Month: December 2023

The monthly handle was 15.2% behind the $73.6m wagered in November 2022. However, it was 26.1% ahead of $49.5m in Mississippi in October this year and the highest total since $74.4m was bet in December 2022.

Turning to revenue, this reached $3.1m in Mississippi in November. This was 33.3% behind last year’s $5.1m total and also 53.4% less than $7.3m in October.

Mississippi November: Coastal casinos the venue of choice

Breaking down the market, coastal casinos remained most popular for sports betting with consumers in Mississippi. Coastal casinos generated $1.4m in revenue from $43.1m in total bets in November.

Some $1.1m in revenue came from central casinos, which processed a total of $12.0m in bets.

In addition, northern casinos reported revenue of $530,929 off $7.2m in wagers.

Football again proved the most popular sport to wager on. Players bet $23.2m on football at coastal casinos, $3.0m at central venues and $3.7m northern casinos. 

The proposal will be one of several put to shareholders at the Betsson AGM on 7 May 2024. It will be recommended they vote in favour of the re-appointment of all directors.

Eva de Falck, Peter Hamberg, Eva Leach, Pontus Lindwall, Louise Nylén and Tristan Sjöberg all currently serve as directors. Lundberg is also a director and holds the role of chair of the Betsson board.

Shareholders at the meeting in May 2024 will also consider a measure to increase board fees. It is proposed that these fees will be raised by 10%, having remained unchanged since 2021.

In his capacity as chief executive, Pontus Lindwall, will not receive any board fees.

The Betsson nomination committee comprises Jenny Rosberg, Ingela Kling and Mats Axell.

Betsson sets quarterly revenue record in Q3

The proposals come on the back of a successful year for Betsson, boosted by a record Q3. The operator reported revenue of €237.6m (£205.9m/$260.0m) in Q3, in what was the third consecutive quarter of record revenue.

Other Q3 highlights included €56.0m in earnings before interest and tax, a 45.8% rise from last year and another new record. Pre-tax profit hit €50.8m, up 44.7%, while net profit hiked 41.7% to €46.2m.

In addition, EBITDA for the quarter was 41.8% higher at €68.9m.

As for wider developments, Betsson recently completed its acquisition of BetFirst Group. It purchased Belgium-based BetFirst in June, with Q3 being the first full quarter that it was part of the Betsson business. 

It has also secured a new online casino licence in Serbia as well as an online sports betting licence in France. However, there will be no return to the Netherlands for the time being after the business withdrew its igaming licence applications following multiple delays to the certification process.

The November handle surpassed the existing record high of $308.6m set in October 2022 by 15.5%. It was also 32.7% up from $268.6m in Louisiana in November last year.

Consumers spent $322.9m betting online during November and a further $33.5m at retail sportsbooks. 

Revenue falls some way short of Louisiana record

While spending was higher, this was not reflected in the state’s monthly revenue figure. For November, revenue from online and retail wagering amounted to $19.4m.

This was significantly better than last year’s loss of $25.6m in Louisiana. The November 2022 loss was due to US businessman Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale winning several large bets on Major League Baseball’s World Series.

November’s revenue total was also 55.2% behind the October 2023 record of $43.3m.

Breaking down revenue performance, online betting generated $18.1m and retail $1.3m. It was also noted that $9.8m worth of promotions was deducted from the online total, as well as $13,962 from the retail figure.

Football was the sport of choice for online betting in Louisiana, generating $4.5m in revenue in November. As for retail, basketball led the way with revenue of $484,614.

Year-to-date handle exceeds $1.00bn

Looking at year-to-date performance, total sports betting spend in the five months to the end of November was $1.23bn. This includes $1.11bn in online wagering and $124.5m from retail.

As for revenue, the total amount generated in the five-month period was $138.3m. Of this, $124.1m came from online betting and $14.2m retail.

Resorts World Genting lifts visitors 1,865 metres (6,118 feet) into the clouds, average temperature 17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit), 10 degrees cooler than Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur 58 kilometres (36 miles) to the south. 

Set amid largely undisturbed 130-million-year-old rain forest, RW Genting also transports guests into the past, present and future of Asia’s first, biggest and most unique integrated resort.

“Resorts World Genting is a very appealing destination resort that happens to also have a very large casino,” Euro-Asia Consulting president and CEO Steve Karoul says.

Perched on Mount Ulu Kali, RW Genting’s built area tops 13 million square feet (1.2 million square metres). With seven hotels, 10,500 guests rooms from cheeky to chic, Malaysia’s only casino floors totals more than a million square feet. There’s even more retail space, theme parks, a 5,000-seat arena, convention centre, dozens of food and beverage options and two cable car systems.

The entire hilltop complex can be traversed indoors, in deference to frequent mountain showers.

