Max Meltzer, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of the Kambi Group, loves talking about player behavior. Meltzer took some time out to share what he and his team at the Kambi Group learned about player behavior with Calvinayre.com lead reporter Becky Liggero Fontana. 

Meltzer confesses that his team at the Kambi Group were surprised by the interest of U.S. players in niche sports during the COVID lockdown period. “Right at the beginning, the pandemic had such a huge impact with sports being cancelled all across the world and we were quite surprised to find out that table tennis was going to be the number one sport in America. It was fantastic to see esports naturally did well because of the lack of impact that it had but it was also weird to see Belarusian soccer and other sports do so well,” said Meltzer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58MQqh9GsI0&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Max Meltzer explains player behavior in the US sports betting market (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58MQqh9GsI0&feature=youtu.be)

“I’m glad to see now that everything’s come back and the way that American sports are running right now is immaculate. I thought the way that the NBA was handled was fantastic and it’s so good to see it all back and working properly now,” he added.

In the fast-moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure you’re all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, we’re rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Don’t miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly.

Swintt and Mobilt agree partnership agreement

Swintt, the Malta-based game provider, have announced a new partnership agreement with innovative operator Mobilt.

It’s that time of year that we talk about the top fitness tips for getting into shape. Learning how to make your fitness resolutions stick can be a dicey proposition; the mind is willing, but the body is a different story. While there’s no foolproof plan for losing the holiday love handles, the fitness tips below will put you on the right track.

Write your goals down

Writing down your goals is one of the first steps committing to a new you. Putting your goals on paper is almost like writing a contract with yourself, it’s there to remind you what the end game is. Writing down your goals gives you a sense of accountability and commitment

Make your goals realistic

Online gambling revenue in Canada’s largest province posted decent growth in its most recent fiscal year but just can’t seem to close the gap with its two main provincial rivals. 

The Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG) provincial gambling monopoly is now some three months’ overdue in releasing its 2019-20 annual report, which is surprising, considering most of the operations OLG oversees were shut down for a good portion of 2020 due to the pandemic. So you figure they’d have more time to spend on their paperwork. 

That said, OLG did quietly release its consolidated financial statement for the 12 months ending March 31, 2020. While this statement doesn’t provide a lot of specifics in terms of gaming verticals, it does reveal that digital revenue generated by the PlayOLG online gambling site totaled C$139m, although this was reduced to C$124m (US$97.1m) after deducting online lottery prizes. 

OLG reported digital revenue of C$92m in 2018-19, although accounting changes after that report was released – specifically, shifting online lottery sales from the ‘lottery’ column to ‘digital’ – mean that year’s digital revenue has been revised to C$102m in the 2019-20 financial statement. So, on an apples-to-apples basis, PlayOLG’s 2019-20 revenue represents a year-on-year improvement of 21.5%. 

Taiwan’s sports lottery suffered a sales decline in 2020 but mid-year product tweaks ensured an even greater decline didn’t come to past.  

The Taiwan Sports Lottery Corp (TSLC) reported sales of NT$40.5b (US$1.44b) in 2020, a decline of 11% from 2019’s NT$41.6b. However, given the pandemic disruptions to major league play, Taiwan is feeling pretty good about its result, particularly when similar products in other countries are on track to report annual declines twice as large. 

The Taipei Times reported that the Sports Administration that oversees TSLC activity took action in mid-March, when the National Basketball Association announced the suspension of its current season. When other major sports followed suit, the Sports Administration widened the variety of sports on which it traditionally allowed players to bet, including eSports (courtesy of TSLC’s technology partner Intralot and Sportradar). 

TSLC also began allowing players to bet on single games and live betting within those games, while introducing higher prize payout rates as the major leagues began to return to the field of play in the summer. The changes not only benefited the Administration’s bottom line but also that of the over 1,500 lottery retailers who otherwise would have endured a stark loss of commissions.

South Korea’s casinos have once again extended their latest pandemic shutdown, but this hasn’t deterred one operator from pursuing a new foreigner-only gambling permit on Jeju island. 

