Eurovision and the UK

Prime Minister Theresa May was asked on the BBC’s One Show if the UK would be leaving the Eurovision Song Contest alongside leaving the European Union?  It was, of course, a joke and Mrs May said no but doubted we would do very well this year because the UK was not very popular in Europe at the moment.


Following Mrs May’s comments I felt compelled to endure the four hour Eurovision Song Contest but bet in running to keep interest up and sanity intact.

The Prime Minister’s implication was that politics has sway on the Eurovision voting pattern.  Over the years there is always “geo-political voting” –   for example, Cyprus votes for Greece, and vice versa, regardless of their songs’ musical merits. Norway and Sweden normally help each other out, as do the Balkan states.

The useful introduction of Australia (!) to Eurovision has been a benefit to the UK and happily received twelve points from Australia in 2017.

What added to my interest were the comments I had received about “Brexit” at various gambling conferences and on a recent holiday in Spain. It seems the main area of concern amongst Europeans is the amount their respective countries will have to pay to keep the EU going when the UK leaves.  I wondered whether sentiment was moving against the UK and whether this would affect UK gambling companies and the Eurovision vote. 

Let’s talk about the betting first.

Daniel Gould is the co-editor of sofabet.com, a website which analyses betting on TV talent shows. His predictions for Eurovision were:
1. Portugal
2. Italy 
3. Bulgaria 

The actual Eurovision 2017 results were:
1. Portugal 
2. Bulgaria
3. Moldova

The UK was quoted prior to the start at 40/1 to win but only 10/1 to finish last!  Italy was favourite at 6/5. 

After Lucie Jones from the UK gave a better than expected performance Betfair were offering 71 on the exchange.  Portugal had moved to be favourite at 2.76, Bulgaria 3.6 and Italy had drifted to 7.


Sweden then produced a solid performance and the price was cut from 32 to 24 which caused Portugal to go out to 2.9, and that was the perfect time to bet Portugal.

I had a few pounds on Moldova at 81 and they finished third. 

The UK was doing quite well on the votes registered by the panel of expert, they were in the first section – no chance of winning but no disgrace.  


Then came the votes from the audience and the UK slipped to 15th place.  Were the audience voting on Brexit concerns? I don’t think so because Moldova did not score well on the panel votes, but did very well amongst the wider audience.

My conclusion is that the UK song was not strong enough to win and, simply, the best song won. But if you do wish to endure four hours of Eurovision, do have a bet, it makes the whole thing worth watching.

Warwick Bartlett

Manifestos promise FOBT stake reductions

In GBGC’s April 2017 newsletter last month it was said there was every likelihood that gambling would feature in some of the 2017 UK General Election manifestos.

The Labour party has included the following passage on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs):

“We will reduce the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2. These highly addictive machines in bookmakers across the country have become a problem for many families and communities.  They allow players to gamble away £100 every 20 seconds, encouraging people to chase their losses.  Labour will also legislate to increase the delay in between spins on these games in order to reduce the addictive nature of the games.”

Similarly, the Liberal Democrats have stated:

“We will grant new powers to local authorities to protect high streets and consumers by reducing the proliferation of betting shops and capping the maximum amount able to be bet on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) at one time to £2”.

This comes despite the betting sector having taken a number of initiatives to promote responsible gambling. These include a Code of Practice, self-exclusion schemes, and the introduction of a Player Awareness System.

In October 2016 the Government announced a review of gaming machines and called for evidence to be submitted by 4 December 2016.  The results were to be published in Spring 2017 but the snap General Election has caused a delay.

It is surprising that the Labour Party seems to have taken on board the wishes of the All Party Parliamentary Group report of FOBTs when the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said the report breached standards in four areas (paragraphs 21, 22, 23, and 25 of the Guide to the Rules on all-Party Parliamentary Groups). The cross-party group was backed by casino operators and BACTA, the trade association for amusement arcades.


The standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson drew attention to four breaches in the report. She said the breaches were “at the less serious end of the spectrum” and the group’s chairman has apologised and made a promise to rectify them. 

The group did not record attendance at its meetings nor did it take proper minutes at its meetings. There was also a failure to print a disclaimer in the report it published stating that it was not an official House of Commons publication. The group was also not open enough about the assistance – as a donor of a benefit in kind – it received from the public affairs company Interel. 

Greyhound racing fights for survival

With the closure of Wimbledon greyhound stadium in March 2017, London now has no greyhound tracks. UK-wide, gross win from betting on greyhound racing has fallen by 30% since 2008/2009 and now stands at GB£ 226 million. But this is not just a UK issue. In gambling markets around the world greyhound racing and associated betting is facing a fight for survival. 


In the United States there are fewer than 20 operational racetracks. 12 of these tracks are located in Florida, for the simple reason that a greyhound racing permit is required if an operator wishes to run casino gambling. In 2017 a bill that sought to remove this regulatory link failed. The failure of the bill probably saved several loss-making greyhound tracks in the Sunshine State.


Florida’s handle on greyhound racing was almost US$ 700 million in 1998/99. By 2014/15 handle had declined to just under US$ 250 million, a drop of 64%.

Greyhound racing in Australia is still a sizeable betting market with more than AUS$ 3 billion in betting turnover. But investigations into animal welfare issues in 2015 resulted in New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) banning greyhound racing.  The NSW’s ban was due to apply from 1 July 2017 but was reversed at the end of 2016. Instead racing will continue at fewer tracks, with fewer races and a breeding cap. It is possible that ACT might also reconsider its outright ban. It is clear, however, that governments are not in favour of supporting greyhound racing in their states.

Even in the gambling crucible of Macau, betting on greyhound racing is in steep decline. Although always a small part of the market where casinos dominate, betting on greyhounds in Macau had a respectable turnover of MOP 985 million in 2012 (approx. US$ 125 million). In 2016 that betting turnover had fallen to just MOP 335 million (US$41 million).

With ever more gambling products competing for gamblers’ attention, it is difficult to forecast a recovery in greyhound racing’s fortunes. The next generation of punters is more likely to be watching drones zooming round a track rather than dogs.

Progress in New York poker bill

There was some progress in New York Senator John Bonacic’s online poker bill (S3898) in May 2017 when it was passed by the New York Senate Finance Committee. The decision means that Bonacic’s bill will now move on to the Senate floor for a debate.

But as veterans of the US internet gambling saga will know all too well, such developments are welcome but are no guarantee that any law will ultimately be passed in favour of online poker. 

In the case of New York, the Senate had already approved (53-5) Bonacic’s previous bill in mid-2016. The state Assembly, however, did not then even consider that bill before the legislative session closed.

Bonacic’s S3898 online poker bill states its purpose is “to authorize the New York State Gaming Commission to license certain entities to offer for play to the public certain variants of internet poker which require a significant degree of skill, specifically “Omaha Hold’em” and “Texas Hold’em.””

Other key elements of the online poker bill are:
A US$ 10 million licence fee (up to 11 licences are anticipated)
Licences valid for 10 years
Tax rate of 15% of revenues
All tax revenue paid into the state lottery fund for education

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