UK online gambling activity continues to pull back from its pandemic high, although partly because bettors are redirecting their action to newly reopened betting shops.

Figures released Friday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show all online gambling verticals reporting gross gambling yield (GGY) declines from June to July, with poker, virtual sports and eSports falling hardest as real-world sports were recalled to life.  

Online slots GGY totaled £162.9m in July, down 2% from June, while other online casino products slipped 5% to £66m. Real-event betting dipped 4% to £209.3m, while virtual betting dropped 15% to £8m, eSports wagering was off by one-quarter £2.6m and online poker slid 23% to £9m.

In terms of the number of online bets placed, only real-event sports posted positive growth, rising 5% to 267.2m. The number of active real-event sports bettors grew by 3.7% while slots were basically flat and all other verticals reported negative growth.

This past Tuesday, the president of the University of Nebraska (UN), Ted Carter, didn’t realize he was standing in front of a live microphone when he made a comment meant to be heard only by Bob Hinson, the director of the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI). He mentioned a pending announcement coming that same day about the return of the Big Ten to college football, which had called off its season a few months ago (they called it a postponement until 2021) because of the COVID-19 threat. However, the “powers that be” then decided that they may have been a little too eager to pull the trigger, and were ready to resume football in October. It could merely be nothing more than a major coincidence, but the timing of that Big Ten announcement came the same day that UN announced it was going to receive a huge contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), $92-million huge. 

Carter and Hinson were on hand to make the announcement about the DOD research program when the school’s president let the Big Ten cat out of the bag. The DOD had awarded the school $92 million, through its NRSI, having previously been the beneficiary of two contracts in 2012 and 2018 worth $84 million and $92 million, respectively. According to Carter, “Our research dollars coming in to support everything from early childhood development to technical agriculture and innovation, to cyber security, to again, this DOD work, has been on the positive and is still increasing.”

When the Big Ten was contemplating a halt to all fall sports in the league, the final decision was to be based on a majority vote. 11 school presidents and chancellors agreed to postpone the season, including Iowa and Ohio State – and Nebraska. Carter wasn’t involved in the subsequent vote by the league when the schools discussed whether to bring sports back, according to ESPN, but the timing of the two announcements is a little suspect and will certainly have some conspiracy theorists running wild. 

Not only is Carter the head of the UN system, but he’s also a retired Vice Admiral of the U.S. Navy. He accepted his position in December of last year, shortly after having retired from service. There’s no way to definitely ascertain that the latest NSRI award by the DOD could have been influenced by an internal Big Ten push to resume sports, although President Trump has said frequently that he thought the decision to call off the season was wrong and has lately touted his “intervention” with Big Ten brass to bring the football action back. The connection between the DOD funding and the Big Ten decision is very tenuous and thin, but it’s still something to think about. 

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 being detected is still up and down, depending on where you are in the world. Daily testing in many environments has become commonplace, and this is especially true in casinos. There have been suggestions that the nature of the gambling business makes it difficult to prevent, or even track, the coronavirus, and this is causing some concern among health officials. Las Vegas could be especially susceptible, since practically its entire world revolves around gambling, and some casino employees have already voiced their concerns about the possibility of becoming infected. Casinos are trying to do their part to keep business flowing while protecting employees and patrons, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. Wynn Resorts just reported that as a result of its ongoing testing of employees in Las Vegas, 548 staff members have been confirmed to be positive with COVID-19. 

After having to keep its Vegas operations shut down for several months because of the coronavirus, Wynn began to get back to work in the middle of June. Since then, it has been conducting random tests of its employees and taking extra precautions to ensure all areas are properly sanitized and safe in accordance with established guidelines. The casino operator indicated yesterday that it had conducted a total of 15,051 tests, thanks to the assistance of University Medical Center, and that the low rate of infection is a positive sign. It signifies that only 3.6% of its workforce has the virus, which, according to Wynn, can mostly be attributed to infections outside the workplace.

Wynn added, “The Company’s extensive Surveillance Testing Program tests groups of up to 700 employees every two weeks using an algorithm to ensure a random sample. The program catches any employees who are positive for the virus but are asymptomatic… The Company has continued to see a significant downward trend in virus positivity rates since it began its multi-faceted Pre-employment and Surveillance Testing Programs. In fact, in the recent round of Surveillance Testing conducted on September 11, only one out of 285 employees tested positive.”

In addition to the employees, there have also been some guests that have been determined to possibly be infected with COVID-19. Wynn isn’t testing everyone who walks through its doors, but explains that it has received over 500,000 customers since it reopened in June, and that those who self-identify as positive for the coronavirus, or those who display any symptoms, are given in-room testing. So far, only six have ultimately tested positive, according to Wynn’s statement. 

