Month: May 2022

The Elizabeth Line opened on 24 May, and will help optimise major transport links across the city for both domestic and international visitors to ICE London and iGB Affiliate London.

The Elizabeth line will see travel time from London Heathrow take 43 minutes. The line will also see travel time from London Stansted take 54 minutes, and travel from London Luton take 34 minutes.

Stuart Hunter, managing director at Clarion Gaming said: “With the opening of the Elizabeth Line, whose colour scheme just happens to be the ICE purple, ExCeL London has to be the world’s most connected event venue boasting two DLR stops, the new mainline station, an airport, water taxis and even a cable car.

“The ease and speed of the journey will improve the visitor experience with the significant time savings leading to an increase in opportunities for networking, learning and business. Giving buyers more time to be in the venue will undoubtedly deliver enhanced ROI and I expect an even higher percentage of C-Suite delegates to attend our world class events.”

Since reopening in Summer 2021, the ExCeL has seen over 1.5 million visitors. The convention centre has also invested in a 25,000 square metre expansion programme to help improve its facilities.

“The opening of the Elizabeth Line is a game changer on many different levels not least the access it provides to many hundreds of central London hotels which are now a 12-minute journey from ExCeL courtesy of the Elizabeth Line’s state of the art, high-speed trains,” continued Hunter.

“This major development coincides with the return of the entire gaming industry to ICE in 2023, ensuring that next February’s edition will be amongst the most memorable in the history of this major international event.”

Not only was the total down from 2021, but it continued to be a long way below pre-Covid levels, falling back to below 50% of the real GDP recorded in Q1 of 2019, the last Q1 before the virus hit.

With inflation low at 0.3%, nominal GDP was down by 8.6%.

The Macau government noted that visitor arrivals to the Special Administrative Region were up by 8.0%, but overnight arrivals declined. As a result, exports of gaming services were down by 25.1%, while exports of other tourism services were up by 1.9%.

The gaming sector continued to be affected by Covid-related travel restrictions in Q1, typified by a March in which gaming revenue reached its lowest level for 18 months, at MOP3.67bn (£346.3m/€412.6m/$454.2m).

For the quarter as a whole, revenue came to MOP17.77bn. This was down 24.8% from 2021, when revenue had reached MOP23.64bn by this point.
Meanwhile, overall exports of services were down by 4.7%. Exports of goods, on the other hand, rose by 56.8%. Imports of goods rose by 29.0% while imports of services were up by 2.8%.

Household consumption expenditure was down by 10.8%, which the government said was also related to Covid outbreaks in Mainland China. Government consumption, meanwhile, was down by 2.0%.

For the full year 2021, GDP of the region was MOP239.4bn a rise from 2020 but a decrease of 46.2% from MOP445.5bn in 2019.

After the end of the quarter, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Macau that its overreliance on the gaming industry leaves it exposed to future economic headwinds. In consultation discussions with the SAR, the IMF executive board’s said that Macau had been “hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis”.

Sazka rebranded to Allwyn in December 2021, to reflect its shift in focus from lottery operations to a global gaming business.

Sazka Entertainment AG will now be known as Allwyn AG, while Sazka Group will be known as Allwyn International.

The names of Allwyn International’s subsidiaries, which operate across Europe, have not changed.

Two of the operator’s service companies – Sazka Group CZ and Sazka Group UK Limited – have been renamed to Allwyn Services Czech Republic and Allwyn Services UK Ltd respectively.

Alwynn stressed that just the legal names have changed and the ownership structure remains the same.

“We have decided to rename our key entities’ legal names to align with our new Allwyn brand,” said Robert Chvátal, CEO of Allwyn. “Our games will continue to be offered under the iconic local brands which our customers love.”

In March, Allwyn was announced as the winner of the UK National Lottery licence tender, which had belonged to Camelot for the last 28 years. The company said that it rebranding to Allwyn was in relation to the bid for the National Lottery tender.

The following month Camelot launched a High Court challenge against the decision, claiming that the Gambling Commission “got this decision badly wrong.”

