Month: October 2022

The announcement was made by Levy, Betr’s CEO, at the Global Gaming Expo event in Las Vegas yesterday (10 October).

Levy also revealed that Betr will become the first operator to enforce mandatory deposit limits for 21-25 year olds.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the terms of the settlement, Sportradar will be granted a sublicence that will grant access to a delayed secondary feed until 2024. In exchange for this, Sportradar will cease its unauthorised in-stadium data collection activities.

The case, which dates back to February 2020, challenged the English and Scottish football data licensing regime. The framework was established in May 2019 when Genius signed a landmark agreement with FDC that granted the data business exclusive rights to collect, license and distribute live data from the Premier League, the Football League and the Scottish Professional Football League. The case was heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Sportradar claimed that the system that had been built through this partnership was in breach of UK and EU competition law. The stated decision to commence legal action leaned heavily on this theme, with Sportradar saying that it “hoped to find a fair solution that enables it to build its own database and to compete effectively in the market”.

One particular point of contention had been Genius and FDC’s unwillingness to grant Sportradar any access to the data: “Sportradar is, and has always been, willing to pay for access, and to be part of an integrated, accredited, and fair system of collection and distribution which enables competition,” said Sportradar at the time the case began.

The official statement, signed off by all parties, outlined the public provisions of the deal:

“The litigation has been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties. The resolution enables FDC to maintain the right continue to license and market FDC data, as it determines,” it read.

“Genius Sports too shall maintain the right to provide low latency exclusive Official FDC betting data rights through 2024, and Sportradar, who has agreed to refrain from unauthorised in-stadia scouting of Premier League, Football League and Scottish Professional Football League matches, has purchased a sublicense from Genius Sports that provides rights to a delayed Official Secondary Feed through 2024.” 

“The remaining terms of the settlement are confidential.”

Nichols joints the company from Churchill Downs Incorporated and will help develop Future Anthem’s plans for expansion in the western hemisphere.

At CDI, he worked on a number of land-based projects, as well as develop the strategy for the TwinSpires B2B online horse racing product in his capacity as senior director of corporate development.

He will lead the company’s business in the region as well as build a local team to facilitate growth, in the wake of Future Anthem’s recently completed Series A financing round.

 “The Series A financing has unlocked a monumental shift for Future Anthem. We have wasted no time in delivering on our vision and strategy for the Americas by hiring Matt to lead our growth in this key market,” said Future Anthem CEO Leigh Nissim.

“This is a huge step in the development of Future Anthem – we have always been keen to establish ourselves locally in the US market and to be able to respond to customer needs quickly. Matt’s experience makes him the perfect appointment for this crucial new role.”

“I am beyond thrilled to join the Future Anthem team to lead their growth into the Americas’ online gaming markets,” added Nichols.

“Leigh has identified a compelling market gap, and his first-class team is building industry-best AI and data products that add tremendous value to operators and game studios by personalising player experiences across sports betting and casino.

Nichols also hinted at the possibility of potential new partnerships in the works.

“Future Anthem is already in advanced discussions with a number of prospective new partners in the Americas, and my first week coincides perfectly with G2E where I’ll have the chance to be part of many meaningful conversations.”

The reflection came in a blog post on the KSA website following the one-year anniversary of legal igaming in the Dutch market. This followed a report on the first year of activity in the country.

The report provided insight into how the market has grown, mostly focusing on the period until 30 July 2022, but with some data from after this time also.

The report found that the channelisation rate in the Netherlands was 85%. It also revealed that the Netherlands igaming market had generated an average of €80m (£74.5m/$82.4m) in gross gaming revenue each month.

As of September 30 2022, there were 22 licensed online gaming operators in the Netherlands. One year prior, as the market opened, there were 10 licensed operators. However, the report said this had not increased the amount of people playing.

In it, Jansen said that although there had been challenges, these had provided an opportunity to readjust some of the measures that had been put in place.

“Step by step, we are getting even closer to the desired ultimate goal: a completely safe environment for people who want to gamble online, without any place for illegal providers,” said Jansen. “It is certainly not uncommon that there are initial difficulties when applying a new law or imperfections in the accompanying regulations.”

“It is important to make the right adjustments on the basis of the observed facts, whereby the right balance must always be sought.”

Jansen also warned against imposing restrictions deemed as too severe, stating that this could encourage black market gaming.

