iGaming Wrap-Up of CW 41-42
#iGaming News of the week
0.?????? ESPN Bet could launch in Mid-November
In August, Penn Entertainment struck a 10-year, $2 billion deal, via cash and stock, with ESPN for the media giant to lend its name to an online sports betting platform. Penn ended its relationship with Barstool Sports to facilitate the ESPN arrangement.
Penn CEO Jay Snowden said more vaguely at the time the company planned to transition from Barstool Sportsbook to ESPN Bet in November, “certainly before Thanksgiving.” No official date is set.
“I also think the time of year that we’re launching, mid-season, is actually great. … I think we’re going to be able to make a lot of noise, get a lot of attention. And you’re coming in at a point in the year where people have probably burned through most of their free bet promos and deposit matches and so to be able to sort of reload mid-year with a new app and new experience that’s fully integrated with ESPN, I think that speaks to top of funnel,” Snowden said.
“And based on what we’re seeing in Ontario and all the enhancements we continue to make on the product we feel really good about our ability to retain once we get people to the top of the funnel.”
#Breaking News
1.?????? DraftKings overtakes FanDuel as US online gambling market leader
DraftKings has overtaken FanDuel as the US online sports betting and iGaming market leader, according to estimates from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG).
DraftKings currently holds a US online gambling market share of 31% of GGR, according to the estimates, while Flutter-owned FanDuel’s share has slipped to around 30% in the current quarter. The operator has been growing its overall market share steadily since the acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) in 2022, EKG said.
In addition to the acquisition, which provided the operator with a solid footing in the iGaming sector, DraftKings boasts a solid product, improving hold rates in sports betting and enhanced operational execution, allowing it to increase the value generated per customer in recent quarters, EKG said.
At the same time as DraftKings has improved its share of US online GGR, FanDuel’s dominance has continued to slip, as its market share has dipped from well over 35% at the end of 2022, EKG added.
2.?????? Sky Bet falls foul of ASA monitor of Gary Neville tweets
Sky Bet is the latest bookmaker to be penalised by the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) monitoring of gambling-related? ads/content deemed likely to have a ‘strong appeal to under-18 audiences’.
The bookmaker’s adverts have been review on information collected by the Active Ad Monitoring system. This system employs AI to actively identify online advertisements that could potentially violate regulations.
In this latest instance, following previous action against the likes of Ladbrokes, bet365 and WIlliam Hill, the advertising watchdog raised another challenge regarding a promoted Tweet.
This contained an embedded video clip from The Overlap football podcast, which showed Gary Neville discussing which team might win the Premier League. The Sky Bet logo and occupying text was evidenced at different stages of the clip, with the BeGambleAware logo also appearing towards its culmination. The ASA challenged whether the aforementioned individual would likely be of a strong appeal to those under 18 years of age.
3.?????? Netherlands’ KSA hits LCS Limited with €2m fine for unlicensed gaming
On Friday, LCS Limited was fined €2.1 million ($2.4 million) by the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) for operating its gambling website, www.sonofslots.com, without a license in the Netherlands, thereby breaching the strict regulations of the Gambling Act. Despite previous warnings and penalties, LCS continued to allow access to its site and maintain its operations.
René Jansen, KSA Chairman, emphasized that fines are usually effective enforcement mechanisms and that past violations can still be penalized even after obtaining a license or paying a fine. This is not the first time that LCS has been reprimanded by the KSA. In August 2022, following an investigation in March of the same year, LCS was hit with an initial €165,000 fine.
The most recent fine is calculated at 8% of KSA's estimated €25.9m turnover for LCS. The decision is part of KSA's vigilant efforts to enforce the Netherlands’ Gambling Act and protect local consumers from unlicensed gambling operators.
4.?????? Rank Group nets Q1 all unit growth against tough UK environment
Rank Group Plc continues to navigate a challenging UK business environment, but remains confident in achieving 2023/24 full year revenue and profit growth in line with expectations. Publishing its Q1 2023/24 trading update, the LSE gambling group recorded an 11% increase in like-for-like net gaming revenue (NGR) to ￡179m.
A positive start to year trading saw Rank record NGR growth across all business segments with Digital up 7% and Venues up 12% overall. Grosvenor venues reported a 13% rise in NGR to ￡84.2m. Performance was attributed to a 9% surge in visits and 4% higher spend per visit, with London NGR up 8% and NGR in the rest of the UK up by 16%.
Casino properties recorded an average weekly NGR of ￡6.4m, marking a 10% increase from Q4 2022/23.
5.?????? Evoplay announces exceptional H1 results
Award-winning game development studio Evoplay has announced that it has closed a record-breaking first six months of 2023, following a period of rapid growth and expansion.
In the first half of the year, the company has continued its impressive growth trajectory through excellent product output and commercial momentum by releasing more immersive titles and closing deals with prominent names in the industry.
Key to its outstanding success has been its increase in network partners, which is up 34% compared to this time last year, thanks to partnerships established with operators such as Sportingtech, Solverde.pt and 7bet.
Evoplay has also experienced an 84% growth in GGR and an increase of 104% in betting rounds compared to the same period last year. The provider’s world-class content engaged 85% more players than 2022’s H1, with 32 new releases covering various concepts and verticals.
