Month: April 2022

Lennon will assume her position in July, the same month that she takes up the post of country leader of Salesforce Ireland. Lennon was formerly the chief executive of Eir, a leading Irish telecoms provider.

Meanwhile, Holly Keller Koeppel has been appointed as chair of Flutter’s Audit Committee and David Lazzarato has been appointed as chair of Flutter’s Risk and Sustainability Committee.

Keller Koeppel’s appointment comes after the departure of Michael Cawley, who announced in February that he was to step down as a non-executive director at the owner of Paddy Power and Betfair. Lazzarato replaces Zillah Byng-Thorne, who will continue as a non-executive director.

Commenting on Lennon’s appointment, Gary McGann, Flutter’s group chair, said: “Following an extensive search as part of our on-going board renewal process, I am delighted to welcome Carolan as a non-executive director.

“Carolan has significant experience of regulated consumer facing digital businesses. Carolan’s appointment is in line with our board renewal programme having regard to the scale, geographic breadth and growth of the business. We look forward to Carolan joining the Flutter board and contributing to the company’s future.”

The new name, announced at the beginning of March, reflects the Las Vegas company’s greater focus on online gambling.

Light & Wonder will officially start trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “LNW” from Friday 29 April 2022.

The brand said the change is part of “the company’s strategic vision to become the leading cross-platform global game company focused on creating and launching great games fully cross-platform”

In a press release, the company said that “through a deliberate cross-platform approach, Light & Wonder delivers a leading portfolio of iconic games and franchises across online and mobile and in both real money and free-to-play social gaming markets as well as in land-based casinos.”

Light & Wonder completed a $5.8bn sale of its lottery business to Brookfield in April, worth $5.8bn (£4.4bn/€5.3bn) in gross cash proceeds and approximately $5.0bn in net after-tax cash proceeds.

The sale helped Light & Wonder pay down a significant chunk of its debt, having retired an existing US$4 billion term loan this month and redeemed US$3 billion in secured and unsecured notes.

In total, outstanding debt has been reduced from US$8.8 billion to US$4.0 billion and the company’s net debt leverage ratio from 6.2x to below 3.9x.

The business also agreed to sell its OpenBet sports betting technology business to Endeavor for $1.20bn.

This comes after the business announced a long-term extension of an agreement with sports betting and gaming company Entain earlier this month as part of its strategic plans for 2022.

This was $4.7m (2.2%) over budget.

Gross betting revenue was $34.6m, $900,000 (2.6%) over budget and an increase of 20.9% month-on-month.

Profit in March came to $12.1m, $1.6m below budget and 7% higher than in February. Betting accounted for $10.7m of the profit, up by 5.9% month-on-month, while the gaming profit was $1.4m, a rise of 16.6%.

Profit for the year to date came to $109.1m, $7.6m less than in the same period last year. Operating expenses for the yeae to date were $76.9m, $2.7m more than compared to the same period of the 2020-2021 financial year.

The racing event that bettors wagered the most money on in March was the Vodafone NZ Derby in Ellerslie, which accounted for $793,000 in turnover. The second highest was the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup at $756,000, followed by the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand Oaks at $633,000.

The top sporting event for turnover was the New Zealand Warriors vs St George/Illa Dragons rugby league match, with turnover of $396,000.

The second and third highest sorting events for turnover were also rugby league events. The Manly Sea Eagles vs Canterbury Bulldogs match generated $384,000 in turnover, while the Wests Tigers vs New Zealand Warriors match saw turnover of $379,000.

This was also up by 27% compared to March 2021.

Slots accounted for a majority of the revenue, totaling at $903.0m. This was an increase of 18.1% month-on-month and 16.9% year-on-year.

Multi-denomination slots were the most lucrative form of slots, with revenue if $444.3m. This was a rise of 17.7% from February and 26.3% year-on-year.

Penny slots brought in $341.1m, up by 20.8% monthly. This was followed by one dollar slots, which generated $65.5m – a rise of 17.2%..

Table games brought in $452.1m, up 29.6% from the previous month and 53.3% from March 2021.

Baccarat was the largest contributor, with revenue of $131.7m. This was up significantly from February, rising 109.2%, and also year-on-year, where it increased by 93.1%.

Twenty one was the second most popular table game this month, coming to $104.5m. This was 8.2% lower than in February, but 46.4% higher than the previous march.

Roulette was the third most popular table game in February, amounting to $54m. This was up by half from February, at 49.9%, and 62.3% from March 2021.

The total sports betting revenue was $36.9m for the month, a growth of 19.4% from the previous month, but down 6.4% from the previous March.

Sports betting handle came to $862.7m, up by 10.4% month-on-month. This was also up 34.6% year-on-year.

