Month: July 2022

Liz Lam Tong Hou of the Macao Government Tourism Office announced the news in the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre press conference. In total, 17 buildings across the region have been closed off due to similar outbreaks.

In the region, 146 new infections were reported on Wednesday – bringing the total to more than 1000 cases since June; more than 14,000 are in quarantine throughout the city.

The resort’s owner, SJM Holdings, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would “continue to implement strict containment measures, as the health and safety of all guests and employees represent its top priorities”.

The news comes soon after the Macau legislature approved major reforms to casino regulations.

In a trading update, Entain said retail revenue was up 243% year-on-year for the six months to 30 June – above expectations – after the removal of many Covid-19 measures meant retail operations were able to return to near-normal.

During the first half of last year, Covid-19 rules meant retail shops were closed for part of the period, while they faced operating restrictions in the latter part of the half, limiting the number of customers that could gamble.

However, Entain said “tough” comparators from 2021, when more players gambled online due to the partial closure of retail, meant online revenue was down 7% year-on-year. Online gaming revenue fell 9% while online sports betting revenue also dropped 6%, with wagers down 3% year-on-year.

This, Entain said, was also impacted by a weaker macroeconomic environment, with this reducing customers’ rate of spend. As such, based on the current outlook, Entain said that full-year online revenue is expected to be flat.

In reference to its BetMGM joint venture with MGM Resorts, Entain said that the brand continues to perform “strongly” and in line with expectations and is on track to post more than $1.3bn in revenue for the full year.

Looking at the second quarter, this made for similar reading, with total group revenue rising 8% year-on-year, driven by a 79% increase in retail revenue.

Online revenue in Q2 was 7% lower, with online casino revenue down 7% and online sports betting revenue dropping 6%, though sports wagers were up marginally by 1%. 

“I am very pleased to see that more customers are choosing to play with us, reflecting our focus on recreational players and putting the customer at the heart of everything we do,” Entain chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said. 

“We continue to expand our growth opportunities through complementary acquisitions with four transactions so far this year. Underpinned by the Entain platform, BetMGM continues to demonstrate its leadership in the US with a 24% market share.

“The macro-economic outlook is uncertain, however the underlying performance of our business remains strong. 

“With an increasingly recreational customer base and relatively resilient revenue, we remain confident that our customer focus, diversification and proven ability to grow both organically and through M&A will enable us to deliver further progress against our strategy.”

Meanwhile, Entain said it expects its recently announced acquisition of BetCity to complete in the second half of this year, adding that it will deliver “strategic growth opportunity” in the regulated Dutch market.

Entain agreed a deal to acquire the Dutch online sports betting and gaming operator BetEnt, which trading as BetCity, from Sports Entertainment Media last month. 

Agreed in April, IGT said the purchase more than doubles the size of its IGT PlayDigital content library to approximately 225 games.

IGT also said that the acquisition will provide a proprietary game aggregation platform to distribute third-party games, and data-driven promotional and user-engagement tools.

“The acquisition of iSoftBet will provide market-tested proprietary digital content, advanced game aggregation capabilities, scalable promotional tools, analytics and strong creative talent to IGT’s PlayDigital operations,” IGT chief executive Vince Sadusky said at the time of the initial announcement in April.

Oakvale Capital LLP acted as lead financial advisor to IGT. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to IGT and KPMG LLP acted as tax and financial due diligence advisor to IGT.

The deal comes after IGT in February signed a definitive agreement to sell its Italian proximity payment business to PostePay – Patrimonio Destinato for €700.0m. 

The business offers services through a fully owned payment technology platform and a network of 54,000 points of sale, including bill payments and prepaid payment cards, telco and e-vouchers top up, and technological solutions such as merchant and enterprise services.

Galaxy Gaming Digital will encompass licensing of the developer’s portfolio of table content, new Galaxy-built games developed in-house and future digital ventures.

The new division will license table games titles to development partners, while also taking a more active role developing games in-house.

Galaxy will also launch its own RNG titles for the first time. The first of these games – Split to Double Blackjack, Roulette Up, and Rising Phoenix Baccarat – are currently available in land-based casinos, with RNG titles due to launch later this year.

“The launch of Galaxy Gaming Digital underscores our continued enthusiasm for creating and licensing the best table game content online, just as we have always done for our land-based clients,” Galaxy Gaming president and chief executive Todd Cravens said. 

“As the omni-channel table games experts, we see tremendous opportunity for growth and innovation by taking an active role in creating our own new content and continuing to work closely with our industry-leading development partners. 

“Along with that, this new division will also be focused on channel expansion, bringing Galaxy titles to new online outlets.”

