Month: January 2023

In a post-close trading update, 888 said full-year pro-forma revenue, including the non-US business of William Hill that it acquired in July of last year, is expected to reach £1.85bn (€2.08bn/$2.26bn), down from £1.91bn in FY21.

This forecast decline was put down to a 15% drop in online revenue, which 888 said is predicted to fall from £1.57bn to £1.33bn, mainly due to proactive enhanced player safety measures in the UK and closure of its Dutch business. Excluding these regions, revenue would only have fallen by 4%.

Retail recovery

In contrast, retail revenue – from the William Hill brand – is expected to increase by 54% from £337.0m to £519.0m due to the full reopening of its land-based network following the removal of pandemic-related restrictions that caused partial closures and limited operations in the previous year.

888 also noted that adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) for the full year is expected to be in line with its guidance range of between £305.0m and £315.0m.

Turning to the fourth quarter, pro-forma revenue for the three months to 31 December is also set to fall by 3% from £470.0m to £458.0m. This, however, was in line with board expectations and 2% ahead of Q3.

Online revenue is likely to fall by 5% year-on-year to £326.0m, with strong performances across a number of regulated countries offset by the impact of new enhanced player safety measures in the UK. 

In terms of retail, revenue here is expected to rise by 5% to £131.0m, again helped by the removal of Covid-19 restrictions and measures on betting shops.

Looking ahead to 2023, 888 said its outlook is unchanged, with group revenue expected to fall by a single-digit percentage and adjusted EBTIDA margin to be at least 20%. 

Long-term goals for 888

888 also said that it will place a strong focus on integration and execution of cost synergies during the year, in line with the ‘Plan’ phase of its ‘Position-Plan-Potential’ roadmap that was outlined late last year.

The operator added that it remains committed to its target of at least £2.00bn in annual revenue by 2025 and an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 23%.

“During the fourth quarter of 2022 our teams continued to make rapid progress in integrating these two highly complementary businesses and have started the process to migrate Mr Green to our proprietary global tech stack, as we execute against our strategic roadmap that we outlined at our recent capital markets day,” 888 chief executive Itai Pazner said.

“Revenues during the fourth quarter saw continued strong trading in retail, and a robust performance online. As previously discussed, we continue to see pressure on our UK online revenues from regulatory change including the ongoing impact of the enhanced player safety measures, but I am confident we are building a sustainable leading business for the future.

“As we look forward, we remain focused primarily on successful integration, execution and de-leveraging in order to unlock the potential from our enlarged business.”

888 CEO exits

Meanwhile, 888 announced that Yariv Dafna will exit his role as CFO and executive director with effect from 31 March. The operator said the decision was mutual and that Dafna will step down after the publication of its full FY22 results, which is also expected in late March.

888 paid tribute to Dafna’s significant contributions to its progress in recent years, including through its transformational combination with William Hill. The operator’s board has now commenced a search to identify a successor.

“The board and I would like to thank Yariv for the contribution he has made to 888 including playing a crucial role in the completion of our transformational combination with William Hill and leading the recent successful financing of 888’s external debt,” Pazner said.

“On behalf of everyone at 888, I wish him the very the best in his future endeavours.”

New debt

In other news, 888 confirmed the successful pricing of £347.0m equivalent of new debt, with the proceeds used to repay the existing indebtedness under the sterling-denominated Term Loan A. 

Following additional hedging arrangements, 888 ended the year with £1.80bn equivalent debt, with 43% of effective debt in Sterling, 49% in Euros and 8% in USD, with approximately 70% of interest costs fixed for at least three years. 

As of 31 December, cash, net of customer balances, was £170.0m, with undrawn committed facilities of £150.0m, giving total liquidity of £320.0m.

Last month, 888 announced its intention to tap €200.0m from the debt capital markets in order to refinance debt related to the acquisition of the William Hill business. This came after 888 in November announced it had become more exposed to the effect of higher interest rates due to the company’s debt level.

Lars Kollind’s new role at Swintt has been years in the making. Although he had previously held a variety of positions at iSoftBet, Playson and Aspire Global, Kollind had his eye on working for a game developer for quite some time.

“For the last six years, a good part of my career was moving over to the game supplier side of the industry and selling those products,” he says. “It’s been going tremendously well.”

The plan developed gradually. In those six years, he served as the head of business development at iSoftBet, senior business development manager at Playson and global sales director at Aspire Global. He believes this will benefit Swintt in a unique way – mainly, in growing its contact network.

“In all my roles – even way back when I had a consultancy firm – have been within the gaming industry, doing B2B sales,” he says. “So it comes naturally that Swintt will benefit from my experience and my contacts and everything that I’ve built for the last, let’s say 10 years.”

