Month: February 2023

Revenue for the year was 66.5% higher than P34.48bn in the previous year, with gaming responsible for P55.05bn of total revenue, a 68.7% year-on-year rise.

PAGCOR said its record performance was helped by the relaxation of measures related to the pandemic, with Filipino borders having been reopened to local and foreign tourists.

As a result of the increase, Pagcor’s contribution to nation-building also jumped by 51.30% to P34.67bn. Of this, P26.15bn was sent to the National Treasury as a 50.0% share.

Pagcor also allocated P3.63bn for the government’s socio-civic program, as well as P2.75bn to the Bureau of Internal Revenue as 5% franchise tax and P33.76bn the Board of Claims under the Department of Justice received P33.76m.

In addition, P1.30bn was issued to the Philippine Sports Commission, a further P64.39m as sports incentives and benefits, while cities hosting Pagcor’s Casino Filipino branches were given P451.72m.

“Looking at Pagcor’s upward revenue trend since the first quarter of 2022 up to the end of the year, as well as the recovery path of other gaming hubs in Asia like Singapore and Macau, we are confident that the Philippine gaming sector will be able to fully recover, or even surpass its pre-pandemic earnings soon,” Pagcor chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said.

“Since the lockdowns were eased in the country last year and gaming venues reopened, customer confidence slowly returned and the attendance in our owned casinos slowly improved. Our licensed casinos likewise recorded a major revenue growth.”

GiG will consolidate the assets in question from today (31 January). The transaction is set to take place through a share purchase by Innovation Labs Publishing – a subsidiary of GiG – of the total issued shares of Catena Publishing Limited and Catena Media doo Beograd.

A total of €20m (£17.5m/$21.6m) will be paid today, with the remaining €10m and €15m being paid on 31 January 2024 and 31 January 2025 respectively.

GiG said it is “eagerly anticipating” the opportunities that will arise from the acquisition of Askgamblers.

Its management has a strategic plan in place to merge GiG’s SEO and marketing technology with Askgamblers’ extensive knowledge.

The brand will serve as a flagship domain for the media division, GiG added, that would be central to plans to drive revenue and earnings growth.

“We are thrilled to add another top casino affiliate site to our portfolio, and believe it holds immense growth potential,” said Richard Brown, CEO of GiG. “The acquisition also broadens our geographical footprint and increases revenue diversity both geographically and client wise, reducing the overall operational risk.”

Strategic review

GiG agreed to acquire Askgamblers in December last year. The deal followed a strategic review launched by Catena in May in which the business announced that it would consider selling the AskGamblers brand.

At the time, Catena said that the reason for the review was a “strategic interest from third parties to acquire certain assets”. iGB subsequently reported in November that the affiliate business was close to finalising the sale.

Massachusetts is due to open its regulated sports betting market today (31 January), with the self-exclusion initiative allowing people to opt out of betting with licensed online and land-based operators in the state.

Consumers wishing to register for the scheme can do so via GameSense either over the phone, online or at land-based GameSense centers within Massachusetts.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Renamed “Game Break”, the new-look programme will feature additional elements including an active reinstatement process for individuals who choose to return to play, offering players better support who feel that returning to gambling is right for them.

The terms of enrolment for the scheme will remain the same, with players able to choose to enroll in Game Break for a six-month, one-year, two-year or three-year term.

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In a trading update for the three months to 31 December 2022, the Australia-headquartered, ASX-listed gaming group said its turnover during the period was AU$1.33bn (US$935.3m/€862.9m/£757.6m), which was up 56% year-on-year. Gross win was up 14% year-on-year to $113.8m.

Within total turnover, US contribution was $1.05bn, which was up 75%, while gross win was up 32% to $41.6m. PointsBet – which launched in four US states during the year to 31 December 2022 – said the performance was attributable to a strong trading performance in October and November, although there was short-term negative VIP variance late in the quarter. It said in-play betting was a major contributor to its success and made up 53% of overall handle, compared to 47% in Q2 FY2022. US cash active clients was up 39% compared to the same point in the previous year.

Australian turnover was up 29% to $938.5m, with gross win up slightly to $93.5m. This performance was driven by US sports, football, cricket and tennis, as well as the introduction of products such as Odds Factory initiatives like Same Game Multi.

