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Go-live date (expected):29/02/2024Number of paylines:20Number of reels:5RTP% (recorded/theoretical):86.00% – 96.00%Variance/volatility:Medium-high
The monthly total was 22.7% higher than $282.3m in January 2023. However, it was 8.1% behind December’s record figure of $377.0m. Incidentally, December was the third straight month that Louisiana reported a record handle.
Of all bets placed in January, $317.8m were online and $28.5m at retail sportsbooks.
Looking at revenue for the Louisiana market as a whole, this was 72.1% higher than last year at $38.9m. However, the January total fell 30.3% short of December’s record $38.9 haul.
Online betting generated a total of $317.8m in revenue during the month. Retail’s share hit $28.5m in January.
Tax for the month amounted to $5.7m, with $5.3m coming from online betting and $340,385 in retail.
Looking at the state’s year-to-date performance, handle for the seven months through to the end of January was $1.96bn. Some $1.77bn was wagered with online operators during this period and $185.1m retail sportsbooks.
As for revenue, a total of $233.1m was generated in the same period. This includes $211.1m from online betting and a further $22.0m from retail wagering.
A total of 10 operators run online sportsbooks in Louisiana. These include ESPN Bet, Bet Rovers, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, Betway, Bet365 and ClutchBet.
The latter of these, ClutchBet, is the latest to join the market, going live in Louisiana at the end of January. The BlueBet Holdings-owned brand is now live in three states, also operating in Iowa and Colorado.
Bet365 is another relative newcomer, going live in Louisiana in November last year. Bet365 is active in the Pelican State via a partnership with Boyd Gaming-owned Amelia Belle, a riverboat casino located in Amelia, Louisiana.
The case dates back to November 2021, with allegations that Evolution products were available in countries subject to US trade sanctions. Law firm Calcagni & Kanefsky LLP flagged the alleged wrongdoing to the New Jersey regulator.
Evolution hit out at the claims, saying they were from an anonymous third party aiming to discredit the business. The provider said it works with regulators and operators to support and provide tools that block play from certain countries. These include those on US sanction lists such as Syria, Iran and Sudan.
Incidentally, the claims wiped billions from Evolution’s market capitalisation.
However, after a thorough investigation into the allegations, the NJDGE has decided not to take action against Evolution. The New Jersey regulator says the matter is complete.
“The NJDGE found no evidence that Evolution sanctioned, promoted, permitted, or otherwise materially benefitted from its content offered by operators in any market that the NJDGE considers a prohibited jurisdiction,” Evolution said in a statement.
“Evolution also conducted an internal review, while concluding that its due diligence and compliance processes were sufficient, Evolution took the opportunity to enhance its processes.
“The NJDGE supports the enhancements that Evolution has made. The enhancements did not relate to any jurisdictional violations.”
In its initial response to the allegations, Evolution defended its products. It said the people in prohibited countries could only access content with “sophisticated technical manipulation”.
Evolution says this sort of manipulation created the impression its products were accessible in these markets.
This is possible through an operator that is a customer of an aggregator offering its products, using a virtual private network (VPN). As such, this creates the impression a player was in a country in which its products were available, rather than one blocked by its systems.
Evolution said a connection was only established after multiple attempts to connect directly from the original IP address were made. It criticised these efforts as “a deliberate course of action to circumvent a broadly accepted and well-established process to check users’ geographical location, with the purpose of discrediting Evolution”.
Evolution added that its partners must hold valid licences for markets in which its products are active. In addition, in many territories, it must have a licence to serve as a supplier.
As it does not handle players or their funds, operator partners are required to conduct know your customer checks on each player. After this, they can make a decision on what players to accept.
While the news will come as a relief for Evolution, the provider still faces questions over a separate case.
Last month, a class action lawsuit filed alleged Evolution deceived investors in relation to its growth trajectory and compliance.
It represents entities that bought Evolution shares between 14 February 2019 and 25 October 2023. It alleges that within this timeframe, Evolution made untrue or misleading statements. These are in regards to its growth potential, customer compliance, the company’s compliance and the effect of non-compliance on revenue.
Martin Carlesund, Evolution CEO, and Jacob Kaplan, chief financial officer, are defendants in the case.
Marinos Shiapanis, chief executive officer and co-founder at Campeόn Gaming discusses the key trends of 2023. From driving into core player needs to personalised solutions, using data analytics has enabled Campeon to tailor its offering to win big with its partners. Going into 2024, honing in on this offering is pivotal for operators to stay on top.
Lucila Cirio, head of payments at Eightroom, discusses the arrival of the Vpag wallet and the impact it has had on the Brazilian market since its launch. From a native customer service provision to an exclusive loyalty programme, this innovative new wallet offers the latest in localised transactions.
