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.

JCM Global Again Expands Long-term Partnership with Churchill Downs, Inc. at Newport Racing & Gaming Property

Once again, JCM Global has expanded its long-term partnership with Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) this time at CDI’s newest parimutuel gaming entertainment venue, Newport Racing & Gaming in Newport, Ky.

Ethereum gained early attention from gambling developpers thanks to it’s small scale ability to create gambling dapps. But fees have continued to hold the blockchain back, and a recent scary example of a $9,300 fee for a single transaction is bound to scare more businesses away.

Reddit user “ProudBitcoiner” was the unfortunate victim of the fee. He explained what happened in a Reddit post.

“If you are curious what actually happened… Metamask didn’t populate the “Gas Limit” field with the correct amount in my previous transaction and that transaction failed, so I decided to change it manually in the next transaction (this one), but instead of typing 200000 in “Gas Limit” input field, I wrote it on the “Gas Price” input field, so I payed 200000 GWEI for this transaction and destroyed my life :/”

The failure has an obvious mix of user error and sloppy code, as the original failure of Metamask to populate a field was then compounded by the user’s error to input an amount in the wrong field. But a professionally built application would have avoided this mess. Those more professional applications haven’t come yet, as large enterprises don’t see the scaling capability they need to build a profitable operation on Ethereum.

The recent announcement by PayPal that it was ready to fully embrace the digital currency ecosystem has already created waves in the overall financial industry, with several experts seeing the move as a definitive precursor to potentially massive adoption. Surprisingly, global awareness of digital currency and its traits and benefits remains relatively low, but this is rapidly changing as a result of major entities like PayPal getting involved. More analysts are now speaking up about what the payments platform’s decision means to digital currency, and everything points to greater adoption happening at a much quicker rate. 

The founder and CEO of InsideChains, Cristina Dolan, sees the PayPal announcement as a huge indication of digital currency’s arrival. Dolan also serves as the chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum, and explained to Cointelegraph, “This is a very exciting announcement that will help increase crypto adoption for traditional value transfer or payments by offering an easy and integrated solution for the 346 million active PayPal users… This may even increase the velocity of crypto and Bitcoin spending across the network while increasing its perceived usability and value as a currency, not just a store of value. PayPal dominates payments processing, yet integrating crypto may also attract new customers.”

Quantum Economics founder Mati Greenspan concurs, asserting, “Yes. This move is likely a huge boon for the adoption of cryptocurrencies in real-world payments. Millions of people who prefer to pay with crypto are always looking for new vendors that accept them. PayPal is now effectively adding 22 million merchants to that list as well as opening the door for its over 300 million active customers.”

Others view the news as potentially good for digital currency, but not necessarily life-altering. One of these is Jimmy Song, a BTC developer and now instructor at Programming Blockchain, who showed that his knowledge of how finances work was kind of hollow, stated, “The only thing that ‘forces’ Bitcoin adoption is the collapse of fiat money, which isn’t happening yet. PayPal’s announcement gives people an additional path to buying Bitcoin to store value or buying altcoins to gamble — that’s it.”

At the end of October, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) acknowledged rumors that it was considering offloading its properties on the Las Vegas Strip. The news came as a surprise to many, considering the multibillion-dollar pockets of its founder and chairman, Sheldon Adelson, and the fact that it had previously been seen as a relatively robust company during the COVID-19 debacle. However, LVS isn’t as strong as some had thought and reported losses of around $1.73 billion across the second and third quarters of the year. Now that the fire sale has been confirmed, industry analysts have begun weighing in on which entities might be at the top of the list to purchase the properties.

Chad Beynon of Macquarie Group Limited believes that Churchill Downs Inc., Galaxy Entertainment and Tilman Fertitta are top contenders for the Venetian, Palazzo and Sands Expo and Convention Center. Galaxy just reported strong earnings for the third quarter of the year, which could give it some breathing room, and Fertitta, owner of the Golden Nugget and the NBA’s Houston Rockets, always has his eye on new assets he can add to his portfolio. Churchill Downs may be a surprise entry on the list, but it also just reported outstanding profit, and being able to capture new casino properties at a bargain would be appealing to any company with the ability to complete the transaction.

Beynon also believes that Crown Resorts could try to throw its name in the hat. However, this is not very likely in the current environment. The Australian casino operator is under extreme pressure back home, and that could cause issues should it decide to try to make a case for its capabilities in Las Vegas, at least until it emerges from the ongoing drama. It’s hard to imagine gaming regulators in Nevada agreeing to approve a company that has been allegedly tied to money laundering and war criminals.

