Month: January 2022

The programme will be rebranded from M Life Rewards to MGM Rewards, and extended to let customers earn MGM Rewards Points when they play, stay or dine at its properties.

Previously customers could only earn points from gambling at MGM properties, but will now be able to accumulate points that can be redeemed for complimentary food and beverage, entertainment, hotel stays and other experiences.

There will still be additional incentives for gamers, with slots players able to earn Slot Dollars, previously known as PointPlay, when they gamble at MGM’s casinos.

The five member tier levels – Sapphire, Pearl, Gold, Platinum and Noir – will remain in place. Members that reach the Pearl tier will be eligible for complimentary ticks to MGM Rewards concerts, and not have Rewards Points or Slot Dollars expire due to account inactivity.

For Gold tier members, resorts fees will be waived, and they will gain access to exclusive events and experiences. Platinum members can receive travel credits to Las Vegas, suite upgrades and even 4pm check-outs for hotel stays.

The MGM Rewards app will be updated to include all of the new enhancements, while the rewards scheme will be integrated with BetMGM, the operator’s sports betting and igaming brand, allowing players to collect points while playing online.

Rewards will not be limited to MGM Resorts properties, with the operator having partnered with brands such as Hyatt Hotels, Southwest Airlines, Avis Rental Cars, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines to offer more experiences to customers.

“MGM Resorts boasts an unrivalled collection of resorts and amenities for our guests from around the world,” MGM Resorts’ vice president of loyalty marketing Anil Mansukhani said.

“As every guest experiences our properties in unique ways, MGM Rewards is designed to recognise and reward every member with experiences uniquely suited to their preferences, whether that’s attending an incredible concert, enjoying a world-class meal or staying in a luxury suite.

“MGM Rewards was developed as a direct result of customer feedback and now offers more ways to earn, more ways to redeem, and more exclusive benefits at [more than 20] MGM Resorts destinations nationwide.”

As political parties in the Netherlands worked to create a new cabinet following the March 2021 election, Dekker – a member of the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) – announced that he would not form a part of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s fourth cabinet. 

In his time overseeing the legal system, which started in 2017, Dekker spearheaded the legalisation of online gambling in the Netherlands, through the passage of the Remote Gambling Act, following years of standstill. After a number of delays, the Act came into effect on 1 April 2021, allowing 10 operators to launch from 1 October.

“To prevent and correct injustice: that’s what legal protection is all about, as far as I am concerned. And of course that work is never done,” Dekker said in a social media post announcing his departure. 

“After walking around the Binnenhof for almost ten years, I am going to do something else. What exactly, I don’t know yet. And honestly, that’s what makes it quite exciting.”

Although the VVD remained the largest party after the election, gaining one seat, the role of Minister for Legal Protection will go to Weerwind, a member of centrist party Democraten 66. Weerwind has been mayor of the city of Almere since September 2015.

In a blog post today, Rene Jansen, chair of gambling regulator de Kansspelautoriteit,

thanked Dekker for his work in the legalisation of online gambling.

“From this place I would like to thank Sander Dekker, Minister for Legal Protection and therefore responsible for gaming policy, for constructive cooperation in recent years,” Jansen said. “I always say: the KSA is independent in its oversight, but it does not operate in a vacuum. We have always been able to consult each other on policy matters.

“Gaming history has been made with Sander Dekker at the helm. He succeeded in guiding the Remote Gambling Act through parliament. A step that I think is a good one, because it allows us to better protect consumers against the unmistakable risks associated with games of chance.”

Jansen went on to welcome Weerwind to his new role, saying there were “still important steps to be taken” to ensure igaming regulation was a success.

“I look forward to the appointment of the new Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind,” he said. “Legalisation of online gambling was a first important step in the modernization of Dutch gaming policy, but as shown in the government’s policy document for gambling, market regulation and market supervision can be improved from the perspective of the public interest.”

In his blog post, Jansen also looked at the year ahead, warning operators that if they did not reduce their levels of advertising, they may face a legislative crackdown, as “political patience” was wearing thin.

