Month: January 2022

According to the KSA, a number of unlicensed online gambling providers shut down their websites quickly or block Dutch customers when confronted with legal action from the regulator.

The KSA requires all gambling sites without a licence to block Dutch customers, rather than simply avoiding targeting the Netherlands.

Entain, Kindred, 888, Betsson and Leovegas were among the operators that agreed to block all Dutch customers until they became eligible for licences.

However, this could mean that players may not be able to access their funds and will lose money.

The regulator added that there was no guarantee of a refund from a site that is inaccessible from the Netherlands.

The regulator reminded customers that gambling online with licensed operators has been legal in the Netherlands since 1 October, when the market opened.

The KSA also provided an update on the 25 illegal gambling websites it had chosen for investigation in November. This was launched to ensure Dutch customers were blocked from the selected sites.

The regulator said that it had since added more websites to the investigation, and will contact the relevant parties in due course.

Earlier this month René Jansen, chairman of the KSA, warned licensees to limit advertising to avoid a clampdown from the regulator.

Revenue for the month was 48.2% down from $2.7m in December 2020, while the total was also 65.9% lower than the record $4.4m set in November of 2021.

Player spending on sports betting amounted to $19.3m, which was 15.6% higher than in the previous year, but 8.5% down from November.

Gambet, operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, took top spot with $665,718 in revenue off a handle of $5.0m

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The annual total surpassed the previous yearly record of $12.8bn, set in 2007, by 4.7%, while this was also 70.3% higher than $7.87bn posted in 2020, according to figures published by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Slot machines were by far the main source of revenue in Nevada over the past 12 months, generating $9.22bn, up 70.1% on 2020, though the previous year saw the state face much stricter Covid-19 measures, when casinos were closed for large periods.

Multi-denomination slot games accounted for $4.28bn of total slot revenue in 2021, while penny-slot machines generated $3.76bn in revenue during the year.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Casino revenue of $2.89bn made up the majority of the total, up 41.7% from 2020. The Venetian Macao was the best performing resort, generating revenue of $1.26bn. The Londoner Macao followed with $588.0m, while The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Macao contributed $546.0m.

Mall revenue came to $649.0m, room revenue was $415.0m, while food and drink revenue added $199.0m.

Operating expenses totaled $4.92bn, up from $4.33bn in 2020. Resort operations were the largest expense at $3.46bn, followed by depreciation and amortisation of $1.04bn. Corporate costs came to $211.0m, and development expenses were $109.0m.

As a result, operating losses for the year came to $689.0m, down 50.5% from 2020. After accounting for interest expenses of $621.0m, other expenses totaling $168.0m, and a $5.0m income tax benefit, pre tax losses for the year amounted to $1.47bn.

After $193.0m worth of income tax, overall net losses came to $1.28bn – down from $2.14bn in 2020.

In terms of the fourth quarter of 2021, Las Vegas Sands experienced a slight revenue decrease – falling to $1.01bn from $1.02bn in 2020’s corresponding period.

Casino revenue was down 5.5% to $651.0m, mall revenue was up from $153.0m to $180.0m, and room revenue was up to $104.0m.

Operating losses for the quarter were up 16.0% to $138.0m, while net losses after tax came to $197.0m – down from $376m in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Las Vegas Sands chairman and CEO Robert G. Goldstein said: “We remain confident in the eventual recovery in travel and tourism spending across our markets and enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties in 2022 and the years ahead.

“While pandemic-related travel restrictions continue to impact our current financial performance, we again generated positive EBITDA in each of our markets. We remain deeply committed to supporting our team members and to helping those in need in each of our local communities as they recover from the impact of the pandemic.”

The company’s financial performance during the year was aided by $6.25bn sale of its Las Vegas properties to VICI Properties as it shifted its focus towards the Asian market.

Jumbo will pay an initial Aus$32.1m (£16.9m/€20.3m/US$22.7m) to take ownership of 100% of the business, while the deal also includes up to $8.5m in deferred payments, which will be payable subject to StarVale achieving certain earnings targets.

The acquisition, Jumbo said, would further expand its global growth strategy, following the purchase of UK-based Gatherwell in December 2019 and its pending acquisition of Canada-based Stride Management, agreed in August last year.

UK-based StarVale provides services to over 850,000 active lottery players across over 45 charities and not-for-profit organisations, many of which are major UK charities. StarVale also owns DDPay Ltd, a digital payments business that facilitates Direct Debit payments and solutions to StarVale’s weekly lottery clients.

Jumbo said access to digital payments solution capabilities including Direct Debit origination services through the acquisition of DDPay, would provide cost efficiencies for Gatherwell and our its UK operations, as well as facilitate further access to the charitable giving market.

In addition, Jumbo said the acquisition would allow it to leverage its Powered By Jumbo (PBJ) platform to drive further growth for clients, as well as aid its expansion plans in the UK market.

Should the deal go ahead, StarVale would form part of Jumbo’s Managed Services business segment, along with Gatherwell and Stride. The acquisition remains subject to approval by the Great Britain Gambling Commission, with Jumbo expecting to complete the purchase before the end of its 2022 financial year.

“We identified StarVale as one of our top acquisition opportunities in the UK given their scale and leadership position in the charity lottery market, strong brands, cultural alignment with Jumbo, and their talented leadership team,” Jumbo founder and chief executive Mike Veverka said.

“The acquisition helps accelerate our strategy to grow internationally and adds significantly more scale to our Managed Services business in the UK.”

Starvale director and founder Phil Magleave added: “I’m delighted that StarVale will soon join the Jumbo family and am looking forward to working with Jumbo to continue supporting our charity and not-for-profit clients raise vital funds for their ‘good causes’. 

