British charity Oxfam apologizes to Haitian government
British charity Oxfam has apologized to the government of Haiti after its staff was accused of sexual misconduct during a mission following the devastating earthquake of 2010.“We communicated that to the minister, and are giving as best as we can, explanations as to what happened in 2011,” Oxfam’s regional director Simon Ticehurst told reporters on Monday after meeting with Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Aviol Fleurant.Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Oxfam employees paid sex workers while on an aid mission to the country.Oxfam staff fired or resignedAccording to Oxfam, seven employees have left the organization based on an international probe carried out in 2011.It was also revealed that four members of staff were fired, and three others, including former country director Roland van Hauwermeiren, were allowed to resign over the allegations.During Monday’s briefing with reporters, Fleurant said his government was investigating a possible coverup. “Oxfam admits the use of prostitutes by their staff in 2011, they admitted with all the evidence,” he said.“They even used their offices for such activities. Now we are working to see if there was a cover-up, because their report never made it to the Haitian authorities,” he added.Reputation damagedThe scandal has dealt a devastating blow to the reputation of the organization and threatens to complicate the work of other charities.Oxfam’s funding in the UK is currently under review. On Tuesday, its executives were questioned by UK politicians over the charity’s handling of the allegations.Mark Goldring, the charity’s chief executive, said he was “sorry for the damage Oxfam has done both to the people of Haiti, but also to wider efforts for aid and development, by possibly undermining public support.”Goldring also said that the charity has received allegations of 26 new misconduct violations since the scandal broke out. He added that 16 relate to international programs.
DUBLIN, Ireland, CMC – Bermuda captain Danté Leverock is suffering from concussion after colliding with a Sligo Rovers team-mate, but remains optimistic he will make a full recovery ahead of Bermuda’s opening CONCACAF Gold Cup game against Haiti next month.The 27-year-old defender suffered the injury in a collision with his goalkeeper Ed McGinty during Sligo’s 2-1 win away to Irish top-flight rivals Bohemians last Friday.Bermuda will face Haiti at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica, on June 16, with Leverock looking forward to being part of Bermuda’s historic first Gold Cup match.“I’ll be ready for the Gold Cup and I’m linking up with the squad in next few weeks,” he said.“It’s a concussion, but I’m hoping to be cleared to play again in next seven to 10 days.”Bermuda national coach Kyle Lightbourne is also optimistic his captain will be available for Haiti.“We got the news from Craig Brown (Bermuda’s physio) and the first thing he said was he spoke to Danté and everything was all fine, so there was never any worry from me,” he said.“Our medical team has advised him of different things to do for a concussion and we are hoping that he will make a full recovery and be ready and prepared to start training.”The collision occurred in the 14th minute of the match, with Leverock receiving treatment on the pitch before being taken off on a stretcher.“I don’t remember much from incident, but it was a collision with the goalie,” he added.Bermuda qualified for the Gold Cup for the first time after finishing fifth in the CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers with three wins and one defeat from their four matches.After facing Haiti in their opener, Bermuda will play Costa Rica at the Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on June 20 before facing Nicaragua at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, on June 24.
