Legal – Page 5 – FairOdds Network

September 26, 2024

Former police officer jailed over £44m horse racing betting fraud

A former UK police officer has been sentenced to six years in jail for his role in a horse racing betting syndicate scam that defrauded thousands of people out of £44m (€53m/$59m).
Michael Stanley, 67, of Chatham in Kent pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to a series of fraud offences on 24 September. He admitted to operating the ‘Layzey Racing Syndicate’, a Ponzi-style scheme disguised as a horse racing betting syndicate.

The scam ran from 2013 to February 2019, claiming to be a lay betting horse racing gambling scheme. Members were invited to invest funds supposedly for collective gambling controlled by Stanley.

However, Stanley instead used new investments to pay earlier members, creating a Ponzi-type scheme. He also lied about the amount of successful gambling that took place, falsely inflated the value of investments and paid money from the scheme into his own accounts.

At its peak, the scheme had over 6,000 members, including friends and family of Stanley.

Estimated £10…

September 25, 2024

Dutch operators face player losses lawsuit dating back to 2021

Dutch advocacy organisation Gokverliesterug has initiated a class action lawsuit against a group of licensed online gambling operators in relation to their activities before being licensed in the country.
The Gokverliesterug lawsuit is seeking reimbursement on behalf of Dutch consumers for losses made prior to October 2021. The Netherlands launched its legal online gambling market on 1 October 2021 but several operators – which are now licensed – were active prior to this.

Specifically, the lawsuit names major operators such as Unibet, Bwin, PokerStars and Bet365. However, Bet365 has contacted iGB to clarify it was not active in the Netherlands prior to regulation.

Gokverliesterug states operators allowed hundreds of thousands of Dutch people to gamble prior to the legal market opening, which left many consumers without sufficient supervision and protection against problem gambling behaviours.

Gokverliesterug said it has chosen to act now following several recent rulings from Dutc..

September 9, 2024

Brazil government preparing heavy crackdown on illegal betting payments

Pay4Fun director Ari Celia tells iGB Brazil's ministry of finance has established a new department to target black market operators. He expects Pix blocking efforts to be successful.
Brazil’s government is implementing hefty measures to prevent illegal operators from processing payments ahead of the legal betting market’s launch on 1 January 2025.

The government’s ministry of finance is setting up a team of eight civil servants who will specifically work on preventing illegal sites from taking and receiving payments, according to Celia.

The team will process complaints from the sector and seek to punish unlicensed payment providers and illegal sites.

Blocking Pix payments will be successful
One measure the government has publicly announced is blocking payments involving illegal operators made via Pix, an instant payment service controlled by the Central Bank of Brazil which the majority of the betting market uses.

Regulators in other markets like Germany and across Europe..

September 2, 2024

Federal Revenue Service to address Brazil sports betting tax concerns at CPI hearing

Special secretary of Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service Robinson Barreirinhas will appear in front of the parliamentary commission inquiry (CPI) on match-fixing to explain how sports betting tax from companies abroad will be kept in Brazil.
The special secretary will appear at the request of Carlos Portinho, who is looking to clarify how tax payments will be made across borders.

Barreirinhas will be heard this Wednesday (4 September) by the CPI on manipulation, which was set up in April to counter match-fixing on sports betting in Brazil.

As set out in Normative Ordinance No 827, operators must have a headquarters on Brazilian soil. Foreign companies are still eligible for a licence, although they must have a local subsidiary of which a Brazilian owns at least 20% of the share capital.

Businesses must also provide a joint certificate from the special secretariat of federal revenue and the attorney-general’s office of the national treasury to show they are registered to pay tax in the ..

August 30, 2024

Does Flamengo’s Flabet set a blueprint for sports teams to become betting operators?

Brazilian football club Flamengo’s new Flabet sportsbook could set a trend for other teams to become operators, according to two lawyers from Bichara e Motta Advogados.
Udo Seckelmann and Pedro Heitor de Araújo, who work in the gambling & crypto practice of Brazilian law firm Bichara e Motta Advogados, say other clubs may adopt a similar model to grow revenue.

Earlier this month, Flamengo revealed plans to launch Flabet with Pixbet, the club’s master sponsor, managing the brand. Essentially the arm’s-length agreement allows the operator to become an active participant in Brazil’s sports betting market, rather than only generating revenue through sponsorship.

The Flabet agreement lasts until 2027, with Pixbet paying Flamengo a minimum amount of BRL82.5m (£11.1m/€13.2m/$14.7m) over that timespan. The club will receive BRL10m in 2024, BRL22.5m in 2025 and then BRL25m in both 2026 and 2027.

Additionally, the club could receive a royalty fee of 1% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) if that ..

August 21, 2024

Yield Sec: Black market gambling ads present on almost half of illegal Olympic Games streams

Gambling adverts promoting black market brands appeared on 46% of all illegal streams showing coverage of this summer’s Olympic Games, more than any other industry, according to new data released by technical intelligence platform Yield Sec.
Published today (21 August), the report outlines the scale of illegal streaming of events at the Paris Olympic Games. This year’s Games ran from 26 July to 11 August.

Yield Sec estimates there were 266.7m illegal stream views of 90 seconds or more during the Olympics.

“Illegal streaming is not about getting something for nothing – it’s about the serious risks users unknowingly expose themselves to,” Yield Sec said.

“Users believe that they get premium entertainment content for ‘free’ but in fact settle their ‘bill’ through the unknowing provision of their data, devices and device processing power to illegal streamers and the often criminal groups that back them.”

