Monthly Archives: March 2022

FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MV Index Solutions GmbH (MVIS) today announced the launch of the BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index (ticker: BVGOG) and the BlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index (ticker: BILIN).

The BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index (ticker: BVGOG) tracks the performance of global companies active in online gambling, video gaming, and eSports segment. The index includes companies that generate at least 50% of their revenue from online gambling platforms or related software; video game development and related software or hardware such as computer processors and graphics cards used in video gaming systems, controllers, headsets, and gaming consoles; streaming services or video games and/or hardware for use in eSports events or are involved in eSports events such as league operators, teams, distributors and platforms.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index. The fight among online content and entertainment companies for screen time has only intensified over the last few years. With wider adoption of online gambling and sports betting throughout the US and the rest of the world, and incorporation of augmented and virtual reality in video gaming, the companies included in this index are in prime position to be amongst the winners, said Josh Kaplan, Global Head of Research & Investment Strategy at MV Index Solutions.

The BlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index (ticker: BILIN) tracks the performance of companies involved in the development and maintenance of Israeli infrastructure including energy projects, construction, telecommunications, and related civil services. The index compromises companies that generate at least 50% of their revenue from construction, telecommunication services, infrastructure services that contains recycling and waste management services, and port operators, infrastructure REITs and investment companies, clean energy, other energy that includes oil and gas distribution and refining, as well as power plants.

The Israeli economy has remained one of the strongest and most resilient of developed markets for more than a decade. Israel has a young and growing population with a relatively high level of immigrants arriving each year. Furthermore foreign direct investment by international companies setting up shop or expanding operations in Israel continues to increase. Both the public and private sector in Israel have the incentive and wherewithal to invest in Israels national infrastructure to support this growth, Mr. Kaplan added.

The BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index (ticker: BVGOG) and the BlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index (ticker: BILIN) are weighted by free float market capitalisation and are calculated in USD as price indices, total return net indices and total return gross indices. The BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index (ticker: BVGOG) is reviewed on a quarterly basis. The BlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index (ticker: BILIN) is reviewed on a semi-annual basis. Detailed information about the index, including methodology details and index data, is available on the MV Index Solutions website.

Key Index FeaturesBlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index (ticker: BVGOG) Number of Components: 50Base Date: 31 December 2020Base Value: 100

Key Index FeaturesBlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index (ticker: BILIN) Number of Components: 29Base Date: 31 December 2017Base Value: 100

Note to Editors:

About MV Index Solutions - http://www.mvis-indices.com

MV Index Solutions (MVIS) develops, monitors and licenses the MVIS Indices and BlueStar Indexes, a selection of focused, investable and diversified benchmark indices. The indices are especially designed to underlie financial products. MVIS Indices cover several asset classes, including equity, fixed income markets and digital assets and are licensed to serve as underlying indices for financial products. Approximately USD 35.24 billion in assets under management (as of 25 March 2022) are currently invested in financial products based on MVIS/BlueStar Indices. MVIS is a VanEck company.

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MV Index Solutions Launches the BlueStar Global Online Gambling, Video Gaming and eSports Index and the BlueStar Israel Infrastructure Index -...

Amy Howe knows how to grab headlines.

Soon after she became CEO of fantasy sports and betting giant FanDuel Group, Howe made a splash by pointing out that the she was concerned about how the industry spends money to scoop up customers.

"If you look at the way we've been deploying our dollars in our customer acquisition costs relative to the value of the customer, we obsess about that," Howe said, in an interview with CNBC after New York state launched mobile sports betting in January. "We want to make sure that we're reaching the broadest and the right audience, but we're doing that in a fiscally responsible way."

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of the global gaming company Entain, is also outspoken about what she sees as unsustainable spending on advertising, marketing and promotions in the U.S. online gambling industry.

Nygaard-Andersen and Howe, women who snagged their gaming CEO jobs last year, are shaking up the evolving sportsbook and online gambling industry, which has been traditionally been dominated by men. Both see the importance of their roles in the bigger picture, from business and cultural perspectives.

