Month: February 2022

Revenue for the 12 months through to 31 December 2021 was €38.5m (£32.3m/$43.8m), an increase of 31.0% from €29.4m in the previous year.

Raketech said this was driven by organic growth of 17.5% within its network sales business, as well as continued growth as a result of its acquisition of Casumba in September 2019.

The business also noted the impact of more recent acquisitions, with Raketech in the past 12 months having purchased QM Media AB’s assets in the US, Spanish organic casino affiliation marketing company Infinileads and US-facing tipster ATS Consultants.

New depositing customers (NDCs) fell 10.8%, but Raketech put this down to it targeting fewer, but higher value, leads. It also said 2020 included NDCs related to consumer finance assets sold in that year, while its Swedish assets experienced a boost in NDCs following the implementation of temporary gambling restrictions in Q3 of 2020, skewing the comparison.

Turning to costs, operating expenses for the full year reached €29.2m, up 28.1% year-on-year, while overall financial costs for the year reached €1.7m.

However, such was the impact of revenue growth that pre-tax profit still increased 24.6% to €7.6m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 36.9% to €16.5m.

Raketech paid €508,000 in income tax, which, after also including €29,000 in other loss, left a net profit of €7.1m for 2021, up 26.8% year-on-year.

Looking at the fourth quarter of the year and revenue for the three months to 31 December increased 40.0% to a record €11.8m.

Again, Raketech said this was driven by growth within network sales, with organic growth at 12.5%, as well as continued strong growth outside of Europe and acquisitions impact. NDCs for the quarter were down 11.7%, which the affiliate again said was a result of targeting fewer but higher value leads.

Operating expenses increased 29.0% to €8.0m, while after including €697,000 in overall financial costs, this left a pre-tax profit of €3.1m, up 34.8% from 2020. Adjusted EBITDA also increased 49.5% to €5.4m.

Raketech paid €230,000 in income tax, which, after also included €29,000 in other losses, left a net profit of €2.8m for Q4, up 33.3% year-on-year.

“The fourth and final quarter of 2021 was a strong quarter for Raketech, and I am happy to see that we have continued to deliver on our strategic goals of increasing the diversification of our business,” Raketech group chief executive Oskar Mühlbach said.

“Our network sales contributed as before significantly to our organic growth, despite being dampened by the Dutch market being out of reach due to changes in legislation.”

Raketech also provided an update on its performance in 2022, with revenue for January up 66.7% year-on-year to a record €4.5m.

“January set yet another record with revenues amounting to €4.5m with recent US acquisitions fully accounted for,” Mühlbach said. 

“With that said, Raketech is geographically, organisationally and technically well positioned in the global igaming affiliation space and I look forward to using this opportunity to increase investments into growth in 2022.”

Issued by de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the licences will permit the offering of online games of chance via the internet.

The licences were handed to JOI I Limited and JOI II Limited, but the KSA said it is not yet clear what domain names the two licence-holders will operator under in The Netherlands.

JOI Gaming secured its original licence in November 2021 and is active in the country via the Jacks.nl domain. It also owns the Jack’s, Jack’s Casino, Jack’s Casino & Sports and Jack’s Sports brand names, with its sportsbook offering powered by Kambi.

The regulator did not reveal which brand name the new licence would be for.

JOI owner JVH operates a network of 85 land-based casinos across the country under the Jack’s Casino, Flash Casino’s and Flamingo Casino.

The Netherlands opened its regulated online gambling market on 1 October, having initially issued 10 licences.

These were handed to operators including Bet365, UK-based bingo operator Tombola, which has since been acquired by Flutter, Play North, Dutch land-based operator Holland Casino and state lottery Nederlandse Loterij with its Toto Online brand.

The Janshen Hahnraths Group with FPO Nederland, Italy-based Betent, Belgian brand Bingoal, NSUS Malta, which runs the GGPoker.eu brand and sports media and betting business LiveScore Malta also secured licences. 

Total operating revenue for the 12 months to December 31, 2021 amounted to $3.76bn, up from the $2.10bn reported in 2020.

Wynn said that its performance in the previous year was significantly impacted by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, with this having led to enforced restrictions on its casinos in Nevada and Massachusetts, while its Macau properties were hit by limited travel into the region. 

