Month: June 2023

House Bill 127 was introduced earlier this year and passed through the state’s House and Senate before landing on Scott’s desk last week.

Scott, a long-term supporter of sports betting, signed off on the bill yesterday (June 14), clearing the way for the market to open next year.

“I first proposed Vermont legalise sports betting several years ago and I’m happy the legislature has come to an agreement, as well,” Scott said. “We know many Vermonters already participate in the marketplace and bringing it above board provides important resources and consumer protections.

“Vermont now joins many other states who have made this move, and I want to thank Commissioner [Wendy] Knight and her team, as well as members of the legislature for their collaborative approach on this issue.”

Read the full story on iGB North America.

EveryMatrix reached the milestone in May, while the provider also surpassed four billion monthly game rounds during the same month.

Monthly casino turnover hit €2.00bn in May 2021, before rising to €3.00bn in February 2023 and €4.00bn just three months later in May.

The provider took four years to reach the two billion rounds mark in July 2022, but was able to double this figure in the 11 months that followed.

EveryMatrix also noted that monthly gross gaming revenue increased 50% over the last eight months. Revenue reached €150m in May this year, having hit €100m in November 2022 and €55m in June 2020.

“These milestones showcase our strength and leading presence in the market, the trust our partners have in us and our products, and just how rapidly both our clients are growing, and we are growing as a result,” EveryMatrix head of casino Stian Enger Pettersen said.

“A huge thank you to our valued clients who continue to put their faith in us and select EveryMatrix as their trusted provider. Our casino team’s dedication, creativity, and innovative thinking continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the igaming solutions of tomorrow.”

Record Q1 revenue

The news comes on the back of EveryMatrix posting record revenue in the first quarter of its 2023 financial year.

Revenue reached a record €23.5m for the three-month period ending 31 March. This was a 69% increase from the €13.9m the company reported in Q1 the previous year.

The company also recorded a 21% rise in revenue on a quarterly basis, with the business highlighting that this stood as the sixth quarterly record in a row.

For EveryMatrix’s operator partners, the business said that it also achieved a quarterly record gross gaming revenue, which rose to €374m for the quarter – a 77% year-on-year increase.

Traditionally its slowest quarter, GMGI said it was pleased with the revenue performance of both its B2B and B2C segments in the three months to 30 April.

However, the group said system failures when extreme numbers of customers purchased tickets for high-ticket prize competitions hit revenue and profitability in its RKings B2B operations.

Addressing the issue, chief executive Brian Goodman said technology has been updated so that is systems can cope with higher player traffic moving forward.

“Working with Amazon AWS, the technology has now been upgraded to increase the performance and speed of RKings’ servers and accommodate heightened levels of participation by our players,” Goodman said.

“Having that resolved, we remain confident in RKings’ continued success in Great Britain and look forward to introducing its scalable platform to additional geographic markets.”

Higher costs overshadow revenue growth

Revenue for the second quarter reached $1.31m (£8.1m/€9.5m), a 21.2% increase from $8.3m in the previous year. The RKings B2B segment generated $3.8m of this total, while $6.5m came from Mexplay B2C operations.

Looking at spending, costs of goods sold increased 39.0% to $8.2m, while operating costs were also up 44.4% to $26m. 

GMGI also reported $29,281 in additional income from interest and foreign exchange gain. However, such was the impact of higher spending that pre-tax loss reached $461,452, in contrast to a $873,229 profit in 2022.

The group paid $72,301 in income tax, leaving a net loss of $533,753, compared to a profit of $586,984 last year. Even when accounting for $96,343 in foreign currency translation, comprehensive net loss was $437,410, in contrast to a $476,749 profit in the previous year.

Second half net loss

The figures made for similar reading in the first half of the group’s financial year. Revenue was 21.3% higher at $21.1m, but higher spending led to a net loss.

Costs of goods sold reached $16.6m and operating expenses $5.3m. Finance-related income hit $60,401, but pre-tax loss stood at $759,287, compared to a $1.4m profit in 2022.

Income tax payments amounted to $217,987, which left a net loss of $977,274, in contrast to a $1.1m profit in the previous year. After accounting for $248,602 in foreign currency translation, comprehensive net loss hit $728,672, compared to a $833,182 profit last year.

MeridianBet acquisition edges closer

GMGI also provided an update on its planned acquisition of MeridianBet Group and its related companies. The group struck a deal in January to purchase the B2C sports betting and gaming business for approximately $300.0m.

GMGI said the two parties verbally agreed to extend the date and modify additional terms of the agreement to facilitate the closing of the transaction. Plans to confirm a new definitive date for closing will be made public in the near future.

“This is a very exciting time in the history of our company,” Goodman said. “We enter the second half of this year with a strong balance sheet and two well-established verticals, as well as a growing casino business in Mexico.

