Month: February 2021

The Malta-based casino platform and game supplier said it has expanded its partnership with Videoslots to provide its games to the operator’s customers in Denmark.

Nolimit said that Videoslots marks the second operator with which it has entered into the Danish market, where it will now offer its slot games such as Deadwood, Punk Rocker and Tombstone.

“Videoslots and Nolimit City have enjoyed a strong partnership for over two years now,” said Malcolm Mizzi, commercial director at Nolimit City.

“It’s a partnership that we’ve been very happy with so far and it’s exciting to see us both entering a new jurisdiction together, which for us also means a stronger foothold in the Danish Market, which we value deeply.”

William Ahlberg, head of casino at Videoslots, added: “Videoslots and Nolimit City has had a stellar partnership for almost two years now. We’re both happy and thrilled to enter the Danish market with our partner and will hopefully get to cut the ribbon on more markets together ahead.”

The organisations first partnered in 2017, in a deal which saw Nolimit deliver games via its in-house technology platform, with each slot made available on desktop, mobile and tablet.

Videoslots came under fire in January, as it was issued with an injunction from the Swedish Gaming Authority for allowing players to use reverse withdrawals to circumvent Sweden’s SEK5,000 (£436/€496/$600) weekly deposit cap.

The operator’s Swedish licence was extended until 31 December, 2023 in 2019, after appealing the Gaming Authority’s decision to limit its licence to a two-year term.

The consolidation came into effect from yesterday (February 11), with Class A shares expected to commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange from February 18, following the completion of the consolidation.

The business said the consolidation will see one new Class A share issued for every 10 currently outstanding Class A shares, with the same ratio to be applied to its special voting shares.

As such, theScore expects its 434,425,695 Class A shares to be consolidated to 43,442,568 shares, while the 5,566 special voting shares will be consolidated as 557 shares, subject to rounding for any fractional shares.

theScore said no fractional shares would be issued, with shares with fractional interest of 0.5 or greater to be rounded up, and lower than 0.5 rounded down, to the nearest whole number.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

In February 2020, the country’s legisature, the Seimas, passed a law that introduced mandatory warnings about gambling-related harm on all gambling advertisements from 1 July that year. The bill was passed by consensus after no objections were raised at its first reading.

The country’s Gambling Supervision Service initially determined that the law did not apply to sponsorships. However this week, a year after the first law was passed, the Seimas passed another law clarifying that certain sponsorships that resemble traditional advertising will be covered.

The Supervision Service has now outlined the exact cases when a sponsorship does and does not require a warning.

It said that warnings are not required where an advertisement is worn on the clothing of a sponsored person or team, nor is it required at an event where the person or team is participating. It is also not required if the name of an event or team is sponsored.

However, the warning is necessary if a message does not refer to a specific event in which a sponsored person or team partakes and the time and place at which the event occurs. It must also exist if the sponsorship message contains more than the brand name and trademarks, particularly if the message includes a mention of the types of gambling services offered.

The regulator also ruled that these deals can only be referred to as “sponsorships”, and not “partnerships” or similar language.

Noer moves up from his role as country manager for Sweden at Soft2Bet, which he joined in 2020, to a position that will also oversee Norway and Finland.

“I’m honoured to be named Nordics regional manager at Soft2Bet, and look forward to making the role my own,” Noer said.

“Our award-winning product offering has won deserved plaudits from across the industry, and I can’t wait to continue assisting the business in its efforts to maintain that success over the long-term.”

Prior to working at Soft2Bet, Noer was country manager for Sweden and Denmark at Casumo, which he joined in 2017. He has also worked as brand manager for Danske Spil and Betsafe’s Danish operations.

Soft2Bet chief executive Boris Chaikin said Noer would help the supplier extend its reach through the Nordic region.

“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Christian Noer as our regional manager for the Nordic markets, which remain a key area of focus for us as we maintain the expansion of our international reach,” Chaikin said.

“Having performed impressively as our country manager for Sweden, we have no doubt that Peter will continue to play a key role in helping us succeed in the Nordic territories and beyond.”

Soft2Bet received its licence from Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen in December 2019.

It first launched its Yoyo Casino brand in the jurisdiction in March 2020, and then launched its CampoBet brand in the Swedish market in July.

Last week, the business also received a licence from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) for its Frumzi casino brand.