The Washington Capitals six game home unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt on Tuesday night as the Dallas Stars came in to the Verizon Center and whipped the Caps, 5-2. The Stars got two early tallies from former Boston Bruins forward Michael Ryder and then Adam Burish, Jamie Benn, and Eric Nystrom scored in the third period. Michal Neuvirth (31 saves) took the loss in this one but he could pretty much sue for non support after this mess of a game. The Caps fall to 9-4 overall while the Stars are off to a great start at 11-3.Here are the highlights, quotes, and analysis from what was easily Washington’s worst performance of the season:– If Dr. Seuss were penning this blog this evening, he would only need to post three words: Stink. Stank. Stunk.– Simply put, the Capitals were downright awful in this game. Their effort was lacking and it showed as they repeatedly were beaten to pucks, lost one on one battles, and were woefully out of position. Matt Hendricks was one of the few positives in this game as he worked hard all night, but when your best player is a guy who only had 12:19 of ice time and is a 4th liner, you know the rest of the guys were terrible.– The problems for Washington start on the back end. The Caps are having trouble getting the puck out of their end with Mike Green out of the lineup. In addition, Roman Hamrlik has been struggling mightily and he was on for three of the five goals against. #44 looks slow and confused right now. On the game winner that came directly off of a faceoff just 24 seconds into period three, both he and John Carlson were two feet from each other in the corner leaving Nicklas Backstrom all alone in front. Carlson has been a victim of bad positioning too often this season. In addition, Jeff Schultz had a rough first period and his giveaway led to the first Dallas goal. Hamrlik and Schultz are not good skaters, and that is being kind, and teams are taking advantage of that right now. If Green can go this weekend against the Devils, that does change the dynamic since he will log 22 minutes or so, diminishing the amount of time some of the weaker d-men are on the ice.– John Erskine was solid paired with Dennis Wideman in his third game back from shoulder surgery but he could be fined and/or suspended for an elbow he threw in the middle frame. If that happens and Green is not ready, then Dmitry Orlov could make his NHL debut on Friday night. At this point, I wouldn’t mind seeing the 2009 2nd round draft pick get a look because he can skate and move the puck and that is the area where Washington has struggled mightily since Green was injured.– Despite all of the problems on the back end, the forwards were horrible too. There weren’t many hits and once again Alexander Semin took two careless stick penalties. The second one gave Dallas a power play and they scored to pretty much end this one at 4-2. #28 did have a nice goal off of a super feed from Backstrom, but overall he is flat out playing lazy. How much longer can the coaches and GM put up with these type of performances from him? In addition, the team captain was a non factor against a team he should dominate. Dallas is not a physical club but Alexander Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer need to have more than three hits each. Clearly, there was a lack of effort displayed in this tilt by Washington and Mike Knuble hinted at that after the second period in his interview with Craig Laughlin on Comcast.“We came out with a little bit of a lack of intensity in the first period,” said #22, who after the game took those comments even further with some harsh words for his squad, “We look great when we’re all committed. We all look like a bunch of clowns when we don’t. Of late I don’t know if we’re all committed. It’s sad to say and we all look bad because of the result.” (h/t Brian McNally of the Washington Examiner).– Knuble hit the nail on the head and things need to change because there is too much talent on this team to play this poorly. The Caps played about seven minutes of good, hard hockey late in period two to tie the game up, but you can’t win taking the rest of the contest off. I imagine Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau will have a hard practice tomorrow to send a message because his team needs that right now, especially given his post game quotes below:“We were fortunate to be tied at the end of the first two periods. We talked about playing one good period [third period]. In the first 15 or 20 seconds [in the third period] they scored a goal. We’ve lost a lot of battles in the third periods [in] the last two games. The compete level wasn’t as great as we’d like it to be. We have to get stronger in that area. We have to start winning those battles. The one-on-one compete is something that you should be taking a lot of pride in. When you look at when we were winning, we were winning [those] battles. When you don’t win the one-on-one battles, you’re not going to succeed. It’s an individual type [effort], as far as wanting to win those one-on-one battles. You could see, we lost a battle on the first, second and third goal [tonight]. They outbattled us for pucks.”Notes: The Caps play a home and home series with the Devils that starts at “The Rock” on Friday night…Keri Lehtonen (30 saves) didn’t have to work to hard for the win for Dallas…surprisingly, the Caps won the faceoff battle 41-26, but winning the draw didn’t translate into good results. On the GWG they won the faceoff but four seconds later the puck was in their own net…Neuvirth wasn’t really bad but he did get too aggressive at times and that cost him on some goals, especially Ryder’s second tally.
