Month: May 2021

The supplier said the data-driven product will help each team enhance and refine their sponsorship and affiliate marketing strategies for legal sports betting partners.

This, it said, will help to maximize the teams’ sponsor performance, and unlock new opportunities for their wagering partners in the sports betting market.

Sportradar said its ad:s solution will inform dynamic creative assets and produce data-driven content to be featured in programmatic advertising campaigns in order to personalize the fan experience and deepen the level of engagement between the teams and their fans.

The partnerships mark the first time that major US professional sports teams have partnered with a business for betting marketing technology.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Speaking at the Financial Vulnerability Summit 2021, Gardner suggested that the regulators work on a review into remote customer interaction may focus on higher losses, rather than implementing checks for spend at lower levels.

“Our immediate action will be focussed on preventing the types of cases we still see too much of in our casework,” said Gardner.

“In particular this will tackle where operators have allowed people to gamble amounts that are clearly unaffordable, with very limited or no customer interaction until a very late stage.”

Gardner cited a casework example from the 2020 Compliance and Enforcement Report, where an online casino customer accumulated losses of £16,500 in 7 hours and was only contacted by the operator to confirm a payment from a new card.

Last year the Commission launched a review into remote customer interaction, which included a proposal to implement affordability checks from operators after a customer has spent a certain amount.

Earlier this month the Commission addressed reports that the remote customer interaction review would be brought under the government’s Gambling Act review rather than implemented directly, but did not reveal whether the reports were accurate.

Garner also said that it was very important that action to limit gambling harm came from sectors beyond the gambling industry itself, and said major progress has been made in this area lately.

“Just a few years ago there was very little support for customers from their banks to help protect from gambling harm,” she said.

“Now 90% of debit cards have gambling blocker options for customers.”

In addition, Gardner outlined the Commission’s three-year corporate strategy, which was published in April. It will focus on five objectives- protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling harms, creating a fairer market and informing consumers, keeping crime out of gambling, ensuring that returns from the National Lottery go to good causes, and improving gambling regulation.

Gardner also announced that the Commission is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office to keep consumer’s data secure.

The tender will take place on 5 July this year, for an estimated contract value of BR$260.5m (£34.7m/€40.3m/$49.2m) over its 5-year duration.

The winning company or consortium will be contracted for the creation and distribution of lottery products including draw-based and instant win games, as well as fixed-odds sports betting products, and the execution of advertising campaigns related to the games.

LOTERJ has projected revenue of BR$400m for the first year of operation, increasing to BR$1.06bn in the contract’s fifth year.

A minimum payout limit of 40% of the amount played on lottery games will be put in place under the tender’s rules, although this percentage will not apply to fixed-odds sports betting.

LOTERJ has stated that the average expected prize payout on the games is 55% of the amount played.

The tender is aimed at operators who are able to create and distribute gaming products both online and offline, and is limited to companies who reach several criteria.

One requirement is that the company must have over 3000 points of sale in the state, with digital capabilities, and the company must also be a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA).

Given these criteria, the only Brazilian company which would meet the threshold to take part in the tender is the Caixa Econômica Federal, which runs Brazil’s national lottery.

Any other organisations looking to take part in the tender will therefore likely need to be part of a consortium, consisting of a WLA member and a company with access to over 3000 points of sale in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Any non-Brazilian companies looking to take part in the process must be partnered with a Brazil-based entity in order to be considered.

In August last year, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree formally adding sports betting to the country’s Investment Partnership Programme portfolio, handing the process of selecting sports betting operators nationally to the state-owned Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), and the Ministry of the Economy.

Waldir Marques, undersecretary for prizes and sweepstakes at the Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (SECAP) within the Ministry, said at that time that at the national level, multiple operators would be allowed to enter the market.

BNDES and the Ministry said they would begin work on developing a bidding process for national sports betting similar to that used to facilitate the sale of instant win lottery business Loteria Exclusiva Instantânea (Lotex) in October 2019.

The decision to pursue that model was agreed in February last year, after plans to develop a qualitative framework, where any operator that met the licensing requirements could apply, was scrapped. 

Revenue for the three months to 31 March amounted to SEK13.4m (£1.1m/€1.3m/$1.6m), up from SEK8.7m in the same period last year.

