Month: January 2022

Gaming revenue came to €53.4m (£44.4m/$59.6m), and while this was up from 2020-21, it was down 20.7% compared to Q2. However, this was still improvement from gaming revenue’s lowest point of €45.0m in Q1.

Gaming revenue for the year so far stands at €166.0m, up 76.6% from the same period in the previous financial year.

Total revenue for the quarter came to €125.8m, a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 37.2%. Yet this was a rise of over €30.0m compared to 2020/2021 Q3.

Revenue from leases owned by SBM totalled at €29.4m, a rise of 8.2% year-on-year but approximately €500,000 in difference to Q2.

Hospitality revenue came to €43.6m for the quarter, up 85.8% year-on-year.

In a statement, SBM commented on its expectations for full year revenue, which will be released after its fourth quarter ends in March 2022.

“Despite a level of activity which should still remain significantly impacted over the coming months by the health crisis and its consequences, the SBM Group expects the financial performance for the 2021/2022 financial year to improve compared to that of the previous year, without it being possible to precisely determine the extent,” said the group.

“This perspective is, however, in context to the gradual exit from the health crisis, which remains fragile today.”

The free-to-play game developer detailed that the most recent round of funding would be used to support its continued growth, with a particular focus on the US market.

“2021 was a successful year of growth for Low6, and the conclusion of our latest round of funding will allow us to accelerate our continued development in 2022,” commented Jamie Mitchell, co-founder and group CEO at Low6.

“Throughout 2021, we continued to build our products and service offering, enabling us to win new partners and significant new contracts. With these new funds secured, and a number of exciting new partners, we believe we are well placed to enjoy a successful 2022.”

In the US the company has partnered with sports teams and betting operators, having most recently developed a free-to-play game for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Alongside that partnership the company also became the official free-to–pay partner of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, the PointsBet and the PGA Tour in a double agreement and betting operator BlueBet in the state of Iowa.

In his new role, Tinnelly will join the Ad:s strategy team and will lead a group of paid social media specialists on client campaigns.

Tinnelly joins Sportradar from technology company Meta, where he was the business lead for Facebook’s real money gambling gaming offering, developing strategy and driving sales for the vertical globally.

During his seven years at Facebook, Tinnelly worked with some of the world’s largest betting companies, helping them build brands, acquire new customers, expand into new markets and navigate regulatory changes.

Rainer Geier, chief product officer of sports entertainment at Sportradar said: “From his senior role at Facebook, Brendan is a well-known figure in the igaming industry and we’re thrilled to have him onboard as we continue to evolve our Ad:s offering, combining proprietary and gaming-specific technology, with the best strategic and executional talent in the sector.”

“Brendan’s hire sends a strong signal about the level of our ambition.”

Commenting on his appointment, Tinnelly said: “I have seen first-hand the transformative impact paid social can have for sports betting operators, many of whom are increasingly shifting their marketing budgets into the channel.”

“Through Ad:s; our leading betting-focused marketing solutions technology, Sportradar can help sportsbooks across the world achieve strong return on investment for their businesses by driving meaningful fan engagement.”

Tinnelly’s appointment follows new hires across several marketing functions including paid search, affiliate marketing and connected TV opportunities.

These changes include the appointment of Andrew Bimson to the role of chief operating officer and Jim Brown as head of integrity services and harm prevention for North America.

The latest show metrics from organiser Clarion Gaming show that 159 exhibitors and sponsors from 29 nations are scheduled to attend.

These exhibitors will occupy 6,265 sq m of floor space, a 28% increase from the show’s 2020 footprint.

The level of investment in the event, meanwhile, is already up by 5% compared to 2020’s final figure.

“I am delighted to confirm these figures which have been achieved a full 11 weeks ahead of launch, with the team continuing to market the opportunities and benefits of being a part of the industry’s premier event,” iGB Affiliate portfolio director Naomi Barton said.

“There is a confidence within the igaming affiliate sector and the optimism, energy and desire to come together and network represents an extension of what we experienced with the iGB brand last September in Amsterdam when independent post-show satisfaction research placed iGB Live!/iGB Affiliate Amsterdam among the top ten percent of events benchmarked with visitors and in the elite top three percent for exhibitors.”

Barton added that the impressive exhibitor numbers include a mix of both new exhibitors and returning ones, at close to a 50/50 split.

