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According to figures supplied by Ficom Leisure to iGB, revenue for all online verticals increased (see interactive Charts 1 and 2 below).

This included online sports betting, which held steady for the first half of the year despite the suspension of almost all global sports from mid-March to June, before a 74% year-on-year growth in H2 (Chart 5). As a result, total online betting revenue fell just short of €1bn (Chart 6).

Online gaming, meanwhile, saw gross revenue climb 47.1% to €1.48bn.

Within this segment, casino and slots were the main revenue driver generating 82.4%, or €1.22bbn, of the total. This represented a 46.5% improvement on 2019’s figures (Charts 3 and 4).

Meanwhile, the global boom in online poker under lockdown was reflected in a strong year for the vertical in Italy.

Cash games and poker tournaments generated GGR of €124.3m and €82.7m respectively. The vertical’s revenue for the year totalled €207.0m, representing year-on-year growth of 50.2% and reversing the trend of decreasing GGR. Bingo GGR accounted for 3.9% of the total online gaming market, at €58.2m (Charts 2 and 3).

The changes in the market led to some shift in the market share among the leading online casino providers in the market. However, the top four – of Pokerstars, Sisal, Lottomatica and Snai – all remained in place. Pokerstars, already the biggest online operator in the country, was perhaps the biggest winner, increasing its market share to 12.2%.

Looking down the rankings, however, there was change as 888 overtook Eurobet as its market share grew to 6.8%, while SKS365’s PlanetWin365 saw its share grow from 4.8% to 5.3% and Goldbet moved into the top 10, with William Hill falling out (Chart 7).

In online betting, Bet365 remained on top but its market share declined from 15.7% to 14.0%. The online betting giant lost its top spot in the rankings for November and December as the country went back into lockdown. This saw retail operators climb the charts, as their customers migrated online.

Snai, previously in third place, moved into a close second with 13.2% as Planetwin365 slipped to third. Eurobet and Sisal’s market shares also exceeded 11%, closing the gap with Planetwin365 (Chart 8).

“The Italian land-based and online betting and gaming market is experiencing an acceleration in operators consolidation through M&A,” Ficom founder Christian Tirabassi said. “The leading operators in the online and mobile betting and gaming are companies with an omni-channel offering (online marketing plus land-based player acquisition).”

This consolidation means that the top eight online betting operators now hold a combined 78.5% market share. The value of omni-channel products can also be seen, with six of these eight having some form of retail presence.

Looking at the combined online and retail sports betting market, online-focused operators were unsurprisingly the biggest winners. Lottomatica’s market share share rising 3.6 percentage points and Bet365’s 1.7 points. However, Snai remained on top with a 1.51% market share (Chart 9).

As the online poker market grew considerably, Pokerstars’ domination continued. While its share of tournament GGR dipped slightly to 58.2%, it increased its share of cash game revenue to 46.8%. Snai was a distant second in tournament revenue, while Sisal held that spot for cash games (Charts 10 and 11).

“Going forward, we expect the pure online operators to acquire Italian land-based networks (shops or land-based affiliates) in order to be able to compete in one of the largest online regulated markets in Europe,” Tirabassi added.

Scroll down for the infographic to track market growth since 2016, as well as shifting revenue shares over the years.

After the business reported an 18.4% year-on-year decline in turnover for the first half of the year, lottery sales and sportsbook stakes rose 2.8% over the six months to 31 December, 2020. 

This helped FDJ generate turnover of €15.96bn (£14.02bn/$19.31bn) for the year, though this was down 6.8% compared to 2019’s adjusted €17.13bn total. The 2019 figures were adjusted to reflect France’s new fiscal and regulatory framework, Sporting Group’s full results, and expenses related to FDJ’s initial public offering. 

This broke down to €12.73bn in lottery sales, down 6.0%, of which €7.72bn was generated from instant win games (down 5.9%) and €5.01bn (down 6.2%) from draw-based games. 

FDJ said growth in online lottery sales only partially offset a decline in point-of-sale activity, that was particularly significant in a first half which saw France go into lockdown from 12 March. After lockdown was eased from June onwards, activity improved though a second lockdown followed from 30 October. 

Over the year online lottery turnover exceeded €1.10bn, or almost 9% of all stakes for the vertical. 

Sports betting, meanwhile, saw amounts wagered fall 10.0% to €3.19bn. A second half of double-digit growth mitigated the 38.8% first half decline, exacerbated by a suspension of almost all sporting activity between mid-March and mid-May. 

