Month: June 2022

The horse racing account wagering app’s entry in Montana and Oregon follows its debut in Ohio and Florida at the start of June and subsequent expansion to Indiana.

Incorporating New York Racing Association’s NYRA Bets platform, Caesars Racebook offers bettors pari-mutuel wagering on premier horse racing content from more than 250 tracks around the world with betting on marquee tracks in the US and internationally. Tracks covered include Belmont Park, Saratoga Race Course and Santa Anita, as well as Caesars operated tracks such as Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Caesars earlier this month said it plans to launch in around 30 states across the US.

“Caesars Racebook is truly differentiated as the first horse racing advance deposit wagering app to include our award-winning Caesars Rewards loyalty program,” said Dan Shapiro, chief development officer of Caesars Digital. “We look forward to welcoming new horse racing customers and existing fans onto the platform and to working with NYRA Bets to grow horse racing as we deploy Caesars Racebook.”

Other features in the new app include options for race replays and handicapping insights. In addition, Caesars Racebook is integrated into the Caesars Rewards loyalty program, offering users the chance to earn exclusive experiences.

“The new Caesars Racebook app, which utilises the NYRA Bets interface and technology, will expand access to world-class horse racing now and in the future,” said Matt Feig, general manager of NYRA Bets. “The partnership between NYRA Bets and Caesars is a win for horse racing, its stakeholders and countless racetracks around the world.”

In January, Caesars Sportsbook and NYRA unveiled a partnership establishing Caesars as an official sports betting marketing partner in New York and the title sponsor of the NYRA Turf Triple Series at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Plans for the launch of Caesars Racebook were announced in March.

Efforts to make a business diverse and inclusive are increasingly key for industry leaders. While Betsson has been a prominent supporter of the industry’s diversity initiatives – such as being a founding member of the All-In Diversity Project – its inaugural diversity and inclusion conference, which took place on 17 June, was a big leap forward.

“From a diversity point of view, this conference is of course just one way we use to spread awareness,” says head of sustainability Jonna Danlund.

She believes that a focus on raising awareness and explaining the benefits of diversity to a business is the best place to start in creating a more inclusive workplace. Most importantly, this is an ongoing process.

“The first step is awareness,” she explains. “In that context we need to recognise that awareness is not something that you do one-off.

“It’s something that you have to work with constantly all the time, so that you don’t fall back into an unconscious approach. It’s a long term approach that’s needed; it’s not something that you can do once.”

However, Danlund does not believe that eye-catching new initiatives are always the best way to enhance diversity and inclusion. Instead, she argues in favour of looking at processes already in place, and how these can be enhanced.

“I think it’s important to integrate diversity into the policies and processes we already have,” she says. Betsson does make diversity a central tenet of the business, through its Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) statement.

“But at the same time I think it’s important to integrate diversity into all processes, be it recruitment, be it the salary review, whatever within the company so that it doesn’t become a standalone thing – it’s something that’s natural, integrated.”

Sustainability

Betsson’s approach to ESG is methodical. It’s structured around five key areas: responsible gaming, business compliance, employee impact, social impact and climate impact.

“By having that kind of framework, that helps us because there are set ambitions, goals and KPIs in that framework, so we know which actions to take to reach our goals,” says Danlund.

This focus on sustainability is crucial to Betsson’s long-term success, she says. The company’s longevity is evidence of this.

“Betsson has been around since the 1960s, so we’ve been here for over half a century,” Danlund points out. “We plan to be here for many, many more years to come.

“And you can’t run a business like that long term without also having a long term approach to sustainability.”

From Danlund’s perspective, this works to uphold both integrity and the day-to-day expectations of running a business.

“The thing is, we definitely want to do good, but we also have to do good because it’s expected of us,” she continues. “We get a lot of questions about ESG – from investors and partners, from employees – so being sustainable is the right thing to do.”

“Focusing on this area is the right thing to do – but it’s also something that’s good for business.”

Into the future

While she believes the igaming industry broadly supports diversity, inclusion and ESG efforts, Danlund warns against complacency.

“I think igaming prides itself on being diverse already. And in many cases, it is,” she continues. “But we mustn’t sit back and relax.”

To avoid this, Danlund sees constant communication as an optimal way to encourage progress, specifically in sharing best practices on promoting inclusion.

“It’s very important to keep the focus on these important issues and keep sharing and discussing best practices to keep to conversation going and finding those measures that actually work.”

But integrating these concepts is a process that never truly ends. As Danlund says: “There’s always more to be done.”

Interview conducted by Ewa Bakun

Its B2B solution is being debuted by European operators TOTO and Jacks, while Low6 said additional operators in both North American and Asia Pacific markets would be revealed later this year. Products include playable formats for fantasy, picks, trivia and bracket games, as well as player management tools.

Low6’s technology platform and content is now available as a white-label proposition to the betting and gaming industry as well as sports media businesses and rights-holders. Previously, the business had focused on partnerships with teams and sporting bodies, having partnered with UFC, PGA Tour, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, as well as Uber Eats.