The IR targets domestic and regional gamers, as well as the Muslim majority of Malaysia’s 33 million citizens barred from gaming.

“We try to position our products to appeal to all segments of the society, all price segments,” RW Genting president and COO Lee Thiam Kit says over breakfast at plush Crockfords, the IR’s newest hotel. Opened in 2017, it is part of a decade-long multibillion dollar upgrade.

The founder

Asked to assess the current state of the IR, Lee evokes company patriarch Lim Goh Tong, who began constructing a road up the mountain from the town of Genting Sempeh in 1965.

There’s no escaping history at RW Genting with the founder’s son, Lim Kok Thay, serving as chairman and chief executive of KL-listed Genting Berhad, the conglomerate’s umbrella entity.

RW Genting’s corporate parent, KL-listed Genting Malaysia, also has properties in the UK, Egypt, New York, Florida and the Bahamas plus two Malaysia beach resorts. Singapore-listed Genting Singapore operates Resorts World Sentosa. Resorts World Las Vegas resides under Genting Berhad, along with energy and plantations subsidiaries. 

Halfway up the mountain along the now-four-lane highway evolved from Lim Goh Tong’s feat, there’s Gohtong Jaya township. Just past the IR entrance gate, we find Lim Goh Tong Memorial Hall commemorating his life. This is the site of his interment in 2007 at age 89. Since the centennial of Lim Goh Tong’s birth in 2018, Genting celebrates Founder’s Day every February 28.

Further up the hill, a statue of Lim Goh Tong overlooks Chin Swee Caves Temple, housing a deity from his hometown Anxi in China’s Fujian province.

Nightly on the hilltop, a section of SkyWorlds’ theme park transforms into Gohtong Way, featuring street food and fountain shows under the stars.

Beyond the founder, the original Genting Casino takes visitors back to the IR’s 1971 opening. The main floor’s central rotunda evokes Macau’s Casino Lisboa birdcage of similar vintage.

SkyWorlds Hotel debuted back then as Highlands Hotel with boxy rooms and no air conditioning. Most recently renovated in 2017 it still has ceiling fans and sharp corners. Accommodations include kid-sized desks and play spaces, bunk beds for larger families, funky phones and stick figures painted in black on white walls.

Throughout RW Genting, at every price point, guest rooms are well-designed, comfortable and practical. 

Semi-Fox

The hotel sits on the doorstep of SkyWorlds theme park. Planned to open in 2018 in partnership with Fox Studios, the park descended into legal morass when Disney acquired Fox’s entertainment properties in 2017.

The park became a new front in the long running clash with Disney over expanding gaming to Genting’s Miami waterfront holdings. The park issue was settled in 2019, then Covid delayed construction.

Opened in February 2022, SkyWorlds’ two dozen attractions feature Fox franchises Ice Age, Night at the Museum, Rio, Planet of the Apes, Robots, Epic and Independence Day across 26 acres (10.5 hectares). SkyWorlds offers free tickets for a return visit in case of rain.

SkyWorlds headlines the recently completed Genting Integrated Tourism Plan, a MYR10bn (US$2.1bn) initiative, announced in 2013 at MYR5bn (US$1.55bn then) and doubled in 2016. 

Over a decade, GITP also added Skytropolis indoor theme park. The two parks comprised 40% of total spending.

Further GITP improvements include a second cable car system from mid-hill to mountaintop, upgrades to shopping areas Sky Avenue and Genting Highlands Premium Outlets, constructingCrockfords plus a third tower for First World Hotel, again the world’s largest at 7,347 rooms, and renovating other hotels.

On a busy Sunday afternoon, Sky Avenue’s central plaza features multi-storey screens showing in-house produced cartoons amid top-end shopping and wide ranging F&B. With more video panels above adjacent Skytropolis, it’s a wholesome, indoor version of downtown Las Vegas’ Fremont Street Experience.  

GITP shaped RW Genting’s present, aiming to keep pace with regional competitors and broaden its appeal, particularly to Malaysian Muslims. “The majority was spent on non-gaming,” Lee says. “The growth rate of non-gaming is higher. With investment, now there are bigger [non-gaming] returns.”

Sky high gaming

Opened in 2017, SkyCasino (as Genting writes it) resembles the gaming floor at Marina Bay Sands. The casino is replete with high ceilings, lighting and surveillance trees above gaming pits and a balcony level. Sky has 70% of the resort’s 600 gaming tables, 2,000 slots and 1,300 electronic gaming terminals (including tablets that can access ETG nodes resort-wide). This is about 75% of pre-Covid capacity.

The shortfall traces to closure of Genting 2 casino near the original. That floor could reopen if demand warrants and a tight labour market permits, but management has no plans to expand gaming space. 

