Month: February 2023

In the three months through to the end of December 2022, net revenues increased year-on-year by 1.2% from $402.0m to $406.6m, leading to a 3.8% increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from $97.4m to $101.1m.

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In his new role, Hutchison will be responsible for leading the provider’s revenue growth strategy, expanding its global reach and driving the business in the igaming industry.

Hutchison joins Digitain having spent 20 years building and scaling technology start-ups in sports betting, digital marketing, live trading and sports-betting affiliates.

He also has experience in managing teams, driving revenue growth, leading organisational transformations and developing strategies.

“We are thrilled to welcome Iain to the Digitain team,” Digitan founder Vardges Vardanyan said. “His expertise will be invaluable as we continue to grow our business and expand our reach globally.

“Iain’s track record speaks for itself and we are confident that his leadership and vision will help drive Digitain to even greater heights.”

The appointment comes after Digitain last month opened a new office in Bucharest, Romania as part of a move to expand its presence in Europe.

The new office will allow Digitain to provide its European customers with a more centralised customer service. This is the first of several new offices Digitain plans to open globally.

In a market as crowded as sports betting, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like computer vision must continually reinvent themselves in order to remain relevant.

Arguably, it has a well-founded basis in this space, having begun as a completely different project close to 10 years ago.

“Before this role, I was head of innovation at Sportradar, and that’s how we started this computer vision journey as well – it was an innovation project that actually grew,” says Pataky.

Pataky acknowledges that similar technologies have been around for a long time, existing well outside the realms of sports betting.

“It’s not a new area,” he admits. “Computer vision has been around for decades and in some industries it has been used a lot – manufacturing, production lines.”

In describing exactly what computer vision is, Pataky paints it as a multi-faceted technology. But in its simplest form, computer vision mimics human vision capabilities.

“It’s difficult to give a precise definition [of computer vision],” he explains. “The easiest way to look at it is, it tries to do exactly what the human vision system tries to do.”

Building opportunities

In being able to precisely track what is happening during a sports match, computer vision generates specific, bet-oriented data. Pataky says it saves time and effort for both the bettor and the operator.

“[Computer vision] adds layers of data on the stream that makes the stream a lot more engaging, which means that punters will stay on streams longer,” he explains.

When applied to sports, computer vision allows relevant betting data – such as odds – to be presented onscreen, in a format that engages bettors and creates a buzz around the match.

“The viewing time increases, which then generates more benefits for the operators but also creates a more meaningful stream for the punter.”

The statistics and data computer vision collects is fed into the livestream itself, but also into Sportradar’s other products and services that can be offered to its customers.

“More data means more context, and it helps us understand what’s happening in a game. The data is important, in order to drive future engaging products.”

Perhaps one of the most useful capabilities is computer vision’s breadth. Pataky says that its capability to generate such specific data opens up more sports betting opportunities in faster, more up-to-date markets.

“The first thing is understanding the images and just extracting the information,” he explains. “That’s really important, because the way we use computer vision is to get further information, more data, deeper data that can actually drive more opportunities.

“It also opens up opportunities in new betting markets, faster betting markets. The ability to extract all this information – there’s no real other way to do this than automate it – actually creates opportunities to automate other processes, like trading. For betting, it opens a new door to micro-betting.”

The only way is up

Computer vision has been deployed across a number of sports – notably football and tennis.

Deploying computer vision in these sports has led to a number of notable mainstream opportunities, such as a partnership with Amazon’s Machine Learning Solutions Lab and the implementation of computer vision during Wimbledon.

Sportradar’s next foray into computer vision will be deploying the technology across table tennis. Pataky believes this will mark a new era for computer vision, evolving it to become what a new generation of bettors are really looking for.

“We really see that computer vision is a game-changer,” says Pataky. “To get to a scale that drives products into the future; it’s the ability to offer this to new, faster markets, and know that there is a new generation for new, faster engagement.