“Drilling down into the data the exhibitor line-up for iGB Affiliate London comprises a compelling blend of returning (53% of the total) and first time exhibitors,” she said. “As an event organiser the challenge is to achieve the optimum balance and to have 47% first-time exhibitors keeps the show floor fresh and dynamic.”

Barton admitted that there was “still some understandable caution” regarding international travel due to Covid, but pre-registration figures had remained strong. And with the UK government announcing this week that testing for vaccinated rivals was to be scrapped from 11 February, this was likely to drive further sign-ups.

iGB Affiliate London will take place from 13-14 April 2022, alongside ICE London, the world’s largest B2B gaming industry show, which runs from 12-14 April.

To register for iGB Affiliate London 2022, click here.

Under the agreement, the operator’s Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app will launch in the state’s regulated sports betting market.

The NNGE, a division of the Navajo Nation, the largest federally recognized Native American Nation in the US, operates five gaming and hospitality facilities across Arizona and New Mexico.

Hard Rock also offers online sports betting in the states of New Jersey and Iowa.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

In his new role, Hussain will support PressEnter group chief executive Lahcene Merzoug and the operator’s senior management team with ongoing growth plans, including M&A activity.

Hussain joins PressEnter having spent 15 years working in the gambling industry, spending time with the likes of Tipico, Zeal Group, Probability, Betfair and William Hill.

“I am truly excited to join PressEnter Group at this time and look forward to working with the team to help deliver on the next phase of the journey to becoming a true market leader,” Hussain said.

“I see the appointment as an excellent opportunity to use my skills and be a part of a fast-growing, innovative company.”

CEO Merzough added: “Qurban is a finance powerhouse and also a great cultural fit for our organisation. Being able to leverage his experience of working with tier one operators will be a major resource for us as we continue to deploy our own growth plans.

“We have built an incredible company culture at PressEnter Group that allows all members of the team to excel and thrive and not only will Qurban help deliver this culture to the finance team, I believe he too will benefit from the environment we have created.”

The appointment comes after PressEnter announced the launch of its sixth brand in the form of Rapid Casino in October.

Rapid Casino joined PressEnter’s existing brands 21.com, Justspin, NitroCasino, NeonVegas and UltraCasino.

The regulator issued an order for Interstorm – which operates the SLL365 website for Casino Shangri-La – to stop promoting unlicensed online gambling in Lithuania in May 2020.
However, the operator filed an appeal with the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court that month, arguing that it had not received any warning before the regulator took action.
The court rejected this appeal, noting that there was no requirement for the Gambling Supervisory Authority to warn unlicensed operators.
The operator then took its appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, but this court agreed with the lower ruling.
The Supreme Administrative Court noted that being able to quickly block sites was a central component in the Supervisory Authority’s powers against online gambling, and that requiring a warning would weaken those powers.
Elsewhere, a customer that had suffered from gambling-related harm applied to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court with a case against the countryc government, arguing that it had not done enough to limit gambling advertisements in public places.
As a result of these ads, the complainant argued, he had been induced to revert back to problematic gambling habits and thus suffered actual harm.
The complainant asked for €10,000 in damages, plus interest.
In January 2021, the court dismissed his complaint, but the complainant appealed this to the Supreme Administrative Court.
However, this court found that there was “no legal basis” to find that the customer had suffered a compensable form of damage.
The court said it was important to consider whether gambling advertising “is a consequence of advertising or an expression of the effect of the psychophysiological characteristics of the personality which is legally unjustified and denies the existence of statutory damages”.
It also noted that since 2016, players have had the option to self-exclude from gambling. It said the player’s decision not to self-exclude would have to also be considered in the factors that contributed to them engaging in harmful gambling.
Last year Lithuania introduced wide-reaching restrictions on gambling marketing, banning – among other things – bonuses.
Since those rules came into effect, the regulator has issued fines for violations of the ban, including fining Enlabs last week for sending an email that explained the terms and conditions of a number of new games.

Sports wagering was legalised in Louisiana in November 2020 following a parish-by-parish referendum, but the market’s launch was delayed to 2021 due to Louisiana only permitting the passing of a new tax in an odd-numbered year.

Legal retail betting began in October of last year, but the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) earlier this week confirmed that the online market would launch today.

