Wynn Resorts’ sports betting and casino app will enter the state through its relationship with the hospitality and entertainment group, which owns and operates two casinos in West Virginia.
The two properties are Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Nitro, near Charleston. Both operate retail sportsbooks, and Delaware North operates Betly, its own website and mobile sports betting app.
To read the full article, visit iGB North America.
Low6 is based in the UK, but operates in the US and Canada. It first entered North America last month with the announcement of a partnership with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and recently announced a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The free-to-play Piston Picks game will take the same format as other “picks” games currently on the market , such as the MMA’S UFC Picks and European Tour Picks.
The patent is in regards to a private betting model, which will allow operators and bettors to experience higher liquidity and improved pricing that is unaffected by bet sizes.
Through the exchange system, users will be able to subscribe to specific betting markets, such as esports games, teams or players. Users will also be grouped into larger order blocks, which will offer better liquidity.
House Bill 3136, which has passed both houses in the state Senate with 100 votes to 13, has proposed that the requirement will end either when an operator is granted a specific master licence for online sports betting, which will be permitted under the bill, or on 5 March 2022 – whichever event occurs first.
The Illinois Gaming Board had previously set a deadline of 3 December 2021 for applications for three additional online-only sports betting operator licences within the state.
Under the current Illinois sports betting laws, in-person registration is required to create a sports betting account.
This comes two months after the launch of single-event sports betting in Canada, following the unanimous passing of Bill C-218 through Canada’s senate in June.
The bill was first re-introduced in Canadian parliament in November 2020.
The research was carried out by comparing Future Anthem’s Safer Player machine learning platform against 36 million gaming sessions carried out with Gamesys. Markers of player harm- intensity, frequency, variability and trajectory -were compared to aspects of gameplay outcomes- volatility, hit rate and return to player (RTP).
The research tracked the behaviours and performances of 800,000 players.
Overall, the results found no correlation between these features and the determinants of harmful play.
Volatility was calculated for each game in the study, and then placed into four categories- low, medium, medium/high and high.
Games that featured the highest amount of potential harm were classified as medium-high in volatility. Future Anthem said that this was not high enough to suggest a direct correlation between harm and volatility.
For hit rates and RTP, a similar exercise was carried out. Hit rate was sorted into categories of 35%-65%, 20%-35% and 6%-20%.
RTP for games was classified into bands of 96.1%-97.75%, 95.6%-96.09%, 95.0%-95.59% and 88.1%-94.99%.
Like volatility, neither of these gameplay outcomes were found to correlate with irresponsible gambling behaviour.
However, the report did suggest that gambling between the hours of 12am and 6am was 36% riskier than at other times of the day.
In terms of game popularity, the report found that players were just as likely to display markers of gambling harm when playing their favourite game than when playing other games.
“Identifying potential markets of harm within player game sessions is a core area of focus for Future Anthem,” said Chris Conroy, chief data officer at Future Anthem.
“We are delighted to have undertaken this research with Gamesys to begin to explore the potential for linkages with the games themselves.”
“We look forward to undertaking future research on games and game design to help build a body of data led evidence in this key area.”
The developer and licensor of mobile-focused gaming content said in a trading update that it has now been granted a full iGaming Supplier License in Michigan – the US’s 10th most populous state – after operating with a provisional permit since January 2021.
Gaming Realms is already licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and its application to supply games in Ontario has been submitted and is currently being processed.
To read the full article, visit iGB North America.
The group, which owns Paddy Power, Betfair, FanDuel, PokerStars and Sky Betting and Gaming, said in its Q3 trading update that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) expectations – excluding US operations – for 2021 are now between £1.24bn (€1.46bn/$1.69bn) and £1.28bn, compared to previous guidance of £1.27bn-£1.37bn.
Flutter said unfavourable sports results in the first 24 days of October impacted EBITDA by around £60m.
It put the cost of its temporary Netherlands exit at £10m during Q4 2021 and £40m in 2022, with the group’s entry into the regulated market delayed by its decision to only withdraw on 1 October. The £50m cost “assumes we recommence trading in Q3 2022 and that our Dutch operations break even in H2 next year as we invest to re-engage customers.”
Adverse sports results in October will also cost £15m for its US operations, with a loss of £250m-£275m now expected compared to the previous £225m-£275m. Net revenue guidance for its US operations are unchanged at £1.285bn-£1.425bn.
During the three-month period ended 30 September, revenue was at £1.4bn, which was up 9%, or 12% on a constant-currency basis. Within that, sports revenue was up 13% to £906m and gaming revenue up 1% to £534m. The group also recorded a 13% rise in average monthly players.
Revenue from the UK and Ireland was down 5% to £491m, with online and retail contracting by 5% and 6% respectively. A decline in online sports revenue was primarily driven by a staking decline of 5% year-on-year as well as a 10 basis point reduction in net revenue margin to 9.8%. The staking decline was in part impacted by the condensed nature of the comparative Q3 2020 sporting calendar.
