Monthly Archives: May 2020

Italy’s betting operators facing new turnover tax to fund football

Italy’s betting operators are pushing back hard against a government proposal to impose a new tax on betting turnover to give struggling sports leagues a boost.

Last weekend, reports surfaced that Italy’s government was mulling a proposal to include a 0.75% tax on all sports betting turnover – land-based, online, and also on virtual sports – in the so-called Relaunch Decree aimed at getting Italy back up and running following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed new tax would remain in place until December 31, 2022, with the money earmarked for a ‘football protection’ fund. Italy’s football leagues, which are struggling after being ordered to suspend play until the country got a hold on its COVID-19 problem, had initially pressed for a 1% turnover tax.

But Italy’s betting operators have been equally unable to earn during the pandemic, and land-based betting shops have yet to be given permission to open their doors to the public. (The government previously floated a timeline for retail gaming restarts, but this was binned shortly thereafter, leaving operators in the dark.)

SkyCity to reopen New Zealand casinos on Thursday (14)

New Zealand casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group will reopen its three domestic properties on Thursday (14) after getting the all-clear from the government.

On Tuesday (local time), SkyCity announced that the government would be downgrading to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 as of Thursday, clearing the way for SkyCity to reopen its casinos in Auckland, Hamilton and Queenstown under its new Health Management Framework.

To keep a lid on crowd numbers during the reopening frenzy, SkyCity has essentially developed a ‘no riff-raff’ policy for the first few days. For example, the Auckland casino will only be accessible by SkyCity Premier Rewards Gold, Platinum and Black members until Sunday afternoon, after which all Premier Rewards Members will be allowed in.

SkyCity Hamilton, which does about one-tenth the business of Auckland, is taking a slightly more egalitarian approach, allowing Platinum and Black members exclusive access only from midday Thursday to 4pm, after which the hoi-polloi will be allowed to sully the place with their presence. The Queenstown venue, which barely does any business and therefore can’t afford to discriminate, is apparently open to all Rewards members from the get-go.

Skill-based game maker says casinos need skill-based games

America’s casino gamblers will skew a lot younger once the industry reopens following the COVID-19 shutdown, at least initially, according to a new survey.

A new survey by gaming developers Synergy Blue asked 1,000 consumers – “specifically those who gamble” – how their approach to casino gambling has been altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey found that 51% of gamblers would return to casinos once the venues are allowed to reopen.

Of those who remain skittish about crossing a casino threshold, 58% cited economic concerns, while 47% expressed concern over how sanitary the environment will be and 41% simply didn’t feel good about being in a confined space with lots of other people.

Around one-quarter of respondents are waiting for the number of COVID-19 infections to fall dramatically before they’ll return to casinos, while 19% say they won’t return until there’s a vaccine that can eliminate the threat entirely.

SkyCity to sack 700 more staff as it mulls leaner, meaner future

New Zealand casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group is warning that it will likely sack another 700 staff as it prepares to open as “a smaller, domestically focused business” once the pandemic all-clear sounds.

On Monday, SkyCity issued an update on its efforts to mitigate the fallout from the suspension of its casino operations in both Australia and New Zealand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the “incredibly difficult” choices it’s facing is reducing its rostered (waged) staff by “around 700” to ensure it is prepared for the “new environment” that awaits post-lockdown.

One month ago, SkyCity announced that it was laying off around 200 staff, following the standing down of “around 90%” of the workforce at its lone Australian casino in Adelaide. The company asked the rest of its waged staff to agree to work for 80% of their normal pay, a step SkyCity believed would help avoid the additional 700 redundancies.

Most of the 700 layoffs are expected to be at the company’s Auckland casino, which currently employs nearly 3,000 staff. SkyCity CEO Graeme Stephens said the layoff process would take “some weeks” and the company would work with affected staff to make the process as painless as these things can be.

Drone Racing League, NBC Sports Network and FanDuel Launch Virtual Drone Racing Series to Benefit Direct Relief

The Drone Racing League (DRL), the world’s premier, professional circuit for drone racing, today announced that the first-ever fantasy virtual drone racing series, the 2020 FanDuel DRL SIM Racing Cup, will premiere on Saturday, May 16 at 2:30pm ET on NBCSN. The series will run for eight weekends on NBCSN and Twitter. The schedule is as follows:

  • Saturday, May 16th at 2:30pm
  • Sunday, May 24th at 3pm
  • Sunday, May 31st at 2pm
  • Sunday, June 7th at 2pm
  • Sunday, June 14th at 1pm
  • Saturday, June 20th at 12pm
  • Sunday, June 28 at 12pm
  • Sunday, July 5th at 12pm
    *Dates and times subject to change

The 2020 FanDuel DRL SIM Racing Cup will feature 12 elite DRL pilots battling it out on the DRL SIM, the true-to-life drone racing simulator, for the chance to be crowned the series’ Champion. Fans tuning in will feel as if they are in the drone’s cockpit as the pros fly digital versions of custom DRL drones through historic DRL maps and never-seen-before tracks, all from their homes around the globe including the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Switzerland.