"I don't think about myself as a female CEO," Nygaard-Andersen said, before shrugging and adding: "I show up because I'm a leader in the industry. I have ambitions to change the industry, both what we're doing on the product side, but certainly also how we think about the industry from a diversity and inclusion perspective."

She and Howe are also compelling the industry to think about how it spends money. The CEOs' concerns about costs carry weight, and they elevated a nagging concern for investors: How much is too much to spend to acquire gaming customers?

Sports betting companies often offer generous promotions to customers, such as sign-up bonuses or risk-free first bets to try to secure customer business. But those promotions eat into profits. In some states, such as New York, companies pay taxes on those promotions as gaming revenue, rather than being able to deduct them as marketing expenses.

FanDuel's biggest U.S. competitor, DraftKings, which is led by founder and CEO Jason Robins, is under pressure to plot its path to profitability. Analysts press Robins in earnings calls to explain customer acquisition costs and marketing budgets. Caesars CEO Tom Reeg launched the Caesars Sportsbook app in August 2021, with an attention-getting billion-dollar marketing budget. But then he immediately detailed plans for a return on that investment by 2023, a common target for profitability among sports gambling platforms in the U.S.

Nygaard-Andersen has pushed for different ways to pick up customers. She points to a strategy that capitalizes on the allure of the recreational aspects of gaming entertainment, including free-to-play games. In a recent interview with CNBC, Nygaard-Andersen said it's paying off: Entain grew its global customer database by 25% last year, in addition to double-digit gains in 2020.

"That really puts us aligned with other companies that are high growth customer focused disruptors, like the Netflix and the Google, " she said. "And just like them, we use our technology to constantly think about how can we could say, evolve our offering, how can we innovate on behalf of the customers."

BetMGM, which is co-owned by Entain and MGM Resorts, has taken first place in market share for internet gaming and casino games and is competing for second place in sports betting in the states where it operates, according to MGM Resorts.

Entain just announced it will invest GBP100 million in an innovation lab dubbed Ennovate to encourage cutting-edge technology from all corners of the globe and partnering with nonprofits to apply those innovations for environmental or societal benefits.

Given the focus on the use of technology to entertain and even inspire customers, Nygaard-Andersen said it's especially important that the tech itself is free from biases in the programming data sets and the artificial intelligence that powers the platforms. "It's about the underserved groups. It's certainly about women, and it's about young girls."

Nygaard-Andersen's became excited when she talked about Entain's investment in Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. "If we can get more girls excited about technology, then you start from an early age. And the minute that girls know that, they can be superstars," she said.

Howe shares Nygaard-Andersen's passion for expanding opportunities. She said she is enthusiastic about FanDuel's parent company, Flutter, publicly setting an aggressive goal to have 40% of leadership roles in the company filled by women by 2026.

"Fifty percent of sports fans are women, right? But only 15, maybe 20% of the sports betting population," Howe said. She said it is a priority to support female athletes, promote women's sports and "target female customers in a really authentic way."

Howe also makes it a daily practice to encourage, mentor and network with other women. At the recent MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, numerous women credited Howe with hiring them, or promoting them, or connecting them to high level jobs in sports. "I mean, she's not my boss, like, I don't report to her," one FanDuel employee told CNBC. "But she's THE BOSS and to me, she's like a god."

Howe said she is committed to a strategy of inclusion that she believes will help strengthen the company for years to come.

"I know that I'm in a position where I can give back, and it's something that it drives me to be a better leader," she said. "And I truly believe it's going to make our our company, our industry, successful over time."

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Meet the women who are shaking up the male-dominated gambling industry - CNBC

The online gambling market has been thriving in recent years, but that is an era that might face changes soon. The British government could be preparing to implement new restrictions onto online gambling platforms in line with their objective to limit harmful gambling. Business owners on the market are sceptic to the effectiveness.

The potential new policy would be similar to the one implemented on physical gambling business in 2018, which limited the maximum stake limit on electronic slot machines drastically. Ultimately, the new regulations may prevent British online casinos from providing generous bonus offers, and also put an upper limit on deposits and increase affordability checks.