“With ongoing changes in technology and increased digitisation expected in the lottery industry, the acquisition by Jumbo will expand its product range and the opportunities available to its valued clients – and grow what is already a highly successful business.”

The deal comes after Jumbo last month said its planned acquisition of Stride Management will not take place until mid-2022 due to an “extensive” regulatory approval process.

Jumbo initially said the deal would go through before the end of 2021, but the retailer said that this will not occur until the fourth quarter of its 2021-22 financial year, ended 30 June, when it expects to receive approval to proceed with the purchase.

On average, European casinos faced 150 days of closure in 2021. Most countries currently allow casinos to open, with the exception of Holland and Denmark, however curfews are widespread, consequently restricting the operating hours and restricting the F&B offer to partial guest services.

The ECA survey reveals that Hungary experienced the lowest number of enforced days of closure in 2021, with a total of 54, whilst France experienced the highest number with metropolitan areas closed for 199 days.

For over 95% of European casinos, proof of vaccination and a negative lateral-flow test is now needed for admission into casinos.
Social distancing requirements for guests vary from keeping a distance of 1 meter, in Sweden, to 15 square meters in Poland. Every adjacent slot machine is made unavailable for play, effectively halving the slot offer for most properties.

Additionally, masks are required throughout venues in over 95% of the casinos in Europe.

Per Jaldung, chairman of the ECA commented: “Closures, curbs and curfews continue to disrupt the normal flow of operations for ECA members into 2022. While the majority of casinos in Europe are open for business, the restrictions on opening times, the reduction of the gaming and F&B offer, plus further guest and staff requirements continue to put enormous pressures on the business.

“Government help and support needs to continue into 2022 as ECA members battle to keep their locations open to provide entertainment, employment and tax revenues, as they play an essential role within the international tourism and leisure industry.”

Employee testing and strict hygiene protocols continue to be observed by all casinos with the consumption of drinks and food prohibited from gaming areas across many locations. Curfews are in place for many jurisdictions still, where closing times of 10-11pm are mandated upon casinos by authorities in most countries.

The survey took place in November in conjunction with survey company SKOP.

A number of questions presented multiple choice answers.

Of those in the sample pool of 2,192 people, three out of four – or 73% – of participants were found to have gambled in the last year, up 7% from the 2020 survey.

When asked “in which places have you gambled in the last 12 months” 86% of participants said that they had gambled at home in the last year. A total of 20% gambled in a retail facility, down 5% compared to 2020, while 5% stated they had gambled at their job – up 1%.

These numbers may be attributed to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, when many in-person gambling venues were shut down.

During this time the Swedish government implemented a controversial deposit cap of SEK5,000. This was extended several times, and was abolished in November 2021. However, earlier this month Sweden’s Ministry of Finance launched a consultation on a lower deposit cap of SEK4,000 for casinos.

In response to what is of most importance when playing, the probability of winning was the most popular factor at 41%. The size of the winnings was second at 36%, while controlled play and entertainment tied in third at 33%.

A total of 46% of respondents said they had not used an online gaming account in the previous 90 days. This is up 10%. Meanwhile 39% had used one account, while 12% had used two. Just 2% had used three or more accounts.

When asked whether they believed Swedish operators take responsibility for problem gaming, 35% responded “yes, to some extent” while 27% responded “no, not at all”. Elsewhere 7% said “yes, absolutely” – down 5% – while 32% said they did not know.

In addition, 59% of respondents were aware of Sweden’s self-exclusion service, spelpaus.se, but had not used it. A total of 1% reported using it.

A majority of respondents – 53% – said they had seen or heard advertisements for gambling every day or every week.

In June 2021 Sweden’s Ministry of Finance launched a consultation into gambling advertising in the country, proposing that it be treated with the “special moderation” attributed to advertising alcohol.

The deal could be worth as much as $14.8m (£11.1m/€13.3m), with this to be settled as $8.0m in cash, $4.0m by the issuance of a secured vendor take back note and the issuance of 6,470,588 common shares of Intema.

A further $3.0m in cash would also be paid if Livestream were to achieve a number of set milestones.

This would include a $1.5m if Livestream generates minimum gross gaming revenue of $7.5m during the 12 months after the acquisition, and a further $1.5m if the business were to post at least $11.3m in gross gaming revenue during the 13- to 24-month period following the closing date.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the arrangement, Bally Sports will broadcast a new sports betting program – ‘Live on the Line, Powered by BetMGM’ – across its 19 regional sports network brands in the US and the accompanying Bally Sports app.

The program will also appear on Stadium, Sinclair’s 24/7 multi-platform sports network.

Live on the Line, Powered by BetMGM will deliver up-to-date information for the viewers, as well as entertainment-based content for casual fans.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The injunction pertains to Cashpoint failing to adequately assess the risk of the platform being misused for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. Under the injunction, Cashpoint must update its risk assessments.

The reprimands came after Cashpoint failed to identify relevant risks concerning types of players, payment methods and products. Furthermore, the company’s business protocols didn’t sufficiently outline how, when and by whom specific activities were to be carried out in order to comply with anti-money laundering legislation.

The regulator has demanded that Cashpoint carries out an updated risk assessment which addresses the issues that have been identified so far.

On the Cashpoint case, Spillemyndigheden said: “The rules on risk assessment and business procedures are fundamental in the Money Laundering Act. Violation of the rules leads, as a clear starting point, to an order or reprimand, or in serious or repeated cases, to a police report.”

The regulator recently reprimanded operator Mr Green for breaches of money laundering legislation.