This weekend, South Korean authorities extended the social distancing measures currently in place for Seoul (Level 2.5, the second-highest tier) and the rest of the country (Level 2) through January 17. The greater Seoul region has hosted the bulk of new COVID cases, which topped 1,020 on Sunday, a worrisome rise from the 657 reported Saturday. 

Foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) subsequently announced that its three Seven Luck-branded casinos in Seoul and Busan – which were scheduled to reopen Monday morning – would now remain shut until January 18 at 9am. 

GKL rival Paradise Co Ltd, which unlike GKL is a purely private operator, is keeping its Paradise Walkerhill casino in Seoul shuttered, but its Paradise City integrated resort in Incheon remains open, as does its Casino Jeju Grand on Jeju island. 

Predictably, the heads-up for a million dollars went so shallow as to reduce the element of skill in the World Series of Poker Main Event. When Damian Salas took on Joseph Hebert, it was a clash between two players who had already won top prizes of over $1.5 million each in their respective legs of the WSOP Main Event.  

In Rozvadov, Argentinian Salas won $1.5 million as he took down the International leg. In Las Vegas, it was Hebert’s turn to win over $1.5 million as he won the American leg.  

With nothing on the cards for coming second and a cool million for winning the heads-up, no-one was going to step out of line and go all-in in the first hand. In the end, it took 173 hands to find a winner, by which point there were only 20 big blinds on the table between both men.  

The final itself was delayed almost as long as the crowning of Salas as winner, as reported on PokerNews, who have provided updates on the longest-lasting WSOP Main Event in history as well as their usual features and added extras to help poker fans join the fun and become players themselves, such as providing this list of US poker sites. With Salas initially finding himself unable to enter the United States, the final, which had been scheduled for 30th December, the day that Huck Seed was announced as the latest inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame, was moved into the first few days of 2021.  

Australian casino operator Crown Resorts saw its share price jump on rumors that Las Vegas Sands may be interested in buying out majority shareholder James Packer. 

Crown’s shares rose nearly 3% on Monday to close at AU$9.90, a peak the Aussie operator hasn’t hit since mid-2020, right around the time that its regulatory problems truly began in earnest. However, the company spent a good part of the weekend denying the media reports that contributed to this surge. 

On January 2, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Packer’s $200m yacht – in which the mogul has spent the bulk of the year hiding from COVID-19 on the high seas – spent the final days of 2020 parked alongside another superyacht owned by none other than Sheldon Adelson, chairman and controlling shareholder of Las Vegas Sands. 

The paper noted that there’d been “tenders between both vessels going back and forth,” sparking speculation that Adelson was discussing the sale of Packer’s nearly 37% stake in Crown. However, a Packer flack dismissed talk that the two casino titans had any contact during their boats’ extended proximity. 

Casino operator Bally’s Corp has struck a deal to build a new Pennsylvania mini-casino, just as the state’s existing gambling venues reopen following their latest pandemic shutdown. 

On Monday, Bally’s (formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings) announced that it had signed a ‘framework agreement’ with real estate developer Ira Lubert, who holds a Pennsylvania Category 4 casino license, to “develop, construct and manage” such a casino within a 15-mile radius of Unionville Borough in Centre County (near Penn State University).  

Bally’s says construction will get underway sometime in H1, with completion expected to take around a year. Once complete, the property will boast up to 750 slot machines and 30 table games, while the partners will also seek the right to launch retail and online sports betting along with online casino products. 

The project will cost around $120m and Bally’s will hold a majority stake in the finished casino, including 100% of its sports betting and iGaming activity. The deal requires the standard regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, but those don’t appear to be in any serious doubt. 

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s frankly a minor miracle that this college football season made it all the way through with all the coronavirus-related postponements, cancellations and such. However, the College Football Playoff will crown a champion on January 11 from Miami when top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Ohio State clash. The Tide are listed as 8-point favorites and are 7-2 ATS in their past nine games.

Alabama didn’t cover the spread in the Rose Bowl semifinal against No. 4 Notre Dame, which was a 19-point underdog. The Irish got a “backdoor cover” when Ian Book scored on a 1-yard run with 56 seconds left and the PAT made the final score 31-14 in favor of Nick Saban’s squad.

