Monthly Archives: April 2020

BC might share online gambling revenue with casino cities

British Columbia’s online gambling revenue could be shared with the Canadian province’s casino host cities, but only if the government monopoly agrees to it.

Last week, a Kamloops city councillor suggested that the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) ought to share revenue from its PlayNow online gambling site with cities whose casinos have been ordered to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, local media reported that the province’s attorney general had responded to this suggestion by saying any change to casino cities’ revenue-sharing deals with the province “would need to be formally requested by the municipalities and approved by both parties.”

Kamloops currently gets a 10% cut of gaming revenue generated by the city’s two casinos, both of which are managed by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd. The city’s share of casino revenue totaled C$2.5m (US$1.8m) in the most recent fiscal year but that flow of funds halted after the government ordered BCLC’s casinos to close on March 16.

Evolution Gaming doubles profits as live casino interest grows

Live dealer online casino specialists Evolution Gaming nearly doubled their profits in the first quarter of 2020 as bettors sought out online alternatives following the pandemic-related shutdown of live sports.

Figures released late last week show the Stockholm-listed Evolution’s revenue hit €115.1m in the three months ending March 31, 45% higher than the same period last year. Earnings were up 79% to €64.1m as margins rose 10 points to 55.7%, which pushed profit up 90% to €54.2m.

Growth was strongest in Asian markets, which saw revenue nearly triple year-on-year to €20.8m, while the Rest of Europe (non-Nordic and UK) was up nearly 50% to €59.8m and North America gained 54% to €7.1m. Nordic revenue was flat at €6.2m while the UK was the lone decliner, falling one-fifth to €9.9m.

Evolution’s overall numbers have been on a dramatic upswing for some time but really took off as the sports calendar went blank in March. Company CEO Martin Carlesund said the “strong demand” has continued into the current quarter, resulting in many customers being exposed to Evolution’s offering for the first time.

Oklahoma guv defends legality of new tribal gaming, betting deals

Oklahoma’s governor says new gaming compacts with tribal casino operators are perfectly legal, despite public protests by the state’s top law enforcement officer.

Last Friday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a letter to the leaders of the state’s two legislative chambers, in response to their concerns (and those of Attorney General Mike Hunter) that the gaming compacts Stitt announced last week with the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe may not survive legal scrutiny.

The compacts would allow each tribe to build new casinos off tribal land (pending approval of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs) and to operate both retail and on-site mobile sports betting, despite the state having yet to authorize legal wagering by any of its licensed gaming operators.

Stitt’s letter takes issue with legislators’ claims that the compacts are “unauthorized by law and void without action by the Oklahoma Legislature.” Legislators further allege that Stitt’s actions represent a “unilateral attempt … to make legal that which is not legal … and to exercise power that belongs solely to the legislative branch.”

UK gambling operators suspend TV, radio ads during pandemic

The UK’s largest gambling operators have pledged to halt all TV and radio advertising while the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown persists.

On Monday, the UK’s Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) announced that its members – who include Bet365, Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, The Stars Group’s Sky Bet brand and William Hill – would “voluntarily remove all TV and radio gaming advertising during the COVID-19 lockdown.”

BGC members have pledged to implement this new policy ASAP but no later than May 7. The ad halt will last until at least June 5, after which the situation will be reassessed. Advertising slots already paid for will be “replaced by safer gambling messages, donated to charities or removed from broadcast where contracts permit.”

The announcement came just days after Gamesys announced it was limiting its TV and radio advertising “until current social restrictions are eased.” It also followed the UK government’s latest warning to operators regarding the need to “safeguard online gamblers” during the lockdown.

UK gambling operators suspend TV, radio ads during pandemic

The UK’s largest gambling operators have pledged to halt all TV and radio advertising while the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown persists.

On Monday, the UK’s Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) announced that its members – who include Bet365, Flutter Entertainment, GVC Holdings, The Stars Group’s Sky Bet brand and William Hill – would “voluntarily remove all TV and radio gaming advertising during the COVID-19 lockdown.”