Earlier this month, PointsBet announced it is in discussions to sell its Australian arm to NTD Limited, the News Corp-led business behind Australia’s Betr brand.

Following PointsBet’s launch in Ontario last April, turnover in Canada reached $80.4m, which was up 284% on the previous quarter. Gross win in Canada was up 121% to $3.5m.

Increased operating costs

While PointsBet welcomed record quarterly receipts from customers, it saw an increase in the cost of its operations. It spent a total of $67.5m on marketing during the period, which was up on the $54.7m spent in the previous quarter. However, it said it expects marketing expenses for the full year to be around US$90m compared to US$118m in FY22.

Cost of sales was up by more than 50% quarter-on-quarter to $61.3m. PointsBet said US business development costs were driven by state launches in Maryland and Ohio, with the group now active in 14 states.

Net win from sports betting totalled $88.2m in Q2 2023, which was up 23%, while igaming was up 183% to $15.2m. Total net win was up 34% year-on-year to $103.4m.

In another announcement, PointsBet’s US operations will be boosted in the coming years by a two-year extension to its partnership with NBCU, which was initially a five-year deal running until 2025.

The extension amends the initial deal terms to reduce PointsBet’s annual ad spend commitment with NBCU properties and to shift some of its ad spend obligations to more regional NBCU assets.

PointsBet will be required to spend roughly $58m per year on marketing with NBCU channels, compared to the roughly $90m per year spend that was required when the initial deal was signed in 2020. The total committed marketing spend for the remaining next five years of the deal between August 2022 and August 2027 is $294m.

The deal also expands PointsBet’s media integrations from NBC Sports properties only to more regional properties within NBCU’s portfolio and its parent Comcast’s portfolio, including Peacock, USA Network, Comcast local TV ad network Effectv and CNBC.

Under the agreement, Betsson will have access to Greco’s gameplay risk engine to facilitate real-time behavioural risk-based segmentation, customer account actions and player communications that Greco said can help prevent high-risk behaviour at first sign.

Betsson’s analytics previously worked with Greco on other projects and the new partnership will extend this relationship to the operator’s wider business.

“We value their advanced and ground-breaking approach to detecting unfavourable player behaviour and developing better strategies on mitigating such risks,” Betsson’s director of analytics Dragica Krsteva said. “We are thrilled to be early adopters of their new technology and we are excited for the future of our partnership with Greco.”

Greco chief executive and co-founder Ozric Vondervelden added: “We are incredibly thrilled to welcome Betsson Group as a partner. Our goal is to determine the behavioural risk and theoretical value of every player under every circumstance. These metrics have the power to reshape the industry. 

“Betsson has a world-class analytics team, and as we continue to develop the Greco platform and sandbox new features, their feedback is going to be invaluable.”

The partnership comes after Betsson earlier this month closed down its formerly Dutch-facing brand Casino Winner, having blocked all customers from the country in 2021.

Betsson operated the brand through its Corona Ltd subsidiary, which controls both the Casino Winner and Loyal Casino businesses. The sites, previously known as Kroon Casino and Oranje Casino properties respectively, are controlled via the MGA-licensed subsidiary Corona.   

Betsson acquired both properties in 2014 “based on the outcome of the anticipated re-regulation in Holland,” from three entrepreneurs for €130m.

However, it would be another seven years before that regulation came into effect.

Player spending in December amounted to $59.2m, which was 7.8% higher than $54.9m in the same month in 2021, and only slightly lower than $61.2m in November.

Of this total, $36.7m was spent betting online, while the remaining $16.5m was wagered by consumers at the state’s two retail sportsbooks, split $15.3m at Twin River and $7.2m the Tiverton Casino.

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H2 Gambling Capital produces state by state, monthly online, retail and total US sports betting market share data by operator, utilising state-reported data and estimates for states where data isn’t reported, as well as incorporating company reported data.

FanDuel’s dominant position

FanDuel has become the clear market leader in terms of online sports betting. While other operators may have managed to generate a similar market share of handle in some states, FanDuel’s structurally higher margin (due to a superior parlay betting product and arguably best in class risk management) has led to a substantial market share lead in terms of gross win. 

While the focus is on gross win, a number of states split out promotional activity, and share of net revenue is the key metric. Looking at a state such as Pennsylvania shows that there can be material discrepancies between the share of sportsbook handle, gross win and net win between operators.

