Iden was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014 and until 2020 when he reached the state term limit. During this time he spearheaded the efforts to legalise both sports betting and online casino gaming in the state.
He then joined Sportradar, where he was head of government affairs during a period in which the business went public on the Nasdaq exchange.
Now, he joins Fanatics ahead of the apparel brand’s long-rumored launch of a sports betting operation.
As expected, B2C operations made up almost all of the revenue – at $492.8m, up by 160.6%. B2B, from the former SBTech business, made up the remaining $9.0m – a dip of 62.6%.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were $264.2m, down by 15.7%.
The notices come in the wake of the Gotterson review, which concluded last month. The report uncovered a host of institutional failings, resulting in the state government declaring that the casino was “unsuitable” to hold its licence.
The show cause notices give Star until 25 November to give evidence that may prevent the implementation of enforcement action against the operator.
The form such action would take, under current Queensland law, ranges from a letter of censure, written directions, a penalty of up to AU$100m, the appointment of a special manager up to the cancellation or suspension of the casino’s licence.
“The Gotterson Review highlighted major failings in the Star’s operations at The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane casinos,” said state Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman in a statement. “The notices issued today provide these entities with the opportunity to show cause as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.”
“While it is important that we do not pre-empt the outcomes of these show cause notices, new legislation ensures the government has a range of disciplinary options available following that process.”
Star’s controversial activities spanned multiple states and several of its venues. During New South Wales’s investigation into whether The Star could hold a licence in the state, The Star was found to be an unsuitable licensee. The investigation found that the casino misled banks and regulators on the purpose of Chinese UnionPay transactions, sought out individuals linked to organised crime, and looked into the company’s historic dealings with junket operators.
Additionally, The Star’s existing social responsibility, as well as anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing strategies were shown to be inadequate.
Land-based casino giant MGM is close to completing its purchase of LeoVegas, having first submitted a public tender offer worth $604.0m (£532.9m/€604.0m) in May this year. The proposal for MGM to pay SEK61.00 in cash per share was unanimously backed by the LeoVegas board, while MGM also secured all regulatory and governmental approvals.
In September, 98.07% of LeoVegas shareholders accepted the offer, while MGM was able to increase the total number of shares controlled in the online operator to 93,447,289 shares, or 95.69% of the business.
Also in September, LeoVegas elected a new, three-member board ahead of the acquisition. The board comprises LeoVegas chief executive Gustaf Hagman, MGM Resorts CEO William Hornbuckle and Gary Fritz, head of gaming at IAC, a major shareholder in LeoVegas.
With the deal expected to conclude imminently, LeoVegas today (3 November) published its third-quarter results, in which it was revealed that revenue was 0.7% lower year-on-year at €98.7m.
Revenue from Nordic countries was up 20%, helped by a record performance by its Expekt brand in Sweden, but this growth was offset by a 19% decline in European revenue and a 10% drop in rest-of-world revenue. The Europe fall was mainly attributed to the decision to halt operations in the Netherlands, while LeoVegas said new regulation in Ontario impacted its rest-of-world performance.
Turning to spending and cost of sales was 9.4% lower at €15.5m, but gaming duties cost was up 21.4% to €19.3m.
LeoVegas also reported higher costs expenses across several operating areas including marketing, which edged up 4.4% to €37.8m. Personnel costs were 31.5% higher at €16.3m, while other operating expenses jumped 71.7% to €17.0m, mainly due to transaction-related costs and spend linked to the decision to stop the launch in New Jersey in the US.
Higher costs meant earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at a loss of €2.6m, compared to a positive figure of €11.5m at the same point last year.
When also including €3.7m in depreciation and amortisation costs, as well as €2.9m worth of impairment-related spend, this left an operating loss of €9.3m, in contrast to a €5.5m profit in Q3 2021.
LeoVegas also noted €1.5m in finance costs, meaning pre-tax loss amounted to €10.8m, compared to a €4.1m profit in the corresponding period last year.
