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Racing TV survey uncovers significant black market threat

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2023

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A recent Racing TV survey has drawn a strong response among its members, with more than 3,500 having their say on the Gambling Act Review and the spectre of the black market.

Racing TV is fully supportive of the objectives of the Gambling Act Review in protecting those at risk of gambling harm. In what is the first consumer survey to assess the scale of the black market and affordability checks, the key findings were:

80% of the 3,469 respondents said they would not like to see mandatory limits imposed by bookmakers
15% of 3,539 respondents said they bet, or know someone that bets, with an unregulated online bookmaker
22% of 3,575 respondents said they have been asked to supply personal information
50% (404 respondents) of those asked to supply this information, refused to do so
92% of 3,237 respondents said they would consider using a different bookmaker if no personal information was required

Affordability checks and loss limits have been key focal areas of the ongoing Gambling Act Review and will draw most attention when the White Paper is published.

Reports in the media last year indicated that a leaked draft of the White Paper contained fixed loss limit thresholds. These are highly contentious for our survey respondents. Nearly 80% of the 3,469 respondents said they would not like to see mandatory limits imposed by bookmakers.

European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

Perhaps the most worrying of these findings was that 15% of the 3539 respondents to the below question said that they bet, or they know someone that bets, with an unregulated online bookmaker.

In the absence of clear direction from the Gambling Commission, and while the wait for the publication of the White Paper goes on, many bookmakers have introduced affordability checks, some of which, such as requests for payslips, bank statements or P60s, could be considered intrusive.

More than 22% of the 3,575 respondents to the below question suggested that they have been asked to supply such documents.

Just over half of those who had been asked to supply such documents declined to do so.

In addition, more than 92% of 3,237 respondents to the below question suggested they would consider using a bookmaker, which didn’t require documentation.

Martin Stevenson, CEO of Racing TV’s parent company Racecourse Media Group, said: “The widespread response to the Racing TV survey shows how much the ongoing Gambling Act Review, combined with their recent experiences, is affecting our members.

“Our survey revealed that 15% of respondents bet, or know someone that bets, with an unregulated bookmaker, which is of real concern. With millions of customers betting on racing, the findings of this survey indicate that hundreds of thousands of punters are potentially using the black market.

“This survey is clear evidence that shows that the black market is real and substantial and suggests that affordability checks are having the effect of moving a significant number of affected punters out of the UK-regulated environment and so exposing them to potential harm. This must be a pyrrhic victory and the opposite to what affordability checks set out to achieve.

“We have shared this information with the Gambling Commission and hope that they can take account of this in their assessment of the black market. The evidence suggests it exists and is only building.”

Stevenson went on: “Nearly a quarter (22%) responded yes to the question on whether they had been asked for personal information, with 50% refusing to comply. This is a strikingly high percentage, demonstrating consumers’ rejection of this intrusion on their leisure activity.

“The inference that 22% of racing punters are at risk of harm is very challenging to believe and appears excessive when compared against the overall prevalence of problem gambling.

“In addition, RMG has seen a material decline in online betting turnover on horseracing in 2022. The Racing Post has estimated the sport could lose up to £40m of funding each year. Everyone involved in the industry should be deeply concerned. The impact of affordability checks is that the sport is suffering a heavy financial toll.”

The former Minister with responsibility for Horseracing and Gambling, Paul Scully, recently indicated how the Government were approaching affordability checks, saying: “It is not the role of the government, it is not the role of the Gambling Commission, to tell people how much of their salary they are ‘allowed to’ spend on gambling.”

Stevenson continued: “I hope that the new Minister with responsibility for Horseracing and Gambling will also consider the results of this survey as part of the ongoing work on the Gambling Act Review. It has been long overdue, in this process, to consider the attitudes of the consumers themselves in regard to how they choose to spend their time and money. I was very glad to hear the former Minister acknowledge that in his recent speech.

“Applying universal limits does not recognise the wide range of natural betting behaviours, events, seasonality or differing individual financial circumstances. The undoubted highlight of the Jumps season, the upcoming Cheltenham Festival – which is the major focus for many punters – is clearly a case in point. To that end, I was pleased to see the former Minister stating that a ‘one size fits all approach’ was not the intention.

