ASIA & OCEANIA


Tabcorp Fined for Offering illegal Inducements to Gamble


Tabcorp has been convicted and ordered to pay over $14,000 in fines and costs for offering an illegal gambling inducement in NSW.


Australian operator, Tabcorp, has been convicted and ordered to pay over $14,000 in fines and costs for offering an illegal gambling inducement to players in New South Wales (NSW). Te penalty was handed down in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on July 3, after Tabcorp pleaded guilty to breaching the Australian state’s gaming laws.


Te prosecution follows an investigation by Liquor & Gaming New South Wales into a promotion that appeared on Tabcorp’s mobile phone App in October last year.


Te Tabcorp advertisement offered sports betting players a special promotion: ‘HEAD TO HEAD SPECIAL – KHABIB VS MCGREGOR – if your fighter loses by decision, bonus bet back up to $50.’


Under the New South Wales Betting and Racing Act, it is an offence to publish a gambling advertisement that “includes any inducement to participate, or participate frequently, in any gambling activity (including an inducement to open a betting account)."


Such promotions can only be offered in NSW to registered betting account holders. In this case, the promotion was available to anyone who viewed the app without being required to log on to a Tabcorp betting account.


Chief Magistrate Graeme Henson said the sentence needed to recognise the adverse social impacts of gambling which extends to families, and rejected the company’s claim that this case involved extenuating circumstances.


Director of Compliance Operations Sean Goodchild said Tabcorp’s promotion had clearly offered an inducement to gamble.


“Betting operators have an obligation to ensure that all advertising complies with NSW laws on gambling advertising,” Mr Goodchild said. “Inducements are known to increase the risk of gambling harm so any breaches are taken seriously. Under new laws that came into effect in July 2018, wagering operators found guilty of promoting inducements to gamble face fines of up to $55,000 per offence and company directors can be criminally prosecuted.”


Japan Mohegans look to tap into indigenous link


Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has said it will spend $3.5bn to $4.5bn on a casino in a forest in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, from where guests would be able to enjoy horse riding, cross-country skiing and farming.


Te Mohegan tribe feels it holds a lot in common with the local Ainu people in the region as in April, the Diet passed a landmark law recognising them as indigenous people.


Mohegan Gaming has revealed that it would build three hotel


buildings, a conference hall and an arena in a forest in Tomakomai.


It would also look to open a museum showing the cultures of the Mohegan Tribe and Ainu people in Hokkaido.


MGE Chief Executive Officer Mario Kontomerkos believes the tribe has experience of operating casino resorts in a natural environment similar to that in Hokkaido and will be able to take make use of a customer database from its Inspire casino resort set to open in Incheon in South Korea in 2021.


Nepal


Nepal's government is making it easier to open casinos and electronic gaming venues close to international borders by relaxing laws to keep them 5km away from international borders. Te government has decided to relax this to 3km.


Several casino resorts are being built to serve cross-border customers from neighbouring India. Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism, said: “Te government has shown flexibility by allowing casinos to operate at a distance of up to 3 kilometres from international borders in the context of the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign."


AUSTRALIA – Lawrence Levy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ainsworth Game Technology on July 1, 2019 subject to necessary regulatory approvals. Prior to this appointment, Mr Levy has held senior positions within the gaming industry over a successful career spanning 37 years.


Mr. Levy’s industry experience comprises of all areas in casino operations, sales and management; living and working in 19 countries across Europe, North and East Africa, Latin America, ex-Russian states. Most recently, he held the position of Vice President Global Sales for Novomatic AG Austria.


Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Levy said “I am both delighted and motivated to be given the opportunity to guide Ainsworth, a world-renowned provider of gaming technology, into its next phase of development. The legacy that Len Ainsworth and Danny Gladstone built is a great platform for me to start from. I am confident that my years in this industry, both as operator and supplier, will serve to support the innovations and developments needed to further grow our market share worldwide.”


In related news, Danny Gladstone, outgoing CEO, will remain on the board at Ainsworth Game Technology as a Non- Executive Director and commenced his new role on July 1, 2019.


SEYCHELLES – The Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) has chosen GLI to perform a wide- ranging advisory project. The goal of the advisory engagement is to assist the FSA by facilitating the most efficient and effective oversight of the three gambling activities in the Seychelles it currently administers. GLI has been working with the FSA since 2016, previously conducting training and on- site inspection of gaming devices and systems.


“We are very pleased to have earned the ongoing trust of the FSA. As we move forward with this new advisory agreement, our professionals will apply their global expertise to ensure we meet the FSA’s goals of ensuring integrity, transparency, and consumer protections,” said Devon Dalbock, General Manager of GLI Africa.


Over the next 12 months, GLI will provide crucial services to the FSA that will help the agency ensure controlled growth and maintaining of the public trust. Services include: reviewing existing gaming legislation and related policy documents; creating a report outlining a proposed regulatory framework; drafting gaming legislation; generating a proposed gaming regulatory agency staffing structure; reviewing existing gaming technical standards and drafting technical standards for each mode of gambling; and providing support during the legislative process.


NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P27


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