Gambling, Politics, Laws and ...tinfoil!

[stompix]

I just opened a topic about how 14 out of 16 teams in the Romanian league have a casino as main sponsors, #rdluffy showed me that is nothing I should be amazed, as Brazil tops that, and then #Hispo said something that made me google

I wonder if the European Union would eventually step into the level of advertisement casinos are reaching in these leagues,

Well, get your tinfoil hat ready for what I hit:

Romanian sports betting group Superbet, founded in 2008 and still controlled by entrepreneur Sacha Dragic, with Blackstone investment fund as a strategic investor, announced the appointment of Hans-Holger Albrecht, an experienced executive who served as Deezer CEO during 2015-2021, as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Hans-Holger Albrecht is the brother of the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen

Now, Romanian casino powered by Blackstone hiring the brother of the EU commissioner as second in charge man was not on my bingo list!

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?
So, forget the oil/weapons/pharma cartels, what do you think of gambling companies starting in the EU, the same type of lobby the US is known for?
This is an unrestricted tinfoil topic, I'm not going to argue against even the wildest theories!

[Slow death]

Every time I go to a certain city in my country, I'm shocked by everything I see: on every street, there's a casino sponsoring something. But what shocks me most is the fact that 1xbet sponsors my country's soccer league, major political events in my country, and even clubs in various sports. 1xbet, the casino scam, has a physical office in my country, and is licensed by my country's government. It's unbelievable that they even sponsor newspapers in my country.

See this news, for example:

1XBET renews Partnership with FC Barcelona

Brand specialised in online technology and betting to extend its deal with the Club for five more years through June 2029

https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/4045810/1xbet-renews-partnership-with-fc-barcelona

I wonder what would happen if someone went to the Spanish government and accused 1xbet of being a scam? That person would probably be arrested because they would be accused of tarnishing 1xbet's image. The same thing happens here in my country, they dominate politics and influential people. If I were to accuse them of being a scam, I would probably be arrested in my country. That's why I stay silent and pretend I don't know 1xbet.

[mindrust]

(Maybe not so) Interestingly gambling industry don't attract much heat as the tobacco/oil companies do. I think pharma companies are a bit different than the other two and they are already controlling us indirectly.

Oil is only evil because the west has to buy it from the east. Not because it is bad for environment and shit. Tobacco is evil probably because it increases the healthcare spending which is good for the big pharma.

It is always about money as a wise man once said.

Gambling?

Gambling don't increase healthcare spending, it is not a commodity which the west don't have, it doesn't have a direct relationship with human health like pharma companies...

As a consequence, they noticed that is the perfect business that has a highly addictive product that prints money.

They only give licenses who they want to or put any price they want on the licence, punish the casinos with no licenses... As you see, governments all around the world are the biggest partners of the casino industry. Brilliant.

[Churchillvv]

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?

Imagine that someone in the parliament is a co founder of the casino or is an investor, would it be possible to draft a law against them? definitely not.

In my country, I don't see casinos that much but sportbookies are big players in the economy currently because they sponsor even major national events or projects, if you move to the government residential areas you find it more over there that sport bookies are big part of the decision makers of the economy because how the hell are they more restricted in some activities especially those who partner with the government! but then some are facing real legal issues with government.

So, some of this casino got power either through having relationships with the members of the parliament or having a direct connection with members as investors, co founders or board members of the casino.

[BIT-BENDER]

Imagine that someone in the parliament is a co founder of the casino or is an investor, would it be possible to draft a law against them? definitely not.

It now depends on how power the someone in the parliament is or what are the numbers of other in the parliament backing him up. Pablo Escobar when alive entered into politics to help restrict the government against him and even with his position and his dreaded history he happened to get some road blocks.
But on a more critical stand point there are lots of people in power who have a lot to gain or have friends that are already very much into Gambling.

Many cities around the world are powered by casino houses, money are also laundered through gambling, it is a form of leisure for the high, small and anyone in between.

[cabron]

You said it yourself, maybe they will start massive advertising gambling platforms allowing anyone to register. And then just allow the illegal casinos to also  be used by Europeans. It happens in some country until people are depositing the smallest money they have in their account just to keep their addictions going.