Scout said much of this growth was down to the addition of new clients, with the provider having secured new partnerships with operators including ATG in Sweden and Norsk Tipping in Norway during the quarter.

While Scout was able to successfully integrate with both of the operators, it is awaiting approval from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture before it can launch with Norsk Tipping.

Scout also noted its revenue performance was helped by higher activity within its current client base compared to corresponding period last year, partially due to higher prize pools.

“The growth we demonstrate together with a favourable sports calendar and new integrations with ATG and Norsk Tipping, has put us in a strong position for the upcoming future,” Scout chief executive Andreas Ternstrom said.

“Successful launches with ATG and Norsk Tipping could transform Scout Gaming to a new level. The conditions for achieving our goals of building market-leading prize pools within fantasy sports have further improved.”

Looking at spending during the quarter and overall operating expenses were 40.4% higher at SEK30.6m, which Scout put down to higher marketing costs, in relation to increased prize pools. As such, other external expenses hiked 90.7% to SEK18.5m.

“During the quarter, we were more aggressive regarding marketing than during the corresponding quarter previous year,” Ternstrom said. “This should be seen as an investment in the future to position ourselves for a year along with a favourable sports calendar. 

“There is a relatively large flexibility in how we employ our marketing related expenses, which primarily refers to our guaranteed price pools.”

Despite posting higher revenue, increased spend meant Scout’s operating loss for Q1 amounted to SEK17.3m, wider than the SEK13.1m loss reported in the same period last year.

However, Scout benefitted to the tune of SEK8.0m in income from financial items, compared to SEK3.3m in Q1 of 2020, meaning its loss before tax was SEK9.3m, an improvement on SEK9.8m in Q1 last year.

Scout paid SEK19,000 in income tax, ending the quarter with an overall loss of SEK9.3m, compared to SEK9.8m in the first quarter of 2020.

“We are confident in being able to deliver long-term high growth in the future and will leverage the fact that we ourselves are largely building the European fantasy sports market,” Ternstrom said.

The compact had initially included a provision that the state and the tribe “engage in good faith negotiations” within the next three years to allow the tribe to offer online casino gaming. 

It was put before both the Florida House and Senate to be ratified in a special session.

However,  House Speaker Chris Sprowls said that he and many other members of the house opposed the section of the compact that could pave the way for casino gaming.

Read the full story on iGB North America

With the delayed European football championships finally set to get underway this June, operators can expect a much-needed boost in revenues given the pent-up demand for top level, international tournament football amongst fans. 

Given the significance of the competition amongst fans, Sportradar’s Dalraj Bahia expects them to respond in much the same way they did when live sport returned after the initial lockdown last year. 

The return of the Bundesliga, the first football league to resume play, delivered a significant upturn in betting activity, with turnover increasing 112% compared to the opening day of the season the previous August.

Mobile-first

The past 18 months have been particularly tough on retail operators as lockdown and social distancing measures impact footfall on the high street. 

And, while the UK nations are easing their Covid restrictions to enable punters to go back in store, lockdown has only served to accelerate the shift towards digital betting platforms.

“With fewer people placing bets via desktop, heading into the tournament, the priority for operators will be on providing an offering that is optimised for mobile. A mobile-first approach that considers the small screen, is functional for the end-user, and provides an engaging betting experience will be key,” says Bahia.

An effective mobile offering is all the more important given that the tournament will be broadcast free to air in most countries, providing operators with the opportunity to maximise the second screen viewing experience and go direct to customers with a reliable, real-time offering. 

“Mobile will also play a part in driving engagement with fans. Stimulation tools optimised for mobile devices, like our Live Match Tracker, for example, are a key part of the product mix for operators and are having a growing influence on betting behaviour and lead to increased engagement levels,” he says.

“Stimulation tools have a positive impact on consumer dwell time and, with match information in one place, reduce the likelihood of customers navigating away from the site.”

Retention

Ahead of every major football tournament, it is common to see aggressive offerings from operators as they look to bring in new customers with sign-up bonuses and promotions. 

Customer acquisition can be costly, and at a time when marketing budgets are under scrutiny, retention is increasingly at the forefront of operators’ minds.

