iGaming Weekly Wrap-Up #21
1.??????MaximBet signs Nicki Minaj to ‘vastly broaden’ its audience
US betting and gaming operator MaximBet has agreed a new global partnership with Trinidadian-born female rapper and pop icon Nicki Minaj.
The multi-year deal will see Minaj work with MaximBet on merchandise, parties, partnerships, fan experiences and branding, as the operator looks to bring together entertainment, sports, celebrity and betting.
As part of the business venture, Minaj will also serve as the new creative director of Maxim magazine, special advisor to the MaximBet board, and be actively involved in the company's plans for iGaming.
“I don't think I've ever been prouder of a collaboration,” said Minaj. “Merging business savvy power moves with my natural, creative, sexy, fun, and fashion-forward expression is just so spot on as it relates to this partnership. I'm ready to fully step into my potential as a young, influential Queen, and owner and open doors for others to dream big.”
MaximBet is currently live in Colorado, with market access deals in place in 11 additional US states and Canada’s Ontario.
“Nicki is best known around the world as a mega superstar, but we know her as a brilliant businesswoman,” said MaximBet CEO Daniel Graetzer. “Her role as a strategic advisor to MaximBet will be invaluable to us.
?2.??????Former MGA CTO charged with money laundering and bribery
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has confirmed that its former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Jason Farrugia and his wife Christine Farrugia have been charged with a range of financial crimes.
These include money laundering, accepting bribes, fraud and trading in influence by abusing his leadership position as CTO of the MGA, according to The Times of Malta.
Additional charges include fraud in excess of €5,000, misappropriation, disclosing confidential information and computer misuse – Farrugia and his wife pleaded not guilty to all charges, but have been denied bail.
An MGA statement read: “The MGA would like to clarify that the employment relationship with Mr Farrugia was terminated in December 2021 following an internal investigation initiated by the MGA into alleged wrongdoings by the same individual.
“The results of these investigations were passed on to the relevant Authorities and the MGA has been, and remains, at their disposal and providing all required assistance. In the meantime, the MGA continues to take all the necessary steps to ensure the integrity of its data.”
Farrugia worked for the MGA until December 2020, amid suspicions of data misuse which led to his suspension by the regulator, which referred his case to the police. Law enforcement subsequently began a six month investigation into the official.
?3.??????North American acquisitions lead Gambling.com to 70% revenue growth in Q1 2022
Gambling.com Group generated $19.6m in revenue during Q1 2022, a year-on-year increase of 70.1%, as it continues on its growth strategy built on the rapid expansion of its US business.
Q1 growth was driven by a combination of improved performance in Gambling.com’s core business and its recently completed acquisitions of RotoWire.com and BonusFinder.com.
North America was the firm’s largest geographical region by revenue during the quarter, bringing in more than half of the total at $10.6m. This represents rapid growth compared to the prior-year period, during which North American revenue totalled just $1.7m.
Revenue from the UK and Ireland was consistent with Q1 2021 at $6.3m, while other European revenues fell by 35%, from $3.0m to $2.0m. Revenue from the rest of the world increased from $593,000 to $721,000.
The business also saw a more even split between casino and sports betting revenue compared to 2021, with $10.4m coming from the casino vertical and $9.0m from sports betting. In the comparative period, casino brought in $10.1m while sports accounted for just $1.2m in revenue.
?4.??????Gambling Commission seeks to guarantee National Lottery handover to Allwyn
The regulator has raised concerns in court amid fears that the National Lottery could be suspended pending the resolution of legal challenges from losing bidders.
UK.- Concerns are mounting that legal challenges against the Gambling Commission’s decision to award the next UK National Lottery licence to Allwyn could lead to the lottery being suspended for a time. The regulator is seeking to overturn a legal constraint preventing it from entering an enabling agreement with the Czech operator to begin the transfer process.
The Gambling Commission has chosen Allwyn as its prefered bidder to run the National lottery from February 1, 2024. It would be the first time that anyone other than Camelot has run the lottery, which began in 1994, but Camelot has mounted a legal challenge to the Gambling Commission’s decision, apparently arguing that it shouldn’t be allowed to lose.