The court’s statement came in response to a lawsuit filed by FBT Everett Realty against the regulator, which began in 2016 and stems from a land deal between FBT Everett and Wynn Resorts.

Wynn and FBT Everrett had agreed a deal that granted Wynn the option to acquire a parcel of land from Everett, on which Wynn intended to develop a casino. However, if Wynn exercised its option, its obligation to make the purchase was still subject to it obtaining a licence for a casino from the Commission.

FBT Everett, however, alleges that the commission “exerted unlawful pressure on Wynn by telling Wynn that it could be awarded a licence only if it renegotiated the option agreement to reduce that purchase price from $75m to $35m”. The $35m figure was based on an appraisal for the land’s “best non-casino use”.

This, according to the complaint, was because the Commission determined that FBT Everett should not receive a “casino-use premium” from the sale of the land. The Commission said Wynn’s licence application may be “jeapordised” if Wynn allowed FBT Everett to receive this premium.

As a result, the business said it incurred $40m worth of damages from the Commission’s actions. In addition, FBT Everett argued, the value of the premium was effectively transferred from itself to Wynn.

FBT Everett therefore sued the Commission, alleging tortious interference with contract and a regulatory taking. This is defined as when regulations limit the use of property to the extent that a landowner is effectively deprived of all economically reasonable use or value of their property.

The case initially began in the Superior Court Department, but was raised to the Supreme Judicial Court. The Superior Court had dismissed the tortious interference claim – which it said did not apply to a public body such as a regulator – as well as the regulatory taking claim, by summary judgement before holding a full case.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed on the tortious interference claim. However, on regulatory taking, it said the matter could not be decided by summary judgement.

It heard that the Commission “became concerned about, and investigated whether, there were hidden criminal ownership interests in FBT”. Specifically, the regulator had suspicions that  Charles Lightbody, “a convicted felon with apparent connections to organized crime, had a hidden ownership interest in FBT”.

This, it determined, played a major role in its decision to encourage Wynn to bring down the price for the land.

In particular, FBT Everett claims that the Commission’s actions were based mostly on “what they perceived as the FBT principals’ lack of candor and obstructiveness” in regard to the investigation, though the regulator denies this.

“Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to FBT, the commission caused a $40m reduction in the value of FBT’s property by coercing action on the part of a third party,” Wynn, the court said. “Given that this represents a more than fifty percent diminution in value, the economic impact of the commission’s actions here was substantial.”

In addition, the court noted that the Commission’s actions were “highly unusual”.

“When confronted with the possibility that someone with a criminal background had an undisclosed ownership interest in the parcel of land that a gaming license applicant intended to purchase to develop a casino, the commission did not continue to investigate until it could confidently determine whether there was in fact some undisclosed criminal ownership,” the court noted.

It could not be determined whether the Commission “directed” Wynn to only pay $35m or if it “merely accepted it as a cure to its concerns about undisclosed criminal ownership interests”, the court added.

However, it determined that there was enough reason to suspect regulatory taking that FBT Everett’s lawsuit could not be dismissed by summary judgement.

As a result, it ordered the Superior Court to continue “further proceedings” in order to fully determine whether the Commission committed regulatory taking.

The court decision comes soon after Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn became the subject of a lawsuit from the US Department of Justice, alleging he acted as a foreign agent of the Chinese government without registration.

The complaint alleges that between June 2017 and August 2017, Wynn spoke to then-US president Donald Trump and members of his administration regarding a businessman that left China in 2014. Wynn allegedly suggested the individual be removed from the US or have their visa cancelled. They were later changed by corruption by the Chinese authorities.

Steve Wynn stepped down from Wynn Resorts in 2018, following accusations of sexual harrassment which he has consistently denied.

Warn will not seek reelection when his term ends at Sportech’s annual general meeting, meaning he will leave the board on 31 May.

Warn – who had previously been managing director of sports data and media specialist Perform’s portals and consumer division before the business merged with Stats – joined the Sportech board in June 2020.

Sportech noted that Warn “supported the transformational change in the group,” as it drastically downsized since he joined. 

“I am extremely proud of what we achieved through incredibly challenging global conditions, since I joined the board, and wish the group continued success,” Warn said.

