Month: March 2023

The company said that it will offer pre-match and in-play betting in its core markets ahead of the commencement of the NCAA basketball tournament March Madness. The expansion to new verticals will launch with 0% margin on pre-match markets for the tournament, which Betr said will have industry-best payouts during the event.

Co-founder and CEO Joey Levy said that the business was “excited” to be at the forefront of innovation efforts as it looks to expand its suite of product offerings.

“The core markets on Betr will be the first launch of Simplebet-powered core markets on any platform, so we are excited to be at the forefront of their innovation efforts as they continue expanding their suite of product offerings,” said Levy.  

The CEO said that the decision to launch first with only microbetting was a deliberate strategy to speed up the company’s time to market – and thus enable Betr to iteratively improve its product experience according to user data and feedback.

Levy added that the second rationale of this course was to “establish ourselves as the company, product and brand synonymous not just with instant gratification betting, which we believe will be the future of this industry, but to also be synonymous with doing things differently and being the first direct-to-consumer operator in the category to actually differentiate its product experience in an industry dominated by commoditised product experiences”.

The Simplebet co-founder elaborated on the company’s future growth plans.

“We are putting Betr on a path to establishing betting market coverage product parity with incumbent operators, which will include the gradual and methodical integrations and launches of core markets, parlays, props and many of the other betting experiences consumers can find elsewhere,” he said. 

Under the new rules, the profits distributed to these various bodies will be formalised, with each organisation receiving a set percentage of the proceeds. This differs from the repealed regulations in which the ministry had far more discretion over where the profits were distributed.

Gambling on horse racing in Norway is supervised by the state-owned monopoly of Norsk Rikstoto, which collects all legal pari-mutuel bets on the vertical. The profits from this company are then shared among a variety of Norwegian equestrian organisations in order to support the sport.

Distribution of profits

The new regulations outline that the Norwegian Trotting Association, the national harness racing association, is to receive 82% of the profits. The ministry says that the grant will be used to support the development of Norwegian harness racing, horse breeding and keeping. This will be accomplished through grants to racetracks, prizes for those working in the industry, support for voluntary activity and investments in training facilities.  

The ministry also say that Norwegian Gallop – the country’s horse racing association – will receive 9.2% of the profits from horse racing bets. This horse racing authority will be directed to use the money in a similar way to the Norwegian Trotting Association, by investing money in infrastructure and individuals involved in industry.   

The final portion of the profits, amounting to 5.8%, will be distributed to the Norwegian Horse Centre, a foundation that aims to promote the quality of horse keeping and breeding. The ministry said it will provide further guidance to the organisation about how the use the funds.  

The remaining 3% of the proceeds are to be awarded to equestrian bodies beyond the ones specifically listed by the ministry. In order to qualify, the organisation must be a non-profit that promotes Norwegian horse breeding, keeping and sports, as well as being in line with the state aid regulations.

In December, the Norwegian government announced it would be extending Norsk Rikstoto’s monopoly for a further 10-year term, making the Nordic country one of the last in Europe to retain such a system.

An experienced industry executive, Postiglione has worked for a host of businesses within the gambling sector, including a recent spell as a member of the executive committee at Fortuna Entertainment and as CEO of Hattrick-PSK in Croatia.

His other roles included general manager and CEO of online at Napoleon Sports & Casino, CEO of Neomobile Gaming and both head of Italy and managing director of international markets for Betclic Everest Group.

“I am thrilled to join Casumo, a company that I have long admired for its innovative and customer-centric approach to online gaming,” Postiglione said. “I look forward to leading the team as we continue to grow and deliver the best possible gaming experience to our players.”

Casumo co-founder Oscar Simonsson added: “Francesco is the ideal candidate to take the helm at Casumo and we are confident that he will bring his wealth of experience and passion for innovation to the role. 

“We are thrilled to welcome him to the Casumo Group and are certain that his expertise and leadership will take our company to new heights.”