Even without Crown, there is enough interest, and enough money, to make LVS able to reach a deal soon. It is hoping to pick up around $6 billion by selling the properties, and Beynon adds, “Buying Venetian and Palazzo, that’s not just buying a property on the Strip, that’s buying a convention business. The buyers that were looking at Caesars, they’re probably the same ones that would at least look at this. Tilman Fertitta was interested in Caesars, so I certainly think he’d be interested. On paper, it seems like that could work.”

Superbet has a strong presence in Europe and is currently the leading sports gambling operator in Romania. That status is going to come in handy for SportCaller, a free-to-play sports game provider, which is teaming up with the company to get into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Eastern Europe. The two entities have signed a deal that will allow SportCaller to gain a foothold in Central and Eastern Europe, leading to possibly even greater expansion in the region. 

Superbet is often described as the “most influential multichannel sportsbook” in the region, making this a highly lucrative partnership for SportCaller. It will be just as beneficial to Superbet, though, as the company will be able to add a huge portfolio of games that SportCaller currently offers. It has more than 100 games that are now provided in 37 countries and in 20 languages (with the help of advanced translation software), serving Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, Latin America and North America. 

Superbet Managing Director (Online) Adam Shaw states, “We’re delighted to have secured SportCaller’s services in this new deal. And the early weeks of this relationship have only bolstered our confidence that the free-to-play vertical will elevate the fun for both new and regular customers, as sports betting continues to rebound from the sidelines.”

Getting involved in the gambling scene in Europe is tricky, as countries have varying regulations and laws that operators need to follow to get started and keep from getting hit with fines. While discussions are in the works to consolidate the individual efforts into one larger framework, this isn’t an easy process and certainly won’t happen overnight. Because Superbet is already embedded in the region, SportCaller will have an easier time of getting into the local jurisdictions and ensuring that it can comply with all the rulesets it will have to watch. 

Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is this Saturday, November 14. Gambling is a huge part of the holiday, and with the state trying to crack down on unlicensed gambling, lots of Indians will be going online to get their gambling fix.

Baazi Games, Stickpool and Pocket 52 look like they will be doing big business over the holiday weekend. “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to stay at home and rethink their lives and has thereby affected the way they choose to entertain themselves,” Baazi Games CEO Navkiran Singh told Financial Express. “This has just accelerated the growth we were already projecting for the industry. We expect and encourage people to maintain social distancing norms and enjoy gaming online this festive season.”

Although poker is the main product of Pocket52, they make sure to target those who want to keep their Diwali routines going. “Apart from a regular poker player, some occasional and recreational poker players come and play during Diwali,” said Pocket52 CEO and founder Nitesh Salvi. “We have Diwali Freerolls with guaranteed real cash prize pools worth Rs 3 lakh up for action this Diwali.”

Stickpool is seeing a huge increase in its user base ahead of Diwali, and Pocket52 expects as much as a 45% increase in its own user base. “People want to experience the game of poker around this time and therefore the engagement and average time spent per user has also gone up from regular days,” said Stickpool co-founder Vivek Singh.

What makes Millenials and Gen-Z gamblers different? That was the driving question or a day 2 panel at iGaming NEXT ONLINE: Adventure of Change, as Pierre Lindh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of iGaming Next, lead a panel of C-level guests to figure out how the gambling industry must adapt if it’s to win over this new audience.

As Lindh joked, Mikael Hansson, Founder and CEO of Enteractive, was the stats guru of the panel, bringing relevant statistics that might help paint a picture. “When it comes to communication, what we have seen when we talk to players is that everyone, no matter old or young wants to somehow communicate, either via email or SMS or via phone,” he said. “90% say they want to be updated and get updates or offers from their operator.”

That’s a number that doesn’t change no matter the generation. But Their quickly finding that regardless of age, people want to hear from the service they use. “12% want to get information and updates weekly. When we started this company, people were worried ‘Do people even want to be contacted?’”

So what makes the youth of today different? “What we have seen with Millenials and Gen-Z is that they actually want you to adjust to them,” Hansson said. “They wanted to be contacted the way they want to be contacted, and if you don’t do it their way, they might not be so happy about it.”

The third and final day of iGaming NEXT ONLINE: Adventure for Change is underway. This flagship event now turns to Human matters, with many HR experts analyzing how organizations can be better run in the future.

The day starts with a keynote speech on “Optimize communication in your workplace,” delivered by Alexander Grabner-Jarlung, TED Speaking Coach, Director, Partner Consultant & PowerPoint Specialist from David JP Phillips Int. Business.

