Industry News
UKGC sets industry tough challenges to accelerate progress to raise standards and reduce gambling harm
Working groups led by senior industry leaders will tackle high value customer incentives, advertising online and responsible product design
The Gambling Commission has announced the formation of three industry working groups to tackle key challenges as part of a drive to make gambling safer.
The first-of-its kind initiative follows a briefing to industry leaders in October from the Commission’s chief executive Neil McArthur in which he laid down three challenges and opportunities that the industry must grasp to raise standards and reduce harm across the sector.
Led by senior leaders in the gambling industry the three collaboration groups will focus on game and product design, advertising technology and high value customer incentives to gamble. SG Gaming and Playtech have committed to leading work on producing an effective Industry Code for Product Design, while Sky Betting and Gaming will oversee the Advertising Technology working group. The third group, which will address issues around VIP inducements to gamble, will be led by GVC. All three groups will work closely with the Betting and Gaming Council.
Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur said: “Consumer behaviour and technology are changing so quickly that only a bold and innovative approach will allow us to achieve a reduction in the numbers of people experiencing, or at risk from, gambling related harm.
“I’ve been encouraged by the willingness of so many operators to work with us on these challenges. We’ve set demanding timetable for progress because we cannot proceed at the speed of the slowest. If rapid progress is not made then we will have to look at other options, as making gambling safer for consumers is paramount.”
The three working groups are, in more detail:
Safer products: The industry code for responsible product and game design working group will set out how the gambling industry can produce safer products in the future, the techniques to use when designing apps, online games and gaming machine products, the risks associated with each product and how they can be mitigated, and a clear explanation of what is not acceptable.
Safer advertising online: An interim report by Gamble Aware from earlier this year shows that children, young people and vulnerable adults report they are being exposed to significant levels of online gambling adverts – including via social media. The Advertising Technology challenge will therefore explore and quickly accelerate opportunities to reduce the amount of advertising seen by children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Use of VIP incentives: The incentivisation of high value customers working group will help ensure bonuses, hospitality and gifts in particular around VIP programmes, are offered in a manner which is consistent with the licensing objectives to make gambling fairer, safer and crimefree. The Commission’s casework has found evidence that the approach of some licensees has exacerbated at-risk behaviour and this new group will identify how existing rules can be strengthened.
This approach utilises the skills and resources of the industry but ensures the Commission retains control of outputs – and consequently the best progress for British consumers.
The Gambling Commission announced in October that it would launch an industry-wide challenge to find a technology solution to creating a single customer view which would protect gamblers who gamble with more than one company. The Commission will be working with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) and a kick-off event will be taking place in Birmingham in February for industry and technology providers. More details on this initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Gambling Commission recently received independent advice on tackling online harms from both the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling and their Digital Advisory Panel.
Flexion, the games marketing company, has announced that its revenue grew 9% to year-end December 2024. The growth is attributed to the Company’s success in the alternative app store market.
Since its IPO in 2018, the company has built a well-positioned games marketing business around the alternative stores and grown annual revenue 50-fold to almost US$100 million. Its game portfolio represents several billion US$ in gaming IP for alternative market partners like Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, OneStore and Xiaomi.
“With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) coming into force in Europe and recent legal actions in the US, mobile game developers have felt a new-found freedom to explore their market options. We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything. Developers are looking for alternatives that offer better margins, and additional audiences and revenue. Partnering with Flexion opens up a range of market channels with very little up-front investment,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion.
Flexion currently distributes more than 30 high-profile titles on the alternative stores. Top-tier games in the Flexion portfolio make on average US$ 10 million a year based on Q4 2024 run rate. That’s income in addition to their Google and Apple revenue with a business model that adds little to their costs.
In Q4 2024, Flexion-serviced games were, on average, generating 9.3% through the alternative stores of the revenue they made on Google Play. This is a significant boost for Flexion’s partners without major costs or effort.
“If you scale for the size of the stores, the alternatives massively out-performed Google in Q4 for our games. This is exciting both for Flexion’s business and for the future of the games industry as a whole. We’re seeing the beginning of a sea change in games marketing,” Jens said.
“We’re seeing just the beginnings of a major shift in how top-tier developers address their markets. Using Flexion to access alternative stores is an easy first step into the post- Google and Apple world. Many developers are already looking at their options beyond that and Flexion will be right there with them providing the technology and expertise they need to maximise the potential of their games,” Jens added.
The post Flexion Reports Revenue Increase of 9% for 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The latest AskGamblers Complaint Service report for 2024 has officially been released. The comprehensive report highlights the most important accomplishments and records of the AskGamblers Complaint Service team for the previous year.
In 2024, The AGCS team (formerly known as AGCCS) managed to return $6,890,547.11 to players. Over 7259 players turn to AskGamblers, submitting complaints against 1114 casino brands. Out of all the accepted and processed complaints, the team had a 68% resolution success rate. One of the notable milestones that reached was returning a total of $70 million to the members.
Dijana Radunović, General Manager at AskGamblers, said: “It’s amazing to see the trust players put in us year after year, and we’re able to repay them by helping them recover their funds from operators or solve other related issues. We’ve had another successful year, with a few records broken and amazing milestones achieved and we can’t wait to see what lies in store in the years ahead.”
The post Players Reclaim Close to $7M Through AskGamblers Complaint Service in 2024 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
SlotsCalendar, a leading name and tastemaker in iGaming, has announced the second edition of the SlotsCalendar Awards. Winners will be announced during the iGC Malaga event in May 2025.
These awards are rapidly gaining significance in the iGaming world as SlotsCalendar’s steady growth, success, and player-centric mentality represent the community’s interest.
Players have approximately a month to vote between the 10th of April and the 12th of May.
For its 2025 edition, the SlotsCalendar Awards Gala returns to the iGaming Club Conference in Malaga, happening on May 28th. The Awards categories for this year are as follows:
• Game Studio of the Year
• The Slot Everyone’s Talking About
• Star Slot in the Making
• Casino of the Year
• Excellence in Bonus Variety
• Industry Standard in Responsible Gambling
• Live Casino of the Year
• Best Sports Betting Platform
• Best New Casino
• Best Crypto Casino
While the idea of iGaming Awards is not new to the industry, the SlotsCalendar Awards are unique for a simple reason: winners are voted by players from the entire iGaming community.
The uniqueness of these awards makes them particularly important in iGaming. Placing the decision-making strictly in the hands of the player is a fundamental shift in the iGaming community.
SlotsCalendar CEO Viorel Stan said: “It’s truly an honor and a privilege to see how our SlotsCalendar Awards have evolved. Last year’s inaugural edition was a crowning achievement for us. It proved how vast and involved our community is, creating a level of engagement that made us incredibly proud. Being able to return to the iGC and reward some of iGaming’s luminaries in the name of the SlotsCalendar Community is beyond gratifying.”
The post SlotsCalendar Announces its Second Awards Edition at iGC Malaga 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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