“With the successful acquisition of the MeridianBet Group, the combined enterprise will be generating multiple streams of gaming revenue while providing players worldwide with the most popular best-in-class products, including casino games and sports betting.”

Total revenue for the group in the three months to 31 March amounted to DKK1.22bn (£139.9m/€163.3m/$177.1m). This was up 8.4% from DKK1.12bn in the same period last year.

Breaking this down, Danske Lotteri Spil generated DKK678m in revenue, an increase of 6.4% year-on-year. The group said this was driven by the Eurojackpot game and the introduction of the Tuesday draw in March 2022.

Danske Licens Spil, which includes sports betting and online casino, posted DKK397m, down 6.2%. This, the operator said, was due to increased competition and its responsible gambling initiatives such as lower deposit limits.

Revenue from Elite Gaming, its gaming hall business, reached DKK76m, a year-on-year rise of 24.6%. This was partly due to the fact that some halls were closed for part of January in Q1 of last year.

Danske Klasse-lotteri, the “class lottery” that was integrated into the business in April 2022, generated DKK64m in revenue. In addition, the group noted DKK2m in revenue from the Swush fantasy sports platform, level with the previous year.

Profit growth

In terms of costs for Q1, Danske Spil paid DKK158m in state taxes, DKK110m in total dealer commission and DKK62m in other gaming-related costs. As such, the group was left with an operating profit of DKK887m, up 10.2% year-on-year.

Other spend included DKK93m in personnel costs, DKK167m in other external costs and DK51m in depreciation and write-downs. The group also noted DKK9m in other income and DKK3m worth of financial income.

This left a pre-tax profit of DKK588m, up 17.1% from the previous year. The operator paid DKK129m in income tax, meaning it ended Q1 with a net profit of DKK459, a rise of 17.1%. 

Looking ahead to the full year, Danske Spil said it still expects to perform in line with initial forecasts. These include posting revenue of between DKK5.00bn and DKK5.20bn and net profit in the range of DKK1.70bn to DKK1.8bn.

This new policy took effect from today (15 June). It will apply to the group’s websites, apps, audio, video and newsletters, as well as print advertisements in the Guardian and Observer newspapers and Guardian Weekly.

Anna Bateson, Guardian Media Group chief executive, has pinned the decision on what she calls “the devastating impact of the gambling industry in the UK and Australia” that Guardian journalists have reported on.

The group also had concerns “with the pervasive nature of retargeted digital advertisements that trap a portion of sports fans in an addictive cycle”.

Host of reasons

Bateson said that a number of reasons impacted the group’s decision. These include the Guardian’s report that approximately $25bn (£19.7bn/€23bn) is lost to gambling annually, the Premier League’s agreement to ban gambling company sponsorships as the main shirt sponsor and that gamblers in Australia will soon be banned from using credit cards for online betting.

Bateson said that the “nature of lotteries” means that lotteries will not be included in this ban.

“We understand and respect that millions of our readers, including our reporters and staff, are passionate sports fans who may occasionally choose to engage in gambling as part of their sporting experience,” Bateson went on to add.

“It is a matter of personal freedom, and we have no issue with that. We fully support the enjoyment of sports and respect individuals’ choices to participate in occasional gambling on football, horse racing, or any other sport.”

The chief executive further stated that the Guardian is committed to responsible advertising practices.

“High quality advertising is welcome on our platforms, and plays an important role in helping to fund the Guardian’s journalism, something more and more brands and agencies mention in our conversations,” she said.

“They want to advertise within trusted media environments that represent the values of their audiences.”

The group also pointed to its similar decision in 2020 to no longer carry advertising from oil and gas companies.

Short-lived go at gambling

The Guardian’s new stance comes some years after a white-label partnership with tech stack FSB Technology. This partnership lasted for one year.

The partnership saw the Guardian launch GoWager in February 2014. GoWager ran on the Guardian website, but was closed 12 months later due to criticism from its readership of the partnership.

In November 2021, GoWager closed its brand for sports betting and casino services.

The first indictment was handed down after Spillemyndigheden became aware that Danske Licens Spil had not carried out enhanced customer checks earlier in a specific players’ history with the operator.

The regulator said that although the player’s activities – including the number of transactions and the amount of notifications that were sent to the Money Laundering Secretariat – warranted enhanced checks, these did not take place.

This violates section 17, subsection 1 of Denmark’s Money Laundering Act.

The checks took place much later, after which Danske Licens Spil terminated its relationship with the customer.

Further charge

The second charge pertains to section 26, subsection 1 of the Money Laundering Act and is related to the same customer relationship.

This charge was brought forward because Danske Licens Spil did not notify Denmark’s Anti-Money Laundering Secretariet in reference to two cases of suspected money laundering.

Spillemyndigheden ruled that Danske Licens Spil did not comply with the obligation to notify the Secretariet of AML suspicions.

Despite the charges, Danske Licens Spil faces no action. Spillemyndigheden said this was because “these are violations that no longer exist”.