This was a rise of 37.5% compared to the same period in 2020.
Gaming made up most of the revenue at $193.1m, a rise of 35.5% year-on-year. Food and beverages generated $44.2m, while rooms generated $31.5m. These were both increases of 54.3% and 40.2% respectively. The remaining $13.4m, up by 54.4%, came from other revenue streams.
The figure represents a 22.4% increase on the corresponding period last year. The entertainment portion of the business generated JPY107.4bn, up 10.7% from last year. Pachislot and pachinko machines raised JPY23.0bn, while resort operations added JPY3.8bn.
Costs of sales came to JPY77.48bn, up 14.9% year-on-year and leaving gross profit at JPY57.42bn, up 32.6%.
Other expenses amounted to JPY42.74bn. Among these figures, combined content production expenses for all three divisions came to JPY15.7bn, advertising expenses were JPY4.7bn, and depreciation accounted for JPY1.8bn.
As a result, perating income for the company came to JPY14.7bn, up from a JPY3.1bn loss last year. The entertainment sector contributed JPY22.2bn of that total, while the resorts business, pachislot and pachinko machines and other sources lost a combined JPY7.6bn.
Non-operating income totaled JPY2.69bn, which were effectively cancelled out by non-operating expenses of JPY2.61bn. Pre-tax income came to JPY15.16bn, up from a JPY23.1bn loss last year. Losses from the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) decreased to JPY108m, after totalling JPY2.61bn in 2020.
Sega Sammy said the business was recovering, but was still far from full capacity: “With diversified revenue opportunities expected from new business models and services, there has been a growing interest in the revitalization and growth of the game market on a global scale.
“As for amusement machines, although the market has entered a recovery trend with a focus on prize category, facility operations have not yet reached a full-fledged recovery due to the impact from the spread of Covid-19.”
Sega Sammy had also been a part of the bidding process for an integrated resort in Yokohama, a process which has since been cancelled. The business had been part of a consortium led by resort operator Genting, which had been selected as the winning bid after beating out a Melco-led rival.
Other integrated resort bids in Japan have faced their own drama. In Nagasaki, Casinos Austria International was selected as the winning bidder, but only after Oshidori International Development, which had partnered with US-based Mohegan Sun announced its withdrawal from the bidding process.
Oshidori said it did not approve of the development and operation rules imposed by the prefecture and that the request for proposals process was not being implemented ethically or fairly.
Meanwhile, in Wakayama, a bid led by Clairvest was selected. However, last month, a number of anonymous documents emerged in Japan, arguing that William Weidner – president of Gaming Asset Management, which is advising Clairvest – is unsuitable to be involved with the bid due to conduct during his time as president of Las Vegas Sands.
The documents were addressed to Japan Casino Regulatory Commission, Wakayama Prefecture Government, Clairvest and its Wakayama arm Clairvest Neem Ventures. However, ICE365 has confirmed that three addressees did not receive them and did not get a response from JCRC.
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Gross revenue came to PHP7.44bn, a 59.1% increase, including PHP7.09bn in gross gaming revenue, a 61.9% improvement.
Almost all of the gross revenue came from the Philippines, while PHP1.2m – all from non-gaming sources – came from Korea, where Bloomberry operates the Jeju Sun property which was closed for the whole quarter.
This gross gaming revenue came on PHP152.76bn worth of stakes. VIP table stakes made up most of this total, at PHP107.79bn, while PHP5.96bn came from non-VIP tables and PHP39.00n came from slots.
““In the third quarter, Bloomberry realized higher gaming volumes and revenues despite the intermittent business conditions brought about by shifting quarantine classifications,” Bloomberry chief executive Enrique K. Razon said. “We are prepared to continue operating in such an environment, but are looking forward to a more stable one should domestic restrictions be eased in line with the increasing vaccination rate.”
After accounting for adjustments to the PFRS 15 reporting standards and of increases in debit accounts, Bloomberry was left with net revenue of PHP5.14bn, up 59.3%, including PHP4.37bn in net gaming revenue, a 65.5% increase.
Bloomberry then incurred operating expenses of PHP3.93bn, 21.7% more than 2020, plus an additional PHP293.6m provision for “doubtful accounts”.
This led to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of PHP910.1m, an increase of 663.5%.
Depreciation and amortisation costs amounted to PHP861.5m, up 2.8%, while interest and foreign exchange losses were down 26.1% to PHP1.11bn, resulting in a net loss of PHP1.05bn, down from the PHP2.54bn net loss recorded in Q3 of 2020.