The new policy would add to the UKs status as holding one of the strictest regulated gambling markets in the world. The policy would not, however, prevent websites such as https://www.spinsify.com/uk/new-casinos/ from continuing to list all the newest UK online casinos and compare different casino deals to customers, according to whichever regulations were in place at the time.

Alleged discord between market and policy data

The market is torn in their responses to whether the new policy would be effective or not. Following the implementation of the limitations on brick-and-mortar casinos, many business owners argued that the limited gambling simply forced their customers to seek other alternatives, such as online casinos, while many of the shop workers were forced to lose their jobs as the demand decreased.

For online casinos, this might translate to customers seeking potentially less safe online casinos abroad, in order to avoid new regulations. Some British gambling workers therefore argue that the outcomes will be disproportionate to the harm that has been avoided. This discord is also shown in the disagreements between market employed and policy makers around the market data.

The academic and policy driven data tend to present data showing that the majority of gambling revenue profits stem from VIP gamblers, those who spend the most money, including those with the largest losses. The business owners, however, claim that the share of revenue stemming from problem gamblers is but a few percent of the total income.

Other national strategies to battle harmful gambling

The UK Gambling Commission has long been committed to and produced various strategies to battle harmful gambling in the country. One of them has included the policy limiting deposits to physical electronic slot machines mentioned above.

Another has been the introduction of multi-operator self-exclusion with GAMSTOP. This is a service wherein gamblers themselves can choose to exclude themselves manually from gambling platforms. All licensed gambling operators are obligated to honor the self-exclusion scheme.

A third way that the Gambling Commission has worked to actively combat harmful gambling is through their Local Authority (LA) program. By regulating and analyzing gambling habits and risks on more local bases, the Commission aims to approach harmful gambling as a public health issue.

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New online gambling legislation on the rise - Solihull Observer

The announcement comes as Ontario is preparing to launch a new iGaming market and as the CFL has made sports betting a pillar of its strategy for raising revenue and interest.

Anonline sportsbookthat wraps itself in red and black is partnering with a Canadian Football League team that does the same.

The Canadian arm ofPointsBet, the CFLs Ottawa REDBLACKS, and TD Place (the teams home venue) announced a new partnership on Thursday.

Under the terms of the deal, PointsBet Canada will become the official sportsbook of the REDBLACKS, which will wear jerseys this coming season with the companys logo on them. PointsBet branding will also appear throughout TD Place, and the bookmaker will be the new presenting sponsor of the PointsBet Sideline Club at field level.

It is hard to imagine anything more Canadian than the Canadian Football League (CFL) in Ottawa, said Scott Vanderwel, CEO of PointsBet Canada, in a press release. We are excited to be working with one of the premier franchises in the CFL and cant wait to bring a new, unrivaled form of entertainment to REDBLACKS fans.

PointsBet was founded in Australia but it is one of potentially dozens of operators planning to go live in a competitive market for online sports betting and casino gambling that is scheduled to launch on April 4 inOntario, Canadas most populous province.

The market will be a first forCanadaand will authorize the likes of PointsBet and others to take bets in Ontario, which, like other provinces, has allowed its government-owned lottery corporation to control legal internet gambling.

However, more legal online wagering options are on the way, as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has already given its approval to 15 operators aiming to crack the provinces coming iGaming market, including PointsBet.At least 30 operators have applied for that approval, which could make for a fierce fight for customers in Ontario, and make official partnerships a key differentiator and advertising advantage.

PointsBet is aiming to launch in the province on April 4. The company also has some experience in entering new markets, as it is already doing business in Australia, Ireland, and several U.S. states, such as New York.

The bookmaker has struck a number of other partnerships as well. And, in Canada, it has been aiming to brand itself in a very Canadian way, such asby becoming the official sports betting partner of Curling Canada.

PointsBet Canada is committed to building an identity that acknowledges the little intricacies that make us all proud to be Canadian. Nothing says Canadian like three downs, a 55-yard line and the rouge, said Nic Sulsky, chief commercial officer for PointsBet Canada, in therelease. We are excited to add a little bit more red and black to RNation for years to come!