Under the deal, live team and player statistics captured by FIBA LiveStats, the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) live data collection tool, will power the NBL website, broadcasts, fantasy product and fan engagement strategy.

FIBA Organizer, developed via a partnership between Genius and FIBA, will also continue to digitally manage and automate the running of each NBL season.

In addition, Genius has been granted non-exclusive rights to both capture and distribute official live NBL data with licensed sportsbooks worldwide.

“The NBL continues to expand its digital footprint across the world and this has been one of the fastest growing parts of our business as a global league,” NBL chief commercial officer Brad Joyner said.

Genius Sports commercial director in the Asia-Pacific region, Thomas Klingebiel, added: “We believe NBL’s commitment to putting official data at the heart of their entire digital offering has been crucial to their rapid growth in recent years, setting a precedent for basketball leagues and federations worldwide.”

Genius has been working with the NBL since 2015.

The extension comes after Genius last week also agreed an exclusive data deal with the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) ahead of the North American motorsport series’ inaugural season.

Under the agreement, Sportradar will utilise its ad:s full service, data-driven marketing solution to exclusively manage the advertising inventory within the Forza Football live score app.

Sportradar will utilise its knowledge of bookmakers’ marketing requirements to optimise Forza Football’s advertising placements, prioritising native, odds-first integrations and enabling personalised messaging through its Marketing Cloud platform.

In addition, Sportradar will supply Forza Football with its API-based statistics data, offering a selection of tools to further develop the content offering.

“Forza Football’s unprecedented engagement represents huge marketing potential for brands and Sportradar is the perfect partner to find brands that can utilise our strong brand and highly engaged users all over the world,” Forza Football co-founder and chief executive Patrik Arnesson said.

“This will let us focus more on what we know best, product development. Over the coming years we aim to redefine and reinvent what a live score product is and can be.”

Rainer Geier, chief product officer for sports entertainment, Sportradar, added: “The ad:s platform is unrivalled in its ability to deliver efficient and highly targeted marketing campaigns for bookmakers, truly highlighting the value we can add to their business.

“We’re excited to be working with Forza Football and helping them realise the full potential of their brand.”

According to figures supplied by Ficom Leisure to iGB, revenue for all online verticals increased (see interactive Charts 1 and 2 below).

This included online sports betting, which held steady for the first half of the year despite the suspension of almost all global sports from mid-March to June, before a 74% year-on-year growth in H2 (Chart 5). As a result, total online betting revenue fell just short of €1bn (Chart 6).

Online gaming, meanwhile, saw gross revenue climb 47.1% to €1.48bn.

Within this segment, casino and slots were the main revenue driver generating 82.4%, or €1.22bbn, of the total. This represented a 46.5% improvement on 2019’s figures (Charts 3 and 4).

Meanwhile, the global boom in online poker under lockdown was reflected in a strong year for the vertical in Italy.

Cash games and poker tournaments generated GGR of €124.3m and €82.7m respectively. The vertical’s revenue for the year totalled €207.0m, representing year-on-year growth of 50.2% and reversing the trend of decreasing GGR. Bingo GGR accounted for 3.9% of the total online gaming market, at €58.2m (Charts 2 and 3).

The changes in the market led to some shift in the market share among the leading online casino providers in the market. However, the top four – of Pokerstars, Sisal, Lottomatica and Snai – all remained in place. Pokerstars, already the biggest online operator in the country, was perhaps the biggest winner, increasing its market share to 12.2%.

Looking down the rankings, however, there was change as 888 overtook Eurobet as its market share grew to 6.8%, while SKS365’s PlanetWin365 saw its share grow from 4.8% to 5.3% and Goldbet moved into the top 10, with William Hill falling out (Chart 7).

In online betting, Bet365 remained on top but its market share declined from 15.7% to 14.0%. The online betting giant lost its top spot in the rankings for November and December as the country went back into lockdown. This saw retail operators climb the charts, as their customers migrated online.

Snai, previously in third place, moved into a close second with 13.2% as Planetwin365 slipped to third. Eurobet and Sisal’s market shares also exceeded 11%, closing the gap with Planetwin365 (Chart 8).

“The Italian land-based and online betting and gaming market is experiencing an acceleration in operators consolidation through M&A,” Ficom founder Christian Tirabassi said. “The leading operators in the online and mobile betting and gaming are companies with an omni-channel offering (online marketing plus land-based player acquisition).”

