Month: January 2023

An investigation of the operator by KSA found JOI Gaming sent an email about its Jacks.nl online gambling website to its active customer base, which includes a number of players under the age of 24, between 8 December 2021 and 7 March 2022.

The email including information about the games on Jacks.nl, as well as bonuses available to players. KSA said a further six unique promotional emails were also sent to all young adult players. 

This was deemed to be in breach of Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act, which states a licensed operator must not direct any advertising or marketing at users between the ages of 18 and 24.

Responding to the allegations, JOI Gaming admitted to sending the emails to young adults, but said it had made clear to players that it was a new online operator of games of chance, having secured its first licence in November of 2021 and two further licence in February last year.

However, JOI Gaming disagreed with KSA’s conclusion that it has breached national law by contacting these players about it offerings.

KSA considered JOI Gaming’s response but concluded that as it had contacted young adults and not excluded them from the marketing messages, it was in breach of gambling laws in the Netherlands.

As such, KSA issued JOI Gaming the €400,000 fine, though the operator has the right to appeal the decision. 

“As far as we are concerned, the legislator is crystal clear: no recruitment activities aimed at young adults,” KSA chaiman René Jansen said. “In December 2021, KSA emphasized even more to licensed providers how the provisions on advertising and recruitment activities are intended. 

“KSA considers it serious and culpable that this provider nevertheless focused on young adults.”

In a trading update, Playtech said the business continued to perform strongly since posting “strong” first-half results in September last year.

The H1 results announcement included revenue increasing by 73% year-on-year to €792.3m, with €446.0m of this coming from the Snaitech business.

Playtech said Snaitech, as well as its B2B business, continued to perform well in the months after and as a result, adjusted EBITDA is expected to climb by at least 26% year-on-year for the full year.

The provider plans to publish its full-year results and host a B2B investor day on 23 March.

The 2022 financial year proved to be a busy one for Playtech, having completed the sale of its financial trading division Finalto to Gopher Investments for an enterprise value of US$250m. This sale is part of the group’s simplification strategy, as it focuses on the B2B and B2C gambling.

Playtech itself had also appeared as if it could be sold, as Asia-based investment group TTB Partners considered a bid following the collapse of an offer from Aristocrat. However, despite the support of CEO Mor Weizer, TTB declined to submit a formal offer.

Reflecting on the last year, 2022 was another year of growth at breakneck speed in the US sports betting market – particularly from a regulatory perspective.

As of December 2022, sports betting had either been fully legalised, or had approved legislation, in 36 states plus Washington DC, with Ohio kicking off January 1 2023 with a roar. In fact, opening weekend numbers in Ohio shattered previous records held by New York and Pennsylvania, with 11.3 million geolocation transactions and 783,900 unique accounts created.

Measuring the opportunity

With that growth, we have seen an influx of companies entering the betting space – not just operators but also folks like new platform providers, unique B2B product and service providers and marketing affiliates.

But it hasn’t been all roses and sunshine.

The year 2022 saw a number of sportsbook operator closures, the SPAC market dried up and investment money became tougher to come by. There were even failures on the regulatory front in 2022 – California’s ballot measures to legalise sports betting failed by wide margins after hundreds of millions of dollars in political spending from all sides.

While well over one third of Americans are now living in a regulated sports betting market, it is important to not forget that sports betting isn’t only happening where lawmakers have chosen to regulate it.

Offshore books remain active in states where regulated options aren’t available and even in the regulated states, offshore books still remain an issue. What is clear though is that broadscale legalisation is the best and most effective way to protect consumers and capitalise on gaming revenue.

The next steps

So what is up next for the US gambling industry in 2023? More sports betting, igaming breakthrough and esports.  

We’ll see continued legislative and regulatory pushes for new markets with potential large-scale opportunities like Texas at the forefront of the discussion. Several other states are mulling legislative overhauls to permit or expand sports wagering, including Missouri and North Carolina, while sports wagering is expected to kick off in Massachusetts and Maine this coming year.

Igaming may finally break through the glass ceiling with several states considering legislative efforts to join the small club of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, and Delaware (and Nevada for poker).  

There will be some firsts in the esports vertical, which offers a potential hotbed for gambling activity in the next decade. The overall popularity of US esports has seen major growth in the past year. Statista projected that esports viewership will exceed 300 million by 2025. Naturally, as those viewership numbers increase, so does the betting activity.

Esports is not just limited to games like Call of Duty or Overwatch, but also sports ventures such as NBA 2k or the FIFA series, which encourages natural tie-ins and investments from real-world sports teams. 

The year 2022 ended with the greatest sporting event on the planet – there’s no better way to gauge where the US is on sports betting than to measure it through the lens of the World Cup.

The 2022 World Cup was the first where sports betting on the tournament was legal in the United States outside of Nevada. GeoComply reports that the title match generated 7.9 million geolocation sports betting transactions. Per CNBC, an estimated 132 million Americans lived in states where sports betting on the World Cup was legal at the time Messi raised the Cup on behalf of Argentina.