However, over the course of 2021, Wynn’s casinos incrementally resumed full operations, including reopening gaming areas to 100% of capacity and restoring seven-day-per-week hotel operations, thus leading to the rise in revenue.

As such, casino revenue jumped 72.4% year-on-year to $2.13bn, while food and beverage revenue was also up by 92.3% to $633.9m, rooms revenue climbed 92.4% to $592.6m, and entertainment, retail and other revenue increased 82.6% to $403.8m.

The past year also saw significant expansion for the operator’s WynnBet online brand, which gained access to a number of additional states including Arizona, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia following initial launches in Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee. 

Shortly after the year-end, WynnBet also launched in New York’s newly regulated online sports betting market.

Also in 2021, Wynn and Austerlitz Acquisition Corporation I cancelled the deal that would have seen the Wynn Interactive subsidiary spin off, merge with Austerlitz and go public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

In November, Craig Billings, chief executive of Wynn Interactive and the new chief executive of Wynn after Matt Maddox left the role, said Wynn made the decision as it pursued a new strategy for its online WynnBet brand. This strategy, it said, would involve lower marketing spend, and so did not align with the capital-intensive approach that the merger would have offered.

Looking at costs for the full year and total operating expenses were up by 24.9% to $4.16bn, while after accounting for $617.0m in financial costs, including $605.6m in interest expense, pre-tax loss was $1.01bn, an improvement on the $1.76bn loss at the end of 2020.

Wynn also noted that adjusted property earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) flipped from a loss of $324.2m in 2020 to a positive of $569.4m for the past year.

The operator paid just $474,000 in income tax and, after also taking into account $259.7m in profit from non-controlling interests, this left an overall net loss of $755.8m for the year, compared to a $2.07bn net loss in 2020.

Focusing on the final quarter of the year and revenue for the three months to December 31 was $1.05bn, up 53.5% year-on-year. Casino revenue increased 13.8% to $518.2m, rooms revenue 167.0% to $204.8m food and beverage revenue 149.8% to $198.8m, and entertainment retail and other revenue 76.4% to $131.4m.

Costs jumped 34.1% to $1.16bn, while after including $152.7m in financial expenses, this left a pre-tax loss of $258.3m, an improvement on $309.7m in Q4 2020. Adjusted property EBTIDA also increased 113.6% year-on-year to $149.1m.

Wynn received $1.9m in tax benefit during the quarter, which, when coupled with $79.2m in profit from non-controlling interests, left a net loss of $177.2m, compared to a $269.5m loss in Q4 of the previous year.

“Our relentless focus on five-star hospitality and world class experiences allowed us to further extend our leadership positions in Las Vegas and Massachusetts in 2021,” Billings said. “In Macau, we remain confident that the market will benefit from the return of visitation over the coming quarters.”

Billings also spoke about plans announced last month whereby Wynn, along with partners Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding, will develop and manage a luxury integrated resort in the United Arab Emirates.

The resort, scheduled to open in 2026, will sit on the man-made Al Marjan Island and will feature a gaming floor, more than 1,000 hotel rooms, as well as shops and meeting and convention facilities. 

It will be located 15 minutes from the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, and 45 minutes from the Dubai International Airport.

The Al Marjan Island site is located around 65 miles from Dubai, the UAE’s largest city.

“The project further diversifies our business, extending our brand into the Middle East and Europe,” Billings said. “We look forward to creating the one-of-a-kind guest experiences for which Wynn Resorts is renowned and contributing to tourism and employment growth in the region.”

Meanwhile, Wynn has entered into a definitive agreement to sell all of the land and real estate assets of Encore Boston Harbor to Realty Income for $1.70bn in cash.

Wynn continue to operate the property and enter a triple-net lease agreement, featuring an initial total annual rent of $100.0m and initial term of 30 years, with one 30-year tenant renewal option. 

Rent under the lease will increase at 1.75% for the first 10 years of the lease and the greater of 1.75% and the CPI increase during the prior year, capped at 2.50% over the remainder of the lease term.

The agreement will see Wynn retain its 13-acre developable land assemblage on the east side of Broadway in Everett, Massachusetts, on a portion of which it plans to construct an expansion that is expected to include additional covered parking along with other non-gaming amenities. 