World number one Rafael Nadal has won his 16th career Grand Slam title after defeating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the US Open final.The 31-year-Old Spaniard defeated Grand Slam final debutant Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-3 6-4 in front of a full Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to claim his third US Open trophy.6-3, 6-3, 
Unibet backs #GoRacingGreen as lead racing charity July 28, 2020 Share Share Kindred marks fastest route to ‘normal trading’ as it delivers H1 growth July 24, 2020 StumbleUpon Related Articles Releasing its unaudited year-end report, Stockholm-listed European sports betting operator Kindred Group Plc (formerly Unibet Group Plc) is likely break it all-time revenue and earnings performance for full-year 2016.The enlarged operator was able to post a further consecutive all-time revenue generating quarter of £152 million for Q4 2016 (Q4 2015: £111 million). Kindred would record a period underlying EBITDA of £39 million (Q4 2015: £27 million), despite facing increased betting duties and unfavourable sporting results.Closing its full-year 2016, Kindred governance expects to declare corporate revenues of £544 million (FY 2015: £354 million). The operator targets a full-year underlying EBITDA of £123 million (FY 2015: £81 million).Having enlarged its online betting portfolio in 2015 via the corporate acquisitions of Stan James online (UK) and Nordic gaming operator iGame, Kindred details that it has reached a total registered player base of 16.5 million for FY 2016. For Q4 2016 the number of active customers amounted to 1,150,027 (921,150), compared with 1,067,910 for Q3 2016.At present, Kindred governance expects to declare full-year 2016 profits of circa £84 million (FY 2015: £55 million). Kindred governance detailed that its full-year 2016 performance breakdown would be made available on 13 March 2017.Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group would comment on the company update “Another very strong quarter with EBITDA up 48 per cent and EPS up 54 per cent despite betting duties increasing by 67 per cent.”“High volumes of activity and strong growth across all products have continued in the fourth quarter bringing a new all-time high in Gross winnings revenue of GBP 152.8 million, up 37 per cent on last year (+ 16 per cent in constant currency). Despite some favorites winning in December, the sportsbook margin after Free Bets was in line with prior year”Kindred Group Unaudited 2016 – Performance Overview Kindred: Spelinspektionen has failed in its management of Swedish marketplace June 11, 2020 Submit
Related Articles StumbleUpon Betfred counters Oppenheimer bid in race to rescue Phumelela August 26, 2020 Share Submit Share CT Gaming bolsters Italian profile with The Betting Coach August 27, 2020 TVBET passes GLI test for five live games in Malta and Italy August 25, 2020 Sports betting and gaming solutions provider OPTIMA enjoyed a frantic end to 2017, completing two key deals in addition to scooping the SBC Award for Standalone Platform Provider of the Year.Beginning the new year where they left off the old, Jacob Lopez, OPTIMA Chief Executive Officer, spoke to SBC at last week’s ICE Totally Gaming held at the ExCeL London, which the firm lauds as “a place that we have to be”.After completing a number of deals Lopez highlights the benefits, from OPTIMA’s perspective, that events such as that hold: “We meet a lot of partners and we are here to listen to them and to meet new potential partners and customers, that come to us with a clear idea of what they want, they can visit all the different suppliers, and they may find in ourselves the one that could fit their requirements better.”Two such examples are Betfred and IGT, with whom the Seville based company completed a rather significant pre-Christmas double.Regarding the UK based bookmaker, a multi-year deal will see development and support for its online, retail and call centre businesses.This will see its OPTIMAMGS platform and Serverless v2 retail product rolled out for in excess of 1,600 retail properties, providing support for almost 4,000 point of sale OTC terminals.With games distributor IGT, OPTIMA has enjoyed a working relationship for some three years, and the group is to license, support, and develop its sports betting platform in all international regions outside of Italy, the United States, and Canada.Lopez went on top praise these partnerships and outlined why OPTIMA is a key player in the current market: “We have signed very nice and big partnerships in the last month and towards the end of 2017, so our plan is to develop those partnerships and we are right now getting new partnerships being agreed.“So, as always we are trying to advance and to strive in a very competitive market so we really look to be as successful as possible.“We play a very important role in new emerging markets because we are always at the forefront of new regulations, new technologies, and our platform is a key service for the actual operators to be able to operate.“Really, we are always pushing our brand, so the operators know we are there, to cover that gap when they need differentiation, when they need performance, when they need to work and develop their business strategy in a more dynamic and flexible way.“If you want to be different, if you want to really lead, then you will chose Optima.”Champions League winner and ex-Spain international Luis Garcia was also on hand for OPTIMA, and explained why he aligned himself with the provider: “I come from the sports side, I played for over 20 years so I know a bit, and when you play you see the betting industry growing and growing.“So I tried to link with them because they are Spanish and they are growing, they started in 2012, and in the last two or three years they have become one of the best companies on platforms, and it was important to be linked with one of the best companies.“You want to build your brand next to the good ones.”Garcia added: “It is an amazing, ambitious company, who’s growth aspect for me was very important. I learned that after I retire it was important to love to have new challenges and to see new things, and this was one of them.“I like something that is secure and something that is fast, like we all do, and they have one of the best platforms, and that is how we arrived here.”