That is a 1220% increase from when France reigned supreme just four years ago. Where will we be when the World Cup returns to the U.S. in 2026? 

Under the arrangement, the NBA will work with the AGA to educate basketball fans about responsible sports betting by providing turnkey resources for use by the league’s 30 teams.

Campaign content for the initiative will include a range of in-venue, broadcast, digital and social media activations.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Some 19% of IG Group’s total revenue came from non-over-the-counter (OTC) leveraged derivative trading in the six months to 30 November 2022, compared to just 3% as recently as 2019 when its diversified business growth strategy was launched. The figure was also up 3% points on the corresponding period in FY22.

Total revenue during H1 FY23 increased 10% to £519.1m, with the adjusted figure – excluding £5.8m foreign exchange hedging gain associated with the financing of its Tastytrade acquisition – up 11%.

IG Group purchased US-based brokerage and investor education platform Tastytrade in June 2021, with this acquisition leading to a rise in revenue from high-potential markets around the world. IG Group said all its regional offices and high-potential markets grew from Q1 to Q2, and it is now fifth by market share in Japan. Its US businesses posted a record second quarter for total revenue, as interest income becomes a larger contributor to the group overall.

Active clients remained in line with H1 FY22, with 159,100 clients trading in the period, while average revenue per client increased by 6% to £2,618.

Net trading revenue from OTC derivatives in the six-month period was £416.5m and increased by 6% year-on-year. UK and EU OTC derivatives revenue was flat at £209.3m, while Japan revenue increased by 25% to £55.8m.

Net trading revenue from exchange traded derivatives was £67.1m and increased 16% on H1 FY22, and was 1% higher on a pro forma basis, which includes a full six months of Tastytrade revenue in the comparative period.

Total adjusted operating costs for the six-month period were £256.8m, which was 25% higher than the same period last year. IG Group said the year-on-year increase reflects an additional month of Tastytrade costs, an estimated £10m of translational FX headwinds across the cost base and increases in technology related costs. Advertising and marketing spend increased by 15% to £43.7m, reflecting increased marketing spend in the US, UK and Europe.

Profit before tax decreased slightly by 2% to £240.5m, while adjusted profit before tax increased 1% to £260.7m.

IG Group also said it is now executing the Capital Allocation Framework that it announced last summer. In the period it progressed with its current £150m share buyback and has now extended that to a total of £200.

“I’m extremely proud of our achievements in the period, having delivered on two critical elements of our strategy: diversified business growth and the return of excess capital to shareholders,” said June Felix, IG Group’s chief executive. “Non-OTC products now make a meaningful contribution of nearly 20% to our total revenue, and by the end of the half we had returned nearly £250m to shareholders. We have also announced an extension to our share buyback today.”

“Despite a softening in trading demand due to the global economic environment, our high-quality clients have continued to find opportunities to trade, demonstrating the resilience of the business model. This is the result of our unwavering focus on investing in and prioritising the delivery of best-in-class technology and platforms, innovation, client service and marketing. All achieved while delivering significant profit margins and consistently generating healthy levels of cash and capital.”

Under the agreement, Epic will deliver executive training, gambling harm awareness, and its ‘Interactions Masterclass’ program to Tabcorp staff.

The programs focus on the knowledge, insight and understanding that personal experience brings to improve lives, with more than half of Epic staff having lived experience of serious gambling harm.

Epic covers some of the highest-risk sectors for gambling harm including professional sport, education, financial services, the construction industry and within the gambling industry itself.

The consultancy already works with a number of clients in Australia such as Cricket New South Wales.

“As one of the biggest gambling operators in the world, it is crucial that Epic can bring its expertise to a workforce of more than 5,000 people, to help try and significantly reduce the risk of gambling-related harm occurring across any of Tabcorp’s brands,” Epic’s director of business development Martin Bland said.

“We look forward to commencing our working relationship with Tabcorp and trust that we will provide some key support in relation to player protection throughout the organisation.”

Ira Lubert, owner of SC Gaming OpCo, secured the rights to construct a casino at the site in September 2020 with a winning bid of $10.0m. Lubert filed an application with the PGCB in January of 2021 to locate the casino in a 94,000sq ft space that formerly housed Macy’s Department Store at the Nittany Mall.

Following an in-depth background investigation of the application, the PGCB held a final licensing hearing to issue the licence to the new casino, which will be operated by Bally’s Corporation.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the deal, the operator’s Codere-Bingo Lanús brand will feature on the back of players’ jersey, underneath their squad numbers, until the end of 2023.

Players will wear the new-look shirt for the first time during the game against Club Atlético Colón on 29 January.

The agreement builds on Codere’s long history with Club Atlético Lanús, with the operator having served as the team’s official sponsor between 1999 and 2016.

