Tag Archives: igaming

Spain to grandfather existing gambling sponsorship deals … for now

Spain will grandfather existing online gambling sports sponsorships after imposing its proposed ban in October, although the government isn’t yet sure how long a grace period will be permitted.

On Friday, Spanish media quoted Consumer Affairs minister Alberto Garzón saying there would be a “short transition period” for the country’s sports clubs to rid themselves of their online gambling sponsors after the Royal Decree on gambling advertising takes effect in October.

Garzón (pictured right) has been made to look foolish over the past couple weeks as a flurry of new sponsorship deals between online bookmakers and Spanish football teams was announced. Garzón has accused betting operators of “huge recklessness” for mounting “an absurd challenge” to the government’s stated aims.

This month has already seen Betway sign second-division footballers RCD Espanyol de Barcelona; MarathonBet re-up with Sevilla FC; William Hill re-up with Málaga CF and ink a new deal with UD Logroñés; Grupo Orenes’ Versus brand sign a three-year pact with Atletico de Madrid; Betsson sign UD Ibiza while La Liga inked a four-year Asian-facing partnership with M88.

European gambling operators more afraid of politicians than recessions

With the SBC Summit Barcelona Digital wrapping up, the final day had a panel of heavy hitters. A c-level panel took a look at the global effects the Covid-19 pandemic will have, and how that specifically relates to the gambling industry.

After discussing how each panelist’s respective business and country pulled through the pandemic, moderator Scott Longley, Founder of Clear Concise Media, asked just how well anyone did cross selling sports bettors to other channels when the sporting world shut down. The answer was not that well. “The profile of the sports bettor is obviously different, specially the sports enthusiast. In some ways, it’s a completely different industry,” said Avigail Nir, COO of Mansion Casino. When they logged on and saw their favorite markets weren’t available, many punters simply logged back off, rather than sticking around to see what promotions were being offered for other sports or casinos.

But when sports did return, it returned big. With a packed sports schedule and pent up demand, Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson Group, suggested the action was as good as ever. “They were not missing one chance to get back to sports betting.”

With some markets increasing their regulation, with Sweden as a notable example, the panel discussed what they could expect to see in the future from politicians. Lindwall noted that the regulations put in place didn’t really make sense in the end, as the assumptions made by politicians ended up being total guesses, and usually wrong ones. He went on to suggest that bad regulations could be a bigger problem than the upcoming recession. “The unemployment rate will go up in some markets, but I think from the business perspective, I don’t think we’ll suffer a lot from actual business, but rather from regulators and politicians.”

Manchester stars score own goal in COVID scandal with Miss Iceland model

England football young guns Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden have been fined and kicked out of the English national team squad, after a serious breach of COVID-19 restrictions. The Manchester pair were caught smuggling two Icelandic models into their hotel hub, while on duty against Iceland this week.

The pair were sent back to England in disgrace after one of the models posted a Snapchat video of the English players together in their hotel room. Greenwood and Foden received their first international caps in the 1-0 over Iceland. Greenwood has been forced to train in isolation from his Manchester United teammates after returning home. Foden and Greenwood were fined

$2,461 USD each by Reykjavik police.

England manager Gareth Southgate expressed his disappointment in the pair as news of the COVID breach broke. “Two boys have broken COVID guidance in terms of our secure bubble, so we have had to decide very quickly that they won’t have any contact with the team.”

England set to host Australia in ODI series

England are set to renew hostilities with traditional rivals Australia in a 50-over One Day Series, commencing at the Old Trafford. Fresh off a 2-1 series T20 win over Australia, England will be desperate to cement their claims as the number one side in the world against Australia.

Having not played since March, Australia will be hoping for a better performance after claiming a consolation win in their last T20 outing against England. Australia has struggled in the 50-over format since 2018, losing 11 of their last 13 matches, including a hammering at the hands of England in the 2019 World Cup semi-final.

Australian captain Aaron Finch will be hoping to use this series to help his side’s preparation for the next World Cup in India. “We’ve played some really good cricket in patches and some indifferent cricket in other patches,” Finch said. “It’s important we start to finalise our best 15 players going forward. It’s going to be important we start to get our processes right in one-day cricket.”

“In the T20s even though we finished 2-1, I think our process and structure were sound, we just mis-executed at times. We’re still searching for the best formula for us in this format,” he added.

Swedish government blamed for nonsensical regulations

Sweden’s current regulatory situation for gambling doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. New restrictions imposed by the government have caused confusion with not only operators, but the regulator as well. The Swedish panel at the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital tried to make sense of it.