?5.???????Allwyn completes group-wide rebrand and identity change
Allwyn Group has completed its group rebrand and corporate identity change across all core units of its business.
Closing 2021, the company announced that it would change its corporate and brand identity from SAZKA Entertainment to Allwyn Group.
The decision was taken to refresh the firm’s identity that had been born out of its Czech home market enterprise of SAZKA to the new brand of Allwyn.
The rebrand was deemed necessary to reflect the firm’s leading European lotteries portfolio of SAZKA (Czech Rep), OPAP (Greece and Cyprus), Lotteries Austria and Lotto ‘Gioco’ Italia and further global ambitions.
At the time of the decision, the group had established Allwyn UK, as its bidding company to compete in the UK government’s Fourth National Lottery Competition – which it subsequently won last March.
Updating stakeholders, corporate governance announced that the group’s four core business units had successfully rebranded to Allwyn.
?#US / Canada
6.??????Colorado sports betting and revenue up YoY in April
Players in Colorado spent $392.3m (￡310.2m/€364.7m) wagering on sports in April, a year-on-year increase of 60.5%, while revenue also jumped 28.4% to $22.6m.
The state’s handle was comfortably ahead of $244.4m in April last year, but 22.4% behind the $505.6m bet by consumers during March of this year.
Of this total, $389.1m was spent wagering online, while $3.2m was bet at retail sportsbooks across the state.
In terms of gross gaming revenue, this was up year-on-year from $17.6m in April 2021, but 19.9% lower than $28.2m in March this year.
Online betting was responsible for $22.2m of this total with the remaining $379,972 coming from retail sportsbooks.
Breaking down performance by sport, basketball drew the most wagers, with the $146.4m spent by players representing 37.3% of all wagers placed during the month.
?7.??????Nevada gaming revenue up year-on-year in April, but down from March
Gaming revenue in the state of Nevada was up 8.6% year-on-year to $1.13bn in April, though this total was 16.8% less than in March.
Slots continued to make up the majority of revenue, at $804.1m, which was up by 1.4% year-on-year, but down 11.0% month-on-month.
Just under half of this total came from multi-denomination slots, where revenue was up by 11.9% to $397.4m.
Revenue from penny slots, meanwhile, was down 10.5% year-on-year to $305.0m. One dollar slots brought in $55.8m, up 1.0% from April 2021.
Table game revenue rose much more rapidly, by 31.9% to $324.4m. This total, though, was 28.3% less than in March.
?8.??????Paysafe launches new VIP player programme
Paysafe has launched a new programme for its Skrill USA digital wallet that caters to high-stakes online gamblers.
This new VIP scheme follows a recent upgrade to Paysafe’s Skrill USA product, and has been launched with sportsbook operator PlayUp USA.
For instantly funding a deposit, enrolled players will be provided with what Paysafe called “the US iGaming industry’s highest limits.” High-volume online bettors, which Paysafe defined as someone who makes seven or more wagers a week, favour digital wallets when making payments, it said.
“We take great pride in taking care of our VIPs and the ability to onboard them quickly once they have cleared our due diligence protocols,” said Kevin Smith, Chief Marketing Officer at PlayUp USA.
“Having a platform like Skrill USA allows us to have very little friction in the deposit process with our VIPs but still be fully compliant with the regulatory standards that are in place.”
Once a PlayUp USA bettor is enrolled in Paysafe’s new VIP programme, the single transaction limit is increased “by as much as several hundred times the standard limit.”
Going forward, the VIP player programme will go live with Skrill USA’s other operator clients.
领英推荐
?9.??????Massachusetts House Speaker warns banning college sports betting would only fuel black market activity
Following American Gaming Association's letter last month voicing concern about Massachusetts' potential ban on college sports bets in the ongoing legislative discussions, the state's House Speaker Ronald Mariano has come in line with that further criticizing the Senate’s sports betting bill that omits wagering on collegiate sports, a provision the lawmaker has previously called a dealbreaker as both chambers must now work to bridge their differences in a conference meeting yet to be scheduled.