Wynn has also secured an option to sell the related land and real estate assets of any such expansion to Realty Income for up to $20.0mof additional rent, at a specified cap rate, for up to six years following the closing of the transaction.

While the deal remains subject to customary closing conditions, Wynn expects the sale to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2022.

“Encore Boston Harbor is the premier gaming resort on the East Coast and the valuation we achieved in this sale reflects the property’s quality,” Billings said. “Equally important, the bespoke structure and terms of the lease allow us to maintain a great deal of operating flexibility across economic cycles. 

“The proceeds of the transaction also provide us with liquidity for several of our upcoming development projects and the potential to retire other debt.”

The regulator said that it had “recently found licensees using terms that are potentially unfair”. These terms, it said, often gave operators “undue discretion” to decide if and when certain rules apply.

The potentially unfair rules that the Commission mentioned included terms that would allow an operator licensees to confiscate customers’ account funds or promotions with terms that allow an operator to void real-money winnings if a customer breaks staking rules.

The Commission also said that terms that “unfairly permit licensees to reduce potential winnings on open bets” could be considered unfair, as could certain terms and conditions about how an operator treats customer funds if it suspects there has been illegal or irregular play.

The regulator added that it was also “aware” that some operators’ terms and conditions that were difficult to understand, and of bonus requirements that “may encourage excessive play”.

Yesterday (15 February) Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) reported a 28.0% year-on-year rise in revenue for 2021. Following its divestment of its B2C assets in 2020, this marked its first full year as a purely B2B business, and while CEO Richard Brown says he is pleased with the performance he stresses that it’s still the beginning for the company. 

“We made the shift in 2020, laid the initial groundwork, and in 2021 it started to come to fruition. We felt we had to work on a lot of stuff operationally, so as the results followed the strategic move in sequence, it really feels as if we’re gearing up.” 

Revenue for the year was driven predominantly by GiG’s media business, which contributed €45.0m of the total, up 31.2% from the prior year. Brown has previously described that division as being at a different part of its lifecycle to the platform segment but again, he sees significant room for further growth.

Following acquisitions in 2016 and 2017, the focus has been on growing organically, with the media team building up its asset portfolio and entering new markets. This in turn sets it up for further organic growth, rather than bringing it to a plateau. 

“There’s a number of markets where I feel we don’t have the position we should have, others where we can defend and consolidate our position,” he explains. “The US is obviously a market we’ve been building up – website traffic is up 94% year-on-year. We’re still at a low level but we’re gaining traction and will keep building and building.”

The paid media division has also performed “exceptionally well”, he adds, aided both by its ability to deliver return on investment and by other markets opening up. There are also territories where its offering will be dominated by casino and others where sports is the lead vertical, which gives further scope for growing. 

“I still think despite it being a large organisation and in a mature phase there’s still a plethora of opportunities,” Brown says.

The runway for the platform business is even longer. For 2021 revenue was up 13.2%, or 40.8% if white label clients were not included. The strategy for the division has been to spot markets with potential, which continued with Q4’s launch in the City of Buenos Aires in partnership with local operator Grupo Slots. 

Brown points out that with igaming’s share of Argentina’s gambling revenue hovering around 4%, the market has a long way to reach maturity. Work is underway to refine the offering in Buenos Aires, and to adapt the product for other territories such as Colombia, the region’s oldest online market. 

Brazilian sports betting regulation is “eagerly anticipated”, Brown adds, despite the lack of clarity about when and how it will go online, with some of GiG’s Argentinean clients already eyeing up the market. 

GiG’s expansion efforts in Latin America reflect the company’s focus on taking strategic positions in high-potential markets, Brown explains. “I think Argentina is quite a good example of that specifically, where we don’t expect it to be a revolutionary market in year one but we would expect good growth dynamics in two to four years, as that maturity steps up.” 

This will be aided by the acquisition of sports betting platform Sportnco, agreed in December last year and due to complete by the end of Q1.

“I think we can also look at taking other positions in LatAm, especially with the Sportnco portfolio,” he says. “It tends to be a more sportsbook-led market, so having a product there where we can push sports and bring through to casino when that sector matures. 