Sportech divested a number of key assets over the last two years, noting its sales of its Global Tote business to BetMakers and raffle technology supplier Bump 50:50 to Canadian Banknote as particularly important.

This downsizing led to Sportech removing its shares from the London Stock Exchange and moving to the Alternative Investment Market, after which CEO Richard McGuire and chief financial officer Tom Hearne stepped down from their roles.

The authority said the nine all breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 by offering services to Australian players without a licence. 

As such, the ACMA contacted Australian internet service providers to block access to Stay Casino, Bambet, Dazard Casino, Level Up Casino, Rocketplay Casino, Wild Tornado Casino, Cobra Casino, Cobra Bet, Casinority and Pokies Lab.

The latest round of blocking orders mean that since the ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019, a total of 481 illegal gambling websites have been blocked.

In addition, more than 160 illegal services have also pulled out of the Australian market since the ACMA started enforcing new illegal offshore gambling rules in 2017.

“The ACMA is reminding consumers that even if a service looks legitimate, its unlikely to have important customer protections,” the ACMA said. “This means Australians who use illegal gambling services risk losing their money.”

Last month, the ACMA also issued blocking orders against Golden Crown Casino, Sol Casino, PowBet, ExciteWin, Sportaza and Gamble Online.

The six websites were also deemed to have breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

This will be the fifth iteration of the event organised by the Betting and Gaming Council, Bacta, the Lotteries Council and the Bingo Association, and will be the third under the name Safer Gambling Week, after it was rebranded from Responsible Gambling Week.
The event will include “a blitz of safer gambling messages”, both online and in land-based venues, which the BGC says it hopes will “spark a nationwide conversation betting responsibly”.
BGC chief executive Michael Dugher said that while the industry focuses on safer gambling all year – highlighted by reduction in the national problem gambling rate to 0.2% – the event allowed the sector to demonstrate its focus on preventing harm.
“Safer Gambling Week is now an established annual event,” Dugher said. “We know that rates of problem gambling are low and are now falling, which is great news, but Safer Gambling Week is further evidence of the regulated industry’s determination to keep raising standards.
“BGC members demonstrate their commitment to safer gambling every day through initiatives such as the whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting commercials during live sport and strict ID and age verification checks.
“Safer Gambling Week is a great opportunity to highlight this fantastic work – and emphasises the difference between the regulated industry and the unlicensed and illegal online black market, which has none of the safeguards which are commonplace among our members.”
“Safer Gambling Week is an important part of the bingo industry’s commitment to social responsibility and provides a useful focal point for highlighting activity and support that is available throughout the year. As venue-based businesses, the sector recognises the important opportunity we have to promote safer gambling messages and engage directly with customers.”
The BGC noted that during the 2021 event, the promotion of safer gambling tools such as deposit limits led to a 17% increase in their use compared to the previous four-week average. In addition, the 2021 event drew 24.5 million social media impressions, up 16% from 2020, while sessions on the Safer Gambling Week website rocketed by 79%.
“Safer Gambling Week once again allows the industry to showcase its year-long commitment to safer gambling. It also brings customer focus to the tools that are available to them if they in any way feel their gambling is becoming problematic,” Bacta chief executive John White said. “Those tools continue to grow as we learn more about safer gambling and form part of our ambition to cement social responsibility at the heart of our offer to the consumer.”
Miles Baron, chief executive of the Bingo Association, said the week would allow bingo operators to engage more directly with players to ensure that they are gambling safely.
“Safer Gambling Week is an important part of the bingo industry’s commitment to social responsibility and provides a useful focal point for highlighting activity and support that is available throughout the year,” he said. “As venue-based businesses, the sector recognises the important opportunity we have to promote safer gambling messages and engage directly with customers.”

The Casino Control and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 includes a series of reforms that Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman said would help prevent criminal influence and exploitation in casinos.

Fentiman said the proposed bill comes in response to recent inquiries into casinos by other states, with both Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment Group having faced investigations over the activities. 

