Industry News

Covid-19 – A message from UKGC chair, Neil McArthur to online gambling operators

Published

6 years ago

March 27, 2020

Zoltan Tundik

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Since I wrote to you last week, the response to Covid-19 has affected everyone in Great Britain.

Over the last week, I have spoken to representatives across the industry and understand the significant impact that these uncertain and unsettling events are having on your businesses, your customers and your employees. We have been drawing up an initial assessment on the impact recent events will have on the gambling industry and assessing how we should approach our own work over the coming months.

Protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed by gambling has always been a major priority and we are very mindful – as you should be – of the fact that the risks of harm arising from online gambling have increased as a result of recent events. As you know, the social distancing measures that have been imposed this week now mean that anyone other than key workers will be at home for most of the day. We are already seeing reports of an increase in online slots, poker, casino gaming and virtual sports.

In light of these developments, whilst I recognise the enormous challenges businesses are facing, I want to make the Commission’s expectations absolutely clear:

Consumer protection must be paramount
- We expect you to act responsibly, especially around individual customer affordability checks and increased social responsibility interactions.
- We expect you to be very mindful that customers may be vulnerable and experiencing financial uncertainty, whilst others may be experiencing other effects of being isolated including, for example, feelings of anxiety, loneliness or boredom.
- We expect you to know your customers and step in if they are showing signs that they are experiencing or at risk of harm.
Marketing must be conducted responsibly
- We expect you to on-board new customers in a socially responsible way.
- You must not exploit the current situation for marketing purposes and should be very cautious when seeking to cross-sell online gaming products to customers who signed up with you in order to bet.
- We expect you to ensure that your affiliates are conducting themselves appropriately.
Compliance with licence conditions and codes of practice
- We expect you to act in a way that minimises the risks to the licensing objectives.
- Treat consumers fairly and communicate with them in a clear way that allows them to make a properly informed judgment about whether to gamble.
- Work with the Commission in an open and co-operative way and act in accordance with both the letter or the spirit of the regulatory framework we have set.

If we see irresponsible behaviour we will step in immediately. So, whilst I know that the current climate is unprecedented, gambling operators must play their part in making sure that people are kept safe.

If you want to share your own analysis of impacts to the industry, or share other information that may be relevant to our work on this issue, you can talk to Ben Haden, Programme Director for Industry Insight, who is collating all of the information about how Covid-19 is affecting the industry.

If you have information or concerns about the behaviour of an operator then our Confidential Intelligence Hotline is continuing to take calls or you can email the team. Finally, you can continue to contact your Account Manager in the normal way to notify of any key events or questions you have during this time. If you have other questions or queries, please let us know and we will do our best to get you an answer.

Yours sincerely,
Neil McArthur

Alex Pratt

Edge Marketing Institute launches G.A.M.E marketing leadership programme for B2B gaming

Published

4 minutes ago

May 13, 2026

Wladimir P.

edge-marketing-institute-launches-gam.e-marketing-leadership-programme-for-b2b-gaming

Online, on-demand course targets CMOs and senior marketers, with WorldGaming signed as exclusive media partner.

Edge Marketing Institute has launched in the gaming sector with its flagship programme, G.A.M.E (Gaming Advancement in Marketing Excellence), positioned by the company as a dedicated marketing leadership course for B2B gaming.

The company said the programme is designed to help senior marketers develop commercial leadership skills as businesses push marketing teams to contribute more directly to revenue and growth.

Founded by Paul Rees and Gerhard Sagat, Edge Marketing Institute said G.A.M.E consists of 10 senior-level modules covering strategic marketing leadership, positioning, product marketing, sales alignment, go-to-market execution, marketing measurement, brand strategy, and organisational influence.

Paul Rees, Co-Founder of Edge Marketing Institute, said: “Gaming has talented marketers throughout the industry, but too many have been forced to learn senior leadership on the job without structured development or exposure to broader marketing best practice.

“This isn’t a talent problem; it’s a structural one.

“We created Edge Marketing Institute and G.A.M.E to help marketing leaders operate with greater commercial clarity, confidence and influence, so marketing becomes a genuine driver of growth rather than simply a delivery function.”