Top games are baccarat, roulette and sic bo, with betting on totals and combinations from three dice. Mass floors have pontoon while premium areas offer blackjack, with house-versus-player poker games throughout. Sky’s Texas Hold’em area has 10 tables, expandable for tournaments. Stadium clusters with hundreds of terminals host live dealer and automated games.

Minimum bets start at MYR10, about US$2, for sic bo, MYR50 for roulette and MYR100 for card games. On the main floor squeeze baccarat starts at MYR300. ETG minimums run as low as MYR10.

From 2020, RW Genting scrapped ticket in-ticket out (TITO) and converted player cards into ewallets. All machine play requires cards, with white label cards available for non-members. Member cards can also fund table play and purchases around the resort.

While moving toward cashless, machines and tables still accept cash, but machine payouts are only by card. Players can deposit and withdraw ewallet funds at terminals around the casino floor or cages.

Cards determine player status, with 500 Genting points, representing spending of MYR50,000, the VIP threshold. About 30% of tables are for VIPs.

Management wants to funnel mass gaming to Sky’s ground and balcony levels with premium areas above. Crockfords, an internationally recognised five star property, connects to Sky’s premium area through its own Crockford’s Platinum Club.

However, most premium play occurs in private areas at the Genting Casino end of the property. This is where Genting Grand and Highlands hotels primarily host gaming guests in regionally competitive high-end accommodations. Junkets, predominantly from Southeast Asia, don’t have dedicated rooms. VVIPs can choose from four helipads.  

Covid recovery

Maybank analyst Samuel Yin Shao Yang estimates RW Genting GGR this year at MYR6.2bn (US$1.3bn), reaching 2019’s MYR7.2bn in 2024.

GGR at 86% of 2019 fits with RW Genting’s first half visitation of 11.8 million, 84% of 2019. Malaysia leisure and hospitality revenue (Genting doesn’t fully break out results by property) for the first nine months of this year hit 85% of 2019 withEBITDA at 94%, aided by 33% margins, three percentage points better than 2019. Hotel occupancy is 96% versus 95% in 2019.

“Even without the full resumption of China tourists, we’re 90%-95% of pre-pandemic,” Lee, who began his career in investment banking, says.

Despite China’s current challenges: “Over time, it’s a market we cannot ignore,” Lee says. “We could see some changes in profile of visitors from China. There used to be a lot of economy tours. But the high end will still be there. Not so worried about that.”

China has never been vital to RW Genting’s success, though. “Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, China, India are our five largest foreign markets,” Lee says. Sources estimate Malaysia and Singapore, a four-and-a-half-hour drive, account for 85% of visitors.

“The property has always been pitched at the Malaysian and Singapore markets,” Euro Pacific Asia Consulting managing partner Shaun McCamley says. “With access to such a huge and supportive local market, I can understand why that’s where the emphasis is.”

Lee isn’t concerned about the US$7 billion expansion of Singapore’s two IRs. “If you look through our history, when Macau opened, people worried about us. When Singapore opened, people worried about us. In fact, the market is big enough and is growing.”

On the prospect of a gaming ban in Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, Lee cites the 16,000 employees at RW Genting and some 50,000 jobs the IR supports. “We’ve spoken to different governments. They try to understand how to enter the IR business and get the economic benefits. Our experience has shown that one facility can do that.” Additionally, Genting Malaysia paid taxes of MYR325m in 2022.

You call this a monopoly? 

As for the possibility of a domestic competitor ending its Malaysian monopoly, Lee says, “We’re not really a monopoly. We have competition from Singapore and Macau in gaming. In lifestyle, we compete with every shopping mall in town.”

Looking ahead, Lee says: “The casino is obviously an important part of the business, but we see a lot of growth coming from the lifestyle part of the business.

“We look at the Muslim majority of the population and we see a huge opportunity for growth.”

He adds: “Post pandemic, there’s some softness in the [middle] 40% and [bottom] 40% of the economy. But that doesn’t change a long term trend for people to embrace lifestyle products.”

Lee cites Malay Muslims’ spending data from Genting Highlands Premium Outlets. “[It] gives us a lot of confidence and conviction in our path,” Lee says.

The outlet centre with about 125 brand name shops sits at what Genting calls mid-hill. It’s the lower terminus of the cable car, with Chin Swee Caves Temple and Hilltop stations above. There’s a parking and transport hub. Below it, not within easy walking distance but served by shuttle vans, is Resorts World Awana. This is the IR’s only hotel below the hilltop.

Green makeover

Opened in 1984, Awana stands alone amid the forest. It has no gaming and serves only halal food, making it popular for business meetings, functions and events. But there’s potential for more. 

