iGaming Wrap-Up of CW 15-16
#iGaming News of the week
0.??????MGM gets green light for $10bn project to build Japan’s first integrated casino resort
MGM Resorts has secured the next step in its bid to develop an integrated resort in Japan’s Osaka Prefecture.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has officially certified an Area Development Plan submitted last year by Osaka Prefecture/City and Osaka IR KK, a joint venture between MGM Resorts Japan and ORIX Corporation.
The certification is one of the final steps in the licensing process under Japan’s Integrated Resort Development Act, and allows MGM Resorts Japan and ORIX to finalise agreements with Osaka Prefecture/City on the construction of a development project worth around $10bn.
Final details of the proposed development were submitted to the prefecture last year, and MGM suggested the project would help “transform the region into one of the world’s top entertainment and hospitality destinations and to serve as a hub for tourism across Japan.”
“It is an honour to be selected by the Government of Japan to develop a tourism project of this scale,” said MGM Resorts president and CEO Bill Hornbuckle.
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#Breaking News
1.??????Entain rides high as Q1 hits peak KPI performance
Entain Plc has declared that it is “well-positioned” to achieve all 2023 corporate objectives, as it reports on a period of record levels of active customers, boosting its financial results, whilst demonstrating continued momentum across worldwide operations.
This morning, the FTSE100 gambling group published its Q1 trading update, covering the period from January 1 to March 31, 2023. Headline results saw group Net Gaming Revenues (NGR) increase by 15% (11% in constant currency), with online NGR growing 16% (11%cc).
Period trading saw the group’s online portfolio saw a record 19% year-on-year increase in active customers (14% proforma). Headline growth was further assisted by the continued recovery of its Retail unit which experienced a 14% NGR growth,
US joint-venture BetMGM continues to ‘deliver on high expectations’, reporting a Q1 NGR of approximately $470m (+76%). Entain and MGM Resorts maintain its JV guidance for 2023 at $1.8-$2.0bn.
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2.??????888 Online's revenue drops around 3% to ￡1.9bn
Last year, the corporation lost almost ￡1 out of every ￡6 it made, partly because of initiatives to combat problem gambling.
As a result, the 15% decline in online income "which was driven by proactive investment in enhanced player safety measures" in the UK and the closing of its operation in the Netherlands was largely mitigated.
It happened the same year that 888 successfully negotiated a deal to acquire William Hill's non-US operations, including its roughly 1,400 betting shops in the UK.
Due to one-time expenses, including some associated with the acquisition, the business recorded a pre-tax loss of ￡115.7m.
However, after excluding one-time expenses, 888 reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of ￡80.5m, a 10% decrease from the prior year due to higher interest expenses the company had incurred because of acquiring William Hill.
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3.??????Las Vegas Sands gaming revenue returns to pre-pandemic levels for first time in Q1 2023
Group revenue for the quarter came in at $2.12bn, an increase of 124.8% on Q1 last year.
Of that total, $1.54bn came from the firm’s casino operations, which climbed 145.8% year-on-year. The operator’s Marina Bay Sands property in Singapore continued to be its biggest earner, generating $848m in revenue, up 112.5% and generating 40% of the quarterly total.
Adjusted EBITDA across the business totalled $792m, up more than sevenfold from the $110m generated in the prior-year period.
Despite a 39.9% increase in operating expenses to $1.74bn, the business achieved an operating income of $378m, compared to a $302m operating loss in Q1 2022. The business paid income tax expenses of $50m and declared a net income from continuing operations of $145m.
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4.??????Netherlands to ban televised gambling ads from July and sport sponsorships from 2025
The Dutch Cabinet has announced plans to ban all advertising for online gambling services if they do not specifically target people who are legally allowed to gamble and are not at an increased risk of developing an addiction. The ban covers all radio and television commercials, as well as outdoor billboards.
“After a transitional period, sponsorship for online games of chance, for example, for TV programs or sports clubs, will also fall under the prohibition. Advertising on the internet and video-on-demand will only be allowed under strict conditions,” the Ministry of Justice and Security said in a statement on Wednesday.
Additionally, advertising over the internet will also be heavily restricted, though it will not be forbidden. Organizations that display gambling adverts must allow users to opt-out of seeing them. Gambling companies will be required to ensure that their advertising is only seen by people 24 years of age or older, and that people vulnerable to gambling addiction do not see the adverts. They must also be able to prove that a minimum of 95 percent of their advertising reaches people who are at least 24 years old.
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5.??????Scottish Professional Football League refuses to ban gambling sponsors on football shirts
The English Premier League (EPL) may have caved to the anti-gambling pundits, but Scottish soccer won’t. The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) doesn’t share the EPL’s decision to ban front-of-shirt sponsorships by gambling companies.