Tide quarterback Mac Jones and receiver Devonta Smith continued their record-setting seasons as Jones threw for four more touchdowns and had just four incompletions, while Smith caught seven passes for 130 yards and three scores. He leads the nation in catches, receiving yards and receiving TDs and is the heavy favorite to be awarded the Heisman Trophy on Tuesday night. Jones likely will finish second and then both along with star running back Najee Harris are off to the NFL and all three could be first-round picks in April.

Argentina’s largest province has issued seven online gambling licenses, with some major European operators making the grade. 

On New Year’s Eve, the Official Gazette of the province of Buenos Aires published the names of the seven companies granted permission to offer online gambling within its borders. The province opened its licensing derby nearly two years ago and received 19 applications from interested parties, which were then whittled down to 14 finalists. 

The new licensees (along with their local partners) are 888 Holdings, Bet365, Betsson, Intralot, Playtech, The Stars Group (Flutter Entertainment) and William Hill. The partnerships require the local operator to hold a minimum 15% stake in the business. 

Companies not making the grade included Latin American online betting stalwarts Betcris, Betway, Italy’s Sisal and Spanish operators Codere and Luckia. No reasons were provided for why these companies didn’t make the cut. Betsson originally ranked eighth in its application vetting, but was elevated to seventh after Flutter withdrew the application for its Paddy Power Betfair unit following Flutter’s takeover of The Stars Group. 

Getting off to a good start in poker isn’t just a game-by-game ambition, but it’s often a yearly one. By now, we’re sure that  you’ve read our New Year’s Resolutions for 2021. But there’s no two ways about it – an inspiring sentence from your poker hero can underline your aims and dreams and underpin your own ambitions at the felt.  

Let’s kick off 2021 with the words of a player who was tragically taken from us in 2020.  

1.     “The difference between winners and losers in poker is that winners bet most of the times and losers call most of the time.” 

Mike Sexton said a great many meaningful things in his life, but the late, great former partypoker Chairman was spot on here. Make sure that you’re the fisherman not the fish in the next 12 months. Check out Sexton’s play in this great spot in recent times.  

Entain, the gaming company formerly known as GVC Holdings, helped MGM Resorts International get its sports gambling operations off the ground when the two entities partnered to launch BetMGM. They created Roar Digital to spearhead nationwide sportsbook efforts in the U.S. over two years ago and have both continued to open their wallets to help the company expand, but MGM might now think it’s time to take over completely. It is reportedly interested in buying out Entain, but nothing has yet been cemented. 

The Wall Street Journal broke the news yesterday, explaining that it had received confirmation from unnamed sources that MGM was pushing to acquire the company. It reportedly had made an offer of $10 billion to buy Entain, but that offer proved to be less than appealing to its target, and MGM may have returned with a higher bid. That new bid was apparently made possible through some outside help, with InterActiveCorp (IAC) providing the additional support. IAC already owns 12% of MGM.

Entain’s market capitalization sits at around $9 billion and, as most high-profile deals go, anything less than at least one-quarter above that valuation most likely wouldn’t be considered. The Wall Street Journal suggests that the new bid could include both cash and equity, and is substantially more than the previous offer. That offer was based on a price of about $17.56 per Entain share, which, putting things into perspective, is already well above the $15.70 price Entain saw when the markets closed at the end of last week. 

Mergers and acquisitions in the gaming space are expected to pick up over the next couple of years, and Caesars Entertainment is helping set the stage with its acquisition of William Hill. The sports gambling operator partnered with Caesars for the latter’s U.S. sportsbook, and the deal is expected to see Caesars control all U.S. activity while it sells the rest of William Hill’s operations. After finding approval from shareholders, that deal should be wrapped up before the end of June.

Total control of the U.S. congress is up for grabs on January 5 as Georgia goes to the polls, again, and votes for two senators…again. Not having decided on who their senators would be on the November 3 election, the race has been narrowed to two sets of two, and Bodog has odds for everything.