“Now, I can be the person who pushes us to new markets, as I mentioned, but also acquire customers that were possibly out of reach before.”

Broadening horizons

This experience culminated in Kollind’s recent move to Swintt. Ultimately, Kollind says his decision to move rested on Swintt’s industry reputation, as well as what it offers.

“From a personal perspective, I’ve been following Swintt’s development since they launched and I really like how they portray the company and the image that they have in terms of being the ‘friendly guy’ within the gaming industry,” he says. “Obviously, I also like the products that they have, which makes it for me.”

“If I join any company, I need to be 100% or 110% sure that I can proudly stand behind the product, and I can for sure do that with Swintt.”

Having held similar roles before, Kollind has somewhat hit the ground running. Locking down new, bigger clients is clearly a priority, as is creating a plan of action for pursuing them.

“At the start, obviously I’m going to focus on following the success that Swintt had before by signing key clients and focusing on development, and hopefully signing bigger clients – tier one clients in regulated markets all over the world,” says Kollind. “Also to develop business plans, so that we can compare different markets and see where we’re going to enter first, so we know that we’re making a correct business decision.”

Searching for opportunity

Market expansion forms a large part of Kollind’s role. He will play a major part in scoping out potential new markets to enter, and further down the line, he will be charged with cultivating the ideal team to support business moves such as these.

“I’m going to be the person who’s going to have to evaluate and do the research,” he continues. “Based on my feedback, we then decide which markets we’re going to enter.”

“My long term goal is – let’s say within 6 to 12 months, once we have I have established myself within the company, to grow a small team of people under me so we can work together to reach the targets.”

Following a few turbulent years for the industry amid covid and a difficult macroeconomic and regulatory environment, one may be forgiven for assuming companies are taking any expansion slowly right now. But Swintt has a hectic year planned, with concrete plans to enter several burgeoning markets in 2023.

“This year, we are aiming to enter seven markets,” says Kollind. “We just got the UK licence in 2022, so that’s going be launched very soon.”

“On top of that, we have the key markets such as Ontario, Romania, Switzerland and Italy, which have been proven to be important markets right now since the gaming industry is moving towards a more regulated scene.”

As it happens, a drive towards regulation was one of the concepts that pushed Kollind towards Swintt in the first instance. 

“The fact that I’m a big fan of going towards regulation for the gaming industry so we can become sustainable, and the way Swintt are doing that and are pushing for regulated markets is basically perfect for my mindset,” he says.

For Kollind, a smooth transition into his new role will be key in fostering harmony between Swintt’s business ventures and bold expansion plans.

As he says himself, “We go where the big clients are, and where the companies have the most success”.

Under the new rules, B2C licensees will be required to employ effective measures and processes to identify those at risk of problem gambling. This must be achieved using analytical tools or behaviour monitoring systems, as well as with trained staff.

Once problem gambling has been successfully detected by the licence holder, it must take appropriate steps to address the issue, or else prevent the situation from developing into an instance of problem gambling.

The MGA specify that the markers of harm must include at a minimum the amount and frequency of deposits, the use of multiple payment methods and the reversal of withdrawals pending the processing. In addition to these financial measures, licensees must also monitor other indicators such as increased user complaints, and the use of responsible gaming tools.

Staff training

As well as ensuring that MGA licence holders regularly observe player behaviour and finances, the new rules also include new standards for staff training when dealing with situations where intervention may be required.

“B2C licensees shall ensure that employees who are responsible for dealing with responsible gaming-related matters, and for player interaction in general, are properly and routinely trained in the relevant responsible gaming procedures,” states the directive.

The rules elaborate that employees should be trained to look of for players demonstrating signs of agitation, distress, intimidation, aggression or other behaviour which could be the result of experiencing gambling harms.

Real-money reinforcement

The other expanded aspect of licence holder obligations concerns a variety of technical features that must be integrated into the online gambling platform to remind players that they are playing with real money.

Subsequently, the MGA state that the balance of a players account in the relevant currency must be visible at all times.

The Authority also outlines that users must have “the ability to access the player’s gambling history of the immediately preceding six months, including but not limited to, data relating to the player’s total wins and losses, amounts of money deposited, and amounts withdrawn”.

A pop-up message must also occur that offers players the opportunity to set an alert at certain intervals when playing games that utilise and “auto-spin” feature.

“B2C licensees that offer their gaming service by remote means shall, with respect to repetitive games of chance played against the house, the outcome of which is determined by a random generator, offer players the ability to set an alert at certain intervals of time by means of a pop-up message.”

