Month: June 2021

BetMakers’ deal with Swopstakes will see it acquire Swopstakes’ proprietary betting products, including technology and intellectual property.

In exchange, BetMakers has agreed to pay up to AUD$15m (GBP£8.1m/USD$11.3m) based on performance, plus AUD$634,750 paid today, for the Swopstakes assets.

“We have followed Swopstakes as a product for some time and have been impressed with both the concept and technology,” said Todd Buckingham, CEO of BetMakers.

“We believe there is a opportunity to adapt the product for our clients and achieve scale through integration, promotion an distribution through BetMakers’ extensive global network.”

As part of the deal with Form Cruncher, BetMakers now owns the business’ technology platform assets, websites and databases, which contain racing data such as odds and speed ratings.

BetMakers agreed to pay an initial cash amount of AUD$1m (GBP£544,895/USD$758,895) for the Form Cruncher assets, with an additional performance payment of up to AUD$1m at a later date.

“The acquisition of Form Cruncher’s racing data assets and form processing database is a valuable addition to our core business, and one that will allow us to grow our overall product offering across a global footprint,” added Buckingham.

“Leveraging BetMakers’ existing infrastructure and data, the new assets will be plugged in to our network and create wagering products and content to be monetised throughout our global suite of customers, including racing bodies, race tracks, retail and digital wagering operators.”

Last week, BetMakers completed its acquisition of Sportech’s Global Tote brand.

DoubleDown announced its plans to raise around $100m via the Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June last year, with the capital raised intended to support strategic acquisitions, as well as repaying financial investors.

In July, DoubleU announced that the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic meant that it would put its listing plans on hold, as it believed the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic had resulted in a decline in investor appetite.

However, it later revived the plans to spin the DoubleDown business off and launch an IPO.

DoubleU Games said today that the listing of Double Down Interactive was its top priority, and therefore minimising the delay in completing the process by appointing an underwriter was the best decision for the company.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The New York-headquartered game developer and technology provider, which offers both B2B and B2C sportsbook and fantasy sports services, has recruited Fargis as general manager of real-money sports.

Fargis, a former professional poker player, spent five years as director of product (fantasy sports) from 2012, and held the position of director of sportsbook operations from 2018 to 2020.

Read the full story in iGB North America.

Bill C-218, also known as the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, was passed with a vote of 57-20 earlier this week, after its third reading in the Senate. The bill wold allow bets on individual sporting events, instead of requiring sports bets to be multiples, by amending Canada’s criminal code.

Following the news, sports betting provider theScore launched a billboard campaign in Toronto to mark the bill’s passing.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The change came in the committee’s amendments to Kenya’s 2021 Finance Bill, which were published this week.

The excise tax on betting stakes had been a major source of controversy in Kenya since 2019, when legislators opted to double the rate from 10% of stakes to 20%.

This increase – which itself had followed a long dispute over a different 20% tax on winnings – led to operators Sportpesa and Betin leaving the market.

However, during last year’s Finance Bill negotiations, the Finance Committee noted that the higher rate had led to lower revenue because of these market exits, and proposed scrapping the tax entirely.

Ultimately, this proposal was accepted and signed into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, just days after the bill became law, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani claimed the government planned to reintroduce the tax.

The government then did so in the 2021 Finance Bill, which again stated that excise duty should be 20% of the amount wagered or staked on betting products.

However, in its consideration of the bill, the Finance Committee again changed the levy.

It collected evidence on the bill from a number of stakeholders, including Sportpesa, which argued that using turnover as the base for the excise tax was contrary to the excise duty law. The operator pointed out that the law states that the excisable value of services should be “the fee, commission or charge payable for services, or open market value”.

The committee opted to keep the turnover-based tax, but did amend the bill to lower the rate substantially.

“The committee observed that the proposed rate of excise duty on betting is too high and may end up not achieving the intended revenue as most players will opt for international platforms for their betting activities,” it said.

The report added that the tax applied only to betting, rather than also lotteries, creating unfair conditions in the market.

As a result, it suggested lowering the rate to 7.5%, but allowing it to apply to both betting and non-charitable lotteries or prize competitions.

This would 30% of the proposed revenue from the higher rate if gambling stakes were the same at both rates, the committee noted.

Now that the committee’s review of the bill is complete, it must be voted on by the Kenyan National Assembly, which could amend it further, before it will go to Kenyatta for final approval.