Figuring out how to keep everyone happy around the world will be a panel moderated by Marie Louise Theobald, CPO of Hero Gaming, which will look at “Handling your remote, cross-cultural team.” She’s joined by Tinatin Bonney, Head of HR Latvia, Romania, Malta, Belgium, Spain & Engineering Hubs of Evolution Gaming and Mikael Ångman, Chief HR Officer (interim) of NetEnt.

Another talk of interest, for those looking to hire in the new year perhaps, will be a Fireside Chat between Lena Nordin, Chief HR Officer of the Betsson Group and Scott Dodson, CMO of Hero Gaming, on “Succeeding in remote onboarding.”

This past August, International Game Technology (IGT) provided its financial status for the second quarter of the year, indicating that revenue had dropped by 48% compared to a year earlier. It wasn’t surprising, given the fact that the entire gaming industry has taken one on the chin from COVID-19, but the gaming company felt it had plans in place that would help it bounce back quickly. Based on a new update from IGT covering its third-quarter performance, those plans may have worked. 

IGT revealed that its third-quarter revenue had jumped 54% quarter-over-quarter as it took in almost $981.5 million. That is a substantial improvement for the year, but there’s still more to be done. Compared to what was seen in the same period last year, it’s still off by almost 15%. Most of the gains came from increased lottery sales, which saw their best turnout in the past seven months for the company. After making all of the necessary calculations, adjusted net income came in at $54 million.

Global gaming revenue dropped 31.4% year-on-year, coming in at $412 million for the quarter. This was driven by the continued threat of the coronavirus pandemic but, as casinos have begun to reopen around the world, IGT is beginning to see more positive movement to help it continue to recover. IGT CEO Marco Sala adds, “The resilience of our portfolio, particularly in lottery, and benefits from our swift cost reduction initiatives are on full display in our third quarter results. Strong player demand and a host of compelling new games, systems, and digital solutions led to a sharp, sequential improvement in our most important markets. We continue to monitor the evolution and impact of the pandemic around the world. With a simplified organization firmly in place, we are creating a leaner, stronger IGT.”

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) also saw a nice jump. The quarter produced positive EBITDA of $354.1 million – more than twice what it was in the second quarter. As should be expected, however, it is still lower than what IGT reported for the third quarter of last year and the company will work on trying to recover the 13% quarterly comparative difference. 

2020 will be known for a lot of things, some good and some bad. However, it will always stand out as the year a pesky little virus took virtual control of the globe. COVID-19 has taken its toll on a number of economies, and the global gaming industry has suffered tremendously. Macau has received a substantial portion of the blow, and the latest figures coming out of the government’s accountants shows exactly how much. Since the beginning of this year through October, Macau has only taken in one-quarter of the tax revenue it received during the same period last year. 

There are only two months left in the year, so any chance of even a nominal rebound is now off the table for Macau. The city’s Financial Services Bureau reported yesterday that it had received $3 billion in gaming taxes since the beginning of the year, right around 74% less than it received across the first ten months of 2019. The previous estimates had forecast the amount to be around $6.255 billion, but casino gross gaming revenue of $5.73 billion for the period, a year-on-year drop of 81.4%, is causing further damage. 

Plagued by continuing issues from the coronavirus pandemic, Macau’s casino industry hasn’t been able to support the local government like it normally would. The city’s overall revenue take for the period stands at $4.51 billion, 66.5% less than last year. Adding capital revenue, Macau was able to collect $10.1 billion, but this still represents a shortage of 27% against last year’s numbers. It’s also not even close to the $13.71 billion the city had expected to receive across the ten-month period. 

There is a little bit of good news, though, as October was apparently the best month for Macau since the pandemic began. The city’s gaming regulator reported last week that casino gaming revenue for the month was $914 million and, while this was a year-on-year drop of 72.5%, it was the best month since January. Despite the overall declines, it could be that Macau is heading in the right direction, and even some analysts are predicting that a rebound could happen sooner than previously expected.

The New South Wales (NSW) government has realized that it may not have completely considered all possible scenarios when it signed an agreement with Crown Resorts in 2014. The casino operator has come under fire from all sides recently for everything from rigging gaming machines to money-laundering claims, and its value as a licensed operator has come into question. Some have asserted that it is unsuitable to continue to hold a license, but Crown has an exit strategy should the worst come to pass. It has the right to potentially claim billions of dollars in damages from the government under the current language in its agreement with NSW, a clause that, perhaps, the government never thought would need to be used. Now, lawmakers are working to plug the loophole and prevent Crown from being able to trigger any massive payouts.