Again, this accelerated customers’ migration online, aided by the rollout of FDJ’s new Parions Sport En Ligne site, and the launch of the Loto Foot 8 and 12 games. In total FDJ’s online sportsbook accounted for more than 80% of stakes, compared to 70% in 2019. 

“2020 was an unprecedented and contrasted year during which FDJ demonstrated resilience and solidarity,” the operator’s chief executive Stéphane Pallez said. “The health crisis had a particularly strong impact on our business in the first half. 

“But the recovery in the second half, combined with the group’s responsiveness and relevant digital strategy, enabled us to preserve our performance and annual results,” she said. “I would like to thank our employees for their commitment, and to renew our support for our network of retailers, some of which have been severely impacted.”

Over the year FDJ’s customers won €10.85bn, leaving gross revenue of €5.11bn, down 6.4%. Once the operator’s €3.24bn in public levies, including lottery and sports betting rights payments, plus a further €13.9m in sports betting revenue were factored in, its net revenue for the year came to €1.88bn, down 6.5%. 

It then generated an additional €40.9m in revenue from its FDJ International B2B arm, payment services and entertainment, for total revenue of €1.92bn. This represented a 6.3% year-on-year decline. 

However, the early- and late-2020 lockdowns did reduce costs, aided by efforts to reduce outgoings as the business looked to mitigate the impact of Covid-19. This resulted in non-recurring operating profit rising 28.8% to €324.7m. 

Once depreciation and amortisation charges of €102.0m were factored back into that total, FDJ’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was up marginally at €427.0m. 

Non-recurring items, relating to internal restructuring expenses, rescued operating profit for the year to €292.7m, down slightly from the prior year. This increased to a pre-tax profit of €298.7m after FDJ’s share of joint venture profits and financial income was factored in. 

Income taxes for the year were reduced to €85.0m, thanks to a tax saving that arose from the capital loss on equity investments resulting from its restructuring of Sporting Group, which was acquired in June 2019.

This left a net profit for the year of €213.7m, up 5.9% year-on-year. 

Looking ahead, FDJ said it is focused on offering an increasingly global gaming experience and strengthening its leading position in the French market. 

“Uncertainties persist for 2021,” it added, however. “Nevertheless, for lottery, launches and relaunches are planned for numerous instant games, while more than ten events promoting special enhanced Loto and Euromillions jackpots will pepper the year for draw games. 

“The expansion of the online lottery gaming offer will continue, with innovative and richer gaming experiences,” FDJ continued. “In addition to its intrinsic momentum, sports betting will also benefit from the UEFA Euro and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will enliven the events calendar.”

Ström’s Veralda Investment entity sold the shares, which represented 2.2% of the total holding in Kambi, at a price of SEK 462 per share, resulting in proceeds of approximately SEK312m (£27.1m/€30.9m/$37.4m).

Shares were sold through an accelerated book-building process in an offering to Swedish and international institutional investors.

Ström and Veralda now hold a total of 5,428,564 shares in Kambi, representing 17.5% of the provider’s ordinary share capital.

Veralda’s remaining ordinary shares will be subject to a customary lock-up from the date of the sale announcement (11 February) until 90 days after settlement of the placement.

“I am very pleased to see the overwhelming interest from both current and new shareholders wanting to invest in Kambi’s growth story,” said Ström, who is the chairman of Veralda.

“By divesting a small part of Veralda’s shares in Kambi, we have effected an elemental reallocation within our overall portfolio of investments.

“Veralda remains committed as a long-term major shareholder and intends to continue to support Kambi through our representation in the board of directors.”

The sale comes after Ström in December announced that he would not stand for re-election as non-executive chairman of the Kindred Group. Ström founded igaming operator Unibet, which since evolved into Kindred Group, from which the B2B arm – Kambi – then spun off.

Upon making the announcement, Ström said that he had promised himself to step back from business to spend more time on family, friends and leisure pursuits after turning 50.

Both Kambi and Kindred posted their full-year results for 2020 this week, with both businesses experiencing significant growth.

Kambi revealed revenue was up 27.5% to €117.7m, while comprehensive net profit jumped 272.9% year-on-year €17.5m.

Meanwhile, Kindred saw full-year revenue grow 23.9% to £1.13bn, while its profit reached £165.2m, 191.8% more than in 2019.

During a conference call organised by the Madrid Workers Commissions (CCOO), director general of the DGOJ Mikel Arana said that, according to the regulator’s own prevalence studies, “the vast majority of people who gamble, whether online or offline, do so as a leisure activity and it is not a health problem for them”.

