The gambling industry will be forced to consider how it can adapt and evolve over the coming years, due to changes forced by the pandemic and a shifting regulatory and technological environment. A great way to prepare for those changes is with the upcoming iGaming Next: Online – Adventure of Change.

iGaming Next’s flagship digital event, running from November 10-12, will discuss the future of the gambling industry, and offer a cutting-edge platform to conduct all the typical conference activities we’ve come to expect. Hosted by Alice Nordin, Betsson Group Employer Branding Specialist, and Pierre Lindh, iGaming NEXT Co-Founder, the event is expected to get over 5,000 delegates and will offer more than 60 speakers.

Each day has its own theme. Day 1 will focus on Business, and offer a broad view of how innovation is helping to shape the industry. Day 2 is Marketing Day, and focusing on how to attract and convert new players. Finally, Day 3 is HR Day, with a focus on how to get your teams working in harmony and working like a fine-tuned machine.

If you’ve attended previous iGaming Next events, or checked out their regular Power Hour’s or Podcasts, you know there’s great value here that you don’t find at other typical industry events. At their event in May, for example, we got a wide range of topics like the future of the iGaming industry, but also looks at how the pandemic was affecting us psychologically, and tips on how to be more productive.

New Jersey decided years ago that Atlantic City wasn’t able to properly manage its casino activity and has made helping the city recover a state priority.  The NJ Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) was created in 1984 to help with the process and has, over the years, issued investment bonds to give Atlantic City injections of capital.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the recovery efforts to slip as casinos everywhere were shut down, and the city’s outlook has taken a hit, as well.  Fitch Ratings recently took a look at how things are going and decided that the prognosis for recovery is a little less positive.  As a result, it dropped the rating it had on the strength of the CRDA.

$215 million worth of bonds is now viewed as a little riskier after Fitch moved the CRDA from BBB+ to BBB. While the agency still believes the default risk for the bonds is low, a rating of BBB indicates “adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair” the risk. Fitch explains, “The downgrade of CRDA’s luxury tax revenue bonds to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB+’ reflects the severity of pledged revenue declines in 2020, the likely slow trajectory of the recovery for casino and other entertainment activity in Atlantic City, and thus luxury tax receipts, and the resulting higher vulnerability of the structure to revenue volatility in the near term, relative to our pre-pandemic expectations.”

Currently, and since being able to reopen in July, Atlantic City casinos are operating at just 25% their normal capacity. As such, the money flowing into the CRDA has slowed substantially. The group is funded by a 1.25% “Investment Alternative Tax” (IAT) on the gambling venues’ gross gaming revenue (GGR) and this revenue saw a year-on-year drop of 15.1% in September as it only reached $190.5 million. In addition to the IAT, casinos give up 9% of hotel and entertainment revenue and 3% of liquor sales, all of which have suffered because of COVID-19.

Fitch adds, “Despite the severe revenue shock and resulting narrower resilience, the resumption of taxable activity at a reduced level suggests that recovery is underway. The Negative Outlook at the ‘BBB’ rating level reflects heightened uncertainty about the strength of taxable activity through the recovery period and the vulnerability of receipts to further pressures, including those posed by prolonged public health concerns.”

Fairmount Park, in partnership with FanDuel, has received a go ahead to be become a racino in Illinois. This development comes as the majority see further restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) granted Fairmount Park a Master Sports Wagering License at a October 29 special meeting. It’s also agreed to give the track a “preliminary suitable” status to add casino games. The decision, which will allow the park to operate as FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, makes FanDuel the first sportsbook to offer betting at multiple retail venues in the state.

Melissa Helton, President and General Manager of Fairmount Park, noted declining interest in horse racing a reason for applying for the licenses. “I am telling you this to communicate how significant this opportunity is for the company and all its people impacted,” she said. “The gaming bill giving us the right to apply to become a racino along with the sports wagering opportunity has been the biggest event to move Illinois horse racing back to what it once was and forward to greater heights.”

Eight of Illinois’ 10 casinos are operating under reduced daily hours and new capacity limits amid rising COVID-19 positivity rates in most state regions.

After the closure of one Subic-area Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator (POGO), a can of worms was opened revealing just what happens when Chinese employees are kicked to the curb. Now, the rest of the POGOs in the neighborhood appear to be closing as well.

3 more POGOs closing in Subic

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chair Wilma Eisma has revealed that the three remaining POGOs have signaled their intention to close due to the problems they face from the Covid-19 pandemic. They are still operational, but she noted at an online briefing that “the owners of the remaining Pogos have said that they are also in the process of winding down.”

“Actually, it’s saddening in a way, because the POGO closure is a signal that the economy is not yet there. And I would think [the] economy not just in the Philippines but also worldwide because the POGO clients are not in the Philippines, but outside of it,” she added.

The action has been fast and furious, there have been big swings this way and that and both men have kept us thoroughly entertained on the Run It Once Twitch channel during the month of October.