The operator paid €169,000 in income tax and reported an additional €172,000 in other loss after tax, leaving a net loss for the quarter of €10.8m, in contrast to the €4.1m profit posted last year.
The operator said the reduction reflected a lower-than-normal online casino hold in Q3, as well as foreign exchange headwinds in the quarter, particularly in Canada and Colombia,
RSI also noted the impact of more “disciplined” marketing spend. This was relatively level year-on-year at $45.2m (£40.1m/€46.3m), but the operator said it will continue a more “efficient” approach to costs in this area.
“Our approach to marketing remains data driven as we are investing in customers at what we believe to be viable levels,” RSI chief executive Richard Schwartz said in an earnings call after the Q3 results were posted. “In other words, we look hard at what we spend and what we get.
“We won’t target market share. Rather, we continue to focus on earning and retaining customer loyalty by treating them well, being thoughtful, developing seamless experiences, and reducing friction at every possible interaction point.
“Our marketing efficiency continues to improve, validated by our cost per player in Q3 being down by over 50% from the same quarter last year.”
However, Schwartz said this more disciplined approach to marketing will not slow down RSI’s expansion strategy, with the operator eying up launches in a number of US states in the near future.
Plans are in place to go live online in Ohio in January, as well as roll out sports wagering in Maryland. Schwartz also talked up the prospect of igaming being legalised in Iowa, Indiana and Illinois, as well as in New York, saying that RSI is keen to launch in these markets when legislation allows.
“With that focus and funding and alignment, I think it’s very possible that you will start to see some movement in legalisation efforts in the states that I mentioned, perhaps others,” Schwartz said.
Looking at the third quarter results in full, revenue for the three months to September 30 was $148.0m, an increase of 20.4% from $122.9m in the corresponding period last year and a record total for the 14th consecutive quarter.
However, despite the drive to become more efficient with marketing spend, operating costs and expenses were up 19.9% to $168.6m. Incidentally, marketing was the only area where spend was down, with revenue costs, general administration spend and depreciation and amortization all rising year-on-year.
After accounting for an additional $219,000 in interest expenses, this left a pre-tax loss of $20.8m for the quarter, compared to $17.7m at the same point in 2021. RSI paid $1.8m in income tax, resulting in a net loss of $22.7m, wider than $18.9m last year.
However, RSI did note that $16.0m of this net loss was attributed to non-controlling assets, meaning net loss attributable to RSI as $6.6m, which was still more than $5.3m in 2021.
In addition, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at a loss of $12.5m, wider than the $12.2m posted in Q3 last year.
As a result of the Q3 financials, as well as the effects of currency fluctuations impacting international revenue, RSI adjusted its full-year revenue guidance to between $580.0m and $600.0m. This was down from a range of $600.0m to $630.0m, but the midpoint of the new range would still represent a 25.0% year-on-year increase for the operator.
“Despite a lower-than-normal online casino hold rate and currency headwinds during the quarter, which we believe collectively impacted our quarterly revenue by an estimated $6.0m, we generated record revenues for the 14th straight quarter and progressed towards our profitability goals and our target of being adjusted EBITDA positive for the second half of 2023,” Schwartz said.
“In terms of activity, we continue to see very strong volumes in markets where we operate both online casino and sports betting, as we are able to execute on the enhanced profitability offered by the online casino vertical in these markets. Internationally, we are seeing strong results from both Colombia and Ontario and we are excited to begin increasing marketing efforts in Mexico.
“We remain focused on building a strong foundation in our new markets that will provide stable, long-term growth opportunities while keeping an eye on future profitability.”
Hornbuckle made the statements at the company’s earnings call accompanying its latest quarterly report. Hornbuckle outlined the company’s strategy, wherein North America will remain the domain of Entain joint venture BetMGM, while LeoVegas would be the vehicle for overseas expansion.
Hornbuckle said despite the small size of the business compared to the MGM land-based operation, he believed the fundamentals were solid.
