Thursday, 13 May 2021

BGC And IBIA Announce New Partnership To Promote Sporting Integrity

BGC IBIA Sporting Partnership

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) have announced a brand new partnership to promote sporting integrity.

Announced by the BGC yesterday, the organisation revealed that it and the IBIA, which represent a majority of regulated sports betting operators, have signed a Memorandum of Understand, which will see the two companies co-ordinate their global activities in existing and emerging markets.

According to the BGC, the main objective of the partnership will be to establish regulated betting markets with high standards of consumer, sports, and operator protection measures. To accomplish this, the companies will share information and intelligence regarding relevant sports betting markets, will launch research studios in areas of mutual interest, and will deliver effective messages and approaches too.

Speaking about the partnership, Brigid Simmonds, the Chair of the BGC, said in a statement: “We are pleased to announce this new partnership, which will help us champion the betting industry internationally.

“The IBIA is playing a decisive part in ensuring that sports betting markets are properly regulated, and sports integrity is at the core of its action. The BGC will wholeheartedly join this effort and bring its experience and expertise in promoting world-class standards in new and emerging sports betting markets.”

Khalid Ali, the CEO of IBIA, added: “Both of our associations are active internationally and in many of the same markets, share many of the same members and have many of the same regulatory goals.

“We’ve already been collaborating in markets such as Brazil and it was a natural progression to a more formal and structured relationship. The scope of our combined membership gives us a powerful mandate to speak on behalf of a large part of the regulated sector and policymakers welcome that level of focused industry engagement.”

Developer Greentube Donates To Self-Exclusion Provider BetBlocker

Popular game developer Greentube has revealed it’s strengthened its player protection initiatives by making a donation to self-exclusion software provider BetBlocker for the second consecutive year.

BetBlocker, which is funded entirely by donations, provides customers with a free-to-use application that can be installed on various devices, allowing users to block themselves from gambling websites. With funding, the company has managed to upgrade its software “substantially” with the addition of a calendaring system and the improvement of its iOS app.

According to Greentube, the donation is part of the studio’s annual Research, Entertainment and Treatment (RET) contribution, a voluntary funding model through which Greentube supports work in advancing player protection measures and the research of gambling addiction. Greentube also supports other gambling initiatives and donates to charity GambleAware.

Trevor De Giorgio, the Chief Legal Officer at Greentube, said in a statement: “We take player protection extremely seriously at Greentube and constantly work to ensure that we contribute to advance this crucial area of our industry.

“BetBlocker is a fantastic tool that helps players control their gambling and we are very impressed with how the product has been enhanced over the year to offer even stronger protection.”

Duncan Garvie, the Manager at BetBlocker, added: “We are extremely grateful that Greentube has decided to continue to support our important project. The industry donations we receive are crucial as it helps us further improve the tool and makes it even easier for players to control or restrict their gambling activities. We have a number of project in the pipeline and Greentube’s donation will help us take BetBlocker to the next level.”

Betway Strikes Marketing Sponsorship With Surrey County Cricket Club

Also this week, leading gambling operator Betway has announced a marketing sponsorship with Surrey County Cricket Club. Under the new agreement, Betway branding will be displayed at all domestic and international matches at the cricket team’s Kia Oval stadium, and Betway’s logo will be displayed on the team’s Vitality T20 Blast shirts too.

According to EuropeanGaming, the agreement will strengthen Betway’s brand visibility in the UK and is an expansion of Betway’s existing cricket-based partnerships with Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies, and the enlisting of former cricket player Kevin Pietersen as Betway Brand Ambassador.

Anthony Werkman, the CEO of Betway, said in a statement: “We are extremely happy to be announcing our partnership with the Surrey County Cricket Club. It enforces our continued commitment to cricket and we can’t wait to watch the team compete in the Vitality T20 Blast, LV= Insurance County Championship, and Royal London One Day Cup.”

Charlie Hodgson, the Managing Director of the Kia Oval, added: “As we look forward to a hugely exciting season at the Kia Oval, we’re very happy to be partnering with Betway, one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative betting companies.”

Kevin Pietersen said of the sponsorship: “It’s great to see Betway and my old county Surrey going into partnership. I had a great time at the Kia Oval. The atmosphere there is fantastic and always helps to make cricket an exciting spectacle.

“Surrey are competing for three different county titles, as well as hosting the fourth match of a blockbuster Test series between England and India. It looks set to be a memorable summer of cricket.”

The news comes after Betway last week announced a content agreement with developer Lightning Box Studios. Under the partnership, Lightning Box has made its games available with the Betway Casino website via Scientific Games Digital. Some of the popular Lightning Box games made available include Spartan Fire, Lightning Leopard, Kalahari Safari, Extreme Fishing, and more.