responsibly.
“Our mission to raise standards carries on strong and these figures demonstrate our actions are backed by significant financial contributions which are making a real difference.
“Our members have no say on how these funds are spent and RPT donations only go to independent organisations accredited by the Gambling Commission to deliver these critical services.
“For the BGC and our members, the priority is ensuring the money reaches these charities doing exceptional work in Prevention and Treatment and funds truly independent, evidence led research.
“While this voluntary levy has delivered record funding, the BGC supports the replacement of the current levy scheme with a mandatory one, but the delivery of this new scheme must ensure future funding security for the third sector which is delivering such excellent work.
“As we go forward, this huge investment will continue, underlining this sector’s unrivalled commitment to responsible betting and gaming.”
The previous Government had launched a consultation into the creation of a new Levy, but the consultation response has been delayed by the General Election.
Despite this, BGC members have pledged to maintain voluntary contributions to ensure charities have funding security.
However, the BGC remains concerned about current proposals outlined by the previous Government, which would negatively impact independent bookmakers, who face being charged disproportionately high Levy costs of 0.4% on Gross Gambling Yield.
If enforced, this could threaten shop closures and job losses, because of the smaller margins for independent bookmakers and other financial overheads, like energy costs.
There were nearly 696 independent betting shops at the start of 2019, 160 have since closed, a reduction of around 23%.
The BGC estimates that 492 bookies, across 38 businesses, will be negatively impacted by a 0.4% Levy.
The post BGC Members Donate Record £172.5M to Tackle Problem Gambling and Gambling-related Harm appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Golden Matrix Group Inc., a developer and licensor of online gaming platforms, systems, and gaming content, today announced that management will participate in the 2025 ICR Conference on January 13-15, 2025 at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando, FL.
Zoran Milosevic, Chief Executive Officer of Meridianbet, will participate in a fireside chat with an equity research analyst on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 2:30 PM ET and will also be available for meetings during the conference.
The Nordic gaming company Paf decided to give all employees the opportunity to donate €125,000 to various good causes, initiatives and projects. The causes were selected through a nomination and voting process by the employees.
All Paf employees were given the opportunity to nominate their own initiatives that they felt were worthy of Paf’s €125,000 donation. Once the nomination process was complete, employees were asked to vote for the initiatives, and it was the employees’ votes that determined which initiatives received the donation and how much of the sum was allocated to each project.
“It’s really important that everyone who works at Paf feels that our core mission is different and that it’s well worth working for. That’s why we wanted to involve the employees and give everyone a direct opportunity to determine the distribution of the donation,” says Paf’s CEO Christer Fahlstedt.
Paf’s basic purpose is to generate funds for the benefit of society. The annual profit is used as Paf funds for social, environmental, youth, sports and cultural purposes, among others.
Second year in a row
This is the second year in a row that Paf employees have been able to donate a sum of money to various good causes. Last year employees donated €100,000 and this year the amount was increased to €125,000.
“It was a great way to end last year and a good initiative to repeat this year. The donation is not part of Paf’s usual mission and purpose, but it reflects our overall core purpose in an excellent way,’ says Paf CEO Christer Fahlstedt.
The distribution of €125,000
When the employees gathered in December for the annual Christmas speech, the vote was taken and the result determined how the €125,000 would be distributed. The Employee vote gave causes for Ukraine the biggest donation and €40,000, followed by causes against cancer €25,000 and in third place causes for combating abuse of children €15.000.
1. €40.000 – Causes for Ukraine
2. €25.000 – Causes against cancer
3. €15.000 – Causes for combating abuse of children
4. €12.000 – Causes for Children
5. €9.000 – Causes for Animals
6. €7.000 – The Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden)
7. €6.000 – Medical aid for Palestine
8. €5.000 – Causes for Women
9. €3.500 – Relief efforts – Spanish weather disaster
10. €2.500 – Jesuit Refugee Services Malta
Most votes – top 3
Causes for Ukraine goes to the following initiatives;
-
Power Up Ukraine, Swedish based, helps with energy solutions
-
Blågula Bilen, Swedish based, donates trucks & 4×4 vehicles with supplies
-
Hospitallers, based in Ukraine, Hospitallers is a volunteer organization of paramedics.