The management contract will come into force from 1 January 2023, running for eight years, with an option to extend for a further two years. 

The new provider would replace Intralot, which has powered MDJS’ lottery, betting and gaming offerings since 2010. In March last year the Greek gaming giant announced that it had agreed to reduce the term of an eight-year agreement, signed in June 2019, to end on 31 December, 2022.

MDJS has divided the two request proposal into two lots.#

The first covers fixed-odds sports and pari-mutuel betting, including wagering on virtual events, with betting on horse and greyhound racing carved out. Lot two covers lotteries, instant sports lotteries including electronic instant games and raffles. 

Bidders may submit a proposal for one or both lots, by paying a MAD10,000 (£797/€955/$1,079) fee for the bidding documents, with proposals to be submitted no later than 10am on 4 April. Bidders will also be required to submit a MAD3m security deposit alongside their proposal. 

Cornides moves into the newly created role with immediate effect and will work alongside other members of the senior management team at Pragmatic Play to support the provider’s ongoing growth strategy.

She joins the business having most recently served as chief commercial officer for Asia and the rest of world region at Gamesys, which was acquired by Bally’s in October 2021.

Prior to this, Cornides was chief marketing officer at Gamesys-owned Jackpotjoy Group and also had spells as chief executive of the group’s Jackpotjoy division and chief revenue officer of the Intertain business.

Earlier in her career, she spent time as managing director of Mandalay Media Group and head of bingo for BGO Group, as well as direct marketing manager at PartyGaming, now bwin.

In addition, she founded Cresco Consulting, a consultancy that delivers services to small and medium-sized businesses in the private sector.

“I am delighted to be joining such a talented team; I’ve long admired Pragmatic Play’s meteoric rise and saw firsthand how much players and operators alike love their games,” Cornides said. 

“I look forward to bringing my expertise to the team and working together to make Pragmatic Play into an even bigger success story.”

Pragmatic Play chief executive Julian Jarvis added: “We created this role as part of the next phase in our expansion journey and sought out Irina for her impressive growth track record. We are confident Irina’s accomplished experience will help successfully guide the company to new heights.”

Ads for the 888poker app appeared at the beginning of two videos in August 2021 entitled  “I was Youtubers [sic] Taxi driver for 24 hours” and  “$10,000 Youtuber poker challenge”.

Two complainants had raised the issue of whether ads for a gambling app were directed at those under 18 and whether they had particular appeal to children, however neither complaint was upheld.

Channel owner Callum Airey was able to sufficiently demonstrate that children made up a very small part of his audience. YouTube analytics showed that 7.5% of viewers of the first video were under 18, while the figure for the second video stood at 6%. Both figures were below the ASA’s 25% threshold, and so the ads were found not to be in breach of any advertising codes.

Furthermore, 888 retained editorial control over both 90 second ads, which included warnings that the product was not suitable for those under 18 in addition to responsible gambling and 18+ logos.

Airey was also able to show that the second video – which was specifically about poker – had a lower under-18 audience than the first, suggesting that the content didn’t appeal to that demographic.

The ASA concluded that although images of the 888poker app were used in the ads, the absence of imagery or wording linked to youth culture meant that the overall presentation lacked significant appeal to children.

Regarding the first video, the ASA concluded: “While the video was humorous in tone, we concluded that the concept of pretending to be a taxi driver and having conversations, while playing the taxi driver role, with other YouTube personalities would not have particular appeal to children or young people.”

The ASA had previously ruled against 888 over misleading affiliate advertising back in November.

Consumers in the state wagered $475.4m on sports during November, which was 3.3% less than the record $491.5m spent in October 2021, but more than double the $231.2m bet in November of 2020.

Players spent a total of $469.0m betting online during the month, while the other $6.4m was wagered at retail sportsbooks across the state.

After accounting for $438.7m in player winnings, this left $36.8m in gross gaming revenue, a new monthly high for the state, smashing the previous record of $28.6m set in October 2021 by 28.7%.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Lightbody had been on leave since September 2019 after receiving a cancer diagnosis and will now leave both roles, but will officially remain on medical leave from the organisation.

