In the new role, Hurst will create and implement strategies to accelerate 888’s presence in the region, primarily in the US and Canada.
He will be responsible for leading business development, collecting competitive intelligence and providing operational strategy and direction, including working with strategic partner Authentic Brands Group to further develop the Sports Illustrated brand presence.
The data came from Spillemyndigheden’s StopSpillet helpline, which provides support to those who may be experiencing problem gambling behaviours.
The regulator said StopSpillet had received close to 2,500 calls since it was first established in 2019.
As part of the helpline, callers are asked when they placed their first bet. The data shows that 88% of players had said that their first bet was placed when they were aged 25 of younger.
The percentage of players who placed their first bet before the age of 17 was 50%, despite the regulator noting that the age requirement to gamble in Denmark is 18.
The data also revealed that callers have been experiencing problem gambling behaviour for approximately two years and seven months before they contact StopSpillet.
Relatives of problem gamblers account for 39% of all calls to StopSpillet, and half of these calls come from parents of players.
Of these calls from relatives, 17% came from partners and 17% came from siblings.
The Select Committee launched in December last year due warning “that more needs to be done” to protect people. The body will examine the government’s approach to gambling regulation, as well as related issues such as innovation in the sector and the connection between broadcasting and sport.
The Committee’s work is occurring separate to the Gambling Act review, the formal government process of creating new gambling laws “for the digital age”. The long-awaited product of this process, the Gambling Act Review white paper was released at the end of last month and recommended a number of specific policy proposals.
The individuals representing the treatment organisations echoed some of the criticisms that followed the release of the white paper. These included the number of measures that have been put out to consultation, the relative lack of action on gambling marketing and well as the multiple delays that characterised the issuing of the document.
Chief executive of gambling treatment provider Gordon Moody, Matthew Hickey, in particular singled out this “treading water” phase of white paper delays as having a negative effect on his organisation’s work.
“The last year whilst the white paper was going through its various different iterations made it a very difficult year for us actually deliver services,” he said.
One issue that concerned the committee is the seeming rise in the prevalence of gambling addiction prevalence when measured by the demand for the services of the treatment providers.
While all of the charities represented were cautious to say that this could potentially be a consequence of increased public awareness of treatment, the possibility of higher absolute addiction rates was not ruled out.
“We have seen over the last few years that applications to our organisation have increased,” said Hickey. “What we are seeing is that the volume of applications has increased from some 500 per year before Covid hit, to some 250 per year during the Covid period, to some nearly 1,000 applying during the last financial year.”
“Why is that? Well, one we’ve raised our awareness and we think the public in general are more aware that there is treatment available,” he continued
“If the number is 400,000 people that are saying that they are problem gamblers, or the number is 1.4 million that are saying are problem gamblers, we would guess – and I emphasise the word guess – that there are substantially more out there that need help, who have either not realised that they need help, or are hiding their addiction and will only come forward when it’s at real crisis point.”
Meanwhile, chief commissioning officer of GambleAware Anna Hargrave painted the issue as one of public health. She emphasised the point that the estimates of gambling harms vary greatly and therefore called for enhanced research to solve the issue.
The Gambling Commission is currently in the process of creating a new harms survey to better understanding the prevalence of gambling harms in the UK.
Hargrave also pointed out that the effects of gambling differ greatly between different demographic groups and seek access to treatment services at different rates.
“Although minority communities are less likely to gamble, the harm that they experience is greater,” she said. “Whereas in the white British community gambling harm is around 20%, it increases to around 40% in those minority communities.
“We know that we are not reaching everyone we need to reach through – which is why our stigma campaign has been so critical in raising the issue and encouraging people to come forward to talk about, because only then will we be really to understand the depth of the issue.”
Chief executive of treatment and awareness organisation GamCare, Anna Hemmings, also made the point that prevalence differs to a large extent on geographic as well as demographic factors.
“Prevalence estimates vary widely and we need significantly more research to firstly understand what population level prevalence is but also what the impacts are on particular groups,” she said.
“That might be different demographic groups or different geographic groups – the prevalence rates differ around the country. What we notice actually about callers to the helpline is that they are relatively young, around 60% are under 35, so age is a factor as well.”
Paysafe said it continued expand its sales organisation to drive new customer acquisition, cross-selling, multi-product sales and geographical expansion during the Q1, with new launches in Massachusetts, Washington and Ohio among its highlights.
With Paysafe now powering payments for online gambling operators across 27 states and jurisdictions, chief executive Bruce Lowthers said recent launches and planned expansion over the coming months will drive growth in line with expectations in 2023.
“We kicked off 2023 by delivering our strongest quarterly revenue since going public,” Lowthers said. “Revenue increased 7% and adjusted EBITDA increased 5% year-over-year on a constant currency basis, fuelled by double-digit growth from our classic digital wallets as well as e-commerce.
“We are confident in maintaining our full year outlook and remain very pleased with the progress of our sales transformation initiative, which is driving cross-selling and higher value client wins.”
