Industry News
Gambling legislation in Israel remains ambiguous still
From the outside, the gambling legislation is Israel looks simple and straight forward. Gambling is banned in the country, according to the Israeli Penal Law 5737 of 1977. But the same law does not address online gambling in any manner. It is leading to much confusion and speculation.
There have been several illegal operators offering online gambling and claiming that it is not illegal. The law regarding this lies in bit of a grey area. In 2005, there were some developments. The then Israeli Attorney General took a stern stance against online gambling when he issued orders that not only mandated the closure of online gambling operators with servers based in Israel, but also penalised credit card companies that processed transactions for such online casino and gambling site operators.
The present situation is ambiguous. Attorneys interpret the law books as severely cracking down on casino gambling with some serious consequences for offenders, while in contradiction allowing sports betting and lottery as being perfectly legal.
Land-based casinos are banned in the country. The ban has resulted in several undercover casinos and gambling tables that operate behind closed doors. Not only are these unregulated and potentially frivolous, but such platforms can be downright dangerous. The gambling ban in Israel has come under some serious criticism of late for precisely such reasons. Not only will the legalisation of casino gambling and gambling games like poker allow for safe, fair and regulated casinos, but it is also a great boost to the economy as it is heavily taxable. In fact, these are exactly the reasons why the ban was lifted in Britain.
British legislators were able to identify that a ban is not effective in stopping gambling, it is instead just forcing gambling underground and the country is also losing out on hundreds of millions (now billions) of pounds of revenue that a legal gambling market would generate every year. In the UK, with respect to sports betting, a 15 per cent tax on all gross profits made by punters has replaced an older betting duty of 6.75 per cent. In January of 2010, the revenue generated from the gambling industry in Britain was extrapolated to be nearly £6 billion which at the time was a staggering 0.5 per cent of the GDP of the United Kingdom. If the copious amounts of money generated is not incentive enough for Israeli law makers to legalise gambling and regulate it closely, then surely, one would think that the fact that the industry in the UK employs and empowers nearly 100,000 people and generates over £700 million in tax revenue would certainly put them over the fence, but remarkably, not so.
Despite the fact that Israel adopted the legal framework of Britain, including the ban on gambling, Israeli gambling laws do not seem to be as dynamic and evolving as its English counter-part. The Israeli laws revolving around gambling and the ban on casinos and games like poker are archaic in this day and age to say the least.
Will Israel follow in the footsteps of Britain, from whom they adopted the gambling ban, and lift the ban? Only time will tell, but at this point, they seem to be in no hurry to do so.
Source: Jerusalem Post / LEO GIOSUÈ
Industry News
SKS365 keeps investing in people: GROW People Management Program took the next level
11 experienced people managers from the SKS365 group’s 4 locations gathered last week in Belgrade for the new GROW People Management Program. From 15 th to 19 th of April, through trainings, discussions, and social connections, people had the opportunity to further grow individually and as a team, while enjoying Belgrade’s city center and rivers.
Created in 2023 with the purpose of building foundation people management skills across the organization, GROW initiative evolved this year by including a new, advanced program for experienced people managers to further consolidate their skills and prepare for future opportunities.
Building and fostering connections, sharing experiences, and enjoying team building experiences – all these activities have been part of the GROWpmp agenda for the 11 people managers coming from Commercial, Product and Development, Finance, and Sportsbook departments of the group’s 4 locations – Malta, Italy, Austria, Serbia.
GROWpmp included a variety of topics that people managers in SKS365 recognized as the key areas for management development. Topics such as influence through communication, team effectiveness, DEI, through to presentation skills and business topics like understanding finance and management reporting, were delivered with the support of external professionals and internal experts, while designed and organized by the SKS365 People & Culture team.
Industry News
Kindred’s Share of Revenue from High-risk Players Shows Slight Increase
Kindred Group plc’s (Kindred) share of revenue from high-risk players showed a slight increase to 3.2% (Q4 2023 3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the high-risk revenue share decreased marginally. The percentage of detected customers who exhibited improved behaviour after interventions came in at 87.1% (compared to 87.4% in Q4 2023 and 83.0% in Q1 2023). This sustained trajectory in the improvement effect after interventions, observed over an extended period, serves as a testament to the strong dedication and collective efforts throughout the company. It reflects Kindred’s ongoing commitment to fostering positive change within the industry.
“We continue to see our share of revenue from high-risk players fluctuate quarter to quarter, and we are working closely with all teams across the company to support customers towards a more sustainable gambling experience. However, it is encouraging to see that our Journey towards Zero data has steadily decreased since 2020. A similar trend can be seen across the healthier gambling behaviour effect after interventions. This tells us two things: our work is paying off, but we need to continue to push ourselves to propel a sustainable progression,” Alexander Westrell, Director of Communications at Kindred Group, said.
“It was very encouraging to witness the open and transparent discussions at the Sustainable Gambling Conference in London on 20 March, where those with lived experience shared their important stories. Also, it is evident that technology is moving forward, and will provide greater opportunities to detect and intervene in the future. We hope to see more regulators engage with the industry and with experts to secure a more sustainable industry for everyone,” Alexander Westrell added.
Industry News
PENN Entertainment Names Aaron LaBerge as Chief Technology Officer
PENN Entertainment announced that Aaron LaBerge has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective July 1, 2024, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Mr. LaBerge will report directly to PENN CEO & President Jay Snowden.
In his new role, Mr. LaBerge will be responsible for driving the technology strategy and execution for PENN, while leading the multinational team of technologists and serving as the key business leader for the company’s Interactive division.
Mr. LaBerge spent more than 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, in two stints separated by five and a half years as a technology entrepreneur. He was most recently President & Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN where he was responsible for driving all technology and product development in support of The Walt Disney Company’s two media divisions. In that role, he helped set the vision and strategic leadership for how Disney uses technology to enable storytelling and innovation, drive its business, and create unparalleled consumer experiences with entertainment and sports content.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team. Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world, there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future. I know Aaron is looking forward to working with Todd George, our head of operations, and our entire Executive Team to continue growing our position as a leader in online gaming, sports betting, and digital sports media,” Mr. Snowden said.
“I’m excited to join another talented team at PENN Interactive and lead our technology strategy. PENN Entertainment is at the forefront of the fast-changing gaming and sports media industry. I plan to use my experience from Disney and ESPN to help make ESPN BET an essential piece of the sports fan experience. Together, we’ll push the limits and redefine how fans interact with sports and gaming,” Mr. LaBerge said.
Prior to his most recent role at the Walt Disney Company, Mr. LaBerge was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at ESPN from 2015 to 2018. At ESPN he played an instrumental role in the growth of ESPN’s consumer-facing digital media products and services – leading many of ESPN’s most ambitious and challenging projects and helping establish ESPN’s position as the leader in digital sports and innovative sports technology development. He was a key architect in the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s state-of-the-art facilities in Bristol, CT; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; and Austin, TX, as well as data centers and infrastructure that connect those facilities around the world, as well as the technology design and development to support the launch of the multi-platform SEC Network.
Between 2007 and 2012, LaBerge was co-founder and CEO of Fanzter, Inc. – a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company. At Fanzter, he directed all day-to-day operations and led the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused internet and mobile products, ground-breaking social and commerce technologies and more.
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