“We continue with that approach not only in LatAm but elsewhere where you can anticipate a positive development in a market,” he continues. “I think often the difficulty with [this approach] is that technical barrier to entry, though we’ve consistently proven we can do that at scale. It’s not easy to do but we believe that’s a really strong angle to work towards, especially as some of the more mature markets in northern Europe stagnate to some extent.”

Germany, he adds, still provides that potential. In the wake of the fourth State Treaty on Gambling, operators have faced stringent restrictions and higher taxes. While GiG reported a €700,000 decline in revenue from the country in the full-year results, it continues to build its position there. In Q4, it signed a deal with an as-yet-unnamed but established operator and launched its platform for TipWin January this year.

As to when it will generate returns, Brown admits this will take time.

“We believe that market, irrespective of the conditions in place, will be a valid market,” he says. “Considering the size of the casino market, there’s a channelisation question that needs to be addressed, and we’ve gone from a very strong to a weak market.

“But we believe we can rebuild that position with the client base, especially with local brands with which customers have a strong affinity,” he says. Germany is coming out of a year of regulatory upheaval, which clears the way for that to happen.

The platform division’s integration pipeline currently stands at nine brands, ranging from existing online clients adding further brands to land-based operators moving into digital. There are a total of 25 customers on the platform currently, live in 14 jurisdictions, with a further five in the pipeline. 

This growth is set to accelerate once the Sportnco deal closes, upping its licensed footprint to 25 markets and client base to 55. From the off, Brown has stressed the importance of ensuring this process goes as smoothly as possible. 

He says GiG and Sportnco have done as much as they can pre-close to prepare for this process. “I believe we are very well matched in terms of expertise, culture and structure, and I’m really confident that the people behind the actual integration will be able to deliver results.

“It will be a full post-merger integration planning process, not something to be rushed either. We are so fully behind this particular transaction that we want to do it right.”

This will be followed by GiG decommissioning its current sportsbook product, though the timescale for that process may be affected by clients, especially with the World Cup at the end of 2022. “These are loyal clients of ours that have been operational on our platform so we want to take care of them.”

And with Sportnco added to its arsenal, Brown believes GiG’s focus on strategic positions in regulated markets is further accelerated. It’s not just the US, where sports betting regulation far outstrips online casino, but also territories such as France, which has become a significant growth market in recent years.

If 2021 was the year that results started to validate the strategy based on long-term strategic positions, then the platform division could soon match or even outstrip the media business as these markets start to mature.

Vargas takes on the role having previously served as chief operations officer for BettorView, a position in which he helped secure a number of new partnerships and quadruple the size of the business.

As president, Vargas will continue to focus on helping grow the business and build on its performance in 2021, during which BettorView experienced record revenue.

Prior to his time with BettorView, Vargas spent over six years as senior director for business development and marketing at DraftKings, while he also an independent consultant within the igaming industry.

“In the nearly three decades that I have worked in the gambling industry, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with many great leaders,” BettorView co-founder and chief executive Seth Schorr said. 

“A true leader has the ability to drive process and people. Javier has shown a tremendous ability to excel in both areas. There is no one in whom have more confidence than Javier to take BettorView to the next phase of success.”

Meanwhile, Dae Son became chief revenue officer at BettorView after being promoted from chief marketing officer, a role he held since joining the business in November 2020.

Son will work with Vargas to accelerate BettorView’s revenue growth, as well as continue to strengthen the BettorView brand, with a focus on an omnichannel experience that improves customer engagement across its in-venue and digital channels.

Prior to joining BettorView, Son spent time as vice president of marketing for The Action Network, as well as vice president of performance marketing at William Hill and director of digital media for DraftKings.

The company notes that it has seen an increase in those experiencing harm from high-risk investing on a daily basis, which are reminiscent of the problems experienced by those suffering from gambling harms.

In addition to self-exclusion schemes, GamCare suggests that cryptocurrency trading and investment platforms should implement tools and strategies designed to identify and protect customers vulnerable to trading harms.

Gamstop CEO Fiona Palmer said: “Over the last three years, we have seen how effective tools like Gamstop can be for those struggling with online, regulated gambling.

“The area of cryptocurrency trading especially has experienced rapid growth and, with that, potential harm. We would be happy to discuss the area of self-exclusion with the FCA and other organisations working in this sector.” 

