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University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre and GambleAware partnership

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University of Bristol's Personal Finance Research Centre and GambleAware partnership
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With around one million people in the UK suffering the negative consequences of gambling, some banks have introduced spending controls or ‘gambling blocks’ to help their customers. But do these measures work and what more can be done?

research partnership between the University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC) and GambleAware will examine how financial services organisations can best help people who experience, or are at risk of, gambling-related harm.

Researchers will engage with people affected by problem gambling, those working in the gambling and financial industries – including high-street banks, lenders and debt collection agencies – as well as treatment and support organisations, to explore a range of ways to mitigate the financial losses and other harms inflicted by risky gambling behaviour.

The three-year programme will address growing concerns around the severe financial and social consequences of gambling.

It comes as several UK banks – most notably Barclays, Monzo and Starling – have introduced ‘gambling blocks’. Once turned on by customers, these essentially prevent spending on a bank card at gambling outlets, both online and in-person.

The first six-months of the programme will investigate the effectiveness of gambling blocks and how their potential could be maximised. As the programme evolves, other topics might include practical guidance for financial services firms about how best to support customers affected by gambling; identifying effective financial self-help for gamblers, such as apps, budget planners or money guidance; and the feasibility of a ‘single gateway’ for credit self-exclusion.

Professor Sharon Collard, from the PFRC at the University of Bristol, is leading the programme and said: “We know that people in recovery from problem gambling already use informal workarounds to prevent themselves from spending money on gambling, such as forfeiting their card to a third party or scratching off the card security number.

“The new solutions from banks, however, allow customers to do this more formally – and, possibly, more successfully. But at present there is limited evidence about the effectiveness of such spending controls, nor about the characteristics of those who use them.

“We also don’t know much about the unintended consequences of these spending blockers. For example, whether it leads to customers withdrawing more money as cash and gambling with that.

“We’re looking forward to working with a wide range of stakeholders – especially those with lived experience of problem gambling – to come up with some real tangible solutions to benefit everyone.”

Dr Jane Rigbye is the Director of Education at GambleAware and said: “We want to prevent people from getting into problems with their gambling and we welcome the proactive steps that some banks have taken to protect their customers. People must be able to gamble in a safe environment, so we are pleased to be commissioning this project to determine how financial organisations can best protect people from gambling harm.”

Around seven in ten people seeking help for gambling problems report that they are in debt, with a third of these owing £10,000 or more.

Between 2007 and 2014 there were an average of 500 bankruptcies per year known to be linked to gambling – although the true figure could be much higher because people may not disclose that their bankruptcy is related to gambling.

Owen Baily, Peer Support Worker at London’s National Problem Gambling Clinic, has overcome a serious gambling problem and said: “I’m really glad that this new programme will explore and identify ways financial services organisations can help to reduce gambling-related harms.

“I know from my personal first-hand experience through having overcome a serious gambling problem, and knowing many others that have, that dealing with gambling debt and creditors proves very challenging.

“Financial services organisations – when it comes to this very specific customer vulnerability – can collaboratively play a big role in preventing the escalation of a problem and also aid in the recovery process, improving overall wellbeing, minimising chances of relapse and aiding the recovery process sooner.”

Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the Financial Conduct Authority, said: “We welcome this new research, which aims to support initiatives to protect vulnerable consumers from harm. We look forward to the outcomes with interest.”

Also welcoming the new partnership, Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, Consultant Psychiatrist in Addictions and Director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, said: “The financial services sector can play an important role in helping create a safer environment for people with gambling problems, for example by making it easier for individuals to limit their gambling spend.”

Get involved in the research

In order to build the evidence-base, researchers will be working closely throughout the programme with financial services firms – but, more importantly, the research will place people with lived experience of problem gambling at its centre, as well as those with expertise in the treatment and support of recovering gamblers.

If you’re interested in being part of the research programme, or if you simply want to be kept updated, you can join our money and gambling network by filling out this short form.

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Bacta pledge support for Safer Gambling Week as industry drives awareness campaign

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Bacta is at the forefront of initiatives to encourage responsible gambling with the leading trade association for the land-based low-stake sector joining the Betting and Gaming Council, the Lotteries Council and the Bingo Association as organisers and supporters of the 2024 edition of Safer Gambling Week (SGW) which runs 18th – 24th November.

With a core objective of encouraging people to talk and take action to gamble responsibly, the initiative which is running for its eighth year, will feature what the official SGW web site refers to as a ‘blitz’ of safer gambling messages online and in land-based venues in order to spark a nationwide conversation about responsible gambling and the safeguards that have been put in place by the regulated industry.

George McGregor Bacta’s Executive Director (Government Relations) believes the initiative continues to make a significant contribution to the industry’s endeavours to reduce further the incidence of problem gambling. He stated: “The first point to make is that Safer Gambling Week draws attention to what Bacta members are practicing every week and every day of the year. This commitment and culture is something that every Bacta member should be extremely proud of.

“The consumer-facing Safer Gambling website poses a series of questions to consider and outlines how to use safer gambling tools such as setting time and deposit limits and how to self-exclude from gambling.”