“That does not mean, however, that it is not necessary to try to prevent them from increasing their levels of play,” Arana continued.

Jdigital said that these conclusions mean that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and government at large have acted with conscious arbitrariness and disproportionality, in introducing restrictions such as new advertising regulations introduced throughout 2020 and 2021.

The association also said the regulations are likely to lead to more damage and a greater lack of protection than that which existed before.

It pointed out that the online gambling market in Spain is one of the most heavily regulated worldwide, and that Spanish gambling legislation has been used as an example of good practice in many other countries.

The latest reports from Spain’s National Drugs Plan, it said, showed again that the prevalence of problem gambling in Spain is less than 0.5% among the population aged 15 to 64, that this figure has remained stable since 2015 and moreover has shown a downward trend.

Jdigital said the online sector has always been in favour of regulation, and has pledged a firm commitment to eradicate the prevalence of problem gambling behaviours and protect its users, especially those who are most vulnerable.

It therefore demanded a “balanced and proportionate” regulation of the activity, based on real data.

It argued that the current proposals and recently created regulations, in contrast, are only justified by populist arguments or media headlines, without taking into account the consequences they will have on a sector whose activity is already highly regulated.

Regulations including strict limits on the hours that gambling advertising is permitted on TV and radio, a blanket ban on all promotional acquisition offers and the outlawing of gambling sponsorships of sports teams, have been brought into effect throughout 2020.

In January, the Ministry for Consumer Affairs said its key priority for 2021 would be consumer protection, continuing to implement and tighten the advertising restrictions introduced last year, as well as other projects such as the consolidation of Spain’s region-specific self-exclusion databases into a single list.

A study published in October by the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) claimed that while 84.9% of the population of Spain participates in some form of gambling activity each year, the country has a problem gambling rate of just 0.3%.

This, it said, equated to one of the lowest rates of problem gambling in any country worldwide.

Under the agreement, Infront will acquire a minority stake in Squash Media & Marketing (SMM), a new PSA entity that will manage and exploit commercial rights for the PSA and its key stakeholders.

Infront will manage the monetisation of media, betting, sponsorship and digital rights of all SMM controlled properties until the end of the 2028-2029 season.

This will include rights associated with the PSA’s leading events, such as the PSA World Championships and PSA World Tour Finals.

The deal also covers a full redevelopment of SquashTV, the PSA’s wholly owned over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platform, while Infront will work with the PSA to help develop the sport at all levels around the world.

“Our ambitions have always been clear: we want to see squash at the top table of sport, and this new collaboration with Infront means we are taking big strides towards achieving that aim,” PSA chief executive Alex Gough said.

“This is a statement of intent from the PSA and we have no doubt that this modern structure combined with a long-term commitment from our new partner will usher the sport into a new era.”

Julien Ternisien, senior vice president for summer sports at Infront, added: “This new collaboration goes beyond a traditional agreement and we are investing in our belief that squash can further elevate itself to a broader audience.

“Our aim is to bring this dynamic and exciting sport to a wider community by combining our experience in traditional broadcast, OTT media, digital and sponsorship with PSA’s expertise in putting on world-class events.”

Veikkaus halted all gambling activities in Kainuu on 13 January after the government determined the spread of Covid-19 in the region had moved from a low to accelerated phase.

Current regulations in Finland mean all slot machines must be switched off and gaming halls closed in areas where the spread of the virus is accelerated.

However, with measures having again been scaled back to basic levels, Veikkaus began switching on its slot machines in Kainuu’s kiosks, shops and traffic stations earlier today.

This is the second time Veikkaus has restarted gaming activities in Kainuu after a temporary suspension.

Measures in the region were relaxed in mid-December to allow slot machines to operate, but were switched off last month after restrictions in Kainuu were increased.

Last month, Veikkaus was again forced to suspend activities in Satakunta, after the region was moved to the accelerating phase.

Canada’s Criminal Code currently only permits consumers to wager on at least three games or more in an individual bet, meaning that a wager on a single sports match or event is regarded as illegal.

However, a bill (C-13) introduced in the Canadian House of Commons in November last year, proposes amending paragraph 207(4)‍(b) of the Criminal Code to make it lawful to bet on a single sports or athletics event.

Provincial lottery operator the British Columbia Lottery Corporation has already voiced its support for the legislation, while media business Score Media and Gaming (theScore) and a number of major sports leagues have also backed single-event betting in Canada.

