Month: October 2022

The authority issued a warning regarding 18 different domains, some of which are owned by the same operators. The operators include 24Pokies, an Australian online casino, and 4 Crowns Casino, which has an address in the Netherlands.

On its website, the MGA cautioned member of the public against using the sites.

“The Malta Gaming Authority has become aware that certain entities that do not hold an authorisation issued by the MGA are operating illegally within Malta,” read the statement.

“The authority hereby informs the public that these entities are not duly authorised by the MGA to provide a gaming service to any person in Malta.”

Operators must hold a licence to operate in Malta under the country’s Gaming Authorisations Regulations.

Operating without a licence infringes article 14 of the Malta Gaming Act.

Last week, Malta announced new player protection guidelines for licensees, as it began a “closed consultation” on the matter launched the week previous.

Armanino LLP, a top 25 US accounting and consulting firm, had audited Lottery.com’s financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2021. However, the business submitted a resignation letter on 27 September 2022.  

The auditors had previously been the party that discovered a line of credit which a subsidiary of the business had entered into and then did not record in any financial statements.

This unrecorded line of credit was the cause of a $30m shortfall in the business’s accounts. In July, the shortfall was made public following Armanino informing the company on the discrepancies with its financial statements. This was followed by the resignation of its president, treasurer and chief financial officer Ryan Dickinson. The company’s CEO Tony DiMatteo III also resigned soon afterwards.

“The company, in consultation with its outside advisors, is currently validating its preliminary conclusion, assessing any impact on previously issued financial reports, and has begun to institute appropriate remedial measures,” said Lottery.com on that occasion.

Lottery.com stated in a SEC filing that the firm had signed off to its December financial report without incident: “Armanino’s report… did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor was it qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles,” it stated.

“In addition, there were no disagreements between the company and Armanino on accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Armanino, would have caused them to make reference to the disagreement in their report for such period, or any subsequent interim period preceding Armanino’s resignation.”

The company has not yet chosen a successor accounting firm.

New board members

Lottery.com also announced that the company’s new board members Vladimir Klechtchev and Amer Rustom, which were appointed in keeping with the NASDAQ minimum board members rules, have been given committee assignments.

Klechtchev will act as chairman and Rustom as member of the audit committee. Both will be members of the compensation committee, of which Richard Kivel is the chairman.

Sports wagering revenue reached $25.4m (£23.0m/€26.2m) in the month, up from $5.7m in September 2021 and also 76.4% higher than $14.4m in August of this year, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC).

Of this total, $21.2m was attributed to online betting, while the remaining $4.2m came from retail wagering.

In terms of spending, the $200.2m wagered in September was down from $210.4m in the same month last year, but 63.3% more than in August this year.

Players spent $177.6m betting online, as well as $22.6m at retail sportsbooks across the state.

Breaking down the performances of individual operators, Diamond Jo in Dubuque and its FanDuel sportsbook led the way with $6.5m from a $43.2m handle.

Sister property Diamond Jo in Worth, which also has a FanDuel sportsbook, placed second with $3.6m in revenue from $23.7m in bets, followed Wild Rose in Jefferson and DraftKings with revenue of $3.0m from $29.5m in bets.

The IRGC also revealed that regulated sports betting activity in June generated $1.7m in tax revenue during the month.

Reporting directly to chief executive Michael Tobin, Koh will be tasked with supporting the provider’s growth plans, including developing and implementing its commercial strategy covering sales, account management, marketing and customer service.

Koh joins the business having spent more than 20 years working in senior positions within the global technology sector, including most recently as executive vice president for Syntax. 

Prior to this, he worked for IT Convergence and Core Services, and was also involved in both executive roles and several corporate and non-profit boards across the US, Asia and Latin America. 

“The opportunity to work with such a highly respected brand was one that I simply couldn’t turn down,” Koh said. “Continent 8’s customer base and reputation in the industry is second to none, and I look forward to playing my part in the next chapter of Continent 8’s success story.”

Tobin added: “We have a world-class team at Continent 8 and our headcount has grown significantly over the past few years to ensure we remain at the top of our game. Brian is a significant addition to our team and comes at an exciting time for the organisation.

“As more countries embrace regulation and new markets open for business, we see a huge opportunity for Continent 8 to expand its reach and deliver our award-winning managed hosting, connectivity, cloud and security solutions to customers entering these jurisdictions.

“Brian has been tasked with overseeing our expansion, a job that he is undoubtedly the best person to take on. I look forward to working with him closely moving forwards.”

At present, online casino is still not regulated in the Centennial State, but through this joining of forces, PlayStar has positioned itself to have fast market access once it is given the green light. 

GF Gaming is the owner of Famous Bonanza and Easy Street Casinos, meaning it is set to receive an online gaming licence which would allow PlayStar to operate in the state.

