- London headquartered sports betting and gaming technology company Entain has donated $100,000 USD to Seton Hall Law School.
- The donation will be used to provide gaming ethics and compliance training for the US sports betting and gaming industry.
- Entain is a partner in BetMGM, the sports betting and online gaming component of MGM Resorts.
The US sports betting and gaming ecosystem gets legitimized more and more with each passing day. To wit–the legal aspects of the industry have become a legitimate area of expertise for lawyers, accountants, investment analysts, etc. The is the flip side of the mainstream assimilation that we speak about so often and is of equal importance. For sports betting to become pervasive and ubiquitous it is essential that a) the industry conducts itself as legitimate and b) the legal, financial and professional substrata of corporate America accept it as legitimate.
Earlier today, we talked about London based Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) as it relates to their partnership with MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) on the BetMGM interactive gaming and sports betting division. They’ve been making a name for themselves in another area via their philanthropic work through The Entain Foundation. Entain has donated $100,000 USD to Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey to “provide annual high-quality and robust ethics, legal, and compliance education for compliance and legal professionals in the fast-growing online sports betting and gaming sector.”
Here’s the elevator pitch from the press release issued by Entain PLC announcing the donation:
Entain, through its Entain Foundation US, the group’s U.S. non-profit affiliate, has donated $100,000 to Seton Hall Law School to provide annual high-quality and robust ethics, legal, and compliance education for compliance and legal professionals in the fast-growing online sports betting and gaming sector. Entain is the leading global sports betting and gaming entertainment operator which operates through BetMGM in the U.S.
The move builds on the inaugural Gaming Law, Compliance and Integrity Bootcamp, launched at Seton Hall with the Entain Foundation US in March 2020, attended by an initial group of 50. The goal is to make Seton Hall Law’s Bootcamp, the premier annual program in the industry. This year’s Bootcamp is set for September 19-22 at Seton Hall Law’s downtown Newark campus.
The importance of a gaming ethics and compliance training program is increasing. Sports gambling has grown dramatically in the U.S. during the pandemic, and New York and other states are considering legislation to legalize sports betting and other forms of gambling. The Seton Hall Law bootcamp focuses on case studies and key legislative provisions to achieve best practices in state-sanctioned gambling and industry regulation.
The press release also notes that:
Entain is the only global operator in sports betting and gaming which supports the provision of education for legal, compliance and ethics professionals in gaming in the U.S., where rapid growth has led to a surge in demand for these capabilities, and regulation differs state by state.
Martin Lycka, Entain’s Senior Vice President for American Regulatory Affairs & Responsible Gambling gave the quote on behalf of his company:
“The Bootcamp aligns with Entain’s focus on promoting sports integrity, responsible gambling, and corporate compliance. We look forward to extending our partnership with Seton Hall Law School, a leading law school and a recognized global leader in compliance education, to help provide professionals with the specialist skill needed to support the growth of this sector in the U.S.”
Kathleen M. Boozang, Dean of Seton Hall Law, had these comments about the program that Entain is funding:
“This funding will guarantee the continued success of the Bootcamp and ensure that gaming compliance professionals have a strong understanding of regulatory frameworks and the ability to identify, scrutinize, prevent, and address unlawful or unethical behaviors.”
If you want to check out the Seton Hall website’s information on the program you can do so here:
GAMING LAW, COMPLIANCE AND INTEGRITY PROGRAM AT SETON HALL LAW SCHOOL
The past year or so has been very eventful for Entain. US based gaming analysts and investors will vividly remember reports in early January that partner MGM Resorts had made an offer to acquire Entain. Entain rejected the offer and subsequently MGM Resorts announced that they wouldn’t continue pursuing a deal. About the same time, Entain’s CEO Shay Segev gave notice that he would be leaving the company to become Co-CEO of the DAZN sports streaming platform. DAZN no doubt hired Segev to counter rival fuboTV’s push into sports betting but the timing of the announcement was curious to say the least. Entain’s press release announcing Segev’s departure spent a good deal of ink trying to assure investors that it had nothing to do with MGM’s takeover offer.
As if that wasn’t enough extraneous drama for Entain the company had just rebranded from GVC Holdings in December 2020. In addition to their BetMGM partnership they’ve got a nice assortment of well known gaming and sports betting brands:
The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports Brands include bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Games Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to third-party customers on a B2B basis.
Entain is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ENT).
At the time of publication, James Murphy has a long position in MGM.