Francesco Rodano, chief policy officer at Playtech, discusses how the company is using AI to identify and prevent problem gambling behaviours. As a company at the forefront of safer gambling, Playtech is collaborating with regulators and industry stakeholders to develop AI solutions that not only protect players but prevent gambling harm from needing intervention altogether.
Monthly revenue amounted to $6.7m (£5.3m/€6.2m) in Mississippi. This was 31.4% ahead of $5.1m in January 2023 and also 36.7% up from $4.9m in December.
These increases came despite players spending less on betting, with total handle for January at $44.6m.
January’s total handle was 22.0% behind $57.2m in the same month last year. It was also some 8.8% less than the $48.9m bet in December 2023.
As has been the case for some time, Mississippi coastal casinos were again the most popular with bettors.
Some $29.1m was bet with retail sportsbooks at costal casinos, with revenue hitting $4.0m. Of revenue at these venues, the majority ($1.6m) came from American football betting, with $12.0m wagered on the sport.
Elsewhere, revenue from central casinos reached $1.5m from a handle of $9.1m. Parlay bets offered the best return for these venues, with casinos turning a revenue of $1.1m from $4.0m bets.
Meanwhile, revenue at northern casinos amounted to $1.2m off $6.4m in bets in January. Some $631,180 of this revenue came from American football wagering, with bets here amounting to $2.1m.
The latest monthly report comes as Mississippi lawmakers consider several bills to legalise online sports betting. At present, consumers in the state can only legally wager on sports at licensed retail sportsbooks.
Earlier this month, House Bill 774, backed by eight state representatives as sponsors, cleared the house and entered the senate.
Key language in the bill includes all 26 land-based casinos in Mississippi being permitted to launch online sports betting. Casinos will only be able to partner with one licensed platform to offer wagering; this would be in addition to any existing retail sportsbook.
Elsewhere, HB271 and HB635 are also seeking to legalise sports betting.
The influx of new bills comes in the wake of HB606, a bill signed last year. This authorised a Mississippi sports betting task force to “undertake a comprehensive analysis” of sports betting.
The bill was initially more expansive, aiming to allow each land-based casino to partner an online sportsbook. However, its reach was significantly cut down in committee.
The PFL will use ProhiBet’s technology to help improve sports integrity and ensure compliance with state-specific betting regulations.
The partnership aims to prevent PFL individuals, such as athletes and coaches who are banned from placing bets, from wagering on the league’s events. ProhiBet will use its cross-monitoring and notification platform to achieve this.
Matt Heap, managing director of ProhiBet, said the deal would see the PFL and ProhiBet strengthen compliance within sports betting.
“We are thrilled to partner with the PFL,” said Heap. “The combination of ProhiBet’s state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and the PFL’s dedication to upholding the integrity of sports will undoubtedly enhance the transparency and trustworthiness of sports betting activities.”
ProhiBet is a joint venture between US Integrity and Odds On Compliance. US Integrity offers wagering monitoring services to sporting stakeholders. Odds On Compliance, meanwhile, is a compliance technology and consultation firm in sports betting and gaming.
ProhiBet was launched in February 2023 and is the first offering to launch from the Secure Sports Solutions joint venture.
In August, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Big 12 Conference became one of the first sports properties to begin using ProhiBet.
At the time, the conference said this forms part of a two-fold approach to strengthen its oversight over sports betting. Big 12 is also intensifying its control over the distribution of Big 12 data.
PFL’s deal comes months after the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) confirmed a similar deal with ProhiBet.
In another new link between martial arts and betting, yesterday (19 February) the UFC announced that online gambling operator Stake will be its new sponsorship partner.
Stake and UFC will work together to improve the betting experience on the organisation’s events, providing promotions and VIP experiences. There will also be exclusive content with UFC athletes such as Israel Adesanya, who became Stake’s first-ever brand ambassador.
Stake recently became the sole title sponsor of Sauber Group’s Formula One team. This comprises of an exclusive deal to cover the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Stake joined the Sauber team as a co-title sponsor last year. The team was known as Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake for the duration of the 2023 campaign.
“We’re thrilled to partner with an exciting and emerging brand like Stake to offer exclusive digital and social content to our fans, as well as an innovative gaming experience,” said Nick Smith, UFC vice president of global partnerships. “UFC prides itself on being innovators, and Stake is a unique way for fans to experience the action and excitement of UFC.”
Andrew Cochrane, chief business officer of GiG discusses how his first three months have been at GiG. GiG’s latest X suite of products were released in January, harnessing innovative Microservice technology to provide the latest in turn-key solutions. From easy integration to quick, scalable deployment, this rounded suite of products are ready to perform for both mature and emerging markets.
