The upcoming iGaming Next Online: Adventure of Change offers not only one of the best convention platforms for the gambling industry to network on, but one of the year’s best agenda’s of industry speakers. The 3 day event, from November 10 to 12, has some of the most interesting discussions you can expect to see this year.

State of the Gambling Industry

As we end the tumultuous year that was 2020, iGaming Next Online starts off the event is a Fireside Chat, featuring iGaming Next’s Co-Foudner and Managing Director Pierre Lindh chatting with Todd Haushalter, Evolution Gaming Chief Product officer, discussing “Where things are going tomorrow and beyond.”

But if you’re more into the wheeling and dealing of Mergers and Acquisitions, just come back later in the day for the Investors panel, looking at “The best deals and biggest fails in iGaming.” There’s bound to be a lot of change happening in the industry, and Moderator Lahcene Merzoug will lead a panel looking at the best offers out there.

Ukraine is already a major focus of the SBC Digital Summit CIS. With new comprehensive gambling laws on the way, opportunity beckons, and the event saw a “Welcome to Ukraine” panel on it’s first day to discuss what may be of the country’s gambling industry.

The path to a regulated market wasn’t easy, noted Boris Baum, Deputy Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office, due to Ukraine’s history with the industry. “The challenge was in two-parts as we had to form the conditions to legalize a gambling market, whilst simultaneously terminating black-market activities,” he said.

And it was a sizeable black market that Ukraine had to address. An assessment revealed over 200,000 slot halls in the country, with as many as 150 illegal casinos.

But a full framework is coming, he noted. “In a short time frame, Ukraine’s government will publish a full breakdown of regulatory requirements for “sports betting, land-based operations, lotteries, online casino and technology providers” – a tough ask for any government.”

Gartner, the leading global technology research company, just released their new Magic Quadrant or “MQ” for mobile marketing platforms and Dublin-based Xtremepush was included in the report. 

“We are now at the top of the “Challenger” in the quadrant which is pretty big news for us, for a five year old company which is non-VC backed. We’re really, really excited about it to be honest with you”, Xtremepush CEO Tommy Kearns shared.

Kearns was recently featured on a G2E Digital 2020 panel, discussing the importance of omnichannel marketing in the gambling industry, especially when it comes to bridging the gap between the land-based and online world.

“If you simplify the whole game of how to communicate with the users be them land-based or omnichannel as you call it, it all comes down to an understanding of that user, of the data”, he said.

Lottery, betting and gaming technology outfit Scientific Games Corp (SGC) lost $111m in the third quarter of 2020 but the situation would have been much worse without the company’s burgeoning digital operations.

On Wednesday, SGC announced that its revenue in the three months ending September 30 totaled $698m, down from $855m in the same period last year but up from $539m in Q2 2020. Adjusted earnings fell 31.6% to $235m and the company booked a net loss of $111m versus an $18m profit in Q3 2019.

SGC’s mainstay gaming division was the dead weight on the Q3 report, with revenue falling by nearly half to $231m and earnings down two-thirds to $77m as land-based casinos remained under pandemic restrictions. The result was a major decline in active gaming machine revenue, lower shipments of new and replacement machines and less need for gaming services.

The lottery division fared far better, with revenue and earnings each up 10% to $241m and $109m, respectively. The gains came via a 20% rise in domestic instant win ticket sales and a nearly 50% rise in international product sales.

Casino operator MGM Resorts plans to appeal a fine for allegedly failing to observe pandemic precautions at one of its Vegas casinos, while MGM’s real estate partner is eyeing up the land under Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian resort.

MGM learned Monday that it had been fined $12,617 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a “lack of social distancing at point-of-sale terminals used by employees” at the company’s Aria property in Las Vegas. OSHA launched its investigation following an Aria staffer’s complaint regarding claims of workplace safety hazards.  

MGM issued a statement saying it “plans to contest the citation and penalty because it does not believe it has violated any safety laws.” MGM insisted that it had “no higher priority” than protecting its staff and guests and cited its Seven-Point Safety Plan’s “clear policies for maintaining safe distances and other important protocols.”

Meanwhile, the MGM Growth Properties (MGP) real estate investment trust that owns much of the land underneath MGM’s casinos – and collects millions of dollars in rent from MGM each month – suggested this week that it might be interested in striking a similar deal with MGM rival Las Vegas Sands.

With the heads-up battle between Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu just kicking off on PokerGO, the poker world is looking to Kid Poker to see if the six-time WSOP bracelet winner can beat Polk with some of the skills that he has taught poker fans over the years. 