“Too strict regulation of legal providers can cause illegal providers to be sought out too often,” he said. “The right choices must be made, partly with the help of our reports. This also applies to the Gaming Authority itself.”

“The purpose of these periodic reports is always to provide a factual picture of the early state of affairs and to outline the developments,” continued Jansen. “As is known, it took the Netherlands a long time to legalise online gambling; political views on this were and are divided.”

“Ultimately, a political majority was in favor of creating a safe environment for those people who gamble over the internet.”

Launched in February this year, Anaxi operates as a third business unit within Aristocrat Group, sitting alongside Aristocrat Gaming and the Pixel United mobile-first publishing business.

This came after Aristocrat attempted to acquire online gambling technology giant Playtech, only for shareholders to reject the deal. Following this, the business said it would continue to pursue online opportunities.

New branding will support the launch of Anaxi’s ‘build and buy’ growth strategy, including helping the business attract and retain online RMG talent to develop new igaming content.

Anaxi’s first igaming products will go live with two major customers in the US by the end of the year.

“We look forward to working with our partners as Anaxi reimagines the world’s greatest gaming content online and begins our journey towards becoming the most trusted name in online RMG globally,” Anaxi chief executive Mitchell Bowen said.

The rebrand comes after Aristocrat last month agreed a deal to acquire UK-based igaming content supplier Roxor Gaming.

Founded in 2019 by former Gamesys chairman and co-founder Noel Hayden, Roxor Gaming previously operated as the in-house studio and product team of Gamesys Group. Since its independent launch, Roxor Gaming has rolled out content in the US state of New Jersey and has plans to expand further in North America, as well as in the UK.

The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of the 2023 calendar year.

We kick off looking at Brazil, where the competing presidential candidates go into a run-off at the end of October.

This is likely to impact gambling across multiple channels. Not only sports betting may be on the line, but a reshuffling of the country’s lottery sector and even integrated resorts are being held back.

Indiana online casino is also up for discussion in this week’s episode, as US states look for new ways of finding revenue. Could this lead to a wave of igaming legislation in the remainder of 2022 and into early 2023, especially after commentators were disappointed by a lack of action in 2021?

It’s a question of tax, Brendan says. If they set the rate too high, states risk stifling the market before it can get going.

Remember, The World of Series of Politics is available on Apple Podcasts.

Finally we head further north, to Ontario, where the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) aims to push offshore operators out of the market. But with a lack of detail on what is actually at risk if they fail to comply, is this going to be an effective deterrent?

Mystical powers and supernatural forces currently roam the halls of Greentube’s Home of Games in anticipation of the arrival of the exciting new online casino game, Cash Connection – Voodoo Magic!

Discover more about Cash Connection – Voodoo Magic here!

Go Live Date (expected):18 OctoberGame special features:– Lock and Spin Feature
– 4 JackpotsNumber of paylines:5 reelsNumber of reels:95.00%RTP% (recorded/theoretical):High

Under the agreement, Tabcorp will purchase the stake on a fully diluted basis and secure the right to appoint a director to the Dabble board. 

Founded in 2020, Dabble has over 150,000 customers and offers users a socialised betting experience. In June 2022, the business reported $47.0m in annualised revenue. 

Tabcorp said the strategic investment in Dabble provides the group with both exposure to Dabble’s product capability and strength in the younger customer segment, with the two businesses to explore opportunities to create “win-win” innovation and growth.

In addition, Tabcorp said the investment aligns with its strategy to grow digital market share and follows the announcement last month that it had agreed to sell its eBet business for $62.0m.

The investment remains subject to certain, customary conditions including approval from the Northern Territory Racing Commission approval. 

“We are transforming our company, with a clear strategy and united ambition to grow digital market share,” Tabcorp chief executive and managing director Adam Rytenskild said. “Dabble is one of the most unique and innovative wagering brands and our investment today fits perfectly with our transformation agenda. 

“Our stake in Dabble will give us exposure to innovative product capability and ultimately to a younger customer base.

“The investment comes with the new TAB App now live on time, as promised. The launch of the app has had an immediate impact with customers, delivering an 11% increase in weekly active customers compared to the six weeks prior to launch.”

Dabble CEO Tom Rundle added: “We’re excited to partner with Tabcorp given their new energy and direction; and look forward to growing Dabble even further together. TAB is synonymous with punting in Australia and our brands will complement each other so that Dabble can continue to expand its evolutionary social betting experience to more punters.”