This consolidation means that the top eight online betting operators now hold a combined 78.5% market share. The value of omni-channel products can also be seen, with six of these eight having some form of retail presence.

Looking at the combined online and retail sports betting market, online-focused operators were unsurprisingly the biggest winners. Lottomatica’s market share share rising 3.6 percentage points and Bet365’s 1.7 points. However, Snai remained on top with a 1.51% market share (Chart 9).

As the online poker market grew considerably, Pokerstars’ domination continued. While its share of tournament GGR dipped slightly to 58.2%, it increased its share of cash game revenue to 46.8%. Snai was a distant second in tournament revenue, while Sisal held that spot for cash games (Charts 10 and 11).

“Going forward, we expect the pure online operators to acquire Italian land-based networks (shops or land-based affiliates) in order to be able to compete in one of the largest online regulated markets in Europe,” Tirabassi added.

Scroll down for the infographic to track market growth since 2016, as well as shifting revenue shares over the years.

After the business reported an 18.4% year-on-year decline in turnover for the first half of the year, lottery sales and sportsbook stakes rose 2.8% over the six months to 31 December, 2020. 

This helped FDJ generate turnover of €15.96bn (£14.02bn/$19.31bn) for the year, though this was down 6.8% compared to 2019’s adjusted €17.13bn total. The 2019 figures were adjusted to reflect France’s new fiscal and regulatory framework, Sporting Group’s full results, and expenses related to FDJ’s initial public offering. 

This broke down to €12.73bn in lottery sales, down 6.0%, of which €7.72bn was generated from instant win games (down 5.9%) and €5.01bn (down 6.2%) from draw-based games. 

FDJ said growth in online lottery sales only partially offset a decline in point-of-sale activity, that was particularly significant in a first half which saw France go into lockdown from 12 March. After lockdown was eased from June onwards, activity improved though a second lockdown followed from 30 October. 

Over the year online lottery turnover exceeded €1.10bn, or almost 9% of all stakes for the vertical. 

Sports betting, meanwhile, saw amounts wagered fall 10.0% to €3.19bn. A second half of double-digit growth mitigated the 38.8% first half decline, exacerbated by a suspension of almost all sporting activity between mid-March and mid-May. 

Again, this accelerated customers’ migration online, aided by the rollout of FDJ’s new Parions Sport En Ligne site, and the launch of the Loto Foot 8 and 12 games. In total FDJ’s online sportsbook accounted for more than 80% of stakes, compared to 70% in 2019. 

“2020 was an unprecedented and contrasted year during which FDJ demonstrated resilience and solidarity,” the operator’s chief executive Stéphane Pallez said. “The health crisis had a particularly strong impact on our business in the first half. 

“But the recovery in the second half, combined with the group’s responsiveness and relevant digital strategy, enabled us to preserve our performance and annual results,” she said. “I would like to thank our employees for their commitment, and to renew our support for our network of retailers, some of which have been severely impacted.”

Over the year FDJ’s customers won €10.85bn, leaving gross revenue of €5.11bn, down 6.4%. Once the operator’s €3.24bn in public levies, including lottery and sports betting rights payments, plus a further €13.9m in sports betting revenue were factored in, its net revenue for the year came to €1.88bn, down 6.5%. 

It then generated an additional €40.9m in revenue from its FDJ International B2B arm, payment services and entertainment, for total revenue of €1.92bn. This represented a 6.3% year-on-year decline. 

However, the early- and late-2020 lockdowns did reduce costs, aided by efforts to reduce outgoings as the business looked to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. This resulted in non-recurring operating profit rising 28.8% to €324.7m. 

Once depreciation and amortisation charges of €102.0m were factored back into that total, FDJ’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was up marginally at €427.0m. 

Non-recurring items, relating to internal restructuring expenses, rescued operating profit for the year to €292.7m, down slightly from the prior year. This increased to a pre-tax profit of €298.7m after FDJ’s share of joint venture profits and financial income was factored in. 

Income taxes for the year were reduced to €85.0m, thanks to a tax saving that arose from the capital loss on equity investments resulting from its restructuring of Sporting Group, which was acquired in June 2019.

This left a net profit for the year of €213.7m, up 5.9% year-on-year. 

Looking ahead, FDJ said it is focused on offering an increasingly global gaming experience and strengthening its leading position in the French market. 

