Category: News

Officially licensed from the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), the latest branded game from Blueprint features the world’s top 10 Order of Merit players including ‘Snakebite’ Peter Wright, ‘Mighty Mike’ Michael van Gerwen and newly-crowned world champion, ‘The Iceman’ Gerwyn Price. During the base game, a minimum of three dart board scatter symbols awards the Free Games feature, and five symbols triggers the maximum 180 spins.

Game type:	Slot
Go-live date (expected):	25/02/2021
Game special features:	Order of Merit – Any three player symbols on a payline from left to right plays a prize, regardless of symbol Free spins – During free spins and Dart scatter symbols that land in view award a throw at the board where a total bet multiplier is won based on the value thrown, all the way up to treble 20
Number of paylines:	10
Number of reels:	5
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	95.55%
Variance/volatility:	Medium
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?	Minimum 3
Can feature be retriggered?	Free spins can be retriggered
Number of free spins awarded?	Up to 180
Stacked or expanding wilds in normal play?	Stacked symbols
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?	Stacked symbols
Number of jackpot tiers?	None
Auto-play function?	Yes

The placement, agreed in December, will see Good Luck Information receive 85,572,963 newly issued Class A ordinary shares in 500.com.

The Bitcoin part of the transaction is equivalent to $11.5m, based on the Bitcoin to US dollar exchange rate on January 21, 2021, thus valuing the placement at a total of $23.0m.

Based on today’s (23 February) price, the 356.04342 Bitcoins are worth $17.3m.

The placement represents 500.com’s latest activity in the cryptocurrency sector, with the provider having last week acquired Blockchain Alliance Technologies, which owns BTC.com.

500.com last month also announced it would acquire $14.4m worth of Bitcoin mining machines, before this month revealing plans to purchase a further 15,900 machines from two additional sellers.

The latest announcement initially saw 500.com’s share price increase to $28.43, but its shares have since dipped to $24.20 at the time of writing, down from an opening price of $26.35 at the start of trading today (23 February).

The figures were compiled using data from operators representing around 80% of the online gambling market.

The Commission said that this rapid growth in revenue could potentially be a cause for concern.

The jump in gross gambling yield was largely due to a major growth in real-event betting revenue, by 53% to £319.6m.

This, the Commission explained, was down to a number of factors including a 3.1% increase in players to 5.0m, a busy sporting calendar and a return to the strong margins seen in October after a dip in November.

The number of bets placed came to 293.0m, up 2.2%.

“We will continue to collect and monitor the data to inform our views of risk, and if these changes appear to be more than short-term fluctuations, we will not hesitate to take further action,” it said.

Slots followed, bringing in £199.7m, up 12.9% for the highest revenue of any month measured.

The number of slots players increased 6.0% to 3.0m while the total number of spins grew by 11.8% to 5.89bn, also a new high.

The average slots session lasted 22 minutes in December, as it did in November, while 2.5m sessions lasted more than an hour.

Other online gaming brought in £73.9m, up 11.0% from November, as 2.1m played non-slot online games, 13.5% more than November, and bets grew 15.5% to 313.2m.

Poker revenue grew 2.8% to £9.4m, while virtual betting came to £7.9m, up 10.8%. Esports betting was the only vertical to see a decline in revenue, by 6.2% to £1.3m, while other revenue increased by 29.7% to £1.7m.

The total number of customer interactions undertaken fell by 3% in December, with the majority of interactions being automated.

The Commission said this was the first time the number of interactions had decreased since it started publishing monthly data in March 2020. However, the number of non-automated interactions increased.

The regulator did not request data from retail betting shops due to closures during the month. Yesterday, the Government announced that betting shops in England are set to reopen on 12 April, while adult gaming centres, bingo halls and casinos are all scheduled to follow on 17 May.

The Gambling Commission noted that the figures show that activity in December 2020 resembled the UK’s first lockdown, when revenue shifted to online, except that in this case a busy sporting schedule led to much stronger real-event betting revenue.

“Data collected in December shows some similarities to gambling behaviour as seen during the first lockdown, which began in March 2020, where online gambling became the only means of gambling activity,” the regulator said.

“Although there are some similarities, one of the main differentiating factors has been the continuation of top-tier sporting events, which were previously banned in the first lockdown.”

The regulator said that “extra operator vigilance” was needed as lockdown continues with more people spending a great deal of time at home.

Betkick can now legally offer betting via the Betano.de domain. Originally founded in Austria, it was acquired by Kaizen Gaming, then Stoiximan, in July 2018.

Betago, meanwhile, has secured retail and online licences for the market. 

The pair’s licences mean that 23 brands have been approved to offer sports betting in Germany since October 2020, when the first licences were awarded. 