A condensed version of the Rugby is set to be played in November, with Australia winning the rights to host the 2020 Rugby Championship. The annual southern hemisphere tournament is set to include Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in a six-week, 12-match tournament. All the sides are expected to be based in hub style environments for the duration of the tournament in Australia.

New Zealand were initially considered the front runners to host the tournament, but strict biosecurity measures put in place by the New Zealand government made this impossible. Australia was viewed by tournament organisers as a more commercially favourable option.

SANZAAR CEO Andy Marinos was delighted to end the speculation over the tournament’s format and location. 

“Traditionally TRC is played as an international, cross-border series of home and away matches between Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa but due to the pandemic this is not possible this year,” Marinos said.

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin company may have faced a challenging year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but he has to be motivated by the pending launch of the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas property. Virgin bought the former Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sin City early in 2018 and has been diligently working at giving it a complete makeover, complete with a giant V in place of the iconic Hard Rock guitar, in preparation of its debut. Construction and renovations had to slow down a little last year (not uncommon for any massive project), but never lost sight of the end zone. Now, the property is close to the goal line and is expected to be ready to welcome its first visitors sometime early next year. To build enthusiasm and interest, Virgin released a few teasers (pdf) a couple of days ago so everyone can see what to expect once the doors are open.

Virgin is working with the Curio Collection by Hilton for the hotel and accommodations side of the house. Guests will be able to select from a total of 1,500 rooms and suites, all of which have been completely modernized and upgraded to include innovative solutions that hotels wish they had been able to use for decades. For example, in-room lighting can turn on and off based on guests’ movements, and Virgin is incorporating its mobile app Lucy to the property, which will give customers the ability to open the door to their rooms, order room service, control lighting, thermostats and TVs, and even check out using nothing more than the app.

The rooms, according to the announcement, are designed to “celebrate the property’s modern desert ambiance, pairing a playful feel with the luxury and comfort that has made Las Vegas a tourist mecca” and will be “bright, featuring a neutral color [palette] with pops of whimsical touches, as well as warm and modern finishes.” Adam Goldstein, the design director and partner at Studio Collective, which was brought in to design the new rooms, adds, “We drew inspiration from the surrounding desert landscape, which is reflected in our designs for the chambers. Our vision combined with the Virgin Hotels and Curio Collection by Hilton’s signature amenities and hospitality will make the property a much sought-after destination in Las Vegas.”

The 1,500 rooms are going to spread across three different towers, Opal, Canyon and Ruby. Ruby is the all-suite option, and includes a dedicated valet and exclusive check-in. Opal is the best one for those in Vegas conventions, since it’s closest to the property’s large conference and meeting areas, while Canyon provides views of the Vegas skyline and pool area. It’s the best for gamblers, as its located closer to the casino floor.

One of the most-used arguments in trying to prevent sports gambling from being legalized in the US is the impact it could have on sports integrity. That argument, however, continues to fall flat, especially when countered by the response that sports gambling has been legal elsewhere in the world for decades and this hasn’t resulted in a complete decimation of the sports industry. No one can deny that match-fixing has taken place, but there are good and bad players in every single activity, from religion to finance to law enforcement. Still, things are being done to help ensure integrity remains at the forefront in sports, and sports gambling data firm Sportradar has continued to be at the forefront of the topic. It is constantly entering new partnerships to supply data to leagues everywhere, including all four major sports organizations in the US, and has just announced another one. Its Sportradar Integrity Services (SIS) non-profit arm is now working with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to ensure integrity in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Sportradar already had a foot in the door in India through similar agreements with the Indian Super League and the Pro Kabaddi League. The latest partnership will introduce measures by both Sportradar and the BCCI to support the latter’s anti-corruption division in order to monitor the IPL and identify any questionable activity that might be the result of attempted match-fixing. This is similar to the firm’s efforts everywhere it has started to support, and should prove beneficial to keeping athletic competitions clean and transparent. 

Andreas Krannich, the managing director of SIS, states, “It is an honour to partner with the BCCI for the 2020 IPL season. As the global leader in sporting integrity, we hope to provide our expertise and help protect the tournament against integrity related issues. We know that the BCCI takes integrity seriously, and we look forward to working alongside them throughout the tournament and providing our support to their integrity programme.”

The BCCI will also receive regular updates on risk assessments produced by SIS. These will be developed using intelligence gathered during cricket matches, as well as specific data points drawn from moves, match outcomes and other aspects of the games. If needed, the BCCI can also hit the panic button and bring in Sportradar’s Intelligence and Investigation Services to investigate any questionable results that might pop up.