BGC members have pledged to implement this new policy ASAP but no later than May 7. The ad halt will last until at least June 5, after which the situation will be reassessed. Advertising slots already paid for will be “replaced by safer gambling messages, donated to charities or removed from broadcast where contracts permit.”

The announcement came just days after Gamesys announced it was limiting its TV and radio advertising “until current social restrictions are eased.” It also followed the UK government’s latest warning to operators regarding the need to “safeguard online gamblers” during the lockdown.

PlaySugarHouse.com New Jersey Hits Record Numbers for NFL Draft Round One

The NFL Draft Round One produced record-setting handle for PlaySugarHouse.com in New Jersey and a plethora of first-round surprises. Here are some highlights:

Both handle and bet counts are already triple last year’s numbers for the full draft even though we are only a day into the 3 day event.

76% of all sports betting handle yesterday at PlaySugarHouse.com in New Jersey was bet on the NFL. The overwhelming majority was wagered on the draft, although there was some betting on futures and non-draft props.

The largest bet of the day was a nearly $5000 bet on the first wide receiver being drafted to be CeeDee Lamb of Oklahoma. In fact, Lamb to be the first receiver taken was the most popular bet of the entire night. He was third behind Alabama wide receivers Henry Ruggs and Jerry Jeudy. Ruggs was taken as the 12th overall pick by the Las Vegas Raiders and was a first-round surprise. Jeudy was selected 15th, by the Denver Broncos, and Lamb was taken 17th, by the Dallas Cowboys. Ruggs had the fastest time of any player in the NFL Combine. Ruggs returned +400 as the first receiver taken and combined with Jeudy and Lamb to pay bettors +650 in a unique trifecta wager. It required the bettor to select the top three receivers taken, in exact order.

The New York Giants produced the first-and largest first-round betting surprise by taking offensive tackle Andrew Thomas of Georgia as the fourth pick. He was +1000. The Giants had been expected to take either Tristan Wirfs of Iowa or Isaiah Simmons from Clemson in that spot. Both Wirfs and Simmons had been showcased in wagers to be drafted in the Top 5 overall.

Another popular prop was Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama to be the second quarterback drafted. The majority of players won on this bet. After LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was the first player selected in the draft, Tagovailoa was taken fifth by the Miami Dolphins. This also rewarded bettors who pegged him to be taken by Miami.

Another highly-popular prop was how many wide receivers were drafted in the first round. The bet was over-under 5.5. The over won as there were 6.

One bet receiving strong play was over 0.5 running backs to be taken in the first round. This bet won on the final pick in the first round with Clyde Edwards-Helaire going to the Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Offensive linemen were quite popular in round 1. The over/under opened at 5.5, but moved to 6.5 close to draft night, with the line closing at 6.5 over -200. There were seven linemen drafted, rewarding the over bettors.

Still open: Cole Kmet of Notre Dame to be the first tight end taken is one of the 10 most popular bets PlaySugarHouse.com received, and with no tight ends off the board in the first round, this bet is still open and available to be bet.

Xavier McKinney from Alabama was the most bet safety to be the first to come off the board. With no safeties drafted in the first round, this bet is also still open.

“This was an outstanding opening night for the NFL draft,” said Mattias Stetz, C.O.O of Rush Street Interactive, which operates PlaySugarHouse.com. “We are delighted with the strong wagering action and how bettors supported many imaginative prop bets. They really prepared well for the draft and they weren’t afraid to bet heavily on some long shots.”

Fortnite launches $2 million invitational event

While Esports big hitters such as League of Legends and FIFA have each offered charity drive events to keep their top players busy during the Coronavirus crisis, Fortnite makers Epic Games had been pretty quiet in the past month.

That was until the following statement confirmed that Chapter 2’s second season would run a little longer than its original end date.

“We’re extending Chapter 2 – Season 2 of Fortnite beyond the original April 30 date. Our plan is to launch Chapter 2 – Season 3 on June 4. Before then, there’s lots of content coming in the current Season. We have multiple game updates on the way that will deliver fresh gameplay, new Challenges, bonus XP, and a couple more surprises up our sleeve! See you on the Island!”