PointsBets latest partnership will make the company highly visible in Canadas capital, where lawmakers voted last year to allow the provinces to offer single-game sports betting. Those same lawmakers in Ottawa will now be able to go to a REDBLACKS game and see a byproduct of legalizing single-event wagering, as Ontario has made it a key part of its new iGaming market.

Sulsky told Covers that PointsBet wants to ensure they can educate and engage members of Parliament from across the country. If those MPs have a good experience, it could inspire them and provincial lawmakers to try to adopt a multi-operator model like Ontario's in other parts of Canada.

Another reason for PointsBet's partnership spree, which now includes a tie-up with one of the three CFL teams in Ontario, is that it is entering a market rife with "grey" wagering. Canadians and Ontarians are already betting millions every year with offshore and out-of-province bookmakers, and PointsBet needs to find a way to stand out and attract customers.

"We're trying really hard to build an authentically Canadian brand," Sulsky said. "And there's nothing more authentic than the nation's capital, right?"

Thursdays announcement also comes as the CFLhas made sports betting a pillar of its strategyfor raising revenue and interest.

The league lobbied (successfully, as it turned out) for the legalization of single-game sports betting in Canada and even formed a partnership of its own with Genius Sports Ltd., a data-and-tech company that has similar deals with other sports organizations, including the National Football League.

Teams around the CFL have already struck sports-betting partnerships with operators that are not yet regulated by Canadian authorities but that may be overseen elsewhere.

Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), the owner and operator of the REDBLACKS, is now jumping into that fray, although there will not be betting kiosks or retail sportsbooks at TD Place involved, at least for now.

We proudly wave the Canadian and CFL flag in the Nations Capital and it was important to us that this partnership be with a Canadian operator who not only knows the City of Ottawa, but also loves the CFL and appreciates our REDBLACKS fans and the passion they have for our team and our league, OSEG President and CEO Mark Goudie said in the release.

Even if there are no brick-and-mortar betting options, there will be plenty of online ones. And, as Sulsky sees it, there is a "massive opportunity" to grow the amount of wagering on the CFL.

In addition to the usual betting possibilities, PointsBet plans on ensuring there is an abundance of player props and live betting markets when the regular season begins in June.

"And as we learn what the CFL sports fan wants to engage with, we're really going to lean in and customize those products," Sulsky said.

Continued here:

PointsBet Partners with the Ottawa REDBLACKS as Ontario Online Sports Betting Launch Nears - Covers

Cybercriminals aren't picky about their targets they go where the money is. And they are paying attention to the gaming industry, which makes a lot of money delivering different forms of entertainment.

The commercial gaming industry appears to be roaring back from pandemic lows, particularly in the online gaming sector. The U.S. commercial gaming industry generated $53 billion in revenue, a 76.7% increase from 2020 and a 21.4% increase from 2019, according to the American Gaming Association's Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. Online gambling had a particularly strong year, as the segment generated $3.71 billion, up 138.9% in 2020 and 614% in 2019.

Security at a casino should involve more than protecting the vault and cage where the money is kept or installing cameras to catch burglars and fraudsters in the act. While casinos typically have lots of cash on the premises, it is rare that they are victims of Hollywood-esque heists, says Justin Wray, director of services at Core BTS, an IT consulting firm. More often, these facilities are victims of common phishing attacks or hacks.

"If you work for a casinothey're familiar with this security culture from a physical sense. Take that and apply that to the digital landscape," Wray says. "Have staff members thoroughly trained on the tactics and techniques that [fraudsters] are using to trick them into doing things, because that's the No. 1 method that the adversaries use."

Anti-phishing software is useful, but it's also important to have security awareness training for casino staffers so that they know the signs that they are being phished, Wray says. Casino IT and security teams also have to secure their internal networks from hacking attempts, account takeover, and fraud.

Spotting In-Person Gambling VulnerabilitiesWhen it comes to protecting casinos' in-person operations, IT and cybersecurity professionals must keep their security measures up to date, says Wray. Some organizations may fail to update their cybersecurity measures as risks evolve over time, he adds.