Number of players with MGA operators

This month, the MGA reported that the numbers of players betting with Malta-licensed sites hit new records in H1 2022, after a decline in the previous year.

“The resilience of the Malta gaming industry during these trying times is largely attributed to its ability to remain flexible and adapt to change, while being supported by the MGA’s continued efforts to ensure that Malta remains a competitive and reputable jurisdiction of establishment,” the MGA said.

The Malta-based superaffiliate which trades on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange aims to increase its share price by subsequently cancelling any repurchased shares.

Regulation and legal conditions mean that Catena is limited to owning 10% of its shares on the stock exchange. It currently owns 5.6%, leaving a maximum of 4.4% that can be repurchased.

In addition, the maximum price for all the shares repurchased must not exceed SEK100m (£7.9m/€8.9m/$9.6m).

Catena shares are currently trading at SEK439, up just over 1% from yesterday.

Shares can only be purchased within the price interval recorded on Nasdaq Stockholm, which means a figure between the highest buying price and the lowest selling price. The repurchases must be made in cash.

Catena may be sold

This news comes days after it was announced that Catena has appointed Carnegie Investment Bank AB as a financial advisor. The bank will assist the business in assessing strategic options for the potential sale of the remainder of its business.

Under the arrangement, Carnegie will participate in talks with third parties that have shown interest in acquiring certain assets from the affiliate company.

Last month, the affiliate agreed to sell off AskGamblers to Gaming Innovation Group for €45.0m, after iGB in November reported that a deal to offload the flagship brand was close.

This emerged following a strategic review that launched in May of last year, in which Catena explored the possibility of a sale.

This review was later expanded as Catena considered divesting all its European betting and igaming assets in order to focus on North American markets, with the business having confirmed that 25% of all its European staff base was laid off as part of the process.

Catena also recently announced record revenue from the Ohio sports betting launch, which went live on 1 January 2023.

The bill, introduced into the state senate by Democratic senators Leroy Comrie and Luis R. Sepúlveda, has not yet been voted on.  

Specifically, the amendment “requires all advertisements for gambling and sports betting to include warnings about potential harmful and addictive effects of gambling; requires the state gaming commission to cooperate with the commissioner of addiction services and supports to ensure that all advertisements for gaming activity state a problem gambling hotline number”.  

The amendment also proposes to include mobile sports wagering licenses into the advertisement requirement.  

If the motion passes, it will take effect sixteen days after it becomes a law.

Ohio marketing violations

As part of its regulations when it legalised sports betting, Ohio brought in similar rules requiring advertisements to “clearly and conspicuously” contain a helpline number and a message to prevent problem gambling.

Ohio updated these laws on Dec 30, 2022, and instructed operators to ensure their ads were in line with this new requirement by Jan 1, 2023.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) reported that operators BetMGM, Caesars and DraftKings violated the states advertising laws and the regulator is seeking a $150,000 (£126,000/ €143,000) fine from each. 

Ohio – where sports betting launched on 1 January – is the third US state in which Bet365 is live, following New Jersey and Colorado.

The partnership lands as the Guardians bid to retain the American League (AL) Central title, which was the franchise’s first since 2018.  

Ted Baugh, the Guardians’ vice president of corporate and premium partnerships, said: “We’re very excited to work with Bet365 as our exclusive mobile sports betting partner and welcome them to the State of Ohio”.  

“There is a tremendous bond between our organization and Bet365. With nearly 90 million customers registered worldwide, Bet365 is one of the world’s leaders in online gambling and will provide our fans a trusted source to complement our organisation’s success on and off the field.” 

The Guardians annual “Guards Fest”, which runs on January 21 for the first time after a two-year pause, will mark the beginning of the partnership. The Bet365 lounge will be available for Guardians fans of legal gambling age to access exclusive bet boosts and prize giveaways during the festival. 

“We can’t wait to engage with Guards fans at Guards Fest,” a spokesperson for Bet365 said. “The Guardians are an elite franchise, with a passionate and loyal fanbase, and we’re excited to create fan-focused activations that give back to the faithful Cleveland baseball fans”.  

Bet365 enters Pennsylvania in CDI deal

The news of this partnership closely follows Bet365’s expansion into the Pennsylvania market in a deal with Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) subsidiary Presque Isle Downs and Casino.  

This agreement is in line with CDI’s strategy to exit the online sports and casino business in order to grow its TwinSpires online horse racing wagering business.  

“Our relationship with Bet365 enables us to maximize the value of our company’s sports betting and igaming market access in Pennsylvania,” CDI chief executive Bill Carstanjen said.

