iGaming Weekly Wrap-Up #43
# Breaking News
1.??????Sportradar lands first sports betting data contract from UEFA
European soccer governing body UEFA has signed its first exclusive gambling data deal, a three-year partnership with Sportradar.
Sportradar will collect and distribute betting data from 1,550 matches beginning with the 2021/22 football season until the end of the 2023/24 campaign across a range of European tournaments at national and club level.
These will include the UEFA 2024 European Championships, the European Qualifiers, the UEFA Nations League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women’s Champions League and UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, Under-21s and UEFA Futsal Champions League and UEFA Futsal EURO Championship.
2.??????New York expected to name online sports betting operators this week
New York is expected as early as this week to name at least two operators to begin offering online sports betting, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Online sports betting is likely to be up-and-running before kickoff for this year’s Super Bowl, the source told The Post.
Once officials give the green light, New York expects $10 billion in sports betting next year, with the nearly $1 billion in expected profits split between the state and the operators.
The state is expected to choose at least two groups to begin online sports betting: the consortium of Bally Bet, BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel; as well as the group of Caesars, Wynn Interactive, Empire Resorts, PointsBet and Rush Street Interactive, according to people familiar with the matter.
US / Canada
3.??????British Columbians place $25m in single-event bets in first two months
Canadian provincial lottery operator British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has announced that British Columbians have placed over $25.0m (￡14.7m/€17.3m) in single-event sports bets on its PlayNow.com website.
This comes two months after the launch of single-event sports betting in Canada, following the unanimous passing of?Bill C-218 through Canada’s senate in June.
4.??????Virginia sports betting handle jumps 61% in September
The Virginia Lottery released its sports betting revenue report for September 2021, the state’s eighth month of reporting since wagering went live on January 21, revealing that September handle jumped to $283.9m.
During the month of September, Virginia sports bettors wagered a total of $283.9m, up 61% from August 2021. The bump, which is mirrored in other legal markets such as New Jersey, Nevada and Colorado, can likely be attributed to the ongoing 2021-22 NFL season, which began September 10.
September was a successful month for Virginia sports betting, compared to the already-impressive August 2021 numbers. Month to month, total revenue increased from $8.69m to $10.33m. Consequently, tax revenue jumped from $1.38m in August to $1.56m in September.
5.??????WynnBet gains access to West Virginia market
WynnBet has gained market access in West Virginia for online sportsbook and casino operations via a partnership with Delaware North.
Wynn Resorts’ sports betting and casino app will enter the state through its relationship with the hospitality and entertainment group, which owns and operates two casinos in West Virginia.
The two properties are Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Nitro, near Charleston. Both operate retail sportsbooks, and Delaware North operates Betly, its own website and mobile sports betting app.
6.??????Illinois legislature approves amendment to allow online registration
A bill to amend the Illinois Horse Racing Act 1975 has proposed the removal of the requirement to register for a sports betting account in person from next year for 5th biggest state in the US and GDP wise as big as the Netherlands, so within the top 20 world wide.
Under the current Illinois sports betting laws, in-person registration is required to create a sports betting account.
The stipulation was initially removed in order to give players greater access to online sports betting services during lockdown due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
7.??????Florida’s Seminole Tribe pens pari-mutuel deals to launch Hard Rock app
The Seminole Tribe of Florida (Hard Rock International is owned by the Seminole Tribe.) has entered into marketing agreements with five pari-mutuels ahead of the anticipated launch of legal online sports betting in the US state.
The Palm Beach Kennel Club, Hialeah Park Casino, Ocala Gainesville Poker and Ocala Breeder’s Sales Company, Tampa Bay Downs and TGT Poker & Racebook have all partnered with the Seminole Tribe to support the planned roll-out of the Hard Rock Sportsbook app.
Each of the pari-mutuels will market the sportsbook at their facilities and in return will earn 60% of the profits generated from their marketing efforts, with the tribe taking a 40% cut.
8.??????Nevada gaming revenue exceeds $1bn for seventh straight month
Nevada drew in $1.16bn in total gaming revenue during September 2021, marking the state’s seventh straight month exceeding the $1bn mark, while the state set a record for betting handle.
The September revenue report was released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, marking a 28.5% increase over September 2020. Of the $1.16bn, $780.5m came from slots, up 28.5% from last year. Tables games drew $377.6m, an increase of 76.8%. Among table games, blackjack and baccarat were top performers, drawing $92.2m and $83.6m in revenue, respectively, with baccarat revenue up almost 500% from September 2020.
