Month: May 2021

No revenue was recorded for the three months to 31 March, 2020 to provide a year-on-year comparison, however Q3 2021 revenue was up 129% from $2.4m in the three months to December 31, 2020.

Esports Entertainment Group said the quarter-on-quarter increase was driven primarily by the completion of the Lucky Dino Gaming acquisition on 1 March, 2021, and was aided by the launch of its SportNation.com and Vie.bet brands into new jurisdictions under its Malta Gaming Authority licence.

Total operating expenses came to $11.0m for the period, made up of $6.3m in general and administrative costs, $2.4m in sales and marketing expenses, with a further cost of revenue of $2.3m.

The company was left with a net loss of $12.4m for the quarter, up from a $6.3m net loss for the same period in 2020. It showed a cumulative net loss of $21.5m over the nine-month period to 31 March, 2021.

Esports Entertainment Group said that it remains committed to its previously communicated full fiscal year 2021 revenue guidance of $18m, and its fiscal year 2022 revenue guidance of $70m.

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For the six months to 31 March, Aristocrat said net profit after tax is expected to amount to AUD$346m (£190m/€221m/US$270m).

Normalised net profit after tax and before amortisation of acquired intangibles (NPATA) – excluding the impact of a $19m retention expense associated with the acquisition of Plarium – is set to reach $412m, up 12% on the same period last year.

Aristocrat also said normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to amount to $750m, which would be 6% higher than H1 of last year.

Aristocrat put this down to growth within its gaming segment, where it said it experienced “exceptional” product performance and customer engagement. The supplier also noted stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment and economic conditions in the US and the Australia and New Zealand region.

In addition, Aristocrat said its business delivered above industry-average growth in terms of bookings, which translated into year-on-year revenue and profit growth. This, Aristocrat said, was due to strong investment in user acquisition, live operations, new game content and features. 

“These results reflect the fact that we have the right strategy, and made the right choices to sustain our investment in outstanding people and product, customers, talent and culture throughout the Covid-impacted period,” Aristocrat chief executive and managing director Trevor Croker said.

“We expect economic conditions across key markets over the full year to remain uncertain, as a result of ongoing Covid-driven volatility. We are closely monitoring key factors including consumer sentiment, gaming venue patronage and currency headwinds. 

“We will continue to rigorously execute our strategy over the second half of fiscal 2021, with increased investment… to support new game launches and existing games and strategic capabilities that will sustain our longer-term growth.”

Aristocrat is due to announce its full results for its first half on 24 May.

The agreement means that the Colville, Cowlitz, Jamestown S’Klallam, Lummi, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, Shoalwater Bay, Spokane, Squaxin Island, Stillaguamish, and Swinomish Tribes have agreed to amend their Class III gaming compacts to include sports wagering, formally agreeing to offer sports betting at their Class III facilities.

In addition to retail wagering, the tribes may also offer mobile bets, but only at their properties.

In line with state law, betting will not be allowed on any events involving a college team based in Washington, nor on Minor League events.

Similar compacts were previously agreed to by the Tulalip, Suquamish, Kalispel and Snoqualmie Tribes. This means that 15 tribes in total have agreed to the compact amendment.

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Of this $4.3m, $2.5m was generated in North America and the Caribbean, while the remaining $1.8m came from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The company cited the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a major contributing factor to the drop in revenue and income; land-based casinos were closed for much of the quarter, and they were subject to heavy restrictions when they were able to open up again.

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The deal follows private equity business Platinum Equity recently acquiring a controlling interest in GameTaco. 

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, funding both from Platinum and from FanDuel board member David Nathanson helped facilitate the deal.

Nathanson will serve as executive chairman of the new combined business, with GameTaco chief executive Joshua Barrow continuing in his post. Matt Turetzky, general manager of WorldWinner, will continue to oversee the brand under the GameTaco umbrella.

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The collection of bills include House Bill 1024, which aims to authorize sports betting in Missouri. It allows both online and land-based sports betting, conducted through the state’s riverboat casinos, and was introduced to the House by Representative Cody Smith in February 2021.

The bill outlines several typical conditions for sports betting in Missouri, including the prohibition of any sports betting taking place outside of licensed premises and the disallowing of targeting minors and vulnerable people to place bets. It also specifies a 6.25% sports wagering revenue tax and that sports wagering platform operators must pay a $50,000 annual fee.

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Konami and Bet.Works will together offer the Konami’s Synkros casino management system to land-based casinos, which will implement age verification, automatic loyalty program enrolment and a casino reward point system on online, mobile and kiosk bets.

“At its core, Synkros is designed to empower casinos to grow and leverage the latest top technology available, through its robust, dependable, and scalable architecture,” said Tom Jingoli, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Konami.

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The application was first filed in November 2019, but was made public this month, as US patent laws make applications public after 18 months.

The application said the platform includes, “odds for various propositions concerning the play of a computer simulation are determined and presented to a viewer for pecuniary [real-money] or non-pecuniary wagering purposes”.

Odds would then be offered live to viewers, being overlaid on streams of the game being played, the application explains.

In addition, it noted that odds may be determined either in a sportsbook format based on past game analytics or a pari-mutuel system, with a further option of betting directly against friends.

Analytics used may involve data such as win-loss ratios and kill statistics.

Betting markets may include not only game outcomes but also prop bets. An example prop bet listed was “that a particular character (“A”) gets hit by a virtual weapon at any time during simulation play and the second that the character is hit within the next minute”.

The platform also includes player retention tools such as a system to show bets based on a player’s betting history, as well as functionality such as a cash-out feature.

Sony also said in the patent application that play may be accessed not only through its own PlayStation products, but also PCs, smart phones and game consoles from rival brands such as Microsoft and Nintendo.

It lists Michael Chow of the PlayStation research and development department as the inventor.

The MoU will permit information sharing and enable closer working, with a focus on online gambling and the regulatory issues associated with this area of the market.

This will include collaborating on efforts to protect players from gambling-related harm and preventing crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing. 

“The MoU forms a good basis for sharing knowledge, cooperation and a smooth exchange of information,” KSA chairman René Jansen said. “A clear signal is also given to providers of games of chance that cooperation is taking place at an international level. 

“Online games of chance move across borders. That is why it is important that regulators work together.”

The new MoU comes ahead of the Netherlands launching legal online gambling later this year, following a series of delays. 

The country’s Remote Gambling Act (KOA) came into effect on 1 April this year, with the KSA having launched the licensing process for operators wanting to offer igaming in the country. The KSA had already stated it expects to issue approximately 35 licences.

The market is not due to open until 1 October, with operators that secure licences not able to begin running igaming in the Netherlands until this date.

The Remote Gambling Act was originally supposed to come into effect on 1 July last year, was delayed three times.

Due to launch at this summer’s rearranged 2020 Uefa European Championship, the deal will run for at least two football seasons, including covering the 2022 World Cup. 

The partnership will include a global above-the-line creative campaign, featuring LiveScore’s first TV spot and a wider digital initiative. 

Ronaldo’s image will also feature across LiveScore’s digital inventory and content.

“LiveScore and I are connected by a drive to be the greatest at what we do every single day. I cannot wait to unite our combined audiences of football fans with amazing content, moments and goals in the next exciting stage of my career,” Ronaldo said.

LiveScore managing director Ric Leask added: “There is simply no bigger sportsperson — past or present — than Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to captivate fans around the world with his brilliance on the pitch. 

“Combined with the fact that his game is built on speed, reliability and simplicity, key strengths also synonymous with the LiveScore brand, there could be no more authentic and better fit for our business.”