A number of operators have recently announced that they are leaving the US sports betting market, as it has proven very difficult to achieve medium-term profitability as a sub-scale operator. 

How will US sportsbook market share evolve?

In terms of how market share may evolve over time, if we look at mature online sports betting markets, many of them have high levels of concentration of leading operators.

Australia has the highest concentration of market share, with the top operator (Sportsbet – Flutter) having grown organically to achieve 43% market share and the top three operators achieving 81% market share.

Flutter also has the highest market share in the UK at 40%, although this was built through M&A between three major brands. 

While Italy remains a relatively fragmented market, this has always been the case – whereas the US market appears more likely to have a similar market concentration to that of Australia or the UK in the medium term.

Is the podium for US betting positions fixed?

However, that is not to say that the current market leaders will remain the same. In the UK and Australia, there have been shifts in market share over time as certain operators have garnered substantial market share from nothing. There is no reason that one of the leading brands in the US over time could be one that is not currently one of the top five or even top 10 operators.

Market share change can evolve slowly over time, or it could be the result of a specific event. In the UK, SkyBet became a market leader through its focus on mobile betting, while in Australia, Entain became a market leader through M&A activity. In terms of the US market, the most likely events to drive substantial market share change are:

a change in market dynamics as operators look to shift from top line growth to profitability, leading to a reduction in promotional spend and potentially lower investment in products by some operators in an attempt to balance the booksthe increasing sophistication of customers, meaning that product becomes even more important than promotions or brand – this could be driven by the growing significance of a strong and diverse in-play product offeringM&A activity to generate scale through inorganic means

The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority (SPBA) found that TV4 breached the Radio and Television Act with its recurring segment where guests play Svenska Spel’s keno and scratchcard products. The SPBA ruled that the segment was advertising rather than editorial, as TV4 claimed, and failed to meet advertising guidelines.

The cases will now be submitted to the administrative court as SPBA’s review board decided to apply for TV4 to pay a special fee for the violation.

SPBA noted that Svenska Spel covered costs for the productions at the same time that TV4 received additional compensation. While TV4 said the compensation was sponsorship, the SPBA board said it considered that it is advertising in the sense of the Radio and Television Act.

Violation of law

The SPBA explained: “Marketing must be designed and presented so that it is clear that it is marketing. According to the Radio and Television Act, there must be a special signature that clearly distinguishes the advertisements from the other content before and after each advertisement.

“Since there was no such signature that clearly distinguishes this advertisement from the other content, a violation … has occurred. TV4 has therefore violated the provision on advertisement signature.”

BOS, the country’s online gambling trade association, welcomed the ruling, saying it filed a complaint over the segment some ago. Its complaint further claimed that the segment failed to provide any consumer protection as required by law, something the SPBA does not address in its statement.

Gustaf Hoffstedt, BOS secretary-general, said: “Today’s decision is a victory for thousands of Swedes who want to engage with the gambling market in a safe and regulated manner. There should be no confusion about what constitutes gambling advertising or special schemes that circumvent the statutory disclosure requirement for the 18+ age limit or information about the national problem gambling helpline. We are pleased that the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority has reached the same conclusion.

“The decision by the authority will help level the playing field on Sweden’s gambling market. By claiming that the keno and scratchcard segments did not constitute advertising, Svenska Spel was able to promote their monopoly products outside of regular advertising spots, gaining an unfair advantage over its competitors. We welcome today’s decision and hope it marks the end of covert advertising practices in the gambling market.”

B2B permits

Last month, BOS welcomed plans for B2B permits in Sweden, but raised concerns that regulator Spelinspektionen may overestimate the impact these will have on channelisation.

The government of Sweden announced a bill that would, among other things, require B2B online gambling suppliers to obtain permits to do business with licensed operators. This, it hopes, will reduce illegal gambling in the country, as suppliers that offer their services to operators targeting the Swedish market could have their permits revoked.

Sports betting was officially signed into law in August last year by then-Governor Charlie Baker.

After the 21 November deadline to apply for licences passed, the MGC revealed that 15 operators had submitted applications. Initially, 29 operators expressed an interest in applying.

Read the full story on iGB North America.