Month: January 2023

Katsibouba has been serving in the role on a temporary basis since May last year following the resignation of Harry Theodore but will now take up the position permanently.

She joined Star in April 2015 as general manager of finance transformation before going on to become group financial controller, deputy CFO and group executive for gaming, prior to taking on the interim CFO role last year.

Before her time with Star, Katsibouba spent almost five years with Salmat, and she also had a spell as financial controller for the Apparel Group and as a senior manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“I am delighted to announce that Christina has accepted the position as CFO of The Star; Christina is a passionate and experienced gaming executive having worked in the sector for more than seven years,” Star managing director and chief executive Robbie Cooke said.

“Christina’s finance experience extends over 25 years and traverses the gaming, retail and marketing sectors as well as experience in public practice. I look forward to working closely with Christina as we continue our focus on returning The Star to suitability and earning back the trust and confidence of all our stakeholders.”

Turbulent year for Star

The appointment followed a hard 12 months for Star, which ended with the operator having its licence suspended in Queensland due to a series of failings. The state also issued Star with a fine of AU$100.0m (£56.4m/€63.9m/US$67.9m) over the same case.

A review, which was announced in June 2022, examined a range of issues and unearthed a host of institutional failings. Many of these were broadly aligned with those uncovered by Adam Bell SC’s report into Star’s activities in New South Wales, where the operator was also found unsuitable to hold a licence. 

Last month, it was also announced that Ben Heap was to step down as chair of Star after he was named among a host of current and former directors and former executives that will face civil proceedings from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The cases relate to section 180(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), which references the requirement for a company officeholder to “exercise their powers and discharge their duties with care and diligence”. This, ASIC said, was also in relation to findings from investigations into Star’s activities in New South Wales and Queensland,

Alongside Heap, who was appointed chairman in June this year after a spell as interim chair, ASIC confirmed Katie Lahey as the other current Star director who will face civil proceedings.

A total of 11 current and former directors and executives will face proceedings, including ex-chair John O’Neill, former CEO and managing director Matthias Bekier, as well as Richard Sheppard, Gerard Bradley, Sally Pitkin and Zlatko Todorcevski, all of whom are no longer with Star.

This is a rapid improvement for the Spanish gaming sector which had previously experienced four consecutive quarters in which gross betting revenue was less than 2.5% of turnover.

In total, GGR stood at €240.8m (£212.9m/ $253.7) for the three-month period ending 30 September. This represents an increase of 18.1% quarter-on-quarter, and 31.3% compared to the same period the previous year.

This total included €89m in betting revenue. A trend of increased revenue throughout 2022 continued, with revenue 46.2% rising compared to Q2 results and 103.6% from the €43.7m.

The main reason for the rise in sports betting revenue was a rise in betting margins to 4.1% – once again a significant rise compared to the 2.2% ratio that sportsbook operators experienced in the previous quarter. Turnover, on the other hand, declined.

Live sports betting dominated the betting totals – rising from 47.3% to 56.9% of the total market from Q2 to Q3. Pre-match sports betting – which represented 39.6% of total revenues – achieved €35.2m in GGR during the period.

Steady rise

The online casino sector continued its steady growth in both total staked and GGR terms, rising from €117.2m to €128 from Q2 to Q3 – an increase of 9.2%. The long-term trend for igaming has been less volatile than for other verticals, with the sector experiencing slow but steady and continuing growth since Q4 2020.

At 62.4% of the market, online slots represented the most significant category of game played, followed by live roulette which stood at 28.8% of total revenue.

Marketing restrictions  

In 2020, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree on the Commercial Communications of Gambling Activities, which reform the framework of the country’s gambling advertising regime.

The provisions of the laws restricted TV and radio ads to between the hours of 1am and 5am, banned sponsorships deals with operators and restricted the advertising of welcome bonuses.  

Consequently, Spanish marketing spend had declined a great deal over the previous year. There are signs that the market reached its floor in Q2, with Q3 marketing spend showing signs of growth.

Total spend was €96.31, a 7.8% quarter-on-quarter rise and a 7.3% increase in annual terms. Advertising – which made up the largest segment at €42.7m – rose in revenue, as did affiliates.

While a relatively minor section of the market at €1.8m, sponsorship deals nevertheless saw rocketing growth 373.7% quarter-on-quarter, a signal that some organisations have found new ways of coping with the regulations.      

According to new data referred to by the BGC, there has been a 34% decline in the number of ads being shown on ITV from 2018 to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This year’s average comes out to 4.5 ads per live match, while 2018’s average is almost double that at 8.35.

The BGC notes that this reduction is due to the voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” ad ban that prohibits television betting ads from being shown from five minutes before the match begins to five minutes after it completes, before the 9pm watershed.