“While relatively small it’s probably going to be about $50 million in cash flow,” he said. “We love the team. We love the operating environment it has, the system it has. It’s got a full slate of igaming opportunities. Sweden is the benchmark, about 35% of its business comes from there.”
Hornbuckle expanded on the new acquisition’s possibilities for improvement.
“But we’ve got a sports betting product. So it’s got all of the tools. We look to add on to it with live dealer. We’re looking at a studio increment that could be added on to this thing. And so we see it as a cornerstone to grow rest of world.
“If we think about places like Brazil, which is that activity and talking more and more about sports betting and hopefully and potentially, casino gaming. We just see that as a leading opportunity for us and a vehicle to do that.”
MGM is the leading online casino operator in the US through BetMGM, having captured 29% of the market. Hornbuckle was bullish on the long-term prospects of the company’s success in this vertical.
“We like the positioning we have, both from igaming in particular and ultimately in sports betting,” he said.
“And I think you all know igaming is the lion’s share of the NGR in this whole universe, actually. But I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
In May, it was announced that MGM had bid $607m (£540m/ €623m) at a price of SEK61 (£4.90/€5.85/$6.16) per share. The offer was unanimously accepted by the Swedish operator’s board, which noted that the offer was a 44% premium on the business’s share price as of close on 29 April.
“Our vision is to be the world’s premier gaming entertainment company, and this strategic opportunity with LeoVegas will allow us to continue to grow our reach throughout the world,” said Hornbuckle at the time. “We have achieved remarkable success with BetMGM in the US, and with the acquisition of LeoVegas in Europe we will expand our online gaming presence globally.”
Net revenue was up 26.2% to $3.14bn.
The majority of this, at $2.30bn, came from Las Vegas, up 66.6% to a record high. Unlike in 2021, rooms – rather than casino – were the largest source of revenue in Las Vegas.
“We’re proud to report the best quarter in our Las Vegas Strip history, both on a revenue and adjusted property EBITDAR basis, driven by the continued appeal of our entertainment and meetings offerings,” said Bill Hornbuckle, chief executive president of MGM Resorts.
MGM’s regional operations brought in a further $973.9m, this was up by 5.2%.
MGM China, on the other hand, experienced a sharp decline in revenue to just $87.5m, down by 69.8% from the already Covid-hit Q3 of 2021. During the quarter, Macau instituted a lockdown, closing all casinos, after a local outbreak.
MGM made a further $53.6m in corporate and other revenue.
Expenses skyrocketed during the quarter to $4.44bn, though mostly for non-operating reasons. The business paid $1.21bn in general and administrative costs, up almost 50%, much of which was due to an increase in rent for many of MGM’s properties, a large number of which has been sold in recent years to real estate investment trusts.
Casino expenses were up slightly to $653.6m, room revenue grew to $256.1m and food and beverage revenue was up 75.2% to $529.0m.
However, the most significant expense was due to amortisation. The business recognised an amortisation loss of more than $1bn due to its Macau subconcession, which is set to expire at the end of this year.
In early 2013, the operator was granted the right to use a piece of land in Cotai in Macau until 2038. Because of this, it amortised its Macau subconcession as if it would last until 2038, under the assumption that it would be able to continue operating in Macau until at least this date.
However, with the passage of the special administrative region’s new gaming law, which keeps the same number of operators but with only one tier of concessions rather than allowing subconcessions, it opted to change this. The “useful life” of the subconcession and land use rights were thus changed to last only until the end of the year.
Because of this, the business effectively recognised 16 years’ worth of amortisation all at once, resulting in the significant charge.
“We’ve been amortising that intangible to between 2031 and 2038,” chief financial officer Jonathan Halkyard said. “When the law was released back in June, we, together with our outside auditing firm, Deloitte, we came to the conclusion that it’s a new concession that we’ll be beginning post-December.
“So the existing concession on which the intangible was based, we needed to amortize that towards the end of its life or by the end of its life, which is this year.”