Among the usual targets for online fraudsters hitting physical casinos are ATMs, gaming machines, and ticket machines for redeeming winnings, he says. To secure a physical casino, IT and cybersecurity professionals should take the basic step of segmenting the organization's internal networks, he says, separating the Internet access for the backend departments such as the HR and finance teams from the gaming systems, the guests, and point-of-sale systems.

"These are all the separate environments from a networking perspective, so that if one of those is compromised, they're not all compromised," Wray says. "That's a very basic, fundamental security approach. But it's something that's often overlooked."

To spot these issues, casinos have two options, depending on their resources: hire a team of internal cybersecurity professionals to safeguard the organization around the clock or commission a third-party firm to monitor their operations, Wray says. The option you choose, he explains, depends on the funding you have to analyze the data the organization collects and evaluate any alerts you receive across various authentication logs, network logs, and intrusion detection systems you have in place.

Filtering Out Online Gambling FraudstersOver the past few years, casinos have been expanding their operations beyond the brick-and-mortar to the lucrative world of online gambling. The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged that shift.

IT and security teams must also apply security measures to safeguard their operations against online fraudsters, says Kimberly Sutherland, vice president of fraud and identity & market strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a risk management firm. Among the potential targets for cybercriminals are legitimate accounts, which can be exploited in account takeovers, and loyalty incentives programs, she says.

To incentivize new customers, some casinos offer loyalty perks to customers, but cybercriminals can exploit these incentives when signing up to get more credits, she explains. If, for example, a casino offers $10 deposited into new users' accounts upon joining, online fraudsters can write a script to "not open one account, but open 100,000 accounts," Sutherland says. If multiple new accounts are opened with a different name but using the same address, or if multiple accounts are associated with one device, that's a sign that the accounts might be illegitimate, she says.

"We try to help to identify identity anomalies or when the velocity of an identity element has been used too many times ... so that way, at least the business will have the ability to identify that, and they can make the ultimate decision as to whether they approve or deny," Sutherland says.

When it comes to onboarding online gambling customers, casinos try to strike a balance between creating a seamless sign-up experience and screening out potential fraudsters, Sutherland says. Among the telltale signs IT and cybersecurity teams should be looking for to spot cybercriminals are a suspicious location which is especially important for the regionally regulated casino industry an unusual phone number, or any email address that's associated with multiple accounts, she explains.

There are passive ways to verify new customer identities so that casinos' IT and cybersecurity teams aren't relying solely on passwords, Sutherland says. Behavioral biometrics such as whether a customer types their password and phone number or copy-and-pastes it from a document could tip off when a fraudster is trying to log into a legitimate account. Another sign of suspicious activity is a recently swapped SIM card or a forwarded phone number, she adds. Organizations can use a one-time password sent via SMS text to spot whether a SIM card or device has changed before verifying the device, Sutherland explains. Most major mobile carriers offer real-time gateways to let companies inquire about whether a SIM card has recently changed, and software is available to check whether a SIM card has recently changed, she says.

Casinos' IT and cybersecurity teams can use biometrics stored on devices to authenticate users' identities, such as a face or fingerprint ID, Sutherland says. There's software available that prompts users to unlock their phones using those biometric markers to double-check their identities, she adds.

"With this significant increase in digital customers, a lot of people are not necessarily tech savvy. So we saw a lot of new-to-digital individuals in the last two years," Sutherland says. "[It's the] first time we've seen that device before, or the age of the population that is online is starting to really diversify significantly as well. So there's a lot of older adults. There's a lot of younger adults. All of those things change the way that cybersecurity teams have to operate."

Going forward, the primary way that consumers will blend the in-person and online gambling experience is via mobile devices, because that's the device that they'll have with them wherever they go, Sutherland foresees. She advises casinos to harness and verify the mobile data they collect to reduce their cybersecurity risk.

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How Casinos Can Prevent Loyalty Incentive and Account Takeover Fraud - DARKReading

Posted on: March 25, 2022, 06:54h.

