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How to play Wildcraft
Entain emphasised offshore operators do not employ the same player protection measures and anti-money laundering standards that licensed companies must.
The company also highlighted its own research that suggests over 80% of consumers cannot “confidently distinguish” licensed operators from unlicensed ones.
Stella David, Entain’s CEO, called for the government to move ahead with the ban immediately, arguing clubs were already aware of the planned changes.
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Entain’s share price tumble follows a broader trend for gaming stocks in recent years. Added to that is a declining interest in the LSEG, as listed companies continue to exit at pace, including Flutter, which removed its secondary listing from LSEG in August.
The gaming giant left for greener pastures in the US, expecting to benefit from higher valuations in the most liquid equity market. But analysts have noted a similar downward trend in Flutter’s share price over time.
Down around 60% in a year, the risk is it becomes just another mid-tier consumer stock on a bigger exchange. “Deeper water doesn’t help if the current is moving somewhere else,” Corfai’s Ben Robinson recently said of Flutter’s stock price.
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“At a break or at half time you see 10 to 20 [gambling] adverts,” he says. “It’s come to a point that oftentimes I even hear my kids singing [gambling adverts]. They’ll just keep asking, ‘But Daddy, what is this? What does this mean?’
“Our position is unequivocal. Betting is an adult activity. Operators must maintain effective age verification, marketing must not target or appeal to children and regulators; parents, schools and communities must reinforce the same message.”
As part of Africa Safer Gambling Week, the AiA has also focused on the illegal market, with Kesitilwe highlighting that offshore operators are harmful for player protection.