iGaming Wrap-Up of CW 11-12 2024
#iGaming News of the week
0.?????? Evolution accuser could be unmasked in major US court case
In November 2021, an anonymous report allegedly commissioned by an unnamed competitor was released that accused Evolution of being active in prohibited jurisdictions.
Evolution strongly denied the allegations. It argued the report was “inaccurate, false, defamatory and methodologically flawed.”
Evolution lost approximately 36% of its market cap, or around $10bn, in the aftermath of the document’s publication, with shareholders spooked by its contents.
Calcagni & Kanefsky, (CK) the US law firm representing the creators of the anonymous report, submitted the report to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
Evolution subsequently sued CK and the entity responsible for the creation of the anonymous report, as well as the still-to-be identified competitor which commissioned the report, for defamation in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
The live dealer giant claimed the report was commissioned to sabotage its business, and therefore requested the court order that the identity of the law firm’s client be revealed.
#Breaking News
1.?????? Evolution lawyers accuse law firm of “misuse” of attorney-client privilege
Evolution is attempting to uncover the identity of the entities behind the 2021 Calcagni Report that accused the live casino giant of offering its services in prohibited jurisdictions.
A recently concluded two-year investigation by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) found “no evidence” of the assertions in the report.
CK, which had been hired by the investigative firm which compiled the report, was also responsible for submitting the report to the NGDGE.
In its ongoing legal dispute with the supplier, CK has refused to reveal its client, claiming protection under attorney-client privilege.
A higher court ruling said Evolution’s request to unmask the name of the report’s sponsor should be evaluated depending on its veracity.
2.?????? Sportradar hails US profitability as €1bn revenue target is set for 2024
Sportradar AG has achieved all commercial and operating objectives of a ‘dynamic 2023’ as the Nasdaq sports technology group sets the target of surpassing €1bn in corporate revenues in 2024.
Publishing its full-year 2023 accounts, Sportradar lauds its third consecutive year of double-digit growth as corporate revenues stand at €878m, 20% above FY2022 results of €730m.
Double-digit growth in headline revenues was matched by a 33% increase in FY2023 adjusted EBITDA to €167m (FY2022: €125m).
Year-trading saw all core business segments contribute to growth, as Sportradar ROW betting services registered a 20% increase in sales to €467m (FY2022: €389m) and a 25% increase in EBITDA to €210m (FY2022: €182m).
Growth in ROW betting services was attributed to higher +48% demand of Sportradar Managed Betting Services (MBS) and live odds services by existing clients and new partners.
3.?????? Light & Wonder sued by Aristocrat over alleged copyright infringement
Two of the world’s largest slot suppliers are in a contentious legal battle.
According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Aristocrat is suing Light & Wonder over claims of copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, deceptive trade practices, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition.
The suit centers around Dragon Link, a popular Asian-themed casino game developed and sold by Aristocrat. The supplier accuses Light & Wonder of orchestrating a campaign to copy Dragon Link through the hiring of former Aristocrat executives and game designers.
Aristocrat alleges that Light & Wonder changed the name of one of its games to confuse customers and released another title, Jewel of the Dragon, that also copies Dragon Link elements. Aristocrat has filed the suit as Light & Wonder plans to bring those slot games to regulated U.S. markets in the coming months following commercial success in Australia.
“Jewel of the Dragon was a cheap knock-off. Despite copying the graphics, sounds, and trade dress of Dragon Link, and despite including similar game features as Dragon Link, Jewel of the Dragon failed to capture the unique player experience created by the underlying Dragon Link math,” alleges Aristocrat in the 50-page suit.
4.?????? Renderings released for proposed $12B Wynn Resorts casino in NYC
Wynn Resorts is continuing to unveil plans for a $12 billion casino development project.?
The entertainment and hospitality company has released renderings of the complex, which is located at Hudson Yards in New York City. The project, proposed in partnership with real estate firm Related Companies, includes bars, office space and a residential building. The complex also features a 5.6-acre park, which will serve as a neighborhood recreational area.
“As the leading designer, developer, and operator of premium gaming resorts in the world, Wynn New York City will attract luxury and aspirational travelers to our destination resort in Hudson Yards,” said Wynn CEO Craig Billings. “Wynn guests consistently spend more when they travel. That results in greater tax revenues for the city and state and more spending in the local community, all with less foot traffic than might be required at other resorts.”
Wynn New York City could create up to 40,000 new employment opportunities with roughly 35,000 construction jobs and 5,000 permanent positions available within the facility.
5.?????? Gambling.com banks $50m credit facility to bolster balance sheets
Gambling.com Group Limited, an award-winning performance marketing company serving the iGaming industry, has announced the closing of a new credit facility with Wells Fargo Bank in the principal amount of $50 million.