On the back of that decision to extend the season, Fortnite have announced a $2 million tournament series that is sure to prick up the ears of even the most casual combatant on the famous Battle Royale island.

RelayX to launch widget on BSVmarketcap.com

This is a guest contribution by Steve Kaaru, Writer at CoinGeek.com. It’s getting even easier for users to purchase BSV, making it a great option for any iGaming site. This article first appeared on CoinGeek.com.

As the digital currency market has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, the need for concise and unbiased data has become crucial. Unfortunately, this kind of data has never been harder to find. For the Bitcoin SV community, a new platform to check BSV’s price and market cap couldn’t have come at a better time. And now, it will be easier than ever to buy BSV, with RelayX set to launch a widget for the platform.

BSVmarketcap.com has become the new reference point for the BSV community. The platform displays the most up-to-date BSV price and market capitalization. The interface is free of all the jargon found in other platforms. What sets it apart, however, is that it’s the only platform that serves you the true value of BSV.

BSVmarketcap.com comes with an easy channel to purchase BSV which supports Tether, BTC, USD Coin, BCH and Alipay. Once you make the payment, the BSV is delivered to your Paymail or BSV address.

SBC Digital Summit: What are people betting on during Covid-19?

One of the major themes of the SBC Digital Summit’s first day has been, without sports, how are iGaming operators providing their customers action to bet on? That was the question at hand in the second panel of the day, hosted by Ebbe Groes, CEO of EveryMattrix, “Off the bench – what is there to bet on?” He was joined by Dominik Beier, CEO of Interwetten, Alexander Martin, CEO of SKS 365, Minja Bolesnikov, CEO of MaxBet, and Tyrone Dobbin, Managing Director of Sportingbet South Africa.

The lack of mainstream sports has hurt an industry that was already going to take a huge hit from the COVID-19 crisis. Martin noted that SKS365 has had to close all their retail shops in Italy, but even through online channels, sports betting down is down by 60%.

Beier noted that there has been a reason to smile though. Since the beginning of April, Interwetten has seen an increase in interest, after the big shock of the lockdown starting in March. Live betting has increased from 70% of the business to 90%. But as punters start to figure out how to bet on niche products like table tennis, margins have decreased by 25-30%.

Table tennis being the darling of the moment, Bolesnikov wondered if these new products will last once the pandemic is over.  In reality, so many products that the industry expected to be the new bread and butter of the moment have had to give way to entirely unexpected things. “Previously, we’ve always known what esports are, it’s counterstrike, it’s DOTA, its first person shooter games,” said Dobbin. “But the move to FIFA, NBA2k…that came as a big surprise.”

Bitcoin Association publishes first Annual Report highlighting rapid growth of Bitcoin SV ecosystem

April 27, 2020

Today, Bitcoin Association – the global industry organization that works to advance Bitcoin SV – publishes its first annual report, covering its operations from February 2019-20. The report highlights the rapid growth and development of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem, as well as the work the Association has undertaken in its first year of operations to support the network’s underlying technical infrastructure and business expansion.

Interest in Bitcoin Association has rapidly grown as Bitcoin SV has captured the digital currency spotlight. The BSV blockchain has seen application development explode globally, as developers and businesses make use of BSV’s superior scaling, data capacity and micropayment capabilities. Growing usage – particularly at the enterprise level – has led to a rise in the number of daily transactions and average block sizes seen on the network to now regularly surpass BTC on most days and BCH every day.

This growth of the Bitcoin SV network and ecosystem is reflected in Bitcoin Association’s Year 1 annual report. Featuring a comprehensive description of the Association’s mission to accelerate the business use of Bitcoin SV – both as a blockchain and digital currency – the report illustrates the multi-faceted approach that the organization has pursued under the leadership of Founding President, Jimmy Nguyen.

How is each Premier League team coping with coronavirus?

There are 20 teams in the English Premier League and while some have been paragons of virtue, others have let themselves and their fans down. Who is who? Check out all of the teams and how they are coping below.