UK retail revenues were 9% above Q3 2019 levels whereas revenue in Ireland was down 27%, mainly because of the latter’s slower relaxation of Covid restrictions. As a result, overall retail revenues were around 90% of 2019 levels.
The group saw a 20% year-on-year rise in Australian revenue to £370m. Sportsbet’s stakes were 15%
higher year-on-year while net revenue margin increased by 40 basis points to 11.1%.
Revenue in its international division – mostly driven by PokerStars – was 3% lower year-on-year, with gaming down 6% and sports up 14%. German product and tax changes were a drag on this segment, with revenue up 6% when excluding that market.
US revenue grew by 85% to £280m with FanDuel – now live online in 12 states – accounting for 94% of the total. Sports revenue increased by 97% to £184m, including sportsbook growth of 422%. Gaming revenue increased by 65% to £95m with gaming products now available in five states.
Peter Jackson, Flutter’s chief executive, commented: “Flutter delivered a strong third quarter performance, with double-digit growth in our global player base. This resulted in the group delivering revenue growth of 12% despite challenging comparatives including a concentration of key sporting events in the prior year.
“While a run of customer-friendly results in October have resulted in win margins being below expected levels in the quarter to date, the underlying strength of our business is clear; we have grown our online recreational player base by 46% in just two years. With more international jurisdictions and US states on the path to regulation, we look forward to sustainably growing our global player base further in 2022.”
Commenting on the results, Regulus Partners analysts said the loss from the Dutch market is “a reminder of the risks run in grey markets – the cash flow is nice but capitalising the value is dangerous.”
Regulus added: “Flutter continues to demonstrate that where it has mass market betting-led strength it is a sustainable sector leader. What happens where these characteristics do not apply, either because of the nature of the market or Flutter’s own offer, remains an open question currently delivering lacklustre performance.”
While not giving details of business costs and profitability during the three-month period, Flutter CEO Jackson said the group had been “disciplined” in US marketing expenditure at the start of the NFL season. However, Harry Barnick, senior analyst at Third Bridge, said customer acquisition costs in the US continue to pose a challenge.
“The US market continues to be a strategic growth area for Flutter with success in this market looking pivotal to the future of the company,” Barnick said.
“As regulation opens up on a state-by-state basis, Flutter will be singularly focused on picking up licences and growing market share in the US.
“The land grab is in full swing as Flutter and its competitors spend big to win share in this growing market. As the market matures, demonstrating profitability to investors will become increasingly important.”
Media reports this week said that Flutter was bidding to acquire sports media brand The Athletic. In a response to iGB, a spokesperson the business opted not to comment on the speculation.
“Abios provides us with what we need, what our users need, and do it fast and securely!” – Aleksey Pontiakov, Senior Product Manager, Sports.ru
Esports, or cyber sports as it’s also called, has reached wide popularity in the CIS-region. Sports.ru states that esports is among the most popular sports in Russia and Ukraine. The entire region is home to several prominent teams in both CS:GO and Dota 2 and has an established esports fan base. Furthermore, the region has a history in being incredibly fast in recognising esports as a sport. Esports got it’s official status as a sport in Russia as early as 2016, while several prominent esports countries such as Sweden are still lagging behind.
As the leading sports-publication in Russia, Sports.ru recognised the need for a community platform for esports fans. Their esports offering currently covers Cyber.sports.ru, an android app called Well Played and an app for Russian esports team Winstrike Team. The platforms allow for fans to take part in news, tournament-and match schedules as well as community features for esports.
Abios fuels Sports.ru’s offering with esports data, enabling match-and tournament calendars as well as live statistics-and streams. For dedicated fans, the granularity of the data provides an opportunity to deep dive into both live in-game and post game statistics. The statistics provide additional value for fans and make for a great complement to the news and articles.
As Aleksey Pontiakov, Senior Product Manager at Sports.ru, puts it:
We have a lot of Dota 2 and CS:GO fans, and we need a stable data source, especially during main events like The International or PGL CS:GO Majors. Abios do it really great. Our users want to get a lot of information about their favourite teams, players, they want to know tournament schedules. Also, some of our users are biggest fans, and they dive into game analytics deep during or after the match (and of course the more data the better).
Jacob Howard, Key Account Manager, Abios
“Sports.ru and their esports initiatives have come a long way and answers the need for esports coverage in CIS-countries, as many fans, teams and players are housed in the region. We’re well aligned with their mission to bring esports to a position where it’s on par with other sports and recognised as the ground-breaking phenomenon it is. Therefore, we are happy to support and fuel sports.ru and their various platforms with data as well as supporting their quest in creating further value for esports fans.”