“They have a shorter attention span. This has the opportunity to offer new levels of engagement.”

But table tennis won’t be the final stop for computer vision.

“Table tennis is a real betting sport, but we are excited about taking this further and actually starting to apply this across other sports,” says Pataky.

“The data is important, in order to drive future engaging products. That’s why computer vision.”

Under the arrangement, Unibet will have access to a range of marketing rights and tailored content designed to improve customers’ experience.

Unibet will leverage its official partner designation to conduct marketing campaigns across the group’s digital betting offerings. 

The operator will also receive in-game advertising through Digital Enhanced Dasherboard technology, as well as benefit from marketing positions on NHL digital assets, and obtain rights to use NHL marks, logos and official designations.

Sportradar, the official betting data rights partner of the NHL, will support the partnership. The NHL is using Sportradar’s Ad:s data-driven marketing solution to develop sports betting partnerships outside of North America.

“Through the partnership, we hope to increase the interest for the NHL. It will be very exciting to follow the NHL in the coming years,” Unibet’s country manager in Sweden, Philip Lagström, said.

“Ice hockey and the NHL is very important for Unibet, and we have for a long time wanted to get more involved to cement the position as the customer’s first choice when they want to bet on ice hockey by offering the absolute best, safest and most secure gaming experience.”

NHL vice-president of business development and partnerships, John Lewicki, added: “We are excited to have Unibet as an official partner of the NHL. Kindred Group and its brands are well known for their dedication to responsible gambling. 

“We welcome this opportunity to work with Unibet to continue to engage our robust and expanding hockey fanbase in Sweden.”

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has outlined plans for a new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and a “refocused” DCMS, which no longer features digital.

Former culture secretary Michelle Donelan will head the new DSIT, with Lucy Frazer her replacement at the slimmed down DCMS. Frazer is the MP for South East Cambridgeshire, a constituency that houses the July Course at Newmarket and the National Stud.

The changes come as the government is set to publish the much-awaited Gambling Act white paper. The white paper, which was commissioned in 2020, has already been delayed a number of times, including as a result of the changes in government in 2022.

There has been no announcement as to whether gambling will remain within the department that covers sport or move across to DSIT. It has also yet to be confirmed whether Paul Scully, the minister with responsibility for gambling, will remain at the DCMS.

Late last month, Scully said the white paper would be unveiled “in the next few weeks” but warned its publication would not be the end of the process.

“I want to be clear though, that the white paper is not the final word on gambling reform,” he said. “It will be followed by consultations led by both DCMS and the Gambling Commission. I want the industry to stay engaged as policies are refined, finalised and implemented.

“We are putting the finishing touches to our white paper, making the final decisions and preparing for publication. We’re a matter of weeks away from you all seeing it, and then we can start the process of nailing down details and implementing reforms.”

The UK government officially launched the review of the 2005 Gambling Act in December 2020, with stake limits, the role of the Gambling Commission and new ad restrictions to be considered. An initial call for evidence ran for 16 weeks until March 2021.

Under the agreement, Bet365 will distribute 18,000 hours of content from over 30 rights holders to more than 80 million customers from over 160 countries around the world.

Infront Bettor’s content portfolio includes football competitions such as the English League Cup, Coupe de France and Turkish Superlig, as well as the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and the Champions Hockey League.

In addition, Infront Bettor will work with Bet365 in an effort to reduce stream latency from the current standard of between six and nine seconds to help improve the experience for customers.

“This is a major agreement for Infront Bettor. It has been a busy and exhilarating few months launching the division, building out major and robust operations, acquiring a highly desirable set of betting rights and communicating to the market our new service,” Infront Bettor head, Chris Catling, said.

“To agree terms with a partner who has led the digital revolution of online betting and is as forward-thinking as Bet365 validates the hard work up until this point.

“With a market leader like Bet365 showing a real desire to embrace real-time streaming, I see a new horizon for video products that drive betting engagement and interactivity increasing the fan engagement and betting experience.”