The credit facility is comprised of a $25 million revolving credit facility and a $25 million term loan facility, the marketing specialist added. It is set to mature on March 19, 2027, and, subject to approval by Wells Fargo, may be incrementally increased by up to $10 million in the aggregate.
Gambling.com added that it will use the proceeds of the credit facility for general corporate purposes, as well as to settle deferred consideration and explore new opportunities for growth.
Elias Mark, Gambling.com’s chief financial officer, commented on the matter, saying that his company will leverage its experience in growth initiatives to deliver more results. He said that the group is already delivering consistently strong revenue, adjusted EBITDA and cash flow growth and is looking forward to further reinforcing its business.
6.?????? XLMedia sells Euro & CAD network to Gambling.com for $42.5m
XLMedia Plc has informed the markets that it has reached a binding agreement to sell its media assets for Europe and Canada to Gambling.com Group.
The deal terms will see Gambling.com acquire XLMedia’s European and Canadian market portfolios for a total consideration of up to $42.5m , including a fixed sum of $37.5 million and a potential earnout of up to $5m.
The divestment follows XLMedia’s December 2023 announcement to explore opportunities to enhance shareholder value through asset sales. The transaction aligns with this strategy and is intended to allow the company to focus on its North America business. The assets subject to the transaction include Freebets.com, WhichBingo.co.uk, Nettikasinot.com, and Vedonlyonti.com, alongside “smaller Europe and Canada properties”.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the revenue and adjusted EBITDA attributable to the assets are estimated to be $21.4m and $6.6m respectively. Shareholders were informed that the deal consideration of $42.5m represents approximately 3.5 times the expected total Adjusted EBITDA of the Group for 2023 and 6.4 times the estimated Adjusted EBITDA of the divested assets.
7.?????? Bloomberry Ends Hostilities with GGAM via $300M Settlement
Bloomberry Resorts Group, one of the Philippines’ gambling leaders, has at last settled its conflict with Global Gaming Asset Management (GGAM), agreeing to buy its GGAM-owned shares back in a $300 million deal. This would effectively mark the end of a lengthy court battle.
The issue stems from Bloomberry’s decision to cancel its contract with GGAM after the opening of the former company’s Solaire Resort & Casino property. Prior to that, GGAM had signed a five-year contract to manage Solaire and, in 2011, acquired an 8.7% stake in the project.
Two years later, the resort welcomed its first guests and proved to be an instant success. Because of that, the Philippine gambling company decided to cancel the contract with GGAM, to the latter company’s dismay.
Under the $300 million settlement, the Philippine operator will buy Global Gaming’s 921,184,056 Bloomberry shares for $300 million through the Philippine Stock Exchange. This transaction would mark the end of all hostilities between the two companies.
#US / Canada
8.?????? New York Lawmaker Pitches New Sports Betting Bill To Limit Ads, Deposits & AI
New York Congressman Paul Tonko is once again taking aim at the sports betting industry, announcing plans to introduce a new bill known as the SAFE Bet Act later this year.
The bill, which Tonko says would take a public health approach to sports betting, would replace his “Betting on our Future Act,” which was introduced over a year ago and sought to ban all online and electronic sports betting advertising. That bill didn’t gain any traction during last year’s session.
The SAFE (Supporting Affordability and Fairness With Every) Bet Act also addresses advertising, but instead of seeking to ban advertising, it would limit it. There would be no sportsbook advertising during live sporting events, and no advertising that is designed to induce gambling, such as ads that hype bonus bets, odds boosts, and the like.
The bill, however, doesn’t stop with advertising. Tonko is also seeking to limit online sports betting customers to no more than five deposits in a 24-hour period, would require operators to conduct affordability checks before any large bets are placed, and would ban customers from using credit cards to fund their accounts.
9.?????? MGM dismisses rumors about Bruno Mars’ alleged $50M gambling debt
Bruno Mars caught a ‘Grenade’ from the media last week when a report alleged he had racked up debts in the tens of millions of dollars with MGM Resorts International But the gaming hospitality giant has dismissed that claim as “completely false.”
NewsNation reported that Mars, who has an extensive partnership with MGM Resorts, owed possibly as much as $50 million to the company as a result of his gambling habit and that they “basically own him.”
An MGM Resorts statement issued on March 18 categorically denied that suggestion, as well as the claim that a motivation behind Mars’ partnership with the company was to pay down his debts.
“MGM and Bruno’s partnership is longstanding and rooted in mutual respect. Any speculation otherwise is completely false; he has no debt with MGM. Together, we are excited to continue creating unforgettable experiences for our guests.”
