Player spending for the month amounted to $57.2m, down 14.0% from $66.5m in the same month last year and also 23.1% behind the $74.4m wagered in December 2022.
Turning to revenue, this reached $5.1m during January, representing a 21.5% decline from $6.5m in the corresponding month in 2022 and a 54.9% drop from $11.3m in the final month of last year.
Sara Lee Moon was booked on four counts of first degree theft after a criminal investigation into a series of thefts that dated back to 2019.
WSGC agents conducted a routine inspection of gambling records at the VFW in February of last year and discovered that $300,000 of funds were missing from the organisation’s gambling and bar accounts.
The CEO Water Mandate aims to mobilise business leaders to commit to meaningful action across key elements and report annually on their progress, as well as identify and reduce critical water risks to their businesses, seize water-related opportunities, and contribute to water security and UN Sustainable Development Goals
Some 230 companies from across a range of industries and regions have signed up to the initiative.
MGM Resorts set out its Global Water Policy last year after revealing that between 2007 and 2021, the operator reduced water use by 37% and avoided use of 5.6 billion gallons through conservation and water-efficient building and design initiatives.
The Ministry of Justice is to send in a proposal to the government to regulate sports betting, potentially bringing a process that first began in December 2018 to a successful conclusion.
Many had feared the path to regulated sports betting had been blocked by former president Jair Bolsonaro failing to ratify regulations late last year, meaning the government had failed to regulate within the four-year window set out by the 2018 legislation.
This is the latest twist in a more than four-year saga since the country’s legislature voted to legalise both land-based and online sports betting in 2018.
The news was first published on the blog of Brazilian sports journalist Juca Kfouri, who cited José Francisco Manssur, special adviser to the executive secretariat of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, as the source.
According to Luiz Felipe Maia, partner at Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados, recent months have seen a number of match-fixing scandals which have increased public pressure for reform and have triggered a response from the president.
“Without regulation, and with such a huge amount of betting operations from offshore, the Brazilian leagues are an easy prey for fraudsters,” says Felipe Maia. “It was a matter of time until it created a series of scandals that could result either in the regulation or the shut down of the market.”
Additionally, the lawyer says that regulation may prove useful for other purposes as well.
“The minister of finance, Fernando Haddad, is under a lot of pressure to look for new sources of revenue for the government,” he says. “The regulation of sports betting comes in good time.”
According to Neil Montgomery, founding and managing partner of the Brazil-facing Montgomery & Associados law firm, Manssur is a lawyer from São Paulo and a specialist in sports law who was involved in the legislation that created the SAF – Sociedade Anônima do Futebo, a special model of incorporating companies designed for Brazilian football organisations.
Manssur has worked in government before and is considered to be trusted by the country’s ruling Workers Party.
According to Kfouri, the ministry will send a proposal to the president’s chief of staff’s office at Civil Hill – a cabinet level office in Brazil – to regulate the offering of online sports betting within the country.
If approved by the government, the department will promulgate a provisional measure (PM), along with a number of ordinances, that will create the regulatory regime for online betting in Brazil.
According to Montgomery, it is widely expected that the PM will amend the country’s sports betting law to add additional safeguards and penalties.
“It can potentially also amend other federal laws, including the anachronic Criminal Contraventions Law, which contains the general prohibitions on games of chance in Brazil,” says Montgomery.
He adds that the PM may take the form of a decree signing on the 2018 regulations by current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which were vetoed by the outgoing president in December. This could be supported by an additional Portaria – that is legal document – from the Ministry of Finance.
A PM is a type of presidential decree that has power of law and lasts for 60 days, with the option of extending that period by another 60 days.
In order to become permanent, the PM must be approved by the country’s congress. The prospects of the pronouncement’s success in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate is yet to be seen.
“This is one of the concerns around the process: the government may lose control of the legislative process and the final result may be different from the original proposal,” says Felipe Maia.
“The provisional measure may also be used by the congress to expedite the discussions around the legalisation of gambling in general.”
According to Montgomery, the PM will probably be sent on or around 27 February, after the Carnival break.
According to Manssur, the regulations will require betting sites to be headquartered within the country, as opposed to the current arrangement where almost all online bookmakers are located abroad.
This would be to facilitate dialogue with the sector, the collection of tax revenues and the inspection process.