“I’d like to thank all our members who took part in the survey.”

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TESTA debuts TESTA Score, allowing operators to benchmark UX

Published

13 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

TESTA, the crowd testing platform for the iGaming industry, has launched its innovative TESTA Score with CasinoCompare.ph, a Philippine-focused online casino affiliate—and the only platform exclusively listing PAGCOR-licensed online casinos.

TESTA Score is a new UX quality benchmark developed by TESTA that shines a light on online casino brands in markets with new regulatory compliance standards.

Using real testers with local devices, IDs and bank accounts, TESTA evaluates each operator’s performance across four key processes – registration, deposit, withdrawal and KYC.

Each process is scored against strict usability parameters such as the number of required input fields, page clicks, lead times for verification and fund arrival, as well as the number of KYC attempts required.

The total possible score is 100, divided across:

The TESTA Score provides objective, player-centric transparency in any market.

With local connectivity, device preferences and regulatory friction in mind, the scoring system reflects the real-world user journey and highlights where improvements are most needed.

This then provides a chance for operators to improve their key flows, especially KYC, and then apply for a re-test to update their published score.

CasinoCompare.ph becomes the first online casino affiliate to deploy TESTA Score, with six Philippine-licensed online casinos now ranked. The site is operated by AFFILI.ph whose aim is to set a new industry standards for transparency, trust, and player confidence.

The six sites include Casino Plus, Desk Game, FBM E.Motion, Bet88, PlayTime and Crazy Win.

While most operators performed well on the core user flows, the KYC process emerged as the main differentiator.

Operators that lacked a working KYC step at withdrawal automatically received a zero in that category, pulling down their overall TESTA Score significantly.

This is how they fared:

Casino Plus led the pack with a total score of 97/100, earning perfect marks in registration, withdrawal, and KYC, and only dropping points on deposit due to a single extra page click.

As well as accessing TESTA Score through their affiliate partners, operators can work directly with TESTA to determine their TESTA Score.

Chris Johnson, TESTA CMO, said: “Born out of frequent client requests for key processes testing, and competitor benchmarking, the TESTA Score measures the parts of the customer journey, outside of game play, that make or break player acquisition and retention.

“Operators can use their TESTA Score to understand where they stand out over their rivals and where there is a gap they need to close.

“It’s great to see that six Philippine-licensed casinos have already used TESTA Score to benchmark their UX and acquisition flows, and we look forward to working with more moving forward, both in the Philippines and other markets around the world.”

The post TESTA debuts TESTA Score, allowing operators to benchmark UX appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Yolo Investments completes raise for €100m Fund II

Published

14 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

Yolo Investments has closed fundraising for its flagship Fund II after hitting its €100 million target.

The fund comprises €50 million in external capital, as well as a €50 million commitment from Yolo Group.

It brings together a network of 23 investors, including founders and industry thought leaders, further strengthening the Yolo Investments ecosystem and enhancing the strategic value it can offer portfolio companies.

Fund II has already backed 12 companies across igaming, blockchain and fintech, with notable investments including Dabble, Kraken and Syfe. It expects to make a further 10 investments over the next 12 months.

Tim Heath, GP at Yolo Investments, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be closing our raise for Fund II having hit our target. This took place during challenging market conditions, with global VC fundraising facing significantly more headwinds compared with previous vintages. But investors have looked at our previous funds’ track record and the strength of our ecosystem, and have strongly backed us.

“We are humbled by that response as a real vote of confidence, not just in what we’ve built so far, but in where we’re heading next. We will continue to back more brilliant founders and help them scale faster, smarter and with the full power of the Yolo ecosystem behind them.”

Yolo Investments’ Fund II is structured as a Guernsey-registered limited partnership, and is licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).

The post Yolo Investments completes raise for €100m Fund II appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Party Like It’s 3000 BC in Shake Your Mummymaker! at SlotsCapital.lv – Plus a 175% Bonus Up to $1,750

Published

15 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

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