In addition, the business reported a $1.6bn gain from the sale of its CityCenter property as a negative expense in Q3 of 2021, which also affected year-on-year comparisons.
Following these expenses – and a $17.5m loss from uncosolidated affiliates such as its BetMGM joint venture with Entain – MGM made an operating loss of $1.05bn in Q3. This was a stark difference from the $1.89bn operating profit it recorded a year earlier.
Without these exceptional costs, EBITDAR was $1.10bn, which was up 23.4%.
Interest and tax meant the business reported a final loss of $1.06bn, compared to $1.34bn in profit a year earlier.
During the quarter, MGM also closed its deal to acquire European online operator LeoVegas. MGM paid SEK61.00 in cash per share of LeoVegas, for a total consideration of $604m.
When the bid was announced, MGM said it would help the business expand its online reach beyond North America, where BetMGM operates, and into markets such as Europe.
CEO of Gaming Innovation Group, Richard Brown, and his counterpart at Sportnco, Hervé Schlosser, talk about their exciting new partnership and how successful the first 10 months have been since the coming together of the two industry giants. Side note: there are some very interesting predictions on which country will win the 2022 World Cup…
If SportsBet or Bet365 is found to be non-compliant with the rules, Austrac may then take further action, such as a court-ordered fine.
Austrac, a government body focused on money laundering, noted the action was “the result of an extensive supervisory campaign that assessed entities within the corporate bookmaker sector and follows the recent commencement of an investigation into Entain”.
The auditors will examine compliance with four areas of money laundering laws.
The first is whether the two operators adopted and maintained “an AML/CTF program that has risk-based systems and controls in place to effectively identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks”.
They will next look at whether the operators conducted proper money laundering risk assessments.
The auditors will also examine whether the SportsBet and Bet365 boards have “ongoing oversight” of anti-money laundering work.
Finally, they will look into whether the businesses appropriately monitored customers “with a view to identifying, mitigating and managing the risk they may reasonably face that the provision of designated services may involve or facilitate money laundering or the financing of terrorism”
The auditors must report back findings within 180 days, with the results of the audit potentially leading to further regulatory action.
The two operators will be made to pay for the costs of the auditors’ services.
“The outcomes of the audit will assist Sportsbet and Bet365 to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations, and inform Austrac whether any further regulatory action is required,” the body said.
Austrac chief executive Nicole Rose noted that taking action against two operators of this scale should be a warning to the “whole industry”. When announcing it was looking into Entain, the body also warned that other bookmakers may face action too.
“Sportsbet and Bet365 are amongst the largest operators in the corporate bookmaking sector. Austrac is putting the whole industry on notice to lift their game.
“Ultimately, enforcing non-compliance is about protecting the community. Money laundering feeds organised crime and all the harm that comes with it. We need businesses at the front line to fully comply with the AML/CTF Act – to understand and mitigate their risks and report suspected crimes.
“Austrac will not hesitate to take action where suspected non-compliance is identified, to protect businesses from being exploited and protect the Australian community from harm.”
Under the agreement, NorthStar Bets will become an authorised gaming operator of the NBA in the Canadian province.
NBA marks and logos will appear across the NorthStar Bets, while users will also benefit from access to real-time NBA data when placing bets.
In addition, NorthStar Bets and the NBA will collaborate on a series of initiatives to help protect the integrity of NBA games.
The deal builds on previously announced partnerships from NorthStar aimed at providing consumers with more pre-game and live in-game betting opportunities across a number of leagues, including the NHL.
“As an authorised gaming operator, NorthStar Gaming will connect our players with official data and stats from the NBA and provide them with an insights-packed user experience,” NorthStar Gaming founding partner and chief executive Michael Moskowitz said. “We’re excited to offer current and future NorthStar Bets players with an authentic NBA experience on our platform.”
NorthStar Bets operates in Ontario through its partnership with Playtech, with the brand having gone live in the province earlier this year following the launch of its legal online gambling market.