According to a report cited by the Betting and Gaming Council, this ban, introduced in 2019, “had led to a 97% reduction in the number of such ads being seen by children at that time”.

The BGC also highlighted the commitment to safer gambling practices within its members’ advertisements and messaging. 

Gambling Act review

The publication of this information by the BGC comes as a white paper forming the next phase of the UK government’s review of the Gambling Act is imminent. The review includes specific questions about advertising, safer gambling messaging and sport partnerships, along with a wide range of other topics such as affordability and game design.

Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, addressed claims from bodies such as GambleAware that the World Cup would lead to a “perfect storm” of gambling harm.

 “At the start of the World Cup, the usual suspects said we would see a ‘perfect storm’ of problem gambling, sparked by waves of betting adverts,” he said. “This data proves that these warnings were yet again wrong.

“The evidence shows that calls from prohibitionists to ban betting ads and sports sponsorship are not backed up by the evidence, with the Government themselves acknowledging independent research ‘did not establish a causal link between exposure to advertising and the development of problem gambling’.

“Nevertheless, the reduction in betting ads is further proof of the continued commitment by BGC members to raising standards – while also promoting safer gambling tools like setting deposit limits and time-outs, and signposting help to the those who need it. All of this is in marked contrast to the unsafe, unregulated black market online that pays no tax and makes no contribution to the economy or many of our much loved sports”.

The revenue total was not only less than half of 2021’s total, but it was also down 85.6% from 2019, the last year before Covid-19 impacted the Macau casino sector. 

In addition, the figure was a new low for a single year since the Macau market opened up 20 years ago, less than the MOP60.44bn recorded in 2020.

Revenue for December was MOP3.48bn, down 56.3% year-on-year. This was the 10th consecutive month in which revenue was down year-on-year.

The monthly revenue total was also down 84.8% from 2019. However, it was 16.1% more than the amount recorded in November.

Macau Covid restrictions

While revenue totals in 2022 were low, there is more hope for the future, after China announced a major rollback of its Covid-19-related travel restrictions. 

Visitors from outside of China that enter the country no longer have to quarantine, while the number of flights into China will no longer be capped.

Following major nationwide protests against the length and severity of the government’s “zero-Covid” policy, the Chinese authorities have dropped many restrictions against the virus. The news may signal that 2023 may see many or all of the pandemic measures rolled back in the special administrative region.

New concessions

The new year also means the beginning of new concessions for Macau gaming operators.

Seven applicants applied for the new concessions: incumbents Galaxy Entertainment Group, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Melco Resorts, SJM Resorts and Wynn Resorts, plus Genting Malaysia. However, the six operators already doing business in Macau were chosen, meaning Genting missed out.

The newl concessions will begin on 1 January 2023 and end on 31 December 2032.

YGAM is a responsible gambling charity that works to educate and safeguard young people from experiencing gambling-related harms.

The organisation will also become the official charity partner at the iGB Affiliate London Awards.

“We are delighted to welcome YGAM as our official charity partner,” said Clarion Gaming managing director Stuart Hunter. “YGAM is a progressive organisation which is well-known to and highly respected by many of the ICE London exhibitors and stakeholders.”

“In all of the many conversations that we have with the industry safer gambling is at the top of their agenda and we are delighted to be able to use the power of the ICE brand and the platform provided by ICE London to promote safer gambling and raise awareness of the outstanding work undertaken on a daily basis by the team at YGAM.”

Hunter outlined how the trade show’s commitment to safer gambling has grown, thanks in part to the Consumer Protection Zone’s (CPZ) introduction to the ICE show floor in 2018. The responsible gambling-focused area of the show has increased in size, increasing from 14 stands to 22 between the 2022 to 2023 editions of ICE.   

ICE ambassador

YGAM will also become an ICE Ambassador. This will entail the charity receiving branding throughout the show, be part of the official exhibition opening, attend as guests to the Casino Awards and WRA reception, as well as have fundraising visibility via leaflets  

“We are pleased to be working closely with Clarion Gaming again this year,” said YGAM director of business development and fundraising Ian Shanahan. “ICE London is the biggest event of its kind, so its profile provides our charity with a valuable platform to raise awareness of the important work that we do to help prevent gaming and gambling harms.

“We’re looking forward to joining colleagues from across the third sector in the Consumer Protection Zone in its prominent location. YGAM will be launching our ambitious new strategy and refreshed brand in 2023 so we’re looking to showcase this at ICE ahead of an exciting year for the charity.”

Founded in 2014, by Lee Willows and Anne and Keith Evans, YGAM has launched a number of responsible gambling initiatives in recent years – including a young people’s gambling prevention programme which has reached more than two million people since its launch in 2020.