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Gambling Marketing in Finland Now Under Close Monitoring of National Police Board
Gambling marketing in Finland is now under the close monitoring of the National Police Board as World Rally Championship event (WRC) and its side events started.
The National Police Board anticipates that certain gambling service providers outside the Finnish system, based on exclusive rights, may seek to utilise the event for marketing purposes. The National Police Board has informed event organisers of the supervision campaign and requested them to inform the teams, drivers and side event organisers accordingly. The police will observe possible marketing of gambling services during the event.
Veikkaus Oy has the exclusive right to provide and market gambling services in mainland Finland. The main objective of this system is to prevent misuse and crime associated with gambling and to prevent and reduce the adverse economic, social and health effects caused by participation in gambling.
Senior Adviser Johanna Syväterä of the National Police Board said that all marketing material that violates the Finnish Lotteries Act, including the logos of gambling service providers outside the Finnish system of exclusive rights, must be removed or hidden from sight so that spectators cannot see them.
“Attempts to market the brands of international gambling service providers and their games may appear during the event, in the form of logos printed on marketing materials. Moreover, marketing may appear along the rally route, on competitors’ clothing and fan merchandise, on video screens and light panels, in the background screens for interviews, and brochures, stickers and other giveaways,” said Senior Adviser Johanna Syväterä.
In addition to direct and indirect advertising, marketing involves other sales promotion activities, which, according to the preparatory materials of the Finnish Lotteries Act, include sponsoring, in connection of which the gambling service provider’s name or other identifier is visible.
“Sponsorship can be estimated to be a particularly interesting marketing method for gambling service providers because it reaches a designated, specific target group whose level of interest in sports betting, for example, may be above average. In addition, positive images associated with the sponsored person or sports can be associated with the brand,” said Syväterä.
The goal of the Finnish gambling system is to prevent and reduce the harm caused by gambling. Regardless of this, a considerable number of people in Finland, and those close to them, suffer from severe financial, social and health-related harm associated with gambling. In a research report published by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority earlier this year, it is stated that problematic gambling is more common outside the system of exclusive rights, which the FCCA estimates to have attracted approximately EUR 520–590 million of gamblers’ money in 2021.
The National Police Board can impose an administrative fine for any intentional violation of the marketing ban of gambling services. The amount of the administrative fine is determined on the basis of net sales or taxable revenue. For a business, the administrative fine is EUR 10,000 at minimum and EUR 5,000,000 at maximum. For a natural person, the administrative fine is EUR 500 at minimum and EUR 40,000 at maximum.
“The primary purpose of enhanced supervision is to prevent unlawful marketing effectively in advance. We hope that informing the event participants in advance will suffice as a preventive measure so that no unlawful marketing occurs at the event. If, for some reason, this is not the case, we are prepared to act quickly on this,” Senior Adviser Johanna Syväterä said.
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SIS and Premier Greyhound Racing reveal improved greyhound race time schedule
Sports Information Services (SIS), the leading multi-content supplier of 24/7 live betting services, and Premier Greyhound Racing (PGR), the media rights company supplier of greyhound racing to the betting industry and direct to viewers, have collaborated to offer a revised race time schedule starting from 20 May.
Designed to protect the long-term future of UK greyhound racing, the new schedule will see morning fixtures start slightly later – moving from 10.47 to 11.01 and 10.54 to 11.09. Additionally, there will also be a slightly later start time for some evening fixtures aimed at a retail audience, with the first evening fixture now starting at 18.08.
Commenting on the improved schedule, Terry Mahoney, Head of Business Development at ARC, said: “The new race times will help make it easier for customers to navigate busy racing schedules as well as improving operations trackside. We will continue to listen, monitor, and adapt schedules where and when needed as we move forward to deliver the best service possible for betting operators as well as punters.”
Paul Witten, Managing Director at SIS, added: “We are passionate about delivering a greyhound racing service that benefits all of the sport’s stakeholders. Together with Premier Greyhound Raxing, we have introduced a revised racing schedule that benefits operators and their customers.
“Our approach to greyhound racing is grounded in sustainability and flexibility. This collaboration with fellow service providers allows everyone to enjoy all the high-quality action produced on a daily basis from tracks across the UK and Ireland.”
SIS has long-term agreements in place with bet365, William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred to deliver its greyhound content across UK and Irish retail and digital channels. SIS also promotes this content across dozens of leading international operators, as well as through SISRacing.tv.
PGR offers greyhound action, cards, video replays, results, news and info on greyhounds.attheraces.com, and regular live broadcasts on Sky Sports Racing. Premier Greyhound Racing is a joint venture between Arena Racing (ARC) and Entain, the global sports betting, gaming and interactive entertainment group. Between them, the two companies own nine of the 20 licensed British greyhound tracks and ARC manage the media rights for five independent tracks.
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PRAGMATIC PLAY HITS THE SWEET SPOT WITH FRUITY TREATS
Pragmatic Play, a leading content supplier to the iGaming industry, has added Fruity Treats to its collection of clusters pays Slots.
Five or more fruit symbols must connect horizontally or vertically to award a win in this vibrant 7×7 title, which features a variation of the popular multiplier spots mechanic.
At the start of each spin, four marked spots of different colours take up random positions on the grid. If a win forms over a marked spot, a starting multiplier of 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x (depending on the spot colour) will be activated. Each time a winning combination lands on a marked spot after a tumble, the multiplier is applied to the win and then increases by its starting value.
Hitting at least three candy scatters on a spin awards entry to the bonus game with 10 free spins. During the feature, which can be retriggered with five additional free spins, activated multipliers from marked spots do not reset between free spins, potentially leading to massive wins.
Fruity Treats is the latest cluster pays Slot in Pragmatic Play’s multi-award-winning range, joining recent hit Sugar Rush 1000.
Irina Cornides, Chief Operating Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “The roaming multiplier spots feature in Fruity Treats sets it apart from other successful cluster pays Slots in the Pragmatic Play portfolio, with marked spots staying sticky in the bonus game for even greater win potential.”
Pragmatic Play currently produces up to eight new Slot titles a month, while also delivering Live Casino and Bingo games as part of its multi-product portfolio, available through a single API.
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Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook returns for fourth year
Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook returns in June with registrations now open for a two-day content series featuring speakers from across the Kambi Group and insights covering the full breadth of the industry.
Taking place between 4-5 June, the Festival will be comprised of online sessions taking in topics ranging from UX optimisation and harnessing AI to maximising a summer of soccer featuring both UEFA Euro 2024 and the Copa América.
Erik Lögdberg, Managing Director of Kambi Sportsbook, will open the Festival with a session entitled ‘Exceptional, everywhere: meeting the increasingly high standards of an evolving market’, discussing how operators can develop their sportsbook to navigate changing consumer habits and fragmenting markets.
Kambi’s Head of Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Victoria Fernandes, will also be joined by Partner Success Manager Sabrina Andrade for a Portuguese language session delving into Brazil and how local operators can compete in the soon-to-be-regulated market.
Gerard Starkey, Kambi Group’s SVP of Marketing & Communications, said: “We are excited to once again be welcoming the industry to Kambi’s Festival of Sportsbook, and we look forward to sharing the sportsbook insights and knowledge the event has become known for. As ever, the agenda features a broad range of sessions hosted by experts from across the Kambi Group, providing plenty to interest those working in or with the sports betting industry today.”
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