With the rising demand for effective cross-border payment solutions, it’s more important than ever that providers like AstroPay get it right. Why? Because cross-border payments are very beneficial as users are seeking more options and better prices in international markets, encouraging these transactions. Also, cross-border payments mean that players could be interacting with a merchant who’s based anywhere in the world. These transactions have increased in the gaming industry, meaning there is a huge opportunity for payment providers to put cross-border transactions at the forefront of their offering, especially with more and more markets like the Netherlands legalising online gambling and Curacao re-regulating. 

Why are cross-border payments important? 

Global companies are always looking for new, innovative and easier ways to encourage cross-border payment transactions. This is so they can attract users from multiple different geographies with ease, and keep payments compliant in all of the relevant markets.  

Over the past few years, these transactions have increased exponentially in the gambling industry, and that’s why AstroPay has made sure it’s made cross-border transactions at the core of its offering.   

“We keep expanding into new geographies and industries, trying to reach those who need cross-border payment solutions. Ultimately, we keep growing our presence, replicating the success and the knowledge we developed in our core market of Latin America.”  

Challenges with cross-border transactions 

Growing into new markets can prove tricky, especially since getting cross-border payments right hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In fact, cross-border transactions have encountered the same four recurring challenges over the past decade: high costs, slow transactions, unsatisfactory transparency and limited access.  

Because of these ongoing difficulties, governments are looking facilitate the globalisation of the payments sector, and this has started by addressing the core challenges on a macro level. In 2020, the G20 made improving and enhancing cross-border payments a key priority, and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) requested coordinated international participation from banks, other financial institutions and relevant companies. This means that financial entities and institutions will start adapting their processes to make cross-border transactions more efficient, but AstroPay has already led the way by alleviating challenges surrounding cross-border payments in their product solutions. 

How has AstroPay conquered these challenges 

AstroPay already simplified the cross-border payment process by allowing users to make international transactions without using a credit or debit card. And that’s not all, understanding exactly what their users needed was paramount to enhancing their cross-border offering. 

“We just launched a Visa card that you can generate directly from the AstroPay app and that you can use anywhere in the world where Visa is accepted. And we have a lot of other features that we keep adding to the wallet, such as providing users with multiple currency accounts.” Rita explains.  

“Merchants also tap into a user base of several million customers that use AstroPay for their online purchases and we work closely with the merchants on acquisition, retention and stimulations campaigns and co-marketing actions.” 

Working to give the user what they want from a payment’s provider 

AstroPay tackles the challenge of unsatisfactory operation transparency by being open, honest and straightforward in the way that transactions take place. “We make sure that from the start we walk our customers through how it all works and how cross-border transactions are handled by our platform”. 

Ticking off transparency in the long list of user needs is one thing, but with this comes added costs. As with any product, making sure cross-border payments are cost-effective is imperative, especially when it comes to customer satisfaction. “In terms of the user, we really focus a lot on not just guaranteeing lower costs, but to make it free for them to use” Rita explains. 

For AstroPay users, the wallet is completely free. It’s free to open a wallet, it’s free to upload funds into the wallet and it’s free to transact. Rita says that “this is a key differentiator between AstroPay and its competitors” who usually charge credit card processing fees or other transactional fees. 

Payment speed in the gambling industry 

Simplicity and speed is essentially the crux of what a user wants, and in the gaming industry, this means that deposits and withdrawals need to be speedy. For example, a user might be betting during a live match and needs to move money fast, which is where AstroPay leads the pack.  

Fast and effective payments are the name of the game with AstroPay, through hundreds of consumer-recognised payment methods. A quick, easy, and reliable payment process that delivers on its promise, “A slow transaction can be a huge inconvenience for both the merchant and user, which is why AstroPay has made to and from transactions instant, including cross-border payments” Rita explains. 

Reaching the world by one single integration 

So, users have easy transactions but how does a payments provider like AstroPay make their product offering relevant to each market? The four main challenges aren’t the only things to consider in this instance, you also have a hefty list of regulations and laws that you need to abide by before even setting off. Why? Because the implications of not being compliant, especially in the payments industry, can result in huge fines and a bad reputation. 

As a global merchant, managing a portfolio of hundreds of payment solutions can be extremely demanding, and very heavy on the wallet. That’s why solutions like AstroPay are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – they take all of the payment-related hard work and help merchants reach the world with one single integration. 