Last updated on: March 25, 2022, 11:23h.

The Spanish autonomous community of La Rioja has approved new anti-gambling measures. Among a number of changes, the reforms include a provision that could ban sports betting in bars.

Spending time in bars while socializing with friends is a daily tradition for many in Spain. When theres a soccer game, its even more popular. Toss in sports betting, and it can be a very entertaining evening.

La Rioja, a province and autonomous community in the north of Spain that is home to around 316,000 people, is going to remove some of that entertainment. New laws will drastically reduce the accessibility of sports betting options, and could prevent them from appearing in bars.

La Riojas Parliament has approved new gambling laws that, according to its supporters, will increase responsible gambling. The President of the Government of La Rioja, Concha Andreu, said yesterday that the new Gambling Law especially protects the most vulnerable from the social impact of gambling and promotes responsible behavior.

Article 34 stands out in the new regulations, adding requirements of gambling establishments. It states that the government will not approve operational licenses to facilities that are in the sphere of influence of educational centers of Compulsory Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, Basic Vocational Training and professional artistic education. This area of influence is set at 200 linear meters (656 feet), calculated radially between the two points.

Within the scope of the application of the law, advertising that incites online gambling is expressly prohibited. The advertising, promotion and sponsorship of games and bets are subject to authorization.

There are some exceptions. The government will allow certain activities that take place in closed forums and advertising by specialized gaming media, when the ads are only of an informative nature.

Andreu states that the new norms will allow the advance of regulations and the limitation of advertising and incitement to gambling. They will especially target the online segment. The reforms will promote stable and quality employment in a sector that employs some 1,700 people in La Rioja, and prevent the possible repercussions of gambling abuse on users and their families.

The new regulations comply with the provisions of the Agreement for a Left and Progressive Government for La Rioja. The government, under Andreu, is led by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE, for its Spanish acronym). The PSOE also leads the national government under Prime Minister Pedro Snchez.

The updated laws fundamental objective is to protect the most vulnerable groups, the government asserts. It also wants to encourage responsible behavior and establish clear and precise limitations for new premises. It defines a series of good gambling practices, which allow responsible behaviors that avoid falling into abusive gambling and addiction.

The new legislation includes a commitment to introduce a problem gambling prevention program. This must arrive within 12 months of the laws entry into force. On the other hand, a more exhaustive regulation of the catalog of games and bets is coming. It will expressly include guidance for the shops and betting spaces and add new aspects to existing regulations.

In addition, the gambling reform includes a new classification of gambling machines. This, asserts the government, responds to the evolving online gaming space, and will include more prohibited games.

For the deputy of the PP (Popular Party), Alfonso Domnguez, The only objective of this rule is to end a sector that employs 400 people in La Rioja and gives the public coffers 10 million ($11 million) per year.

Additionally, the PP, which has historically been locked in a battle with the PSOE, states that the law does not contribute anything new. La Rioja already had measures in place for the protection of minors and people with pathologies, added Domnguez.

He pointed out to Parliament that the rules suffer from a lack of a real strategy for the protection of minors in the face of the new reality of online games. However, the die has been cast, and the PSOE sets the boundaries.

Originally posted here:

Sports Betting in Bars Targeted by Spanish Community of La... - Casino.Org News

As March gives way to April, baseball season (delayed just a week, thankfully) will soon be upon us. That month also represents a milestone for my card store, Cullman Sportscards & Fun Shop, as April 6 will mark one year that Ive been in operation.

On that day in 2021, I fulfilled a dream from my teenage years of one day running my own card store. As one might surmise, operating a small business has come with its ups and downs. Heres a look back at my first year:

I certainly wasnt afraid to open my wallet when it came to stocking the store in the first year, probably to my detriment. Armed with a business loan, I bought up a lot of sealed product and quite a few local collections. Ive done well on the collections I bought, but probably went overboard on buying sealed boxes. Thats partially in an attempt to build volume with a distributor in hopes of receiving product at lower factory allocated cost, which I detailed in a previous column.