Total revenue for the first quarter was $387.8m (£309.8m/€366.2m), up from $367.7m in the previous year. Paysafe noted that when excluding a $7.3m unfavourable impact from changes in foreign exchange rates, total revenue increased 7.0% year-on-year.
Breaking this down, merchant solutions revenue climbed 8.4% to $208.5m, due to growth from e-commerce as well as the SMB market in North America.
Revenue from digital wallets edged up 2.0% to $181.4m, driven by underlying growth from igaming and digital, as well as interest revenue on customer deposits, offsetting the impact from the war in Ukraine. Paysafe also accounted for $2.1m in intersegment revenue, taking this away from the final revenue total.
Turning to spending and costs of service increased 8.0% to $158.9m, remaining the primary outgoing for Paysafe. However, costs were down across selling, general and administrative and restructuring and other expenses, while impairment costs were slashed from $1.21bn to just $82,000.
Paysafe also noted $34.9m worth of net finance costs, leaving a pre-tax profit of $71,000, in contrast to a $1.21bn net loss at the same point in 2022.
The group paid $3.8m in income tax, resulting in a net loss of $3.8m, compared to $1.17bn in the previous year. However, when including a $2.2m gain on foreign currency translation, net loss was reduced to $1.6m, in contrast to $1.16bn last year.
In addition, adjusted EBITDA improved by 3.7% year-on-year to $107.8m for the quarter.
Other income of €2.5m brought the total revenue for the year to €424.8m, up by 19.4% compared to Q1 2022.
Gugliemo Angelozzi, CEO of Lottomatica, said the business’ record performance during the quarter signified a strong start to the year.
“We started the year with a record performance, continued in April, laying the foundations for a solid performance in 2023,” said Angelozzi. “Revenues increased in all operating sectors, contributing to the growth of adjusted EBITDA, with the online operating segment breaking previous records in terms of market share and performance indicators across all our brands”
“I want to express my gratitude to all my colleagues for these extraordinary results, achieved thanks to their incredible dedication and commitment”.
Lottomatica said its online segments hit a new record during the quarter.
The operator’s online sports betting offering accounted for €110.0m of the total revenue. This division generated 18.1% market share. Lottomatica said these results were adjusted for the pro forma effects of its acquisition of Betflag, which occurred in November 2022.
Online revenue hit €124.0m, an increase of 39.3% year-on-year. Online gaming also generated market share of 18.9% during the quarter.
Lottomatica’s gaming franchise revenue was €188.0m for the period, up by 10.6%.
The cost of services for the quarter was €247.0m, a rise of 16.9% yearly, which delivered a significant blow to the final total. This was the highest cost of the quarter by far.
The second-highest cost came from depreciation and write-downs of tangible assets, which totalled at €38.0m. This was a decrease of 5.3% yearly. Financial charges came to €37.4m, and personnel costs totaled at €24.4m.
Other operating costs and charges incurred €6.9m in costs. Devaluation of receivables and financial assets at €637,000 completed the total expenses for the quarter.
Following financial income at €12,000 and income from valuation of equity investments at €104,000, the pre-tax profit was €70.2m, up by 31.8%.
After income taxes of €23.8m – up from €18.5m – the profit for the period was €46.4m, up by 33.8%.
Playmaker characterised the “strong growth” as a consequence of the deepening engagement the business has achieved with sports fans in North America.
Chief executive Jordan Gnat emphasised that continuing growth in the year ahead would be driven by intensifying the Playmaker integration efforts and advancing operational efficiencies throughout the business.
“Efforts are underway to integrate our affiliate business, Wedge, with our scale of audience across the Americas,” said Gnat.
“We see a strong organic revenue opportunity here and will continue to work to optimise our growing audience through our full-service monetisation stack – programmatic, direct sales, direct-to-consumer, and affiliate – while delivering our fans the best local, relevant content that is available when, how and where they want it.”
Playmaker reported revenue of $15.7m in the first quarter, a 190.7% increase from the $5.6m the business achieved in the same period the previous year.
Of this $9.7m comprised Playmaker’s digital media business, while $6.0m resulted from the organisation’s affiliate business.
Excluding the financial impacts of the company’s October acquisition of igaming affiliate Wedge Traffic, the business experienced 69% growth over Q1 2022.
In terms of adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation or amortisation (EBITDA), the business recorded $5.9m, an organic increase of 76%.
The purchase of Wedge significantly affected the business’s costs and expenses, with the total increasing to $10.9m from the $5.6m achieved in the prior period.
Overall, the business received $160,900 in net profit in Q1, compared to the $3.4m loss Playmaker reported the previous year.
“We are very pleased with the revenue growth we delivered in Q1, but even more importantly, profitability continues to improve, with adjusted EBITDA growing faster than revenue during the period,” said chief financial officer Mike Cooke.
Cooke said that the business’s increased profitability and EBITDA margin was due to improving efficiencies across the business.
“As of March 31, 2023, we have sufficient cash-on-hand to continue to execute against both organic and inorganic growth opportunities in a focused, strategic way.”
