Month: April 2021

The total wagered for March was $30.7m, 87.2% ahead of March 2020 and up 40.2% from $21.9m in February 2021.

Of the total wagered, $15.0m came through Delaware Park, $9.3m through Dover Downs and $6.5m through Harrington.

Across all three operators, $12.5m of the total played was on table games, giving net proceeds of $179,705. A further $18.2m was wagered on video lottery games, generating revenue of $681,365 for operators.

Poker rake and tournament fees brought in an additional $36,711.

The total number of new player registrations in the state was 732, lower than February’s 782 but slightly higher than January’s 728.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The proposed ban was announced today (16 April) following talks between NSW and CPH.

It comes in the wake of the August 2019 Bergin inquiry and subsequent report, which found evidence of Crown’s properties being used for money laundering.

It also flagged allegations that Crown failed to conduct appropriate due diligence on junket partners, that could have business with operators that had links to organised crime, without evaluating them appropriately.

The report was intended to determine whether Crown was a suitable licencee for Barangaroo, which was a new casino in Sydney at the time.

James Packer, who resigned as executive chair in 2018, was found to have unnecessary influence on the business, after he approved a sale of 19.99% stake to Asian gaming operators Melco for AUS$1.76bn (£981.9m/€1.06bn/US$1.19bn) without board approval.

According to the proposed ban, CPH must not enter into any information-sharing discussions with the operator and must not initiate any discussions with Crown.

In addition CPH cannot have any executives or nominees appointed to Crown’s board or seek such appointments before October 2024. It is also prohibited from proposing amendments to Crown’s constitution.

The official legal enforcement of the ban, with full detail, is to come at a later date.

This week private equity firm Blackstone changed its bid to acquire Crown Resorts to break the deal if Crown’s existing licences are suspended or if its NSW licence is not granted. If these issues do not arise, the deal is set to close in the third quarter of 2021.

Blackstone offered to acquire the remaining 90.1% of shares in Crown in March at AUS$8.02bn (£4.47bn/€5.21bn/US$6.19bn) after already acquiring 9.99% from Melco in April 2020.

The deal is worth an initial $56m (£41m/€47m), but could be worth up to $315m if specific performance criteria are met over the three years after the acquisition closes.

Approximately 24% of the consideration is expected to be paid via the issuance of subordinate voting shares, with the remainder to be settled in cash.

The deal remains subject to the prior approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange, as well as customary closing conditions, but is expected to close during the second quarter of this year.

Mazooma is a registered vendor in nine states across the US, with permission in 12 states, and holds money transmitter licenses and exemptions in a total of 47 states.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Players wagered a total of $15.2m on sports across the two operators in March, marginally down from $15.3m in February.

William Hill, which has a retail facility at the Capital One Arena and runs a mobile sportsbook, available to players within two blocks of the venue, again led the market in March.

Players bet $11.4m with William Hill during the month, up 2.7% on February, winning $10.3m in the process. This left the bookmaker with $1.2m in gross gaming revenue, a month-on-month increase of 63.8%.

Gambet, operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, saw players place $3.8m in bets during March, down 9.5% from February.

However, as consumers won a total of $3.1m betting with Gambet, this resulted in $715,244 in gross gaming revenue, which was 19.2% higher than the previous month.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Blanco will take on his new role next year and oversee its technology strategy covering its gaming, lottery, sports betting and igaming offerings.

He will join the business having most recent served as chief technology officer at Aristocrat, where he led the provider’s technology strategy, played a major role in the turnaround of its land-based gaming business and led an expansion into social casino and casual games.

Prior to this, Blanco served as the director of software architecture for HTC and held a number of software engineering roles at Microsoft, where he was part of the team that developed the first Xbox game console and online service.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Overall gambling revenue for the month – comprising land-based table games and slots, online casino, sports betting, fantasy sports and video gaming terminals – amounted to $403.2m (£292.4m/€336.3m).

This marked a significant improvement from from $153.5m in March last year, the month when then state’s casinos were shuttered as a result of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, from March 17.

The March total was also higher than the $302.0m posted in February this year.

Looking at individual market sectors, the PGCB reported year-on-year growth across all products.

The biggest increase was recorded for sports wagering, where revenue rocketed by 326.1% to $26.0m, split $26.0m online and $3.4m at retail sportsbooks. The month marked the start of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball tournament, colloquially known as March Madness.

Read there full story by iGB North America.

House Bill 2772, first introduced in February, will allow Arizona consumers to bet on sports at tribal casinos and sites owned by major league sports teams.

DraftKings recently signed a deal to open a retail sportsbook at the TPC Scottsdale PGA Tour venue, whilst FanDuel yesterday announced signed a similar deal with the Phoenix Suns Arena.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

ach of the multi-year agreements will allow the gambling operators to leverage official NFL marks within the sports betting category and activate around retail and online sports wagering.

Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel will also engage with fans through NFL-themed free-to-play games, as well as have the right to integrate relevant sports betting content directly into NFL Media properties including NFL.com and the NFL App.

DraftKings and FanDuel will add NFL highlights, footage and Next Gen Stats content to their platforms, while Caesars and the NFL will collaborate on integrating NFL content into Caesars platforms.

The three operators will also use the NFL’s official data feed, as well as work closely with the NFL on its integrity policies, including intelligence sharing, advocacy efforts and responsible gambling education.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

In his new role, Neymar will work closely with the operator on a range of creative projects related to different aspects of culture, from art and design to music.

As his first official act in the role, the footballer has created special playlists for customers, which PokerStars said provide “the ultimate soundtrack for every poker game”.

A new advertisement featuring the star was released yesterday (14 April), and all other activities and promotions within the partnership will be featured on a dedicated page on PokerStars.net, with promotional materials also appearing on the operator’s homepage.

Commenting on the role, Neymar said: “Poker is so much more than just the game. It is a community and a culture and that is what I love about it.”

“I am excited to start this next chapter with PokerStars.net, and we are already collaborating on a number of key areas. Music is a real passion of mine, so that was first on the list, but there is much more to come. I am excited for you to see what else we have in store.”

Martin Nieri, global director of brand and creative at PokerStars.net, added: “Neymar Jr. is not just a globally recognised sports star, he is also a proven creative with a deep interest in the culture around him.”

“This new role marks the start of something exciting for the PokerStars.net community, a merging of two worlds, where poker meets culture. In a first for the industry, together we’ll be creating moments to truly shake up poker and rewarding those who get involved in all that’s to come.”

Neymar re-joined PokerStars in December 2020 as part of the brand’s ‘All In’ campaign, and was described by the operator as a “perfect fit” for its brand.

image: PokerStars

Under the deal, Sportradar will provide TwinSpires with access to its pre-match betting services, live wagering services and content solutions across a range of US sports.

TwinSpires launched in January this year after CDI announced it would rebrand its sportsbook and online gaming product from BetAmerica to TwinSpires, the name it previously used for its online pari-mutuel racing wagering product.

“As our business continues to grow, we are making significant steps in the number of sports, leagues and live events our players are able to access, view lines and place wagers on,” CDI online president Ian Williams said.

Sportradar’s managing director for US betting, Neale Deeley added: “Sportradar is excited to be working with TwinSpires as it continues to expand within the US sports betting market.

Read the full story on iGB North America.