Miss Fortune

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As the U.S. warms to the idea of online sports betting, the NCAA has taken steps to protect its athletes. Deputy General Counsel of the NCAA, Naima Stevenson Starks sat down with Calvinayre.com’s Becky Liggero Fontana to explain her organisation’s stance towards betting involving student athletes and maintaining the integrity of those competitions. 

Stevenson Starks shared those concerns that the NCAA has towards online sports betting in the U.S.:

“The two [concerns] are the integrity of athletic competition, and how that could potentially be impacted by a proliferation of legalized sports wagering. And then the second is really the health and well-being of student athletes.“

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GiG’s immediate priority following the completion of the deal will be disciplined integration, says Richards. This includes bringing 888Africa’s financial reporting, compliance and operational processes in line with GiG’s standards.

Ahlberg suggests GiG will look to transition 888Africa onto GiG’s platform, providing synergies down the line. Richards says GiG will look at where the company’s platform and tech can add value to the existing 888Africa business, although in terms of expansion, he again reaffirms that it will be a cautious approach in the short term.

“We are deliberately not pursuing an aggressive expansion agenda in the early months,” he explains. “We want to prioritise integration and consolidating our existing positions first, and only look at new market entry once we are confident the operational foundations are in place.”

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The trade body has long been critical over the discrepancy between channelisation estimates made by the regulator, and other independent reviewers.

The DOCV reinforced its calls for a unified federal licensing regime for online casino games and stronger enforcement mechanisms against illegal operators. 

An ongoing review of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling, which is meant to conclude by the end of this year, should introduce a nationwide licensing model for online casino games, the group added.