The EPL announced last week that, as of the 2026 season, its teams will no longer carry any sports betting or gambling companies as primary jersey sponsors. While the league will block gaming operators from a jersey’s prime real estate, it will still allow them to be secondary sponsors.
The ban is similar to what Spain’s La Liga implemented almost a year ago, and mirrors discussions in other sports leagues in Italy, Australia, and elsewhere. The SPFL, according to BBC Scotland, doesn’t want to follow the crowd.
The SPFL is taking a different approach and believes its clubs have the right to decide for themselves who they should partner with. It told BBC Scotland that “individual sponsorships are a matter for each club,” and that a leaguewide ban isn’t on the table.
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6.??????Police storm offices of MGA-licensed German sports betting operator Tipster
German authorities have carried out a massive raid against MGA-licensed sports betting operator Tipster, German newspaper Bild has reported.
Over 1,000 officers from the North Rhine-Westphalia riot police and criminal investigation department searched more than 100 locations simultaneously in several German cities, as well as in Malta and Croatia.
The police are searching for evidence and assets related to the investigation, with six suspects in custody. The suspects, all male and aged between 34 and 60, are part of the company’s management team.
According to chief inspector Markus Niesczery, the six main suspects were arrested in the German cities Cologne and Brühl.
In addition to the police officers, prosecutors from the Central Office for Organised Crime, customs officials, and financial investigators from North Rhine-Westphalia are also involved in the operation.
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7.??????PointsBet takes a punt in the US as local sale discussions put on ice
PointsBet has appointed Moelis & Co as it attempts to accelerate the sale of its North American business as a long-flagged exit from its Australian bookmaking operations loses steam.
In December, the wagering group said it was in discussions with News Corp-backed Betr “regarding a potential transaction involving the sale of its Australian trading business”, adding that those talks were “preliminary”.
Sources told Street Talk that Betr – and other parties which had considered acquiring PointsBet’s Australian business – have gone cold on discussions because the company, led by chief executive Sam Swanell, is reluctant to budge on a price tag of about $250 million for the local division.
The company rejected a $220 million bid from Betr last June. PointsBet already has Flagstaff Partners in Australia shopping the business around. Others that have looked at the Australian bookmaking division included London-listed Entain and ASX-listed Tabcorp. Neither is interested in making a formal offer at the price Swanell is asking.
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#US / Canada
8.??????Oklahoma sports betting bill dies after failing to get out of a Senate committee in time
领英推荐
A bill allowing sports betting in Oklahoma is dead for this legislative session.
House Bill 1027 would've allowed in person and mobile sports betting under the state-tribal model gaming compact. But it failed to advance in the Senate before an April 13 legislative deadline. Coleman says the demise of the bill was partly due to lack of coordination between Gov. Kevin Stitt and the tribes.
"We just felt, including myself, that for the bill to move any further we really needed to make sure a conversation between the tribes and the governor took place, so we could be fully confident they were in agreement about how sports betting would operate in the state of Oklahoma," said Coleman.
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9.??????Las Vegas sets new record with $79.3B in spending during 2022, according to LVCVA report
A new report by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) revealed that tourism recovery in the popular gaming town has progressed beyond 2019 levels as the total economic output related to visitor spending reached a record $79.3 billion in 2022, a 24.7 pc increase from the previous record set in 2019.
According to a press statement by LVCVA, after having to shut down all its operations because of the pandemic, the city is back where it was before the outbreak. "These results are a powerful testament that what we do in concert with our resort partners to market this destination has an undeniable impact on our community," said Steve Hill, CEO and President of the LVCVA, in the statement.
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10.??Virginia reports $37m in gaming revenue for March
The Virginia Lottery released its report on casino gaming activity from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Temporary Bristol and Rivers Casino Portsmouth for the month of March 2023. The state’s two casinos reported gaming revenue totalling $37.4m, down 2 per cent from February’s $38.4m.
Slots accounted for $27.8m of the total, while table games brought in $9.5m. Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue, or wagers minus winnings, and $6.7m in taxes were paid to the Gaming Proceeds Fund for March.
The Virginia Lottery Board approved the casino licence for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Temporary Bristol in April 2022, and the temporary facility on the site of the former Bristol Mall opened to the public on July 8 2022. It approved the casino licence for Rivers Casino Portsmouth in November and the casino opened to the public on January 23.
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11.??Pennsylvania gambling revenue exceeds half-billion mark for first time ever with $515.2M in March
Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania amounted to $515.2 million in March, an increase of 11.35% over the same period last year, according to data shared Tuesday by the state’s Gaming Control Board. This is the first month Pennsylvania's monthly revenue exceeds the half-billion mark since legalized gambling began in 2006.