“Awana is going through a face lift,” Lee says. “We’re positioning it as an ecotourism product with farms for use at the property, hiking trails.” Sustainability initiatives include adding solar panels and obtaining internationally recognised green certification.

Rooms from renovation of Awana’s original hotel block will be available from February, eventually lifting the key count to 400.

Mystical Orchid Forest is sprouting from a decades-old employee hostel. It reuses existing structures and materials for F&B outlets and event space beside a greenhouse and man-made lake. Completion is scheduled for next year’s third quarter.

Further floral projects include rose and sunflower gardens, each with stingless bee hives producing honey for children of all ages to harvest. Awana’s hot pot restaurant grows its own greens, picked fresh to order.

Awana golf course’s front nine holes are under reconstruction with the back nine open for play, to be reconstructed next. Completion is scheduled for early 2025.

That timing may coincide with the opening of Awana Village featuring a golf clubhouse and, separated from the hotel, non-halal food outlets. There’s interest in working with Chinese tourism sites to capitalise on Awana’s natural setting.

The hotel’s “tropical lifestyle dining” and poolside lounge, Awana Ayu, is part of Zouk Group. The Singapore nightclub brand has six nightlife concepts on the RW Genting hilltop.

Genting Hong Kong, holding Genting’s cruise businesses and joint venture stake in Resorts World Manila (now Newport World Resorts), acquired Zouk in 2015. When Genting HK went bankrupt in 2020, it sold Zouk for US$10.2m to a company headed by Lim Keong Hui, now Zouk’s executive chairman.

Lim – grandson of Lim Goh Tong and son of Lim Kok Thay – currently serves as deputy CEO and executive director for both Genting Berhad and Genting Malaysia. Welcome to the future of RW Genting and family. Seems only natural.

Most buzzwords don’t carry much weight, serving instead as stand-ins for complex ideas that can’t be easily explained in a soundbite. Then you have “gamification”, a term with a lot of oomph behind it and enough momentum to change the course of entire industries.

Such is the case with sports betting, where gamification is inherent to the way the industry operates.

Historically, gamification has been an umbrella term for sub-content aimed at acquiring and engaging players.

As the industry evolves, so too do approaches to gamification. Many companies are trying to shift game elements in the betting space to give players better options and help operators build and retain audiences.

Vettese and Smith both work in the space. They each see gamification as a crucial tool all betting operators should leverage.

Where we are

Gamification elements vary widely and the outlook of the concept as a whole is hard to pin down.

“Today, players and bettors want to feel loved, valued and appreciated and that their custom and money are not taken for granted,” says Smith.

He emphasises that operators know this, but they have trouble maximising the opportunity.

“Gamification can be boiled down to two key elements,” he says. “Gameful thinking and incentivisation. It’s a way of enhancing the loyalty of customers and it can create a sense of progression to make the experience more enjoyable and immersive.”

Vettese says previous definitions and understandings of gamification are old hat.

“Gamification, as it was, is dead,” he says. “It has evolved to become about harnessing the power of next-generation gamification systems that deliver improved conversion rates and data-led insights.”

Before, Vettese posits, gamification was about simulating the betting experience and – hopefully – getting players to sign up for a sportsbook.

“By offering a variety of customisable game types for sports fans to interact with, sportsbooks can open up new engagement opportunities, particularly with the hard-to-reach casual player segment.”

Where, then, does gamification stand and what purpose can it serve in an era where sports betting is more accessible than ever?

“We are seeing that the number of people in each state interested in sports betting has plateaued somewhere between 25% and 30%,” says Vettese. “We think modern gamification can play a role in educating and nurturing new audiences for sportsbooks.”

From Xtremepush’s perspective, Smith says: “A gamification strategy has become a business-critical element of the product mix for any serious brand or operator. It should incorporate player acquisition and daily retention, plus cross-sell from one vertical to another and – perhaps this goes without saying – loyalty programmes.”

Where we’re going

The future of gamification is malleable and both Vettese and Smith have distinct visions for how it can take shape.

“Spending thousands of dollars on player acquisition is of little long-term value if it’s not accompanied by a marketing plan to keep the customer happy,” says Smith.

“Operators should work with players, providing them with content they enjoy. They should also personalise the experience through rewards, promotions and offers. That can pay huge dividends.”

This approach, according to Smith, can galvanise players to evangelise a brand. “They become flag-bearers,” he says. “A positive experience for one person can lead to sign-ups from a host of friends, who abandon less engaging sites.”

Vettese sees an opportunity to build audiences by attracting casual players who historically haven’t jumped headfirst into the sports betting craze.

“Gamification 2.0 comes into play by understanding how best to engage with the casual sports fan,” he says. “You have to throw out the old F2P model. The next generation of gamification products is designed to generate first-party data and insights, enabling sportsbooks to build actionable, segmented audiences that convert at double-digit levels.”