Users do not get something for nothing – they are the product, Yield Sec added.
..

August 21, 2024

ACMA orders blocking of more illegal affiliate websites in Australia

The Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has asked internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to a further four illegal gambling sites.
Casino Australia Online, Pokies.bet, Pokiesman and Smart Pokies were all identified as targeting consumers illegally earlier today (21 August). The four affiliate sites promote illegal online gambling in Australia, in breach of the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act.

The Act bans products such as online casinos, online slots and in-play sports betting.

Websites may also face action for offering online gambling without an operating licence in Australia. ACMA can also block sites publishing adverts for prohibited or unlicensed gambling services.

Ongoing effort to combat illegal online gambling in Australia
ACMA began making blocking requests in November 2019. Since then it has blocked 1,026 illegal gambling and affiliate websites.

In addition to this, 220 services have exited Australia since ACMA began enforcing illegal offshore gam..

July 29, 2024

Weekend Report: Kayshon Boutte’s “dumb decision” and Betway partner Man City

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week we’ve got news of Betway partnering with Premier League champions Manchester City, a bill to restrict online gambling advertising in New York and more.
NFL’s Kayshon Boutte glad to be back
New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte spoke of his delight at being back to playing football after charges against him for gambling were dropped earlier this month.

Boutte was arrested in January over accusations he had placed over 8,900 bets while under the legal gambling age of 21 in his native Louisiana. However, the Louisiana State Police Gaming Enforcement Division dropped those charges in July.

Speaking to reporters after the fourth day of Patriots’ training camp, Boutte labelled his actions as a “dumb decision”. He also said he was glad to be focusing on football again, admitting he needs to “stay away” from gambling.

Betway becomes global betting partner of ..

July 22, 2024

In Macau, most suspects bail out in illegal sports betting case

Prosecutors in Macau have indicted 59 people swept up in a sports betting sting earlier this month. All but two have been released on bail. The illicit operation purportedly reaped millions per week during the recent UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
The Macau Public Prosecutions Office has indicted 59 people allegedly involved in an online sports betting ring. Two of the defendants remain under pre-trial detention. The rest have been released on bail, with orders not to leave the city.

A total of 93 people were arrested in the 2 July sting in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong. Police seized MOP88.4m (£8.5m/€196.2m/US$11m) in cash and froze bank accounts containing MOP22.1m.

The websites, based outside Macau, took bets on football and basketball games. They reportedly generated about MOP72m per week during the recent UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.

Authorities estimate the illegal operation has pulled in more than MOP1.08bn since 2016.

Online gambling is illegal everywhere in China, including M..

April 11, 2024

New Jersey senator formally introduces bill to hike online tax to 30%

A New Jersey senator, John McKeon, has formally introduced his new bill to increase tax for online gambling and sports betting to 30%.

Currently, online gambling and sports betting are taxed at 15% and 13% of gross gaming revenue respectively.

Senate Bill 3064 was formally introduced on 8 April, after being filed last week. The bill was referred to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.

If enacted the bill would amend Section 17 of P.L.2013, c.27 (C.5:12-95.19), which specifies the online gambling tax amount. Section 7 of P.L.2018, c.33 (C.5:12A-16), which addresses sports wagering tax, would also be changed.

Should lawmakers approve the proposal, it would take effect on next 1 January that occurs after the date of enactment, per the bill text.

New Jersey gambling tax hike: How does it compare?

A 30% rate would put a significant burden on New Jersey’s 18 mobile sportsbooks, raising taxes to among the highest in the US. New York’s 51% spo..

April 3, 2024

Botafogo owner reported to Brazilian federal police over match-fixing claims

Senator Jorge Kajuru has requested Brazil's federal police to investigate John Textor, the owner of football club Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, after Textor made match-fixing allegations against the São Paulo and Palmeiras football teams.

Kajuru – a senator for the Brazilian state of Goiás – confirmed the report during a senate plenary meeting yesterday (2 April). He said he had outlined his concerns to the federal police in the form of a letter, which he encouraged others in the session to sign.

During the meeting Kajuru outlined Textor’s allegations. Textor had alleged that five players from the São Paulo football club had received bribes from Palmeiras in regards to the Brazilian Championship Series A game, where Palmeiras beat São Paulo 5-0. He also claimed to have evidence to support this.

Kajuru added that one month prior, Textor said he had a recording of a referee that had been collecting bribes.

Kajuru said that he had sent the claims to Andrei Rodrigues, director of..

March 25, 2024

Former BetCity owners fire €104 million demand back at Entain

BetCity's former owners have claimed Entain was not only aware of the KSA's investigations, but also severely impacted their earn-out.

The counterclaim against Entain has been submitted by BetCity’s former owners, which consists of various members of the Singels family. Also included are former CEO Melvin Bostelaar and former marketing director Robert Kooiman.

It comes in response to Entain’s original accusation that undeclared regulatory investigations at the time of the acquisition meant the Dutch-facing business was worth as much as €156m (£133m/$169m) less than assumed.

Entain acquired BetCity for €450m in January 2023, with the deal ultimately giving it access to the Dutch market. BetCity was one of the initial 10 licensees in the Netherlands.

However in January this year, Entain launched a compensation claim after details of two regulatory cases came to light. Entain said in the claim it was unaware of the investigations into BetCity when it acquired the business…

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Tag: Legal