The operators three casino brands – Mansion Casino, Slots Heaven and Casino.com – all now display a message announcing the winding down of operations.

From 17:00 GMT on 12 January 2023, the UK-facing sites will no longer accept deposits from players, and will cease gameplay at 23:50 the same day. Mansion directs any players who wish to withdraw their money to do so by 23:59 on 12 April 2023.

The operator received a casino licence from the Great Britain Gambling Commission in November 2017, and additionally holds a Gaming Operator (B2C) licence from the Gibraltar Licensing Authority.

The news marks the second wave of brand closures for the business, following a March 2022 announcement that the company’s online sports betting site MansionBet was to shut its door.

MansionBet closes

In an email to customers last year, MansionBet said that it would be closing its sports betting site in order to more fully concentrate on its online casino offerings.   

“Mansion Group have decided to focus on our award-winning casino brands Casino.com, MansionCasino.com, and SlotsHeaven.com and continue to operate in the UK online casino market,” it said.

The business also elaborated that it would be focusing its efforts on different markets, beyond the UK.

“There are other markets such as Spain, where we are operating with MansionCasino.es, and Canada where we are in the process of applying for a licence for their flagship brand, Casino.com, in the soon to be regulated Ontario market.”

Following the shutting down of its sports betting offering, MansionBet has become an affiliate review site.

Super Group said the scheme is set to run until 31 December 2023, though the board reserved the right to extend or shorten the timeframe at their discretion.

The operator also emphasised that the announcement did not legally bind it in any way – noting that Super Group was “not obligated” to repurchase any shares, and that repurchases if any would be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing prices or “in negotiated transactions off the market”.

“Our debt-free balance sheet is strong and we actively consider using cash to drive long-term shareholder value through investment and through returning cash to shareholders,” said CFO Alinda van Wyk. “We believe a modest share repurchase program is an efficient potential use of cash depending on market circumstances.”

The share repurchase scheme happens after a fraught Q3, in which declines in revenue from online casino and brand licensing negatively affected Super Group’s balance sheets. Revenue for the three-month period ending 30 September was €307.8m (£265.9m/$315.8m), a decline of 1.5% year-on-year – while profit dropped by 30.8%.

Super Group US market entry

In January, Super Group completed the purchase of sports betting and igaming business Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC) which controlled the rights of the Betway brand in the US.

DGC is live in eight states – exclusively licensing the Betway brand in each of its active markets.

“We are excited to officially welcome DGC into Super Group,” said Super Group chief executive Neal Menashe. “We look forward to working more closely with the team as we apply our proven toolkit to the US.

“With a healthy balance sheet and a consistent track record of driving profitable growth, Super Group is well positioned to enter the US market, enhancing our global footprint.”

Sportradar deal

Betway has also been subject to a recent expanded sports betting services partnership, as announced by data and technology suppler Sportradar.

Under the terms of the agreement, Betway will utilise the provider’s multi-channel marketing platform ad:s, as well as its Audio Visual services, which includes access to the supplier’s portfolio of streamed sports content.   

Betway CEO Anthony Werkman said the company was “excited” about the agreement, adding that it “allows us to engage our customers across a variety of devices, platforms, and channels, which further enhances the sports betting experience.”

Under the expanded agreement, Sportradar’s existing services will be retained by the sports betting operators, including its range of betting services and its distribution of live data.

“Sportradar’s intelligence-driven technology, underpinned by AI and coupled with our deep understanding of the sports industry, supports global top tier operators like Betway in attracting new customers and engaging existing ones in multiple ways,” said Sportradar chief commercial officer Ed Blonk.

Under the agreement, Premier Bet will roll out MGA Games content in countries where it is active across Africa including Cameroon, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia.

Content will include online slot titles such as GT World Challenge and Lucky Dragon, as well as video bingo games Calaca Party, Buffalo Bingo, Sweet Home, Bingo Sea, Vikings, Magician, Disco and Roma Bingo.

Premier Bet and its sister brand Premier Vegas are active in more than 26 countries around the world.

“We maintain a constant innovative vision that we contribute to in each and every one of our productions: be they slot games, video bingo or table games,” MGA Games sales director Javier Lanfranchi said.

“We care about offering titles with a differential value that provide maximum profitability to our clients.”

The operator has agreed to purchase the long-term lease of the site currently home to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. While the deal remains subject to certain approvals, the transaction would grant Sands control of up to 80 acres.

Initial plans for the development state casino gaming would represent less than 10% of the total square footage of the location. The wider development would also include hospitality and entertainment facilities such as a hotel, live performance venue, outdoor community spaces, health club, spa, celebrity chef restaurants and convention space.

Read the full story on iGB North America.