Of all people, the brother of Ursula von der Leyen. That sounds sketchy already.
There have been topics like this where the government of a country just have no regulations yet and more people are playing casinos despite the failing economy.

[stompix]

You said it yourself, maybe they will start massive advertising gambling platforms allowing anyone to register. And then just allow the illegal casinos to also  be used by Europeans.

That can't happen!
Every country still has control over some sectors, even if the EU commission would try and issue a directive any country could block such a thing or simply deem it unconstitutional on its own territory, the EU can't dictate regional matters to this detail.

(Maybe not so) Interestingly gambling industry don't attract much heat as the tobacco/oil companies do. I think pharma companies are a bit different than the other two and they are already controlling us indirectly.

Depends on where you're from!
Gambling is frowned upon in a lot of EU countries more than the tobacco industry, there are still countries where smoking is not seen as much of a big deal, compared to gambling check Italy or Finland for example

[Fortify]

I just opened a topic about how 14 out of 16 teams in the Romanian league have a casino as main sponsors, #rdluffy showed me that is nothing I should be amazed, as Brazil tops that, and then #Hispo said something that made me google

I wonder if the European Union would eventually step into the level of advertisement casinos are reaching in these leagues,

Well, get your tinfoil hat ready for what I hit:

Romanian sports betting group Superbet, founded in 2008 and still controlled by entrepreneur Sacha Dragic, with Blackstone investment fund as a strategic investor, announced the appointment of Hans-Holger Albrecht, an experienced executive who served as Deezer CEO during 2015-2021, as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Hans-Holger Albrecht is the brother of the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen

Now, Romanian casino powered by Blackstone hiring the brother of the EU commissioner as second in charge man was not on my bingo list!

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?
So, forget the oil/weapons/pharma cartels, what do you think of gambling companies starting in the EU, the same type of lobby the US is known for?
This is an unrestricted tinfoil topic, I'm not going to argue against even the wildest theories!

What has any of what you said got to do with tinfoil? It's how the capitalism system works. Clubs need money to buy the best players which allows them to reach #1, casinos make a lot of money which requires a constant influx of new customers and football fans make ideal candidates because they love to spend money on such things. It's rather simply really and it should be no surprise that private equity funds like Blackstone have come to the same conclusion. Casinos are basically a license to print money as once you are running the capital costs are fairly capped so it just depends on the "bang for your buck" that you get from advertising. Football fans hit the 18-65 men demographic who like sport, and many of these casinos will have a bookmaker operation as well - which is highly profitable.

[un_rank]

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?

It is fair game if you ask me. To dominate advertisement you need huge funds and that is coming from profits they make which means they are what people want to see and put money into. If you try to limit the ads in sports you will only be channeling it in another direction which could be more obtrusive.

Money follows attention.

- Jay -

[Hispo]

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?

It is fair game if you ask me. To dominate advertisement you need huge funds and that is coming from profits they make which means they are what people want to see and put money into. If you try to limit the ads in sports you will only be channeling it in another direction which could be more obtrusive.

Money follows attention.

- Jay -

I believe this thread is rather about how people involved with the most powerful and profitable casinos in Europe could be starting to lobby in favor of laws which favor their business, something which has already happened in the United States, probably the country with the highest number of active lobbies.
It is about influencing lawmakers in countries where certain markets are important, so laws won't interfere with the accumulation of capital by private companies and also shareholders of public companies.
There are lobbies which try to push the interest of oil companies, tobbaco companies, electrical vehicle companies, firearms companies and now OP is connecting the dots to find it is possible the same is happening within the European Union with gambling companies.

I knew this was something common to see in the USA, but I would have not expected the European Union to allow lobbying so blatantly.

[Alphakilo]

Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?

In all honesty, I think that this is what is going to happen.

They are not the majority now and if any country wants to act, this is the right time to do so. They haven't bought over the parliament. If they delay, well that's is what is going to happen.

Though this is unlikely they may find a way to move into the prediction market.

[mikel_012]

You haven't seen anything.