He added: “As an awareness raising initiative Safer Gambling Week has demonstrated its value. Safer Gambling Week 2023 smashed previous social media records, generating over 50 million impressions across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

“The website received half a million visits and the campaign engaged with a large number of cross-party MPs and peers who gave their backing as did Premier League clubs West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion.

“Safer Gambling Week demonstrates that Bacta, its members and the industry at large is fully committed to delivering a safe, responsible and enjoyable gambling entertainment experience for all of its customers.”

 

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Financial reports

SharpLink Gaming Announces Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results

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SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBET) (“SharpLink” or the “Company”), an online performance-based marketing company serving the U.S. sports betting and iGaming industries, today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.

Financial Highlights

  • Revenues decreased 27.7% to $2,838,908 for the first nine months of 2024, compared to $3,925,618 for the same nine-month period in 2023. For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, revenues declined 34.7% to $881,690 compared to $1,349,331, respectively.
  • Total operating expenses declined 25.9% to $4,426,835 from $5,977,327 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively; and total operating expenses dropped 46.0% to $970,080 from $1,795,057 for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
  • For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income climbed to $11,002,266 after factoring net income from discontinued operations of $14,567,733 – up 673.3% from a net loss of $9,114,443 inclusive of the net loss from discontinued operations of $2,523,754 posted for the comparable nine months in the prior year. After factoring a net loss from discontinued operations of $97,139, the net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2024 decreased 68.9% to $885,131 when compared to a net loss of $2,849,547 for the same three months ended September 30, 2023 after factoring a net loss from discontinued operations of $822,100.
  • As of September 30, 2024, cash on hand was $1,850,206 and total stockholders’ equity was $2,020,143. This compared to $2,487,481 cash on hand and total stockholders’ deficit of $9,399,769 as of December 31, 2023.

Commenting on the results, SharpLink Chairman and CEO Rob Phythian said, “The notable decline in operating expenses reflects SharpLink’s continued focus on streamlining our affiliate marketing business; and the significant improvement in our bottom line results is largely a result of our $22.5 million cash sale of our SportsHub fantasy sports and sports game development businesses to RSports Interactive, Inc. earlier this year. Since that time, we have succeeded at scouring our balance sheet, eliminating virtually all of our debt, and have turned our attention to identifying, qualifying and pursuing compelling strategic growth opportunities that we believe can best be leveraged to create and enhance long-term sustainable value for our shareholders. As we progress through to the end of the year, we look forward to sharing much greater insight into our future plans for SharpLink resulting from the collective due diligence efforts of our leadership team and our highly engaged Board of Directors.”

For more detailed information about SharpLink’s Third Quarter 2024 financial results, please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and accessible online at sec.gov or via SharpLink’s investor relations page at investors.sharplink.com/

About SharpLink Gaming, Inc.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, SharpLink is a trusted marketing partner to leading sportsbooks and online casino gaming operators worldwide. Through its iGaming affiliate marketing network, known as PAS.net, SharpLink focuses on driving qualified traffic and player acquisitions, retention and conversions to U.S. regulated and global iGaming operator partners worldwide. In fact, PAS.net won industry recognition as the European online gambling industry’s Top Affiliate Website and Top Affiliate Program for four consecutive years by both igamingbusiness.com and igamingaffiliate.com. SharpLink also owns and operates a portfolio of direct-to-player, state-specific, affiliate marketing websites designed to attract, acquire and drive local sports betting and online casino gaming traffic to its valued partners which are licensed to operate in each respective state. For more information, please visit sharplink.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include statements regarding the Company’s ability to grow its business through strategic growth opportunities, the potential benefits of the Company’s products, services and technologies and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be accompanied by the words “intends,” “may,” “will,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “aims,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential” or similar words. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, including without limitation, the Company’s ability to achieve profitable operations, government regulation of online betting, customer acceptance of new products and services, the demand for its products and its customers’ economic condition, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the lengthy sales cycle, proprietary rights of the Company and its competitors, general economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company’s annual report and other filings with the SEC. The Company does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
INVESTOR AND MEDIA RELATIONS
[email protected]

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AGREEMENT BETWEEN ZITRO AND GRUPO OSGA TO PROMOTE THE LABOT INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

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AGREEMENT BETWEEN ZITRO AND GRUPO OSGA TO PROMOTE THE LABOT INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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Zitro, a leading company in the gaming industry, has signed a collaboration agreement with Grupo OSGA, a business group committed to promoting the employment of people with disabilities. Grupo OSGA offers job opportunities to people with disabilities and supports their professional development in inclusive and accessible environments.

Through this alliance, Grupo OSGA will provide Zitro with a parcel and documentation service between its offices, optimizing Zitro’s operational efficiency and strengthening its social commitment to creating a more inclusive work environment.

At Zitro, we firmly believe in the power of diversity as a driver of growth and development. This collaboration with Grupo OSGA not only enriches our company but also reinforces our commitment to contributing to a fairer and more inclusive society,” said Albert Zorrilla, Managing Director of Zitro for Spain.

“The collaboration with a prestigious international company like Zitro not only constitutes recognition of the work that Grupo OSGA has been carrying out but also contributes to the generation of real opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve effective and stable integration in the labor market,” said Oscar Galilea, President of Grupo Osga.

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