Month: November 2022

The new business is a “microservices-based” B2B sports betting and igaming platform. The business said that it will “provide its customers with a tailor-made, individual solution that is reliable, scalable, fast, and secure”.

Its sportsbook offering will allow clients to accept payments from cryptocurrency as well as fiat money and will include a “travelling wallet” to allow players to use the same wallet in different jurisdictions.

PlayEngine was initially created through the Berkeley Skydeck startup incubator.

“I am very excited about being a co-founder and the CEO of PlayEngine,” Laila Mintas said. “The sports betting and igaming market is just too competitive to work off legacy tech. 

“There is a huge need for agile and modern technology and I truly believe that we have the most automated and data-driven product in the market, which will enable the sportsbetting and igaming operators to offer an innovative, robust and profitable product to their end-customers.

Fellow PlayEngine co-founder Aram Cherkezyan said Mintas’ track record made her the ideal person to lead the business.

“Dr. Mintas has a proven track record of building high-growth companies successfully and is a well-established and respected leader in the sports betting and igaming world and we are very happy to be working together with her.”

Laila Mintas PlayUp dispute

Mintas previously worked as chief executive of PlayUp’s US operations and deputy president for Sportradar, in which she oversaw US operations.

However, her exit from PlayUp became the subject of a legal dispute, after the operator claimed that she had deliberately sabotaged a sale of the business to cryptocurrency platform FTX after new contract talks broke down. Taking the matter to court, it was granted a temporary restraining order against Mintas.

Mintas said these allegations were untrue and appealed the temporary restraining order. In December of last year, a US district judge for Nevada sided with Mintas and the order was thrown out, a decision that was later upheld in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The World Cup is set to take place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December.

The charters aim to regulate and moderate advertising during the World Cup, and govern television, radio, billboard and digital advertising. They were created as a result of September 2021 public consultation into an “oversaturation” of gambling advertising in France during the Euro 2020 Championship.

The consultation spawned a two-part plan, wherein the focus was put upon releasing guidelines for commercial content and reducing the amount of advertising.

The four charters consist of two existing ones that have been revised, which focus on television and radio. Prior to the revision, operators could broadcast four gambling advertisements per ad break. The charter has now reduced this to three.

A new display charter has been introduced. Upon signing up to this, the operators and advertisers agreed to not advertise gambling near schools and addiction care centres, and will reduce advertising heavily at train and metro stations.

Instead, ANJ-backed responsible gambling advertising will appear in place of many existing ads.

The final charter is the responsible digital advertising agreement, which applies to all operators in France and all members of the Digital Alliance. It will allow better control of how operators advertise on social networks, websites and apps, as well as how influencers and ambassadors are used.

This also includes the responsibility to not advertise gambling directly to minors and those who are considered vulnerable.

“Following the Euro 2020, the ANJ initiated an ambitious action plan to moderate the content of advertisements for gambling and the advertising pressure to which audiences are exposed,” said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the ANJ. “A few days before the start of the World Cup, the signing of these charters in a spirit of co-regulation is a strong signal from all the players concerned to promote responsible advertising.”

“The period ahead of us is crucial because it will allow everyone to verify that advertising in the gambling sector has changed and that the commitments made are respected.”

Total GGR for the three months through to the end of September amounted to DKK3.60bn (£421.5m/€483.8m/$473.1m), up 1.8% from DKK3.54bn in the corresponding period last year.

Danske Lotteri Spil, the operator’s lottery business, contributed DKK2.01bn to this total, a 1.1% drop from DKK2.03bn in 2021 but still by far the group’s primary source of revenue.

GGR from Danske Licens Spil, which includes sports betting and online casino, also fell 9.8% year-on-year to DKK1.23bn. The operator said that this was mainly due to the impact of new responsible gambling measures such as deposit limits, as well as a lower range of sports for betting in Q3.

However, these declines were more than offset by growth elsewhere. GGR from gaming hall business Elite Gaming jumped 70.2% to DKK223.0m, due to all pandemic-related restrictions having been removed in the country. Revenue from the Swush fantasy sports platform fell 33.3% to DKK10.0m.

Danske Spil also noted the impact of the Det Danske Klasselotteri, the ‘class lottery’ that was integrated into the business in April 2022. GGR from this operation contributed DKK131.0m to the revenue total in Q3.

The group did not publish a full breakdown of its finances for the month, but it did reveal that state taxes amounted to DKK476.0m, dealer commission DKK329.0m and all other gambling-related costs DKK199.0m.

Other external costs reached DKK491.0m, personnel expenses stood at DKK248.0m and depreciation and amortisation totalled DKK174.0m. 

When also accounting for DKK91.0m worth of finance costs and DKK28.0m in other income, this left a pre-tax profit of DKK1.71bn, up 7.9% year-on-year. Danske Spil paid DKK357.0m in tax, leaving a net profit of DKK1.26bn, an increase of 2.9% on last year.