The Senate passed its sports betting bill a month ago, with new provisions focused on consumer protections intended to curb problem gaming. Mariano, who described the legislation as “paternalistic” yet “well-intentioned,” echoed concerns raised by sports betting and responsible gambling experts with the Entain Foundation as he said the Senate’s failure to include allowing bets on collegiate sports will only fuel activity on the black market, and prevent the Legislature from maximizing potential tax revenues, Mass Live reports.
“There’s no bookie I know that’ll check you into a rehab to help you beat your gaming addiction,” Mariano told reports on Thursday at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce forum. “There’s no bookie in the world that’s going to give you an extension on what you owe because you have a gaming problem.”
?10.??New York mobile sports betting handle tops $7.1B in first 4 months and a half, with all-time record state revenue
New York mobile sports betting market has seen $7.15 billion in bets in the first four months and a half live since January 8. Only taking number including full April, this new vertical has generated a record-seeting of more than $263 million for the state, which gets 51% tax from sportsbook operators' gross gaming revenue. Sports wagers at the state’s four commercial casinos made up more than $4.3 million.
With latest data reported by the New York Gaming Commission until May 22, mobile bets amounted to $7,152,493,928, and mobile sports wagering gross gaming revenue (GGR) hit 516.620.353.
Since January, more than 2.7 million unique player accounts have been created and have conducted more than 620 million transactions.
According to an announcement from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, in the past five months, the state collected more revenue than any other state has in years. Pennsylvania has generated $253 million since November 2018, and New Jersey $229 million since June 2018.
#M&A & Finance
11.??Swifty Global agrees to acquire Goldchip
Financial and sports betting technology company Swifty Global has announced an agreement to acquire UK sports gambling company Goldchip.
The agreement comes as Swifty Global aims to accelerate its market access, after recently being approved for UK and Cura?ao gambling licences. The company is set to launch a sports prediction app in the UK, with the Goldchip acquisition designed to support this process.
While detailed financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, Swifty Global confirmed that the acquisition is being funded through a combination of cash, restricted shares and vendor finance.
James Gibbons, Swifty Global CEO, said of the agreement: “Everyone is delighted about the acquisition and to have the Goldchip clients and team on board. This is exactly the critical mass we need to put us on the fast track towards our bigger plans.”
Goldchip reported revenue of $94m and a net profit of $1.75m in the 2021/22 financial year, and is an established company that boasts nearly 750 VIP clients, among them celebrities and sports stars.
?12.??EveryMatrix acquires betting firm Leapbit
B2B iGaming technology provider EveryMatrix has finalised the acquisition of sports betting developer Leapbit. The merger will strengthen the Group’s sports betting product OddsMatrix with an advanced and proven retail offering. “We’ve been impressed by Leapbit’s technology and expert team, and we’re looking forward to growing OddsMatrix together by greatly expanding our addressable market,” comments Ebbe Groes, Group CEO of EveryMatrix.
Through the new acquisition, EveryMatrix will elevate its online-first OddsMatrix platform to a true omnichannel iGaming solution. OddsMatrix will integrate Leapbit’s comprehensive retail-focused software solution and other products such as virtual horse racing and lottery games.
Founded in 2018, Leapbit is a B2B sports betting supplier with extensive market knowledge and a highly-skilled technical team. Its core team has previously been with Romanian-leading bookmaker Superbet, including two of the company’s founders.
Leapbit has developed its in-house retail and sportsbook solutions, virtual horse racing, and lottery products while also producing bespoke software for Tier 1 bookmakers targeting Central and Eastern Europe.
The new merger will expand OddsMatrix’s ecosystem with a mature retail product, allowing the Group to increase its customer base with a new segment of clients looking for a feature-rich and complex product that can support both retail and online operations in regulated markets.
?13.??Allwyn SPAC merger faces slight delay in light of NYSE downturn
Dealmakers of Allwyn Group’s agreed SPAC merger with Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp (CRHC) have signalled that lottery conglomerate listing on NYSE will be temporarily delayed.