The AGLC has now joined this growing list of supporters, with acting president and chief executive Kandice Machado saying the bill would help to modernize gambling laws in the country.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The operator said the acquisition is subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory, governmental or similar clearances, including from competition authorities and gaming authorities.

Entain has filed applications to obtain the necessary approvals, it said, but due to the timing of the review process, it does not expect that all such approvals will have been received during the acceptance period ending 18 February.

It has therefore decided to extend the acceptance period until 17:00 CET on 18 March, 2021.

Provided Entain can announce that the conditions of the offer have been satisfied or waived on 23 March, it said, settlement can be expected to commence on or around 30 March.

All other terms and conditions set out in the offer document will continue to apply throughout the extended acceptance period.

Entain tabled its offer to acquire Enlabs on 7 January, in a deal worth £250m (€285.1m/$345.7m). The cash offer would see Entain pay SEK40 (£3.48/€3.97/$4.81) for each of Enlabs’ 69.9m shares.

The operator said the acquisition is directly aligned with its growth strategy of entering locally regulated markets where it does not yet have a presence.

When announcing its rebrand from GVC to Entain, the operator made a commitment to generate 100% of its revenue from locally regulated markets by 2023.

Enlabs’ position as the leading operator in Latvia, second largest in Estonia and one of the top five in Lithuania, meant the acquisition was therefore directly aligned with Entain’s strategy, the Bwin and Ladrbokes Coral operator said.

Full details of its bid to acquire Enlabs were put forward on 20 January, and Entain announced it had no plans for material change to the business’ operations, management or employees.

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, saying that it “materially undervalues” the business, and concluding that the acquisition represented a good deal for Entain, but not for Enlabs minority shareholders.

In addition, under the agreement the club will educate its staff, players and fans about the risks associated with gambling.

Natalie Wright, director of the Office of Responsible Gambling, said the partnership aims to “address the normalisation of sports betting and raise awareness of gambling harm”.

“Attending a live sports event is a real ritual for many people in New South Wales, and we’re excited that different codes and teams are encouraging their fans to ‘Reclaim the Game’ and are turning down gambling advertising and sponsorship,” she said.

“We think you should be able to enjoy sport without betting. That’s why we’re working with sports codes and teams to ‘Reclaim the Game’ and get back to what sport is meant to be about.”

John Tsatsimas, chief executive of the Wanderers, added that the club has some of the most passionate and engaged fans of any team, and said: “We value those communities who have been such strong supporters, and one of the ways we aim to give back is by choosing partnerships that encourage community wellbeing.”

“We know that gambling is an issue that concerns many in our Western Sydney community, and we’re really excited to have this opportunity to raise awareness of gambling harm and reduce the amount of betting promotion that our fans are exposed to.”

The partnership follows on from the Office of Responsible Gambling’s latest deal with Cricket New South Wales, a two-year partnership spanning the four teams active under Cricket NSW’s leadership.

Under the deal, neither Cricket NSW or the teams are permitted to sign partnerships with a sports betting or gambling business.

Known as Senet Assure and Senet Assure Premium, the accreditations aim to protect gaming organisations and venues, their customers and communities, the advisory said.

As well as safeguarding corporate reputation and minimising the risks of gambling harm and financial crime, achieving accreditation would demonstrate an organisation’s commitment to responsible gambling culture, said Paul Newson, regulatory and gambling specialist at Senet.

Newson said the certification would only be awarded to operators who could demonstrate the highest level of vigilance.

“Our team has developed this accreditation based on our deep knowledge of the complexities and challenges in 2021 facing gambling operators committed to responsible gambling outcomes and staying a step ahead of criminal activity,” he added.

“The accreditation is a way for industry leaders to demonstrate they are meeting the highest standards of accountability and exceeding best practice in protecting their customers and their staff in cultivating a workplace culture of compliance and social responsibility.”

The announcement follows a warning put out this month by the New South Wales Crime Commission, that the Australian economy could become a greater target for financial crime following its successful management of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The commission also expressed concerns that poker machines would be exploited as a money laundering option for criminals.

The government of New South Wales launched a consultation on a series of proposed changes to regulations on gaming machines in September last year, including that clubs and hotels would be required to actively identify and assist players displaying problem gambling behaviour, rather than taking action only following a specific request for help.

A study published earlier this month by the New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling showed that almost a third of 12-17 year-olds interviewed had participated in real-money gambling in the past 12 months.

To increase young people’s awareness of the risks of gambling, the Office said it was developing resources for teachers and partnering with sporting teams via the Reclaim the Game initiative, to help educate people around sports betting promotion.