PlayStar said it hopes to bring what it calls “a truly unique online experience” to market. 

“Having seen what PlayStar has already achieved with its innovative and incredibly successful New Jersey launch, we had no doubts whatsoever that the brand was the perfect online partner for us in Colorado,” said GF Gaming general manager Roger Brown. 

“Like us, PlayStar is a company that places a lot of emphasis on supporting the local community through promotions and partnerships – and when Colorado realises the vast potential of legal internet-based gaming, we’re confident they’ll deliver a first-class online casino experience to players in our state.”

PlayStar is already looking ahead and is assessing how to expand these plans into further markets when regulation allows.

“With New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and now Colorado market access secured, along with more announcements coming, we’ve secured a growth path well into the future. However, we’re not stopping there, with further market access being high on the agenda as we head off to G2E this week,” said PlayStar co-founder and chief business development officer Adam Noble.

Xpoint co-founder and chief executive, Marvin Sanderson, will now serve on the AGA board of directors, while a number of Xpoint’s C-suite leadership team will sit on a range of AGA committees and task forces.

Focused on the North America sports betting and igaming markets, Xpoint launched its first live partnership in June of this year, linking up with SkillOnNet in Ontario, Canada.

One of only two geolocation technology vendors licensed in New Jersey, Xpoint last month announced the launch of its Xpoint Verify real-money gaming geolocation solution in the state with Sporttrade and PlayStar.

Xpoint has also secured investor backing from the likes of Bettor Capital, Courtside Ventures, Acies Investments, The Raine Group and SuRo Capital Sport.

“We are very proud to join the AGA and looking forward to being active participants across a range of the organisation’s interests,” Sanderson said.

“The AGA is rightly celebrated as the premier membership organisation in our primary market, and it is an honor to be sitting alongside so many of our industry peers within the AGA, helping shape the future for us, our partners, and our fellow associated companies.”

The appointment comes after Geocomply filed a patent complaint in Delaware District Court against Xpoint.

The patent is for Geocomply’s geolocation technology, on which much of the supplier’s business is based. The business provides location services for a number of gaming operators and providers, including DraftKings, FanDuel, 888, Caesars and Sightline payments.

With this information about player locations, operators can apply the correct regulations for the jurisdiction in which a player is located.

Last week, the AGA also announced the appointment of Maureen Beddis as senior vice president, membership and events.

Scheduled to take on her new role from October 31, Beddis will become part of the AGA’s executive team and lead its member relations, business development and events.

As both developers aim to create casino-like games with a focus on interactivity, the business said that it hopes to create a clear market leader in what it calls “differentiated games”.
“The combined entity is set to dominate the differentiated games category and will offer the most comprehensive portfolio of content focused on higher LTV and new players that includes slots, table games, crash games, and arcade games,” the Green Jade Group said. “The merger will also enable the company to scale rapidly in order to meet the growing demand for its content from the global igaming market – particularly in North America and Europe.”
Jesper Kärrbrink – currently the chair of Green Jade – will become the chief executive of the new combined entity. GameCo chair Robert Montgomery will then become its chair.
“We have followed GameCo for quite some time and we are big fans of what the company has achieved to date and I’m confident that together we are going to create unstoppable momentum with some very exciting times ahead,” Kärrbrink said.
Montgomery added that both businesses have a similar view in terms of the type of games they create.
“Green Jade and GameCo are together a great strategic fit,” he said. “Both companies have respectively trailblazed a new way of looking at casino games and have established a strong reputation for producing really amazing content.”
“I am proud of everything we have achieved so far at GameCo, and I am confident this merger will propel the new group to the next level.”

Earlier this year, Green Jade appointed Mattias Lindahl as its new head of development.

However, the operator added that it had done so only s a show of goodwill, and that it was confident that its legal position was still correct.

Earlier this month, Lotteritilsynet warned Kindred that it would impose a fine of NOK1.198m (£100,106/€114,549/$112,184) for every day that Trannel did not withdraw from Norway.

The daily fine was due to come into effect three weeks after the day that Lotteritilsynet decided to implement the fine. That decision came on 14 September, after it previously warned the operator it would issue fines if it did not exit the market.

The regulator said these fines would only stop when the amount owed reaches Trannel’s annual gross profit, which the regulator estimated to be approximately NOK437m, or when the operator withdraws from the country.

Trannel does not hold a licence to operate in Norway, but Lotteritilsynet said the operator’s Unibet, Mariacasino, Storspiller and Bingo brands are accessible to players in the country, and as such deemed it to be operating illegally.

Kindred last week said it would appeal the decision, saying that it would continue to operate in the country as it believed it was operating in line with regulation.

Lotteritilsynet has now altered its stance, stating that it would put the daily fines on hold after Kindred announced Trannel would alter its approach to operations in the country while the appeal was ongoing. 