Jamie Mitchell, Low6’s chief executive and co-founder, said: “With the Low6 gamification platform we’re on a mission to ensure that our partners know the millions of social media fans they engage with – their name, email, address, phone and favourite player, and have actionable data to convert and retain their followers.

“At Low6 we have a simple saying – first party data is a party you don’t want to miss, and that’s what we look to deliver for our partners.”

This extension was first announced in March.

The six licences – for three concessionaires and three subconcessionaires – were set to expire at the end of this week (26 June).

The concessionaires are SJM, Wynn and Galaxy Entertainment, while the three subconcessionaires are Sands China, Melco and MGM China.

Each of the operators must pay up to MOP47m (£4.7m/€5.5m/$5.8m) to Macau’s government upon signing the extension agreement.

Following the passing of an amended version of Macau’s Gambling Act, the region’s Legislative Assembly has scrapped subconsessions. Instead, the number of concessions have doubled to six, meaning that the amount of licensed operators will remain the same.

In practice, the difference between concessionaires and subconcessionaires is limited.

The bill will also see casino revenue tax rise to 40%, but Macau’s chief executive will be able to decrease this by up to 5% if the operator can bring in gamblers that are not from mainland China.

This week, a number of entertainment venues and restaurants at resorts in Macau have closed amid a new outbreak of Covid-19. However, for now casinos themselves remain open.

However, operators will face a new tax on their marketing spend.

President Uhuru Kenyatta singed the bill into law, that the excise tax on betting stakes remains at 7.5%.

The treasury had previously attempted to change this rate to 20%, as well as introducing a 15% excise tax on gambling advertising spend.

However, after review from the country’s Finance and National Planning Committee, the rate was restored to 7.5%.

At the time, it said that the current 7.5% rate had been in place for less than one year, so there had not been enough time to judge if it has been a success.

In addition, the committee also threw out a tax on gambling advertising spend, similar to an existing tax on marketing spend for alcohol.

When considered on the floor of Parliament, MPs agreed to keep the tax on stakes at 7.5%. However, they reintroduced the tax on marketing spend, at 20%.

After Parliament and the Senate passed the bill, it was sent to Kenyatta, who signed it into law.

The country’s excise tax on stakes has been a major point of controversy in recent years, starting in 2019 when the treasury raised the rate from 10% to 20%.

After this increase,  which itself had come on the heels of a long dispute over a different 20% tax on player winnings – came into effect, local market leaders Sportpesa and Betin both withdrew from the market.

In 2020, though, the Finance Committee proposed lowering the rate, noting that tax revenue had actually decreased because of the onerous taxes. This proposal was accepted and became part of the 2020 Finance Bill.

However, Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani then immediately announced that the tax should never have been scrapped and that the government was working to bring it back.

It took steps to do so with its initial version of the 2021 Finance Bill, which would have raised the rate back to 20%.However, the Finance Committee again made changes, this time reducing the stake levy to 7.5%.

Tipwin – a well-known sports betting operator in the country – is now also allowed to offer slots, on a new gaming section of its website.

Online-first operator Mybet has also secured a licence, through its owner Ruleo Alpenland. A previous iteration of Mybet had filed for insolvency in 2018, before the brand was revived under new ownership, with a new sportsbook provided by Kambi.

The pair join Jackpot Piraten and Bing Bong operator Mernov -which is associated with the Gauselmann Group – on the “white list” to offer online slots.

Online slots in Germany were permitted nationwide – rather than only in Schleswig-Holstein – for the first time thanks to the passage of Germany’s Fourth State Treaty on Gambling, which came into effect in July 2021.

However, that treaty carried a number of conditions, including a €1 stake limit for slots. In addition, operators must pay 5.3% of their turnover in tax.

As a result of these conditions,  no online slots or poker licensees were listed for almost a year after the Treaty came into force. Operators and industry body Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV) argued the rules in place made it too difficult to operate.

The DSWV and European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) together filed a formal state aid complaint with the European Commission challenging the tax rate. The bodies argued that the tax would provide a “substantial and unfair” tax advantage to land-based gambling venues in Germany, which pay lower taxes.

Under the treaty, online table games may also be offered, but with a limited number of licences, as states can choose between a monopoly model or a number of concessions equal to the number of land-based casinos in the state. Schleswig-Holstein and Nordrhein-Westfalen are among the states issuing multiple licences, while Thüringia opted for a monopoly.

Today, Danish gambling regulator Spillemyndigheden announced that it had reported Tipwin to the police in Denmark for violating the country’s Money Laundering Act.

A UK report commissioned by GamCare, which runs the National Gambling Helpline, found that nearly half (46%) of the 4,000 Britons surveyed are worried or very worried about their financial situation.

The figure is significantly higher in those who report losing significant amounts of money gambling – with some 61% of this group either worried or very worried about their finances.