Ahead of this, the LGCB issued approval for Penn National Gaming (PNG) to offer online and mobile sports betting in the state, with the operator’s Barstool Sportsbook brand set to launch on opening day.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Through the partnership, Caesars will offer its customers sports betting promotions and offers both at NYRA’s Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course sites and across the state through its mobile product. Mobile betting in New York launched earlier this month, with Caesars being one of the first four operators to go live.

In addition, Caesars sportsbook customers will have access to VIP hospitality at NYRA’s racetracks.

“This partnership with NYRA will amplify the Caesars Sportsbook brand to NYRA Bets customers and at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, two of the most important venues in the sport,” Eric Hession, co-president of Caesars Digital, said.

 “We couldn’t be more excited for this partnership to reach horse racing fans and look forward to our involvement with NYRA’s premier thoroughbred racing.”

Tony Allevato, NYRA’s chief revenue officer and president of NYRA Bets, said Caesars’ brand power was a significant reason why his business agreed to the deal.

“Caesars has been a household name in the gaming and entertainment industry for decades,” he said. “NYRA jumped at this opportunity, and we look forward to deepening this partnership in the future.”

NYRA has already partnered with MGM-Entain joint venture BetMGM, in a deal announced in May.

The quarter was the second of PointsBet’s 2021-22 financial year.

In total, PointsBet took in sports bets worth AUD$1.33bn in Q2, up 11.1% from the second quarter of 2020-21.
The majority of this total came from Australia, where revenue was up 33.6% to AUD$727.0m.
In the US, meanwhile, revenue was down by 9.2% to AUD$598.9m.

PointsBet revealed that during the quarter it held a 7.4% sports betting market share in the state of Illinois, 5.1% in Michigan, 3.5% in Colorado, 3.1% in New Jersey, 2.8% in Indiana, 2.3% in Iowa and 1.4% in West Virginia.

Gross sports betting revenue grew by 60.4% to AUD$133.8m with strong growth in both major markets. In Australia, the total was up by 22.2% to AUD$92.2m, while US revenue grew more than fivefold to AUD$41.6m, despite the lower handle.

Net sports betting revenue – which is gross revenue minus promotional costs such as free bets, enhanced odds, money-back offers and early payouts – was up 60.7% to AUD$71.9m. The vast majority of this total came from Australia, where this total grew by 7.0% to AUD$53.1m.

PointsBet’s results were then boosted by an additional AUD$5.4m in net online casino revenue – all from the US, as online casino is not permitted in Australia – for total net revenue of AUD$77.3m, of which AUD$24.1m was from the US.
In the US net betting revenue reached AUD$18.8m after a loss of AUD$5.1m in 2020-21.

The operator also revealed that it has 232,785 active clients – who placed a bet in the past 12 months – in Australia. In the US, this total was 211,113.

The business then made a further AUD$13.1m in B2B revenue. Most of this total came from Banach Technology, the sports betting supplier that it acquired last year.
This led to total receipts from customers of AUD$90.4m, slightly more than double 2020-21’s Q2 total.

Costs of sales came to AUD$44.8m, up 54.8% from the year before. Advertising and marketing costs were up by 51.2% to AUD$65.6m, while staff costs doubled to AUD$18.9m. Corporate and administrative costs were up by 62.0% to AUD$17.0m.

Other income – mostly made up of increases in funds held in player accounts – came to AUD$4.2m.
This led to a net loss from operating activities of AUD$51.8m.
The business made an additional loss of AUD43.6m from investing activities. The vast majority of this total, at AUD$35.9m, came from US business development costs, while a further AUD$7.0m came from capitalised development costs.

After a further AUD$1.1m loss from finance-related costs, PointsBet made a net loss of AUD$96.5m. This was 61.4% more than the net loss recorded in Q2 of 2020-21.

After the quarter ended, PointsBet announced a number of major developments. The business launched suspension-free live betting in the US during an NFL playoff game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders.

It then launched online sports betting in New York, a market that opened for business earlier this month, and online casino in West Virginia, as well as receiving licences for both betting and igaming in Pennsylvania.
The business also appointed Eric Lee as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a role in which he will oversee PointsBet’s DEI-related efforts and initiatives. Lee had previously been assistant vice president of DEI at Colorado College.