He first joined the BCLC in 2001 and served as vice president of lottery gaming and vice president of casino and community gaming, before going on to become president and CEO in 2014.

The BCLC will now initiate a global recruitment search for a permanent replacement, with Lynda Cavanaugh, who has served in both roles on an interim basis since January 2021, to remain in temporary charge until an appointment is made.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

We are inviting the industry to highlight the technology it sees as potentially transformational in the coming year.

Whether you think artificial intelligence will be a game-changer in 2022, or next year will be the year blockchain breaks into the mainstream, we want to know. 

The survey is being run in partnership with YouGov, with responses to be used to comply the Tech Futures Report. This will not only identify game-changing technologies but also dig into the ethical considerations that could affect their rollout.

Fill in the survey here.

Now in its third year, the survey’s findings will also be used to inspire new reports, white papers and webinars, all of which will help the industry develop and grow. 

“YouGov is delighted to be supporting the industry by its involvement with this important project,” global sector head of leisure and entertainment Oliver Rowe commented. “The sector’s growth is being shaped by technological developments so keeping on top of these has never been so important.

“We look forward to seeing this year’s results.YouGov is delighted to be supporting the industry by its involvement with this important project. The sector’s growth is being shaped by technological developments so keeping on top of these has never been so important. We look forward to seeing this year’s results.”

The bill may be discussed within the House once the legislative session begins today (5 January) before it is voted on by representatives.

House Bill 2144 categorises sports wagering as any betting conducted on athletic and sporting events involving human competitors. This includes but is not limited to, esports and other events approved by the commission.

Licence holders will be obliged to pay the gaming commission an annual fee of $20,000, in addition to paying wagering tax on gross receipts of 6.75%. A $10,000 fee will be paid to the commission every five years to cover the cost of licence renewals.

The fees collected will be deposited into a sports wagering fund overseen by the commission. Revenues from said tax will be funneled into a Gaming Proceeds for Education Fund.

In addition to those under the age of 21, anybody associated with a sporting contest or governing body will be prohibited from placing bets under the legislation.

Licence holders will be expected to retain personal data for at least three years of any bettors who places wagers that exceed $10,000 in a twenty-four-hour period.

Four pieces of legislation to approve betting – House Bills 1024, 619, 1364 and 730 – were sent to the state’s senate back in May 2021 but all died in the committee phase.

The month saw the US welcome international travellers from a number of countries for the first time since March 2020, after travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic were eased.

Players staked $1.09bn on sports in the month, down slightly from October’s $1.10bn but up 90.4% from the previous November.

From this total, sportsbooks took in $72.0m in revenue, up 16.5% from the previous record, set in November of the prior year.

Of the sports betting revenue total, just under half, at $35.0m, came from mobile bets. Mobile handle, however, far eclipsed the retail total, at $777.2m.

American football was by far the most popular sport for betting, as players wagered $558.6m and operators took in $53.1m, though this was down by 5.2% from November 2020. Basketball followed with $10.2m in revenue on bets worth $376.1m. Bets on hockey and other sports each brought in $2.9m, while parlay revenue came to $4.4m.

Overall gaming revenue in Nevada came close to the record $1.36bn set in July, but fell just short with $1.32bn. This total was up 71.4% from the previous year, and the ninth consecutive month in which revenue surpassed $1bn.

As usual, most of this total – $859.9m – came from slots, on which players staked $11.42bn. Multi-denomination slots were the most popular slot game, bringing in $412.5m, while penny slots brought in $328.2m. 

Table games, meanwhile, brought in $486.2m, which was up by 131.0% from November 2020. Blackjack was easily the highest-earning table game, bringing in $124.6m in revenue as players staked $786.8m. Baccarat followed, with $94.3m in revenue from bets worth $738.6m.

Roulette brought in $3645m and craps $40.7m.

In Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, revenue came to $1.16bn, falling short of July 2021’s record by less than $2.5m but up 81.3% from November of the prior year.

On the Las Vegas Strip, meanwhile, revenue came to $755.1m, less than July’s total but up 115.9% year-on-year.