However, the number of approvals lags far behind the number of applicants. In February last year, the body responsible for licensing, the Regional Council of Darmstadt, said it had received 30 applications, with a further 20 operators signalling their intention to apply. 

This came a month before the licensing process was brought to a halt by a legal challenge from Austrian bookmaker Vierklee, which claimed it was not being conducted in a fair and transparent manner. 

Vierklee’s challenge was later withdrawn. 

Of the 23 licences awarded, 22 cover online betting, with Oddset, the state lottery-owned sportsbook business, the only licensee not to apply for an internet betting licence. 

A further 10 operators, including Austrian giant Novomatic and Germany’s Gauselmann Group, have secured retail licences alongside Oddset. 

In an earnings update, ATG chief executive Hans Lord Skarplöth said the revenue growth came across verticals, with horse racing revenue up 19% from 2019, sports betting revenue up 51% despite the suspension of almost all sports for much of the year, and casino revenue up 20%.

Skarplöth said he was especially proud of the fact that both ATG’s revenue and operating margin increased.

“Growing with good profitability is always something to be proud of, growing with increased profitability feels great,” Skarplöth said.

The ATG chief executive added that three-quarters of ATG’s sales were online, due mostly to the effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19)

While ATG did not reveal its fourth-quarter revenue, Skarplöth said he was pleased to see horse racing revenue increase by 20% year-on-year during the period despite the return of traditional sports.

However, casino revenue was down year-on-year in Q4, which Skarplöth put down to the introduction of a mandatory SEK5000 deposit cap on the vertical in July 2020.

Yesterday, ATG announced that it is to offer daily fantasy sports games for the first time after partnering with Scout Gaming.

The facility would span 1.6m square feet and include a casino with 2,500 slot machines, 90 table games, 30 poker tables and a high-limit gaming area.

Other on-site amenities would include a sportsbook, 250-room hotel, 13 food and beverage venues, retail outlets and a flexible space for live entertainment and conferences.

Bally’s would build the resort on a 61-acre site located north of Powhite Parkway and east of Chippenham Parkway, on the western border of Richmond.

Construction would take approximately 18 months, with Bally’s hoping to open the new facility in 2024. Once operational, Bally’s said the resort could welcome up to 3.7m visitors each year and create 1,700 full-time jobs in the city.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday (22 February) set out how measures would be eased in a phased approach, allowing business and venues to reopen over the coming months, with the aim of removing almost all restrictions by 21 June.

Betting shops will be permitted to reopen during stage two of the roadmap, which is due to come into effect no earlier than 12 April, while other gaming venues will reopen in phase three from 17 May.

Sporting events will also be able to welcome spectators during phase three, with indoor events limited to half capacity or 1,000, and outdoor evens half capacity or 4,000 people. However, for larger venues with a capacity of 40,000, then up to 10,000 fans will be permitted.

The BHA welcomed the plans, setting out how the racing sector has been hit hard by Covid-19 measures. Racing was initially halted during the first UK lockdown in March last year, and did not resume until June, but fans have remained absent, with the exception of a small number of trial events.

“The whole sport has worked hard to abide by our race-day protocols to allow racing to continue behind closed doors and support the many livelihoods that depend on our industry,” the BHA said. “British racing’s classification as an elite sport made this possible.

“But we do miss owners and we do miss spectators whose presence at meetings contributes so much to the thrill of our sport.

“We have already introduced additional measures to reduce the risks of transmission of the virus and have further options under consideration. We will now engage with government to highlight our ability to move beyond the current limitation on essential staff only as soon as that is possible and allow the return of owners.

“We have further discussions with officials scheduled, which will enable us to draw up specific proposals for race meetings, including potential pilot events.”

The roadmap only applies to England, though similar plans are expected to be put in place by the governments of Scotland and Wales in the coming days.

The BHA added that while the publication of potential reopening dates is a “very positive” sign, the ongoing absence of fans continues to place financial pressure on the racing sector, which is in need of more support as a result.

“This has been exacerbated by the closure of betting shops,” the BHA said. “Our financial discussions with government are ongoing.”

The operator will offer 5m Class A Subordinate Voting Shares for sale through the offering. These will be offered through a syndicate of underwriters led by Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Canaccord Genuity and Macquarie Capital, as joint book-running managers. 

This offering remains subject to theScore agreeing a satisfactory underwriting agreement with this syndicate, which will also set out customary closing conditions. 

Once this agreement is reached, the pricing of the offering, including the expected proceeds, will be announced. 

As part of this, theScore will grant the underwriters an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the Class A shares sold through the offering.