Texas’ House of Representatives voted in favour of HJR 102 last week. HJR 102 is a constitutional amendment which would give state citizens the chance to vote online sports betting into law.
HB1942 accompanied the amendment, and also passed through the House by a 82-51 vote.
Bally’s Corporation highlighted the potential “transformational” impact of the $1.5bn baseball ballpark project on the company’s database as an important part of the business’s global, omni-channel strategy.
The agreement is subject to the passing of legislation for public financing, and approval for relocation by Major League Baseball.
Legislators in Nevada will be soon be asked to approve $395m of public financing for the project.
GLPI have additionally agreed to fund up to $175m towards certain “share improvements” at the site in return for a commensurate rent increase.
“We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location,” said Oakland Athletics’ president Dave Kaval.
“We are thrilled to work alongside Bally’s and GLPI, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring the Athletics to Southern Nevada.”
Under the plan, Bally’s and GLPI will assign nine acres of the 35-acre site that is located on the Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue to the Oakland Athletics or related stadium authority. The venue is at present planned to accommodate approximately 30,000 fans at a time.
As a provision of the deal, Bally’s retains the ability to assign the rights to all aspects of this development and has received material interest from development partners.
Under the deal, Aristocrat will pay $29.50 per share in NeoGames in an all-cash transaction. This represents a premium of approximately 104% over the volume weighted average price of NeoGames’ shares for the three months to 12 May, the last trading day prior to the deal.
The agreement terms stated NeoGames would transfer its statutory seat, registered office and seat of central administration from Luxembourg to the Cayman Islands. An Aristocrat subsidiary would then merge with NeoGames, with the latter being the surviving company and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Aristocrat.
NeoGames’ board unanimously approved the deal, while NeoGames shareholders who hold 20,382,242 shares, representing approximately 61% of NeoGames’ outstanding shares, have executed a support agreement with Aristocrat to vote in favour of the transaction.
Subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval of NeoGames’ shareholders, the acquisition is expected to close within 12 months.
“The NeoGames team has built a great company with a strong platform and differentiated assets and we are pleased that Aristocrat recognises the value we’ve created as a leader across ilottery, igaming and online sports betting,” NeoGames chairman John E. Taylor, Jr. said.
“After careful consideration, the board determined that Aristocrat’s proposal provides shareholders with compelling value, further validating the strength of the business that NeoGames has built. We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which we believe benefits all of NeoGames’ shareholders as well as our various stakeholders.”
Aristocrat chief executive and managing director, Trevor Croker, added: “Through the acquisition of NeoGames and its industry-leading global online RMG platform, this transaction will deliver on our strategy by providing a portfolio of end-to-end solutions for igaming, ilottery and online sports betting operators globally.
“We see great opportunities in the combination of our complementary businesses, with clear revenue and growth potential that comes with a complete and seamless online RMG solution.
“This proposed acquisition builds on the strength and resilience of our business, expands market opportunities and adds capabilities to unlock our full potential. We remain focused on executing our proven growth strategy and creating long-term value for Aristocrat shareholders.”
The announcement comes after NeoGames last week revealed amortisation and interest expenses related to its acquisition of Aspire Global pushed the business into a net loss in its first quarter.
A 187% year-on-year increase in revenue, which rose to $64.2m from $22.4m the business achieved in the same period of the previous year, reflected “primarily” the business combination with Aspire.
Completed in June 2022, the $423.5m deal saw the business merge with the igaming solutions provider, then CEO Tsachi Maimo becoming company president and leading the newly formed igaming division. This igaming segment reported $35.1m in revenue in the first quarter of 2023.
The business’ ilottery segment – which was not affected by the acquisition – grew 8.7% on an annual basis to $14.4m from $13.3m.
Under the agreement, which remains subject to shareholder approval and certain regulatory and other conditions, PointsBet will retain both its Canadian and Australian business and operations and continue as an Australian Stock Exchange-listed company.
PointsBet will keep hold of its proprietary sports wagering, racing and igaming platform and be granted a perpetual, royalty-free licence to exploit the Banach technology assets, which were acquired by PointsBet in March 2021.
The deal also states that PointsBet will retain its teams in Australia, Canada and India, as well as its Australian-based technologists, traders and quants.
Other aspects of the deal include that PointsBet will provide services to FBG prior to the final closing of the deal and be reimbursed for the cost of these services by FBG.
In addition, the existing commercial commitments to NBCUniversal will be transferred in full to FBG, while NBCUniversal released PointsBet from guarantee obligations under its media services agreement and waived its right to exercise equity options previously issued.
PointsBet shareholders will vote on the proposed acquisition at a meeting late next month, with the PointsBet board having unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the deal.
Should the transaction go through, PointsBet would distribute to shareholders the net sale proceeds, after applicable taxes and transaction costs, together with the majority of its corporate cash reserves that will be surplus to the needs of the remaining business. This distribution of capital is estimated to be approximately AU$1.07 to AU$1.10 per share.