The programme has launched with the support of WorldGaming as its exclusive media partner. Alex Pratt, Managing Director at WorldGaming, said: “As gaming continues to evolve, the role of marketing is becoming increasingly commercial and strategically important.

“Helping marketing leaders better align marketing with business growth, commercial objectives and long-term industry development is positive for the wider gaming ecosystem, which is why we’re pleased to support the launch of Edge Marketing Institute and G.A.M.E.”

The post Edge Marketing Institute launches G.A.M.E marketing leadership programme for B2B gaming appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

BetBlocker

BetBlocker adds Syrian Arabic language support for gambling harm prevention

Published

4 minutes ago

May 13, 2026

Wladimir P.

betblocker-adds-syrian-arabic-language-support-for-gambling-harm-prevention

The charity says the rollout targets displaced Syrian communities across Europe as it works toward a partnership with a European regulatory agency.

Gambling harm prevention charity BetBlocker said today it has expanded its service to include support for Syrian Arabic speakers, aiming to improve access for displaced Syrian communities living across Europe.

The organisation said years of conflict have led to large Syrian diaspora communities across neighbouring countries and many European nations. BetBlocker added that immigrant communities can face higher risk of gambling harm, with religious, social, cultural and linguistic barriers reducing engagement with support services.

BetBlocker said the Syrian Arabic rollout was prioritised as part of work towards a partnership with a European regulatory agency, positioning it to support diaspora Syrian communities across Europe.

Founder and Trustee for BetBlocker, Duncan Garvie, said: “I’m always really happy when BetBlocker can line-up priorities for where our work for mature markets also facilitates us extending protections to populations that are under served. Our project to deliver Ukrainian as apart of the Improving Outcomes for Minority Communities fund via GambleAware in the UK was a great example of a project that met the needs of the UK funding system, while concurrently extending the support we could offer to an entirely new project.

This project offers similar opportunities. Where extending our support to Syrian Arabic both allows us to submit a more competitive tender to an EU regulator, whilst simultaneously expanding our support to a country/population that currently has very limited options for people experiencing gambling harm.

BetBlocker’s uptake in Syria is climbing rapidly at the moment, and this new launch should ensure that far more people who need support can access it.”

The post BetBlocker adds Syrian Arabic language support for gambling harm prevention appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AI

Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket

Published

7 days ago

May 6, 2026

Wladimir P.

tugi-tark-whitepaper-puts-ai-igaming-support-at-e0.15-per-ticket

Tugi Tark has released a 2026 whitepaper, The economics of AI-powered iGaming customer support, arguing that AI changes the unit economics of player support and can reduce costs compared with human-led operations.

The report cites “verified pricing” of EUR 0.15 per AI-handled ticket. It compares that with fully loaded employer costs for human support in Romania and Bulgaria of EUR 1.73 to EUR 1.88 per ticket. At a “realistic” 70% AI containment rate, the whitepaper claims a blended cost of about EUR 0.67 per ticket, which it describes as roughly a 64% reduction versus a human-only baseline of EUR 1.88.

Tugi Tark says its analysis draws on Eurostat 2024 labour cost data, published research on AI chatbot benchmarks, independent iGaming player behaviour research, and operational data from its own deployments. The company estimates operators can achieve a 55% to 75% reduction in total support expenditure, and argues AI can absorb volume spikes—such as during major sporting events—without additional hiring or training lag.

Harpo Lilja, founder and CEO of TUgi Tark, said: “In 2026, the ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI is costing operators millions in unnecessary overhead. We aren’t just talking about chatbots; we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the unit economics of player retention.”

The whitepaper also frames customer support as a retention lever, stating that payment issues account for 52% of ticket volume and that slower response times drive churn. It claims a 0.5 percentage point churn reduction could retain an additional 500 players per month for a mid-sized operator, translating to €200,000 in annual revenue based on an assumed €400 Player Lifetime Value. Tugi Tark also claims AI agents average ~7 seconds for first response versus ~60 seconds for human agents, and outlines use cases across Responsible Gambling escalation, KYC/AML workflows, and GDPR-aligned data sovereignty.

The post Tugi Tark whitepaper puts AI iGaming support at €0.15 per ticket appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.