-
Come Back Alive, Ukraine, Demining in Ukraine
-
Safe & Smart, Ukraine based, Restoring hybrid and offline learning in Ukrainian schools
Causes against cancer goes to;
-
Barncancerfonden, Sweden, They help families and contribute to paediatric cancer research with the aim of eradicating childhood cancer
-
Kingitud Elu, Estonia, Estonian Association of Parents of Children with Cancer
-
Rintasyöpäyhdistys, Finland, Europa Donna Finland ry works to increase awareness of breast cancer and improve the quality of life for patients during and after the treatment period
-
Project Liv, Finland, support children with cancer and their families
Causes for combating abuse of children goes to;
-
Internet Watch Foundation, UK, stop child sexual abuse online
-
Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative, USA based, end human trafficking and child exploitation
-
Missing Children Europe, protects children from going missing
-
ECPAT, based in Thailand, ensures children live a childhood free from sexual abuse and exploitation
-
La Strada International, Europe, works against human trafficking
-
Prajwala, India, works to end sex trafficking & sex crime
-
Maiti Nepal, Nepal, works for a society free from trafficking of children & women
The nomination and voting process was not open to organisations or initiatives that were already beneficiaries of Paf funds. Since 1966, Paf has distributed more than €447 million in Paf funds. In the spring of 2024, Paf was able to distribute €31.4 million for the benefit of society.
The post Paf employees donated €125,000 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Online slots provider 1spin4win comes out with Classic Christmas Hold and Win, a 3×3 retro fruit experience reminiscent of land-based slot machines. The nostalgia-filled holiday-themed slot releases December 19.
Classic Christmas Hold and Win invites players to experience an authentic holiday feel bolstered by nostalgic retro fruit symbols, flaming sevens, and jolly golden bells. The game’s most helpful symbol is a gift-wrapped Wild box, which lies along with other symbols on the festive reels that light up like a Christmas tree when a win occurs.
The title gives out exciting double payouts when all 9 reel cells are filled with one and the same fruit symbol and has an x1,000 Mega Jackpot and x100 Minipot on offer in the player-popular Bonus round mode.
27 paylines ensure enough gameplay variety, while the x1,500 max win will be attractive to a vast player pool. The slot’s 97.10% RTP is a safe bet for casinos that guarantees players will enjoy the balance and return for more.
“A week earlier, we released Christmas Gems Hold and Win, a more modern-looking festive slot with contemporary gem symbols and well-polished HD visuals audiences are now accustomed to,” shares Olga Bogdanova, Art Director at 1spin4win. “This week, Classic Christmas Hold and Win debuts an old-fashioned slot with the goal of taking players on a journey back in time to the well-known security of device-free celebrations and land-based gambling. By switching up our art style and adding different lighting, we offer players a chance to cozy up and take a break from the fast-paced world we live in.”
Coming up with season-themed slots during holidays is a tradition that started at 1spin4win with Lucky Xmas 20 in early 2022. Later that year, Lucky Eve 100 and Lucky Christmas 243 delivered bundles of joy to players. In 2023, the online casino provider released Northern Gold Rush, Lucky Snowlight, and Fruity Christmas, focusing on Christmas themes throughout the month. This year is a little different: Cash’n Fruits Fortune 100 spruced up the December game list to give operators an opportunity to feature a new non-Christmas-themed game along with Christmas Gems Hold and Win and Classic Christmas Hold and Win.
The slot studio prioritizes releases tied to seasonal celebrations because they have proven to attract new players, re-engage existing ones, and increase player sessions overall, which is what every operator strives for.
Explore all holiday-themed slots from 1spin4win in their portfolio.
The post 1spin4win Unveils Classic Christmas Hold and Win to Honor Yearly Tradition appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Golden Matrix Group to Participate in the 2025 ICR Conference
Paf employees donated €125,000
1spin4win Unveils Classic Christmas Hold and Win to Honor Yearly Tradition
The Power of High Performance: GR8 Tech Achieves 25% Turnover Growth in 2024
Biggest Game Portfolio and 3 New Products: SOFTSWISS 2024 Overview
MGA Marks Safer Gambling Week by Hosting Focus Group on Addressing Problem Gambling
SkillOnNet’s Spanish language brand launches in newly regulated Peruvian market
BetConstruct to Participate at GAT Caribbean Cancún
Legendz Social Casino & Sportsbook Officially Launches in 43 States
Play’n GO recruits the entire Wilde family for their latest adventure, Wildest Gambit
-
gaming2 years agoODIN by 4Players: Immersive, state-of-the-art in-game audio launches into the next generation of gaming
-
EEG iGaming Directory8 years ago
iSoftBet continues to grow with new release Forest Mania
-
News7 years ago
Softbroke collaborates with Asia Live Tech for the expansion of the service line in the igaming market
-
News6 years ago
Super Bowl LIII: NFL Fans Can Bet on the #1 Sportsbook Review Site Betting-Super-Bowl.com, Providing Free Unbiased and Trusted News, Picks and Predictions
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
Rick Meitzler appointed to the Indian Gaming Magazine Advisory Board for 2018
-
News6 years ago
REVEALED: Top eSports players set to earn $3.2 million in 2019
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
French Senator raises Loot Boxes to France’s Gambling Regulator
-
News7 years ago
Exclusive Interview with Miklos Handa (Founder of the email marketing solutions, “MailMike.net”), speaker at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2018
