Month: June 2022

A spokesperson for the Advertising Standards Authority told iGB that the Authority contacted Owen about certain tweets – including those promoting Punt Casino.

“In this specific case, we proactively and informally contacted Michael Owen and the parties involved with a view to him removing the ad,” the spokesperson said. “We did not receive a response but we note that the tweet was removed after contact was made.”

Punt Casino is a cryptocurrency-based online casino operator, licensed in Curaçao. It named Owen as a brand ambassador last month.

Owen’s tweets announcing the partnership were deemed to be advertising in Great Britain, where only locally licensed gambling operators may be advertised.

Other tweets of Owen’s which were removed concerned a non-fungible token (NFT) scheme, an area that the ASA said it was reviewing in general to ensure that the assets are marketed responsibly.

“We are not currently investigating any complaints about ads for NFTs,” the spokesperson added. “Instead, we are carrying out a wide-ranging review of the issues surrounding NFT advertising and which will lead to action to address any potential problems we identify in the round.”

In combining Opta event data with new tracking data, Opta Vision will provide insights to professional teams.

From this the Stats Perform also aims to deliver new storyline opportunities for broadcasters and publishers.

“We are very excited to be introducing the next generation of Opta data to our customers,” said Nancy Hensley, chief product officer at Stats Perform.

“By synchronising event and tracking data and then utilising our AI capabilities to generate enriched insights, we will be empowering performance analysis departments at teams, as well as a broadcaster’s production team, to identify new performance trends and tell great stories of the game.”

The merged data also uses Stat Perform’s Qwinn AI intelligence to generate more data outputs and deliver a more personalised experience to users.

The company’s new predictive metrics include pass prediction outputs, which are trained on millions of data points, as well as new information related to dynamic changes in a team’s shape during a match.

Opta Vision’s tracking data leverages Stats Perform’s computer vision technology to harvest data from a remote video source, which will add on to stadium feeds installed at match venues.

Other data points, including a new qualifier on passes to indicate when a player completes a line-breaking pass, will also be released as part of the initial Opta Vision feed.

“The use of tracking data has grown over recent years, but the outputs have been limited to simple metrics such as distance covered,” Jens Melvang, senior project manager at Stats Perform said.

“By merging our tracking data with the best event data in football, we’re able to deliver accurate and insightful metrics which give a more complete view of what’s happening on the pitch.”

The case concerned a player who lost €5,380 on sportsbook site Betano between 20 February and 4 March, 2021.

This total was more than the €1,000 monthly loss limit for German operators – with only limited exceptions – under Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling. 

In addition, István Cocron, who served as the player’s lawyer, said the player was also registered with the OASIS self-exclusion system.

As a result, the court in Ludwigslust – located just outside of Hamburg in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – returned €4,380 to the player.

“The provider allowed our client to bet more than the permitted €1,000 per month and thus violated the gaming license granted to them,” Cocron said. “We have therefore reclaimed the stakes that go beyond the limit of €1,000.”

At the time, the limit applied on an operator level, though it was later expanded to refer to players’ spending across all operators within the regulated market, through a treaty that came into effect in July 2021.

The case is one of a number of player reimbursement cases in Germany. While this one dealt with loss limits, many previous cases have concerned losses in online casino before the vertical was legal nationwide. Court rulings on these cases have gone both ways, with courts such as the Regional Court (Landesgericht) for Köln ordering reimbursement, while Regional Courts in Braunschweig and Leipzig both ruled on the side of operators.

“Both in online sports betting and online gaming, for which there was a far-reaching ban in Germany until 1 July, 2021, there is a good chance of winning back stakes that seem to have been lost,” Cocron said.

In April, international operator Allwyn acquired a 36.75% stake in Betano from Greek operator OPAP, paying €50m up front as part of the deal, plus undisclosed earnout payments, based on the performance of the business in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The study used records from seven online operators, which each provided data about 20,000 accounts active between July 2019 and June 2019. These seven operators together made up more than 85% of the UK betting market, though only 37.5% of the gaming market.

It then weighted the data from these accounts to be representative of the overall online gambling market.

For each customer, NatCen had access to betting data showing the exact date, time and stake of all bets placed by each customer, while for gaming, data was split into 15-minute windows.

