Grease

About Grease

It joined the FTSE 100 index on 22 June 2020, cementing its position as one of the UK’s 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Although it will remain on the FTSE 250, Entain’s relegation will see it removed from the FTSE 100 on 21 September.

This followed a period of restrategising for the operator, after rebranding from GVC Holdings and committing to having 100% of its revenues come from regulated markets.

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“The time was right to reassess this crucial policy area, focusing on the topic of gambling advertising where the former committee’s strong recommendations have been largely unaddressed and where substantial developments in the gambling advertising landscape since 2020 have demanded a re-evaluation of the policy options,” he said.

The committee has advocated for applying a public health framework to gambling advertising regulation. It criticised the existing patchwork of self-regulation, noting the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes, co-regulation for broadcasts and industry-led voluntary measures, were inadequate.

Instead, the report recommended that advertising regulation be placed on a statutory footing under the Gambling Commission. 

How to play Grease

In the Ministry of Finance’s view, this ended “any institutional ambiguity” over who should oversee the DRC’s gambling industry.

“The Ministry of Finance reaffirms its determination to drive the reform of the gambling and games of chance sector in accordance with government directives, while upholding legal certainty for operators, transparency in activities and the protection of the Public Treasury’s interests,” said the press release, signed by Alain Malata Kafunda, the chief of staff to the DRC minister of finance.

The press release also warned operators against complying with any payment requests from departments that aren’t legally authorised to do so.