6.?????? 888 revenue drops to $493.9M in Q3 despite strong customer engagement
Online betting and gaming company 888 Holdings announced on Wednesday its revenue decreased 10% in the third quarter to ￡405 million ($493.9 million) from ￡449.4 million ($548 million) the prior year, despite continued strong customer engagement and underlying trading.
Moreover, the Gibraltar-based betting operator said U.K. and Ireland online revenue fell 10%, driven by the continuing impact of safer gambling changes and a "refined marketing approach," coupled with lower betting net win margin from customer-friendly sports results in September.
The company's digital business saw strong customer engagement with average monthly actives (players who wagered real money during the period) rising 17% despite a fall of international average monthly actives by 2% and revenue falling 19% due to the ongoing impact of compliance changes in dotcom markets, particularly in the Middle East.
7.?????? Las Vegas Sands sees group-wide Adjusted EBITDA top US$1 billion
Las Vegas Sands reported consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of US$1.12 billion for the three months to 30 September 2023, as revenues at its Macau integrated resorts continue their strong recovery momentum.
The 3Q23 EBITDA result was up 487% year-on-year and 15.1% quarter-on-quarter, while net revenue for the period of US$2.8 billion was 178% higher year-on-year and 10.2% higher than the June 2023 quarter. Net income of US$449 million was also 22.0% higher than the June quarter.
In Macau, net revenues for Sands China Ltd reached US$1.78 billion – up from US$251 million a year earlier – with The Venetian Macao leading the way at US$723 million, closely followed by The Londoner Macao at US$518 million.
Adjusted Property EBITDA of US$631 million reversed a US$152 million loss in the same period last year and improved on thew US$541 million reported in Q2.
#US / Canada
8.?????? Chicago’s New Casino Spurs Concerns of Rising Gambling Harm
The opening of Bally’s casino in Chicago has brought excitement to the city, but this new high. History has shown that the expansion of gaming facilities in Illinois tends to correlate with a surge in individuals seeking treatment for gambling problems. While there hasn’t been an immediate influx of such cases since Bally’s opening, experts anticipate a steady rise in problem gambling cases.
The launch of Bally’s Chicago Casino has seen a strong start, attracting over 80,000 visitors in its first three weeks of operation. However, addiction treatment experts warn that the sudden influx of new gamblers could significantly impact local communities, pushing vulnerable individuals toward gambling harm.
Anita Pindiur, executive director of Way Back Inn, a Maywood treatment center providing recovery programs for various addictions, explains that there is typically a time lag before an increase in clients seeking treatment becomes noticeable. For example, it took around six months for Way Back Inn to see a rise in clients following the opening of Rivers Casino in 2011.
9.?????? US Supreme Court orders stay on Florida sports betting
The US Supreme Court has approved an application from two Florida pari-mutuel betting operators – West Flagler Associates and the Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation – to grant a temporary stay in the statewide launch of online sports betting.
In doing so, the US Supreme Court order has once again thrown the future of Florida sports betting into doubt.
This is the latest twist in a years-long dispute about the legality of the state’s gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.
Signed by SCOTUS chief justice John Roberts, the order recalls the mandate given down by the DC Circuit decision in West Flagler vs Haaland.
This prohibits the Seminole Tribe of Florida from launching sports betting statewide until the court decides on the case.
The Department of the Interior has until 5pm on 18 October to respond to West Flagler’s application.
10.?? Indiana sports betting handle surpasses $400m in September
Players in Indiana spent more than $400.0m betting on sports during September, while operators were able to generate in excess of $41.0m in revenue.
Sports betting handle in Indiana reached $404.1m in September. This was 5.7% more than $382.5m last year and also 69.7% ahead of $238.1m in August this year.
The start of the new NFL season meant football was the most popular sport to wager on in September. Indiana bettors wagered a total of $155.4m in football during the month.
As for taxable adjusted gross revenue, this amounted to $41.1m. This was 19.7% lower than $51.2m in September 2022 but 74.9% higher than $23.5m in August of this year.
11.?? Massachusetts: DraftKings takes record $290m sports bets in September
DraftKings processed a record $290.1m in online sports bets in Massachusetts during September, while the state reported a month-on-month rise in total betting handle.
Massachusetts betting September
Overall sports betting hit $512.2m in September, up 62.7% from $314.9m in August. It is also the second highest monthly total since Massachusetts launched legal online wagering in March.
Online betting accounted for $499.7m of total wagering, while a further $12.4m was spent at retail sportsbooks.
An increase in spending in September also led to a rise in taxable sports betting revenue.
During the month, operators generated a total of $49.8m in wagering revenue, up 119.4% from $22.7m in August. Of this total, $49.0m came from online betting and $783,017 retail wagering.
12.?? New Jersey sportsbooks enjoy double digit revenue growth in September
New Jersey sports bettors wagered a staggering $445 million in September, a new record and the largest total for one single month since the Garden State began taking bets in June of 2018.
The eye-popping amount comes as a huge shot across the bow of Nevada as the two states race for the crown of sports betting king in the United States. Nevada will not release its revenue figures for September until the end of October.
