Group Admins
ARF found 61% of online casinos illegal. Junkiets are fuelling growth
Public Group active 2 years agoOnline gambling 메이저사이트 is increasing, but a significant analysis has revealed that around 61 percent are illegally operating online, particularly in Asia, where junkets play an increasing role.
The Asian Racing Federation has produced a 94-page report that examines various topics related to online gambling, including the effects on gambling harm, licensed sport, and sports integrity.
It examines Asia’s role in junket, the increasing “hybridization” of gambling sites, and the rise of white-label businesses.
According to the ARF report, there are three types of industries. The first category includes sites licensed to accept bets in their jurisdiction. They are “licensed” and, therefore “regulated.”
The second category is those licensed by a country but not under-regulated because they take bets from residents outside that jurisdiction. Gambling is often illegal in these countries. The third category does not have a license.
It found that only 40% of global betting sites were licensed and regulated in its analysis of 534 in 61 countries. This means that most are illegal in Asia’s grey markets.
These websites included 262 that had more than one million monthly global visits during the review period of 2019-2021. It also selected 93 websites randomly and then 179 websites from a list that had been previously identified as likely illegal.
Online licensing
Three jurisdictions were responsible for licensing nearly two-thirds of the under-regulated sites: Curacao and Malta.
Curacao accounted for 31% of the total, followed by Malta (18%) and the Philippines (13%). It points out, however, that it doesn’t publish a list containing URLs, so it is not sure how many websites are included in this group.
The report stated that licensed operators from the Philippines target Asian bettors, as online betting is heavily restricted or largely illegal in these countries. Some estimate that illegal Asian betting accounts for up to 80 percent of the global market. Therefore, ‘licensed’ operators in the Philippines facilitate large amounts of illicit betting.
The industry is experiencing significant growth. The number of people visiting online betting sites increased by 37 percent in 2020/2021 compared to 2019/20. The trend was confirmed even when the discount from last year’s Euro 2020 football tournament was added.
The websites 메이저사이트 received 39.75 billion visits, with 76 percent of those who visited them going to Licensed and Regulated sites. This was expected because these sites are the most well-known and largest global brands.
It said that 24 percent of visitors were to unregulated or under-regulated websites. This is alarming, especially in Asia.
Traffic to under-regulated sites was 6.78 billion, and traffic to completely unregulated websites was 2.67 billion. The unregulated sector saw a 64 percent increase in traffic.
The illegal sector saw a dramatic increase in visitors, with 97 percent visiting the site, compared to 31 percent for the regulated categories and 28 percent for the under-regulated.
According to the report, Asian bettors are more likely not to interact with websites directly but instead place their wagers through agents. One “visit,” as web analytics records it, may contain stakes from dozens or hundreds of bettors.
They are also more popular than licensed or regulated businesses because they offer a more comprehensive range of products. They use more aggressive marketing strategies and do not have to pay the same operating expenses in taxes or contributions to sports.
Junket concerns
Illegal gambling in Asia has grown significantly over the past decade thanks to the underground banking system of casino junkets.
It stated that “the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted casinos and junkets,” and it was highly probable that their customers have moved to online gambling and betting. “The junkets, for their part, have been compensating the loss in revenue in their physical casino businesses by diversifying across Asia and making further investments in online gambling and betting in other countries.
Macau’s junkets are a concern as they continue to be controlled by triads groups and could spread organized crime.
Alvin Chau, Levo Chan, and Levo Chan are two of Macau’s most prominent junket leaders. They were accused of organizing illegal online gambling. Chan, the Tak Chun Group’s head, was also accused of being linked to triad organizations.
China’s crackdown on capital outflows for gambling could also contribute to the problem. This may push junkets further into illegal online betting and diversify their businesses.
AGB will bring more insight from the ARF to AGB