These proceeds will be used to fund working capital and other general corporate purposes. This includes the continued growth and expansion of its sportsbook offering theScore Bet, which is currently live in four states. 

Read the full story on iGB North America.

Gaming made up almost all of Enlabs’ revenue, at €48.0m, up 31.9%, while media revenue was down 22.8% to €1.6m and other revenue totalled €886,000, down 18.6%. 

Enlabs said that 70% of its revenue came from regulated markets, with Latvia as its leading market. 

The year-on-year growth in revenue came despite a complete stoppage in Enlabs’ Latvian operations for much of the second quarter of the year as the country temporarily banned online gambling as it locked down because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Enlabs paid €11.1m in costs of services offered, up 57.5% and €4.5m in gaming taxes for a gross profit of €34.9m, up 21.1%.

In addition, Enlabs’ operating costs were up 37.8% to €23.7m. Staff costs made up roughly half of this at €11.5m, up 36.9%, while marketing costs came to €7.8m. Other expenses totalled €6.6m while €2.2m in costs were capitalised and therefore eliminated on the balance sheet.

This resulted in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €11.2m, down 3.4%. After depreciation and amortisation costs of €3.1m, Enlabs’ earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was €8.1m.

The operator made €6.5m in net financial income, after a €117,000 loss in this area in 2019, for a pre-tax profit of €14.6m, up 55.3%.

After a €521,000 income tax benefit, Enlabs made a €15.1m profit, 60.6% more than in 2019.

Looking just at the fourth quarter of 2020 – the first to include a full three months of activity from recent acquisition Global Gaming – Enlabs made €20.3m in revenue, up 72.1% year-on-year. 

Enlabs chief executive George Ustinov said the increase in revenue was mostly due to an 88% year-on-year growth in active customers.

Gaming made up €19.7m of this total, up 91.3%. Casino gaming revenue saw especially rapid growth, by 152.3% to €16.4m. Betting brought in €3.1m, down 0.6%, and poker revenue dropped 71.4% to €200,000.

Media revenue came to €431,000 and other revenue €181,000.

Enlabs’ costs of services were €4.6m and gaming taxes €1.7m for gross profit of €14.1m.

After staff costs of €4.9m, marketing costs of €2.7m and other income of €3.2m – and after accounting for capitalised costs – Enlabs’ EBITDA was €3.9m, up 22.3%. Its EBIT, meanwhile, was €3.0m.

After a net financial loss of €1.2m, Enlabs’ pre-tax loss was €1.7m, down 32.0%. 

The operator received a €482,000 tax benefit for a profit of €2.2m, down 12.0%.

Ustinov said the business’ future looks strong following the Global Gaming acquisitions. Though Global Gaming saw its licence revoked by Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen in 2019, Enlabs said it was confident it could bring its flagship Ninja Casino brand back to the market.

“The outcome of the integration process is a leaner, more agile and fully aligned organization with a common business roadmap,” Ustinov said. “Enlabs has added Nordic market sales know-how to its team and a global Pay & Play brand to its portfolio. 

“This gives me certainty to say that in 2021 Enlabs will be relaunching in Sweden and will take the Ninja brand across all of its operational markets.”

Enlabs also intends to launch the Ninja Casino brand in the newly regulated Ukraine market. 

In the first quarter of 2021, Ustinov said Enlabs’ gaming revenue was up 99% year-on-year so far.

Early 2021 also saw Bwin and Ladbrokes Coral operator Entain make an offer to acquire Enlabs on 7 January, in a deal worth £250m. The cash offer would see Entain pay SEK40 (£3.48/€3.97/$4.81) for each of Enlabs’ 69.9m shares.

While Entain’s board and shareholders owning 42.2% of Enlabs have backed the deal, shareholders representing 10.7% of Enlabs have rejected the bid and argued it “undervalues” Enlabs.

Enlabs shareholders have until 18 March to make a decision on the offer.

Game Type:	Spinning Reels
Go Live Date (expected):	25th March 2021
Game special features:	– Daily Tournaments – Free Spins Bonus Game “Wild Wild Wins” – Free Spins Bonus Game “Wild Bonanza” – Free Spins Bonus Game “Thunder Link” – Buy Feature – Gamble feature
Number of paylines:	10 winlines paid left to right
Number of reels:	5 reels, 3 rows
RTP% (recorded/theoretical):	95,60%
Variance/volatility:	5/5
Number of symbols to trigger feature/bonus?:	3
Number of free spins awarded?:	12 (Depending on Bonus Game is Selected)
Stacked or expanding wilds in feature play?:	Sticky Wilds
Number of jackpot tiers?:	No
Auto-play function?:	Yes