Month: December 2023

Oddset Sportwetten joins DSWV with immediate effect from today (1 December). It means all major private or state-owned operators in Germany are now working with the DSWV.

The operator will join other brands in working with the the DSWV to protect legal sports betting in the country.

“The regulation of sports betting in Germany – in particular important issues of player protection and the fight against the black market – will be the focus of the joint work,” the DSWV said.

Founded in 2014, the DSWV represents the interests of sports betting providers in Germany. The organisation facilitates dialogue between operators, politicians and the media.

Other DSWV members include Admiral Bet, Bet-at-home, Bet365, Betway, Bild Bet, Bwin, Interwetten, Sportwetten.de and Tipico.

DSWV-backed study flags concerns over Germany black market

News of the expanded DSWV network comes after a study last month from the University of Leipzig warned close to half of all online gambling in Germany takes place with unlicensed operators.

The report said the State Treaty on Gambling, which came into force in July 2021, is missing its key target. This refers to ensuring all online gaming takes place on licensed sites. 

This led to the DSWV German Online Casino Association (DOCV), which both commissioned the report, to call on Germany’s gambling regulator (GGL) to make regulated casinos a more competitive proposition

Also last month, another study revealed four out of ten of Germans gambling on slot machines suffer from gambling harm.

Billed as Germany’s first “scientifically grounded report” to measure problem gambling, it was published by Drogenbeauftragter, the Federal Drug Commissioner of the Bundestag.

The report found online casino holds the highest risk for problem gambling. Of these more high-risk games, 46% of men take part weekly or daily, compared to 35% of women. Slots were also recognised as the highest contributor to problem gambling in Germany.

The Gambling Commission’s Gambling Industry Statistics show total gross gambling yield (GGY) grew 6.8% year-on-year to £15.1bn ($19.0bn/€17.5bn) for the 12 months from April 2022 to March 2023. This figure, accrued from all licensed remote and land-based gambling operators, was also up 6.6% on the last pre-lockdown period to March 2020.

GGY was up slightly more compared to the prior period when removing reported lotteries from the figures. The £10.9bn total was up 9.3% compared to 2021-22 and 7.6% compared to 2019-20.

Remote gambling remained the biggest revenue generator for the sector, with £6.5bn taken by the remote casino, betting and bingo sector. This was up by a moderate 2.8% year-on-year and by 13.3% compared to pre-lockdown figures. The number of new account registrations with RCBB operators was up 10.6% to 36.4 million.

Online casino games dominate the sector, generating £4.0bn in GGY. Some £3.2bn of this was from slots games. GGY for remote betting totalled £2.3bn, led by football (£1.1bn) and horse betting (£733.5m). GGY for remote bingo totalled £173.6m.

Growth driven by land-based gambling

Land-based gambling saw its share of the total GGY grow to 41% from 35% last year.

Total GGY from arcades, betting, bingo and casino reached £4.5bn, which was up 20.6% year-on-year. Land-based gambling revenue has now returned to pre-pandemic levels (up by 0.2%) after Covid-related rules led to closures and restrictions during 2020 and into 2021.

Gaming machine GGY grew by 23% to £2.4bn. While eye-catching, machines remain at around 50% of land-based GGY, just as they did last year.

Notably, this figure was up 17.9% on the last pre-lockdown period, despite overall land-based GGY being flat compared to 2019-20.

The surge in takings from land-based premises comes despite continued closures, with 186 fewer by the end of March 2023.

Total numbers of betting premises fell for the ninth consecutive reporting period to 5,995, which was down 2.2% year-on-year. That’s also a decrease of 1,386 (18.1%) on the pre-lockdown period.

Non-remote betting GGY was £2.5bn, a 15.4% increase on the previous period and a 2.5% increase on the latest pre-lockdown period.

The non-remote casino sector saw a £118.6m increase of 17.2% in GGY to £810.4m. This is a decrease of £207.2m, or 20.4%, in GGY from the last pre-lockdown period.