The market’s launch was marked with the roll out of PlayNow.com as part of a partnership between the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (SaskGaming) and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC).

Under the arrangement, which was announced in June and confirmed last month, the BCLC will deliver the PlayNow.com platform as the only legal igaming website in Saskatchewan, with SaskGaming to operate the service.

This is also in line with an arrangement announced last September, which was agreed by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the provincial government.

PlayNow.com will be based on a website of the same name that is operated by the BCLC in British Columbia and offer players access to more than 400 online casino and sports betting products. Live casino and poker products will also be added next year.

The launch means that PlayNow.com is now active in three provinces across Canada, with the platform also active in Manitoba.

“BCLC is thrilled to help bring legal, online regulated gambling to Saskatchewan, in line with our social purpose to generate win-wins for the greater good,” BCLC president and chief executive Pat Davis said.

“We would like to thank our partners at SIGA and SaskGaming for their collaboration in bringing our safe, secure and industry-leading PlayNow.com platform to the province of Saskatchewan.”

SIGA president and chief executive Zane Hansen added: “We are excited to be the exclusive provider of Saskatchewan’s first and only legal online gaming site, which will provide a safe and secure option for residents to play their favorite casino games and bet on their favorite sports teams online.”

Sports betting has been the subject of much discussion in Brazil, particularly since Provisional Measure 846/10 was passed in December 2018. This opened up a two-year period for the government to formulate sports betting laws – which was extended for a further two years.

This brings us to the end of 2022. After rules were published earlier this year, operators are taking note of Brazil’s enthusiasm for sports like football. However, Brazil’s esports market is worth plenty of interest as well.

Fröberg says that the Brazilian market has been a focus for Abios since its inception, due to the country’s thriving esports market – and a select number of large esports communities.

“Brazil came on my radar in terms of esports when we started Abios, almost 10 years now,” says Fröberg. “In 2013, Brazil was already very prominent in League of Legends, and there were lots of big League of Legends communities on Facebook where people would chat and discuss it, along with other esports.”

“From my understanding, the intention is to legalise or regulate both sports betting and esports betting towards the end of 2022. We do keep close tabs on these kind of things because we deliver probability or odds products in many different regions, and in all regions where we’re licensed.”

Fröberg believes that this stems from South America’s existing love for sports, which has manifested into a predilection for sports-themed gaming such as FIFA.

“In South America in general, we see huge popularity for FIFA or esoccer,” Fröberg continues. “In the South American market, there’s no reason why Brazil should be any different. Being a soccer/football nation at heart, obviously they’ll be hugely interested in FIFA and/or esoccer.”

“The people of Brazil, it’s fair to say, are very dedicated and very interested in sports in general and a lot of them apparently are very, very interested in esports.”

The road to enactment

Esports are captured in Brazil’s sports betting regulations, meaning that many aspects published in May – such as a BRL22.2m (£3.6m/€4.2m/$4.4m) licence fee – will be included.

Fröberg notes that perhaps the biggest difference-maker will be the rule that an operator must have a subsidiary in the country in order to offer bets legally.

“I think there are going to be a few particular aspects to the Brazilian regulations, where I think that in order to offer sports betting products there you will need to have a subsidiary based in Brazil – which obviously increases the cost to offer any form of products there which decreases competition.”

This could be a benefit for established esports providers, he continues, but could spell trouble for those trying to get started in the industry.

“[This] could be good for some of our customers, some of the operators, but could be less so for some of the esports startups.”

While regulation is uncertain, Fröberg establishes that there is a thriving esports market in Brazil ready and waiting. But for traditional sportsbooks, leaning into the appeal of esports betting could be tricky.

Nonetheless, Fröberg is not concerned about how to attract bettors to esports, believing it to be a non-issue. He says that the appetite for betting is already present in certain esports communities, meaning the focus should be more on getting esports players to bet rather than getting bettors interested in esports.

“Looking at how esports has developed, in the regions where esports is popular,it goes hand in hand with esports betting,” he says. “I think it’s a natural part of the CS:GO community and it always has been, in terms of skin trading. There are lots of Brazilians that did skin trading way back when it was a grey area, before Valve banned it.”

“When you watch a competitive sport or an esport of any kind, people want to place bets and make the viewing experience even more exciting.”

One challenge could be marketing. Fröberg looks to the Netherlands’ recent re-regulation as an example, which was quickly followed by tight measures on advertising. Operators may have to work to avoid a similar post-launch backlash in Brazil.

“Looking at certain jurisdictions, marketing towards users for betting is regulated and it sort of differs from market to market,” he says. “Like the Netherlands, for example; that’s just re-regulated this year, has been very strict on how you’re allowed to market towards punters.”