Last month, Kindred said that it would take “immediate action” to improve profitability after revenue failed to meet expectations during Q4.

Specifically, Kindred said it would work to reduce losses in North America, re-prioritise investment projects and further optimise operating expenses to improve scalability, with these actions expected to materially lower an increase in operating expenses.

While the full details of these actions are yet to be set out by the operator, Kindred chief executive Henrik Tjärnström last month warned “no item is sacred” in terms of cutting costs, with the business to review all areas of cost in order to improve spending for 2023.

Tjärnström expanded on this when reflecting on Kindred’s FY performance, again saying that while Q4 did “not reflect the true earnings potential of the business” and 2022 was challenging for the operator, he was hopeful the actions taken would improve its future performance.

“Despite growth in our core markets and continued encouraging performance in the Netherlands, following re-entry to the market in July 2022, the fourth quarter fell significantly short of our ambitious expectations,” Tjärnström said.

“The first-ever World Cup held in winter did not manage to offset the decline in sports activity both before and during the event, and regulatory changes in Belgium and Norway also negatively impacted revenues.

“As the fourth quarter of 2022 does not reflect the true earnings potential of the business, we have communicated non-recurring indicative guidance for the full year 2023 that underlying EBITDA will reach at least £200.0m (€224.7m/$241.2m).”

Analysing the fourth quarter, revenue was up 35.8% year-on-year at £305.5m, comprising £295.1m in B2C revenue and £10.4m in B2B revenue from Relax Gaming, which Kindred acquired in October 2021.

Breaking down this performance, 60% of revenue came from Western Europe, with 26% in the Nordics, 10% from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe (SEC), and 4% other regions including North America.

Casino and games accounted for 54% of all revenue in Q4, with revenue for this area of the business up 25% year-on-year. Kindred noted growth in all core markets with the exception of Belgium, where new regulations harmed its performance. 

Sports betting drew 41% of all revenue, with revenue for this sector rising 20%, helped by the World Cup being moved to the winter. However, headwinds in the UK, Belgium and Norway prevented further growth.

Kindred also noted that poker was responsible for 3% of total revenue and other activities 2%.

Looking at costs for Q4, cost of sales jumped 31.2% to £141.0m, administrative expenses were up 11.7% at £72.8m and net finance costs stood at £1.2m. However, even after accounting for £28.5m in net other gains, pre-tax profit was down 34.0% to £51.9m.

Kindred paid £1.9m in tax, leaving a net profit of £50.0m for the quarter, down 33.3% year-on-year and below expectations for the quarter.

“Several core markets continued to perform well during the quarter, with solid activity in France, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands contributing to total revenue of £305.5m, an increase of 25% compared to the same period last year,” Tjärnström said.

“The Netherlands continued to exceed our expectations with daily average gross winnings revenue of £600,000, and we remain firmly on track to being the number one operator in 2023.”

In terms of the full year, revenue was 15.2% lower at £1.07bn, with B2C revenue falling by 16.7% to £1.04bn, although B2B revenue jumped 486.4% to £25.8m due to the acquisition of Relax Gaming in the previous year.

Although Kindred did not publish a full breakdown of revenue performance for the year, it did go into detail on spending. Cost of sales was 4.2% lower at £484.9m, but total administrative expenses increased 20.3% to £283.6m and net financial costs were £4.5m.

Even after including £58.3m in net other gains, Kindred posted a pre-tax profit of £126.8m, down 62.6% year-on-year. The group paid £6.7m in tax, leaving a net profit of £120.1m, a 59.2% drop from £295.3m in the previous year. 

“2022 has been a difficult year in many ways, not only for Kindred,” Tjärnström said. “However, while the geopolitical uncertainty and cost-of-living challenges remain, the actions now taken and a large customer database from the fourth quarter will strengthen our path towards our 2025 financial targets.”