Arsenal

A busy quarantine period for The Gunners kicked the Premier League hiatus off when Mikel Arteta was confirmed to have Coronavirus, leading to the postponement of the game at Manchester City.

Since then, Arsenal have seen most of their players agree to a wage cut, but Mesut Ozil looks to be making a stand to avoid being included in that number, and with contract negotiations reportedly not going to plan with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, an already unsettled period could yet lead to the loss of the North London side’s prime asset.

SBC Digital Summit explores how gambling survives during Covid-19

Gambling firms have had to change up their strategies a bit thanks to the COVID-19 crisis. Much like SBC events have had to go online, operators have had to find new sports betting products, and re-assess their 2020 strategies to keep the bottom line stable. A couple of panels on Day 1 of the SBC Digital Summit helped highlight just how much the industry has had to change.

The first panel, moderated by SG Digital Group CEO Jordan Levin, was the “Business Continuity in the face of COVID-19.” He hosted George Daskalakis, CEO and Founder of Stoiximan and Betano, Tim Heath, CEO and Founder of Coingaming, Jesper Svenssion, CEO of Betsson Group and Shay Segev, COO of GVC Holdings.

Segev began by walking the audience through GVC’s response to COVID-19. Business continuity has been different by region, as western countries have had minimal trouble shifiting to remote work, while countries like the Philippines, where personal laptops and strong internet connections are more rare, have proven to be a problem. And of course, retail operations are currently out of the question. But the company has largely focused on managing its cash, planning for difference scenarios that might arise, and planning for a return to normalcy.

All of the panelists noted that as work has shifted remotely, a constant stream of communications with their employees and players have become vital. Heath noted that the number of meetings with employees have increased to keep them in touch, and VIP players are now getting treated to poker tournaments, discord channels, and generally letting them know “they’re not alone.”

Alessandro Fried to discuss the evolving Latam Sportsbook Market in Digital Panel

BtoBet’s Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Fried will be one of the leading industry experts who will be participating at SBC’s Digital Summit. The digital summit, spanning on five days, which will have different key topics on its agenda, ranging from sports betting, to lottery, payments, and regulatory prospectives.

Widely considered as one of the prominent industry figures especially in regards to the Latin American market, Fried will be participating in a panel which will evaluate the current and prospective potential that the LatAm region keeps in hold.

The panel is also expected to discuss the impact that the current novel coronavirus pandemic has had on the local industry due to the sportsbook calendar being brought to a halt on a global level. Together with his peers who will be participating in “The Future of Latin American Sports Betting”, Fried will be opining regarding how the local operators could mitigate the current situation, whilst also giving his views regarding how the sportsbook industry will drive growth in Latin America over the coming years.

The panel experts will also discuss the region’s regulatory setup and how the market is expected to shape up in the short to medium term. From a jurisdictional perspective the panel will also discuss the region’s key differences from more mature markets, primarily Europe. Ultimately the experts will be crunching numbers and gauging the opportunities and how best to engage sports fans in LatAm’s different jurisdictions.

SBC Digital Summit begins with how sports betting can survive COVID-19

The SBC Digital Summit started off by acknowledging just how strange the times we live in are. Both the Welcome Message from SBC Managing Director Andrew McCarron, and Keynote from Sportradar’s Carsten Koerl, noted just how much the gambling industry has been turned upside down by COVID-19, but gave a message of hope that it will emerge even stronger.

McCarron began by noting that, in a different timeline, SBC would be focusing on the 2nd edition of Betting on Sports America, which was originally due to start on April 28. But the world has changed, he said, and SBC had had to adapt by launching a Digital Summit. People need to learn from each other, he said, so a virtual event “was really necessary for the industry to pull together.”

After walking the audience of over 400 early comers through a few of the features of the conference, McCarron noted that while it may not be the same as a conference hall venue, they’ve tried to make it as comfortable as possible. He encouraged everyone to give it a try, and not to forgot the virtual networking room. “If you throw yourself into it, you get something out of it,” he said.

Next up in the morning was Koerl with the keynote. He immediately noted that he doesn’t often agree to giving these kinds of speeches, but agreed due to the strange times that we’re in.