The LatAm focus

While Brazil is undoubtedly the most compelling market, Latin America as a whole is of major interest to Fröberg and his business.

Fröberg views LatAm as a vibrant opportunity for investment, a belief that is backed up by a number of operators racing to secure deals in the region over the last few years.

“Given the fact that it’s very populous, with a lot of people, and has a growing economy averaging higher and higher disposable income for every year that goes by, Brazil is going to be one of the prime markets for future growth for esports and just sports in general,” says Fröberg.

“That’s also why we see – not only esports but also in traditional sports and traditional sports betting – why a lot of leading companies and the world are investing so heavily in Brazil and Latin America in general, is that there’s a big belief for a very positive future trajectory for that market.”

Brazil has a unique position in the betting world. With enthusiastic sports and esports audiences, growing interest from operators and great support from those who wish to get a slice of the action, it could be the biggest testing ground for an esports-led strategy.

Gaming made up the majority of revenue for Golden Entertainment, bringing in $188.4m, a decline of 2.5% from Q3 of 2021.

Food and beverage revenue also ticked slightly down, as did revenue from rooms. Other revenue, meanwhile, rose to $16.7m, though this was not enough to prevent an overall decline.

Looking at revneue geographically instead, declines from Nevada resorts were the largest reason for revenue being down, with these venues bringing in $98.9m, down 5.3%.

At the same time, revenue from Golden Entertainment’s Nevada local casinos, its Rocky Gap resort in Maryland – which it has agreed to sell – and its distributed gaming operations – such as slot machines at gas stations – all stagnated, with all being down but none by more than 1%.

Read the full story on iGB North America

With 39.2 million people, California is the most populous state in the union. If it was an independent country, it would have the fifth largest economy on earth. The state is home to the jewel of the global modern economy, Silicon Valley; has one of the potent network of colleges on the planet and is the site of America’s second city, Los Angeles. But it’s looking like it none of that wealth will be flowing into sports betting anytime soon, as the states duelling sports betting proposals are both likely headng for defeat.

According to polling by the Berkeley Institute of Government Studies (IGS), both ballot initiatives are underwater: The tribe-led Proposition 26, for retail betting only, is down 31% for to 42% against, while the commercial-led effort – which would permit online betting – trails an eye watering 27% for and 52% against.

“We absolutely live to fight another day,” said FanDuel CEO Amy Howe at G2E, acknowledging the likely failure of Prop 27.

California sports betting goes belly-up

Failure in California will cost industry dearly. But it will not be the result of an accident either.

It will be the result of a badly conceived strategy that divided the gaming industry against itself, caused a bitterly divisive ad war that poisoned sports wagering in the eyes of the electorate, confused many and ultimately failed to lay out a positive vision of its case.

Proposition 27’s failure will be the result of a disingenuous messaging campaign that was deceptive about its true purpose and took the voters for fools – a catalogue of unforced errors that will damage the cause of sports betting for years to come.

It falls on the industry to ask itself what went wrong, why did it happen – and how can we do better next time?

A house divided

It’s very hard for commercial gaming operators to take on the tribes at the best of times, and in California it proved impossible.

“They were warned,” said Victor Rocha, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association told the Washington Post

“It’s one of those things in gaming where it’s like, you know: Don’t stare into the sun, you look both ways before crossing the street, and you don’t f— with the California tribes.”

One of the truly staggering titbits from the Berkeley IGS report is that voters who were exposed to more ads were less likely to support either ballot initiative.

This is a consequence of the intensely negative character that the campaign took, especially in its latter phases, a natural result of industry being at war with itself. In all, $400m dollars were spent by the industry interests in California, all to just make voters more sceptical of sports betting.

The fact that the Tribes would oppose proposition 27 was no secret, and something that the sector needed to take into account. The commerical-led effort could have been designed in such a way to accommodate tribal interests.

The path to legalisation often led this way in many states with significant gaming tribes, wherein tribal access to the market formed a key part of the law. Even if the two factions were unable to spell out a deal of this kind, the failure to hand out an olive branch caused the tribes to fight back with a vehemence and a unity that the operators had no response to.    

The tribes appeared to win the ad war, successfully painting the commercial sector as a bunch of out-of-state corporate interests running a disingenuous campaign. And with a focus on defending the status quo, the resources used to fight Proposition 27 meant it was harder to simultaneously devote energy to pushing Prop 26.

And it didn’t help that the tribes were not wrong about Prop 27’s campaign.

The campaign to end homelessness

The full name of the ballot proposal that the electorate will be voting on is “California Proposition 27, Legalize Sports Betting and Revenue for Homelessness Prevention Fund Initiative.” Homelessness is an endemic problem California, an issue exacerbated by the state’s escalating housing crisis – and putting sports betting revenue towards it is indeed a worthy cause. But Prop 27 was not exactly the product of campaign solely designed to remedy this.

