Compliance Updates
LEC Introduces Sporting Financial Regulations
To support the long-term financial stability and competitive balance of the LEC, the league is going to introduce new financial regulations – known as Sporting Financial Regulations (SFR) – for the start of the 2024 LoL Esports Season.
The LEC SFR will encourage teams to maintain the total sum of its five highest-paid player salaries below a certain threshold, with teams exceeding the threshold having to pay an excess fee (SFR Fee).
In doing so, the LEC seeks to create a financially sustainable environment for its pro players, partnered teams, and the league itself, allowing all parties to grow at a healthy and scalable pace, and protect the ecosystem from unsustainable spending practices. In addition, the framework will support the league by creating a better competitive balance and more engaging competition, further enhancing the experience for players and fans.
“In the current economic climate, we are dedicated more than ever to creating a sustainable future for our players, teams, and the LoL Esports ecosystem in EMEA as a whole. The LEC SFR, which will come into effect from the beginning of the 2024 Season, is one way in which we’re continuing to work towards our goal of long-term financial sustainability. By doing this, we aim to encourage teams to operate more sustainable businesses to provide job security for players and ensure we serve our fans for decades to come,” said Maximilian Peter Schmidt, Director of League of Legends Esports EMEA.
SFR will encourage each team to maintain the total sum of salaries (known as SFR Spend) paid to the top five highest-paid players in a team within a certain range. The range includes both an upper spending threshold (SFR Threshold) and a lower spending threshold (SFR Floor), with the lower spending threshold amounting to 50% of the SFR Threshold. Meanwhile, the SFR Threshold is calculated based on a number of considerations, including LEC player salaries, League Revenue Pool of the current and forecasted years, team financial data – such as revenue and expenses – and other market indicators. Teams that exceed the SFR Threshold will be imposed with an SFR Fee.
An exception will be made to teams if a player enters into a contract with the team either during or before the end of the 2023 LEC Season Finals. In this instance, the SFR Spend will be reduced by one-fifth of the SFR Threshold or the actual salary amount; whichever is lower.
The policy will be introduced starting from the 2024 LEC Global Contract Start Date (21 November 2023), with the first cycle running until the 2024 LEC Global Contract End Date (18 November 2024).
The Swedish government has proposed a new expanded ban on gambling on credit.
By preventing gambling from being financed with credit, the government wants to reduce the risk of over-indebtedness and protect consumers from ending up in financial difficulties.
The government’s proposal means that licensees and gaming agents will not be allowed to allow or participate in the financing of gambling with credit. This means that the current credit ban will be expanded to include, among other things, that licensees and gaming agents will not be allowed to:
• Enable players to enter into credit agreements with other parties when purchasing games, for example by linking to credit providers in connection with online gaming.
• Accept gambling bets if they know that the player is financing the bet, or their gambling in general, with a credit.
• Accept credit card payments if it is immediately apparent at the time of purchase that the payment is a credit card payment. This should apply both online and in-store.
The new rules are proposed to come into force on April 1, 2026.
The post Swedish Government Proposes a New Ban on Gambling on Credit appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Campaign for Fairer Gambling
Crime Still Dominates U.S. Online Gambling – Legalization Increases Total Losses by 261%, Warns CFG
The Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) releases a supplement to its USA National Online Gambling Report 2024 which exposed that illegal online gambling takes 74% of total gross gambling revenue (GGR) in America. Commissioned by CFG and produced by online market intelligence platform, Yield Sec, the supplement analyzes all 50 states according to their regulatory status and shows that state legalization of online gambling – without the reduction and removal of illegal online gambling – increases total losses for American consumers by up to 261%.
The supplement groups US states into one of three regulatory realities:
• States with no legal online gambling (e.g. California, Texas)
• States with one form of legal online gambling – sports betting (e.g. New York, Florida)
• States with all forms of legal online gambling – sports betting and casino (e.g. Michigan, New Jersey).
The CFG State Supplement #1 demonstrates the effect of GGR per capita (the total marketplace value for legal and illegal online gambling divided by population) as a percentage of average income 2024 to further illustrate the burden across American consumers:
Total online GGR (Legal + Illegal) per capita as a percentage of income:
– USA National: GGR per capita is 0.62% of average income
– States with no legal online sports betting or casino (e.g. California, Texas): GGR per capita is 0.31% of average income
– States with legal online sports betting only (e.g. New York, Florida): GGR per capita is 0.77% of average income
– States with both legal online sports betting and casino (e.g. Michigan, New Jersey): GGR per capita is 1.12% of average income.
The supplement data makes clear that legalization of online gambling, without enforcement against illegal online gambling, increases the total loss and harm. When states legalize online sports betting only, GGR per capita as a percentage of income increases by 148% (from 0.31% to 0.77%). When both online sports betting and casino are legalized, it jumps by 261% (from 0.31% to 1.12%). If legalization truly replaced illegal gambling, the dominance of illegal gambling would diminish – but, the reality is that this is not a zero-sum game.
“Ohio is the alarm bell America needs to hear. Just one year after legalizing online sports betting in 2023, losses for Ohioans had already reached 1.33% of average income per capita to online gambling – the heaviest burden in the country, and more than twice the national average. Across the US, we’re not seeing illegal gambling being replaced, we’re simply seeing total consumer losses grow. In states with full legalization, losses are now 261% higher than where there’s no legal online gambling at all. This isn’t progress, it’s escalation,” states Derek Webb, Founder of CFG.
Ismail Vali, founder and CEO of Yield Sec, added: “Yield Sec surveillance shows that the legal industry is being undermined at every turn by criminal competitors who offer greater value, bigger bonuses, and lower barriers, since they pay no tax, no licensing and exploit all forms of regulation in the absence of sincere monitoring, policing and enforcement against them.
“It is a vicious cycle: failing to deal with crime causes loss from theft. Across the country, legalization without enforcement against illegal operators, only gives criminals another edge. The outcome is predictable: legal revenue collapses, tax income shrinks, and criminals walk away with hundreds of millions. If states want to make the money they should, enforcement against crime must come first and always – to reduce and remove illegal gambling’s appeal and availability.”
The post Crime Still Dominates U.S. Online Gambling – Legalization Increases Total Losses by 261%, Warns CFG appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
In response to the recent and prior sports wagering tax increases passed by the Illinois state legislature on all mobile and online sports wagers placed with licensed operators, DraftKings Inc. announced that it will implement a 50-cent transaction fee on all mobile and online bets placed in Illinois through DraftKings Sportsbook, effective September 1, 2025.
“Illinois has been an important part of our growth, and we’re proud to have contributed meaningfully to the state through tax revenue, job creation, and a sustained investment in responsible gaming tools and resources. We are disappointed that Illinois policymakers have chosen to more than triple our tax rate over the past two years, and we are very concerned about what this will do to the legal, regulated industry. Meanwhile, Illinois continues to fuel the rapidly growing illegal industry, which pays no taxes or fees and provides none of the consumer protections that regulated operators offer,” said Jason Robins, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of DraftKings.
The post DraftKings to Introduce Transaction Fee in Illinois appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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