New Jersey has won a few months recently but Nevada did post the all-time record of close to $600 million in total handle during March of this year. The astronomical figure was fueled by the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.
#M&A & Finance
13.?? LVS announces US$2 billion share buyback scheme
Las Vegas Sands will buy back US$2 billion worth of its own shares between now and the end of 2025 as it looks to capitalize on a combination of its strong balance sheet and a share price yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outlining the company’s plans during its 3Q23 earnings call on Thursday morning (Asia time), LVS President and COO Patrick Dumont said he saw share repurchases as adding greater value for shareholders in the short term than dividend payments – despite having resumed an interim dividend post-Q2.
“We want to return capital to shareholders in a meaningful way,” said Dumont. “We think there is a real benefit to reducing the denominator, we think it’s accretive, we think there’s a compound effect to share repurchases and so we’re looking forward to doing it on regular basis.
14.?? Sportech to re-register as private firm as London delisting completes
Sportech has officially delisted from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, after completing its final day of trading yesterday (16 October).
The company is now expected to re-register as a private limited company, under the name Sportech Limited, and adopt its new articles of association next week. JP Jenkins, a trading platform for unlisted companies, has been appointed by Sportech to provide a matched bargain facility, in order to facilitate future shareholder transactions in the company’s ordinary shares.
A matched bargain facility connects investor offers to buy and sell certain securities directly with one another. The facility is expected to operate for a minimum period of 12 months from 16 October 2023, Sportech said, and the intention of the company’s directors is that the facility will continue beyond that time.
Shareholders were warned, however, that the facility could be withdrawn after a year, therefore inhibiting their ability to trade their shares in the business.
15.?? SBF Trial: FTX engineer recalls ‘5 years of blood, sweat and tears turned out to be for something evil’
A former FTX engineer testified this week in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) revealing his involvement in the cryptocurrency exchange imploding last year.
Nishad Singh took to the Federal Court in New York to outline his role in the downfall of FTX in November 2022 and what led to him being ‘blindsided and horrified’ when investors lost billions of dollars.
The jury was told by Singh that he was first alerted to funds being directed to FTX sister firm Alameda Research following a meeting with SBF in September 2022, which outlined the extent of the exchange’s financial troubles.
Singh confirmed that the billions of user funds sent to Alameda from FTX left a huge financial hole in both firms’ balance sheets and upon learning of this, he came to the realisation he had put “five years of blood, sweat, and tears” for something that “turned out to be for something evil.”
#Legal & Regulation:
16.?? NSW to pump AUD$100m into safer gambling initiatives
The New South Wales (NSW) government has planned a series of responsible gambling events and initiatives to mark the state’s Safer Gambling Week, which concludes on 22 October.
Backed by a AUD$100m investment, Safer Gambling Week will see 45 events held across NSW including showcases, roundtables, information sessions, workshops and community drop-in events, whilst information stalls will also be set up at shopping centres.
Significantly, the government will utilise funds gained from a series of fines against Star Casino – penalised by the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) – to fund a range of long-term safer gambling programmes.
Authorities plan to invest $6.4m in self-exclusion and to introduce third party exclusions in pubs and clubs and $10m across the remainder of the year to the Responsible Gambling Fund for the provision of GambleAware counselling and support programmes.
NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing, David Harris, said: “We know there are people out there experiencing gambling harm in our community, and we are concerned about the impact this has on individuals, their families and the broader community.
17.?? Italy's Tonali and Zaniolo dropped from national squad after 'betting probe'
According to Sky News, Italian footballers Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo have been dropped from Italy’s national squad ahead of the England match after a 'betting probe'.
Newcastle United's Tonali and Aston Villa's Zaniolo will both miss the team's upcoming games with Malta and England, according to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
Italy will host Malta on Saturday before going to Wembley on Tuesday to go head-to-head with England, but Tonali and Zaniolo won't be playing.
The two will be investigated by the Turin Public Prosecutor's Office while at the national team's training centre in Coverciano. It is yet to be revealed what the two footballers are being investigated for, but the FIGC said: "The midfielders would not be in the correct frame of mind to face the upcoming matches."
#Tech:
18.?? Tipico launches proprietary online casino platform in NJ
Tipico has pulled the curtain back on a new online casino technology platform that will debut in New Jersey. ?Launching today, the online casino platform uses proprietary technology and offers users a faster experience as the operator claims to have increased processing speeds by 50% and withdrawal speeds by x7.
The theme of the new Tipico Casino aims to blend a “fun and fresh” UX alongside a real money casino offering. The new app also aims to deliver simplicity in withdrawals and deposits, gameplay, content browsing, and enhanced search capabilities.
Tipico Casino will use the firm’s real-time data engine in order to analyze players’ activity and curate personalized content for them as it aims to improve the user experience and its player retention rates.
Thrilled to see the dynamic nature of the iGaming industry! ?? As Steve Jobs beautifully said - The only way to do great work is to love what you do. May this passion continue to drive innovation and growth within the sector. Keep pushing boundaries! ?? #Innovation #Growth #iGamingNews