In June, Sweden settled on new deposit limits for online opertors, retricting players to SEK5k (US$537) weekly. But with a vague definition of exactly what was limited, operators implemented the restriction in varying ways, and even regulator Spelinspektionen was unsure of how to enforce the limits. Moderator Jesper Kärrbrink, Creative Director of Green Jade Games, asked why the regulation even exists.

“It’s pure politics,” responded Fintan Costello, Managing Director, Bonusfiner.com. As anyone residing in Sweden could tell you, it’s very easy to create multiple accounts with different operators to get around the restriction, and there’s also always the choice of using an internationally licensed operator that has no restriction at all. The rule simply doesn’t protect anyone it claims to protect.

Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General for the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, had his own idea for why the government put forward the policy.  “I believe that they believe they have reasons to safeguard a number of land-based gambling operators,” he said. “One shall remember that they still own Svenska Spel.”

Star Entertainment goes after insurance company for ignoring policy

Star Entertainment Group wants its insurance carrier to do its job – pay out in accordance with claims on its policy. The Australia-based gambling and entertainment company filed a complaint in court after its carrier, Chubb Insurance, has denied coverage from the coronavirus, even though the policy, according to Star, specifically covers “risks of business operations.” Chubb counters that the claim is “untenable” and “not covered under the policy,” common tactics from insurance companies happy to collect dues, but not willing to pay out claims. 

According to the complaint against Chubb, which was filed in Federal Court last month, Star asserts that the COVID-19-forced lockdown caused it to lose business, a statement that certainly cannot be rejected. It further offers that it couldn’t use its properties for normal operations because of the restrictions, which is specifically why the insurance coverage carries the risk rider. It adds, “The Star has and continues to suffer economic loss, including a reduction in turnover and gross revenue, and an increased cost of working,” but doesn’t provide specifics on what type of monetary compensation it wants. 

Star submitted a claim in the first quarter of this year that was subsequently denied by Chubb in May. On May 8, Star sought an explanation from the carrier, but Chubb tried to put the issue to rest permanently at the end of the month. With no other recourse, Star approached the courts, and the two sides made their initial appearance in front of Australian Chief Justice James Allsop this past Tuesday. 

Allsop has given Chubb until September 22 to provide a written statement in response to Star that includes a “clear and complete” breakdown of why it has denied the claim. No follow-up court appearance has yet to be provided, but should be available within a few days. Even after Chubb provides its explanation, it will probably be months before any movement is seen. 

The bar is set for the 2020 NFL season after Chiefs-Texans opener

The Kansas City Chiefs want to show this NFL season that their Super Bowl championship from last year was not just a fluke. Based on their first game of the season last night, also the first game for the league, they’re off to a good start. Their home field, Arrowhead Stadium, is one of the few that has agreed to allow limited fan attendance, and, for four quarters, many people forgot that the world is dealing with a health pandemic. Football is back, and things are getting off to a strong start. 

Despite the lack of preseason games, the modified training camps that saw teams greatly reduce their full-pad practices and strict health and safety measures, the Chiefs and the Houston Texans didn’t seem to be deterred. The Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, pulled out a playbook that was precisely what everyone had envisioned – a passing game built almost entirely around the Super Bowl MVP. The Texans had expected this and shifted from last season’s man-to-man coverage against him to a zone defense designed to keep Mahomes from finding targets. It didn’t work. 

Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid made the necessary adjustments on the fly, and Mahomes saved his arm by concentrating more on short passes, with just an occasional long ball with wings – his longest pass was for 19 yards, but he accumulated a total of 211 and three touchdown passes. It was highly successful, and Mahomes ended the night with spectacular numbers, becoming the first NFL player to pick up three touchdown passes and no interceptions in three consecutive openers. 

In addition to Mahomes, the Chiefs also have a ringer in rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Kansas City picked him up in the first round of the NFL Draft this year out of Louisiana State University, and he has proven to be worth every bit the Chiefs put in to acquire him. He ran for 138 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run, and the Texans spent all night trying to figure out how to stop him. He is the first rookie in the NFL to rush for 100 yards in an opening game in the past 13 seasons, and more teams across the league are now studying films to figure out how to stop him.

Presidential election odds: Trump wants debate drug test

We’re less than 3 weeks away from the first U.S. Presidential election debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. After bombshell admissions from Trump, and pressure on Biden to skip the debates, we have a fresh set of odds from Bodog to make sense of it all.

The first debate, to be hosted by Fox News and moderated by Chris Wallace, is due to take place on September 29 in Cleveland. Trump and his team are looking forward to this as a chance to change the momentum of polls, and unlike 2016, he’s actually preparing for them a little bit this time.