Razon also drew attention to Bloomberry’s efforts to contribute to vaccination drives in the Philippines.
“Even with now relatively relaxed limitations on mobility, Bloomberry remains committed to safeguarding the health of its onsite customers and team members by maintaining its industry benchmark health and safety security protocols,” Razon said.
“Last August, Bloomberry, in partnership with the ICTSI Foundation, opened the Solaire-ICTSI Foundation Vaccination Center. This large-scale inoculation operation that features both ambulatory and drive-thru vaccination facilities is part of our ongoing contribution to the pandemic response effort. Operations in this new site and the one in Solaire continue to be smooth, efficient, and safe.”
Bloomberry has long been subject to lawsuits regarding termination of a contract for management business Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM) to manage the Solaire Resort and Casino.
Last month, Singapore’s Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal against GGAM against a USD$296.6m damages payment stemming from this termination.
While this occurred, GGAM launched a new lawsuit in New York, in an attempt to make Razon – who owns property in the US state – personally liable for the cost of damages in order to speed up the payment of these damages.
This New York lawsuit revealed further details about the interactions between Razon and GGAM, including a claim that Razon leveraged an “undisclosed financial relationship” with an ex-Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president to help deny the casino management business a chance to exercise the option to sell its stake.
Bloomberry said that GGAM may still file another suit in order to enforce the payment in the Philippines, where Bloomberry’s business and assets are located. If so, Bloomberry says it will fight any such enforcement “based on applicable Philippine law”.
The defendant in question had signed a contract with the plaintiff whereby the latter would teach them how to play poker, financing any games played in the process.
The agreement stated that any profits would be shared, but losses should be repaid to the plaintiff should the defendant lose any games.
After the defendant lost a game, the plaintiff demanded repayment. However the Supreme Court ruled in the defendant’s favour.
A statement from the Supreme Court said: “After examining the case, the Supreme Court of Lithuania pointed out that a clear legal policy regarding gambling is being formed in Lithuania – such activities are not encouraged and considered dangerous to society, therefore gambling is restricted and controlled by various legal acts.
“The Supreme Court of Lithuania, finding that the agreement promoted gambling and that the plaintiffs sought to involve the defendant in gambling, declared the agreement contrary to public policy (ie the public interest), and dismissed the action.”
A ban on gambling promotion in Lithuania came into force back in July, making bonuses illegal in the country.
Since then, the likes of Baltic Bet and Unigames have been fined for breaching the new regulations.
This was a rise of 9.9% year-on-year, compared to revenue of €11.7m in Q3 2020.
Operators based in Malta made up €6.1m of this total, down 19.2% while Curaçao operators brought in a further €4.4m, more than double 2020’s total.
The total cost of revenue came to €6.2m – mostly due to costs paid for third-party content – down slightly by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2020.
Further selling, general and administrative costs generated €8.9m in expenses, more than double €4.2m recorded in Q3 2020.
After considering the addition of the $36,000 in other costs, the total operating loss for the quarter totaled €2.2m, the same as the loss recorded in Q3 of the prior year.
Net interest expenses, at €40,000, and income taxes at €161,000 brought the total net loss for Q3 to €2.4m, €679,000 more than Q3 2020.
Wagering revenue came in at €3.2bn, a 4.8% rise from €3.0bn year-on-year.
The number of unique players rose, from 1.9 million in Q3 2020 to 2.1 million this quarter. This was an increase of 14.4%.
In light of the successful quarter, Bragg adjusted its 2022 revenue guidance to fall between €59m-€61m. This was up from the previously projected 2022 revenue of €54m-€56m, which was made public in August.
Richard Carter, CEO of Bragg Gaming, stated that the company’s total addressable market is also set to grow due to market expansion.
“Overall, our market expansion initiatives are expected to increase our total addressable market six-fold in 2022 to more than USD $18 billion.” said Carter.
He went on to explain the rise in numbers this quarter, further attributing the success to marketing and acquisitions.
“Bragg’s strong 2021 third quarter financial performance and our increased guidance reflects the contributions from our comprehensive growth initiatives, including the consistent progress we have achieved with new market diversification and our ability to offer more new high-performing propriety and exclusive third-party online content,” said Carter.
Over Q3 Bragg also expanded its reach through licences in the Netherlands and Greece.
In August, Bragg began to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market, after securing approval.