Luckbox raises CAD $3.8m ahead of TSX IPO June 12, 2020 Share Sportech highlights new client wins under lockdown June 26, 2020 StumbleUpon Share A grim week for London-listed betting and racing systems provider Sportech Plc has seen its share price halved, as corporate governance halts its planned enterprise sale.On Wednesday, Sportech published a corporate update, confirming that it had uncovered a ‘series of accounting irregularities for 2017 trading’.The unexpected event, sees Sportech governance anticipate 2017 corporate earnings to ‘fall below expectations’ to around £6.5 million.Furthermore, Sportech will move to write-down £8 million in ‘exceptional items’ which include; payment of former senior executives, restructuring costs and further provisions from its ongoing strategic review.Updating investors, Sportech governance announced that it had ended its ‘formal sales process’, which had begun in October 2017 under the firm’s strategic review process.“Whilst the Board engaged in detailed discussions with interested parties during the course of the FSP, it has concluded that these discussions were unlikely to result in an offer for all or a material part of the Group that it would be able to recommend to shareholders.” Sportech detailed in its market update.The response to the news by investors was stark, with Sportech shares halving from 72p to 35.5p on Wednesday’s trading (current price 42.5p). Andrew GaughanEnding its turbulent week, Sportech announced the appointment of Andrew Gaughan as new Group Chief Executive Officer, having previously served as President of Sportech Racing & Digital.Gaughan will be based out of Toronto, and will lead the firm’s continued strategy of expanding its services for the North American market, in which Sportech has achieved a strong commercial pipeline.Gaughan will be supported by a new Group CFO, who will be based in North America.Richard McGuire, Non-Executive Chairman of Sportech, commented:“The Board and senior management invested considerable time in diligently managing the Formal Sale Process. Whilst a sale of the Company might have delivered an immediate further return to shareholders, in addition to the £75 million returned last year, I am confident that the Company has the potential to deliver significant long-term value to shareholders, especially if the US sports betting market is liberalised and also from further diversification strategies. We are focused on ensuring Sportech benefits fully from any changes in the US sports betting market and we anticipate announcing exciting new initiatives in due course.“We have a strong balance sheet, professional management, dedicated staff and industry-leading products being delivered to support clients across 37 countries. I welcome Andrew Gaughan to the role of Chief Executive Officer as part of a new leadership team to ensure we execute on our commitment to deliver tangible returns to shareholders.”Sportech Plc will release its full-year 2017 Results on Tuesday, 24 April 2018. Submit Related Articles Luckbox outlines final TSXV roadmap July 29, 2020
Share Frankie Dettori rides with Sporting Index May 29, 2020 Share StumbleUpon The Premier League is back: How will the betting market react? June 16, 2020 How Stats Perform is taking CONMEBOL betting to the next level June 17, 2020 Related Articles Simon Trim Chief Executive of Sporting Group believes that betting’s legacy values on player acquisition, activation and retention need to be redeveloped if Russia 2018 is to become a genuine long-term growth and value generating prospect for industry incumbents. This summer the general public will be inundated by sector marketing, offers and promotions. However, Trim believes that pricing strategy, player analysis and personalisation should be the sector’s guiding tools for an optimal World Cup…_____________________SBC: Hi Simon, ahead of Russia 2018, why do industry stakeholders need to reassess and rethink bonus strategies? Simon Trim: The digital landscape of the iGaming industry is maturing, and aggressive marketing strategies with a focus on free-bets and sign-up bonus offers have played a significant role. However, we are starting to witness a case of diminishing returns with regard to the manner and frequency with which operators and platforms are choosing to deploy them.Price boosts and bonusing are all very well, but in essence, they are “free” goods being passed to the consumer, often with little benefit when it comes to building the distinct style