The location of betting businesses domestically would also allow for the government to have increased power in combating the degree of money laundering within the industry – which is a key goal of regulation.
The special advisor has said that the key stakeholders have already been engaged with the regulation process.
These consultations have included a number of government entities including the Ministry of Sport, the Central Bank, the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Sporting bodies such as the Brazilian Football Confederation and Olympic Committee have also been involved, as well as industry voices and betting associations.
Manssur also indicated that the government will rely on technological solutions provided by foreign providers in order to effectively inspect the industry for illegal offerings and instances of match-fixing – with suspicious bets to be blocked.
If made permanent, the publication of these regulations will end the four-year limbo since the Senate passed Federal Law No 13,756 in 2018, legalising both online and retail fixed-odds sports betting.
Following the passage of the law, the government had a two-year timeframe to create and publish regulations – with the option of an additional two-year extension if required.
The government gave Brazil’s Secretariat of Evaluation, Planning, Energy and Lottery (SECAP) the responsibility of consulting with industry creating the regulatory regime. After opting to extend this meant that the final deadline was the 12 December 2022.
In May 2022, SECAP published the regulations – with included a large licence fee of BRL22.2m (£3.55m/€4.03m/$4.3m).
However, the president was required to sign off on the final regulations in order for SECAP’s proposal to become law.
Outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro opted to leave the final regulations without final confirmation, effectively vetoing them. This left a great deal of ambiguity in what the future of Brazilian sports betting would be
While the initial plan failed, Felipe Maia argued that perhaps efforts were not entirely in vain.
“The work that was done by SECAP in the past four years will surely be the basis for the current regulators,” he says. “Especially if the intention is to regulate sports betting in the next weeks.”
Whatever comes next, the Ministry of Finance publishing new regulations means that legalised online sports betting in Brazil is one step closer to reality.
The operator posted year-on-year growth across all its operating segments, though it was the digital segment that experienced the largest percentual increase during the 12 months to December 31, 2022.
The full-year results were also helped by what chief executive Tom Reeg said was a “strong” performance in the fourth quarter, during which the operator benefited significantly from its sportsbook offering.
The internet gaming revenue consists of combined online gaming and sports betting revenues for the month.
December’s total revenue was $201.6m.
The group said it was able to finish 2022 with a “flourish” and despite ongoing uncertainty over the global economic outlook, is in a “fantastic” position to pursue its growth goals in 2023 and beyond.
This came after supplier last month forecast its operating profit would skyrocket to €150.0m (£132.2m/$159.6m) by 2027, with revenue expected to be between €300.0m and €500.0m.
At the time, Kambi said the main reason for this growth would be an expected expansion of its total addressable market, especially in the US. Chief executive Kristian Nylén (pictured) reiterated this in his analysis of Q4 and the 2022 full year, saying the business is ready to build towards these targets.
“The year finished with a flourish with the business delivering across several key areas, providing the perfect springboard into 2023,” Nylén said. “The global economic outlook might be uncertain, but we have a proven, robust business, one which is ready to meet any challenges that lie ahead.
“With a clear focus on the updated strategy we detailed at our Capital Markets Day, we are ready to build towards the financial targets we’ve set ourselves for the coming years.”
In the hours after the results were made public, Kambi’s share price increased, with the price at time of writing SEK210.10, up 16.35% on the opening price.
Looking at Q4, revenue was 65.6% higher year-on-year at €57.8m, though Kambi said this included a €12.6m termination fee from Penn Entertainment in relation to the migration agreement reached in October 2022. Without this fee, revenue increased 29.5%.
Kambi said year-on-year revenue growth was primarily down to its launches in a number of new US states in 2022 including New York, Maryland, Kansas and Washington, as well as a strong sporting calendar in the quarter that included the Fifa World Cup and several major US sports events.
In terms of geographical performance, the Americas contributed 58% to the revenue total in Q4, with Europe at 42% and rest of world 3%, which Kambi said evidenced its “healthy” geographical diversification.
Turning to spending, total expenses – comprising operating costs and all amortisation and depreciation expenses – were 8.6% higher at €30.2m. Kambi also reported €157,000 in net finance costs, leaving a pre-tax profit of €18.5m, up 172.1% year-on-year.
Kambi paid €3.4m in income tax, resulting in a net profit of €15.1m for the quarter, a rise of 147.5% from €6.1m in 2021. In addition, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than doubled from €13.4m to €27.3m.