The biggest area of growth is non-remote arcades, which generated GGY of £572.2m. This is up 38.9% year-on-year and by 32.8% compared to pre-pandemic figures. GGY is £533.3m (up 40.8%) for adult gaming centres and £38.8m (up 16.3%) for family entertainment centres for this latest reporting period.

National Lottery ticket sales totalled £8.2bn, which was up 1.1 on 2021-22. Some £4.7bn was returned as prizes. Large society lotteries ticket sales totalled £943.9m, which was up 2.6%.

Second Gambling Act review consultation launched

The Gambling Industry Statistics study has been released in the same week the GB Gambling Commission launched its second set of consultations on proposals from the Gambling Act review white paper.

The second set of consultations will run for 12 weeks, implying a deadline during February 2024.

This second round will focus on five topics, including socially responsible incentives, specifically bonuses and free bets. Customer-specific tools, which would give customers greater control of their gambling habits, will also be discussed.

“The white paper set out that a top government priority is ensuring that gambling happens safely,” said Tim Miller, executive director of research and policy at the Commission.

“We share this commitment and today’s consultations propose how we can deliver on it. We need as many people as possible to have their say on any potential changes to the rules operators must follow.”

Earlier this month, the Commission released new data that suggests one in 40 Britons is a problem gambler. The figures were released following an overhaul of its data gathering processes.

The figure was some way ahead of MOP$3.00bn in November of last year but 17.7% behind $19.50bn in October 2023. However, October’s total was the highest monthly amount in Macau since before the pandemic. 

Constant year-on-year growth in Macau is the result of removing all restrictions related to Covid-19. Last year, casinos in Macau faced temporary closure, while travel to and from the region was restricted.

These measures, however, were removed following major protects against the “zero-Covid” policy in China. Visitors from outside China no longer have to quarantine and flights into the country are now uncapped.

Macau success for Melco and StudioCity in Q3

Melco Resorts & Entertainment, one of the leading casino operators in Macau, reported a major upturn in revenue as a result of restrictions being eased in the region.

In Q3, revenue hiked 320.6% to US$1.02bn. Casino was the catalyst for this growth, with revenue jumping 346.2% to $812.1m.

Focusing on property performance, City of Dreams in Macau led the way with revenue of $506.2m. Also in Macau, revenue from Studio City reached $277.7m and Altira Macau $24.2m. Mocha and other operations in the region generated a further $30.1m in revenue.

Group net loss attributable to Melco in Q3 hit $16.3m, much lower than $243.8m last year.

In addition, Melco posted $280.6m in positive adjusted EBITDA for the quarter. This was compared to a loss of $34.9m in the same period in 2022.

Southeast Asia, not Macau, to keep fuelling regional gaming growth

While Macau continues to pull in visitors and generate billions in revenue, it may not be the main driver of growth in the region.

Last month, iGB looked at how Southeast Asia represents the greatest opportunity in the region’s gaming galaxy. It is also billed as the greatest competitive danger to established casino destinations, most notably Macau.

Industry veteran Daniel Cheng went as far as saying the ASEAN bloc will overtake Japan within this decade. He added that too will become smaller in economic power than only the US, China and the European Union.

Now in its sixth year, the 2023 Gift Responsibly Campaign focuses on gift-giving during the holiday season. It will emphasise how exposure to gambling during childhood could lead to someone developing a gambling problem later in life.

Some 66 lotteries and 84 community organisations around the world have declared their support for the campaign. Backers include all eligible US and Canadian lotteries such as the New Jersey Lottery, Colorado Lottery and Pennsylvania Lottery,

International lotteries and non-lottery organisations supporting the project include Lotto New Zealand and the National Lottery of Croatia.

All participating organisations will run a series of initiatives in November and December to promote the campaign. Topics include educating communities about the dangers of gifting lottery tickets to children and promoting responsible gambling for those of legal age who choose to gamble.

