Month: July 2021

Kitty Glitter features 30 paylines, four lucky cats and a Free Spins Bonus in which all four cat symbols can become wild!

• You can download the First Look Games affiliate pack for Kitty Glitter here!

Go Live Date (expected):	July 28th 2021
Game special features:	Free Spins, Retrigger
Number of paylines:	30
Number of reels:	5×3
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	94.92%
Variance/volatility:	Medium (3/5)
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?:	3
Can feature be retriggered?:	Yes
Number of free spins awarded?:	15
Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?:	Cat Wilds
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?:	Cat Wilds
Number of jackpot tiers?:	N/A
Auto-play function?:	Yes

Overall participation in gambling during the four weeks prior to the survey in June fell to just 41.6%. This was a 3.5 percentage point decline from June 2020, when rates were low because of retail closures. The total was also slightly below the figure from the last time the survey was taken, in December 2020.

Gambling rates were down across all age and gender categories, though in some the declines were too small to be statistically significant.

When excluding the National Lottery, the total portion of people gambling during the four-week period was 28.3%, down from 30.5% in June 2020.

The decline was mostly due to a drop in retail gambling, as the portion gambling online increased year-on-year from 16.8% to 17.6%. Retail gambling plummeted from 31.8% to 24.1%, having been at 34.9% in 2019.

The regulator noted that a large portion of the increase in online gambling and the sharp drop in retail was due to a larger portion of lottery players moving online. The National Lottery was the only vertical to see a statistically significant growth in online play – from 11.4% to 13.8% – while the portion of the population who bought tickets in person fell from 19.9% to 14.7%.

The National Lottery remained by far the most popular form of gambling, with 26.3% of respondents reporting buying tickets. This was down from 2019 and 2020, but slightly ahead of 2018’s levels. Levels of scratchcard play also declined, to 7.4%, while the portion of players playing charitable lotteries remained roughly stable at 12.1%.

Sports betting, at 5.5%, horse race betting, at 3.2% online slots at 3.7% and casino games at 1.1% also saw levels of play remain steady, while bingo play declined.

Looking only at in-person gambling though, declines occurred in every vertical where at least 0.5% of the population reported taking part. The amount of people taking part in in-person sports betting fell from 2.5% in 2019 to 0.8% in 2021.

The Gambling Commission also took further statistics about problem gambling rates. Much like December 2020’s survey, the portion of problem gamblers recorded – 0.4% – was lower in this year’s survey than the previous edition, but the Commission said the change was too small to be statistically significant.

However, the portion of people who were assessed as being at medium risk of gambling harm did decline at a statistically significant level, from 1.4% to 0.7%, with the sharpest decline among young people.

The portion at low risk was also lower in 2021 than 2020, but again the regulator said the decline was not statistically significant.

As a result, the combined percentage assessed as being at some level of risk was down from 4.2% in 2020 to 3.1% in 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA is estimated to lie between $80m and $84m, another substantial increase of up to $73.3m compared to the same period of 2020.

Due to this increase in funds, Bally’s also announced that it will not go ahead with issuing shares or warrants to Gaming and Leisure Properties, in order to raise money for its Gamesys acquisition. It had agreed to issue up to $500m worth of warrants or shares to the property business when it announced the deal.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The competition will run between 16-18 September, gaining coverage on ITV.

As well as the Ayr Gold Cup, Virgin Bet will sponsor seven other races during the week. These include the Ayr Silver Cup, the Firth of Clyde Stakes, and the Doonside Cup Listed Race.

The company will also sponsor the Kilkerran Cup and the Ayr Bronze Cup on Friday.

Ayr Racecourse managing director David Brown said: “I am thrilled that Virgin Bet have chosen to sponsor the Ayr Gold Cup which is not only Scotland’s premier flat race but one of the most prestigious sprint handicaps in the racing calendar.

“Sponsorship has never been as important to racing that it is now in these difficult times, so it is with great pride we announce Virgin Bet as title sponsors of the Ayr Gold Cup. Virgin Bet is an exciting brand and I hope we can work together at Ayr for many years to come.”

Virgin Bet’s sportsbook director James McKay added: “We are excited to announce Virgin Bet’s new partnership with Ayr Racecourse, one of the great brands in UK racing. As one of the UK’s fastest growing sportsbooks, we know how much our customers enjoy the excitement of premier racing events at the most historic racecourses.

“The Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup will be a big moment in the flat-racing season, and we can’t wait to play our role over all three days at the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup Festival.”

The brand will offer new customers a 100% bonus on their first four deposits, and has integrated Gamanza’s bonus engine and CRM, allowing the operator to track player interactions with campaigns and carry out wider analysis of communications, bonuses and deposits.

“We felt it was really important for the Neuchâtel team to work with Swiss suppliers as much as possible and for the last 18 months we have counted on Gamanza’s support and knowledge to develop this new product for the Swiss market,” said Fabien Nanchen, online gaming manager at Casino de Neuchâtel.