For both online betting and gaming, the research found that revenue at these operators was highly concentrated among a relatively small share of accounts.

Overall, it found that the 10% of gamblers with the largest stakes – all staking at least £4,568 – made up 79.0% of operator revenue.

The report said that while “far from all” of these customers would be expected to suffer from gambling-related harm, “international evidence” suggests that at this level of spend, the risk of harm begins to increase.

Looking specifically at sports betting, the report found that the top 1% of customers by stakes – those who wagered £30,493 or more – generated 36.4% of operator revenue over the course of the year. Meanwhile, the top 36.4% of customers by stakes – wagering at least £5,639 – generated 79.1% of revenue.

“We found that these ‘top’ bettors achieved superior outcomes than other bettors (i.e. lost a lower fraction of their stakes) but they still spent to a level such that their contribution to profit was completely disproportionate to their numbers,” the report said.

In addition, 4.4% of accounts lost more than £1,000, 2.2% lost more than £2,000 and 0.7% lost more than £5,000.

“Though the percentages were low, the implied absolute numbers of accounts incurring such losses were significant,” the report noted. “For example, we estimate that the operators in the study held more than 290,000 accounts with betting losses in excess of £2,000.”

Bettors with large losses were much more likely to be male, with more than 94% of betting industry revenue coming from males.

In addition, “a significant amount” of customers with large losses came from areas classed as deprived. The report found that 21.9% of those with a loss of £2,000 or more were from the 20% most deprived areas. However, it also noted that this does not mean that these were necessarily disadvantaged individuals, as wealthy people in more deprived areas may be more likely to spend their money on gambling.

In online gaming, meanwhile, 5.9% of customers lost more than £1,000 for the year, 3.2% lost more than £2,000 and 1.2% lost more than £5,000.

In addition, the top 20% of customers by stakes generated more than 90% of revenue.

NatCen noted, though, that within gaming, “volume” may have a different meaning across different types of game.

As a result, the study broke this data down by product and noted that 1% of slots players lost an average of £10,491 per year, generating more than 40% of overall slots gross gaming yield.

The report said that spending was concentrated even more highly on a small number of players for online table games, though it did not provide full details. Online bingo, on the other hand, had the most balanced profile of spend.

“The heavy spending groups included many players from very deprived areas,” the survey added. “For example, 30.4% of players who lost more than £2,000 lived in the 20% most

deprived areas and just over one-quarter of those who lost £2,000-£5,000 lived in the 20% most deprived areas.”

Looking at individual gaming sessions, the report said that 1.9% of active gaming accounts lost at least £1,000 in a single session, and 0.6% lost more than £1,000 on three separate occasions.

Customers that both placed sports bets and played casino games generated the most revenue for operators, with an average of £601.93 per customer that was more than double the total for gaming-only accounts and more than four times that of betting-only accounts.

In addition, 6.8% of players involved in both betting and gaming lost at least £2,000 for the year.

British industry body the Betting and Gaming Council noted, however, that all of the data in question came from a period between three and four years ago, and that the industry has taken a number of steps to reduce harm since.

“One problem gambler is one too many, which is why the regulated industry has recently introduced a number of safeguards and interventions such as enabling customers to set deposit limits or self-exclude completely,” a BGC spokesperson said.

“In 2020, operators carried out an estimated 5 million safer gambling interactions following alerts from their diagnostic systems. During the pandemic, members instigated a heightened monitoring system, to allow interactions with customers, which remain in place today.

“We are encouraged by the latest figures from the Gambling Commission that showed the rate of problem gambling was 0.2% of the population – down from 0.4 per cent the year previous.”

David Forrest, professor of economics at the University of Liverpool, led on analysis of the account data. He said that the study suggests that the risks involved with online gaming are particularly significant when compared to betting.

“This study offers us a globally unprecedented opportunity to understand the online gambling landscape,” he said. “In contrast to betting, we see that participation and customer losses in gaming were concentrated in more deprived areas and a higher proportion of customers had losses in the thousands of pounds over the year.

“While political debate and campaigns have focussed on the risks around betting, our research shows it is important to raise awareness of the gambling harms associated with online gaming. Gaming, in particular slots games, is much larger in terms of total online spending by British players and analysis of customer account data throws up more red flags indicative of potential harm from gambling.”