But as Biden has not been known to be the best debater, and Trump is willing to get down and dirty, top Democratic lawmakers have suggested maybe Biden doesn’t need the debates. “I don’t think there should be any debates,” suggested House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She went on to note that Trump can’t be trusted to stick to the truth, so the whole exercise is meaningless.

Trump’s ability to make a sideshow out of anything has already turned up. Commenting on Biden’s ability to rebound in the Democratic primaries, Trump suggested he might have been taking something to enhance his performance. “We are going to call for a drug test because there’s no way – you can’t do that,” he said.

Nebraska’s Secretary of State loses attempt to block gambling

Gamblers in the Cornhusker State will now have the rightful opportunity to decide for themselves whether to allow gambling in their back yards. Nebraska lawmakers have spent the past several years trying to push forward expanded gambling measures, but have consistently run into issues. This year was finally the year that real progress was made, and the state was set for the public to vote on the subject this November. However, Secretary of State Bob Evnen stepped in at the last minute and tried to thwart the effort, using lame excuses as his reasons for pulling the measure. However, it’s now Nebraska Supreme Court 1, Evnen 0, as his attempts have been rejected by the state’s high court. 

Evnen had tried to assert that the language of the ballot measure was “misleading” and, instead of asking for it to be changed, simply decided to pull the measure completely. He also asserted that, should the measure be approved by voters, it would lead to “illegal” tribal gaming operations, despite the lack of any autonomous jurisdiction over the tribes. The timing of his efforts was extremely suspect, as the group lobbying for the ballot entry, Keep the Money in Nebraska (KMN), had turned in its petition months ahead of the deadline. However, Evnen tried to block the measure only days before the ballot deadline was to be reached.

Evnen’s efforts were futile, though, as the Supreme Court rejected his decision, but just barely. Four justices ruled against him; three with him, so there is still a lot of insecurity regarding whether the state’s voters will approve any gambling measure this November. However, at least they will now be given the chance to make the decision, which should have been in their hands the entire time. 

Drew Niehaus, a spokesperson for KMN, said in a statement, “We’re thrilled that the 475,000 Nebraskans who signed the petitions get the chance to vote on the initiatives this fall. On a bigger scale, the decision affirms the importance of the referendum process within Nebraska politics.” He added that Evnen’s office was to draw the ballot numbers yesterday, and that it was set to draw ballot numbers as a result. He asserted, Once we have that information, we’ll be able to inform our voters on how to continue to support the initiatives during the election this fall. Nebraskans have made it very clear that want to keep their money in Nebraska.”

Sheldon Adelson’s net worth down 13%, but remains in the top 20

Sheldon Adelson is still Richie Rich-rich, despite having lost a considerable amount of his fortune. Forbes magazine has released its Forbes 400, 2020, The Richest People in America list, and the casino tycoon behind Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is once again among the top 20 spots. The coronavirus pandemic may have taken a bite out of everyone’s wallet, but this hasn’t prevented the 400 richest people in the country from increasing their wealth, which saw a year-over-year increase of $240 billion to top out at $3.2 trillion.

LVS has gaming properties all over the world and is still, loosely, considering an entry into Japan’s integrated resort market if it proves to be financially beneficial. In the meantime, Adelson will have to settle with his net worth of $29.8 billion, putting him in the 19th spot on the Forbes list. Compared to last year, the amount is 13.6% lower, with Adelson seeing his fortune drop by $4.7 billion. Perhaps some of that was spent supporting President Donald Trump for re-election, but has also spent some paying employees while casinos were shut down. Adelson has routinely been included on the list and saw his net worth peak at an all-time high two years ago.

Adelson may be the only casino boss to have been listed on Forbes’ top 100 of the world’s wealthiest last year, but he’s not the only one to make it to the U.S. list. Carl Icahn, the man primarily responsible for ensuring that Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment melded into one company, is 39th on the list. Forbes pegs his net worth at $14 billion, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see that jump considerably when new results are published next year. Eldorado and Caesars merged in a deal worth $17.3-billion, but only after Icahn purchased a significant stake in the latter. That investment will certainly pay off in the long run.

Another gaming-related stalwart to be included in the top 400 is Ronald Perelman, chairman of Scientific Games Corp. He went on a shopping spree last year, purchasing more Sci Games stock to increase his holdings to 40%. There was then talk, this past summer, that he might be looking to get rid of his holdings, but that still hasn’t happened. Amid a softer casino stock market, waiting would be more prudent and, if he sells later, he could improve his position with Forbes. He currently ranks 103, with a net worth of $6.2 billion; however, unloading 36.68 million shares would give him a nice boost.