“This Bill will ensure Queenslanders can have confidence in the integrity of our casino laws,” Fentiman said. “These reforms seek to address concerns which have emerged from the public inquiries into casinos operated by Crown Resorts in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, as well as investigations underway into the Star Entertainment Group.

“These reforms are considered to be examples of best practice casino regulation and will be in place before the opening of the new casino at Queen’s Wharf to be operated by The Star.”

Other proposals in the bill include changes to help deliver the Queensland government’s commitment to transition to safe cashless gaming, with legislation to be updated to allow new payment methods and systems to be considered for use at casinos.

Fentiman said the bill would also seek to improve gambling harm minimisation measures in the state, allowing the government to consider “new and innovative” approaches to help protect players from gambling-related harm.

In addition, the bill addresses charities and not-for-profits, introducing a mutual recognition scheme for fundraising approvals in Queensland.

Charities registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and notify the Office of Fair Trading can be deemed a registered charity in Queensland, and therefore fundraise in the state.

Those charities not registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission may still seek registration directly from the Office of Fair Trading but will no longer have to await the conclusion of a 28-day objections period before their applications are finalised.

“These changes are part of the government’s ongoing work to reduce regulatory burdens for charities and Queensland will continue to work with the other states and territories to deliver further national harmonisation of fundraising laws,” Fentiman said.

Fentiman added that further changes to the legislation may be considered at the conclusion of current investigations into the Star Entertainment Group.

Star is currently the subject of an inquiry by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. The review into Star launched in June last year amid accusations that the operator knowingly worked with junkets that had ties to criminal groups and that its anti-money laundering measures were insufficient.

Allegations raised so far at the headings include senior managers employed at the Star Sydney casino purposely deceiving regulators over illegal cash transactions in a junket room and were aware these breached money laundering rules.

When allegations of anti-money laundering failings and ties to organised crime against the venue were first raised, Star responded by calling the claims “misleading”.

Meanwhile, In February 2021, Crown was deemed unsuitable to operate a casino in Barangaroo, Sydney, after an investigation uncovered evidence of money laundering in its facilities.

Later in the year Crown was also ruled as unsuitable to operate a casino in Victoria, with an investigation ruling that Crown had engaged in “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” conduct.

Similarly, in February 2022, Crown was found to be ineligible to operate its casino in Perth.

The deal will run for three years and will grant Svenska Spel Sport & Casino access to official data and streams from Swedish harness races.

Svenska Spel said the new partnership would allow it to further support the development of the sport of trotting in Sweden and the launch of new trotting betting products.  

Trotting betting is already available on Svenska Spel Sport & Casino through an existing deal with France’s Pari-Mutuel Urbain (PMU).

“We have a successful history of delivering unique and in-house sports products, and we will continue to do so now we have this collaboration in place,” Svenska Spel Sport & Casino chief executive Fredrik Wastenson said. 

“This is also an important first step towards being able to participate in and develop the sport that we have been looking forward to for so long.”

Svensk Travsport chief executive Maria Croon added: “We look forward to the collaboration with Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, which is a large and important player in the gaming market. 

“We have high hopes that this can further increase interest in the trotting sport in the future.”

As CEO, Johansson will be responsible for the day-to-day running of Fantasma and lead the senior management team, as well as set the overall direction and strategy the studio takes in terms of games development.

Johansson founded Fantasma in 2017 and previously served as its CEO before stepping into the role of chief commercial officer.

Prior to this, he co-founded two businesses in MyChance and Shogun Media, while earlier in his career, he spent time as a country manager for both LeoVegas and ComeOn. In addition, he co-founded and served as CEO of Simple Trade.

“I am thrilled to return to the role of CEO of Fantasma Games and to have the support and trust of our largest shareholders when it comes to taking the studio into its next chapter,” Johansson said.

“We have already achieved a great deal in a short space of time and having just reported a record first quarter we have tremendous momentum behind us. It is an honour to be leading such an incredible team of people as we continue to strive to create the most entertaining slots in the market.”

Johansson’s return as CEO comes after Fantasma recently made its debut in the US, where it went live with BetMGM in Michigan and West Virginia via distribution partner Light and Wonder. Additional state and operator launches are scheduled to follow.