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NCAA and EPIC Provide Sports Gambling Harm Prevention Education to Over 10,000 Student-Athletes

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As sports wagering expands across the US, the NCAA national office has continued to work to protect both the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of competition. Since the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional in 2018, the NCAA has focused on increasing educational efforts surrounding sports wagering integrity.

As part of the sports wagering educational strategy, the NCAA engaged EPIC Risk Management to provide a comprehensive and customized sports wagering gambling harm prevention program. Since the first full year of the program in 2022, over 10,000 student-athletes and administrators have attended in-person programming offered free to the membership.

The most recent NCAA Social Series welcomed Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Risk Management, and Trever Wright, associate director of athletics for Cincinnati, to talk about the importance of the program.

“We specialize in the prevention of gambling related harm. For us, working with the college athletes is a really important program because we know that athletes are four times more likely to suffer from gambling related harm than the general population for a number of different reasons,” Buck said.

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As part of the program, the in-person campus sessions focus on sports wagering awareness, protecting the integrity of competitions, gambling addiction and harm, and student-athlete well-being.

“It’s really important that during these educational sessions, we make them aware of what the potential dangers are. We make sure they understand the importance of talking to the support they’ve got around them and just make sure that this doesn’t become a problem that ever affects their current life or their future career, either in the game or elsewhere,” Buck said.

With 33 states plus the District of Columbia accepting wagers on athletics competitions and 11 additional jurisdictions either considering or having already legalized sports wagering that is not yet operational, many student-athletes are surrounded by peers who wager on sports.

“What we are really trying to educate with our student-athletes is that there are a lot of things that are permissible for the general public that just aren’t for you, and it’s the same for the coaches and the administrators. We really try to focus on that aspect while really tying in our psychologists and mental health because one unique aspect of this is that when it (sports wagering) used to be illegal, they (student-athletes) didn’t really have any students or peers saying, ‘Hey, you cost me $200.’ Now with it being legal in the state of Ohio, you could face that within your own class, let alone social media,” Wright said.

Mixing gambling addiction education with real life stories from EPIC’s presenters, the sessions have been helpful for Cincinnati’s student-athletes, according to Wright.

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“Our athletes really benefit from real-world experience. Having somebody sit in front of them and speak of gambling addiction, what it looked like, how they went through it, how it affected his life, really was impactful, so much so that we’re having them (EPIC) back for another session,” Wright said.

If a student-athlete or someone they know does have a problem with sports wagering, Buck said it is important to reach out to somebody about it.

“If you do have a problem, talk. It’s one of the most stigmatized and silent addictions that there are, so if somebody is suffering a problem, we need to get the environment and ethos that it’s OK for that player or that staff member to come forward and talk about it because the real problems come with this if somebody bottles it up, doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t feel like they can talk about it and suddenly something happens like a suicide or mental health problems or certainly career over or that sort of thing,” he said.

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Canada

Court Decision Upholds iGaming Ontario’s Model

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iGaming Ontario has welcomed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court, which found that iGaming Ontario’s model is consistent with the Criminal Code and that iGaming Ontario is conducting and managing igaming in the province.

“We have always been confident in our model and are pleased that the court has ruled in our favour, and that Ontarians can continue to play with confidence in our regulated igaming market,” said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario.

“Ontario’s model meets the requirements and contributes to the public good by protecting players, their data and their funds, while helping to fund priority public services in Ontario, and bringing well-paid, high-tech jobs and economic development to Ontario,” Otton added.

In dismissing the application brought forward by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), the Superior Court found that iGaming Ontario is the “operating mind” behind Ontario’s competitive igaming market in accordance with the conduct and manage requirements of the Criminal Code.

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iGaming Ontario will continue to conduct and manage igaming as it has since the launch of the regulated market on April 4, 2022.

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Bragg Gaming Group

Bragg Gaming Appoints Renowned iGaming Executive Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer

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Bragg Gaming Group, a global iGaming technology and content provider, announced that Neill Whyte has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective 1st May 2024, establishing a new global commercial structure at the Company and bolstering its leadership team.

Whyte brings over 18 years of experience in the iGaming sector, most recently in the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Gaming Corporation’s (DGC), B2B iGaming Division. After joining DGC in early 2020, he was responsible for the commercially successful launch and growth of its content distribution business in the US.

Prior to joining DGC, Whyte held multiple positions in the gaming industry including as Head of Business Development at Isle of Man-based iGaming specialist Apricot Investments, as Board Member at Swedish iGaming product and Lottery content distributor Genera Networks, and in various senior roles over eleven years at leading iGaming content supplier Microgaming, including as Head of Product Channels.

In his new role with Bragg, Whyte will be tasked with leading the Company’s global commercial teams to drive growth across all of the Company’s product verticals which include proprietary online casino content from its Atomic Slot Lab, Indigo Magic and Wild Streak Gaming studios, exclusive content from content partners, HUB a leading casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement, as well as its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and turnkey solutions.

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Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: “I am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His iGaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.

“As we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neill’s unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.”

Neill Whyte, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: “It’s an honor to join Matevž and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and in India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.

“We also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and I’m planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I can’t wait to get going.”

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Canada

IGT to Launch Cloud-based iLottery Solutions for Atlantic Lottery in Canada

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International Game Technology PLC announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions Corporation, has signed a five-year contract with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (Atlantic Lottery), to implement high-performing features and exciting new games for players in Atlantic Canada. As part of the agreement, IGT will deploy its advanced cloud-based remote game server (RGS) and at least 16 digital instant games each year. The contract will run through April 2029 and includes five, one-year extension options.

“As the largest digital instant market in Canada, Atlantic Lottery is pleased to partner with IGT and offer our players dynamic digital instant games from IGT’s comprehensive content portfolio. Additionally, the scalability of IGT’s cloud-based RGS will enable us to modify our digital instants library in real time, provide our players with best-in-class experiences and continually enhance our iGaming offer,” Robert LaLonde, iGaming Director at Atlantic Lottery Corporation, said.

“Partnering with the Atlantic Lottery to deliver IGT’s cloud-based RGS and engaging digital instant games is an exciting opportunity for our iLottery business. We look forward to helping the Atlantic Lottery further grow its business and reach new players in the region with our reliable RGS technology and top-performing iLottery games,” said Srini Nedunuri, IGT Senior Vice President, Global iLottery.

IGT’s RGS platform will enable the Atlantic Lottery to access to IGT’s vast portfolio of digital instant games and content, spanning a variety of player-favorite themes, play styles, omnichannel games, popular licensed content, and award-winning progressive jackpot games. The platform provides cross-channel branding across retail and digital, supports a range of jackpot and prize pool configurations, offers various bonusing tools to enhance player engagement, and is designed for optimum performance and scalability.

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