After some fantastic PLO action, Phil Galfond is $234,000 down in his latest challenge against former WSOP bracelet winner Chance Kornuth after 8,500 hands.

While that may sound bad enough, such are the odds and stake of the sidebet, which would see Kornuth cash for another $1 million

Playing at blinds of $100/$200 per hand, there are bound to be a lot more swings in the next 26,500 hands, after all, there are 35,000 hands to take place in total in this mammoth challenge, far more than Daniel Negreanu and Doug Polk will play in their 25,000-hand clash that starts on Thursday.

Back in the summer, the World Series of Poker’s Online Series had a flagship event – the $5,000 Main Event. Hosted by GGPoker, it would break records to the extent that this week, the Guinness World Records department have been in touch with GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu himself to award the commendation.  

Here’s the GGPoker video where Negreanu takes the award from Michael Empric, the official Adjudicator for Guinness World Records.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nssvtZysAxI?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]

The single largest prize pool for an online poker tournament, the WSOP Main Event being cancelled in the summer led to record numbers in the GGPoker event instead, with a $27,559,500 prize pool created by 5,802 players putting up the $5,000 entry fee.  

Macau casino gambling revenue fell ‘only’ around three-quarters in October, which apparently qualifies as a roaring success in this pandemic-plagued year.

Figures released Sunday by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) show market-wide casino gaming revenue of MOP7.3b (US$914m), a 72.5% decline from the same month last year but the highest monthly total since the MOP22.1b reported in (mostly) pre-pandemic January.

The 72.5% decline was also the smallest in percentage terms since January and October’s financial sum represented a significant rise from September’s MOP2.2b. However, October did include the annual Golden Week holiday celebration, so perhaps everybody might want to opt for chugging their cheaper champagne for the time being.

For the year to date, gaming revenue sits just under MOP45.9m, an 81.4% decline from the sum reported over the first 10 months of 2019. But with gambling tax revenue accounting for 80% of the special administrative region of China’s budget, this unprecedented shortfall is having serious ramifications not just for casino operators but for Macau residents as a whole.

Singapore’s casinos saw fewer local gamblers following last year’s 50% increase in the cost of the casino entry levy, according to the local gambling regulator.

This week, Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) issued its 2019-20 annual report on its oversight of the city-state’s two integrated resorts: Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

Among the observations made in the report by CRA chairman Tan Tee How was that the April 2019 increases in the daily and annual entry levies for local residents wishing to gamble at either of the two integrated resorts had pushed the number of locals gambling in casinos down from 4% of the adult population in FY19 to 2.7% in FY20.  

The number of locals interested in casino gambling has been on the decline for some time and Singapore boasts an enviably low problem gambling rate. That rate has trended consistently downward following the 2010 launch of the two casinos despite a rise in overall gambling participation over the same period. 

US regional casino operator Twin River Worldwide Holdings (TRWH) posted solid if unspectacular earnings in the final financial report before its rebrand as Bally’s Corporation.

Figures released this week show the Rhode Island-headquartered TRWH generated revenue of $116.6m in the three months ending September 30, a nearly 10% fall from the same period last year. But adjusted earnings managed a 6.8% rise to $38m while net income slipped only 4% to $6.7m.  

Pandemic restrictions on TRWH’s re-opened casinos were blamed for the revenue decline, even though the total got a boost from the additions of Casino KC (Missouri) and Casino Vicksburg (Mississippi), which formally became part of the TRWH fold on July 1.

The fact that the profit decline was limited to single-digit territory was credited to reduced marketing spending, the elimination of lower-margin amenities and “labor savings.” TRWH CEO George Papanier said the company’s “disciplined approach” had given the company the liquidity “to better deal with the kind of uncontrollable events 2020 has dealt us.”

Kenyan sports betting operator SportPesa’s triumphant return to its home market has been rudely disrupted by the local gambling regulator.

On Friday, SportPesa’s official social media feeds enthusiastically proclaimed that the company was once again free to accept Kenyan bettors’ action thanks to the transfer of its brand name to a new locally licensed bookmaker, Milestone Games Ltd, about which precious little is known.

The excitement didn’t last long, as Kenyan media reported Saturday that Cyrus Maina, chairman of Kenya’s Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), had written a letter to Milestone operations manager Bernard Chauro on Friday prohibiting Milestone from using the SportPesa brand.

Maina told Chauro that there was “a variance in the trade name the board approved vis-à-vis the name Milestone Games Limited currently wishes to adopt.” Maina noted that Milestone had been granted authority to use the SportPesa brand by Sportpesa Global Holdings.

Casino operator Wynn Resorts has signed a sports betting partnership with motorsports organization NASCAR to boost the profile of its new WynnBET digital gaming division.

On Friday, Wynn and NASCAR announced a ‘national multi-year’ deal under which WynnBET will become the latest Authorized Gaming Operator of the body overseeing most North American stock car race events. NASCAR’s chief digital officer Tim Clark said he was “excited to partner with such a deeply experienced and innovative team.”