The group has renewed its investment in ‘Team Talk’, which will see a significant investment as Rangers Charity Foundation continue to develop the programme.

Kindred also donated its front-of-shirt sponsorship to the project for Rangers’ high-profile UEFA Europa League semi-final tie against RB Leipzig on Thursday evening. Rangers’ kit, which usually features Kindred brand 32Red, was last night adorned by the Team Talk logo. Kindred has pledged to let the same shirts be worn in the final should the Glasgow club progress after last night’s 0-1 defeat in Germany.

Kindred described the investment and shirt sponsorship donation as examples of a “new model of sponsorship focused on communities”.

“The investment we are announcing today means Rangers Charity Foundation can continue the fantastic progress it made during the first year of the project,” said Neil Banbury, general manager UK of Kindred.

“Using the unique relationship supporters have with their local club, we hope to reach hundreds more men with the expanded mental health support services who would otherwise be suffering in silence.”

Rangers said that Team Talk has already helped numerous men across Glasgow to seek advice, help and encouragement to discuss their mental health, thanks to initial funding received from Kindred last year. Team Talk uses the local club as a mechanism to engage with men about their mental health. Kindred also sponsors Middlesbrough FC and Derby County and has invested in Team Talk schemes at each club.

Connal Cochrane, director at the Rangers Foundation, said: “The investment from Kindred Group has already been fantastic for our Team Talk project. It is the first time one of the club’s main sponsors has made such a significant and targeted investment in the local community.

“We know talking can save lives and we can now extend the programme for another year, building on the success it had last year. This will allow existing and new participants to attend our weekly programme which has already had tangible benefit for their mental health and wellbeing and allowed the group to start forming connections with each other as well as be supported by our staff in a safe space.”

Image: Rangers FC

Sweden’s state-owned gaming and lottery operator said risky gaming behaviour among 18-19 years olds is now at just 3% of that age category since it took steps to limit their total deposits to SEK 1,000 per month from January.

Svenksa Spel added that since lowering the limit, the proportion of 18- and 19-year-olds that reach the new maximum deposit limit has also fallen, from 21% to 14%. The focus on young adults has also meant that the number of completed self-tests in the group has increased by 71% in 2021 compared with 2020.

The limits are part of Svenska Spel’s Spelkoll Plus (“Game check plus”) programme, which is designed to assist young people as they may have low incomes and may not fully appreciate the serious consequences of playing for money.

Kajsa Nylander, Svenska Spel’s head of sustainability, said: “We thought that the measures would have an effect, but that the effect would be so great we had hardly dared to hope for.

“SpelkollPlus also means that we prioritise young adults in preventive conversations. Here, the young customers are contacted by a specially trained care communicator who, among other things, gives personal advice on how they can set limits for their gambling.”

Svenska Spel also earlier this year introduced new limits for customers aged between 20-24. It now does an income check for those who want a deposit limit of SEK 5,000 a month or more.

Last month, Svenska Spel updated its behaviour monitoring solution Playscan – which has been rebranded as Min Spelkoll (“My game check”).

Svenska Spel’s update of the tool to analyse customer’s gaming behaviour and identify risky gaming patterns comes 15 years after Playscan was launched in 2007.

The launch of the newly rebranded Min Spelkoll tool follows the introduction of mandatory player cards earlier this year, with account-based play allowing for a greater range of data being collected.

The operator said it prevents harmful gambling by identifying where limits are exceeded, and subsequently forcing a game break and follow-up customer care.

Revenue was also up 46.5% from February of 2022.

The sports lottery continued to make up the majority of revenue, at CNY19.63bn, up 4.3%.

This included CNY10.74bn from sports wagering, up 4.9%, plus CNY5.85bn, down by 0.3%, as well as CNY3.04bn from scratchcards, up 10.5%. Revenue from video lottery games was minimal, at just CNY11m.

The welfare lottery, meanwhile, brought in CNY13.31bn, up 21.6%. 

Of this total, CNY8.304bn came from draw games, up 16.9%, while scratchards brought in CNY2.67bn, up 14.0% and keno revenue was up 59.4% to CNY2.33bn.

For the year to date, revenue came to CNY86.27bn, which is up 2.0% from 2021.

However, this was down by 2.3% from February.

Online casino revenue came to DKK226m for the month. This was up 5.6% from February, but was a decrease of 7.3% year-on-year.

Sports betting accounted for DKK155m of the total revenue, a decrease of 15.7% from the previous month and 3.7% from March 2021.

Elsewhere, slot halls performed similarly to February, rising by just DKK1m to DKK110m. Due to the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2021, the sector took in no revenue in March of that year.

Land-based casino made up the remaining DKK34m in revenue, rising by 0.9% from the previous month. Again this sector was closed for all of March 2021.

