Weekend Report: Ex-Tory leader warns over gambling political donations, WWE drops interest in sports betting

Former Tory leader warns against donations from gambling sector

First, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the Conservative party, has told political parties in Great Britain to stop taking donations from gambling companies.

Smith urged colleagues dealing with “utterly rapacious” betting companies to “sup with a very long spoon”, the Telegraph reported on 8 November. The MP for Chingford & Woodford Green chairs the all-party parliamentary group on gambling reform.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Smith was asked if the gambling industry is a big political donor. He replied: “Yes, this is always a problem really. You have got to detach that sort of thing from your policy.

“The reality is in the world of politics you do run political parties without very much state intervention, if any at all at times. So you do need to reach for money.

“But I would advise political parties to sup with a very long spoon on these companies. I think they are utterly rapacious. They don’t care about the harms that they create.”

WWE loses interest in US sports betting entrance

Elsewhere, professional wrestling promoter WWE has dropped plans to enter the US sports betting market, a senior member of the management team has confirmed.

In May 2023, it emerged WWE was in discussions with regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalise betting on matches. This would have changed the way matches were organised, including not telling competitors who would win.

However, speaking with CNBC on 7 November, Mark Shapiro, president of TKO, the media conglomerate created by Endeavor as part of a merger between WWE and Zuffa, said the organisation will not pursue these plans.

“It’s not happening,” Shapiro said. “We’re scripted. We’re not going to ask [chief content officer] Paul Levesque to keep his scripts so under wraps, so we can start sports betting. It just doesn’t jive.”

Betting on WWE matches is legal in other countries and regions including Great Britain.

NFL scores regional deal with Bwin

Another US sports property, the National Football League (NFL), is strengthening its ties with the betting sector. The NFL has entered into a regional partnership with operator Bwin as of 7 November.

The deal will see Bwin become the official betting partner of the NFL in both Germany and Austria. The multi-year partnership launched this weekend at the 2024 NFL Munich game between New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers.

On top of this, Bwin will become the official betting partner of Super Bowl LIX across Germany and Austria.

The wider partnership includes a series of promotions and content to broaden the appeal of NFL in mainland Europe.

EveryMatrix pens record Africa deal

Moving into Africa now and EveryMatrix sealed its largest turnkey platform partnership in Africa to date, on 7 November. The provider will migrate MBet from its existing software to its technology.

The agreement covers MBet’s operations in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with players to have access to an EveryMatrix-powered sports betting offering.

Features on the OddsMatrix digital sportsbook platform include over 170,000 monthly live sportsbook events, odds management control tools and an 11-sport pre-event and live Bet Builder.

In addition, MBet will gain access to a suite of player-friendly localised products. Included here is SMS functionality, ‘Do It Yourself’ manual event creation tools and a betslip engine supporting over 50 accumulator selections.

Betway ups responsible gambling gin South Africa

Finally this week, also in Africa, Betway has revealed details of its responsible gambling collaboration with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa.

Betway signed as title sponsor of the South African Premiership via an agreement with the PSL in July. Building on this, the operator will now work with league organisers to promote responsible gambling among fans, Insider Sport reports on 8 November.

“Through our partnership with the PSL, Betway remains committed to its objective of encouraging responsible gambling across all its platforms,” Betway’s Africa CEO Laurence Michel said.

The announcement coincides with South Africa’s Responsible Gambling Awareness month.