Gamban and Gamstop currently offer blocking software and self-exclusion tools as part of the TalkBanStop responsible gambling campaign. Gamban recently made the decision to extend its blocking software to cryptocurrency trading platforms.

Gamban CEO Jack Symons added: “Many of these products (CFDs, binary options, crypto, etc) share a lot in common with gambling platforms; there’s no barrier to entry, they encourage over-trading and possess game-like characteristics.

“Helpline Advisors explained how helpful it would be to have something they could offer to callers desperately trying to avoid these quasi-gambling products, which made us realise adding these platforms would be beneficial both to the product and the collaborative strength of the TalkBanStop campaign.”

As per the multi-year agreement, Sportradar will develop new data collection and delivery systems for the USFL, in addition to providing data to betting operators who advertise during USFL broadcasts.

Sportradar will also conduct bet monitoring through its Universal Fraud Detection System (UFDS), while its duties also extend to conducting an audits of USFL integrity policies, providing integrity-related educational services to players, coaches and staff, and performing annual due diligence reporting.

Edward Hartman, USFL executive vice president of business operations, said: “The USFL is thrilled to have forged its first data and integrity partnership with Sportradar.

“With more than 60% of American adults living in states where sports wagering is now legal, it was critical to the new USFL that we partner with the market leader in integrity solutions, and Sportradar is the gold standard to which all sports information businesses are measured.”

Sportradar recently signed similar agreements with the Canadian Hockey League and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

“The fast, accurate and reliable data that Sportradar provides to the marketplace will be crucial to the USFL engaging its audience as the league establishes itself on the American sports landscape,” added Ed Blonk, chief commercial officer at Sportradar. “And, with the backing of Sportradar’s industry-leading integrity services, the USFL is taking a proactive step to protect its brand and safeguard the league from match-fixing and betting-related corruption.”

Preliminary wagering statistics reported by Atlantic City Casinos and New Jersey racetracks show a projected payout of $135.9m, resulting $7.8m in revenue for sportsbooks.

In-person betting in 2021 was hampered by novel coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions in place on retail sportsbooks.

Figures were supplied by New Jersey’s 12 retail sports books and 24 sports wagering mobile applications.

Spending in New Jersey was 20.1% lower than the $179.8m wagered on Super Bowl LVI in Nevada, though the Nevada figure was a record total for the state.

Revenue from Super Bowl LVI betting in Nevada amounted to $15.4m, almost double that of New Jersey’s total, but some way behind the state record $19.7m set in 2014.

The Los Angeles Rams ran out 23-20 winners over the Cincinnati Bengals at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, at Super Bowl LVI.

The agreement was signed at the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and is effectively immediately.

MCK and SNGR and will agree to defend the rights of Indigenous people to govern gaming throughout the country through collaborative legal and political strategies. This, according to the agreement, includes the fight to conserve the economic benefits indigenous communities would receive.

The agreement also launches the development of a national body of indigenous gaming regulators.

In a joint statement announcing the agreement, it both MCK and SNGR said they were disappointed by recent reinterpretations and changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. These changes allowed the government of Ontario establish an online gaming initiative under its iGaming Ontario arm.

The tribal bodies said that this will not economically benefit SNGR or MCK’s online gaming business Mohawk Online.

Ontario is set to launch its online gaming market on 4 April, having issued initial licences to three operators.

“We are pleased to revitalize relations and strengthen our alliance with our brothers and sisters,” said Ohén:ton Í:iente ne Ratitsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer.

“Renewal of this longstanding relationship founded on nationhood is the first step needed to strengthen our joint efforts in defending our interests and maintaining a stronghold in the gaming industry and other key areas we identify in the future.”

The agreement also means both bodies will agree to establish an understanding with their local gaming regulatory bodies to discuss online gaming opportunities that would benefit both communities.

“Today’s agreement signifies an important milestone as our communities come together to address our collective concerns,” said Chief Mark Hill of the Six Nations of the Grand River. “This type of partnership is the first step in demonstrating the possibilities of what we can achieve as Iroquois communities if we work together.”

“We are much stronger not as individuals, but as a collective, and these relationships will strengthen us as we assert our rights and jurisdiction within the gaming industry and beyond.”