The transaction that was expected to be finalised during Q2, has been put back due to US stocks plummeting, amid fears of a pending global recession.
The Times reports that “the transaction will now not be completed before the third quarter, according to a presentation made to investors.”
In January, the board of Allwyn confirmed media speculation that the company was seeking to merge with CRHC– the SPAC vehicle of former Goldman Sachs COO and President Trump advisor Gary Cohn.
CRHC has disclosed that it had raised cash guarantees of $850 million, to execute its SPAC merger, setting Allwyn on course for a +$9 billion valuation on the NYSE.
However, at the whims of changing economic headwinds, global equity markets have endured months of turbulence since CRHC’s proposal.
This April the NYSE and Global Nasdaq SP500 fell below $4000, to its lowest value since March 2021, following a significant investor sell-off of tech and other high-risk stocks.
?14.??How can Flutter realise the true value of FanDuel if an IPO is no longer necessary?
In March of 2021, Flutter Entertainment first announced it would explore an IPO for a small stake in FanDuel. That is no longer on the agenda, according to sources.
Why was Flutter considering a FanDuel IPO?
Flutter investors were pulling their hair out at the time. The market cap of number one rival DraftKings had just hit a record high of $28.5bn, overtaking Flutter in the process.
Flutter had already merged with The Stars Group and DraftKings had no international business to speak of, but Jason Robins and his team were stealing the show, onboarding A-list athletes and celebrities as the stock surged. Even Michael Jordan was advising the board.
Flutter investors demanded answers, and one came in the form of a potential public listing of a shareholding in FanDuel.
And then the bubble burst. It would be an understatement to say there has been an adjustment in the market since the lofty heights of last spring. The hype around US online sports betting has largely disintegrated, accelerated by an avalanche of well-documented macro factors.
DraftKings dropped through a trap door and has just kept on falling. The stock closed at a record high on 19 March 2021, just two cents short of $72 per share. Fast forward one year to 14 March 2022 and the stock closed at just $15, before stooping even further to a previously unimaginable close of $10.27 on 11 May. This represents an 86% decline.
15.??Spelinspektionen launches Spelpaus 2.0 self-exclusion scheme
Sweden’s gambling inspectorate Spelinspektionen has upgraded the Swedish gambling centralised self-exclusion scheme Spelpaus.
The relaunch of the Spelpaus.se website sees a redesign with ‘new functionalities and clearer guidance on self-exclusion’.
This follows its 2021 market revision, where Spelinspektionen announced that Spelpaus required an upgrade to ensure that “customer self-exclusion was more seamless for players and to better inform relevant health authorities with more data on consumer engagements across gambling verticals.”
“If you play too much and for more money than you can afford, it is important to be able to easily and quickly break that pattern and take a break from playing,” stated Camilla Rosenberg, Director General of Spelinspektionen.
“Spelpaus.se does not solve a gambling addiction, but can mean that you have time to reflect on your gambling habits and the opportunity to change them for the better or choose not to play again.”
The compulsory self-exclusion system was launched in January 2019 to coincide with the relaunch of Sweden’s reformed gambling sector.
?16.??Danish Operators to upgrade to new MitID verification system
Denmark’s gambling authority Spillemyndigheden has sanctioned new rules that will require online operators to verify and register Danish citizen electronic ID checks.
The measure has been announced, as Denmark’s government moves to adopt its new MitID digital verification scheme that aims to be introduced this summer.
Introduced as a new layer of digital protection for Danish consumers, MitID verification will be required to access all online portals that contain sensitive use data and information.
MitID verification was sanctioned as an upgrade to Denmark’s existing NemiD (EasyID) that had been mandated by Finans Denmark since 2010.?
The Danish government has outlined that MitID verification will be required to access high-risk businesses such as online banking from 1 July.
As such, Spillemyndigheden has updated licensed holders, informing them that their player management systems must be updated to comply with the government’s Executive Order.?