Skills that he reveals in his 2007 book, Hold’Em Wisdom for all Players. 

With well over $40 million in live tournament earnings, Negreanu is probably the most well-known poker player in the world and has featured in Hollywood movies in cameos, too, though the less said about the 2018 film Bodied the better. Suffice it to say that Negreanu’s appearance is, well, bizarre. 

Negreanu’s first tome of poker wisdom is put together a little like Lou Krieger’s 52 poker tips, in that it has roughly 50 nuggets of information, it’s just that there’s more information at your fingertips in ‘DNegs’ book. 

Northern Ireland’s gambling options appear in for major expansion following the publication of a public consultation that found major fault with the status quo.

This week, Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities (DfC) released the results of the public consultation it launched last December to gauge the public’s attitudes towards the current gambling regime. The results, highlights of which were previewed in September, show broad support for loosening the current limits while ensuring adequate consumer protections.  

The survey was conducted online and attracted only 382 responses from a mix of individuals and organizations, so it could be a stretch to say that the results are truly representative of the population as a whole.

Nevertheless, after being briefed on the findings, the NI Assembly’s Committee for Communities wrote to the Minister for Communities saying it “favors new NI specific gambling legislation.” Ideally, this would include authorizing land-based casinos, online gambling, poker in clubs and the creation of a “wholly independent regulatory body for gambling here.”

The number of suspicious sports betting alerts jumped in the third quarter of 2020 following this summer’s resumption of major league play.

The latest report from the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) found 76 suspicious betting alerts in the three months ending September 30, up from just 50 in the same period last year. The number is also significantly higher from the 58 alerts reported in Q2 2020, during which many sports were dormant due to COVID-19.

As usual, football (soccer) and tennis led the way with 25 alerts apiece, while the pandemic focus on alternate sports led to seven alerts regarding Russian and Ukrainian table tennis matches.

The pandemic also led to 14 eSports betting alerts in Q3, but this number is likely to recede in future reports given statistics showing steep declines in eSports betting activity following the resumption of real-world sports this summer.

This week’s $10,300-entry Super MILLION$ final table was won by former French footballer Sebastien Grax, who stole a march on fellow Frenchman ElkY, a.k.a. Bertrand Grospellier, by winning $321,948 and the title.

With the poker world gambling their money away on the outcome of Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s clash at the polls, the only victory the final nine players wanted to see at the final table of GGPoker’s flagship high roller event was their own.  

Having come into play with the shortest stack, it was perhaps no surprise that Canadian player Ami Barer busted first, cashing for $42,160 in the process. He was followed out of the tournament by American player Timothy Nuter, as the lowest two stacks at the start of the day proved decisive in who went out earliest.  

UK gambling regulators have revoked the license issued to the Park Lane Casino due to concerns over how the company’s new ownership financed the deal.

On Wednesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced that it had revoked the gaming license issued to Silverbond Enterprises Ltd, which operates the swanky members-only (£1k fee per year) Park Lane Casino at the Hilton Hotel in London’s Mayfair region.

The decision, which was made October 21 but only made public this week, came following a hearing with the UKGC’s Regulatory Panel. The revocation will become official on November 18 unless Silverbond mounts an appeal of the decision. The casino’s website currently features a notice saying it was closing “for a while” but this is likely a reference to the government’s second pandemic lockdown of non-essential retail operations. 

The UKGC said there’d been a “change in corporate control” at Silverbond and the regulator was “not satisfied” that it would have issued the venue a gaming license had the new controller been in control at the time the license application was first made.

Online gambling operator Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) reduced its net losses in the third quarter of 2020 as the company adjusts to its new purely B2B focus.

Figures released Wednesday show GiG generated revenue of €17.9m in the three months ending September 30, a 78% rise over the same period last year. The company reported earnings of €3.2m versus a loss of €400k last year, while net losses shrank from €8.4m to €4.9m.

GiG has undergone a significant makeover since Q3 2019, which featured sufficiently dire results to prompt the company to undertake a strategic review that led to the sale of its customer-facing operations to Sweden’s Betsson AB this spring. These operations included the Rizk brand, which went live on GiG’s platform in both Croatia and Spain during Q3.

That spring sale saw Betsson sign on as a client of GiG’s platform services unit, which reported revenue up 51% year-on-year to €5.4m, while the unit’s earnings loss narrowed to €100k from €2.1m in Q319. GiG added six new platform clients in Q3 (and two more in the current quarter), most of which will go live early next year.  