In March, Galaxy revealed how record igaming receipts drove revenue for the 2021 full-year up 95.3% to $19.9m (£16.7m/€19.4m).

Under the deal, the 2022-23 edition of the competition, which is scheduled to kick off on 15 July, will be known as the SuperSport Croatian First Football League.

The announcement comes after SuperSport in May signed a contract for marketing rights and betting rights for matches owned by the Croatian Football Association.

SuperSport already has a presence in the Croatian football market, having in September last year become title sponsor of the Croatian Football Cup, the country’s most prestigious domestic knockout competition.

“SuperSport, as a market leader, aims to continue to invest in the development of Croatian football, which shows its strength and progress from season to season,” SuperSport board member Radim Haluza said. 

“I am firmly convinced that the new season of all domestic football competitions will be the best so far, especially SuperSport HNL.”

Croatian Football Association president Marijan Kustić added: “I am sure that we all share the tense anticipation of the start of the new season of SuperSport HNL and that, along with the commercial and marketing development, we will witness the continuation of the quality of our league football.”

Strickland will become regulatory and business affairs manager, with core responsibility for administering and maintaining US compliance, licensing, and reporting functions. This will include facilitating compliance with state regulatory requirements and managing internal corporate policies and procedures.

Prior to joining SIS Content Services, Strickland spent nine years as senior paralegal and contract manager at Sportech.

Beirne will take on the role of US commercial manager, where is primary responsibility will be to build relationships with US sportsbooks and sell live betting content. He will work to navigate local regulations to enable SIS to distribute sportsbook content and pari-mutuel products.

A horse racing industry executive with over 30 years’ experience in racetrack management and operations, regulation and education, Beirne was most recently director of the Equine Industry Program at the University of Louisville Business School.

“The US market presents a huge opportunity for SIS to grow, particularly with the anticipated roll-out of fixed-odds betting from state to state as well as the advancement in esports betting regulations,” SIS chief executive and SIS Content Services president Richard Ames said.

“These two new appointments will strengthen SIS Content Services Inc. as we aim to further drive our market presence in the country.

“I believe the combination of knowledge, expertise and regulatory and commercial acumen they bring with them will prove to be of huge benefit not only to SIS Content Services but also all of our US partners.”

In his new role, Longhurst will focus on extending the reach of Sportingtech in emerging and regulated markets around the world.

Longhurst joins after three years as chief commercial officer with Pronet Gaming, prior to which he was commercial director of SBTech and business development manager at Sporting Solutions. 

Sportingtech also appointed Colin McDonagh as chief sales officer, Daniel Stone as head of marketing and Anthony Murphy as head of commercial account management.

I am delighted to be joining Sportingtech at such an exciting time in its development, as I believe we have a great opportunity to make a real impact in the industry,” Longhurst said.

“We have a very talented team in place and I’m very pleased that we can add some further management experience to it, to build upon the success the company has enjoyed to date.

“The Quantum platform is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the most ambitious operators and we look forward to showcasing it in the coming weeks and months.”

The club will be the latest French football team to make a deal with operator, following the announcement of similar deals with AS Monaco in 2020 and Paris FC the previous March. VBet branding will feature on the club’s shorts through to 2025, as well as prominently on its digital platforms.

In return, VBet will broadcast exclusive content for its partner as well as organise events and competitions to win match tickets – in addition to offering other digital content throughout the season.    

VBet France president David Ozararat commented on the deal: “Aside from the symbolism of teaming up with the city where I was born and grew up, I’m very happy VBet is becoming one of the official partners of OGC Nice alongside its shareholder INEOS. Today, the club’s potential is at the highest possible level and the ambitions of its president are aligned with our business project in terms of means, values and vision.”

In April, VBet joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA); where it has since fed into IBIA’s global betting integrity monitoring and alert platform, in which operators may report suspicious activity.

Jean Pierre Rivère, OGC Nice president added: “We’re delighted VBet is joining us as an Official Partner. They’re an ambitious and dynamic group which has developed constantly. VBET is perpetually looking to innovate in its sector. That’s something that we have in common.”

The deal last month received final regulatory clearance, while shareholders also gave their approval to the sale during a general meeting in December last year.
Gopher, a minority shareholder in Playtech, tabled its $250m (£208m/€239m) bid for Finalto in June last year. The Playtech board agreed to sell the business to Gopher in September of 2021.

The deal was initially due to complete on 30 June, but the latest update from Playtech said the sale will now go through no later than mid-July.

Playtech put Finalto up for sale in March 2021 as it switched focus on its core gambling business, but had been considering plans to divest it since 2019 due to poor performance.