The regulator said in order for the fines to remain paused, Kindred and Trannel would need to ensure certain changes are made. These include a requirement for Trannel to remove all Norway-facing website domains and the option for users to set the language as Norwegian.

Other conditions include for Trannel to halt all Norwegian-language advertising campaigns and marketing targeted at consumers in the country, while Trannel may not accept any new customers in Norway, nor offer advice on how to circumvent a ban on payment processing.

“We have decided to pause the compulsory fine of NOK1.2m per day as Trannel, which is behind Unibet and Mariacasino, states that they will comply with Norwegian law,” Lotteritilsynet director Henrik Nordal said. “The penalty can still be quickly activated if they do not meet the conditions we have given in the decision.

“We will check carefully how Trannel complies with the conditions we have set for the postponement and will start the compulsory fine if we uncover a breach of these.”

Good faith

Kindred said that as a “sign of good faith”, it pro-actively decided to make changes to its international offer, but still “passively accept” players from Norway. This, Kindred said, was similar to what its decision to withdraw from the Netherlands before it secured a licence in the country, despite arguing that it was within its rights to accept customers.

However, it maintained its position that it is permitted to operate under European law as it holds a licence in Malta and is therefore covered by free movement of services in the European Economic Area. The operator noted that this was made clear by the Norwegian Minister of Culture in a letter to the country’s parliament in 2021.

“Kindred is doing these changes as the company seeks a constructive and transparent dialogue with Norwegian authorities and Norwegian policy stakeholders,” Kindred said.

The operator also once again called on Norway to introduce a more “non-discriminatory” licencing system in Norway to allow private operators to secure approval in the country. 

Kindred chief executive Henrik Tjärnström previously hit out at only state-owned Norsk Tipping and private trust Norsk Rikstoto are the only two operators licensed to offer online gambling services in the country under the national Gambling Act.

“Kindred has over the years filed several applications for local licenses in Norway. Kindred would be ready to, similar to Sweden and Denmark, work within a Norwegian licensing system compliant with EU/EEA law,” Kindred said. 

“Kindred believes that licenses must be awarded in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner.”

The PAF supports retired NFL players by offering specific programs and resources to help them readjust to non-professional life.

The partnership will give former NFL a dedicated space to discuss a variety of mental health topics, including problem gambling and related topics.

“The players asked, and we are delivering,” said Tyrone Allen, director of the PAF. “This program is an essential step to making more mental health resources available to our retired players community.”

Data from the first six months of the program will be analysed to measure how licensed mental health programs like Kindbridge can help groups like PAF.

Data from the first 18 months will be used to track the health of those who participate.

“The building of robust internal infrastructure to support psychological and mental health is a clear demonstration of the commitment of the Professional Athletes Foundation to take these issues seriously,” said Daniel Umfleet, founder and CEO of Kindbridge. “Gambling is another concern that can compound or create serious mental health related problems.”

“Together with the PAF we look forward to supporting former NFL players on their journey to better understanding their own mental health.”

This makes Rivalry the first RGC accredited site to offer esports.

The RG Check programme is a social responsibility accreditation that certifies igaming sites that have the tools to monitor, evaluate and manage gambling harms.

Ontario has made attaining the accreditation a requirement for all operators who wish to enter the regulated igaming market. All operators must complete the program within two years of launching in the Ontario market.

“Receiving our RG Check Accreditation is important for us as it signals to our customers, the gambling industry, and the gaming and esports community more broadly, our continued dedication to creating a safe environment for customers to play in,” said Steven Salz, CEO of Rivalry. “RG Check is the gold standard in player protection accreditation as it pertains to responsible gambling controls. It is our duty to educate and inform our players so that they can make informed decisions about their gambling play.”

Salz outlined Rivalry’s strategic thinking with regards to socially responsible play.

“We see responsible gambling as a competitive advantage for us where we can build trust and transparency with our customers and brand partners through thoughtful and innovative tools that engage and interact with players in new and exciting ways,” he continued.

“We are also very excited to continue our relationship with the RGC and leverage them as trusted partners as we grow, not only in Canada but throughout the world.”

Rivalry applied for an Ontario sports betting and igaming licence in October 2021. The business’s sportsbook launched alongside the regulated market in April 2022.  

“Congratulations to Rivalry on successfully completing and achieving the Responsible Gambling Council’s RG Check iGaming Accreditation for its site, Rivalry.com,” said RGC CEO Shelley White. “This achievement is a clear demonstration of Rivalry’s commitment to player protection throughout its operations.”

“RG Check is an invaluable tool for managing risk and monitoring the overall effectiveness of RG programming and RGC is proud to provide ongoing support to Rivalry’s harm minimisation efforts.”