For the three-month period, GGR amounted to €313.3m (£274.7m/$334.2m), which was also 27.1% higher than €240.8m in the third quarter of 2022, according to figures published by Spanish regulator Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ).

Breaking this down, sports betting GGR amounted to €141.4m, a 223.4% increase on the previous year, a 52.8% quarter-on-quarter and representing 45.1% of all GGR generated during the quarter. 

The DGOJ noted a 108.5% quarter-on-quarter jump in pre-match bets and a 13.8% increase in in-play wagers, while other bettings were up 86.8% and horse betting 63.6%.

Turning to casino and GGR was 32.4% higher at €142.3m, up 32.4% year-on-year and 11.1% higher than in Q3. The sector accounted for 45.4% of total GGR in Q4, marginally ahead of sports betting.

Slots GGR was 27.3% higher than in the previous year, while life roulette GGR was also up by 51.7%. 

Elsewhere, poker GGR was 26.8% higher year-on-year at €26.1m, representing 8.3% of the total market, though bingo GGR fell 11.5% to €3.6m and contest revenue also declined by 36.7% to €30,000. 

Rise of marketing costs

In terms of marketing costs, this amounted to €106.4m for the quarter, an increase of 13.9% on 2022 and 30.1% ahead of the third quarter of 2022. This included €51.7m in promotions spend, €38.7m worth of sponsorship, €14.6m in affiliation expenses. 

Monthly average active game accounts was 1,185,452, up 22.9% year-on-year and 21.1% more than in Q3, while monthly average new game accounts was 131,095, some 21.6% behind the previous year but 23.9% more than the Q3. 

By the end of the quarter, there were 78 licensed operators active in Spain including 54 casino operators, 45 for betting, nine poker, three bingo and two contests.  

FL Entertainment is the new name for the combined business created via a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Pegasus Entrepreneurial Acquisition Company Europe, with the new-look business having gone public in July 2022. 

The merger agreement covered all Betclic Everest subsidiaries, including Bet-at-home, and also featured television production business Banijay, which first merged with Betclic to create FL Entertainment before being combined with Pegasus.

Reflecting on the first six months of the combined business, FL Entertainment chief executive François Riahi paid tribute to the online sports betting and gaming, segment saying revenue here was “very strong”, despite a high comparison base in 2021. 

“2022 was an outstanding year for FL Entertainment,” Riahi said. “As a group, we delivered strong results in line with our guidance, demonstrated rapid progress against the strategy presented at our listing and strengthened our financial position.

“The overall number of unique active players increased by 25%, powered in part by our strong commercial performance during the football World Cup.

“Betclic has been the most downloaded sports betting app in our core markets of France, Poland and Portugal, and the second most downloaded across Europe, thanks to our state-of-the-art technology platform which leads the way in terms of reliability and efficiency. 

“Looking ahead we will capitalise on increased player numbers to drive continued organic growth at a high pace.”

Sports betting and gaming

Focusing on the online sports betting and gaming business, revenue for the 12 months to 31 December amounted to €835m (£733m/$890m), an increase of 12.8% from €741m in the previous year.

This growth, FL Entertainment said, was driven by a strong fourth quarter with increased activity surrounding the 2022 Fifa World Cup, which as switched from its traditional summer date due to hot temperatures in host nation Qatar. The World Cup contributed 7.5% of Betclic Group annual sportsbook stakes and 31.0% in annual new sportsbook unique active players. 

By division and including Bet-at-home, sportsbook revenue was up 13.8% in the full year to €670.1m, helped by a 25.0% rise in unique active players.

Online casino revenue edged up 2.7% to €104.8m helped by greater gamification and the roll out of new exclusive games. Online poker revenue also increased 13.1% to €49.9m, partly due to cross-sell during the World Cup, while other revenue in this business was up 60.7% to €10.3m.