and brand tone of voice that will drive long-term differentiation. With the World Cup 2018 being a distinct acquisition event, the need to reassess how customers are not only drawn into an operator’s offering but also retained by it on a long-term basis has never been more palpable. SBC: Is the industry really prepared to rethink its position, with regards to a legacy player acquisition and retention function such as the player bonus? Is the worry that the bonus has become a hereditary/legacy function for all operators? ST: A grand rethink of how players are acquired and retained with regard to bonusing is not a stage I would suggest we are at – it’s important that in refocusing these aspects of an optimal sportsbook offering that we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Bonusing continues to hold a strong position for any operator looking to acquire players, but these special offers must be deployed as part of a wider marketing strategy if they are to deliver long-term value.Does the 2018 World Cup represent a genuine opportunity to build market-share in the long term? Or is its potential overstated?ST: Undoubtedly, the World Cup will have a positive impact on bookmakers’ bottom-lines across the industry, but operators looking to outperform the competition and build market share will need to differentiate their brand whilst optimising margin and delivering outstanding customer experience.For operators looking to outsource key sportsbook functions to third parties, it would be remiss to select a supplier who has never taken a bet on their own book, or put their own capital at risk, but instead offer cheaply scraped market data and prices will only result in lower customer satisfaction, weaker margin and reduced market share.That’s why we have delivered a product range that leverages our decades of heritage in sports betting with our risk-adjusted pricing and trading solution: Risk Management Services (RMS). Flexibility and scalability is what sets RMS apart, giving operators access to a best-of-breed sportsbook solution whilst allowing them to retain control of their brand identity.How can the risk function be leveraged to better boost player LTVs at the World Cup and beyond?ST: Operators wanting to maximise player LTVs should adopt a two-pronged approach, utilising effective CRM tooling to better understand their client base, and the risk function to guide and implement these learnings.Profile, our in-house analytics tool, empowers trading operations with automated, objective appraisals of customer performance, measuring “skill” and staking efficiency. These outputs are valuable core inputs to wider CRM tooling, improving customer segmentation and factoring, and allowing for more sophisticated personalisation to drive customer engagement and retention.Profile automatically determines how prices should move based on the specific business the operator sees, rather than a proxy of information derived from market monitoring, delivering a bespoke price for each operator’s client base and liability.Finally, how does the industry avoid another ‘race-to-the-bottom’ on bonuses, pricing and player incentives at Russia 2018? ST: It’s important that we as an industry remember that giving away what are essentially free goods to the player is not the only way to draw them in and that a great customer experience and healthy margins can be driven by a considered pricing strategy. In recent years, caused in part by licensing issues, expensive data rights and trading capital, as well as greater competition we have witnessed a kneejerk ‘land grab’ to secure the business of customers new to the market or those transferring from the retail space.The tools now available at established third-party suppliers, which have experience managing their own liabilities and customer profiles, can assist in driving margins back to a position which is sustainable for long-term growth in a manner that joining the race-to-the-bottom on bonusing is unable to deliver._______________Simon Trim – CEO @ Sporting GroupThe Betting industry’s future enterprise and operational context will be discussed at the upcoming ‘Betting on Sports Conference’ (#boscon2018 – Olympia London-17-20 September 2018). Click on the below banner for more information… Submit