Sportpesa said the tax forced the business out of the market in 2019, but after its removal, it returned under a new licence held by Milestone Games. However, this return proved controversial itself, as regulator the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) initially blocked the return and said previous owner Pevans East Africa still held the licence to operate the Sportpesa brand. However, a High Court ruling allowed Sportpesa to resume taking bets.

The legislation outlines the establishment of a Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Commission that will oversee regulation of the sector in the Caribbean nation and take responsibility for licensing and revenue collection.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert said that the sector – worth an estimated $16bn per year — would contribute around $500m in taxes and fees once the commission is fully established compared to just $75m at present.

The bill creates a framework to protect minors and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling and ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair, open and responsible manner. Building on existing legislation, regulation is designed to prevent gambling from being linked to crime and ensure compliance with international anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regulations.

Individuals involved in operating gaming establishments or activities related to the sector must obtain a licence from the commission. While online gaming remains unlawful, licences relating to legal activities range from Gaming and Betting Operators Licences to Gaming Machine Manufacture Licence.

Those who operate illicit gambling activities without a licence or do not adhere to the terms of their licence are liable to a criminal penalty of $5m plus five years’ imprisonment.

The bill lists the taxes on tables as including $120,000 for every Black Jack table, $150,000 for every Caribbean Stud Poker table, $120,000 for every roulette table, $120,000 for every electronic roulette table and $24,000 for every slot machine.

The commission will be managed by a board nominated by the country’s President, featuring between six and 10 members with experience in the gambling industry or fields such as

law, finance and information technology. A chief executive will also be appointed for a five-year term.

The commission will ensure that licensed and gambling activities are conducted in a fair and honest manner and formulate and implement policies and codes of practice, and has the power to grant and revoke licences.

The bill was introduced in the Senate earlier this month and passed through the committee stage earlier this week. It was formally passed by the house on Wednesday with no votes against, but 15 abstentions among 36 members.

Bingo ads are regulated under the gambling section of the advertising codes, which state that ads “should not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm”.

The ASA cited a number of examples of irresponsible bingo advertising, such as a Gala Bingo affiliate that said a player won a Gala jackpot to get out of debt, suggesting gambling could solve financial problems.

The codes also specify that any gambling-related ads shouldn’t be aimed towards anyone under the age of 18, citing an example of a Betfair Looney Tunes bingo product as problematic. However, the ASA also recently ruled that an ad for a Goonies-themed slot game was acceptable as it didn’t specifically appeal to children.

Finally, the ASA noted that ads for promotions must be fair and honest, making clear any wagering requirements.

A recent ASA report also found that children’s exposure to gambling ads is on the decline since 2013.

Any ads should also avoid portraying gambling as a form of escape, or a solution to any financial problems a player might be experiencing. Any terms and conditions from any kind of gambling promotion should also be fully disclosed within the ad.

Macdonald has been part of the board since March 2019 and will now move into her new position as president.

Prior to this, Macdonald held positions such as director of business development and sales, and director of project management at Bombardier Transportation, where she worked for seventeen years.

“The Board of Directors joins me in congratulating Ann MacDonald on her appointment,” president and chief executive of Loto-Québec Jean-François Bergeron said.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Through the partnership, Scout has developed and will host a mobile app which allows Razer users to participate in fantasy esports tournaments.

Razer currently offers gamers hardware, software and services, including a platform with more than 125 million users. Its software stack includes Internet of Things platform Razer Synapse, RGB lighting technology system Razer Chroma RGB and game optimiser and launcher, Razer Cortex.

The business also currently offers payment services, including Razer Gold, in addition to fintech services in emerging markets.

The new platform will be offered to Razer’s current user communities and channels, and will be operated through a yet to be disclosed brand based on Scout Gaming’s proprietary tech stack.

Scout said that in the short term, the partnership is expected to have a low impact on its revenues, but that it has potential for a long-term significant impact.

Results published last month showed that Scout had recorded a 54.0% year-on-year increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2021, which it said was down to a number of new customer launches and increased prize pools.

Revenue for the three months to 31 March amounted to SEK13.4m (£1.1m/€1.3m/$1.6m), and Scout said much of the growth was due to the addition of new clients, having secured new partnerships with operators including ATG in Sweden and Norway’s Norsk Tipping during the quarter.

The collaboration, which is Unibet’s first US motorsports partnership, is set to expand Unibet’s presence in the US.

As part of the partnership, Unibet will also serve as the primary sponsor of Nascar’s Xfinity Series race in Indianapolis and will sponsor two Nascar Cup series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

Read the full story on iGB North America.