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10.?? Ohtani Interpreter Involved In Alleged Illegal Sports Betting Scandal
Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani is at the forefront of a sports betting scandal involving his now-fired interpreter.
The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that attorneys for Ohtani accuse his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, of stealing millions of dollars from the two-way star in order to make bets with an alleged illegal bookmaker.
However, ESPN reported that at least $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to the bookmaker to cover his interpreter’s sports betting debt.
Mizuhara told ESPN on Tuesday that he previously wagered with DraftKings Sportsbook. He assumed wagers through southern California bookmaker Matthew Bowyer, which reportedly comprise the vast majority of his bets, were legal.
Bowyer is currently being investigated by federal authorities. ESPN reported that a pair of $500,000 payments with Ohtani’s name on them were sent to an associate of Bowyer, marked as “loans.”
11.?? Massachusetts gaming revenue hits $153.1 million in February
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC)'s latest report reveals that the state's gaming industry generated a total of $153.1 million in taxable revenue for February.
Casino wagering contributed the largest part to the overall revenue, with a total of $100.5 million generated from traditional casino games such as table games and slots. Notably, Encore Boston Harbor emerged as the top performer in this category, reporting a gross gaming revenue of $64.4 million. Following behind were MGM Springfield with $22.9 million and Plainridge Park Casino with $13.2 million in revenue.
The casinos saw a 7.5% increase in revenue compared to January 2024, marking a positive trend in the gaming sector. Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino collectively generated around $7 million more in revenue than the previous month.
As for sports betting, despite a strong start in January, Massachusetts sportsbooks experienced a decline in revenue for February. Total revenue for the month dipped by approximately $11.5 million compared to January, primarily due to fewer betting days and a significant drop in sports betting revenue. The MGC reported a total sports wagering handle of $542.5 million for February, with $530.2 million placed online and $12.2 million at physical casino locations.
12.?? New Jersey February gaming revenue up 12% to $461.5m
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has released its gaming revenue figures for February 2024, offering insights into the state's gambling industry compared to the same period last year.
According to the report, total casino win for the nine casino hotel properties in February 2024 amounted to $211.6m. This represents a slight decrease of 1.6% from the $215m reported for February 2023.
Year-to-date casino win for the nine properties was $416.3m, indicating a decrease of 2.4% year-on-year.
On the other hand, internet gaming win showed growth, with reported revenues reaching $182.3m in February 2024. This marks an annual rise of 27.9%.
Year-to-date internet gaming win was $365.6m, reflecting a growth of 23.7% compared to the prior year-to-date period.
Similarly, sports wagering gross revenue saw notable growth, reporting $67.6m for February 2024, up? 23.7% from $54.6m reported in February 2023.
#M&A & Finance
13.?? Sports betting content start-up Winible nets $6m in seed funding
US sports betting start-up Winible has secured $6m in seed funding from an experienced pool of industry executives.
Winible is not a sports betting operator but an ecommerce platform aimed at sports betting influencers and tipsters, or cappers as they are known in the US. The product allows content creators to build a bespoke digital storefront to monetise their knowledge of a particular sport or team. They then sell their picks to other bettors.
Winible supports these tipsters by taking care of payment processing, subscriptions, SMS notifications, customer support, free trials and discount codes.
The product is designed to move sports betting content creators across from platforms like Discord and Telegram and away from a “stigmatised” space where monetisation is difficult.
The start-up claims to have attracted thousands of users per week since stealth launching in late 2023, without spending any money on sales or marketing
14.?? ZEAL Reports Strong FY 2023 Figures despite Weak Jackpot Environment
ZEAL Network, Germany’s leading provider of online lottery products, has published its FY 2023 report, once again demonstrating the strength of its business. The company expanded its position as a market leader despite Germany’s harsh regulations.
According to ZEAL’s report, billings in the lottery sector increased to EUR 843.3 million ($920.6 million). Revenue, on the other hand, saw double-digit growth to EUR 116.1 million ($126.7 million). The lottery segment’s share of revenue was EUR 105.7 million ($115.4 million), an increase of 8% year-on-year.
In the meantime, EBITDA reached a new five-year high of EUR 32.9 million ($35.9 million), despite a weak jackpot environment.
In addition to reporting strong financial results, ZEAL also launched its online games offering in June 2023. The content went live on the web stores of its subsidiary, LOTTO24 AG, and achieved billings of EUR 41.6 million ($45.4 million), revenue of EUR 3 million ($3.3 million) and EBITDA of EUR 1.4 million ($1.5 million).
