Diamond Duke

About Diamond Duke

The supplier had so far stood behind Black Cube’s investigation, and previously described it as “undertaken lawfully” to understand and verify “concerns of significant regulatory and commercial importance”.

Spectrum’s report was subsequently commissioned by Evolution to refute Black Cube’s accusations. In its latest release on Wednesday, Playtech said Evolution had “publicly characterised the Spectrum Report as exonerating it”.

But Playtech has claimed that the Spectrum report, which is now publicly available, was unable “to confirm or refute” some of Black Cube’s claims, “as Evolution failed to provide Spectrum with significant information it had requested”.

About Diamond Duke

In any event, successive regulatory tightening and tax increases have already created a “reasonably effective deterrent” to market entry.

There is a second complication. The relentless flow of Commission statements may eventually make enforcement less damaging rather than more.

“The regulatory failures are unhelpful but perhaps the sheer number and regularity of them has made them less remarkable, such that they become ‘wallpaper’,” Waugh says.

About Diamond Duke

Lottomatica’s agreement to absorb Cirsa, announced on 2 September, brings four Moroccan casinos into one of Europe’s largest listed gambling groups. Morocco accounts for about 2% of Cirsa’s revenue and about 4% of its earnings.

Neither company has announced plans to seek an online betting licence in North Africa. The deal nevertheless highlights the divide in Morocco’s gambling market.

Land-based gambling can attract international investment. Cirsa expanded its Marrakech presence last November. Private online betting has no equivalent licensing route.