Related Articles Esports Entertainment appoints Jeff Cohen as IR lead July 28, 2020 StumbleUpon Share LV BET celebrates Vanarama National League’s return July 17, 2020 Argyll orders full compliance makeover with TruNarrative August 17, 2020 Submit Share Argyll Entertainment is to continue its content centric focus through its latest sports sponsorship, with Vanarama National League football club Solihull Moors.The owner and operator of the SportNation.bet and RedZoneSports.bet brands, is to have exclusive access to film the inner workings of the club for the full season, as it becomes official betting partner.Via access to players, management and wider supports staff, Argyll anticipates providing a unique “real life perspective” on a professional football club’s day to day management.Regardless of football allegiances, through the distribution of “compelling and insightful content,” it is hoped that the interest of football fans far and wide can be captured. Stuart Tilly, CEO of Argyll Entertainment, commented: “Content has always been at the forefront of our customer acquisition and retention strategy, and when we began thinking about football sponsorship, we wanted a partner that shared our vision and passion for innovation in this area, and we’re delighted to be partnering with such a forward thinking club as Solihull Moors in this venture.“The club is ambitious with a great story; it’s only 11 years old, are managed by ex-England goalkeeper Tim Flowers, escaped relegation last season and have got off to a flying start this season, with 3 wins out of 4. The club also has a fantastic community spirit, with a strong commitment to its Youth, Ladies and Disability Teams. “We’re hoping to build upon this story, by giving our audience an exclusive insight into real football that anyone who’s ever played grass roots football will relate to, and we’re looking forward to engaging with the club, its fans and the wider Solihull community over the course of the season.”Also as part of the deal SportsNation is to see branding featured on first team kit and around the ground, whilst also promoting fan and community engagement initiatives throughout the season.Arthur Dawes, General Manager of Solihull Moors, added: “Solihull Moors are delighted to welcome SportNation.bet as our official betting partner, and we look forward to an exciting and mutually beneficial season ahead. “Our club is committed to building upon our community activities, and proudly communicate that we are truly “Moor Than Eleven”. I look forward to working with the Argyll team, in what I believe will be exciting times ahead.”
Share StumbleUpon Share GambleAware: Engage those with lived experience of gambling harms August 28, 2020 Submit Marc Etches – GambleAwareIndustry charity GambleAware has released its second ‘Bet Regret’ advertisement of its headline two-year ‘Safer Gambling’ nationwide campaign, targeting Cheltenham Festival 2019 audiences.Safer Gambling continues its high-impact / high-reach mandate, with the new Bet Regret advertisement being broadcast this week across Cheltenham Festival’s multiple media formats.Marc Etches, CEO of GambleAware, said: “We hope this new commercial will get people thinking about their gambling habits and to recognise if and when they might be making a bet they will soon regret.“Betting when you’re bored or drunk or chasing losses can be risky, so we want to encourage people to think twice about these sorts of bets, before they make them. Cheltenham Races is one of the most popular betting occasions of the year, so we want to make sure people are aware of the risks linked to their betting habits.”As stated on its campaign launch, Bet Regret aims to target ‘2.4 million young men who gamble regularly on sport’, a group GambleAware states is at the highest risk of developing a gambling problem.In its core message, Safer Gambling seeks to raise awareness of impulsive betting behaviours by family and friends, in order to encourage moderation and reduce gambling-related harm.The Safer Gambling Campaign, which GambleAware was invited to lead on by the Minister responsible for gambling policy, aims to raise awareness of the important issue of gambling-related harm and encourage a behaviour change among young sports bettors.All Safer Gambling content and messaging has been developed with broad advice from public health experts and academics who specialise in gambling harms, as well as treatment providers, related charities and those with a lived experience of problem gambling. Winning Post: Swedish regulator pushes back on ‘Storebror’ approach to deposit limits August 24, 2020 UKGC launches fourth National Lottery licence competition August 28, 2020 Related Articles