The integration of Abios esports data into Sports.ru’s systems has run smoothly. As Aleksey explains, Abios clear and thorough documentation made for an easy integration process without the need for extensive customer support interactions. However, whenever the sports.ru development team needed questions answered, Abios’ support team was there to help.
With 20 years in operation, sports.ru is the leading sports news publication in all of Russia. The platform provides sports fans and stakeholders with blogs, news, match-calendars and community features.
Sports.ru’s esports vertical is called cyber.sports.ru. It acts as a one-stop-shop for esports fans and players alike with tournament schedules, opinion posts and news. Their mission is to raise the esports community from underground chats on Twitch and put it on par with sports such as ice hockey or cycling.
Abios provides industry leading esports data and technology for customers all over the globe. We provide data, compliance, odds and widgets products for popular esports titles including CS:GO, League of Legends, Fortnite and Dota 2.
However, it said more research was required as customers remained aware of other ways to gamble using credit.
The regulator announced a ban on use of credit cards – and e-wallets funded by credit cards – to gamble in January 2020, with the ban coming into effect in April of that year.
At the time, concerns were raised that customers would still be able to gamble with credit using a number of other methods, but the regulator said it believed that the ban would still reduce harm by applying “friction” for those who were considering gambling with borrowed funds.
As a result, the regulator performed an evaluation of the ban to ensure it was having the desired effect without “unintended consequences”.
The regulator used an online survey from Yonder of around 2,000 adults, plus focus group meetings with 30 respondents, all of whom gambled online in the past 12 months, including using a credit card to do so before the ban, as well as consulting with a major bank.
In evaluating the implementation of the ban, the Commission found that it had been brought in successfully.
“A major high street bank has informed us that they observed the volume and value of gambling transactions with credit cards to the gambling merchant code, MCC7995, reduce to a very low level after the ban,” it said.
It added that it had not detected any breaches of the ban by operators.
Examining the decision to ban e-wallets loaded with credit as well, the regulator said a number of payment providers had given assurances that these payments were now blocked. While a “small number” of these transactions did occur soon after the ban came into force, these – the regulator said – were “quickly resolved”.
One concern the regulator had was that players would deposit large amounts using a credit card just before the ban came into force. However, it said data from the major high street bank provided “no evidence” that this happened.
A further concern was that some gamblers would move their source of borrowing to riskier forms of credit, such as payday loans that carry very high interest rates. However, the survey suggested that the use of overdrafts, payday loans and other loans all remained stable as the ban came into force. Borrowing funds from family and friends and the use of mobile phone account payments did show small increases, but the regulator noted that respondents put their decisions to borrow down to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic rather than the credit card ban, while mobile phone account payments were a new method growing from an extremely low base.
Overall, the regulator found that – after the ban came into effect – 76% of people who had gambled with a credit card now did not use borrowed funds. 15% did use borrowed funds and attributed their choices to the ban, while 9% used borrowed funds but said this was due to other factors. However, the regulator noted that the total sample for this survey was small, at only 131.
The focus group research did find that some players – often classed as at-risk or problem gamblers – did use workarounds such as transferring money from their credit card into a current account before paying with a debit card.
Similarly, the regulator looked at whether players may have turned to illegal sources of funds such as loan sharks or theft. The regulator’s Illegal Money Lending Team examined this topic, speaking to families of those with gambling addictions, as said it had “not received any specific reports of illegal money lending from gamblers who have stated they have borrowed because of the credit card ban”.
“However, this will need to remain under observation as the team has seen a significant reduction in the number of reports received during the pandemic,” it added. “Pandemic-related factors such as the closure of normal meeting places between loan sharks and victims, restrictions on movement and self-isolation are likely to have contributed to the decrease in reports, but this may change now that restrictions have been eased.”
In examining whether the ban led to players moving to black-market websites, the regulator said there was no increase in reports of unlicensed play.
“Our sources have not identified any displacement to black-market sources as a result of the credit card ban, although the motivations of the individual for gambling with an unlicensed operator are rarely known,” it said.
Finally, the Commission asked whether the ban may have caused disproportionate inconvenience to leisure gamblers. Instead of this inconvenience, it found that “opinions are broadly positive and, for some, the ban has increased awareness of the amount being spent on gambling”.
Given these findings, the regulator said that “no evidence has been identified so far that would support a requirement for significant remedial action”.
“However, it is also clear that the awareness of legal workarounds is reasonably high and those that are sufficiently motivated to gamble with borrowed money are likely to find a way to do so, albeit whilst experiencing greater friction,” it added. “Ongoing monitoring of behaviours is important in case the end of lockdown restrictions brings about an increase in more harmful forms of funding gambling activity.”
As a result, further research will be performed by NatCen, which won a tender process to perform it, and commissioned by Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (GREO), funded by regulatory settlement.
