Month: August 2021

There were 36,418 new players during Euro 2020, more than quadruple the 8846 registered during the month of May. The figures recorded incorporate all forms of online gambling during the time period, rather than being limited to just sports betting statistics.

The tournament took place between 11 June and 11 July, concluding before the government approved proposals to lower Belgium’s weekly loss limit from €500 to €200.

103,511 new accounts were created the week before and during Euro 2020, while the number of daily players averaged out to 191,434. This figure shot up from 132,818 back in May.

497,047 people in total used licensed sites during the tournament, resulting in almost six million participations.

Players tended to bet more when the Belgian national football team were playing. The only time the number of daily players dipped below the tournament average whilst Belgium were playing was during their first fixture against Russia, when 190,453 players were active.

The number of daily players peaked at 281,923 for Belgium’s match with Finland. The average dropped to 138,591 the day after Belgium were eliminated from the competition.

In addition. the number of self-exclusions per day increased from an average of eight per day before the tournament to an average of 12 while it was taking place, though daily figures fluctuated heavily.

A statement from CJH said: “It is important to multiply gambling prevention information and messages. The CJH is delighted that this could be done, in particular thanks to the ‘Stop in time!’ campaign – carried out in perfect collaboration with BAGO (Belgian Association of Gaming Operators). 

“This campaign made it possible to give the message that the CJH wishes to remain central – ‘Don’t let the game get in your head. Stop in time’. The CJH fervently wishes to be able to pursue this type of initiative in the future by collaboration with both the legal gambling sector and the charitable sector.”

Of the supplier’s two business segments, its global lottery business made up most of its revenue, growing 58.1% to $725m. 

Of this total, $702m came from services, up 60.4%, with this mostly made up of operating and facilities management contracts. The remaining $23m of lottery revenue came from product sales, a 6.0% increase.

IGT’s global gaming segment, meanwhile, saw faster growth, up 125.9% to $316m. Of the global gaming revenue, $108m came from terminal services and $91m from system and software services, for total gaming services revenue of $199m. Gaming sales came to $117m, up 108.9% of which $86m were terminal sales, an increase of 102.2%.

This meant that IGT’s total services revenue was $901m, up 72.6%. Its total product sales revenue was up 79.5% to $140m.

Read the full story on iGB North America

The supplier said the approval to supply the product to its UK and white label partners marks a major step forward for the company’s global expansion.

The Blast cannon game allows players to place a bet on a shooting cannon. As the cannonball ascends, the bet multiplies, but players do not know when the multiplier will stop.

Players therefore need to cash out on the multipliers before they lose.

Similarly, Striker sees players place a bet on a winning number or range, before a lever is struck which sends a puck rising up a scale of multipliers.

If the predicted range or number coincides with the winning number, the player wins.

BetConstruct said the games create an engaging experience for players based on fair and straightforward gameplay, which will allow operators to ensure audience and revenue growth.

The opportunity is set to act as a gateway to business expansion for its UK partners, BetConstruct said.

Last year, BetConstruct was awarded a combined remote operating licence covering virtual sports by the Gambling Commission.

The licence allowed the supplier to deliver all eight of its virtual sports games to licensed operators under white label, turnkey and API solutions.

Under the multi-year deal, the BCLC will utilise Genius Sports’ LiveData and LiveTrading services to deliver real-time data and pricing across thousands of sporting events each year.

The partnership encompasses Genius Sports’ full portfolio of official data rights, including the Canadian Premier League and English Premier League top-tier club soccer events and Euroleague Basketball.

“BCLC’s partnership with Genius Sports demonstrates how the nascent Canadian sports betting industry already recognises the importance of official data in helping to protect consumers whilst delivering the most secure and compelling products for their customers,” Genius Sports chief executive Mark Locke said.

“Products and services powered by the fastest, most accurate and reliable data will reinforce BCLC’s competitive advantage and help Canada fulfil the massive potential of its sports betting market.”

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The intention is to certify that every UK gaming machine as fit for purpose and meets regulatory and industry requirements.

Bacta named Alan Claypool as the chairman of the new group, with Matt Ingram takin the position of vice chair.

Ingram holds the position of chief product officer at Reflex Gaming, while Claypool is currently head of product at Blueprint Gaming.

“The recent emergence of land-based digital gaming has introduced new technologies, applications and enhanced player experiences into the gaming industry,”  said Claypool.

“It would now seem appropriate to review the existing BACTA industry standards.”

“The use of industry- agreed technical standards provides machine operators with certain commonality across different technologies and gaming cabinets, therefore improving serviceability and configuration,” he added.

The group is made up of several machine manufacturers and operators, as well as the Gambling Business Group.

“This is a big programme of work and we are very grateful to Alan and Matt for taking it on,” said John White, CEO of Bacta. “Until now the industry standards were ably curated by Bos Anderson Director of Technology at Bell-Fruit Games and Bob Lawrence who was formerly at Barcrest but who is now retired.”

“The fact that many of these industry standards have been successfully employed in machines over many many years is testament to their work.”

Last year, Bacta announced that it will prohibit under-18s from playing Category D cash fruit machines in seaside arcades and family entertainment centres. The proposal came into effect on 1 March.

Adjusted gross revenue was down from $15.7m in May, though the previous month’s total was the highest monthly amount since the state’s market opened on January 21 this year.

Player spending also fell from $227.0m to $212.9m, marking the third consecutive month of handle decline in Virginia and the lowest monthly figure since the market launched.