Ive also tried to have a little bit of something for anyone who might walk in the door, but after a year, Ive learned the local clientele and what theyre likely to buy or not. That should help me be more profitable in my second year by buying less sealed product that I later have to dump off online for a loss to clear out my excess stock.

In the first few months I was open, I focused primarily on selling merchandise only in-store, which worked well in the early going when business boomed thanks to the newness factor. Sales leveled off in the ensuing months, and I bought some massive collections which now fill a sizable storage unit. Ive since done a better job of using online platforms to move merchandise, from eBay to Facebook to up-and-comer Whatnot. These days, I do about half of my business live and half of it online.

One thing the woman who ran Baseball Cards & Comics, the most successful card store in Cullman during the heyday of the 1990s, told me before I opened was that she hoped I made the types of lifelong friendships she did when she had her store. And I have. Regulars visit weekly or multiple times a week and we enjoy chatting about cards and other hot topics of the day. Ive invited some to hang out with my other friends during guys nights. I suspect I will call many of them friends years down the road, whether I still have my card store or not.

The rest is here:

Card Collectors Corner: Reflections on the First Year of My Card... - Online Gambling

Critics of the California Sports Wagering Regulation and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act say if enacted it would give tribal casinos the ability to put card rooms out of business.

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2022 4:04 PM ET Read Time: 3 min

Californias election is eight months away, but the war over legal sports betting in the Golden State has already intensified.

A coalition of more than 80 local elected officials and California cities, several of which have card rooms, announced on Wednesday their opposition to a sports-betting initiative sponsored by several Native American tribes that is already eligible for the states November ballot.

Marcel Rodarte, executive director of California Contract Cities Association, contended in a press release that if the tribes proposed California Sports Wagering Regulation and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act is passed by voters, it would be detrimental to the state. The measure would legalize sports betting at tribal casinos and licensed racetracks only.

"The California Contract Cities Association overwhelmingly voted to oppose the qualified tribal gaming initiative as it will not benefit our residents or communities, Rodarte said. The proposed initiative also exploits the Private Attorneys General Act, opening the floodgates for frivolous lawsuits that will harm city revenues that fund vital city services such as roads, schools, homelessness services and fire protection.

The comments come two weeks after two California card rooms, Hollywood Park Casino and Cal-Pac Rancho Cordova, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court over the tribes ballot initiative. The card rooms allege the measure is unconstitutional and should not be put to voters. The case is still pending.

Critics of the California Sports Wagering Regulation and Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act say if enacted it would give tribal casinos the ability to put card rooms out of business. The cities opposed to the measure now say it puts more than 32,000 jobs, $1.6 billion in wages, and $5.5 billion in total economic impact at risk.

During the pandemic, California cities that depend on the revenues generated through legal gaming at cardrooms have seen the devastating impacts cardroom closures have had on municipal budgets and the vital services they fund, said Leonard Mendoza, mayor of the City of Commerce, in the release. Hundreds of millions of dollars in local revenues are on the line, money needed to invest in the safety and well-being of our residents.

But a group of tribal casinos, calling themselves the Coalition for Responsible Gaming, put out a statement in response to the cities allegations.

Card rooms have one of the worst if not worst records of noncompliance in the United States with gambling laws, including those designed to guard against crimes like money laundering, the statement charged. Thats why theyve been fined millions of dollars in recent years for violations like misleading regulators.

Our measure simply ensures existing laws preventing illegal gambling are being followed. Card rooms following the law have nothing to worry about. Our measure will not shut down a single card room casino thats operating legitimately. The only card room casinos at risk of legal enforcement are those that repeatedly violate California gaming laws.

The card rooms had a proposed sports-betting initiative in the works, but have decided to focus on legal remedies, as well as appealing to the public.

In addition to clashing with the card rooms, tribal casinos also are skirmishing with a group of online sports-betting companies, including DraftKings and FanDuel, which wants to get its own version of legal sports betting on the ballot.

The rival initiative, which would legalize online sports betting via the tribes and their operating partners, is on track to get the requisite 997,139 signatures to qualify for the November election. The California Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative has raised $100 million and said it now has more than 25% of the required signatures, with a June deadline looming.