Gamblers in Massachusetts are going to have to alter their schedules if they plan on making late-night casino runs. Starting this Friday, the state’s three commercial casinos will no longer be accessible after 9:30 PM each day because of COVID-19. A reappearance of the virus is forcing the state to take measures to keep it from spreading further, and Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park are all going to suffer as a result. 

The three casinos were forced to close this past March because of the coronavirus and didn’t reopen until July. Since then, they have been operating at greatly reduced capacities as they tried to get back on solid ground, and the new order by Governor Charlie Baker is going to be a huge step backward. However, with a 278% increase in new coronavirus cases since Labor Day in September, something has to be done to keep things from getting out of control again. 

The gambling facilities will, as of this Friday, be forced to shut down at 9:30 PM and remain closed until 5 AM the following morning. This is because Barker has issued a stay-at-home advisory that limits travel to only “essential activity” between 5 AM and 10 PM, and gambling is not included on the list. The commercial casinos were only just getting back on their feet when the new order came down, and all of the gains they saw recently will be undone. 

In September, the three venues reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $70.5 million – not bad, considering they were only operating at about 50% their normal capacity. That figure is roughly 87% of what had been seen a year earlier, and shows the pent-up desire to gamble that had been percolating in Massachusetts during the previous shutdown. 

The U.S. sports gambling market is about to get a little more crowded. PlayUp, an Australia-based operator, announced this past July that it was interested in dropping in on the U.S. market, and views it as a potential gold mine waiting to be tapped. It already started making headway and, to help it reach its expansion goals, it went out shopping for money. PlayUp has now revealed that it succeeded, indicating that it picked up $25 million through an oversubscribed capital placement. 

PlayUp already has a hand in the online sports gambling markets of Colorado and New Jersey and will continue to pursue new agreements, especially as it now has deeper pockets from which to draw funds. Dr. Laila Mintas, who was appointed CEO of the company’s U.S.-focused operations this past summer, explains, “We have made great progress in the U.S., the market is being legalised state by state and PlayUp will be one of the first movers making sure we secure market access rights from the beginning. Through our strong presence and dynamic products, we will shape the future of this market. The raise allows PlayUp U.S. to rapidly progress our business.”

The money-grab reportedly found support from investors across the globe, all eager to capitalize on the possibility to benefit from the growing sports gambling market in the U.S. That market is currently worth around $17 billion, and is expected to reach 50% more within the next couple of years. The non-renounceable entitlement offer provided to the investors is showing the company’s confidence, as well as that of investors, that there is still a lot of money waiting to be made with sports gambling. Daniel Simic, PlayUp’s CEO, states, “Our investors are incredibly supportive and importantly, they are endorsing our vision with their money and bring significant international business networks that allow us to deliver on our business goals.”

PlayUp first gained access to the U.S. market when it partnered with the Bull Durham Casino in Black Hawk, CO. It also has a foot in the door in New Jersey, but has not yet taken its operations live in the state. Next on tap could be Illinois, and the fact that a handful of states are currently deciding if sports gambling should be allowed within their borders means there are still plenty of options on the table. PlayUp focuses on the online sports gambling segment, the more lucrative of the options, which makes it easy to ramp up operations while keeping expenses to a minimum. In addition to its home country and the U.S., it also has licenses to operate in India and New Zealand.

Macau has already taken a nasty hit from COVID-19, with gross gaming revenue (GGR) levels at its casinos flatlining for parts of the year. The chances of making a quick recovery from the pandemic have been hampered by sporadic outbreaks of the virus in certain feeder markets for the city, and it has already been projected that Macau will need a couple of years to get back to where it was before COVID-19 struck. That prediction could be extended even further, however, and the Macau government believes that next year isn’t going to bring any major relief. 

Macau has presented its budget proposal for 2021 and indicates that the “harsh” conditions brought about by COVID-19 are weighing heavily on the city’s casino industry. As a result, it anticipates that the GGR the gambling venues collect will only be around $16.28 billion, which is 45% lower than they were last year. With 2020 seeing months that brought GGR that was as much as 90% lower than in 2019, the chances of putting the gambling market back together quickly are weakened. 

Macau’s government typically errs on the side of caution when presenting its budget proposals, but recovering 45% would be a difficult task. The city currently hopes to take in around $5.69 million in gaming-related taxes in the upcoming fiscal year, a figure that could be boosted by improved performance and the effective tax rate, which stands at around 40%. City leaders had that Macau is looking at the possibility of a “structural fiscal deficit” due to its “narrow tax base” and “increasing expenses but no rise in income” that will keep it in the red for the second consecutive year. 