“Uncertainties persist for 2021,” it added, however. “Nevertheless, for lottery, launches and relaunches are planned for numerous instant games, while more than ten events promoting special enhanced Loto and Euromillions jackpots will pepper the year for draw games. 

“The expansion of the online lottery gaming offer will continue, with innovative and richer gaming experiences,” FDJ continued. “In addition to its intrinsic momentum, sports betting will also benefit from the UEFA Euro and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will enliven the events calendar.”

Ström’s Veralda Investment entity sold the shares, which represented 2.2% of the total holding in Kambi, at a price of SEK 462 per share, resulting in proceeds of approximately SEK312m (£27.1m/€30.9m/$37.4m).

Shares were sold through an accelerated book-building process in an offering to Swedish and international institutional investors.

Ström and Veralda now hold a total of 5,428,564 shares in Kambi, representing 17.5% of the provider’s ordinary share capital.

Veralda’s remaining ordinary shares will be subject to a customary lock-up from the date of the sale announcement (11 February) until 90 days after settlement of the placement.

“I am very pleased to see the overwhelming interest from both current and new shareholders wanting to invest in Kambi’s growth story,” said Ström, who is the chairman of Veralda.

“By divesting a small part of Veralda’s shares in Kambi, we have effected an elemental reallocation within our overall portfolio of investments.

“Veralda remains committed as a long-term major shareholder and intends to continue to support Kambi through our representation in the board of directors.”

The sale comes after Ström in December announced that he would not stand for re-election as non-executive chairman of the Kindred Group. Ström founded igaming operator Unibet, which since evolved into Kindred Group, from which the B2B arm – Kambi – then spun off.

Upon making the announcement, Ström said that he had promised himself to step back from business to spend more time on family, friends and leisure pursuits after turning 50.

Both Kambi and Kindred posted their full-year results for 2020 this week, with both businesses experiencing significant growth.

Kambi revealed revenue was up 27.5% to €117.7m, while comprehensive net profit jumped 272.9% year-on-year €17.5m.

Meanwhile, Kindred saw full-year revenue grow 23.9% to £1.13bn, while its profit reached £165.2m, 191.8% more than in 2019.

During a conference call organised by the Madrid Workers Commissions (CCOO), director general of the DGOJ Mikel Arana said that, according to the regulator’s own prevalence studies, “the vast majority of people who gamble, whether online or offline, do so as a leisure activity and it is not a health problem for them”.

“That does not mean, however, that it is not necessary to try to prevent them from increasing their levels of play,” Arana continued.

Jdigital said that these conclusions mean that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and government at large have acted with conscious arbitrariness and disproportionality, in introducing restrictions such as new advertising regulations introduced throughout 2020 and 2021.

The association also said the regulations are likely to lead to more damage and a greater lack of protection than that which existed before.

It pointed out that the online gambling market in Spain is one of the most heavily regulated worldwide, and that Spanish gambling legislation has been used as an example of good practice in many other countries.

The latest reports from Spain’s National Drugs Plan, it said, showed again that the prevalence of problem gambling in Spain is less than 0.5% among the population aged 15 to 64, that this figure has remained stable since 2015 and moreover has shown a downward trend.

Jdigital said the online sector has always been in favour of regulation, and has pledged a firm commitment to eradicate the prevalence of problem gambling behaviours and protect its users, especially those who are most vulnerable.

It therefore demanded a “balanced and proportionate” regulation of the activity, based on real data.

It argued that the current proposals and recently created regulations, in contrast, are only justified by populist arguments or media headlines, without taking into account the consequences they will have on a sector whose activity is already highly regulated.

Regulations including strict limits on the hours that gambling advertising is permitted on TV and radio, a blanket ban on all promotional acquisition offers and the outlawing of gambling sponsorships of sports teams, have been brought into effect throughout 2020.

In January, the Ministry for Consumer Affairs said its key priority for 2021 would be consumer protection, continuing to implement and tighten the advertising restrictions introduced last year, as well as other projects such as the consolidation of Spain’s region-specific self-exclusion databases into a single list.

A study published in October by the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) claimed that while 84.9% of the population of Spain participates in some form of gambling activity each year, the country has a problem gambling rate of just 0.3%.

This, it said, equated to one of the lowest rates of problem gambling in any country worldwide.