Anfield just about silent, election betting x 2 and more | My week in iGaming
Probably need to stop calling this ‘My Week…’. It’s more like ‘odd ruminations and thoughts on our colourful industry over the last few weeks’. Anyway, here goes…
Stalemate on election date betting
Ok, so some of the betting shenanigans around the general election date made news a few months ago. An educated guess puts one-term Rishi (well, a-third-of-a-term Rishi, really) in the frame for spilling the beans on the July election date, surprising many. Some of those in the know (MPs, staffers, police security detail) made use of that knowledge and had a punt. Unsurprisingly they were rumbled and the shit briefly hit the fan.
So what’s happened since then?
The police have, seemingly, walked away from it. They came to the conclusion that the alleged offences didn’t meet the threshold for ‘misconduct in public office’. (Really!?) They've now passed the buck / responsibility for any possible censure over to the Gambling Commission.
Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin explained:
“While our involvement in the criminal investigation now ceases, it’s important that it is not misinterpreted as an all clear for those whose cases were looked at. There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field.”
I thought the timing of the Metropolitan Police’s decision – coming just prior to August Bank Holiday weekend – was interesting. Nothing to do with likely having their hands fuller than normal after the annual Notting Hill Carnival ‘excesses’ I guess…?
Shhhh! It’s Anfield
I read that Liverpool FC have entered into a major sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes – who are now their new ‘official betting partner’. Press statements from both parties were peppered with the usual clichés and trotted-out hackneyed platitudes: ‘iconic’, ‘globally recognised’, ‘committed to’, ‘commitment to’, ‘values’, ‘partners’, ‘heritage’, ‘our communities’, ‘LFC partner family’… and on it went.
Good luck to them. I’m sure it will be very lucrative. But Liverpool FC has a pressing problem, something that has crept up on them.
I went to the Liverpool vs Brentford game on 25 August. It was Liverpool’s first home game of the season and having opened new parts of the ground, they were playing at home in front of a 60,000+ crowd for the first time in decades. First game of the season, big crowd, new manager – the recipe was there for something special.
Alas, barring the 2-3 minutes before kick-off when the anthem they nicked off Chelski (look it up, I’m not lying), You’ll Never Walk Alone, rang out around the ground, the atmosphere was absolutely pony! I hadn’t been to a game at Anfield for 31 years and was left shocked by the change. Shocked and stunned. This was Liverpool, one of the most famous clubs in the world and famous for the atmosphere they (used to) create.
The gradual, decades-long shift from football club to international brand has clearly taken its toll on this iconic club. Sure, gaggles of tourists in and around the ground with club shop bags filled to overflowing is great for the bottom line as is the superstore behind The Kop, as are the superstores in places like Chiang Mai and Belfast – as indicated on the flashing touchline advertising panels – but something very special has been lost along the way. It’s the same at Man Utd and Man City. If you really want to experience a big noisy football ground on match day in the north of England I’d recommend Leeds, Forest or Everton – though with Everton moving to a new stadium next season it remains to be seen whether that atmosphere will go with them or not.
While over in Birkenhead...
Just a couple of weeks earlier I’d been to a game just across the Mersey at Tranmere Rovers. The picture of the ‘seats’ in the last two rows of the main stand is an indicator that ‘global brand’ football hasn’t hit Birkenhead just yet.
Federal election betting ban?
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley are among high-profile US political figures seeking to ban gambling on elections. The group published a letter on Merkley’s website – the thrust of it being that election gambling threatens democracy.
The fears of extremism and violence were cited as a risk that betting on elections would potentially bring to people voting and, more broadly, democracy itself.
“The US remains a target for foreign actors who have sought to meddle in our elections. The last thing that voters heading to the polls need are bets waged on the outcome of that election. Voters need action… to restore trust. Elections are not a for-profit enterprise. Without this rule, voters will wonder if their vote mattered, and whether the outcome of the election was influenced by big-money bets.”
My initial thought was that these senators and their supporters wanted to improve democracy by stopping people from exercising a common right. Big irony in that, I thought. But upon reflection I thought: well something has to happen to tighten things up and get some credibility and confidence back in the process. Remember the 2000 federal election and then what happened at the White House in January 2021? And all the talk of rigging, of interference, bad actors and so on.
Maybe a ban on election gambling is just one part of a big whole jigsaw that needs putting back together.
And as for the odds on either Harris or Trump for the White House, it’s neck and neck as I write (4 September).
Boom boom!
The media is always keen to tell us regularly about business closures, a slump in markets or trading, rising inflation and all that not-so-positive stuff. They should take a look at the online gambling world.
According to the Gambling Commission, UK online gambling revenues were up 12% in the first quarter (Jan-March) this year compared to the same period in 2023. Betting at events grew by 16% in the same comparison periods.
Wow! Not many industries can say that in the current climate. It’s a healthy sign for our industry and as long as the vast majority of people continue to gamble responsibly and those with problems are managed effectively, then it’s something we should all celebrate.
Employee loyalty
At the end of August my step-mother retired from her job at a London sports marketing agency. It all started when a US-owned company opened its UK office and hired her. Her first project was to get the office set-up and functioning. That was in July 1966.
58 years and 1 month with the same company (albeit a myriad of roles)! Not sure many of us will ever see service like that again.
Confidence or just old-fashioned PR stunt?
The Scottish Premier League was just 1 game old after the weekend of 3-5 August when Paddy Power announced they would pay out on another Celtic title. Apparently Celtic’s 4-0 win that weekend coupled with Rangers' draw with Hearts was enough to convince the betting giant that it was not only game over, but the Scottish Premier League season over. One game down, 37 to go.
The sobering thing is that they’re very, very probably not wrong. For starters no team other than Rangers or Celtic has won the Scottish league in 40 seasons. And in the last 13 seasons Rangers have got their hands on that title just once.
Is it finally time to get Rangers and Celtic into the English league structure? It’s hard not to see benefits all round: For the 2 clubs themselves, English clubs playing them would reap bumper crowds and those left behind north of the border could enjoy a more competitive competition; good for the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and others, surely.
Since drafting the above I watched the first Old Firm game of the season on 1 September. It’s fair to say Paddy Power is pretty safe paying out on another Celtic title!
Wem-ber-ley!
Still on the round ball, I see that Wembley Stadium has rebranded its premium hospitality offering. What had been known as ‘Club Wembley’ will now be known as ‘Experiences by Wembley Stadium’.
If anyone can tell me what the hell difference that will make, I’d be pleased to hear from them. My guess is that it will continue to be known by what most people have called it for years. And indeed what most people call the equivalent area in other stadiums.
‘You going to the England game tonight Tarquin?’
‘Yes, we managed to get some freebies in the hospitality bit.’
‘Bit’, ‘section’, ‘area’ or some such. What it won’t be for anyone other than employees or people at the marketing agency who came up with it is: ‘I’m sitting in the Experiences by Wembley Stadium section’.