The campaign offers a tiered approach for lotteries, with increasing levels of participation. Supporter activities will include public service announcements, social media messaging, digital advertising, in-store signage and retailer training.

NCPG: lottery products not a suitable gift for children

NCPG executive director Keith Whyte praised the level of support for this year’s campaign. He said it is crucial to recognise lottery tickets are not suitable gifts for children or teens.

“The Gift Responsibly campaign stands out as one of the largest international responsible gambling awareness campaigns, underlining our collective commitment to safeguarding youth and promoting responsible gambling practices worldwide,” Whyte said.

Jeffrey Derevensky, director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours, also spoke about the importance of the campaign.

“With the growing social acceptability and opportunities available for gambling on an international level, it is important to remember that even young people may experience gambling-related problems,” Derevensky said. 

“The Gift Responsibly Campaign is a great reminder for adults not to gift lottery tickets to minors.”

As part of the deal, the Fanatics Sportsbook will become the Connecticut Lottery’s exclusive sports betting partner, covering both mobile and retail betting. The transition is expected to occur in mid-December.

The Fanatics Sportsbook will be available across ten retail betting locations in Connecticut, as well as on mobile.

Greg Smith, president and CEO of the Connecticut Lottery, said it expects growth in market share as a result of the partnership.

“Fanatics is the only true sports brand in the gaming space and has established itself as an innovator in the industry,” said Smith.

“We have been impressed with the Fanatics team, their aggressive entry into the US sports betting market, and we are excited to see how they redefine the sports betting customer experience here in Connecticut.”

“CLC anticipates notable market share growth as a result of this partnership.”

How did we get here?

FBG will now take the place of Rush Street Interactive (RSI), the Connecticut Lottery’s former sports betting partner.

RSI and the Connecticut Lottery announced that they would wind down their partnership in March in this year, with RSI committing to operate sports betting in Connecticut until a replacement was found.

This is the latest state taken over by FBG since PointsBet sold its US business to the company earlier this year. Although the Connecticut Lottery partnership is separate to this, it signifies a growing presence for Fanatics in the US. 

The deal for FBG to acquire PointsBet US for $150.0m (£118.7m/€138.3m) was initially agreed in May.

However, DraftKings quickly entered the ring, proposing a much higher bid of $195.0m. While PointsBet agreed to engage with DraftKings on the proposal, FBG ultimately won the battle with a $225.0m bid.

Following the deal’s closure, FBG began to integrate its Fanatics Sportsbook where PointsBet US had formerly been. FBG quickly launched its Fanatics Sportsbook in four states – Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee. This signified the beginning of the takeover.

Weeks later FBG entered eight more states, which included New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and later closed in on two more. FBG completed the transfer of operations in Virginia and West Virginia last month.

Up against heavy hitters

FBG is now in direct contention with DraftKings and FanDuel, two of Connecticut’s – and the US industry’s – biggest online operators. In Connecticut’s latest monthly results for October, DraftKings remained the state’s leading online gaming operator, with FanDuel close behind.

DraftKings is partnered with the Mashantucket Pequot tribe in Connecticut, and FanDuel is partnered with Mohegan Sun.

It’s also worth noting that ESPN – whose brand ESPN Bet is operated by Penn Entertainment – is headquartered in the state. Last month ESPN Bet launched across 17 US states, but this did not include Connecticut.

This is due to Connecticut’s tribal monopoly rules, which means that the Connecticut Lottery deal with FBG will now block ESPN Bet from launching in ESPN’s native state.

In May 2021, Ned Lamont, governor of Connecticut, signed a bill that legalised online sports betting in the state.

This permitted the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes to offer sports wagering, with each tribe allowed to operate one skin for sports betting and one skin for igaming.

The Connecticut Lottery was also permitted to run one skin for sports wagering through the deal – as long as this occurred outside tribal lands – along with retail betting at 15 locations statewide.

With FBG now officially taking the third available position, ESPN Bet will be shut out of launching in Connecticut, at least for now.