As to how this impacted the full year, revenue for the 12 months through to 31 December was €166.0m, up 2.22% year-on-year. However, when excluding the €12.6m termination fee from Penn, revenue actually fell 5.5% to €153.5m.
Total expenses increased by 24.5% to €131.2m, while after also including €1.2m in financial costs, Kambi posted a pre-tax profit of €33.6m, down 40.2% year-on-year.
The group paid €71.m in tax, leaving a net profit of €26.5m for the full year, a 42.9% drop from €46.4m in the previous financial year. In addition, EBITDA was 19.6% lower at €63.4m.
“Looking back on the full year, it was one where Kambi was able to make significant strategic progress,” Nylén said. “Whether it was securing partnership extensions with Kindred and Parx, the numerous new partners we signed, the leap forward in our UX capability through the acquisition of Shape Games, the continued modularisation of our service to increase our addressable market or the development of our algorithmic trading capability.
“All these achievements and more saw us enter 2023 in a fantastic position, one which was quickly strengthened by the extended partnership agreement with Rush Street Interactive in January.”
The group said it had identified three significant growth initiatives that it intends to focus investments into over the next year, which will in turn lead to further growth across the business.
First, Raketech intends to reduce the total number – but improve the quality – of consumer products over time, with the group to focus its efforts on flagship products and popular, established brands.
Secondly, Raketech said it had identified a large and growing market for AffiliationCloud, leveraging on the increasing demand for smart infrastructure in affiliation services. In addition, the group intends to add affiliation to its US pickster assets describing this as an “untapped” growth opportunity.
Adopting this approach, group chief executive Oskar Mühlbach said, would help the group to achieve its growth targets in 2023 and also support expansion plans in the longer term.
“These three growth initiatives, in combination with the ongoing global shift from offline to online gambling, puts us in a good position for continued expansion of our business,” Mühlbach said.
“We expect the core Affiliation Marketing segment to continue to deliver growth and EBITDA margins in line with, or above, the group’s previous financial targets. Further, in line with the strategic decision to expand the Saas product AffiliationCloud and the US Tipster services, the composition of the group’s revenue and profit streams has changed.”
Looking at Raketech’s performance in 2022 and focusing on the fourth quarter first, revenue for the three months to 31 December was €15.7m, up 32.5% on the previous year. This, the group said, was driven primarily by an increase in sub-affiliation and affiliation marketing, and also helped by recent acquisitions focusing on US sports.
Affiliation marketing revenue increased by 16.2% to €10.3m, while sub-affiliation revenue was 53.7% higher at €3.5m and betting tips and subscription revenue hiked 175.1% to €1.9m. New depositing customers also increased by 27.7% year-on-year across the group.
Casino revenue climbed 24.6% to €11.5m, sports betting revenue increased 60.2% to €4.2m, and other revenue was 100.0% higher at €10,000.
In terms of geographical performance, Nordics revenue was €6.5m, accounting for 41.3% of all revenue in the quarter. Rest of Europe revenue was €644,000 (4.1%), US €2.4m (15.6%) and rest of world €6.1m (39.0%).
Looking at spend, total operating expenses were 38.5% higher at €11.1m and net financial cost hit €6.3m, leaving a pre-tax profit of €3.6m, up 16.9% year-on-year.
Raketech paid €128,000 in tax and also noted €828,000 in deferred tax, meaning it ended the year with a net profit of €2.7m, down 7.1% on the previous year. However, Raketech said adjusted EBITDA was 15.9% higher at €6.3m.
Looking at the full year, revenue increased by 36.7% to €52.6m. This included €35.2m from affiliation marketing, up 18.4% year-on-year, while sub-affiliation revenue jumped 25.9% to €11.2m and betting tips and subscription revenue rocketed 709.0% to €6.3m.
Casino revenue was 18.4% higher at €37.3mm while sports betting revenue also increased by 121.3% to €15.3m. However, other revenue was 14.5% lower at €112,000.
Turning to geographical performance, Nordics revenue hit €23.4m and accounted for 44.5% of all revenue. Rest of Europe revenue was €2.6m (5.0%), US €7.7m (14.7%) and rest of world €18.8m (35.8%).