In Brazil we had a CPI about the gambling websites. A CPI is a comission ran by senators and deputies to investigate a matter in our country. For the gambling CPI, they were investigation the influencers promoting casinos online to poor people. And guess who was in this CPI about casino websitess? Ciro Nogueira, a Senator for Piauí. He is also the president of the powerful political party PP.

He was seen taking flights on the private jet of the owner of a big casino website in Brazil. And the owner of this casino bought a huge real estate from Ciro Nogueira. Connections everywhere.

Some websites are so powerful that they already control politicians everywhere, their power is almost limitless.

[danherbias07]

Man! That's the best combination to conquer the gambling industry. Hire/Partner with someone who has connections in politics.

In other cases, this will be wrong and it's against the law, but in most countries now, this is the new kind of thing when it comes to advertising the gambling platforms. Either you have a connection with one official, or you use them to advertise it so that it gets more credibility, and their reputation will be stronger too.

I think they should file a new law about this. There should be no government official or those who are around him, family and relatives, who will be allowed to advertise/partner/invest in gambling. It could go wrong. Corrupted.

[stompix]

What has any of what you said got to do with tinfoil? It's how the capitalism system works. Clubs need money to buy the best players which allows them to reach #1, casinos make a lot of money which requires a constant influx of new customers and football fans make ideal candidates because they love to spend money on such things. It's rather simply really and it should be no surprise that private equity funds like Blackstone have come to the same conclusion.

You missed the part of that casino having the brother of the EC president as CEO. 
There goes the tinfoil option!

You haven't seen anything.

In Brazil we had a CPI about the gambling websites. A CPI is a comission ran by senators and deputies to investigate a matter in our country. For the gambling CPI, they were investigation the influencers promoting casinos online to poor people. And guess who was in this CPI about casino websitess? Ciro Nogueira, a Senator for Piauí. He is also the president of the powerful political party PP.

He was seen taking flights on the private jet of the owner of a big casino website in Brazil. And the owner of this casino bought a huge real estate from Ciro Nogueira. Connections everywhere.

I still believe that your case is just bribery.
Here it is not even bribery anymore; the guy is employed there, you can't accuse him of anything, but he is still a relative of one of the most influential persons in the EU. Again, the whole thing is ridiculous, a casino with Serbian owners winning the biggest market share in Romania, backed by a US fund, has the brother of the EC on its board. If it had been all German or French, for example, it would have been a little less shocking.

[mindrust]

(Maybe not so) Interestingly gambling industry don't attract much heat as the tobacco/oil companies do. I think pharma companies are a bit different than the other two and they are already controlling us indirectly.

Depends on where you're from!
Gambling is frowned upon in a lot of EU countries more than the tobacco industry, there are still countries where smoking is not seen as much of a big deal, compared to gambling check Italy or Finland for example

Might be true since I only visited the part of Europe that is popular with the tourists so my view on the subject might be biased because of that. Maybe the silent majority like you said despise gambling as much as they despise tobacco and alcohol.

Still though, they allow casino operations in Europe. Is there a country in Europe where operating a casino is strictly forbidden? I could come up with a name.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Do you think gambling companies will get to have enough money, powerful connections to manage what even the tobacco industry failed at, complete domination of advertising in every sport that no country would find a majority in their parliament to even issue a draft law against it?
So, forget the oil/weapons/pharma cartels, what do you think of gambling companies starting in the EU, the same type of lobby the US is known for?
This is an unrestricted tinfoil topic, I'm not going to argue against even the wildest theories!

Panem et circenses!

An old Latin saying best describes human society from the time of the Roman Empire to the present day. I therefore think that the gambling industry will find a way to remain visible, because politicians will unofficially tell you that it is better for people to be in the casino than to protest in the street.

However, as you mentioned, each member of the EU has (and will have) its own rules, so let's say that I currently have very favorable rules for those who advertise games of chance, but that will soon change and they will only be able to advertise in the electronic media after 11 p.m. They will also have to move their physical branches even further from schools and will not be allowed to have betting devices in cafes.

However, these rules are not something that is set in stone - when you see how the Balkan brothers very easily "make friends" with the EU elite, everything is possible - maybe they even start teaching children to gamble in schools