Long Ball

What is Long Ball?

On Thursday, the UK Gambling Commission reported that two senior figures formerly associated with the Conservative Party had pleaded guilty to offences linked to betting on the 2024 General Election date.

Anthony Lee, who served as the Conservative Party’s director of campaigning, pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating under sections 42(1)(a) and 42(1)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005.

Meanwhile, Laura Lee (formerly Saunders), his wife and former head of international for the party, who also stood as the Conservative candidate in Bristol North-West at the 2024 election, pleaded guilty to one offence under section 42(1)(a).

What is Long Ball?

Some analysts have questioned whether this deal marks the beginning of an M&A spree for GiG as it looks to re-enter the B2C space.

But that isn’t the case according to Richards: “We are not signalling plans to re-enter B2C elsewhere; Africa is a distinct case: a high-growth, underpenetrated region where owning a local operator makes strategic sense in a way it may not elsewhere.”

There’s also a financial constraint, with Ahlberg noting that GiG has used its available cash and is raising additional capital to fund the 888Africa transaction, meaning he doesn’t expect the company to pursue further B2C acquisitions in the short term.

How to play Long Ball

Beyond Texas, Kalshi made history on Friday when it became the first prediction market to sign a partnership with a federally recognised sovereign nation.

One day before a primetime showdown between the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana announced the launch of a tribal prediction market app. The new app, powered by Kalshi, will be launched through SaltTrade Derivatives, a newly established subdivision of a tribal-owned enterprise.

Through the collaboration, the tribe will draw upon Kalshi’s established infrastructure and market expertise to develop a distinct tribal-owned trading application, said Tunica-Biloxi Chairman Marshall Pierite in a statement.