Consumers in the state won $212.9m from sports wagering in June, while the state was able to generate $2.3 in taxes. Virginia law places a 15% tax on sports betting activity based on each license-holder’s adjusted gross revenue, defined as total bets minus winnings and other authorized deductions.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Lottery.com said revenue for the three-month period is likely to amount to between $9.1m (£6.5m/€7.7m) and $9.6m on a reported basis, both of which would be significant improvement on the $900,000 posted in Q2 of last year.

Pro forma revenue, including the recently acquired interests in Juega Lotto and Agana, is set to reach between $10.0m and $10.5m, Lottery.com said in a preliminary results posting.

During the last four quarters ended June 30 this year, sequential revenue growth averaged approximately 87% per quarter and Lottery.com said it expects to achieve similar average growth in the near term.

However, Lottery.com noted that this forecast growth does not include the interests in Juega Lotto and Aganar, which are expected to be an additional tailwind to revenue growth.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The offer closed yesterday (2 August) and drew interest from both Australian institutional shareholders and international investors, with shares priced at $8.00 each. Approximately 78% of eligible entitlements taken up by existing shareholders.

PointsBet also carried out a bookbuild for the institutional entitlement offer, which saw interest from existing and new investors. The final clearing price for the bookbuild was $10.00 per share, representing a premium of 25% on the original entitlement offer price.

Approximately 10 million new shares will be used as part of the offer, with these expected to settle on 11 August and commence trading the following day.

Following the closure of this process, PointsBet’s shares resumed trading on the ASX today (3 August).

Last week, PointsBet raised $215.1m via an initial share offering, with proceeds to be added to the funds raised during a previously announced entitlement offer to total approximately $400.0m.

The institutional entitlement offer formed part of this offering, with the retail element of the offer also due to begin later this week.

Running from 6-20 August, the retail entitlement offer will see eligible shareholders given the option to take up all or part of their entitlements, sell part of their entitlements or do nothing and allow their entitlements to eb offered for sale through the retail shortfall bookbuild process.

Entitlements not taken up through the offer will be sold via the retail shortfall bookbuild upon closing of the offer, with any proceeds in excess of the entitlement offer price to be remitted to the renouncing or ineligible shareholders. 

PointsBet last week reported a 153.9% year-on-year revenue increase in its results for the 2020-21 financial year, ended 30 June.

Revenue came to AUD$210.1m (£111.4m/€131.0m), a rise of $128m compared to the operator’s revenue in its full year 2020 results. PointsBet’s total net win from gaming, however, was reported as $208.5m. 

Players in Ukraine will now have access to Greentube titles, including its Diamond Link and Mighty Elephant games, in Ukraine through the partnership.

“The online gaming market in Ukraine is one rich with potential and we are delighted to have further expanded our presence into the country with this partnership,” said Opher Ben Zvi, key account manager for Ukraine at Greentube.

“Having established itself in the newly regulated market with its strong brand and emphasis on responsible gaming, First Casino represents a perfect ally as we introduce Ukraine’s players to our portfolio of content which has proven popular with customers all over the world.”

Gambling was first legalised in Ukraine in August 2020, after a bill was passed to regulate land-based and online casinos as well as sports betting.

The first gambling license issued after the legalisation was to Cosmolot operator Spaceiks in February 2021.

This was followed by Parimatch receiving the first sports betting licence the following month.

However, taxes in the market are still yet to be finalised, though the country’s legislature adopted a tax bill at the first reading last month.

The bill sets a 10% tax rate for all forms of gambling, while gambling winnings of more than eight months’ minimum wage (currently UAH48,000) will be taxed as income.

“Greentube’s content has a deserved reputation for providing a popular blend of land-based appeal with fresh, exciting titles developed specially for the online market”, said Maistrenko Andrii, chief financial officer at First Casino.

“This is an exciting time both for First Casino and the burgeoning online gaming market in Ukraine as a whole and this deal will help further establish our reputation as a brand synonymous with a quality playing experience.”

Playtech’s board had initially agreed to sell Finalto to the consortium in May for $210m. However, last month, rival bidder Gopher Investments emerged with a $250m counter-offer.

Yesterday, Playtech said it opened talks with Gopher – as it said it would following the postponement of its 15 July general meeting, where shareholders would have voted on the Barinboim Consortium bid. 

These talks were not negotiations, but instead allowed Playtech to seek more information on Gopher, particularly regarding its ownership structure and whether this would create any regulatory difficulties in closing the deal.

While Playtech received initial answers to its questions, it said it then sent three follow-up questions that remain unanswered. Determining that it still lacked “clarity” on the Gopher bid, the Playtech board said its recommendation for shareholders to vote for Barinboim’s offer remained unchanged.

Barinboim has welcomed the continued support and said Playtech shareholders should accept the consortium’s bid given the remaining questions regarding Gopher.

“Shareholders should ask why Gopher continues to hide and should also be suspicious of Gopher’s credibility, particularly given that disclosure is crucial when buying a highly regulated business,” it said. “Furthermore, the firm associated with Gopher, TT Bond Partners, is a small boutique brokerage that raises money from Chinese investors. Gopher’s behaviour has not been well received by the market; since it first announced its interest, Playtech’s share price has fallen by nearly 17%.

“If shareholders vote against the binding agreement the consortium will fall apart. Should this happen, shareholders need to reflect on the likelihood that Gopher would follow through on its indicative interest at the level they purport to offer for Finalto.”