#Legal & Regulation:
15.?? Malta Gaming Authority cancels authorisation for Rush Gaming
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has cancelled the license held by Rush Gaming Limited, following a recent suspension of the company's accreditation. This decision comes after the MGA cited Rush Gaming's failure to adhere to regulatory obligations and Maltese laws.
“The Malta Gaming Authority has decided to cancel the authorization bearing reference number MGA/B2C/701/2019 issued to Rush Gaming Limited effective as of 11 March 2024. This is being done in accordance with regulations 9 (1) (c) and 10 (1) (a) of the Gaming Compliance and Enforcement Regulations (S.L. 583.06) (the ‘Regulations’),” MGA said in a statement.
In January, the MGA announced that Rush Gaming had not complied with one or more regulatory requirements or laws in Malta. Consequently, the company's license has been canceled, with instructions from the MGA for Rush Gaming to promptly inform all players of this development via email within a seven-day timeframe.
16.?? Starlizard Integrity Services finds potential match-fixing in 167 matches
Sports integrity analyst Starlizard Integrity Services (SIS) has released its latest report on global football matches, identifying 167 games as suspicious throughout 2023.
The study looks closely at more than 65,000 matches, with the 167 number representing 0.26% of the total. This however is an increase of 16% compared to the 144 potential cases of manipulation from 2022 that SIS flagged down.
Taking a closer look at the data, SIS outlined that 69 of the suspicious matches (41.3%) were games part of UEFA taking place in Europe, but that this also represents only 0.18% of the total UEFA matches analysed.
From the 167 total, suspicious cases of manipulation in top-level leagues made up a quarter (25.2%), while 49.7% were found to be in lower domestic leagues.
There is also a heightened risk identified among friendlies and youth games, with those in particular accounting for 10.8% and 6% of flagged matches respectively, despite only representing 2.9% and 3.5% of the total games analysed.
17.?? MGA review says gaming operator MLROs need more training on specific financial threats
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has found that gaming operators still show gaps that need to be addressed for a risk-based approach to financial threats.
Its review of the sector with the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) found that operators have a solid grasp of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations and protections, including risk profiling, know-your-customer checks and awareness of general threats. However, improvement is needed with regard to administrative measures and specific AML risks.
The review, which involved 23 compliance inspections, evaluated regulatory knowledge and the application of company policies and procedures by Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) and other executives. Improvements were found in AML/CFT processes, including jurisdiction reputability assessments, customer risk assessments, due diligence, documentation of threats and the screening of politically exposed persons (PEPs).
#Tech:
18.?? Rebet app looks to introduce social dimension to sports betting experience
Rebet, a newly launched free-to-play sportsbook, is aiming to redefine the sports betting experience with its new features and community-centric approach.
Developed by students at Dartmouth College with expertise in economics, technology and software development, Rebet offers a blend of social interaction and sports betting.
The platform also provides users access to official and real-time data for over 60 professional and college sports leagues, ensuring a comprehensive and up-to-date betting experience.
Carson Hubbard, Rebet CEO, commented: “Sports fandom is about our desire for social interaction and community, and until today those elements have been missing in both traditional and social sportsbooks.
“Rebet is revolutionising this experience with all the essential elements of the sports betting experience in one easy-to-use, and interactive app. We know users are going to love our experience and we are thrilled to introduce Rebet to the world.”
19.?? Sportradar integrates in-game wagering to NBA League Pass
Sports technology provider Sportradar, in collaboration with the National Basketball Association (NBA), has unveiled an enhancement to the NBA League Pass, integrating betting features directly into the streaming service.
The new functionality, dubbed "emBET," comes as in-game live betting markets and technologies expand. Through a strategic partnership with digital engagement specialist LiveLike, Sportradar's emBET will empower NBA League Pass users to seamlessly access and place in-game wagers via FanDuel and DraftKings.
Sportradar's emBET operates in legal sports betting states, allowing NBA League Pass viewers to opt in for live betting during games.
Using emBET, Sportradar will display select betting lines on-screen during game streams, limited to point spreads, money lines, and over/ unders initially. Viewers can then select their bet and be redirected to FanDuel or DraftKings. This betting feature is opt-in and currently available only on mobile devices, with plans to expand to desktop and smart TVs in the future.
Navigating change with grace reminds me of the adage - Change is the only constant. Let's embrace it for growth! ???? #iGaming #Innovation #Change
Co-Founder, Managing Director at Retail Expansion Commercial Real Estate Professional | Strategic Thinker | Bilingual | Consulting | Building New Business | Retail Real Estate | NYC-Mexico City
1 年Exciting news roundup, looking forward to staying updated on the industry trends! ??#AlwaysLearning