He cites Tally’s Game Center product as an example. The tool “aggregates multiple game types into one solution to connect with multiple audiences.”

Smith’s take on free-to-play is different. He views it as a viable option, with some tweaks to the existing formula.

“Using F2P as a standalone site, not attached to the main brand website, can create a playground where players can be nurtured across various areas. These include showcasing a brand and what players can expect to see once they become a customer.”

The personalisation aspect

From there, it’s a matter of using the data and insights to create personalised offers and showing players how the betting experience can be fun.

Both Smith and Vettese touch on a concept that can be intrinsically tied to gamification if done right.

Vettese mentions education and Smith mentions nurturing players. Gamification can be a low-stakes way for players to get involved in an otherwise intimidating space.

Novice bettors might not understand how odds work, or how to build a parlay, or many other aspects of betting. A gamified experience that doesn’t require real money upfront and eases them into it can create a bettor where there once was none.

“Sports betting is still a new form of digital entertainment and a certain degree of education is required,” says Vettese. “By offering free games and building up a relationship with casual players, sportsbooks are in a much better position to convert them into active customers.” 

The education piece is big, but it focuses mainly on bringing new players to a platform.

Given the high saturation of betting apps in legal markets, acquisition isn’t as big a priority as it once was. For bettors who already have sportsbook accounts, retention is the focus and gamification can help with that.

“Personalisation is key,” says Smith. “Provide a Knicks fan with an offer to bet on their own team, but not a casino offer if they have shown zero appetite for it.”

Vettese agrees. “Offering sports fans content that resonates with them is a quickfire way to get them engaged.”

Broaching new approaches

As gamification expands to include a wider variety of elements, new ideas are popping up.

Smith and Vettese have seen unique examples of the practice inside the betting industry and well beyond it.

“I like when a consumer brand sponsor is included in the game the same way they’re involved in the day-to-day sport,” says Vettese. “It brings a level of authenticity to the game and can add to the consumer rewards. Game Center offers thousands of game types that include leaderboards and challenges, all customisable to carry operator or sponsor branding.”

For Smith, the best gamification elements are the ones that create “surprise and delight” moments and, simply, “cool stuff”.

“If it’s missing, you can bet your bottom dollar a competitor is doing it,” Smith says, adding: “These elements should be personalised to a brand and the player. Otherwise, it’s just a template the bettor can get at any competing site.”

Smith continues, drumming up an example on the spot: “A player might have lost three or four sports bets in a row – as I know from experience – but by sending them an ‘in-session’ push notification that they have won a free-to-play gamified reward, they will feel slightly better.”

“The game doesn’t have to be about giving them an offer to bet more money – that would be counterproductive – but it can be about winning points on a leaderboard, which in turn can give them money to spend at the end of the month for rewards.”

Staying ahead of the game

Any stakeholder looking to infuse gamification into their product can see success in other industries.

Vettese stays close to the betting industry, citing sports as a prime example. “In basketball, the LA Lakers recently launched their game centre, Lakers Arcade, that invites players to engage with various game types that carry their iconic branding.

“We’ve also seen NFL franchises such as the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams take advantage of newly launched prediction and trivia games to attract and engage with fans in the lead-up to the 2023-24 campaign.”

Smith, meanwhile, says there are three key learnings from other industries that sports betting operators should consider.

First, it should be personal and brand-specific. Second, it should be built to work for players and not force players to adjust to the gamification elements.

Finally, he says: “Use it as both a loyalty and an educational programme. Look at the airline industry for a great, longstanding example. Who hasn’t heard of air miles?”

Looking ahead, Smith and Vettese see a bright future for gamification and the companies that embrace it.

“It’s a case of evolution over revolution,” Smith concludes. “Operators need to understand more about how gamification will retain, reactivate and reward players, rather than just seeing it as an F2P game to acquire new bettors.”

“At the heart of it is the underlying objective of keeping customers happy and giving them what they want.”

Thursday’s report from the culture, media and sport (CMS) committee states the decrease in visible gambling promotion would help to “minimise children’s exposure to gambling advertising”.

MPs have also recommended there should be a push to dedicate more space to safer gambling promotion.

However, the report did highlight that a different perspective should be taken with horse and greyhound racing. This is due to their intrinsic links with gambling.

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, chair of the CMS committee, stated: “More should be done to shield both children and people who have experienced problem gambling from what often seems like a bombardment of advertising branding at football and other sporting events.”

CMS committee wants to go further than white paper’s suggestions

The white paper, published in April, proposed a number of ways in which gambling regulation in the UK could improve. These included affordability checks, stake limits and the creation of an ombudsman.