“We are very happy to have resumed this historic link; from Codere, we are convinced that this alliance will be fruitful for both parties, and that we have made a winning bet by joining our paths,” Codere LatAm (excluding Mexico) regional manager Bernardo Chena said.

Club Atlético Lanús president Luis María Chebel added: “It is a great joy to have Codere again as a sponsor of Lanús and we are confident that it will be the beginning of a new successful stage for both institutions.”

Robert G. Goldstein, chairman and chief executive officer, said that the lessening of travel restrictions will help Las Vegas Sands to broaden its horizons after the pandemic.

“In Singapore, we were pleased to see the robust recovery continue at Marina Bay Sands during the quarter, with the property delivering record levels of performance in both mass gaming and retail revenue,” said Goldstein.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to introduce our new suite product to more customers as airlift capacity improves and growth in visitation from China and the wider region is enabled by the relaxing of travel restrictions.”

He added that development in Macau would further enhance Las Vegas Sands’ presence in the region, particularly as the operator received a concession to continue operating there in December 2022.

“In Macau, we were gratified to receive a new gaming concession during the quarter, which will enable us to continue our decades-long commitment to making investments that enhance the business and leisure tourism appeal of Macau and support its development as a world centre of business and leisure tourism,” he continued. “We remain deeply confident in the future of Macau and consider Macau an ideal market for additional capital investment.”

Financial results

The Asia-facing gaming group, which sold its Las Vegas operations for $6.25bn (£4.63bn/€5.56bn) last February, said travel restrictions and reduced visitation continued to impact its financial performance during the three months to 31 December 2022.

Flagship properties in Macau continued to be affected, but LVS benefitted from a record performance in Singapore and said it has confidence that customers will return in 2023 and beyond.

Net revenue for the three months to 31 December 2022 was $1.12bn, an increase of 10.8% from the prior year quarter based on continuing operations. This growth was in the main attributable to increased guest numbers compared to a year ago, with rooms revenue up almost 50% to $154.0m and a more than doubling of food and beverage takings to $103.0m. Casino accounted for $654.0m, which was up slightly on last year’s figure.

Macau operations dipped across the board with all its properties seeing a decrease in revenue compared to the prior year. In total, the five casinos and ferry operations saw takings fall by 32% to $444.0m. Adjusted property EBITDA was a loss of $51.0m.

However, revenue at its Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore grew by 85% to $682.0m, with adjusted property EBITDA up 54% to $273.0m.

Total operating expenses increased in the main due to greater resort operation costs, which grew by 18% to $908.0m.

Operating loss was $166m, compared to $138m in the prior year quarter. Net loss from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $269m, compared to $315m in the fourth quarter of 2021. Consolidated adjusted property EBITDA was $222m, compared to $251m in the prior year quarter.

For the full year to 31 December 2022, LVS posted revenue of $4.11bn, which was down 2.8% on 2021 thanks to a dip in casino and mall takings. Full year 2022 operating loss was $792m, compared to $689m in 2021.

Goldstein added: “While travel restrictions and reduced visitation continued to impact our financial performance during the quarter, we remain confident in a robust recovery in travel and tourism spending across our markets and deeply enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties throughout 2023 and in the years ahead.”

“Looking ahead, our industry-leading investments in our team members, our communities and our market-leading Integrated Resort offerings position us exceedingly well to deliver growth as travel restrictions are further relaxed and the recovery comes to fruition. We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our ongoing investment and capital expenditure programs in both Macau and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets.”

LVS completed the sale of its Las Vegas properties and operations, including the Venetian Resort, to VICI Properties and funds controlled by Apollo Global Management in February 2022.

The deal, agreed in March 2021, includes the sale of the entire Venetian Resort, comprising The Venetian, Palazzo and Venetian Expo properties.

Under the terms of the new, multi-year agreement, Sportradar will monitor all IBU competitions, including the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) flagship IBU World Championships and IBU World Cup competitions, using its Universal Fraud Detection System bet monitoring system.

Since 2020, Sportradar has provided the BIU, an operationally independent unit, which oversees integrity matters on behalf of the IBU, with its Intelligence & Investigation Services which offers due diligence and investigation services.

Greg McKenna, head of the BIU, said: “We are fully aware of the match-fixing risks that are prevalent throughout all sport, and we acknowledge the integral role bet monitoring plays in countering integrity risks. As such, this partnership, featuring the use of the UFDS, will enable us to implement one of the strongest integrity provisions, and puts us in the great position over the coming years to ensure fair competition across all our events.”

Sportradar is a partner to over 180 sports organisations and state authorities, and last month signed a deal with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), the governing body of international skiing and snowboarding.

“Interest in biathlon competitions is increasing across global betting markets,” said Sportradar Integrity Services’ managing director Andreas Krannich. “It is imperative that appropriate steps are taken to mitigate any integrity-related issues that may arise across IBU’s competitions.”

“Partnering with the BIU demonstrates both our and BIU’s commitment to uphold the integrity of the sport, and we look forward to enhancing this relationship over the coming years.”