Big Ange, Randy Andy, Tax & Dogs | My week in iGaming #17
Forgive me father, it's been two months since my last weekly blog.
So what’s been happening? What’s caught my eye in the world of online, gambling and related-ish stuff in general?
Ange Postecoglu
The gift that keeps giving. Eight (8) games is all he lasted at Nottingham Forest. Eight games. Someone made a wisecrack that on his flight home to Melbourne (surely no other club in Europe will take a chance on this chancer…) he would be able to watch all of his Forest games TWICE if you included time on the plane, but not in the air.
I knew he wouldn’t last and I would’ve had a punt, but I wouldn’t have bet on his tenure being quite as short as it actually was.
Well I guess that’s the end of ‘she’ll be right, mate’ football tactics in the Premier League. Ange has picked up a pretty penny or two in his time over here and he deserves all the rest he can get when he presumably takes over at one of Australia’s A League franchise clubs in a town or city where 90% of people think 'Australian rules' or 'Rugby League' when someone mentions the word ‘football’.
Prince Andrew
And talking of people who can’t read the room or get people to warm to them… Prince ‘I don't sweat’ Andrew of Woking Pizza Express infamy is back in the news.
The naughty royal has seemingly hit absolute public popularity rock bottom after a series of opinion polls found him to be less popular than Two-Tier Keir Starmer or Lady Penelope’s former driver Parker, aka Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London (and king of condescending evasiveness).
So where next for Andrew? I’m just trying to imagine the odds on various outcomes. They might look something like this:
- 12/1: Exile. With Fergie. Council house in Peckham
- 16/1: Exile. Solo. Corsica.
- Evens: No change
- 7/4: Appointed UK Safeguarding Minister
- 3/1: Complete defrocking and stripping of all titles
- 5/1: I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here contestant, 2026
I’ve also noticed that the media have retired his 1980s nickname, Randy Andy. Bit close for comfort, that one.
Influencers (and advertisers) in hot water
Did anyone even know what a ‘social media influencer’ (or ‘content creator’ for that matter) was a few years ago? Now they’re all the rage. But they’re making gambling regulators rage as well because some of them are not just promoting gambling, but promoting gambling to the under 18s.
In South Africa Lungile Dukwana, Acting CEO of the National Gambling Board (NGB), the country’s gambling regulator points the finger very clearly at influencers ‘whose target is normally younger people’. And that it’s their ‘number one’ issue at the moment.
Advertising Standards Authority
In Britain the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) are all over it, issuing new guidelines. But a quick look at some of the guidelines suggests the guidelines need guidelines or at least a thorough ‘how to’ guide. Influencers with 100,000 under 18 followers will be regarded as having ‘strong appeal’. Sounds clear enough – these influencers shouldn’t be promoting gambling. But then it gets a bit confusing.
The ASA ‘may deem a personality of strong appeal even if they have fewer than a total of 100,000 follower accounts registered to under-18s across platforms … in some cases, it may deem a personality not of strong appeal even if they have more than 100,000 under-18 registered follower accounts across platforms, depending on other factors relevant to their appeal to young people.’
Right, well that clears that up then.
It seems the advertising industry in general is bearing the brunt of the doom merchants’ ire at the moment. I still can’t get my head around the alarmist ‘report’ on gambling advertising by the University of Bristol last year.
Slots that grabbed my eye recently
Casting my eyes over recent additions to Slot Gods, 3 slots that have really grabbed my attention are:
Deck of Scurra Slot by Print Studios I don't normally go for this type of thing but this really grabbed me! High volatility, 96.09% RTP, maximum payout of 20,000 x stake and a tidy 4.1/5 rating by our lead slots reviewer, Paul Clare.
Cathedral 9 Slot by ELK Studios Some really eye-catching imagery and clever features in this. Medium-high volatility, 94.00% RTP, maximum payout of 25,000 x stake and also rate 4.1/5 by Paul.
Immortal Romance 2 King Millions Slot by Stormcraft Studios Follow-up to a huge success, this is definitely worth a look. High volatility, 90.5% RTP, maximum payout of 15,000 x stake and also a 4.1/5 review score.
Why not click through and see how you like them?
Tax increase concerns escalating
As discussed previously in My Week #16, the gambling industry looks ‘ripe’ for a tax raid by the Government. It needs to ‘pay its fair share’ according to some within the Government and its circle of advisors such as the IPPR.
However they seem oblivious (or don’t care?) as to the likely impact of a heavy tax increase on the industry. Perhaps they ought to listen to one or two of the industry’s big hitters, but that’s not this Government’s style, is it?
Betfred Chief Executive Joanne Whittaker, speaking to the Sunday Times, said the government’s plans could see the closure of their 1,300 brick and mortar betting shops affecting around 7,000 jobs.
Paddy Power announced recently that it is closing 57 high street shops across the UK and Ireland. Impacted by the gradual shift to online gambling, we can expect those numbers to go up if the Autumn budget is as punitive as anticipated.
William Hill owners Evoke plc (formerly 888 Holdings) have warned of a major downturn in high street operations if the 26 November Budget goes as expected. They’re looking at a possible 200 shop closures accompanied by 1,500 jobs going.
Rachel Reeves et al could also do with listening to the rational voice of the Betting & Gaming Council on this one.
A quick cash grab might look good briefly, but long-term the damage – on a number of levels – will be significant.
Safer Gambling Week
Talking about the Betting & Gaming Council, their Safer Gambling Week (SGW) initiative will run from 17-23 November. It’s supported widely across the industry and offers advice and guidance to players and those close to them as well as support and responsible gambling tools.
SGW exposure and web traffic is increasing year on year – a sure sign of support and a coherent message getting through.
Truro fans rewarded by Sky Bet
Hats off to Sky Bet and fans of Truro City FC. On Saturday 25 Oct National League (effectively the 5th tier of English football) side Truro City made the 920 mile round trip for their fixture at Gateshead. It was the longest journey ever for any club in English football. Truro fans arrived to see a notice that Sky Bet had generously put £920 behind the bar as a thank you and a reward for their loyalty undertaking the long journey. Not only that but Gateshead must be one of the coldest grounds in any of the English leagues. I hope the Truro fans – an impressive 185 of them – wrapped up for the day.
Curtains for US greyhound racing?
West Virginia (‘take me home, country road, to the place, I belong-ong!’) is the only state in the US where you can legally see dogs racing. But not for long, it seems.
The federal Animal Welfare Act looks set to be amended by the introduction of the Greyhound Protection Act of 2025, outlawing, in the process, greyhound racing.
It’s a sad but predictable end and will be a big loss for one of the US’s less wealthy states – where in 2023 Virginia’s two tracks saw $400 million wagered.
Predictably perhaps, the campaign to end the sport is being driven from elsewhere. And even more predictably, perhaps that driver is a Democrat California Congressman, Sauld Carbajal:
“As a member of the Animal Protection Caucus, I’m proud to stand with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to reintroduce bipartisan legislation that will finally put an end to this brutal practice and promote the universal welfare of our greyhounds.”
Yet another case of the liberal elites determining what’s good for, and what isn’t, for the working classes and blue collar folks in general. Killjoys.
Happy Halloween
When I was a kid Halloween was very much second fiddle to Guy Fawkes Day. 'Some American thing,' we called Halloween. Nowadays no one even seems to mention 5 November. I guess celebrating the death (and life) of someone who wanted to blow Parliament seems a bit risky (or appealing?) these days.