GamCare said those figures are supported by anecdotal evidence from National Gambling Helpline advisors, who have reported that a number of callers on Universal Credit are gambling as a way to make extra money to cover their bills.

“Advisors on the helpline have also reported repeat callers, who previously felt they had recovered from gambling, but have relapsed as financial pressures have heightened and have needed to seek more support for their gambling,” GamCare said. “Callers have also reported increasing costs as a barrier to tackling their existing debts through gambling and are further struggling to pay them back.”

The YouGov survey also found concerning links between problem gambling and the ownership of cryptocurrency. Some 43% of problem gamblers own cryptocurrency. Two thirds of gamblers classed as experiencing low levels of harm (66%) are motivated to buy cryptocurrency to make money, which is significantly higher than the rate among problem gamblers (24%).

Those whose gambling is classed as problematic are much more likely to report negative impacts from purchasing cryptocurrency than the general population. One quarter (25%) of this group want to invest more to recoup their losses (compared to 7% of the general population), 22% say they have not been able to pay essential bills (compared to 4%) and 21% say they have felt overwhelmed by the situation (versus 6%).

The survey was carried out to mark 25 years of GamCare. The organisation has also released a video in which celebrities, including England’s most-capped footballer Peter Shilton and S Club 7 singer Jo O’Meara, discuss their experiences of problem gambling.

Anna Hemmings, chief executive at GamCare, said: “For 25 years, GamCare has helped people experiencing problems with gambling. Over this time, we’ve gained knowledge and expertise from working collaboratively, including with people who have lived experience, on how to best support those affected by gambling harms – including gamblers, their family and friends.

“As we turn 25, and look to the upcoming Gambling Act Review, we will continue to raise awareness of gambling issues, including newer trends, and become more accessible to help people spot the signs and reach out for support. We urge anyone who is struggling with gambling to contact us. Whether you’re concerned for yourself or for others, we’re here to support you.”

The manufacturer of gaming equipment will appear at the event at the RAI Amsterdam from 5 July to 8 July.

Nicci Smith, managing director UK/Europe said: “Obviously we are excited to be showcasing our products and meeting with customers after such a long period away due to the Covid restrictions. As the online market has evolved, our igaming offering has developed and grown in importance, now constituting a substantial part of our business. We feel this is the perfect time to showcase our innovative products, allowing us to meet the online industry at a dedicated event.”

“The sector undoubtedly missed in-person events and TCSJohnHuxley especially benefit from our customers being able to see, touch and experience our products. During the pandemic we all tried to find innovative ways to showcase our products, but nothing competes with meeting customers face-to-face which is why we iGB Live! is so important not just to us but to the industry as a whole.”

Highlighting the industry-wide supply-chain issues impacting technology items and the global logistics problems as key challenges, Nicci explained: “All these affect day-to-day operations so forward planning where possible, is definitely key. That being said, we benefit from being a company that is big enough to compensate for some of these challenges and small enough to be flexible to change.”

iGB Live! provides a forum of opportunity for industry professionals to connect and converse with key suppliers, convert expert-led insights into actionable business growth and converge with the 4,000+ visitors and 250 exhibitors expected at what is one of world’s fastest growing gaming expos. iGB Live’s conference programme, meanwhile, features 46 industry thought leaders who will be providing expert insight on key business-centric topics delivered using a range of accessible formats including panel discussions, key notes and fireside chats. For more information and to register for iGB Live! (5–8 July, Amsterdam RAI) visit igblive.com.

Members of the North Carolina House voted against the SB688 bill on Wednesday (22 June) by 51-50 at second reading. The legislation had already been passed by the state Senate.

While another gambling bill, SB38, passed the House by a single vote, that legislation was designed to amend SB688 so it cannot progress alone.

To read the full article, visit iGB North America.

The approval was made official during a meeting on 16 June.

Winamax first submitted its marketing strategy for the year in January 2022.

In March 2022, after completing its second annual review of all operators’ marketing strategies for the year, ANJ requested that Winamax withdraw the application and apply again.

The advertisement showed a man improving his and his mother’s lives through gambling.

This violates national standards. ANJ stated that the campaign did not dissuade people from irresponsible gambling behaviours, and added that the adt also did not protect minors from gambling harm.

Winamax’s strategy was the only one rejected out of all operators in France.

On 19 April, Winamax submitted its improved strategy. ANJ ruled that the operator had minimised elements in the ad that would appeal to minors, by following ANJ’s guidelines in choosing a “a responsible influencer” to promote the campaign.

The original tagline for the advertisements – “Tout pour la Daronne” (“everything for your mother”) – is also not included in the new version.

The operator also reduced its overall budget for the ad.

ANJ noted that the round of approvals took place during a pivotal time for sports betting, before the World Cup begins in November.

The regulator also noted that care was taken to reject advertisements that depict “excessive or pathological play”, after “a line was crossed” in terms of marketing for the European Championship 2020.