ONLINE NEWS
William Hill offers £242m for Mr Green W
illiam Hill has tabled an offer of SEK2.82bn (£241.8m/€270.9m/
$307.4m) to acquire Mr Green & Co (MRG) in a move that CEO Philip Bowcock believes will allow the company to become “a more digital and more international business”. The offer on the table is for SEK69 in cash per share in MRG, with the board of directors at MRG recommending that shareholders accept the bid. MRG said that 40.4% of shareholders have already signed irrevocable agreements backing the bid. MRG chairman Kent Sander
said: “We believe that size matters in the globalisation of the iGaming industry, but the decision is up to the shareholders; 40.04% of the shareholders have already signed irrevocable agreements.”
Hills, which does not currently hold any shares in MRG, has made the offer via its William Hill Holdings-controlled affiliate. Ulrik Bengtsson, chief digital officer at William Hill, will be responsible for leading the integration of MRG within the group, due to his background in working with Nordic online gaming businesses during his time at Betsson.
focusing on expanding its business in the US, striking a series of deals in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on PASPA that has opened up legal sports betting to more states as a result. However, the offer for Sweden- headquartered MRG demonstrates Hill’s desire to also grow its European business, particularly in the digital sector. In a statement outlining the
offer, Hills highlights a number of “core attributes” at MRG that it believes will “enhance the William Hill business and strategy”. These include combining MRG’s existing international hub in Malta with its own operational expertise in establishing a presence in new markets, which it said will increase its online international footprint and growth potential.
UK raises remote gaming duty to 21% U
K Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed
remote gaming duty will increase from 15% to 21% from October 2019, while stakes will also not be cut on FOBTs for another 12 months.
Hammond had been
expected to announce a rise in tax, with reports pre-budget suggesting an increase of between 20-25%. Delivering his Autumn Budget 2018 in the House of Commons, Hammond said the move will “fund the loss of revenue” as a result of the government cutting the maximum stakes on FOBTs. In May, the government accepted Gambling Commission recommendations to set a new maximum stake of £2 (€2.25/$2.56) on FOBTs, a sharp cut on the current limit of £100. Initial plans had been for the FOBT changes to come into effect from April 2019, but this will now be delayed until next October.
54 NOVEMBER 2018
Albania bans online gambling
In recent months, Hills has been
online betting and prohibit other forms of gambling from the end of 2018. The ban will come into force from January 1st and comes after a government crusade aimed at tackling addiction, reducing the threat of match fixing in sport and protecting household finances. The legislation will force the closure
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of slot machine parlours and betting shops in residential areas. After December 31 gaming operations will be restricted to designated tourist areas, such as a five-star hotel’s casino in capital Tirana, as well as on the outskirts of towns and cities. The national
lottery will continue to operate but all online gambling sites will be outlawed,
Remote Gambling Association (RGA) chairman Clive Hawkswood said that with tax levels as high as 25% having been mooted, the 21% figure is “encouraging”: “It’s still a bit more than our analysis; the work we did with Ernst & Young pointed to a figure of a bit less than that [to cover
FOBT losses],” he said. “We can debate whether it’s fair, but it’s about mid-range of expectations. The key thing is timing, with it being in October as we had expected April. It’s a tax hike but it gives an extra six months, so that’s the silver lining. Companies have to go away and decide how they will best accommodate the increase, whether that be changes to bonuses, for example.”
including the only current legal entity, Bastarena, which is part-owned by the brother of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Ahead of the vote, which passed unanimously, Rama, a former basketball player, said: “We are waging a frontal war with the evil entrenched deeply in our society over the years.” Rama said a special task force would be set up to shut down any online gambling sites that continue to operate in the country. “They might keep changing sites,
Prime Minister Edi Rama
and we’ll keep shutting them down,” he said. Representatives of sports betting
companies have vowed to fight the ban and seek compensation. Rama has led a campaign against gambling in Albania since his socialist party swept to power five years ago in a landslide election victory. Within five months of his triumph, some 1,300 betting premises had undergone inspections, with many being closed down due to allegations of financial mismanagement.
lbania’s parliament passed laws that will ban
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