Sports betting saw a boost thanks to the beginning of the NFL season. Total sports betting revenue reached $54.2m, up 64.6% year-on-year. Mobile betting was responsible for approximately 31% of that revenue, clocking in at $16.7m. Sports handle totaled a record $786.7m, gleaned from total revenue of $54.2m and a win percentage of 6.89%.
#M&A & Finance
9.??????Scientific Games enters live casino market with Authentic Gaming acquisition (undisclosed volume)
Scientific Games has acquired casino solutions provider Authentic Gaming, signifying the company's first foray into the live casino market.
The deal will allow Scientific Games to build live casino products and supply them to players all over the world. It forms part of the company’s growth strategy which includes expansion into the US igaming market and game diversification – exhibited by its acquisition of content studio Lightning Box in August.
Authentic Games has extensive experience in the European igaming market, supplying casino products to the likes of Betway, Entain and Mr Green.
10.??FanDuel and DraftKings reportedly submit bids for The Athletic
The Athletic is a subscription-based sports website that provides ad-free national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom.The Athletic also covers national stories from top professional and college sports
FanDuel and DraftKings are among several businesses that have submitted bids to acquire The Athletic, according to reports.
Back in September, The Athletic reportedly hired investment bank LionTree to help seek a buyer at a valuation of more than $750m.
At that time LionTree had planned to have all bids submitted for the sports media outlet by mid-October 2021.
11.??Scientific Games to sell lottery business to Brookfield for $6.05bn
Scientific Games has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Lottery business to private equity company Brookfield Business Partners for $6.05bn (￡4.40bn/€5.21bn).
The deal includes an initial $5.83bn in cash and an earn-out of up to $225m, based on the business achieving certain earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation targets in 2022 and 2023.
Scientific Games’ lottery business works with approximately 130 government and non-government lottery entities in over 50 countries around the world, providing turn-key solutions including instant and terminal-generated lottery games, sports betting, lottery systems and retail technology and online lottery market.
#Legal:
12.??Google fine for Italian ad ban violations overturned
Google has had a fine and an injunction overturned, after a court ruled that it couldn't be held responsible for violations of Italy's ban on gambling ads that occurred due to a “circumvention” of its screening process.
Google had received an injunction from ad regulator Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM) on 29 October, 2020 for violaiton of the “dignity decree” – the law that banned all gambling ads in Italy. As part of the injunction, it was fined €100,000.
While there was no dispute that the content was a gambling ad, Google argued that the ad had been placed without its knowledge, and through duplicitous means.
It pointed out that its ad platform was automated, meaning that businesses can submit ads without Google verifying any of the content. Although checks were in place to block all gambling ads, in this case, it said Sublime Casino had used a technique Google called “cloaking” to “circumvent” security checks.
13.??Gambling Commission hails “successful implementation” of credit card ban (effective April 2020)
The regulator announced a ban on use of credit cards – and e-wallets funded by credit cards – to gamble in January 2020, with the ban coming into effect in April of that year.
At the time, concerns were raised that customers would still be able to gamble with credit using a number of other methods, but the regulator said it believed that the ban would still reduce harm by applying “friction” for those who were considering gambling with borrowed funds.
The regulator used an online survey from Yonder of around 2,000 adults, plus focus group meetings with 30 respondents, all of whom gambled online in the past 12 months, including using a credit card to do so before the ban, as well as consulting with a major bank.
Based on the latest published numbers of the Gambling Commission, there is no significant decrease of gross gambling yield (GGY) at all. So probably anticipated decrease of overall GGY is not visible for the UK Gambling Commission regulated market of the United Kingdom
14.??Gambling Commission “looking into” SkyBet over self-exclusion breach
The GB Gambling Commission is set to investigate operator SkybBet over claims it offered free spins to self-excluded customers.
Players who said they had self-excluded from Sky Bet or from online gambling altogether – as well as customers who had opted out of receiving marketing materials – said on social media that they had been offered free spins via email from SkyBet’s online casino platform SkyVegas.
15.??LeoVegas penalised for due diligence and AML shortcomings by Danish regulator
The Danish Gambling Authority, Spillemyndigheden, has charged LeoVegas with failure to comply with national customer due diligence and Anti-Money Laundering requirements.
Conducting an examination of a sample of 20 LeoVegas players in Denmark, the Authority found that the operator – which holds a Danish licence until 2026 – had breached AML requirements in five cases, primarily between 2017 and 2019.
During this time period, the regulator alleges that the Nasdaq registered online casino operator allowed five customers to deposit between DKK 1.2 and 1.6 million between six and 46 months, without validating whether or not the funds for these transactions came from criminal sources.