The junket operator experienced a chaotic end to 2021 and start to 2022 after the arrest of the group’s chairman, Alvin Chau in November. Following this event, Suncity discontinued its junket business.

Chau, who has since stepped down from his position at SunCity, has been accused of running an illegal online betting ring.

Suncity had also been the subject of loan default claims following Chau’s arrest, as an unnamed lender argued Chau had defaulted on a HK$313.6m debt. As a result, Suncity warned that the business could be seized by creditors.

In March, the business then claimed that Gold Yield Enterprises had failed to pay back a US$30m loan to Suncity. Gold Yield Enterprise is a joint venture between Suncity’s Star Admiral subsidiary and Alpha Era, an investment trust, related to the Hoiana resort in Vietnam.

A week later, Suncity warned of a “significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern” as it reported a net loss of HK$646.2m (£62.8m/€74.0m/US$82.6m) for 2021.

This loss came after two years of minimal revenue, first due to travel restrictions to its major markets and then due to closing the junket business.

Now, the business said it was taking every step to keep the business alive.

“The board has also ordered the company to consolidate all resources to focus on survival,” the Suncity board said. “Intense cash preservation is the group’s highest priority. The group is now implementing the most uncompromising cost-cutting programme ever. Non-core businesses have been sold and will continue to be sold, such as the disposal of the mainland Chinese property business and the aircraft in 2021. 

“Management has also turned Hoiana into a temporary quarantine hotel; assertively cutting operating expenses while trying our best to avoid disruption to guests’ experience in Hoiana as a world-class integrated resort. I

“In Japan, the Group may consider offloading the land parcels for hotel development in Niseko and Miyako Islands.

The business’ Summit Ascent subsidiary operates the Tigre de Cristal resort in Vladivostok, Russia. This business, the board said, was performing well. However, the business did delay its plans to expand the resort after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

“In Russia, local mass & slots businesses have already enabled Tigre de Cristal to be self-sustaining while generating a positive EBITDA,” the board said. “Cash preservation and self-sustainability through EBITDA generation will continue to keep the group afloat and carry on.

The board also added that – with the Macau junket model now in question, it would now attempt to reposition itself as an integrated resort operator.

“There is a relatively limited supply of high-end gaming facilities in Asia to cater to this rising demand since Macau has now virtually left the VIP junket business,” it said. “As the group continues to transform into a pan-Asian integrated resort operator, the Group will be targeting all traditional gaming business segments, including VIP, premium mass, mass, slots and non-gaming businesses.

“Additionally, the board will focus resources on the jurisdictions with the soundest returns and lowest risks.”

Avenir Suisse – an economics and social issues think tank – argued that gambling in the country is often both politicised and inefficient.

It noted that politicians choose where the proceeds of gambling revenue go and that a “veritable cash distribution industry” has grown around Swtizerland’s two lotteries – Swisslos and Loterie Romandie, which combine for around 80 different lottery funds.

“The distribution of gambling money is not optimal,” the report’s authors said. “The cantonal lottery funds regularly finance projects for which the notion of public utility enshrined in the Constitution is interpreted very broadly.”

In addition, the study noted that “contrary to popular belief”, tax revenue from some casinos goes toward different cantons from the ones where these casinos exist.

A further problem, it said, came from the fact that many cantons effectively acted as operators – through stakes in casinos – and regulators.

The think tank added that the way funds are distributed also leads to inefficiencies. It said that the costs of managing the lottery funds fell between CHF16m and CHF22m per year, while “the annual friction costs of the current system are expected to amount to several tens of millions of francs”.

The study also noted that the challenges created by Switzerland’s system of regulation were exacerbated by the rise of online gambling. Many regulatory duties are split between national-level and cantonal bodies, and the study argued that “these two artificially separated spheres of play can be less and less so”.

As a result, it said changes were needed in three areas. First, it said the government should not take on the role of gaming operator, and should instead focus on regulation. As part of this, it argued that the government should also focus on “redistributing directly” the proceeds of gambling.

Second, the countries two supervisory bodies – Eidgenössische Spielbankenkommission (ESBK) and Gespa – should be brought together as a single regulator.

Third, it said “a modular approach to regulation is needed”, replacing what it called the “analogue-first model”, in which online gambling is seen as an extension of a land-based licence. Under the think tank’s proposed system, operators would be able to apply for a licence for online-only licences.

“Unlike the current system, in which digital games are the exception, the opposite is

expected to happen in the future,” it said. “Analogue games would be treated as exceptions, which would turn the system upside down.”

Earlier this week, the Swiss Federal Council approved the creation of two more licensing regions, meaning the country could issue two more gaming licences. This would bring the total number of licensees to 23.