AstroPay could be compared to a remote games’ server, but for payments, where a supplier’s platform provides casino operators access to thousands of games from a single point of access. In AstroPay’s case, it provides a similar service, with more than 200 payment solutions integrated into its platform. This seamless integration encourages increased conversions and elevates the number of consumers that merchants can reach.  

“Having a partner like AstroPay that offers hundreds of different kinds of payment methods into one API, into one integration, into one single contract, makes it a lot easier,” Rita says. “That really unlocks the world for the merchants as they want to expand into new markets or start a new relationship with a local payment provider- they can simply enable your payment solution through an existing integration with AstroPay.” 

Having a single integration sounds like a very enticing offering, but how do you make sure a user knows exactly what they’re getting and how it works? High adoption rates are, after all, the key to product success in any industry. 

“We make sure that from the start we walk our customers through how it all works and how cross-border transactions are handled by our platform”, Rita highlights. 

This continuous flow of information allows for better cross-border transaction predictability, which has proven to be tricky for merchants in the past. AstroPay’s platform also features advanced reporting capabilities where they can easily download their transactions and costs in a fast and effective way to be able to better comprehend their processes. 

Keeping up to date with changing regulations 

This oversight of customer activity is vital. Arguably, there’s nothing more important than a payments provider staying in-the-know when it comes to regulations. Regulations are in constant flux, and if you’re not fully compliant, businesses run the risk of fines, reputational damage and even the prospect of losing your license.  

By keeping abreast of regulatory change, AstroPay aims to provide partners with peace of mind, knowing that compliance is at the core of its business.  

“It’s a very big challenge to keep up to date with the regulations – for us, and for our merchants, in particular in the gaming sector, they change at a very regular rate,” Rita explains. “New rules, new regulations are happening all the time.  

“We’ve become experts in creating a framework where flexibility is necessary and we know how to address changes of regulations in a very fast and very efficient way.  

“On top of that, having all of these payment solutions concentrated in one place where transactions end up makes it a lot easier for the merchant in terms of their reporting to the authorities, their reconciliation, their transaction monitoring and all of that. So we simply file all of it in one single place, instead of them having to log into a variety of systems.” 

Predictions on future cross-border processes 

When AstroPay started its operations around a decade ago, payments were very different to what they are today. The landscape created high barriers to entry, and fragmentation between markets – in many ways little has changed.  

“Starting from an emerging market as we did, we know how to make challenging situations a lot simpler for our customers, so we’re looking at replicating that story into other geographies, and we are going to make it easier for merchants to expand their international footprint even further.” 

Since its early days in Latin America, AstroPay has expanded its reach into multiple markets, and it’s not looking to stop any time soon.  

It is already present in the UK with their partnership with Wolves football club a sure sign of growth on the country, “For AstroPay, partnering with Wolves demonstrates our growth and helps us increase our visibility in the UK and strengthen our positioning in current markets. Their ambition and determination resemble our philosophy, and their focus on building a strong community that supports the club is something we are trying to do with our network of users.” 

AstroPay is full speed ahead in Africa, Asia, Latin America and next the supplier aims to take the Australian market by storm. “We’re expanding very fast to help all our merchants scale their operations globally,” Rita says. So, will AstroPay’s passion for cross-border payments revolutionise the payments world? All bets are on. 

Gross gaming revenue from sports betting in September was 15.5% higher than the previous monthly-high of $124.1m, which was set in the first month of legal wagering in January this year.

The September total was also 43.9% higher than $99.6m in August.

In terms of spending, handle for the month amounted at $1.26bn, up 44.1% from $872.2m in August and was the highest monthly total since May.

Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel remained comfortably the market leader with $65.7m in GGR from $499.8m in player bets during the month.

DraftKings was the closest challenger with $44.9m in GGR from a $422.2m handle, followed by Caesars Sportsbook, which posted $18.6m in GGR and a $163.2m handle.

BetMGM generated $8.6m in GGR from $95.7m in wagers in September, while Rush Street Interactive posted $3.7m in GGR off $34.9m and PointsBet $1.7m off $23.9m.

Wynn Interactive was next with GGR of $685,306 from a $9.4m handle, then Resorts World with $394,796 from $6.4m, and finally BallyBet with $144,756 off $1.3m.