“By tapping into their customer data and insights, operators can increase the lifetime value of their base. Adopting a personalised CRM strategy that engages with customers according to their predicted value and provides personalised recommendations and journeys relevant to the customer’s known interests, preferences, and behaviours should help reduce player churn, as will inspire them to engage with the relevant sporting moments” explains Bahia.

“Online video advertising will be another key component for marketers ahead of the June 11th kick-off. Having a  growth medium accompanied with  marketing strategies that include video ads increases the likelihood of converting punters into depositing customers. Research shows that revenue can grow up to 49% faster compared to competitors who do not use video advertising.”

For operators looking to maximise their budgets, deliver efficient campaigns, and reduce ad waste, the highly targeted approach of programmatic video advertising can be optimised to deliver efficient CPC, CPM, and CPcV.  

The effect of COVID

The global pandemic has delayed the competition by 12 months, building much anticipation around the effect this will have on the players, teams, and gameplay.

The players, especially those who play their trade in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, have played a long season with fixtures moved and rescheduled in order to get games in front of fans during lockdown.

Bahia explains that player fatigue will be a factor and something the organisers have factored in with the introduction of bigger squads and the option to have five substitutes rather than three.   

“While there are always upsets in tournaments of this nature, we’re expecting to see at least one of the favourites fall down early in the competition. The domestic seasons and European cup contests all wrap up in late May, giving very little preparation time for the competing teams”, says Bahia.

As live sports return, operators are looking ahead to try to take a strategic approach to meeting their customers’ needs. After a tumultuous year, outcomes are more unpredictable than ever but taking a data-driven approach provides the best chance for operators to maximise the engagement opportunities at hand.

For more insights from Dalraj Bahia on predictions for the European championships, sign up for our upcoming webinar: “Maximising the opportunity for sportsbook operators.”

Revenue came to $26.7m, a rise of $9.4m from $17.3m in the previous first quarter. Gaming made up $23.0m of the revenue, an increase of 54.7% year on year, while other revenue rose by 51% to $3.6m.

However, costs and expenses exceeded revenue, resulting in an overall loss.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

$13.5m of the total revenue came from B2B operations (up 76.0% from 2020). Of this total, the $9.2m generated from platform and content fees was a 55.9% improvement on last year, and development services brought in $4.3m – up from $1.7m in 2020.

The acquisition of sports betting operator Coolbet in January proved to be a lucrative investment, helping GAN make $14.3m from B2C.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The Michigan Senate voted 34-1 in favour of the appointment during a roll-call confirmation vote, with Williams to serve a six-year term at the helm of the MGCB.

Williams will replace Richard Kalm, who stepped down as executive director last monthafter serving in the role since 2007.

Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer already approved Williams as Kalm’s replacement, buth the appointment was subject to Senate confirmation.

“I look forward to leading the agency’s continuing success and thank outgoing executive director Richard Kalm for his leadership and the opportunities he provided that paved the way for my appointment,” William said.

Williams has worked for the MGCB since 2001, most recently as deputy director of its casino operations division, providing oversight of the Enforcement Section, Employee Licensing, Gaming Lab and the Disassociated Persons program.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the agreement, Genius will serve as the official provider of real-time statistics for the BAL, which commenced its debut season on 16 May.

Genius will provide the league with its International Basketball Federation (Fiba) LiveStats data collection tool, capturing play-by-play statistics from courtside at every BAL game including shot, foul and turnover locations.

Data captured by Fiba LiveStats will be used power the BAL’s website, live broadcasts, media partnerships and in-arena scoreboards.

“The BAL will showcase and develop the most exciting basketball talent from across Africa and we’re very proud that our statistics technology will be at the heart of this new competition,” Genius Sports chief executive Mark Locke said. 

“For more than 15 years, we have worked closely with FIBA to drive the development of world basketball and we’re thrilled to be working alongside the BAL to extend the sport’s reach and profile.”

The BAL is a pan-African partnership between the North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and Fiba, and will feature 12 teams from across Africa.

Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia automatically qualified for the inaugural BAL season, while the remaining six teams, from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda secured their places through BAL qualifying tournaments.

The first BAL Finals will be held on 30 May.