Month: March 2023

Under the arrangement, ZonMw will launch a research program entitled the ‘Prevention of Gambling Addiction’, with the aim of helping the regulator tackle gambling-related harm among consumers in the country.

The program launched on 1 March, with a call for grants having been issued to researchers that work within prevention and treatment of gambling addiction, gambling-related harm and gambling problems.

Researchers have until 5 May to register for their grant and get involved with the program.

The initiative forms part of the Addiction Prevention Fund, which was established as part of the Dutch Remote Gambling Act, which came into effect in April 2021 and marked the launch of the country’s online gambling market. 

Managed by KSA, the fund supports research on gambling-related problems across both the online and land-based areas, with the new initiative to cover the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction these areas.

KSA fines

The partnership comes after KSA last week issued over €26.0m in fines to five operators after ruling they breached rules by offering online gambling in the country without a licence.

Penalties were given to N1 Interactive, Videoslots, BetPoint Group, Probe Investments and Fairload Limited in December 2022, but were not published until 3 March after the operators asked the court to stop the fines being made public.

However, the court turned down the request earlier this week, allowing KSA to publish the details of each case in full. 

N1 Interactive was handed the largest fine of €12.6m for a repeated violation, having first been penalised in July 2021 for the same offence of operating without a licence in the country.

Under the deal, EstrelaBet will remain as the team’s master sponsor for the next three years, with is branding to continue to appear on the back of players’ shirts.

The operator will also work with the club on a range of other fan-focused initiatives over the course of the partnership.

EstrelaBet began its partnership with the club last year, at a time when it also entered into a deal with another Série A team in Athletico Paranaense.

“EstrelaBet’s support brings news that our fans will like, reinforcing the brand’s confidence in the history and greatness of the club,” Internacional president Alessandro Barcellos said.

EstrelaBet’s head of sponsorships Rafael Zanette added: “Renewing this link was the natural path because it is much more than a sponsorship contract, it is a true partnership, which yields great results. We have no doubt that it will be a huge success.”

The 2023 Série A is due to kick off on 15 April.

Bojoko Bingo allows players to learn more about bingo offerings in the UK by providing access to up-to-date information about UK bingo brands.

Every brand featured on Bojoko Bingo will be checked by a member of the affiliate’s team. The team are tasked with combing through every aspect of a bingo brand prior to its approval for the list.

Bingo brands must also be licensed by the Great Britain Gambling Commission to feature on Bojoko Bingo.

Joonas Karhu, CEO of Bojoko, said that the affiliate company’s recent success led to the decision to incorporate bingo operators.

“We are thrilled to officially launch Bojoko Bingo,” said Karhu. “This comes off the back of achieving big things in a small space of time with Bojoko Sports Betting.”

“This success encouraged us to look into other verticals and with bingo being so popular and such fun to play, it was the natural choice for us.”

Karhu added that this new step was challenging at times.

“Launching something new is always exciting but it does come with challenges,” he continued. “For this, it was mostly around code and recruiting the right people.”

“We were incredibly lucky with the latter and have welcomed additional people to the team which now stands at 15 highly talented individuals with extensive knowledge of the industry.”

“Cracking the code was a bigger undertaking, but the work the team put in means that we can now easily add and manage verticals on the Bojoko platform.”

Bojoko Bingo is currently live, with several bingo operators listed. More are expected to be added at a later date.

Chapman, a member of the Mohegan Tribe, has been with Mohegan since 2007. He was named PR manager for the Mohegan Sun, the group’s flagship property in Connecticut, in 2015.

As PR director, Chapman will guide the public relations team and strategize goals for the department, working closely with corporate leadership, Mohegan Sun leadership, corporate communications and Mohegan PR firm, Coyne PR.

For the full article, visit iGB North America.

The company developed its Marketing Affiliate Licensing Portal to help sports betting and igaming affiliates acquire licences in the US through a range of services.

The tool will provide affiliates with information on licensing and compliance-based topics, as well as give them the ability to automate the submission process for licences.

Once submitted, affiliates will also be able to use the tool to track and manage the status of applications.

Odds On Compliance will supply services from its team members, which will provide support and guidance for affiliates throughout the application process.

Eric Frank, CEO of Odds On Compliance, believes the new system will ultimately make the lives of affiliate bosses easier.

“At Odds On Compliance, we are committed to leveraging technology to make compliance easier and more efficient in order to help our clients achieve regulatory compliance while minimising the impact on their bottom line.”

“The Marketing Affiliate Licensing Portal is intended to shed light on the licensing process for affiliate marketers and is a key part of our strategy to provide the industry with the tools needed to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-changing regulatory landscape”.

The portal has launched initially in the beta stage for early adopters, with a full rollout expected to follow soon.

