The UK gambling industry’s self-regulatory body has added its first bingo brands, while the UK racing industry’s Authorized Betting Partner scheme has added two more members.
On Tuesday, the Senet Group announced that its membership now includes Gala Leisure, the UK’s largest bingo club operator, and Gala Interactive, the country’s leading online bingo operator.
The additions mark the first dedicated bingo operators to join the Senet Group, the self-policing agency the betting industry launched in 2014 in a bid to rein in some of its better known excesses and (hopefully) fend off the imposition of more punitive restrictions by the UK government.
Senet Group chief Wanda Goldwag said the addition of the Gala brands marked “an important milestone as more sectors from across the gambling industry recognize the importance of promoting responsible gambling standards.”
Gala Leisure CEO Simon Wykes said bingo was “a community-based activity,” so his company placed “great importance on responsible gambling and we can see the merits in working together as an industry rather than just as a sector within it.”
MORE AUTHORIZED BETTING PARTNERS FOR UK RACING
A different sector of the UK betting market was also singing ‘kumbaya’ this week, as online betting operators 188Bet and BetVictor’s white label brand McBookie signed on as Authorized Betting Partners of UK racing.
The addition follows hot on the heels of Amaya Gaming’s BetStars, Irish betting operator SeanieMac and its ApolloBet brand all signing up for ABP benefits, which include the right to enter into sponsorship and other branding arrangements with UK racetracks, in exchange for the operators remitting a certain portion of their online race betting revenue to the sport of (very demanding) kings.
The latest additions bring the roster of ABPs to 10, including early adopters 32Red, Bet365, Betfair, BetVictor and Sky Betting & Gaming. British Horseracing Authority CEO Nick Rust welcomed the newcomers and vowed to help them “take the opportunity to gain significant exposure to British Racing’s customers.”