However, the white paper received criticism for its lack of measures on how to tackle advertising.

Despite Premier League clubs voluntarily withdrawing gambling sponsorship from shirts from 2026, the CMS committee believes they must do more.

While it welcomes the Premier League clubs’ decision, the CMS committee’s report called for a “more precautionary approach” to advertising than the one detailed in the white paper.

It points to a recent study that highlighted the high number of gambling messages visible during matches aside from shirt sponsorship.

The report stated the “urgent need” to examine the effects of gambling advertising on the risk of harm. The CMS committee feels this is particularly important to protect children from exposure to gambling.

“The government needs to go further than the proposals in the white paper and work with sports governing bodies on cutting the sheer volume of betting adverts people are being exposed to,” Dinenage added.

BGC responds to CMS Committee’s report

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) published its response to the report in the wake of its release. It praised the rejection of a blanket ban on gambling adverts that some had called for.

 The BGC also agreed with the CMS committee’s call for the publication of a code on sports sponsorship, saying: “We welcome the publication of the CMS committee report and its findings which reject proposals for a blanket ban on advertising which would harm our best-loved sports like horseracing and football.

“BGC agree with the committee that the Sport Sponsorship Code, which will further drive up standards, should be published without delay. The sporting bodies have, frankly, been dragging their feet.”

Industry self-regulation “completely failing”

A September study that investigated Premier League advertising found that self-regulation was “completely failing”.

Academics from Bristol University’s business school assessed TV, radio and social media coverage over four days between 11-14 August.

The study revealed 92% of 391 content marketing ads from gambling brands breached regulations as they were not clearly identifiable.

The team found a total of 10,999 gambling messages across TV, radio and social media channels over the four days. Within this were 6,966 gambling messages recorded during the six live match broadcasts on Sky Sports and TNT Sports.

Researchers also found that less than a quarter (20.6%) included gambling harm reduction messages and only 18.7% featured age warnings.

Co-lead researcher Dr Raffaello Rossi declared: “Self-regulation of the gambling industry is completely failing. The gambling industry’s primary goal is profit, not public welfare.”

GiG will pay a total of €35m for the affiliate group, which includes a €15m upfront cash payment. KaFe Rocks operates a portfolio of more than 30 brands in more than 20 markets, including Time2Play and USCasinos.

Coming a year after its acquisition of AskGamblers, GiG said the move bolsters GiG Media’s position within the online casino affiliation space, particularly in North America.

The group is to be split into two separate entities – GiG Media and Platform & Sportsbook – during H1 2024.

GiG added that the acquisition will further accelerate the diversification of GiG Media’s business. This is a key strategic goal for the business, mitigating overall risk by having more customers, websites and markets to drive revenue growth.

The synergies between the two entities are expected to result in a minimum revenue of €23m in 2024 for the KaFe Rocks assets. The group said an EBITDA margin exceeding 45% translates to a 2024 EV/EBITDA multiple of approximately 3.6x for the acquisition.

Jonas Warrer, group CEO, said: “Our goal is to maintain our position as the leading casino affiliate in the industry and to expand further in the North American market. The inclusion of KaFe Rocks aligns perfectly with these objectives.

“We’ve identified a thriving business led by an exceptionally skilled team. We eagerly anticipate integrating KaFe Rocks into the GiG family, unlocking additional business value to benefit our partners and investors.”

Kafe Rocks targets “new heights”

KaFe Rocks welcomed the acquisition when it was announced in November 2023, a year after a takeover bid by Glitnor Group collapsed.

Aimee Speight, spokesperson for KaFe Rocks, said at the time: “It’s a momentous occasion for KaFe Rocks to join forces with GiG Media. We considered several buyers but were persuaded to go with GiG Media based on the strong performance the company has shown over the last few years. Joining GiG Media, we are optimistic about seeing KaFe Rocks business venturing into new heights.”

Back in June, the affiliate announced that it was rebranding to Time2Play Media. Yet the business remains under the KaFe Rocks Ltd name.

New beginnings for GiG

The company completed its acquisition of AskGamblers and other domains from Catena Media in January 2023. Some €20m was paid on purchase, with the remaining €10m and €15m to be paid in January 2024 and January 2025.

The group chose to pursue a split after launching a strategic review in February. The idea of splitting the business was the main focus of the review. The split involves the GiG Media affiliate arm and Platform & Sportsbook divisions, becoming separate entities.

The Media arm includes all GiG media offerings such as GiG’s affiliate lead generation services. Platform & Sportsbook covers technical igaming platforms including Sportnco, which GiG acquired for €51.3m (£43.2m/$56.7m) in April 2022. Also included in the second division is front-end development and other managed services.

