Month: February 2023

Flows customers can deploy Ibex’s retention solutions thanks to the partnership. The technology uses machine learning to analyse and predict customer responses to marketing campaigns. 

Ibex selects the best promotion to maximise individual customers’ lifetime value, as well as selecting the ideal channel, message and timing to push the offer.

Its bonus optimisation tool performs a full profit-loss calculation for each player, factoring in all financial parameters and optimising for a business’ key performance indicators. 

“We are delighted to welcome Ibex.ai into our Flows pre integrated exchange network, providing a cutting-edge machine learning solution that can help reduce bonus expenditure and boost profits for all partners involved,” Flows chief executive James King said. 

“Through our strategic partnership, we are committed to providing customers with an objective solution. We offer them the flexibility of choosing whom they work with and how without compromising on efficiency.”

Thanks to the no-code platform customers will be able to access the tools without any integration or manual data exchange. Through a pre-built template, it can be activated with a click.

The Flows platform is “the perfect complement” to ts self-driving retention solution, according to Ibex.ai head of business development Thomas Aigner . 

“This collaboration will enable us to offer CRM teams a hybrid model that provides manual journey control where necessary, while also fully automating retention activities for parts of the player base,” he explained. “We are looking forward to seeing the first results from operators taking advantage of our pre-built journeys.” 

In recent months, Flows’ customer base has grown with new clients including Italian operators Vincitù Group and Octavian Lab, as well as Norwegian gaming community hub Kongebonus. 

Lars Rosenberg, a well-known presence in the industry, passed away earlier in February. The whole iGB team sends our sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues.

“I will never have a friend like him again,” Harald Pia says of his best friend and business partner Lars Rosenberg (pictured above left), who passed away earlier in February. That clarification, he says, would have been important to Rosenberg; the friendship was more important than the business relationship.

The pair worked together for over a decade, since 2012, and in that time were responsible for a number of online gaming brands, such as Fight Club Casino, Axe Casino and Oshi Casino. 

Rosenberg came into the gambling space through boxing, having run an agency working with influencers and social media promotions, and previously managed German boxer Christina Hammer, whose Lady Hammer nickname provided the brand for Fight Club Casino’s first iteration. 

He met Pia, who had been covering the gambling sector for one of the world’s largest affiliates, in 2012 and the pair realised that after the alcohol sector, casino operators were the second most prominent sponsor of the sport. “There was a lot of ambassadors for online casino, but no fighter owned the casino,” Pia recalls. 

This prompted the pair to join forces to invest in the sector, and upon entering the industry Rosenberg found “he was born for it,” Pia says. 

“Lars was like a battery for affiliates”

His energy and enthusiasm for the sector made him a valuable partner for affiliates in the sector. “Lars was like a battery for affiliates,” Pia continues. “Everyone was looking to tap into his contacts, so we were getting the best deals. 

“This helped us find new partners, to establish new brands, and we then sold our shares to found Fight Club Casino and Axe Casino, which are fully owned by us.”

Pia, who previously worked with HBO’s pay per view pioneer Mark Taffet on creating storylines for fighters in the run-up to fights, had the connections in the boxing world. Rosenberg, he says, provided the contacts in the industry, ensuring their ventures succeeded. 

“We trusted each other 100%, so it was not necessary for us to do things together. If Lars was in a meeting, it made no sense for me to be in it, and vice versa. We had our business, we had minimum two hours of calls together, but for our daily jobs, each of us did his own thing.”

He admits the pair would disagree on some matters, but would publicly support the other’s decisions no matter what. “I would never say anything negative to anyone else,” Pia adds. If he decided to do something, I would support him.

“And he would do the same for me; we sometimes had totally different attitudes to things, but if you asked him whether my decision was right, he would always say yes.”

