The Webinar moderated by Riko Luiking from German Tote was organised on 25th June on betting monitoring systems. Tobias Melin, Chief Analytics Officer at ATG, presented how ATG’s monitoring system is used to track unlicensed gambling and Tom Chignell, Executive Manager, Racing Integrity & Betting Analysis at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) shared his knowledge and findings on how the HKJC protects horse racing against the wide-ranging dangers of illegal betting. In Sweden, Tobias showed the tracking tool based on the web traffic analysis showing the increase of betting on illegal sites not even mentioned on the prohibition list managed by the Swedish gambling authority. The reasons for gamblers to go to unlicensed sites include bonuses being offered which are not permitted in the legal market and because players have used the self-exclusion tool (around 100,000 Swedish players have self-excluded from the regulated market). Although this situation exists mainly for casino games (very few on horserace betting), it endangers players who go to the black matket and is also an issue for tax generation and money laundering. Tom referenced the threats of betting exchange (betting on the poor performances of a horse) and showed how the HKJC team has developed AI tools and intelligent networks to preserve the sustainability of the sport.
The Webinar showed that WoTA members should cooperate more and share their knowledge to protect their respective markets and the sport as a whole. Members could – and should – establish a way to communicate regularly. WoTA could also establish relationship with regulators to evaluate the impact of national restrictions.
