Month: August 2021

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was confirmed Metropolitan finalised the deal last month, before going public with the news this week.

Metropolitan takes ownership of casinos in 11 locations across Egypt, South Africa and the UK, including the Empire Casino in London’s Leicester Square.

Silver Point said it will provide investment and strategic support to the business and work with management to develop Metropolitan as a leading brand in the luxury and premium gaming markets.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire a number of historic and high-end casinos in the UK,” Silver Point founding partner Edward Mulé said. “The acquisition fits well with Silver Point’s focus on investing in high-quality businesses at opportune times.”

In relation to the deal, Metropolitan has appointed experienced casino executive Michael Silberling as its new chief executive.

In his new role, Silberling will oversee the Metropolitan business, including the operation and ownership of the newly acquired casinos properties.

“The world, the global economy, and the hospitality industry have been rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic, but I believe that this team is well positioned to lead a strong rebound of this business, benefitting from their experience and expertise, and a partner that is committed to invest,” Silberling said.

“We intend to focus on job creation and investment in this historic business as we partner with our employees, regulators and the communities in which we operate to create a safe, fun and memorable experience for our customers that is second to none.”

The acquisition comes after Caesars this reported a net loss of $352m for the first half of its financial year, despite experiencing a 615.7% year-on-year increase in revenue.

The survey by 2CV asked 962 people, aged between 16 and 25, about gambling. Of this total, 644 were classed as gamblers, though this included taking part in social “gambling-style games”, arcade games such as claw machines and private bets with friends.

It then used the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), and a number of other questions, to determine statements that correlate most with being at risk of gambling harm.

It found that the greatest correlations were with statements about friends gambling, with “My friends encourage me to gamble more money” the statement most associated with higher levels of risk, followed by “My friends encourage me to gamble more often” and “My friends gamble more than the average person”.

The survey found that while only 11% of those with no or low risk of gambling harm said their friends gamble at above-average rates, 41% of those at medium risk or greater agreed with the statement. 

The report also suggested that family members can have a high level of influence on gambling activities, with a number of statements about family gambling also showing higher levels of correlation. However, statements about family members forbidding gambling or being strongly opposed to it did not correlate with lower risk levels.

Statements about seeing more marketing had lower levels of correlation with gambling risk levels, with the exception of those saying they followed a number of operators on social media.

The survey also asked young people which games they had played while underage. 34% said they had played scratchcards before turning 16, while 15% said they had played National lottery draws. 

Meanwhile, 18% said they had played in-person bingo while under 18, 13% said they had played fruit or slot machines and 9% each said the had played online bingo, bet on sports and played online slots.

However, 2CV noted that “respondents’ interpretation of the questions varied,” with some possibly referring to bingo-style games played at school or other activities that were legal.

The survey also asked the 267 16-17 year-olds in the sample about their exposure to gambling marketing. It found that 41% said they see “lots” of gambling advertising, with 32% saying that gambling businesses tend to advertise more than other businesses. 

In total, 10% of 16-17 year olds in the sample said they spent more money than they intended because of gambling advertising.

Most revenue was generated by Wynn’s casino operations, which brought in $1.11bn, a sharp increase of 92.8% year-on-year due to the widespread casino closures. Food and beverage brought in the second most revenue at $217.6m, an increase of 25.5% compared to the previous same period. The remaining revenue was made up of rooms and entertainment, retail and other sources.

Wynn Palace in Macau was the operator’s leading property, generating $507.6m in revenue, up from $268.2m in the previous first half. A grand majority of this total, $397.9m, came from casino operations, with the rest comprising of rooms, food and beverage and entertainment revenue.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Total revenue for the six months to June 30 amounted to $3.92bn, up from $2.54bn in the corresponding period last year.

Casino accounted for $2.43bn of overall revenue, almost double the amount in the first half of last year, when its casinos were forced to close for much of the six-month period due to novel coronavirus restrictions. In contrast, MGM’s casinos were permitted to operate for the entire half this year.

Rooms revenue reached $563.4m, food and beverage revenue $460.1m, entertainment, retail and other revenue $324.2m, while MGM also received $133.2m in reimbursed costs.