Continuing Rosenberg’s legacy

Pia sees Rosenberg as the industry’s equivalent of a boxer that could feed off a crowd’s energy, even when it was negative. “They don’t need to have everyone on their side, they don’t need the crowd’s applause. Lars was the same. He could generate energy from stress, but that is dangerous.”

Ultimately, he will remember his partner as “the guy who called me every day to ask how I was and what he could do for me”, even checking in on health issues and recommending visits to the doctor. But Pia says that he was so strong-willed that he dismissed his own health issues and advice, and recommends that others in the industry look after themselves. 

“As big a tragedy as it is, with his mindset, which on one hand gives so much energy to himself and others, there was no way to prevent this.”

And Rosenberg will have a legacy, he adds. As someone who “lived” the gambling business, there are enough projects in the works to last the rest of Pia’s lifetime. These projects, in turn, will ensure Rosenberg’s family and children are provided for, will have the best support and the best education available. 

“It is now my job to ensure our business runs as well as it did before.”

Lars Rosenberg – 1977 – 2023

Tabcorp experienced a significant uptake in its digital offering during the pandemic when many of its land-based venues were forced to close or were forced to operate under strict measures to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Since returning to normal operation, many players have continued to gamble with Tabcorp’s digital services, and despite digital revenue within its wagering and media business having fallen year-on-year in the first half of FY23, the operator said digital has a bright future.

During the six-month period, digital market share reached 25.1%, representing the first time market share held, while the launch of its new app helped increased active digital customers by 8.3%.

“Today we release TAB25 – our target for Tabcorp by FY25,” Tabcorp chief executive and managing director Adam Rytenskild said. “I’m excited to announce that we are targeting 30% digital revenue market share by FY25. 

“We’ll do this with a transformation of our entire wagering ecosystem, including new products for punters, a reinvigoration of Sky Racing that will include a greater integration with TAB and the implementation of our new marketing strategy. 

“The successful launch of the new TAB App, which helped us retain digital market share despite the introduction of a new competitor, has provided a strong launch pad to reach our 30% target.

“We’re also targeting a reduction in our operating costs to $600m-$620m in FY25 as we fast track our Genesis transformation program. Now that our demerger has been successfully implemented we are in a position to create a new operating model that is simpler, more agile and delivers faster for customers. 

“The cost discipline will also deliver stronger results for shareholders.”

Half-year breakdown

Looking at the first-half results in full, revenue increased 10.6% year-on-year to AU$1.15bn (£660.1m/€743.3m/US$792.7m) in the six months to 31 December 2022. 

Wagering and media revenue amounted to $1.17bn, up 8.6% on the previous year. Digital revenue fell from $579.0m to $493.0m, but land-based revenue jumped from $276.6m to $437.4m following the return to normal retail operations.

However, despite the digital decline, and the drop in turnover from $5.26bn to $4.92bn, Tabcorp noted an increase in active users from 780,000 to 797,000, which demonstrated a lasting demand for digital despite the full reopening of retail.

Turning to gaming services, revenue here was 35.9% higher at $108.8m. This comprised of $57.9m in integrity services revenue, up 31.9% year-on-year, while other venue services revenue also increased 42.6% to $50.9m.

In terms of spending, operating expenses for the six months reached $323.2m, up 4.1% on the previous year. Tabcorp also noted $519.8m in variable contribution and $123.4m in depreciation and amortisation costs.

When also accounting for $14.1m in net finance costs, this left a pre-tax profit of $64.1, compared to a $41.7m loss at the same point last year. Tabcorp paid $12.4m in income tax, leaving a net profit of $51.7m, down 70.4% from $174.5m last year, though the FY22 figures included now-discontinued lottery operations.  

In addition, Tabcorp noted that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations before significant items increased by 23.6% to $196.6m.

“I said in our FY22 results that we had drawn a line in the sand and we have,” Rytenskild said. “We are delivering on our actionable priorities for FY23. 

“Our revenue and EBITDA has rebounded from the challenges of COVID, our new TAB App is live and the strength of the product ensured we retained digital revenue market share for the first time in four years.