As a result of the findings, the report makes a number of recommendations that it said could reduce future harm. 

The report said that future safer gambling campaigns should give greater weight to “the risks of

playing casino and slots games online”, as these games seem to be more strongly “associated with correlates of gambling harm” than betting.

“Recent high-profile safer gambling campaigns such as BetRegret have focused on risks associated with online betting, with football fans as the most targeted audience,” the study noted.

In addition, it said that customers that take part in both betting and gaming should be monitored particularly closely.

The report also argued that operators “need to consider”  using lower thresholds for customer interaction. While it noted that this may flag more “false positives”, it said that studies suggested that customers not experiencing harm did not usually experience inconvenience when contacted about their levels of play.

Synot Games already holds a number of licences in the market. Some of its games were made available previously to Greek bettors.  

Greece passed legislation for gambling reforms in 2019, which were then submitted to the European Commission in January 2020.

Since then, two kinds of supplier licences have been made available to operators; the licence Synot has acquired – that allows the offering of online gambling – and a second kind which allows the sale of online betting technology.

Commenting on the decision, Synot Games chief executive officer Ivan Kodaj said: “Receiving a Greek license is another exciting moment and an important achievement for us in our step towards our global expansion. It is a result of Synot Games’ patient work, which over the years has accumulated extensive experience and understanding of the igaming market.”

Martina Hrabinská, chief commercial officer at Synot, added: “Being compliant in the gaming market is the most important area for us and we are delighted to be awarded a license by the Hellenic Gaming Commission that ensures a continuance and development of our hit games in the regulated Greek territory.”

The news makes Synot the most recent operator to receive a Greek supplier licence; following on from ESA, BGaming and Pragmatic Play, who have also recently received new supplier licences from the EEEP.

Former Olympics executive Ansley O’Neal will become vice president of brand strategy and marketing, while Josh Powell becomes director of brand marketing.

O’Neal had worked for the International Olympic Committee since 2015. There, she managed many of the International Olympic Committee’s consumer-facing brands, supporting campaigns such as the bid for PyeongChang to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and for wrestling to be readmitted as an Olympic sport.

At PointsBet, she will oversee the creation and implementation of the brand and marketing strategies from the ground up and will report to chief marketing officer Kyle Christensen.

Read the full story on iGB North America

The program includes a $2 instant ticket, a $1 pull-tab ticket and an online instant game – all of which are Pac-Man themed – produced by Pollard Banknote.

Players can win a top prize of $30,000 on the instant ticket.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The game developer said it hopes the acquisition will help build capacity for future expansion.

The acquisition is the latest in a string for the supplier, having acquired Leander Games in April. In both cases Raw said one of the prominent goals was to shore up their SuperSlice gaming offering. The business also stated that it wished to boost game production capacity and build a new framework, as well as ultimately a new engine.

“Alec and his team will work on innovative game mechanics, develop new technologies, support external partners around our new aggregation platform in Leander and will boost our existing game studio capacity in Malaga,” commented Raw chief executive officer Tom Wood.

“With the acquisition of Sapphire, we strengthen our development capacity as well as our technology platform and gaming know-how.”

Alec Horley, Sapphire Gaming CEO, added “We couldn’t be more excited to join forces with Raw and the team is thrilled to be part of this amazing journey, which is about shaking up the industry and standing out in a sea of sameness.

“Having worked with Tom for many years and seeing his vision for Raw, we already know we will continue to develop innovative, differentiated game engines and new never-before-seen technologies which will push the boundaries of gaming further.”

The news follows the recent appointment of industry veterans to Raw’s senior management team.

The Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia (GWC) and Tony Buti, Racing and Gaming Minister in Western Australia, both signed off on the acquisition agreement earlier today.

Blackstone required local approvals in Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria in order for the deal to move forward. Authorities in New South Wales and Victoria also gave the green light to the proposal this week.

Following these regional approvals, a final court hearing date in relation to the purchase has been scheduled for 15 June. Should the court also approve the acquisition, this would allow Crown to announce a timetable for completion of the deal.

