It was a false narrative that gambling would experience a “return to normalised trade”. This was a short-lived story. 2022 was a rude awakening. Once again, businesses were forced to adapt to global realities.
2021 concluded on a disappointing note. The UK government failed to deliver the White Paper regarding gambling reforms. This would delay the start of the New Year.
Groundhog Day was beckoned again by DCMS, who promised stakeholders and industry leaders that all pending judgments from the Gambling Review would be released before the summer.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), once again called for ministers to adopt a balanced and evidence-based approach to implementing reforms in the industry to combat prohibitionist ideas to completely overhaul the sector.
Ministers were concerned about the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) delay. The UKGC, reeling from its mistakes in managing the Football Index crash, was branded an “under-performing regulatory regulator” by All-Party Parliamentary Group on Betting and Gaming.
Andrew Rhodes was appointed Interim Chief Executive of the Commission to fulfill the outstanding tasks of supervising and compiling the Fourth National Lottery license competition.
Industry analysts agreed that global gambling will be transformed by another year’s worth of deals which would impact all parts of the value chain.
M&A sirens rang as Allwyn Entertainment was made the subject of an SPAC deal by Gary Cohn, former President Goldman Sachs. Allwyn was lured by dealmakers to be the ‘front runner” to the fourth National Lottery license. This tie-up with the SPAC allowed for a potential listing of the NYSE at $9.3 billion.
Gambling plcs were planning for an exciting year amid frantic M&A speculation. Highlighted by 888’s prolonged buyout of William Hill UK and International units, alongside Flutter Entertainment’s acquisition of Tombola.
After four years of PASPA’s repeal by the federal government, gambling plcs were under pressure to prove their profitability on US shores. Entain was summoned in 2023 and MGM in 2024 as joint venture partners.
As listed companies continued to increase their own resources, investors began looking for ways to disrupt the technology industry. Playtech was won over by Aristocrat Leisure as well as TTB Partners in Hong Kong PE Fund.
Marco Sala, who has been Chief Executive at IGT Plc for 19 years, is retiring after a successful career. IGT Plc placed all its units under strategic review by Vincent Sadusky.
Europe is in for major changes as the industry leaders are informed about upcoming regulatory reforms on markets in Sweden, Spain, Ireland and possibly Italy.
The breaking news from Brazil that the Chamber of Deputies approved long-standing legislation to allow the government launch sports gambling and federal gambling regimes would throw Europe out of the limelight. This will bring South America’s largest sports market into the spotlight.
However, gambling is accepting its new agenda and global business is shaken by the horrific news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2018.
Gambling was alerted that Russia’s illegal war against Russia cannot be considered a tragedy localized, as evidenced by the destruction of Donetsk and Mariupol.
The opening of 2022 was a chaotic affair that culminated in gambling and the launch of their ‘Choose Love” appeal. This appeal raised over PS250,000 for the victims of this terrible conflict within days.
As the world is facing uncertain times, it was well-known that 2022 would not follow a predetermined pattern. Global businesses were told to “freeze out Russia” as they face unforeseeable consequences.