Earlier today, Bragg confirmed a five-year content licencing agreement with casino gaming content provider Blueberi.
As part of the deal, Bluberi’s slot game portfolio will be adapted for online play. Bluberi’s content will also be distributed throughout Europe and North America.
Bluberi has over 100 titles, which have been developed for Class II, Class III and tribal lottery system facitators.
“Adapting popular land-based titles for distribution in the online space is an initiative we have already seen huge success with via the games developed by our Wild Streak studio,” said Carter.
“Bluberi’s slot content portfolio continues to grow in popularity with land-based players, and we are excited to now be able to add their titles to our rapidly growing omni-channel offering.”
Last week, Bragg announced the launch of its Oryx platform in the Czech Republic through betting operator Merkur.
The deal will see Oryx provide a range of products to Merkur, including its player account management and fraud detection platforms.
In turn, Merkur online customers will be able to play titles from Gamomat, Peter & Sons and Oryx’s original titles from the Oryx Hub.
“ORYX’s commitment to providing a market leading turnkey online gaming solution coupled with its market leading range of both in-house and third-party casino content and services match exactly what we’re looking for to take our brand online to Czech players,” said Stefan Burns, CEO at Merkur.
“It offers us the right blend of flexibility and differentiation that is going to serve us well as we continue to grow our leading presence there.”
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Reporting directly to IGT’s chief executive of digital and betting Enrico Drago, Rotem will be responsible for ensuring the ongoing development and global expansion of IGT’s PlayCasino business, which includes igaming, poker and bingo.
Rotem was most recently an independent consultant for Bet365, having previously worked for the operator for 10 years in roles such as group director of gaming strategy and chief operating officer for gaming.
Prior to this, he spent five years with 888, first as head of tech and later as director for tech, business production, admin and exchange.
Keighery currently holds the role of chief customer officer at Bank of Queensland Group. She has over 20 years worth of experience in leadership positions for the government relations, brand and media sectors.
She previously spent 16 years at Virgin Enterprises and Virgin Australia Group, in senior executive roles within corporate affairs, brand, marketing and customer experience.
Keighery will begin her role in early 2022.
Her appointment as brand officer is one of various moves in Crown Resorts CEO Steve McCann’s plan to reconfigure Crown’s business trajectory following the results of the Bergin Inquiry.
The Bergin Inquiry investigated Crown Resorts’ ability to operate a casino at Barangaroo in central Sydney. It uncovered evidence of money laundering and dealing with junket operators who had connections to organised crime – leading to the inquiry to brand Crown “unsuitable” for a licence, though it said it may still receive one after undergoing changes.
Last month Crown was also found unsuitable to operate a casino in Victoria, though its licence was not revoked, following a report into its suitability for a licence conducted by the Victorian Royal Commission after the Bergin Report was released.
Another inquiry, this time carried out by the Western Australia Government, is set to end in March 2022. This inquiry will assess whether Crown is an appropriate recipient of a licence to operate in Perth.
McCann was named as the new CEO and managing director of Crown in May, replacing former CEO Ken Barton. McCann officially took up the position in October.
“Danielle’s experience in high profile, highly regulated and complex industries makes her a perfect fit for Crown Resorts,” said McCann.
“As part of our transformation we have committed to a more proactive approach with our stakeholders to rebuild trust as well as equity in our brand more broadly. Danielle’s unique experience makes her perfectly placed to drive this and we look forward to her joining the executive team early in the new year.”
Crown also recently announced that Covid-19 vaccinations will be mandatory for all Crown Resorts customers, employees and contractors in New South Wales and Victoria.
A consultation on whether to apply the same mandate to its Perth location is currently underway.
The policy will be in effect until further notice.
“We had overwhelming support for this from our stakeholders and thank them for working with us so constructively,” said McCann.
“We must do whatever is in our power to help limit the potential for further impact at our resorts – whether that be to our people, our guests or to business continuity.”
The BetMGM Sportsbook at the Gila River Casinos and Hotels-owned property features 25 large screen displays, a media wall and seating for more than 100 guests, as well as 20 betting kiosks and ticket writers present to assist guests with placing bets.
BetMGM already had a presence in Arizona, having launched an online sportsbookwhen the state launched its regulated market in September this year. BetMGM was one of a number of operators to go live with its platform on the opening day of the market.
Both the online and retail launches were made possible after BetMGM in August entered into partnerships with Gila River and the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