Pokie Surf, 24 Casino, Stellar Spins, Olympia Casino, Rock n Reels and Boomerang Casino were all found in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

As a result, ACMA issued a request for Australian internet service providers to block access to all six websites for players in the country.

Since ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019, a total of 686 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have been blocked in Australia.

In addition, more than 190 illegal services have pulled out of the country since ACMA began enforcing new illegal offshore gambling rules.

“ACMA is reminding consumers that even if a service looks legitimate, its unlikely to have important customer protections,” ACMA said. “This means Australians who use illegal gambling services risk losing their money. You can check if a wagering service is licensed to operate in Australia on our register.”

The latest blocking orders come after ACMA in November said it would focus on “affiliate services that promote and drive traffic to illegal online casinos”.

ACMA explained its actions for the July-September period, declaring affiliate services that drive traffic to illegal and offshore offerings while often posing as independent reviewers of gambling sites are its compliance priority.

Van Lambaart replaces Per Jaldung, who will step down from the role after eight years as chairman of the organisation.

An experienced executive, van Lambaart was named chief executive of Casinos Austria and Austrian Lotteries in March 2022 while he has also been a member of the ECA board since 2021.

Van Lambaart also had a six-year spell as CEO of Holland Casinos while, prior to joining the gambling industry, he worked in a series of other senior roles across the media, hospitality, event, marketing and entertainment sectors.

“I understand that it is a big responsibility to serve the ECA members in these challenging times for the casino industry,” van Lambaart said. “The licensed European casino industry continues to face great changes and even disruptions. 

“In the coming weeks, I will be working with the ECA members and the ECA board as well as our partners on the priorities for the future work of our association.

“I would personally like to thank Per Jaldung for his distinguished stewardship of the association and for his ongoing support, advice and leadership. I look forward to working with him in the future and wish him the best in his new ventures.”

In recognition of his service, the ECA presented Jaldung with the title of honorary president of the association.

“It has been an honour to serve as chairman of the ECA,” Jaldung said. “The greatest asset of this industry is its people, and I have been privileged in this role to have experienced the warmest of welcomes from across all countries and all roles and positions within the diverse and multi-faceted European and international land-based casino sector.

“It has not been a role without its difficulties, and the industry continues to face ongoing headwinds from multiple directions, but the members of the ECA, and especially this board of directors and the new chairman, can accept and master these challenges.”

Van Lambaart will be supported in his new role by senior vice-chair Pascal Camia and vice-chair Tiina Siltanen, while Yared Gabretensye, general manager of Casino Cosmopol, will take Jaldung’s seat representing Sweden on the ECA board until next year’s elections.

Amber Gaming, which operates the 7bet brand, and Top Sport were both found in breach of Article 10, Paragraph 19 of the Lithuanian Gambling Act, which relates to marketing and promoting gambling to consumers.

In the case of Top Sport, the operator was fined €25,000 (£22,228/$26,886) for emailing its customers on 31 August last year with links to and details of its gambling services. This included information about its mobile apps and website.

The Authority said that by informing customers about its offering, this was classed as a form of promotion, and therefore the operator breached national law.

Amber Gaming was found guilty of a similar breach in that between June and August last year, the operator sent out two emails to customers with information about how to create a password for their 7bet accounts.

The emails included a direct link to the password creation page, as well as banner graphics promoting the 7bet brand.

Again, the Authority said this constituted a form of marketing and promotion, and therefore was deemed a breach of Article 10, Paragraph 19 of the Lithuanian Gambling Act. Amber Gaming was fined €6,000 for the violation.

The Authority added that neither ruling is final and may be subject to appeal.

Both Top Sport and Amber Gaming have previously been fined for similar breaches of the Act, including Top Sport in November last year over its sponsorship of a prediction game for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Top Sport was also fined €15,000 last month after it was again found to have breached regulations in the country regarding CCTV at its retail betting facilities.

Amber Gaming was issued a fine of €6,789 in May 2022 for breaching laws regarding the promotion of gambling.