Centbee creates easy Bitcoin off-ramp

Gambling with Bitcoin is in fact pretty easy; but the winning player might not be entirely sure how they can cash in on that jackpot. Centbee, a popular Bitcoin SV wallet, has made it much easier for some customers to do just that, now providing a bank withdrawal option.

The Johannesburg, South Africa-based company announced their new off-ramp in a tweet:

New and exclusive from us!

Cash Withdrawals from Centbee Wallet direct to your bank account.

Macau tenders in 2022 doubtful, assert former government advisers

Everyone tied to the gaming industry in Macau is waiting for 2022 to come around so they can what happens as the city’s casinos need new licenses that year. In the strictness definition of current licensing regulations, none of the existing concessions can be “renewed” – a new tender process is required. While no one actually expects a multimillion-dollar casino operator to lose its license to a startup, the lack of guidance coming from the government on how the process will play out has been unnerving. Now, according to two advisors who assisted in post-handover administrations in Macau, there may not be any movement on the tender front in 2022, and delays might be needed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An online conference held yesterday by Macau Business TV saw participation by two former government advisors, David Green and Jorge Oliveira. The former is a legal advisor out of Australia who heads Newpage Consulting and Oliveira is partner and CEO of Portugal-based JCO Consultancy, as well as a former legal commissioner with the Macau Gaming Commission. He was involved in the development of Macau’s gaming regime and, after returning to Portugal, was the country’s Vice-Minister for Internationalization Affairs.

Both Green and Oliveira provided similar assessments of the gaming scene in Macau, which continues to be impacted severely by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the troubles started years earlier, as Green explained, with China exerting more control over the city, as well as the still-ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. As a result of the continued issues, “There is too much sovereign risk, there is too much environmental and public health risk, associated with making a decision to proceed with a tender now,” explains Green. He pointed out that government officials can legally extend the existing casino tenders for up to a maximum of five years and adds, “My feeling is it may require, if not the full five years, then certainly most of it.”

Oliveira concurred with the forecast, asserting, “It is very likely that more time is required. In my opinion, today there would be a relative consensus in that direction. I think a tender will take place… But it is unwise to do it – I agree – when the overall Macau brand and overall assessment has changed. We need to see some level of normalcy before a decision is taken and the path for policy is put on the table.”

DraftKings team with Illinois VGT operator, FanDuel open retail sportsbook

Sports betting operator FanDuel has opened a retail sportsbook at its Illinois casino partner, while rival DraftKings has signed a marketing partnership with one of the state’s biggest video gaming terminal (VGT) operators.

On Thursday, FanDuel began taking in-person wagers at its new three-window, six-kiosk sportsbook at Boyd Gaming’s Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria. Ironically, given that Thursday marks the kickoff of a new National Football League Season, the first in-person wager was on the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series. (Seems Da Bears are no longer da bomb.)

FanDuel launched its online betting app late last month, which to accommodate Illinois’ persnickety branding rules bears the unwieldly title of FanDuel Par-A-Dice Sportsbook. For the time being, Illinois bettors can sign up for the betting app without having to register in person at the Par-A-Dice casino, but it’s anyone’s guess if Gov. J.B. Pritzker will allow that convenience to persist after September 19.

The uncertainty surrounding mobile registration may explain why DraftKings – which launched its Illinois betting app in early August – announced a deal earlier this week with Accel Entertainment, which operates VGTs at 2,335 locations across the state. The exclusive deal is intended “to drive awareness of and retention for sports betting” among Accel’s VGT audience.

Professional Fighters League continues global expansion with multi-year Eurosport India broadcast partnership

Eurosport India to Broadcast Live PFL Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship Events, in Addition to Original Programming from PFL Studios

PFL Sets Eyes on MMA Talent in India to Join PFL Roster of Fighters from

25 Countries Around the World

NEW YORK (September 10, 2020): Professional Fighters League (PFL), the fastest growing and most innovative league in the world, today announced an international distribution partnership with Eurosport India, marking the first time MMA will be televised on the platform. The partnership is part of PFL’s planned global expansion, which includes a focus on growing the sport in India. PFL is the first organization to present MMA in a Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship format.

Gamblers who block bank cards must cool off before lifting ban

UK bankers Barclays will force customers to wait 72 hours before reactivating their card for gambling purposes, while Australia has undergone a serious surge in card-blocking sign-ups during the pandemic.