Shortly after the third quarter, RSI said it had become more “disciplined” and “efficient” with its marketing spend, with the aim of targeting markets in which it could experience the highest returns.

While marketing spend increased in the final quarter of the year, chief executive Richard Schwartz said the operator remained committed to a more selective way of spending, with the idea of prioritising investments in certain areas.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Under the multi-year agreement, Sportradar will supply Ballers with its Orako sportsbook solution, with Ballers planning to fully integrate this with R. Franco Digital Player Account Management technology to allow for omni-channel betting.

Ballers customers will have access to Sportradar’s betting portfolio, enabling them place a range of bets such as parlays, in-game wagering, teasers, futures and player props across their favourite sports.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

For the month to 31 January 2023, the gaming operator reported a profit of NZ$14.6m (US$9.1m/€8.6m/£7.6m), which was $0.3m above budget. In the sixth monthly trading update for the 2022/23 financial year, this was the first time the operator has posted a profit above budget.

Turnover of $230.1m was 0.9% above budget, in part thanks to a strong racing and sports calendar.

Following on from December, overall field sizes across all three racing codes in January were again either up on, or on par with, the year-to-date average. The peak meeting turnover of $6.6m was on 21 January for the Karaka Million at Pukekohe. 

Test cricket proved an attraction for sports customers, with the second test between Pakistan and New Zealand, as well as the third test between Australia and South Africa, topping the list of sports events by turnover for January. Basketball was the leading in-play sporting code accounting for 36% of in-play turnover and also topped pre-match singles with 31% of pre-match turnover.

TAB NZ said average weekly customer numbers climbed to an average of 78,000 since August, up from 70,000 for the same period in the previous year. TAB NZ has also won back a number of high value customers from offshore competitors, which has helped to strengthen turnover.

Gross betting revenue of $36.8m was above budget by 0.9% and gross betting margin of 16.0% was in line with budget.

Operating expenses were $11.2m for the month, which was $0.8m above budget. This was due to an increase in technology spend, strengthening the Elite customer proposition and expenses associated with the final phase of identifying an international wagering operator as a potential strategic partner, to support materially boosting the fortunes of racing and sport as well as enhancing the customer experience.

The business’ $14.6m profit was made up of betting profit of $13.3m, which was 0.2% above budget, while gaming profit of $1.3m was 0.1% above budget. Racing codes were paid $13.4m in distributions and other payments for January, versus $15.8m budgeted.

On 10 March, online sports betting will become legalised in the state. Ten sportsbooks have already received licences to operate web and mobile sports gambling.

The Denmark-based affiliate will launch with its Action Network and Vegas Insider brands, which the company say have already been receiving visitors from Massachusetts.

The legalisation will enable Better Collective to provide residents on the site with betting information on providers.

In its open meeting on 23 February, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission agreed to replace the existing language in its regulation. The language banned affiliates from the market by prohibiting cost per acquisition (CPA) and revenue share agreements.

Marc Pedersen, CEO of Better Collective US, believes that the decision from the regulator will provide a bright future for the company in the state.

“We are pleased to learn about the decision of the MGC to provisionally allow CPA and revenue share in Massachusetts,” said Pedersen. “For us as a group, we are excited to be able to help guide and educate the large sports fan base in Massachusetts into their first online sports betting experiences.”

“The state has a very successful sports history, and we are confident the future with sports betting will be equally as successful,” the Better Collective US CEO went on to add.

Regulation change

The MGC also confirmed that they have been working on amendments to the regulations of both licensing for sports wagering vendors as well as sports wagering advertising.

These amendments are currently still in a period of consultation and will be voted on during an open meeting on 23 March 2023.

The licence will enable LVSports Limited, an entity of LeoVegas Group, to offer its virtual slot games in all 16 German states.

LVSports and LeoVegas will also be able to conduct nationwide marketing across Germany to promote its offering to players in the country. 

“We are looking forward to launching LeoVegas in Germany under the new nationwide licence,” LeoVegas Group chief executive Gustaf Hagman said. “With our track record of regulated markets, we will ensure the greatest igaming experience with a high level of consumer protection.”

The licence comes after LeoVegas last month posted an operating loss for the final three months of 2022 as increased costs took a chunk out of flat revenue.

In a trading update for the three months to 31 December 2022, LeoVegas – which was acquired by MGM Resorts International late last year – said total revenue stood at €99.5m, which was up 1% year-on-year.

Despite the takeover, LeoVegas must still report its own quarterly report as it still has bonds on the Nasdaq Stockholm corporate bond list.

Also last month, LeoVegas sold its 25% share in online gambling venture BeyondPlay to Bettor Capital, an investment platform focused on the real-money igaming market, for €1.9m.