When the government and Crown sat down at the negotiating table in 2014, the casino operator managed to get included in their agreement a clause that provides compensation of up to 10.5 times the value of any operating segment that is altered by the government. If the company earned, for example, $300 million in its most recent year and could no longer operate, the government could be on the hook for as much as $3.15 billion, in theory. 

Now, MP Justin Field wants to make sure NSW’s assets are covered. He has submitted a bill that would strip the agreement, which had been agreed to by former NSW Premier Mike Baird, in hopes that the government can protect itself if Crown loses its license. That determination is expected to happen by next February, following the lengthy and still-ongoing inquiry into the company’s activities.

Field says of the new initiative to break free from the indemnification clause, “The agreement between Crown and the government suggests any action taken as a result of this inquiry to prevent organized crime and money laundering at a future Barangaroo casino could trigger a compensation claim by Crown. That’s outrageous. The parliament and the regulator should never have had its ability to regulate in the public interest undermined as a result of a commercial agreement.”

Thanks to iGaming NEXT Online, on Tuesday I had the opportunity to interview Jason Ader, CEO and Co-Founder of SpringOwl Asset Management, one of the biggest investors in the gambling space. This event is now in its 3rd day with a focus on HR, yesterday’s Day 2 with a focus on Marketing and Day 1’s focus on Business. 

If you have not already, I invite you to sign up for today’s iGaming NEXT Online sessions (including a keynote from my father Dr. Samuel Liggero!) and you can watch the outstanding content from Day 1 and Day 2 on demand, all free of charge.

The insights delivered by Ader during our Day 1 interview were golden and its rare to have an entire 30 minutes to discuss the global iGaming landscape with someone who has so much experience (20+ years) in this space. Here is the session in its entirety:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CapfVZH_btk]

This is a guest contribution by Natalya Zheltukhina, Head of Growth: iGaming Domain at Sigma Software. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

PwC predicts that AI could add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. With AI transforming virtually every industry, this prediction is easy to believe. The iGaming industry, which deals with poker, online casinos, sports betting, and other online games, is no exception. AI solutions can improve user experience, recommend games based on user behavior and similar users’ preferences, detect fraud and bots. Let’s discuss in more detail some of possible AI applications in iGaming.

Online Gaming Chatbots for Customer Support and Small Talk

Either when encountering a problem or having a few seconds to wait, online game players will need a chatbot. In terms of customer support, AI chatbots can handle up to 75% of issues, providing quicker responses and saving operators costs. As to small talk, the level of conversation an AI chatbot is capable of sustaining can surprise you.

This is a guest contribution by Dr. Darina Goldin, Director of Data Science at Bayes Esports in Berlin. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

Making mistakes at work sucks! In the best case, it’s just a blow on your ego, in the worst case you might take your company with you. Just recently we had to give up a beloved project because of all the mistakes we had made developing it. It felt terrible! And yet here we are, advocating that we don’t just embrace mistakes but want to build our entire culture around them.

Because, frankly, what other options are there? Mistakes will happen, regardless of if you want them to or not. If you focus on avoiding them at any cost, you will over-engineer your products and have development times so long, they themselves will become mistakes. So instead let’s treat mistakes as a part of everyday life.

It’s less scary than it sounds – you just need to have a plan for when a mistake happens and execute it. It can be as simple as four points: communicate, understand, fix, and prevent from happening again. This plan works for both individual (“I put a bug in the code”, “I emailed the wrong person”) and company level (“We took too long to develop a product”, “Nobody wants to use it”) mistakes.

South Korea’s largest casino operator Kangwon Land posted another quarter of losses in the double-digit millions although it was a slightly smaller loss than the previous quarter.

On Tuesday, Kangwon Land released its financial report for the three months ending September 30, during which the casino operator booked a net loss of KRW40.9b (US$36.6m) versus a profit of KRW128.6b in the same period last year (and KRW4.6b better than Q2’s loss).

Of course, last year didn’t feature a global pandemic that resulted in South Korea’s largest casino – and the only one legally permitted to welcome local residents on its gaming floor – shutting down not once, but twice due to the country’s struggles to lower its COVID-19 infection rate.

Revenue totaled KRW76.6b in Q3, down more than four-fifths from Q3 2019 but more than twice the sum generated in Q2, during which it was forced to close on August 23. For the first nine months of 2020, sales are off nearly 70% to KRW347.3b, while net losses totaled KRW242.5b versus a KRW282b profit in the first three quarters of 2019.