Strive Gaming, a gaming platform provider with a sole focus on the North American market, is taking on a host of industry giants as it looks to grow its customer base across the US and Canada. And with some big operators building out a vertically integrated proposition, it’s competing against proprietary solutions as well as suppliers. 

But as this week’s partnership to power PointsBet’s igaming offering in Canada shows, it can take on the biggest competitors and win.

A team of industry pioneers

It’d be easy to position Strive as an industry upstart, but with a leadership team featuring a trio of US betting pioneers, it comes with strong pedigree. CEO Max Meltzer and president and CCO Damian Xuereb were responsible for a flurry of deals in the wake of PASPA’s repeal during their time at Kambi. CMO Jamie Shea oversaw the launch of New Jersey’s first mobile sportsbook at DraftKings.

“The platform is designed around our industry experience,” Meltzer says. “We have more B2C operational experience than any other player account management (PAM) and we recognise what’s needed to be a success: to deploy quickly, to have a configurable solution, move state to state for customers from the same single office.”

Even its client base, in the early stages of its growth, includes names that will make larger platform providers envious. It already supplies DraftKings, via Golden Nugget Online Gaming, Betsson’s Betsafe and Desert Diamond in Arizona. PointsBet expands the list of high-profile partners further, thanks to a four-year deal to deploy Strive’s PAM platform for its igaming offering. 

PointsBet deal “a natural next step” for Strive

To chief executive Meltzer, it’s the right time for Strive to take on a client of PointsBet’s size in Canada. 

“It’s a natural next step for us,” he explains. “Over the the past two years we have been establishing ourselves, proving we can be quick to market, scalable and without tech debt, which has really resonated [with the industry]. 

“Since then we’ve vastly built out our Vancouver, Newcastle and Malta offices, to build a really slick operation. It makes sense to take on such a large multi-state operation.

“It’s a very significant moment for us. We’ve been planning for this [size of client] since day one.”

Are North American operators rethinking their partnership rosters?

The announcement also comes amid a flurry of bed-hopping across the industry. This is as operators switch suppliers, acquire systems or even build their own. In some ways, this opens up new doors for Strive in that there’s more scope to entice organisations away from their existing partners. In others, it potentially raises risk levels as companies look to control their own tech stack. 

However Meltzer argues there’s increasing scope for outsourcing expertise. There’s plenty out there to suggest a vertically integrated proposition is “not necessarily the way to win in the long term”, he points out. 

“There’s not enough strategic value in buying businesses. The market has told us that. You need to show success from the bottom line, with a product that’s sticky and drives long-term value,” he explains. “That’s exactly where we fit.”

To put it simply, Strive offers an edge on the competition. Meltzer claims it’s integrated with more sportsbooks and casino vendors than any other PAM. It also offers a host of payment providers, KYC solutions and geolocation services. 

Lifting the hood on Strive’s PAM

Strive’s gaming platform offers something that is very hard to replicate, Meltzer continues. Building anything in-house would take years. 

Operators built out hefty player bases in the acquisition spree that typified the early years of US sports betting. As the focus turns to retention, they need a product that keeps them engaged and playing.

“Our platform is laid out for operators to track customers from a single back office, moving from state to state with a single wallet,” he says. 

Its infinity engine automates workflows to better engage customers, while a dedicated data analytics team is building out AI models. This use of data is “a key battle for the industry”, utilising data to keep customers engaged and playing responsibly. 

Laser focus on North America

But Meltzer believes Strive’s “laser focus” on North America gives it an additional advantage. 

“The global regulatory landscape is becoming more and more complex, whether you’re looking at the UK, or Germany, or Brazil, through to North America,” he explains. “It’s a complex landscape of regulatory and technical requirements, meaning there are companies out there, even with their own gaming platforms, that use our PAM. 

“Betsson has its own internal PAM, but recognises that using ours in North America makes sense, for example.”

Rival suppliers, meanwhile, may spread themselves too thin. “It’s difficult to focus on a launch in Pennsylvania or Ohio while trying to make sure you’re ready to be in Brazil, Peru, Germany or the Netherlands, so from a development focus it’s difficult to be spread across all these jurisdictions.”

This means “it hasn’t proven that difficult to be in the conversation if people want to outsource their PAM”. 

“People know it’s incredibly complex. It’s not the most exciting part of the business so operators might want to look at more creative elements such as the front end or marketing. We provide the expertise so they can build on it.”

Will a lack of progress for online casino regulation slow growth?

But while Strive is targeting growth across all verticals, two of its major deals in Golden Nugget Online Gaming and PointsBet focus on icasino. Early hopes of a wave of legalisation to take the vertical into more than its current six states in 2023 have been dashed in the current legislative session. 

For Meltzer, online casino “is a highly engaging and profitable area for our industry and [operators recognise] its not enough to offer sportsbook alone”. 