Operating expenses increased by 38.0% to €40.3m and net financial costs reached €2.3m, resulting in a pre-tax profit of €10.0m, up 31.0% on 2021.
Raketech paid €487,000 in tax and noted €1.2m worth of deferred tax, leaving a net profit of €8.3m, up 16.8% on the previous year. In addition, adjusted EBITDA was 22.4% higher at €20.2m.
Based on this performance and its forward plans, Raketech said revenue in 2023 is likely to amount to between €60.0m and €65.0m, both of which would be an improvement on the 2022 results.
In addition, EBITDA is expected to amount to between €20.0m and €24.0m, including operational costs of approximately €2.0m for the year as an effect of Raketech taking over Casinofeber and Infinileads, following the end of the earnout period.
“With our diversified portfolio within affiliation marketing, sub-affiliation and betting tips & subscriptions, we believe we are well-positioned to capture the many opportunities presented by the rapidly growing global digital gambling market,” Mühlbach said.
“And I look forward to leveraging on our position as the preferred igaming performance marketing partner for our customers.”
The new duty will come into effect from the 2023-24 financial year and remain in place until 2027-28, with the HKJC to pay a total of HK12.00bn over the five-year period.
Confirmation of the new duty comes after the HKJC last month hit out at plans to increase the region’s football betting duty, warning that any permanent increase could “irreversibly” damage its business model.
The HKJC repeated this during the budget consultation, noting that Hong Kong’s betting duty rates are already among the highest in the world and any increase could benefit illegal and offshore betting operators.
In addition, the HKJC said that such increase would adversely impact on the Club’s ability to contribute to the community through its donations to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust on a sustainable basis.
However, with Hong Kong still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic both economically and socially, the Club said it understands the rationale behind the government’s decision to impose additional football betting duty on a temporary basis.
The HKJC also committed to maintaining its current level of charity donations to the local community – which amounted to HK$4.5bn in 2021-22 – during the five-year period.
“The Club reiterates the paramount needs to maintain our global and sustainable competitiveness, to effectively combat illegal and offshore betting operators, and to seize the market opportunities through strategic investments in our IT systems and racing assets to strengthen our role as an international racing and wagering hub, similar to the role of Hong Kong being the Country’s International Financial Centre,” the HKJC said.
“In this regard, we strongly appeal to the government to critically review and reduce the betting duty rates on a long term basis, which are the highest in the world, in particular on horse racing which stand at 72.5% to 75%.
“Moreover, we need the support of the government for the Club to bring in more simulcast and world-pool opportunities. Furthermore, we also request the government to commence a review on the licensing conditions imposed on football betting, with a view to giving the Club the much needed flexibility and competitiveness to respond to the ever increasing competitions and challenges from illegal and offshore betting operators, and to mitigate the impact of the decrease in revenues due to the additional football betting duty payment.”
Although the group did not disclose the entity that had agreed to acquire Bethard, it did state the purchase price comprised €1.65m in cash on closing and an additional €6.5m attributed to its release from payment of contingent consideration liability from the Bethard purchase.
The purchaser will also assume liabilities of approximately €1.2m, while terms of sale allow for a cash holdback of €150,000, which may be retained by the purchaser should liabilities exceed agreed amounts in the purchase agreement.
The sale of the Bethard business is expected to close during the two-week period following the signing of the purchase agreement (14 February) subject to certain closing conditions.
Licensed in Malta and Sweden, Bethard was only acquired by Esports Entertainment in July of 2021, with the group having purchased Gameday Group’s B2C business, operating as the Bethard brand.
Then-Esports Entertainment chief executive Grant Johnson said at the time that the deal would “substantially” increase its revenue and available markets.
The planned sale of the Bethard business follows the group’s announcement in December that it was closing its Argyll business in the UK.
With the sale of Bethard, and the closing of the Argyll business, the group said that it plans to focus on its Lucky Dino igaming brands that operate on its proprietary Idefix platform.
“I am very pleased at the work that is being undertaken to reduce debt and focus on our core igaming and esports assets,” Esports Entertainment chief executive Alex Igelman said.
“We remain committed to building a world-class esports gambling operation that is global in reach and that provides esports content and strategic services to those involved in esports gambling, as well as those seeking to enter the market.
“I am extremely encouraged and pleased with the speed and efficiency in which senior management effectuated these important actions.”