In the first race, unelected incumbent Kelly Loeffler (R) is hoping to hold off Reverend Raphael Warnock. Loeffler got her senate seat in 2019 when Governor Brian Kemp selected her to replace the ailing Johnny Isakson, and has never won an election. Warnock is also running for the first time, but has had a history of political activism, for some of which he’s now being attacked.

During the November 3 vote, Warnock led Loeffler 32.9% to 25.9%, with several other Democratic and Republican candidates splitting the rest of the vote, with Doug Collins notably taking 20% of the Republican vote. The R vote added up to 49.3%, the D vote added up to 48.4%, and the remaining 2.3% going to Green Party and Independent candidates.

In the second race, Senator David Perdue (R) is hoping to beat Jon Ossoff. Ossoff, an investigative journalist previously lost a close race for a congressional seat in 2017, and got 47.9% to Perdue’s 49.7% in the November 3 election, with a Libertarian taking 2.3% of the remaining vote.

Learning how to avoid burnout has been a topic of conversation over the last year in the gambling industry. Becoming familiar with the signs of burnout is especially vital since the shift to working from home.

The symptoms of burnout include fatigue, anxiety, exhaustion and frequent illness. When the little everyday chores start to blow-up into a major drama it’s time to seek out some help. Here are some tips to help you avoid burnout in 2021.

Burnout is something that is recognised by psychologists as a genuine condition; left untreated it can lead to serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes and even depression. It’s something that won’t disappear on its own and requires the help of a doctor.

Bedrest is a solution

SJM Holdings had a difficult 2020 because of COVID-19, but it isn’t going to let a little thing like money trouble get in the way of the casino operator continuing its plan to offer annual “living subsidies” to its Macau employees. It, like other casino operators in the city, has given annual bonuses to its workers over the years and has confirmed that it is ready to start distributing checks once again. The pay will be split into two parts, with the first payment expected to be made this week. 

SJM announced the payment scheme today, explaining that it will distribute the first half of the subsidy this Wednesday and the second half in July. Daisy Ho Chiu Fung, the company’s chairperson, added in the announcement, “We would like to thank our staff members for their diligent work and dedicated support amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Those company employees who earn $2,505 or less will be given a bonus of two months’ salary, according to GGRAsia. Those who earn above that mark will pick up a bonus of one-and-a-half times their monthly salary or $5,000, whichever is higher. The bonus is valid for all eligible employees, even those who have worked for the company for less than a year; however, those who fall in the latter category will find their bonuses prorated based on the amount of time they have been with SJM. The living subsidy scheme has been in place for six years and SJM confirmed in 2019 that it doesn’t anticipate making any changes for at least another year. That, of course, was pre-COVID-19, but the global pandemic hasn’t forced it to alter its course too drastically. 

SJM just picked up a new chief financial officer, who will help ensure the company can continue to make good on its promises and bounce back from the coronavirus issues. Toh Hup Hock is taking over for Robert Earle McBain, who decided it was time to retire. Toh officially started last Friday, having most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer (Finance and Development) for SJM’s Macau operations. Prior to that, he spent almost six years with Sands China, from 2010-2016, and about three years with Shangri-La Asia Limited, from April 2016 to March 2019.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) may have had a pretty rough year in 2020, but it still helped the government’s coffers quite a bit. The regulator and casino operator contributed P17 billion ($353.7 million) to the Bureau of the Treasury through 15 December 2020, making it the country’s third biggest contributor, but only delivering half of what they did in 2019.

As PAGCOR is a Government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC), it’s mandated to hand over 50% of it’s net earnings to the treasury. The P17billion was enough to rank it only behind the country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which contributed P40.53 billion ($843.4 million), and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) with P17.98 billion ($374.1 million).

 In a statement, the Department of Finance noted that GOCC contributions would help fight Covid-19, as well as help restart the economy and help those in need.

The contribution from PAGCOR, while admirable, is still a far cry from what they contributed in 2019. In that year, they sent P35.93 billion ($706.38 million) to the treasury. But so many difficulties resulted in revenues being a far cry from what they once were.