The weakened forecast could ultimately precipitate changes in Macau. There are already plans in the works to diversify the city’s tourism efforts, and these plans might be sped up going forward. Angela Leong, the co-chair and executive director of casino operator SJM Holdings, understands the necessity to alter the city’s paradigm to attract a wider range of international tourists and said during a gaming seminar this week, “We’re now seeing a certain increase in gambling revenue but under the current circumstances we can’t expect too much other than to strive for stability. I believe that all concessionaires are now thinking about switching their current development methods to strengthen the development of non-gaming elements. Some [gaming] measures also need to be changed.”

[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

If it were up to Adam Bell SC (Senior Council), he might perhaps yank Crown Resorts’ casino license. The legal adviser has been assisting New South Wales (NSW) as it looks into whether the casino operator was worthy of continuing to hold its license and Bell said this week that Crown was “not suitable” as a licensed operator. While the decision isn’t final, it paints a dark picture for Crown, but the company also has a chance to turn things around and get on the right track. 

Crown came under fire for several discrepancies recently, including accusations that it facilitated money-laundering activity and let war criminals gamble at its casinos. As the investigation has continued, more damaging news surfaced, especially against its former chairman and current largest shareholder, James Packer. Bell had reviewed all of the information submitted over the past 48 days of public hearings and presented his findings to the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), which he told, “We submit that the evidence presented to this inquiry demonstrates that the licensee is not a suitable person to continue to give effect to the license and that Crown Resorts is not a suitable person to be a close associate of the licensee.”

Bell asserted that there were “failures in Crown’s culture, its risk management and compliance processes,” and that the company’s continued attempt to deny any wrongdoing only exacerbated an already precarious stance regarding whether the company should hold its license. The results could have an impact on Crown’s attempt to build its massive, billion-dollar casino in NSW, and could ultimately jeopardize its ability to hold a license anywhere in the country. 

South Shore Holdings may soon no longer exist, at least not in its current form. The casino operator had big plans for The 13 hotel in Macau, expecting to turn it into a large resort that would ultimately compete with the incumbent venues. However, circumstances proved to be a challenge and The 13 has never fulfilled its dream. As a result, a couple of board members were already forced out by a shareholder, and that same entity is now pushing for the company to be dissolved. Global Allocation Fund (GAF) has requested a Special General Meeting (SGM) of South Shore shareholders, and the company has no option but to oblige.

GAF is requesting that shareholders respond to its request that the company be “wound up pursuant to bye-law 164(2) of the Company’s bye-laws and the relevant provisions of the Bermuda Companies Act 1981,” according to a South Shore notice (pdf) from today. That section of the bye-laws indicates that a company can be “wound up,” or liquidated, either voluntarily or through a court order. To begin the process, shareholders have the right to discuss whether any liquidation is warranted.

The 13 has been a black eye for South Shore for the past couple of years and has never realized its full potential. The company has tried, unsuccessfully, to sell the property in order to help reduce its debts, and its most recent attempt fell through in September. It now hopes it can remove The 13 from its books before the end of March, but that may be difficult under the current COVID-19-induced economic reductions. 

GAF holds right at 10% of South Shore, giving it the legal right to call the SGM per South Shore’s bye-laws. It informed the company last month of its intentions, with South Shore indicating that GAF explained that the move was needed to address “the net liabilities position of the Group, the suspension of operations of the Hotel and the poor performance of the Hotel generally.” It added, “[GAF] expresses its belief that the remaining value in the Company will best be maximized with an independent unwind process supervised by a court.”

While markets contract around the world, battling the COVID-19 pandemic the future is bright in Latin America (LATAM) according to BtoBet CEO Alessandro Fried. Fried believes that the LATAM market is the perfect springboard into the African market, with companies like BtoBet well placed to take advantage of emerging technologies in that part of the world. Fried sat down to share the possibilities he sees for the LATAM market with our very own Becky Liggero Fontana.

Fried believes that the LATAM market has the potential to be the next California during the gold rush – exciting, unpredictable but also an endless realm of possibilities for the gambling industry. “We thought that it’s still a very good moment to increase our presence in Latin American and Africa,” Fried said.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mxut0CmZRc]

To that end, BtoBet has made big investments in growing regions. “We become the leader in Africa and Latin America and we have grown our presence massively in almost all of the different countries, we’ve acquired a lot of knowledge over the years and we’ve made an effort to share that knowledge.”