People have noted that many of Proposition 27’s ads barely mentioned sports betting at all, focusing entirely on the funds to homelessness. The main committee supporting the ballot initiative, Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support, a Coalition of Housing and Mental Health Experts, Concerned Taxpayers and Digital Sports Entertainment and Gaming Companies – shows a campaign that was not entirely honest about what it was doing.

Californians can tell when they are encountering a disingenuous and not entirely honest message: they’re almost experts in dishonesty.

If the operators are to be successful the next time around, they need to ensure that they can make the case for sports betting on the merits, not hiding what they are really about.

California sports betting: here we go again

Operators have already signally that they intend to make another go of it in 2024 – the next time they will have a chance. The failure of this campaign, while painful, points the way for future success. The first lesson is that the Californian gaming tribes are too powerful a group to be shut out, and must be accommodated and if possible should be part of any agreement.

The second lesson is to make a positive case for your proposition that deals with it on the merits, and does not obscure what it’s really about. What’s wrong with the message that people enjoy betting?

A tribal-operator coalition fighting an honest and optimistic campaign would be a mighty thing indeed – and it’s what industry should aim for if it ever intends to make a cent from sports betting in the Golden State.   

Vici will offer 16,500,000 shares of its common stock, while underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,475,000 shares.

The offering is expected to close on November 8, subject to customary closing conditions, with BofA Securities and Citigroup to act as underwriters in the offering.

The underwriters, Vici said, may offer shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.

Should the underwriters exercise their option to purchase the additional shares, this would increase the total gross proceeds up to a maximum of $586.3m.

Vici expects to use the proceeds to support its business and operations including funding its pipeline for the acquisition, development and improvement of properties, funding loans directly or indirectly secured by real estate, and other general corporate purposes such as capital expenditures, working capital and the repayment or refinancing of indebtedness.

Subject to regulatory approval, the new arrangement, which also includes EBCI Holdings, the gaming entity of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians that operates the casino, will allow Betr to launch real-money micro-betting in the state.

Upon Betr securing the relevant license, consumers in Indiana will be able to place wagers on a range of in-game plays or events such as the number of strikes thrown in a baseball game or how many touchdowns will be in a football game.

The deal will predominantly be equity-based and forms part of a wider partnership between Betr and EBCI Holdings that could lead to further launches in other states.

“Market access is one of the primary expenses that comes with launching a regulated sports betting business in the US, so we have been focused on aligning ourselves with partners who buy into our vision and are willing to take equity in lieu of cash for access,” Levy said.

“We are thrilled to announce this partnership and we are grateful for the opportunity to undergo the licensing process with the Indiana Gaming Commission.”

Caesars Southern Indiana general manager Brad Seigel added: “Our partnership with Betr will deliver a fresh, dynamic new way of betting to thousands of sports fans in our area. It’s a thrilling new way to engage with live sports.

“With Betr’s microbetting focus combined with Betr’s smart take on sports media led by boxing star Jake Paul, we believe Betr will be a fun new option for sports fans throughout Indiana and will appeal to mass market consumers.”

The deal comes after Betr this week also announced a partnership with Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company to launch and operate a new mobile sportsbook in Ohio.

The official figures also showed the amount spent on the regulator from the state budget in the same period reached UAH79.7m, representing 9.3% of its revenue for the 10 months.

Krail also posted statistics for all of 2021, during which revenue stood at UAH1.58bn, with 7.9%, or UAH125.5m, being spent on the regulator.

For the entire 22-month period, stretching from January 2021 to the end of October this year, total receipts from licence fees in the country amounted to UAH2.44bn. This, Krail said, outweighed expenses by 91.6%.

The figures come towards the end of a year that has been incredibly tough for Ukraine, due to the ongoing conflict with Russia that begin in February. The gambling industry rallied round Ukraine by launching a series of initiatives to support those impacted.

The Gaming Industry for Ukraine campaign launched in the early days of the conflict with the aim of raising £250,000 for people displaced by the war, with all proceeds being donated to Choose Love’s Ukraine Crisis Fundraiser. To date, the initiative has raised over £261,000.

Parimatch Tech has allocated more than €500,000 to support the people of Ukraine, while the developer, which was founded in the country’s capital of Kyiv, also partnered with British charity organisation WeHelpUkrainians to launch the Ukraine Hospitals Appeal initiative, which aims to raise $1m for those affected by the conflict.

In addition, Parimatch Tech in March withdrew its Betring LLC franchise from Russia in response to the war. In the same month it cut ties with Russian esports team Team Spirit.

Elsewhere, French operator Française des Jeux corporate foundation donated €200,000 to two organisations supporting Ukrainian refugees in France – Libraries Without Borders and Together for Human Development.

Online gambling content provider Pragmatic Play donated £100,000 to the British Red Cross’ Ukraine Crisis Appeal.