Month: February 2023

Sports handle was 1.2% higher than $8.4m in January last year and 3.7% ahead of $8.2m in December 2022.

Revenue for the month amounted to $1.6m, which was 114.7% higher year-on-year and 14.3% ahead of December.

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In the role, Ziems will lead the supplier’s legal and compliance affairs and also oversee the Latin America and interactive business strategy.

Ziems will bring more than 24 years of gaming and legal experience to AGS and joins the business after a 12-year spell with Azure Gaming, including the last four and a half years as president of its America business, global chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

Prior to this, he spent three years as president of law firm Ziems and one year as counsel at Bullivant Houser Bailey, while he also had a five-year spell working in a number of roles at Progressive Gaming International Corporation.

His other roles included associate general counsel at Aristocrat Technologies and associate general counsel at Station Casinos.

“Rob is a great addition to our leadership team as we diversify AGS’ portfolio and advance our business strategy,” AGS president and chief executive David Lopez said. “He has deep gaming and regulatory experience combined with a forward-thinking and collaborative leadership approach.”

Ziems succeeds Victor Gallo, who retired as general counsel at AGS after serving in the role since 2010. Gallo will remain as secretary for the business.

“Looking back, it is difficult to overstate the extraordinary impact Vic has had on AGS over the past 12 years,” Lopez said. “He was instrumental in the acquisition and integration of Cadillac Jack, as well as the company’s IPO in 2018, and he has helped shape the strategy, structure and culture that have made AGS successful as a company today. 

“On behalf of the entire leadership team, we wish him a well-deserved retirement.”

The appointment comes after AGS last month also named Adam Chibib as its new chairman. He replaces David Sambur, who recently stepped down from the board after serving as its chairman for the past five years.

Chibib has been an independent board member, chair of the audit committee and member of the compensation committee at PlayAGS for the past five years.

Ryan bolsters the firm’s bench of former Tabcorp lawyers, joining Senet principals Julian Hoskins, Daniel Lovecek and senior associate Caitlin McCombe who each spent time as in-house counsel for the operator.  

Ryan, a La Trobe University graduate, is a wagering specialist and has spent time at top-tier Australian law firm Minter Ellison, as well as at Flutter-owned SportsBet.   

Hoskins expressed his pleasure at welcoming Ryan to the team.

“Our gambling law and compliance advisory practice is one of the largest and most experienced in Australia,” he said.

“Bree’s expertise will complement the team and provide increased capabilities to support our clients with their gambling law and regulation related matters.

“Bree also brings a strong network of connections with domestic and international operators active in the Australian market.”

Experienced lawyer

Ryan is an established name in Australian gambling law. Her experience spans both the regulatory and market spheres, having worked as principal legal advisor on a number of complex strategic matters including the integration of two ASX listed corporations.

Ryan has additionally taken part in a number of significant regulatory investigations and compliance reform initiatives, as well as a number of responsible gaming changes.

Smart Picks’ technology is designed to allow users to make more informed betting decisions. It uses historical statistics and betting data to indicate which teams have been performing above, or below, expectations.

The tool is based on Checkd Dev’s Smart Acca technology, which Checkd Group has used previously in its Betting Hub app.

Smart Picks will allow users to create selections across moneyline, spread and total markets in both the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

The tool allows players to filter by all matches in the current season, the last five fixtures, home and away games or head-to-head.

Key region

Adam Patton, managing director for Checkd Dev, said that the North American region is key for the company’s future.

“North America is a key strategic region for Checkd Dev and in developing the Smart Picks solution, we are taking what we have learned from our successes in the UK market and adapting it in line with regional betting preferences,” he said. “This is only the start of a process and we will be adding more sports to the current selection in the coming months.”

“The launch of Smart Picks is the latest milestone as we continue to make rapid progress with our FlashPicks brand, which is already resonating with sports bettors only a year after launch.”

Checkd Group launched the FlashPicks brand in February 2022. Checkd Dev received an Ontario affiliate licence in September 2022, which allowed the company to launch FlashPicks to Canadian players.

Earlier this month, Checkd Group appointed igaming professional Andrew Grimshaw as commercial director of the Checkd Dev division.

Consumer spending was down from $500.1m in January last year but 1.0% up from $431.5m in December 2022.

Basketball proved the most popular sport among players with $155.6m in bets during the month, while football drew $90.6m in wagers. Parlay bets reached $124.7m and other sports $55.6m.