Bet-at-home woes

Growth came despite a tough year for the Bet-at-home business. In September, Bet-at-home warned of an increased risk  it may not have sufficient liquidity to meet financial obligations when due, after a financial year heavily impacted by its exit from Austria.

The warning came in the context of a significant winding down of the company’s activities in other regions, most notably Austria. 

In October 2021, the business lost a legal battle against a consortium of players in Austria seeking compensation from unlicensed operators. Following this, Bet-at-home announced it would exit the market and also wind down the Maltese company set up to target it.

In July 2022, Bet-at-home “surrendered” its British licence and said it would permanently withdraw from the market. This followed the operator’s licence suspension by the Gambling Commission for suspected anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings.

Group performance

Taking a look at the wider FL Entertainment business, also including the content production and distribution arm, revenue in 2022 increased 15.7% to €4.05bn. Content production and distribution revenue for the year was 16.5% higher at €3.21bn.

Spending increased in a number of areas, leaving a pre-tax loss for the group of €4.2m, but this was an improvement on €24.2m in 2021. FL Entertainment paid €76.9m in income tax, meaning a net loss of €81.1m, compared to €73.4m in the previous year.

However, FL Entertainment noted that when excluding certain costs, namely €127.4m in restructuring costs and €147.5m in long-term incentive plan and employment-related earn-out and option expenses – and also including €112.9m in other financial income, this left a net profit of €306.7m, up 8.5% year-on-year.

“FL Entertainment’s first yearly results are a testimony to the strength of our business model,” Riahi said. “We are well positioned to reinforce our leading positions in our structurally growing markets in 2023 and continue to demonstrate our proven ability to delivery profitable growth at scale.”

Bruns, who will also join the Gauselmann management board, will assume his new role from 1 April and be tasked with strengthening the group’s land-based and online sports betting offering.

He will also oversee strategic expansion of the virtual slot gaming offering and advancing the internationalisation of sports betting and igaming.

Bruns will take on the new role having served as senior managing director of Gauselmann’s Merkur Casino International subsidiary since February 2017.

He has also been a board coordinator at Gauselmann since March 2014, prior to which he was managing director of automation machinery specialist Harting. 

“I would like to express my thanks for the trust placed in me and I look forward to tackling the challenging tasks that lie ahead,” Bruns saud. “The focus will be on the strategic expansion of the online and land-based sports betting offerings as well as on consolidating all worldwide online gaming activities. 

“Our goal is to create sustainable structures and products in order to consistently expand our market shares in the sports betting and online gaming markets and to successfully position the Merkur brand for the long term.”

Group founder Paul Gauselmann added: “His experience and expertise are excellent prerequisites for successfully managing the newly created Sports Betting & Online Gaming business segment.

“Sports betting and online gaming are promising prospective markets in which Mr Bruns will further grow and strengthen our business activities. I wish him a lucky hand and every success in carrying out his important and responsible tasks.”

Gauselmann promotions

The new appointment comes as Gauselmann this week also named Irina Ruf as managing director of international for Merkur Casino, replacing Bruns in his previous role.

Ruf has been working for the group for over 15 years, serving in roles within Merkur Casino such as head of business development, head of business development and operations manager and special task operations manager.

The regulator published the analysis in response to a press release issued by the sports betting trade association Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV). In the statement, the lobbying organisation used its own figures to argue that the regulated market was much reduced in 2022 compared to the previous year, arguing that this was a result of the rise in popularity of unlicensed operators – itself a product of overly punitive regulation.  

The regulator said that this conclusion “does not correspond” to its own findings.  

“According to our market analysis, the channelling rate is well over 95%, which means that apart from less than 5%, the betting stakes are placed with the permitted sports betting providers according to the tax data of the Federal Ministry of Finance,“ said GGL CEO Ronald Benter.