Tribal casino operators that are not associated with Coalition for Responsible Gaming arent waiting to see if the initiative makes the ballot to voice their opposition. The Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming have instead sponsored television ads painting the online sportsbook operators as out-of-state corporations that will hurt the residents of California.

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California Cities Voice Opposition Over Tribal Sports Betting Initiative - Covers

Thanks in large part to a pandemic that kept the world at bay, online gambling became a leading source of adult entertainment. In the UK, many online gambling operators saw 25% to 50% increases in gambler registrations. For them, thats good for business. For the online gambling community as a whole, potential issues arise.

The stats are pretty firm. In every country where online gambling is prevalent and legal, about 6% to 8% of the online gambling population develop gambling issues. For some people, it can lead to full-blown addiction.

Simple math tells the tales. If 8% of all online gamblers will encounter gambling problems, any growth in that population will lead to a proportionate increase in the number of people who will suffer from gambling addiction. That is exactly what led the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to start mandating online gambling operator membership in the GamStop Self-exclusion program.

GamStop is a voluntary self-exclusion program that members of the UKGC created in 2018. The program was specifically designed as a mechanism for online gamblers to protect themselves against their own out of control activities.

In April of 2020, the UKGC decided to mandate that all licensed UK online gambling operators subscribe to the GamStop scheme. To not do so would put an operators license at risk. Most licensed operators have complied. Some have not.

Heres how GamStop works. If a gambler feels they might have a gambling problem, they can register with GamStop for free. The act of registering serves to tell the UK online gambling communitys operators that the gambler wants to be excluded from having access to any of the UKs licensed online gambling websites.

Since GamStop is a voluntary program, its the gambler who prescribes the length of their self-exclusion. The choices are 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years. As long the gamblers self-exclusion period is active, they will be blocked from accessing any member websites.

Logic dictates that GamStop should be seeing a significant rise in participation. Experts have been reporting for the last year or so that there has been a rise in participation. That has to be considered a good thing as long as they heed their own warning signs and tap into other problem gambling resources.

Is this the heyday of GamStop? One hates to think that a rise in problem gambling issues is a good thing. Its only a good thing because more people are registering for this protection. With that said, GamStop only offers protection for online gamblers who are trying to access licensed UK online operators. It does nothing to prevent gamblers from seeking alternatives if they change their minds about wanting to gamble.

If an online gambler decides to register with GamStop, they are making an admission that they might be headed towards gambling addiction. At the same time, their efforts to stop gambling might be half-hearted. What these folks soon realise is that while one online gambling door might be closed, there are other doors open.

If an adult is motivated to gamble online, they are many ways they can achieve that goal while working around their GamStop self-exclusion. For the most part, the available options can be viewed as a short-term solution to a short-term issue. That is especially true for GamStop gamblers who choose the 6 month self-exclusion period.

What are some of these alternatives for GamStop gamblers? Well, some go to non GamStop branded casino sites. Its a viable option because not all UK online gambling operators are licensed by the UKGC. Also, there are some licensed online gambling operators that have simply chosen to ignore the GamStop mandate. Are these sites safe and reputable? For the most part, the answer is yes. They might be non-compliant while also being fair and responsible towards their customers.

As for other options, offshore gambling sites have a lot to offer. Operators that are licensed in other countries tend to be very welcoming towards UK gamblers. In fact, there are some really good ones that specifically target GamStop gamblers through marketing. The only downside for UK gamblers is they might need to use a VPN to gain access to some offshore gambling sites.

Another non-GamStop option that is gaining in popularity is the crypto-casino option. Cryptocurrencies allow for a high level of anonymity because of the way the transactions are recorded. Knowing this, crypto-casinos will typically accept new customers without requiring identity information. Thats a boon for online gamblers who need privacy.

Even if GamStop is in its heyday, its only one solution to a possible problem. If an online gambler truly believes they have a problem, they should register with GamStop while also seeking counselling.

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The Heyday of Gamstop Self-Exclusion: Or Not? - We Heart