“We hope that players will love the brand and the universe we have created with Hurrah.”

Robert Civill, chief commercial officer at Gamanza, added: “This launch is another significant step for Gamanza as it further solidifies our status as a competitive partner in regulated markets.

“It’s been a pleasure working with the team at Casino de Neuchâtel and we look forward to supporting Hurrah Casino long into the future.”

In April, Gamanza agreed to divide its business into two distinct units, to be run by its two 50% shareholders: founder Magnus Lindberg and the Stadtcasino Baden Group.

It was agreed that Stadtcasino Baden Group would take over the units of Gamanza’s player account management system and customer engagement platform, continuing to manage these under the Gamanza brand.

Lindberg, meanwhile, agreed to assume control and management of Gamanza’s game development and sports betting divisions.

The proposal was put forward by Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne.

The Council of Ministers had previously considered keeping the limit – which came into force in April 2020 – at €500 but making it a “global” limit, that would apply across all operators, similar to the system in Germany. 

However, instead, the Council elected to keep to per-operator limits, but lower them to just €200 “in order to strengthen the protection of the player”.

In addition, the draft law would also allow Belgium’s Gaming Commission to ask the National Bank of Belgium if a player is known to be in fault on their debts.

If the proposal is approved by the national Data Protection Authority, it will be sent to the Council of State which will vote on it.

A second proposal was also approved, again having been submitted by Van Quickenborne. This would add betting shops to EPIS, Belgium’s national exclusion register. 

Currently, the tool is used to prevent players who may have self-excluded or otherwise been added to the list from entering casinos and slot arcades. The Council of Ministers said the register is “undoubtedly a very effective instrument in the fight against gambling addiction”.

This modern classic style slot is packed with a host of features to maximise player engagement, including options to tailor the gaming experience to suit personal preferences.

Go Live Date (expected):	22nd July 2021
Game special features:	Increasing Wild Multipliers. Joker Wilds are the top paying symbols, but also multiply line wins by either x2, x4, x8 or x16 – up to x24 in Maxima Mode Free Spins with Joker Streak Respins. Lock in winning symbol combinations for extra Joker Streak Respins on top of the 10 Free Spins given in the bonus. Maxima Mode provides additional volatility by adding a chance for wilds to boost their multipliers. Wild Overlays and Power Bands. During game play there is a chance for Wilds to be added to the reels for big wins or the game uses Special Power Band Reels that guarantee a 20x or more win!
Number of paylines:	10
Number of reels:	5×3
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	RTP 94.0%, 95.08%,96.11% (RTP:88.18%, 90.02% Germany)
Variance/volatility:	High
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?:	3
Can feature be retriggered?:	Retrigger of 5 extra free spins
Number of free spins awarded?:	10
Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?:	Yes
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?:	Yes

In a group signed by group chair Carolyn Harris and Peers for Gambling Reform chair Lord Foster, the APPG cited slot streaming, social casinos, esports betting and loot boxes as the gambling platforms that are raising alarm. It called for all four to be given attention during the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, which is currently in progress.

It said slot streaming and social casinos were particular causes of concern as they are not classified as gambling activities.

Quoting research gained from various sources, the group claims that 3-4% of all UK adults partake in social casinos and that 32.5 million hours of slot streams were watched on Twitch last month.

It said an academic who studied loot boxes had told the group they were “coercive and controlling”, though it noted that the government had made progress in this area with a review on the subject.

In addition, it said the potential to place multiple in-play bets on esports events was “potentially harmful”.

APPG has called for all four platforms to be considered as part of the Gambling Act Review.

APPG chair Carolyn Harris MP and Peers for Gambling Reform chair Lord Foster of Bath said: “The review must establish mechanisms to research, review and, where relevant, re-classify these activities without primary legislation, to provide appropriate safeguards.

“Failing to include these new forms of gambling in the review will mean that legislation will very rapidly not be fit for the digital era and effectively be out of date on publication.”

In addition, the APPG shared findings of research related to gambling advertising in a separate letter. This letter was a response to Whittingdale’s claim last month that empirical evidence on gambling ads “did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling”.

The group claims that problem gamblers aged 16-24 were more likely to be influenced by an advert to bet when they weren’t planning on doing so.

Earlier this year, the APPG called for an end to gambling sponsorship during daytime TV.

The stadium will become alternately known as the Caesars Superdome in a deal valued at around $138m, with the previous rights holders Mercedes Benz’s ten-year deal due to expire on 31 July. This will be the first casino naming rights deal for an NFL stadium, as while Hard Rock sponsors the Miami Dolphins’ stadium, it does so only as a hotel operator rather than a casino.

The agreement had to be approved in the state’s budget, however, but with the approval of the state’s Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, it is not expected to face major opposition in the floor vote.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The bill, House Bill 3974, outlines a tax of 12.5% for license holders each month, with license fees of $5.0m regardless of which license category an operator is eligible for. It was passed 156-3.

The Senate must now approve its own version of the bill – Senate Bill 269.

Read the full story on iGB North America.