The lack of progress in 2023 doesn’t bother him, however. It gives the industry time to test and prepare for 2024. 

That year, he predicts, will be “a huge year for sports and icasino approvals. Next year will be the wave, where we see something exciting happen. This year has given everyone an opportunity to get their product ready. My boldest prediction is something to happen with icasino in New York.

“In my previous business, I worked to get people live, but people were focused on speed rather than quality. 2023 has been the year of quality, where you’ll see which casino games work. There are differences between the states so we should be learning as much, testing as much and getting as much content through.”

Creating an ecosystem around gaming

Adding online casino to the mix also expands the gaming ecosystem, something Meltzer believes is a key point of differentiation between North America and Europe. 

“From the way [operators] approach things, it’s not so much how they differentiate the sportsbook product, but how they differentiate the whole experience.

“DraftKings has sportsbook, daily fantasy and casino, then acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming and built out their NFT marketplace. Fanatics is just at the precipice of what they’re trying to achieve, in combining sports betting with merchandise.”

This approach of incentivising players through non-cash bonuses is being replicated across other providers, such as Prizeout, where vertical integration is less about owning the tech stack and more about piecing together the products and prizes. 

“That’s the way I see [North America] going; obviously there’s differences in their proposition, but it’s not sticking to the traditional way of rewarding players from a technical standpoint,” he says. “They’re going to be able to reward dynamically and that’s what I perceive the big players to be doing. 

“It’s exactly what we’ve designed our platform for. It’s not just an igaming platform, it’ll grow depending on what people want to add in.”

The client base grows

And there are more clients already lined up. Meltzer says multiple deals have been signed already, and not yet announced. 

“Even Ontario who we are going into with PointsBet, we’ve gone in with other customers. Customers unannounced include those ones that own property assets such as tribal operators, clients launching new brands, some of the big operators and hopefully in the coming months we’ll announce those.”

There are multiple gaming platform providers fighting for clients, not to mention the additional challenge of operators taking tech in-house. Meltzer and Strive are working to prove there’s room for more. 

The $648.2m (£512m/€590m) put down by bettors in Arizona was a 4.8% increase when compared to October of last year. The figure was also up 6.2% compared to September.

The October 2023 handle trails only the $691m worth of wagers accepted in March 2022.

Almost 99% of betting turnover in Arizona came from mobile betting with just $5.4m from retail. It was the seventh time this year that betting turnover has topped $600m.

DraftKings and FanDuel generated an almost identical amount of mobile gaming turnover, with each reporting around $220m in October. FanDuel was also the biggest retail bookmaker with revenue of $2.1m.

Arizona’s betting win down in October

Players won a total of $591.3m during October, leaving adjusted gross event wagering receipts before free bets of $55.6m. This figure was down compared to the $59.7m generated in September.

Free bets and promotional credits in October totalled $22.6m, almost all of which came from online operators.

After discounting these free bets, adjusted gross event wagering receipts hit $33.0m. This was slightly higher than September.

The state collected approximately $3.29m in privilege fees in the month.

The NTL launched earlier this year and pits racehorses against each other in teams as part of a league. This in turn simplifies the betting experience.

The move of headquarters has been made with the intention of taking advantage of Las Vegas’ growing role as a sports hub, as well as giving the NTL more opportunity to tap into strategic partnerships. The chance to grow its fan engagement also appealed to the NTL.

Tom Ludt, NTL president, stated: “We are thrilled to announce the relocation of NTL to the vibrant city of Las Vegas. This move represents a strategic decision to align our league with a community that shares our passion for sports and entertainment.

“Las Vegas provides an extraordinary platform for NTL to thrive, with a depth of talent in sports wagering and event management.”

Las Vegas’ growing importance in sport

November of this year saw Las Vegas host its first Formula One race. The Oaklands Athletics of Major League Baseball also announced they would be relocating to the city in the future.

The Athletics are following in the footsteps of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders in moving from Oakland to Las Vegas. The city is a growing part of the NFL’s plans, holding its draft there in 2022, while the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium will host the upcoming Super Bowl in February.

The NTL is not the only company looking to place larger emphasis on Las Vegas, with BetMGM claiming 2024 will be the year it “unlocks” the city.

The Formula One race in November attracted 300,000 fans to Las Vegas. As a result, Bet MGM took three times the number of bets than any other F1 race in its history.

Bet MGM chief executive Adam Greenblatt highlighted the appeal of Las Vegas to its customer acquisition strategy.

“[20]24 is the year we unlock Las Vegas,” Greenblatt said. “Why that’s important, is because recruiting a player in Vegas costs 27% of the cost of acquiring that player in the open market. They’re also more than 130% as valuable.”