“DRL authentically merges the digital with the real, so we’re thrilled to highlight the virtual side of drone racing on NBCSN and Twitter starting this Saturday. The high-speed, futuristic racing combined with daily fantasy is great for the whole family — and it’s all for an amazing charity supporting frontline workers,” said DRL President Rachel Jacobson.

All pilots have committed to donate their winnings to Direct Relief, the largest charitable provider of protective gear and medical essentials to health facilities in response to Covid-19. The funds donated will help Direct Relief continue to get protective gear to frontline workers during the pandemic.

“Direct Relief is so deeply grateful for the leadership and commitment reflected by the Drone Racing League and its players,” said Thomas Tighe, President and CEO of Direct Relief. “This support translates into immediate, practical help, and is such a wonderful example of everyone pulling together and doing whatever we can to protect those who are most vulnerable.”

Indiana Sportsbooks Off $165 Million In April Bets, Hitting Low Point, According to PlayIndiana.com

PlayIndiana.com

Indiana sportsbooks suffered their worst month ever in April — including a retail sector that did not produce a single bet — costing sportsbooks an estimated $165 million in bets, according to estimates from PlayIndiana.

With a minimized schedule of sports to bet on and casinos closed for the entire month, Indiana generated just $26.3 million in wagers, according to official reporting released Monday. During a month in which online and retail sportsbooks would have expected to draw at least $190 million in bets, April’s handle was down 64.8% from $74.8 million in March. That’s the lowest monthly handle ever for Indiana sportsbooks.

“April’s results are shocking, but not at all surprising,” said Dustin Gouker, chief analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Bettors have very few places to turn in Indiana. In some states, online casinos have driven significant revenue. But that isn’t possible in Indiana. So the industry’s results will continue to be grim until the sports world figures out a way to reopen.”

April’s wagers still produced $5.5 million in adjusted gross revenue, essentially even with March. That yielded $522,085 in state taxes.

Without legal online casino games, poker, or esports betting, bettors in Indiana have largely been limited since mid-March to fringe international sports and futures betting. In fact, $21 million of the state’s handle was generated by “other” sports, far more than football, basketball, and baseball.

The NFL Draft gave bettors some reason to engage with sportsbooks in April. Indiana, the first state to allow betting on professional sports drafts, generated $1.3 million in football-related wagers in April.

“The shut down of sports has led to some creativity by Indiana’s bookmakers, and that creativity was rewarded with interest in the NFL Draft,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “Even though Indiana has missed out on some opportunities, regulators have at least been nimble enough to allow some unconventional ideas.”

There are reasons for cautious optimism. NASCAR is planning on revving up in May, which could draw betting interest. The PGA Tour is planning a June tee off while baseball and the NBA continue to search for a workable solution to restart their seasons. In addition, Indiana’s casinos and retail sportsbooks could open as early as June 14.

“It could be that April is the low point in what will undoubtedly still be a struggle until sports can resume with their regular schedules,” Gouker said. “If sports do resume relatively soon, online sportsbooks should recover quickly. In the meantime, sportsbooks will continue to look for creative ways to drive revenue.”

Totalizator Sportowy sees record sales after online casino launch

Poland’s state-run gambling operator Totalizator Sportowy demolished its annual sales records in 2019, thanks in part to the company’s local online casino monopoly.

On Monday, Totalizator Sportowy offered a snapshot of its 2019 performance, during which total sales topped PLN10.9b (US$2.59b), up from PLN6.1b in 2018 and a new all-time high for the company.

Totalizator Sportowy launched its Playtech-powered online casino Total Casino in December 2018 but the company didn’t provide any specific sales totals in its 2019 report, other than to say the site’s players had “made over 1.3 billion spins” by the end of 2019. One of those spins resulted in a customer winning PLN759k ($180k), which currently stands as the highest prize the site has issued.

On the site’s first birthday, Totalizator Sportowy said it expected its online casino to generate sales of PLN3.8b, which would work out to around 35% of 2019’s official total. The company said Monday that Total Casino and its sister site Lotto.pl had registered over 320k customers, the same figure the company reported in December.