While the GGL did not dispute the DSWV’s characterisation that the total size of the German sports betting market declined in 2022, falling 5% from 2021 and back to 2019 levels, this was not primarily the result of black market entities eating into the licensed market, providing its own analysis of the situation.  

It argued that after the number of sporting events fell drastically from the Spring of 2020 onward, many competitions – such as the UEFA European Championship – were postponed until 2021. Subsequently, sales rose 16% in 2021, compared to a standard year.

The GGL further argue that the 2022 downturn was counter intuitively a result of the World Cup. A number of factors, including the very fact of the tournament taking place in Qatar, meant that the sporting event was not able to generate the enthusiasm that would be usual to the German audience. It is noted that many players adopted a generally critical attitude of the proceedings during the tournament.

The development of the illegal market

“We cannot find any crowding out of legal offerings by illegal offerings,” said board member Benjamin Schwanke. “The illegal websites mentioned by the DSWV are known to us and will be prosecuted under gambling law and, if necessary, passed on to public prosecutors, tax offices and the Central Office for Financial Transaction Investigations (FIU).”

In addition, there are stationary betting agencies that do not receive permission from the federal states, but are still active. It is the task of the federal states to take action against these unauthorized betting agencies. 

Schwanke stated his view that the DSWV’s call for loosened restrictions and a rethink of regulation is a result of the strict rules on gambling legislated by the 2021 State Treaty on Gambling, which created the German national gaming market.

“This may give the subjective impression that the providers are restricted in their actions by these rules,” he said. “However, the numbers speak a different language. The regulation has no economic impact.”

The GGL also indicated that it is in talks with industry stakeholders on whether there should be any necessary adjustments to the legal framework. It said that any changes needed must be proven accordingly.

“The GGL is picking up speed in the fight against illegal gambling, including in the area of ​​sports betting and related advertising. We will make success measurable on the basis of the data collected at GGL,” added Benter.

Earlier this week, the regulator urged licensed operators to betting cooperate with one another in order to improve the functioning of the country’s gambling market.

The two businesses have a 12-year history of working together.

Included in the extension is an increase in the amount of Playtech Self Service Betting Terminals (SSBTs) in Betfred shops. Playtech reports that terminal numbers have grown by 50% in the previous two years and installing more will help meet customer demand for sports betting SSBTs.  

Additionally, the terminals will also feature horse and dog racing for the first time.

“This new deal demonstrates the importance of our ongoing relationship with market leader Playtech,” Betfred group chief operating officer Mark Stebbings said. “The importance of betting terminals to our retail offer continues to increase, becoming an increasingly essential gaming component for our customers and, therefore, a crucial part of the future of our company.” 

“Looking ahead, there is scope for further development of the partnership as we look to increase the use of Playtech SSBTs even further, bringing new and exciting betting experiences to our customers across the UK.”   

Playtech chief operating officer Shimon Akad added: “Betfred is one of the most established and respected businesses in the gambling industry, and over the course of our partnership, the business has gone from strength to strength.  

“Expanding the capacity of the Betfred offering through both more terminals and an ever-increasing range of betting events and exciting features has been a key pillar of our work together as we continue to develop new technologies aimed at digitising the retail space and adapting to the changing Retail customer demands.”  

Under the agreement, Hard Rock will have its own grandstand structure adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip, where part of the race will take place, with capacity to hold up to 3,000 fans over the race weekend.

Hard Rock-owned The Mirage will host a series of F1 events and provide hospitality options to fans, while the operator will also work with the Las Vegas Grand Prix team to launch a made-for-Vegas educational program with a focus on global hospitality.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Revenue for the month amounted to $412.2m, up from $373.3m in the same month in 2022 but 5.7% behind the $436.9m generated in January of this year.

Physical slot machines remained the core source of revenue in the state, with the $159.3m collected in February being 3.5% ahead of the previous year. However, land-based table games revenue slipped 4.9% to $55.6m, though this was the only segment to experience a decline.

Read the full story on iGB North America.