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In addition to Karlani, CEAS Investments, Courtside Ventures, Gaingels, OCA Ventures, Subversive Capital and 305 Ventures also invested in the course of the latest round of funding – which was preceded in March 2022 by $1.8m in capital raised during the company’s pre-seed stage.

According to the operator, the proceeds of the round will go towards funding the business’ operations in Ontario. In January, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) issued Betty with a licence to operate in the province.

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With the multi-year partnership, EveryMatrix will supply its online casino content to Holland Casino Online through EveryMatrix’s two in-house studios, Armadillo Studios and Spearhead Studios.

All titles will be made available through SlotMatrix, including Fortune Dragon Queen: Exotic Wilds and Mythological Mayhem Supreme Streaks.

“Signing Holland Casino Online is an important step in our quest to increase global reach and collaborate with the world’s premium brands.” said Razvan Haiduc, CEO of EveryMatrix Games.  

“A partnership with one of the biggest names in the Dutch igaming industry will prove beneficial for both parties involved.” 

Nicolas Fleiderman, manager at Holland Casino Online, said the operator was pleased to be partnering with a company as well positioned as EveryMatrix.

“EveryMatrix commands a leading position in the igaming industry, with a proven track record of successful releases,” he said. “Integrating their content from Armadillo Studios and Spearhead Studios will further bolster our online casino offering and provide our players with an even greater gaming experience.” 

Through the deal, patrons in Ohio can wager on BetParx’s sportsbook app.

In addition, for the second consecutive year, BetParx will be the exclusive mobile sports betting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

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Last week, the Playtech Malta subsidiary announced it had sought a declaration from the English courts to obtain clarification on a point of disagreement with Caliplay, its joint venture with Mexican operator Caliente.

The dispute relates to whether Caliplay still holds an option to redeem the additional services fee element of the strategic agreement between the two parties.

The option was structured so that the amount payable by Caliplay to Playtech upon exercise would be agreed between the two parties or, if not possible, determined by an independent investment bank valuing Playtech’s current entitlement to receive the additional services fee until 31 December 2034.

Playtech said the option is stated as being exercisable for 45 days following the approval of the audited accounts of Caliplay for the year ended 31 December 2021. The tech giant also said the option had expired and referred to this in its interim report for the six-month period ended 30 June 2022.

In response, Caliplay acknowledged the option allows it to redeem the additional services fee element payable to Playtech Malta pursuant to the strategic agreement, and that this is exercisable for 45 days following the approval of its audited accounts by its board for the 2021 fiscal year. However, Caliplay said this is yet to take place.

Caliplay said Playtech failed to include reference to board approval in its announcement, or its interim report for the six-month period ended 30 June 2022, which was published on 22 September 2022.

“As Playtech correctly notes, Caliplay believes the option has not expired,” Caliplay said in a statement. “Caliplay made this clear to Playtech on 23 December 2022 when it challenged the accuracy of its 22 September 2022 announcement.

“This (court) claim was filed without warning and despite both sides being currently engaged in a mutually agreed resolution process. Contrary to Playtech’s announcement, Caliplay is not aware that any claim has been issued against it by Playtech, as opposed to its subsidiary, Playtech Malta.

“Caliplay remains keen to resolve this matter swiftly and is committed to the ongoing discussions.”

The regulator investigated the unnamed organisation at its premises in Odense in 2019 and found it had been offering both game types illegally to its members on a daily basis for a number of years.

Denmark has a monopoly on bingo and banko games, with state-owned Danske Spil being the only operator permitted to offer these services, except for games run by a non-profit lottery for the benefit of good causes.

The case was heard in court in Odense on 2 February, with Spillemyndigheden emerging victorious after the court ruled the Odense-based association breached national gambling laws by offering the games to members.

As such, the association was ordered to pay a fine of DKK15,000 (£1,784/€2,014/$2,153) as well as court costs.

The ruling comes after Spillemyndigheden last week revealed that gambling revenue in the Danish market increased 7.9% year-on-year in 2022 after a rise across all sectors.

Total revenue for the year stood at DKK6.72bn, up from DKK6.23bn in the previous 12-month period. Online casino remained the primary source of gambling revenue during the year, with this sector generating DKK2.90bn in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%.

Sports betting revenue also increased by 3.9% to DKK2.32bn, while land-based slots revenue jumped 47.6% to DKK1.15bn for the year.

Spillemyndigheden also reported a 58.6% rise in revenue from licensed land-based casinos to DKK3490m.