In May last year, Playtech’s board agreed to divest Finalto to a consortium led by Israeli private equity fund Barinboim Group, in a deal worth up to $210m. However, Gopher then emerged with its counteroffer.
Playtech delayed its general meeting – where shareholders would vote on the Barinboim bid – at Gopher’s request, allowing the board to seek further information about the proposal.
The board asked the Hong Kong-based business a number of questions, largely related to its ownership, possible links to China and whether this could hinder regulatory approval of an acquisition.
While Gopher answered initial questions, Playtech said it required further clarity on some of its responses. After it did not receive additional responses, Playtech’s board announced that it would continue to support the Barinboim consortium bid and hold its general meeting where shareholders could vote on the deal.
However, despite the board’s approval, the majority of voting interest rejected the Barinboim offer. Shareholders representing 75.3 million shares voted for the deal. However, shareholders with 164.3 million shares – or 68.3% of total votes cast – voted against.
This meant the agreement between the Barinboim consortium and Playtech was no longer valid, allowing the supplier to negotiate fully with Gopher.
Despite skepticism from Barinboim, the supplier’s board agreed a deal to acquire Finalto.

While the attempt to dispose of Finalto is nearing conclusion, Playtech itself may also soon be sold. The business had initially agreed a deal to be acquired by Aristocrat last year.

However, Aristocrat’s proposed acquisition failed to secure enough shareholder backing to proceed. In total, 174 shareholders representing 56.13% of Playtech – or 140.5 million shares – voted in favour of the bid at a court meeting, while 54.68% did so at a general meeting. 

Both of these totals were well below the 75% threshold required for the merger to be approved. Shareholders representing 43.87% of the business voted against the deal. At least 75% of voting shares needed to approve the scheme if the 680 pence per share bid, which equates to a purchase price of around £2.70bn, were to proceed.

JKO Play had also been in talks over a possible offer to acquire Playtech, but withdrew from the process.Gopher also registered an interest in making a bid in November of last year but dropped out of the running a few weeks later. 

TTB Partners – a group with links to Gopher – made an approach over a possible takeover in February, with Playtech having agreed to release TTB from certain restrictions to allow it to form and potentially make an offer.

Playtech said it had agreed to the request but warned that there was no guarantee this would lead to an offer. The tech giant also said it would likely be the case that any offer from TTB would be made in cash.

The restrictions placed on TTB – part of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers – came as a result of its role in advising Gopher over its potential takeover offer for the business. 

The restrictions on TTB, which would have blocked it from making an offer itself, were due to remain in place for six months from the withdrawal date, through to 20 May. However, with these lifted, TTB was able to begin to form its own offer.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer has declared his support for a possible bid. Last month, the deadline for group TTB to declare its firm intention to make a bid was extended until 15 July.

The minister made the remarks in a response to parliamentary questioning from members Michael van Nispen and Mirjam Bikker –  who pressed Weerwind on the subject. Currently, players are required to choose their own limits when they set up accounts.

Weerwind said he still believed that the current option was superior to mandating specific limits for all operators.

“When drafting the law, it was decided to let the player set his own limits. This choice is based on experiences from addiction care and various studies that show that the possibility for players to make well-informed choices about their gaming behavior is an effective prevention method. I therefore want to stick to this principle of self-limitation.”

“I consider that too strict limits can lead to avoidance behavior by players, causing them to play with multiple providers at the same time, or even to swerve to illegal offers, which endangers the channeling. I will also investigate whether technology has progressed so far that a mode can be found for the provider exceeding playing limits, technically and from a privacy point of view.”

This contrasts with remarks made by the chair of the Dutch regulator (KSA), René Jansen, who hinted that the body may impose maximum loss limits for operators in a speech in May. On that occasion he had compared Dutch legislation to peer countries with strict loss limits in place, pointing out that this may be an option the Nehterlands could adopt.

“In Sweden, the operator has a statutory duty to initiate an investigation if a gambler exceeds the deposit limit of €930,” Jansen said. “These examples serve to illustrate that other avenues are open to the legislator.”

Weerwind also faced further questions about gambling advertisements, which have been a continued subject of controversy in the country. In response, he pointed out that the government had implemented a ban on the use of “role models” in gambling ads just last week, and that it still set to introduce a ban on “untargeted” ads for high-risk games.

The two MPs asked whether he would consider suspending the approval of new licences until this ban comes into effect, but Weerwind dismissed that idea.

In addition, the minister addressed claims that “almost one in five gamblers are currently under 25 years old”. Weerwind noted that this was based on a study with a sample period including a significant amount of time before online gambling became legal last year. As a result, he argued that a large amount of this play may have been with the unlicensed sector prior to launch.