In terms of divisional performance, regional operation led the way with $1.57bn in revenue, marginally ahead of the Las Vegas Strip resorts business on $1.55bn. MGM China revenue amounted to $607.0m, while management and other operations heralded $191.6m in revenue.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Total revenue for the six months through to August 30 amounted to $311.7m, up 105.1% on the $152.0m posted in the first half of last year.

Everi’s games business proved to be the primary source of income, with revenue here rising 124.7% to $175.5m. Some $131.4m of this total came from gaming operations, with the remaining $44.1m generated through gaming equipment and systems activities.

In terms of its fintech business, revenue here increased 84.3% to $136.2m. Everi said that $83.6m of this total came from financial access services, with $32.9m from software and other and the remaining $19.8m from hardware.

Turning to costs, overall spending in the half amounted to $217.1m, up 11.7% from last year, though other expenses edged down 19.2% to $36.2m.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Through the agreement, Begay will provide support to PointsBet’s diversity initiatives within tribal communities and act as a link between PointsBet partners NBC Sports and the Golf Channel.

Begay will also be involved in creating digital content and implementing customer-exclusive opportunities for PointsBet users.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The deal will see Crucial Compliance take ownership of the BetProtect brand and its products associated with the Safer Online Gambling Group.

BetProtect co-founder David Bradford will continue his work developing the app while taking up a new role on Crucial Compliance’s board as a safer gambling advisor.

Crucial Compliance chief executive Paul Foster said: “Equipped with the app, and the knowledge and insight we can gain from David’s lived experiences, we are setting out to change the industry one company at a time, and the acquisition of BetProtect forms another cornerstone of that objective.

“We strongly believe that there is an appetite to do more from within the industry, and a willingness from the leading providers in the UK and from overseas to change the overall mentality of a sector that is trying to acknowledge that the addiction risk is still with us in this digital age.”

Crucial Compliance added that the business sees the acquisition as the next step in the company’s growth objectives, aiming to reach established operators in the UK and overseas in the near future.

BetProtect co-founder Adam Bradford added: “BetProtect’s new home is the perfect place for its features and content to be rolled out across the industry, thanks to the direction and expertise provided by Crucial Compliance’s compliance expertise and technological ability.”

Momentum Sports, which is also a sports betting supplier, holds a sports betting operator license through its market access agreement with GF Gaming and its affiliate Easy Street Casino.

Through the acquisition, players in Colorado will be able to place bets through the Sporttrade iOS app, which will launch in the first half of 2022.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the deal, MGM Growth Properties Class A shareholders will receive 1.366 shares of newly issued VICI stock for every share of MGM Growth Properties they hold. With VICI’s shares trading at an average of $31.47 in the five days before the deal, this suggests a price of $43.00 per MGM Growth Properties share, a 15.9% premium compared to its share price before the deal.

MGM Growth Properties’ controlling shareholder, MGM Resorts, will receive $43.00 in cash for the redemption of the majority of units that it holds, for a total consideration of $4.4bn. However, it will keep 12 million units.

The $17.2bn total consideration figure also includes VICI’s assumption of around $5.7bn in MGM Growth Properties’ debt.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Fiksukasino.com will operate as a ‘pay-and-play’ casino and offer players access to range of casino gaming options.

The pay and play format allows players to bypass the traditional registration processes and start playing games straight away. 

The brand will seek to build on the group’s Lucky Dino business, which is already established in Finland 

“We are very excited for Lucky Dino to be launching this new brand; bypassing the registration flow creates a much smoother and seamless experience for the player, offering instant deposit and withdrawals,” Esports Entertainment chief executive Grant Johnson said.

“This latest launch is a testament to the Lucky Dino team’s market awareness and product innovation and strengthens the foundations in a key market for the company.”

The announcement comes after Esports Entertainment last month completed its acquisition of Gameday Group’s B2C business, operating as the Bethard sportsbook brand.

The group upped its revenue guidance to as much as $105m (£75.4m/€88.5m) following the completion of the deal for the Swedish business, which generated $31m in revenue in 2020.