Entain has identified another target in its campaign exposing the threats of illegal and unlicensed gaming in the UK.
The latest development sees the LSE gambling group put forward its direct concerns of trademark integrity to the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) as seen by SBC News.
Entain believes that an urgent regulatory intervention is required by UKIPO in relation to trade marks granted for gambling brands.
The FTSE250 group has questioned whether UK trademark rules are being undermined by unlicensed gambling brands being able to claim British trademarks.
Simon Zinger, Entain’s Group General Counsel and Chief Customer Care Officer, has now appealed to the UKIPO to seal off the UK trademark register to gambling companies which do not hold a Gambling Commission licence.
The company argues that by allowing unlicensed operators to access the register gives these companies “the commercial legitimacy that registration confers” and supports operations that are illegal in the UK.
“[Entain] has been around for some time now and we’re on a journey of trying to create more and more awareness about the harm of black-market gambling operators,” Zinger remarked in an interview with World Trademark Review (WTR).
“Increasingly, there is more and more market share being lost to these kinds of companies in the UK.”
Entain’s calls for proof of legitimacy
Entain argues this loophole in UK trademark rules has allowed unlicensed operators to “acquire the commercial legitimacy that registration confers, and use the UK’s trade mark registration system to sustain operations that parliament has expressly prohibited”.
Addressing UKIPO General Counsel Adam Williams, the operator attached an annex of unlicensed operators holding UK trademarks.
A significant number of the gambling sites listed in Entain’s report are, as seen in the above, registered in either Curucao or Anjouan.
The group’s letter comes just a day after Anjouan Gaming, the gambling regulator of the Comoros autonomous island, put out a statement asserting that its licences are not presented as “global and universal”.
Beth Williams, Entain’s Group Head of IP, explained to WTR that the group is trying to convince the UKIPO to “take a look at the way they review applications”.
The company believes there is room for the regulator to look at the owner of the trademark or the mark’s intended use, and not just the trademark itself.
“We want to talk to them about that and if there’s some mechanism to change that approach,” she said.
Entain urges the UKIPO Chief to recognise the deficiencies of the current loophole which grants credibility to unlicensed brands.
The firm argues gambling trademarks must be reviewed as operating gambling services in the UK without a licence is a criminal offence, under the Gambling Act 2005, yet unlicensed businesses can obtain UK trade mark registrations.
“The UK trade mark register is currently accessible to operators providing gambling services to UK consumers without a Gambling Commission operating licence,” the letter states.
“Operating gambling facilities in Great Britain without a licence is a criminal offence under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005.”
As such Entain seeks for the UKIPO to ensure that a valid Gambling Commission licence is a prerequisite for registering gambling-related trademarks.
Entain’s alternative
The company has made some suggestions for new UK trademark rules.
This could be a significant undertaking, however, with some changes requiring primary legislation in the House of Commons, which the firm has acknowledged.
Zinger suggests that the UKIPO could refuse registration of a trademark based on an operator’s regulatory status.
This suggestion is based on a section of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA) which gives the UKIPO the power to reject trademarks that are contrary to public policy or “encourage some other kind of illegal activity”.
He has also suggested that the Companies Act 2006 could be updated to require Companies House not to register an unregulated gaming company.
Entain drew parallels between these hypothetical requirements and sections of the Companies Act stating that Companies House cannot register a company name containing words like ‘bank’ or ‘insurance’ without consent from the relevant financial regulator.
“A structurally identical mechanism applied to trade mark registration in gambling-related classification classes would require applicants to provide evidence of a valid Gambling Commission operating licence before registration is granted,” he said.
“The UKIPO’s role would be to verify the licence number against the Commission’s public register and refuse registration in its absence.”
In his letter to the UKIPO, Zinger revealed that Entain has also contacted the Gambling Commission to request the regulator create a programme of proactive objections during the two-month trademark publication window.
UKIPO responds, Entain persists
The UKIPO’s Williams penned a response to Entain’s Zinger in a letter which has also been seen by SBC News.
In the letter, Williams stated that the TWA allows objections to be raised in cases when a trademark registration is prohibited by law.
However, he has denied Zinger’s assertion that Companies House has a list of words requiring prior approval from regulators before a trademark is registered.
“The assessment of whether a mark is contrary to public policy, or whether its registration is prohibited in law, relates to the intrinsic properties of the mark itself,” Williams wrote.
“This does not involve an assessment of the actions of the applicant or how the mark is used. I note that you are separately writing to the Gambling Commission about making objections to trade mark applications.”
Entain remains adamant that there is room for manoeuvre with UK trademark policies. A spokesperson for the company said that it believes there is a “credible argument” for the UKIPO to refuse betting-related trademarks if the company in question does not hold a UK licence.
“This is one way to dismantle elements of operation [at illicit companies] or at least take away some of their credibility,” Zinger said.
You will never walk alone…?
The letter adds another focus to Entain’s anti-black market campaign, the company having so far focused on unlicensed marketing activity in English sports – particularly the exposure of the Premier League.
Its lobbying has seen letters sent to leadership of the Premier League and the newly-created Independent Football Regulator (IFR).
One of Entain’s core brands, Ladbrokes, is a partner of Premier League club Liverpool FC. The company is calling on other Premier League clubs to only work with similarly licensed operators.
There could be some time before we see the needle moved, however, as Entain’s demands for action come at a time when regulatory gambling leadership in the UK is passing the torch into new hands of the yet-to-be elected Chief of the Gambling Commission.
The Gambling Commission is currently hunting for a new CEO after Andrew Rhodes left the post back in late April. Until the appointment, UK authorities’ strategy and oversight to tackle black market gambling remains blurred.
Meanwhile, the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) has just appointed Emma Floyd as a new Director of Sport and Gambling – a crucial figure when it comes to the intersection of both sectors.
With Floyd being a completely new face to gambling regulations, and Rhodes’ permanent seat still vacant, Entain might have to hold the fort on its own for some time before the cavalry arrives.