“This rapid transformation shows our strategic direction is the right one.”

The agreement runs through to the 2024-25 season, with the competition to be renamed the Stoiximan Super League with immediate effect.

Stoiximan will also benefit from a branding presence inside stadia, work with the league on a range of social initiatives and launch a series of actions to improve the fan experience at matches.

“2023 is a pivotal year for Stoiximan, marking the completion of our first decade of life and our entry into a new period of growth,” Stoiximan vice president Panos Konstantopoulos said.

“Our scope of cooperation goes beyond a typical sponsorship cooperation and extends to the expansion of the social footprint of Greek football, which is always the basis of our cooperation.

“We want to be a positive factor for the further development of football and as such we perceive our role as sponsors and naming partner of the Greek Super League.”

Panathinaikos currently sit top of the 2022-23 Super League, four points ahead of AEK Athens in second. 

In his new role, Bamber will work with the Midnite team to support the development of the provider’s existing and future products across sports betting and esports.

Bamber joins Midnite from Sky Betting & Gaming, where he spent that last 18 months as a product designer, working on the BuildABet project and building SkyBet’s ‘Olympia’ design system. 

Prior to this, he was a product designer for Housemates, while he also spent time working in designer roles for Vibe Tickets and VibePay.

“It’s a really exciting time to join Midnite and I’m looking forward to working with the team as we continue to improve the product, introduce great new features and add more verticals we know fans will love,” Bamber said.

Midnite co-founder Nick Wright added: “Lewis’s arrival is a coup for our growing company and his achievements at Sky Bet show he has an outstanding track record. We’re in a period of phenomenal growth at Midnite and we have huge ambitions to continue our progress. 

“World-leading product design and user experience are top of our priorities as we continue to create innovative, engaging products and Lewis is the perfect fit to play a key role in helping us achieve our goals.”

A deal to sell the land-based casino was agreed in June last year and was due to be completed in the first half of 2023. The transaction will be settled in cash.

After taxes and estimated fees, MGM said it expects to receive $350.0m in proceeds from the sale.

In line with this agreement, MGM’s master lease with Vici Properties that currently includes the Gold Strike property will be amended to reduce the annual rent by $40.0m to $730.0m to account for the sale.

Vici also entered into a triple-net lease agreement with CNB, with initial total annual rent set at $40.0m for 25 years and three 10-year tenant renewal options. Rent will then rise each year by 2.0%, with escalation of the greater of 2.0% and CPI, capped at 3.0%, from year 11 of the agreement.

Read the full story on iGB North America

The deal will give Betsson and its customers access to Pariplay’s complete Wizard Games portfolio, as well as more than 14,000 products on its Fusion aggregation platform.

The Fusion platform consists of all Wizard Games titles along with games from other third-party studios.  

“We are constantly striving to grow within important markets and this deal with Betsson is an important one in strengthening our hand across regulated territories within Europe” said Andrew Maclean, vice-president of sales at Pariplay.   

“The Fusion aggregation platform will serve Betsson’s players with the widest range of games, while also adding value for the operator through a set of cutting-edge engagement tools. It is the next step in what I believe will be a long, successful alliance.” 

Laura Perreta, supplier relations manager at Betsson, said that the deal would provide Betsson’s players with a wide range of content.

“Pariplay has access to a huge breadth of content from both well-established and ambitious independent studios, so it’s a great moment to sign a deal that increases the options available for our players,” she said.

“The variety of content we now have access to is sure to engage our audience in the many established regulated markets in Europe and beyond that we are active in.” 

The news of the deal closely follows Betsson’s announcement of its “best ever year” following a record fourth quarter.

Between November 2019 and June 2021, Blue Star was found to have failed to comply with several sections of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), which all licensees in the British market must abide by in line with their licences.