The record figure in revenue includes casinos, iGaming, sports betting, fantasy contests, and VGTs. Hollywood Casino at Penn National placed first among all land-based properties with $80.9 million in revenue (up 27.02%), followed by Valley Forge Casino Resort, with $68.5 million. Parx Casino ($60.4 million), Rivers Casino Philadelphia ($53.4 million), and Wind Creek Bethlehem ($47.2 million) round out the top five.
As for revenue per vertical, retail slots took the lion’s share at $225.4 million, up 4.9%, with Parx Casino leading the segment at $35.1 million. Table gaming revenues amounted to $85.8 million statewide, down 8.9% from last year, with Wind Creek Bethlehem leading this segment at $19.9 million (down 8.2%).
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12.??MA online sports betting handle hits $548.1m in first three weeks
Players wagered a total of $548.1m during the opening three weeks of legal online sports betting in Massachusetts, while licensed operators generated $46.7m in revenue.
The US state opened its regulated market on 10 March, with the inaugural online wagering report published this week by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) covering the three-week period from this date, through to 31 March.
DraftKings proved the most popular operator among consumers, drawing $257.6m in bets in the opening weeks, ahead of FanDuel on $181.1m and BetMGM with $45.3m.
#M&A & Finance
13.??Better Collective upgrades media unit with ￡45m Skycon buyout
Better Collective AS continues to diversify its media services, by announcing that it has agreed to acquire Skycon Limited for a total consideration of up to ￡45m.
The transaction will see the Stockholm-listed media group expand its capabilities within digital display advertising, by integrating Skycon assets to expand its Paid Media unit and acquiring its ‘recurring revenue share database’ .
Dealmakers have agreed to pay up to ￡45m for the acquisition of Skycon assets, with ￡25m as an upfront cash payment and?further ￡20m allocated in earn-out rewards.
Earn-outs are contingent on specific financial performance targets within a 12-month period following the closing. The acquisition will be financed through cash, with the earn-out portion expected to be at least 50% funded by the existing revenue share database.
Jesper S?gaard, Co-Founder and CEO of Better Collective, commented: “We have invested heavily in growing our Paid Media division to reach its current significant scale, while we also have invested in moving revenues to recurring revenue share contracts.
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14.??Apollo seeks €425m April raise for Lottomatica
Lottomatica, the Italian gambling company backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., is looking to raise €425 million ($467 million) of fresh capital in a Milan initial public offering this year, injecting life into Europe’s moribund equity capital market.
The offering will also include an as-yet undisclosed sell-down by existing shareholders. The company is seeking a valuation of around $5 billion including debt, Bloomberg News reported in January.
Europe’s IPO market effectively shut last year as rising interest rates and heightened inflation pushed investors into risk-off mode. Some companies are now betting that pent-up demand for listings will help them get IPOs away in the months ahead.
Lottomatica operates in Italy’s regulated gaming market and is active in the online, sports betting and slot machine segments.
#Legal & Regulation:
15.??NSW regulator hits Betr with record AU$210k fine for launch marketing
The News Corp-backed wagering company Betr has been fined a record $210,000 for splashing 100-1 inducements to gamble on affiliated newspapers, radio and television stations when it launched last year.
The company offered gamblers massively inflated returns on every horse in the Melbourne Cup, provided they bet less than $10. Similar inducements were offered for the Cox Plate and AFL and NRL markets in a bid to lure customers away from established gambling companies.
The promotions generated thousands of new clients and publicity for the company, but an investigation by Liquor & Gaming NSW has ruled the stunt breached regulations by encouraging people to open a betting account and gamble more frequently.
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16.??BetCity becomes second firm fined by KSA after Kassa TV investigation
Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gaming authority, has issued a fine of €400,000 to gambling provider BetEnt for an advertising violation.
In a statement, the KSA said that the Entain-owned company has targeted young adults with its advertising – 18-to-24-year-olds – which is forbidden in the country.
Similar to the fine issued to bet365’s Hillside New Media Malta last month, the regulator started an investigation into BetEnt following the broadcast of Kassa, a consumer-focused TV programme that conducts investigations into products and services and tests them.
The programme stated that BetEnt, which trades as BetCity in the Dutch digital marketplace, sent advertising messages to young adults between 18 October 2021 and 24 March 2022.
17.??Californian tech company enters geolocation marketplace for US gambling operators
California-based location identity company Incognia has announced its entry into the US iGaming market with a geolocation and account security solution. The technology aims to help online gambling operators meet jurisdictional compliance requirements while preventing account takeovers and fraud.
Incognia’s solution offers location tampering detection, ensuring that operators can comply with state-specific geofencing requirements and prevent wagering outside of state lines.
The company collaborated with Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) to conduct a functional review of the solution’s accuracy and reliability in verifying player locations.
The firm plans to compete on price with other iGaming-focused geolocation specialists in the US market, including GeoComply and Xpoint.