Clearance in Western Australia means that should the acquisition proceed as expected, then Blackstone would assume both ownership and control of the Crown Perth property.

Upon approving the deal, Minister Buti set out a series of expectations for Blackstone’s management of Crown, including conducting activities with the “highest standard of governance and operations”, as well as investment in Crown Perth.

These would be in line with the recommendations set out during the Perth Casino Royal Commission, which in February this year found Crown was “unsuitable” to operate the Perth facility. The Commission opted not to recommend revoking its licence and instead proposed a series of measures for the operator. 

Other conditions Blackstone will face if the deal completes include enhanced reporting of anti-money laundering and responsible gambling activities, further auditing requirements, and an obligation to report any investigations by any Australian or overseas regulators.

Non-interference requirements would also be put in place to prevent any of Blackstone’s institutional investors from involvement in the day-to-day operations of Perth’s Crown Casino, while Blackstone could not change its corporate structure and funding arrangements without providing prior notice and relevant approvals.

“As the prospective new owner of the Perth Casino, Blackstone will be required to meet a number of stringent conditions,” Buti said. “These conditions align with a number of the recommendations stemming from the recent Perth Casino Royal Commission.

“The State Government has already made significant improvements to the regulatory regime and remains committed to establishing an even tougher regulatory and governance framework to ensure whoever owns or runs Perth’s casino is held to account.

“The conditions on Blackstone, combined with upcoming reforms, will ensure appropriate standards are upheld at Perth’s Casino.”

Gaming and Wagering Commission chair Lanie Chopping added: “Blackstone has been subject to an extensive probity assessment by the Gaming and Wagering Commission.

“This detailed and complex process undertaken since the application was submitted last year involved the comprehensive independent assessment of relevant Blackstone entities in accordance with the legislative requirements.

“The Gaming and Wagering Commission’s probity approval has been granted subject to a number of conditions designed to ensure that the Commission has oversight and the capacity to monitor any change in licensee management or ownership.”

Blackstone first submitted a bid of AUS$8.02bn (£4.63bn/€5.33bn/US$5.64bn) to acquire Crown in 2021. This initial bid was rejected but an increased bid of $8.87bn was approved by the Crown board.

The offer came at a time when Crown was faced with a number of inquiries. 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 Crown had engaged in “illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative” conduct.

Last month, the majority of shareholders in Crown Resorts voted in favour of the takeover. Some 92.05% of shareholders present and voting were in favour of the acquisition, and 99.91% of the votes cast by shareholders backed the acquisition.

The event will take place at Les Ambassadeurs Casino in Mayfair, London and will draw on the experience, needs and insight of operators.

“We first spoke about the need to align industry thinking for ICE 2023 with the ECA leadership team at April’s event and subsequently fleshed out the format at the ECA’s Dealer Championship in May where we hosted a breakfast meeting for board members,” Clarion Gaming managing director Stuart Hunter said. “The symposium will bring operators and land-based suppliers together in a relaxed format, with the agenda for the day being created ‘live’ during the morning session.”

Hunter added that the symposium will make use of the “open space” model, in which participants set the agenda for the meeting themselves.

“We are adopting the open space model, a format that’s driven by participants and which encourages open, honest and dynamic discussion around the current needs, pain-points and shared opportunities that the industry faces,” he said. “After an initial panel session, individual groups will start their own discussions and agenda building.

In addition, he said that the results of the symposium will then play a major role in shaping the future vision of ICE London.

“All the discussions and intelligence that’s generated informs and inspires the attendees directly. The output will be used to direct the vision for ICE London in terms of strategy, content, product mix, customer experience and onsite networking/meeting ideas,” he said. “The symposium is an important part of our preparations for the return of the major land-based supplier brands to the ICE London show floor and will help us to maximise ROI on behalf of all of our customers.”

European Casino Association chairman Per Jaldung said the event would help ensure that Clarion Gaming and the industry have the same vision for ICE London 2023.

“ICE London 2023 is such an important opportunity for everyone associated with land-based gaming,” he said. “I’m delighted that the ECA is working in step with our colleagues at Clarion Gaming to ensure that we are fully prepared for February and that everyone is on the same page.

“The symposium is a great example of how we can all work together to achieve shared objectives and common goals.”