The regulator identified failings in Blue Star’s implementation of AML policies, procedures and controls, as well as deficiencies in its responsible gambling policies, procedures, controls and practices and weaknesses in its reporting arrangements.

Specific breaches were identified in reference to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of licence condition 12.1.1, which require compliance with the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Paragraph 1, or 12.1.1(1) requires licensees to conduct an effective and appropriate assessment of the risks of their business being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. However, the Commission said Blue Star’s assessment did not explicitly acknowledge certain high-risk factors or customer risks, as was therefore deemed inadequate.

For 12.1.1(2), licensees must have appropriate policies, procedures and controls to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The Commission said this was not the case and singled out a number of failings, including that the financial controls to automatically limit the amount customers could deposit were too high and that some players could deposit large amounts before satisfactory risk profiling could occur.

Next, 12.1.1(3) states licensees must keep their policies under review and update them as necessary. Breaches included some players being able to gamble at high velocity before automated restrictions were applied to their account and that in some cases, source of funds was not requested until a later stage of the business relationship with the operator.

The Commission also referenced a breach of paragraph 1 of licence condition 12.1.2, Anti-Money Laundering Measures for operators based in foreign jurisdictions, as a result of its failing in terms of licence condition 12.1.1.

A further breach was noted of licence condition 8.1.1, which states licensees must display certain information on every screen of their website. This includes a statement they are licensed, their account number and a link to their licensed status on the regulator’s website. The Commission notified Blue Star this link did not work but was immediately corrected. 

Customer interaction

Finally, the Commission said Blue Star failed to comply with paragraph 1b, 1c and 2 of the Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP) 3.4.1 on Customer Interaction. 

Paragraph 1 states that licensees must interact with players in a way which minimises their risk of gambling harm, including (a) identifying those who may be at risk of or experiencing gambling harm, (b) interacting with those customers, and (c) understanding the impact of the interaction on the customer. Paragraph 2 adds licensees must take into account the Commission’s guidance on customer interaction.

Breaking down the specific failings here, the Commission said Blue Star did not have dedicated compliance staff to monitor safer gambling alerts overnight and that players who reached safer gambling triggers overnight would be manually reviewed the following day. This process meant some customers could hit several safer gambling triggers without risk assessments and interactions occurring in real time.

Next, the Commission said Blue Star did not implement high-velocity risk alerts, which allowed some customers to spend at high velocity without interactions in real time.

The regulator also said financial risk alerts in place at the time of the assessment failed to give adequate consideration to average discretionary income data and failed to identify customers at the earliest opportunity. 

The Commission added that Blue Star could have better evidenced how customer interactions were evaluated for their effectiveness, while the operator did not act quickly enough to identify and interact with two customers reviewed by officials during the assessment, despite both exhibiting signs of potentially problematic gambling.

Ruling on the case, the Commission considered a number of aggravating factors including the serious nature of the breaches, impact on the licensing objectives and the need to encourage compliance among other operators. It also took into account the extent of steps taken to remedy breaches, Blue Star’s early recognition of failings and its cooperation.

The Commission agreed a regulatory settlement that included the £620,000 payment in lieu of a financial penalty, with this to be directed to social responsible causes, as well as a payment of £3,571.25 towards its own investigation costs. In addition, it was agreed the facts of the case would be published. 

The initial deal was struck in September 2021, with the Bears having agreed to pay $197.2m to acquire the 326-acre site, which is currently home to Arlington Heights Racecourse.

The racecourse opened in 1927 and upon closure had a capacity of 35,000 seats. The venue had not hosted any form of racing since the deal with the Bears was agreed in 2021.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Nikolakopoulos will assume responsibility for the US business and the group’s wider growth plans in the country.

Nikolakopoulos takes on the role having served as deputy CEO of the core Intralot business and on its board since 2019. He joined Intralot in 2007 and has held a number of other senior roles across the group, such as group chief operating officer and group chief commercial officer.

Read the full story on iGB North America