Two years ago, Barclays became the first major UK bank to allow mobile banking customers to ‘switch off’ debit card spending on a variety of activities, including gambling (be it casinos, betting shops, online gambling, racetracks, even lotteries).

On Thursday, PA Media reported that Barclays customers who switched off gambling spending would now need to wait 72 hours before being allowed to ‘undo’ their original decision. This cooling-off feature will be added to the mobile app’s functionality in a few weeks.

Barclays managing director Sian McIntyre said the new feature was the result of feedback from customers who wanted something that offered “a real pause for thought and help when they are tempted to return to gambling.”

Rank profits tumble by two-thirds after retail shutdown

UK gambling operator Rank Group’s after-tax profit fell by two-thirds in its most recent fiscal year as COVID-19 took a big bite out of its retail operations.

Figures released Thursday show Rank generated revenue of £638.1m in the 12 months ending June 30, down a modest 8% from fiscal 2018/19. But operating profit slid 40% to £23.5m and after-tax profit tumbled 66% to just £9.4m.

Rank was keen to point out that things had been going gangbusters in the eight months ending February 29, but then again, I was right close to getting Kendall Jenner to marry me until she failed to respond to my Insta post.

Back in the real world, Rank’s digital operations helped shore up the pandemic-mothballed retail venues. Like-for-like digital revenue – which excludes contributions from Rank’s October acquisition of Stride Gaming – was up 23% to £145.3m while operating profit gained 13% to £27m.

OPAP’s record online gambling revenue can’t offset unplugged VLTs

Greek lottery and betting operator OPAP reported record online gambling revenue in the second quarter but it wasn’t enough to arrest the company’s pandemic freefall.  

Figures released Thursday show OPAP generated gross gaming revenue of €179.6m in the three months ending June 30, a 53.2% decline from the same period last year. Net gaming revenue was down 54.4% to €118m, earnings slid 81.7% to €16.2m and the company booked a net loss of €15.1m versus a €34.6m profit in Q2 2019.  

OPAP was forced to close its retail operations – including its highly lucrative video lottery terminal (VLT) network – in mid-March, which the company said at the time would mean a 99% overall revenue reduction. Retail operations began to resume in early June, rescuing the company from what otherwise would have been an even grimmer result.

The mainstay lottery division saw its revenue fall 45% to €103m. That decline would have been much worse were it not for the new online version of the Tzoker (Joker) product that the company said continued to rise even after the retail reopening, although it got a wind-assist from a series of jackpot rollovers.

Swiss-licensed online casino gets domain on FC Luzern shirts

Switzerland’s online casino visibility took a major leap forward this week as a locally licensed operator signed a shirt sponsorship deal with a pro football team.

On Wednesday, top-tier Swiss footballers FC Luzern announced a new shirt sponsorship deal for the 2020-21 season with Mycasino.ch, the online gambling site of land-based operator Grand Casino Luzern AG. The deal will see Mycasino.ch spelled out on the back of the club’s shirts under the players’ numbers.

Grand Casino Luzern has been sponsoring FC Luzern for years now but the new shirt deal marks the first online casino sponsorship for a major Swiss football club. Grand Casino Luzern CEO Wolfgang Bliem hailed the opportunity to promote the online gambling operation via “a wide-reaching presence.”

Mycasino.ch was among the first to launch in Switzerland’s regulated online casino market and the site was recently revealed as the market leader with revenue of CHF9m (US$9.9m) in 2019, topping the combined CHF7.6m raised by the Stadtcasino Baden group’s two sites (Jackpots.ch and Casino777.ch).

German-facing online casinos can carry on if they observe treaty rules now

Germany-facing online casino operators can continue to operate without fear of legal blowback provided they observe certain restrictions before those restrictions actually take effect.

On Wednesday, German media reported that the country’s 16 perpetually fractious states had agreed to a plan to ‘tolerate’ German-facing online gambling operators that offer casino and poker products before said products are authorized under the new federal gambling treaty set to take effect on July 1, 2021.

There are a few caveats, primarily the requirement for these operators to observe the restrictions laid out in the treaty’s draft language as if it had already taken effect. These include strict caps on deposits and a €1-per-spin stake limit for online slots play. Operators who comply with these rules by October 15 will be assured they won’t face prosecution by German authorities.

Saarland was the last state to agree to the proposal, support for which was far from enthusiastic due to many states feeling the draft treaty didn’t include enough player protection measures. The state of Bremen reluctantly agreed to toleration based on its fear that failure to support the plan could mean that the new treaty – which followed a decade of ineffectual efforts – might collapse and leave the market in its largely unregulated state.