As far as land-based casino gambling is concerned, okay, but Wynn seriously lags its US rivals in terms of digital sports betting, casino and poker experience. That wasn’t always the case, as Wynn launched an ‘interactive’ division that applied for a New Jersey online gambling license in 2014 only to withdraw the application the following year without explanation.

In 2018, following the demise of the US federal sports betting ban, Wynn inked a betting partnership with UK-licensed BetBull, then struck another betting/iGaming deal with Scientific Games Corp in 2019.

Kenyan sports betting operator SportPesa has resumed operations in its home market after over a year of warring with the government over taxes.

On Friday, SportPesa announced its triumphant return to the Kenyan betting market, saying it was “delighted” to be once again serving local punters. The brand exited the market in September 2019 following a lengthy tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Agency (KRA) based on different definitions of what qualified as ‘winnings.’

SportPesa’s return is a little more complicated than it may seem, as the company has transferred the rights to the SportPesa brand to a new locally licensed bookmaker, Milestone Games Ltd, and a new website, ke.SportPesa.com. The new betting app is reportedly suffering some teething problems and customers have been advised to stick to the website for the time being.  

SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed has informed bettors that it they previously held a SportPesa account, their log-in details remain the same and all they need to do to reactivate their account was to read and accept the updated T&C’s.

Kenyan sports betting operator SportPesa has resumed operations in its home market after over a year of warring with the government over taxes.

On Friday, SportPesa announced its triumphant return to the Kenyan betting market, saying it was “delighted” to be once again serving local punters. The brand exited the market in September 2019 following a lengthy tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Agency (KRA) based on different definitions of what qualified as ‘winnings.’

SportPesa’s return is a little more complicated than it may seem, as the company has transferred the rights to the SportPesa brand to a new locally licensed bookmaker, Milestone Games Ltd, and a new website, ke.SportPesa.com. The new betting app is reportedly suffering some teething problems and customers have been advised to stick to the website for the time being.  

SportPesa Kenya’s official Twitter feed has informed bettors that it they previously held a SportPesa account, their log-in details remain the same and all they need to do to reactivate their account was to read and accept the updated T&C’s.

China’s lottery sales suffered a downturn in September after a two-month growth streak, a trend that is likely to continue following new rules restricting ‘high frequency’ lottery products.

Figures released Friday by China’s Ministry of Finance show overall lottery sales of RMB35.8b (US$5.35b) in the month of September, a 1.5% decline from the same month last year. The decline ended the market’s modest growth streak over the past two months, which followed 18 months of annual declines.

September’s decline was entirely due to welfare lottery sales falling 11% to RMB13.9b, while sports lottery sales rose 5.8% to RMB21.9b thanks to the resumption of global sports leagues following their pandemic halt.

For the year-to-date, overall sales are down 27% to RMB230.7b, with welfare lottery down 28.8% to RMB101.9b and sports lottery falling 25.4% to RMB128.8b.

Italian government officials have imposed further lockdown restrictions on the country, putting the brakes on the recovery of the local casino industry. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that Italy would go into a second lockdown period until the November 24.

The move is a blow to the country’s casino and gaming industry as they struggle to stage an economic recovery in the last quarter of 2020. The restrictions include the full closure of bars and restaurants until 6:00 pm on weekdays, and full closures on Sundays. Businesses deemed to be non-essential have also been instructed to shut-down by the government.

Despite the restrictions, the gaming industry is still afloat; local residents can purchase lotto tickets at local outlets under strict social distancing guidelines.

Italian gaming operators have expressed their discontent with the latest lockdown rules. The main trade bodies for the gambling industry in Italy have gone on the offensive, lobbying for a swift end to the lockdown in local media outlets.

Action movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD) is set to star in a new campaign for Belgium online sportsbook and casino 777.be. The new deal will see the iconic Belgium movie star continue his association with the local sportsbook until 2022.

This isn’t the first time that JCVD has leant his name to the 777 brand; Van Damme partnered with 777 on their 2019 marketing campaign, that generated 13 million views on YouTube. In the latest campaign, Van Damme plays a vigilante who is out to educate players on responsible gambling habits.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mog5I7z24hE?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]

Van Damme recorded two clips for the company in September this year. Both of these will be played across European channels TF1 in Wallonia, and VTM in Flanders, as well as Youtube. Always the showman JCVD showcases some of his iconic action movie poses while promoting safe and responsible gambling practices.

If the gambling industry is going to adopt Bitcoin SV (BSV), and it probably should, it’s going to need some system of tokens. Tokens will help ease customers into the ecosystem, and provide a powerful system of managing assets and promotional offerings. And thanks to James Belding’s Tokenized, that platform is coming.

The Tokenized CEO recently presented an online demonstration of his company’s first application, due for release in November. The Bitcoin Association organized webinar demonstrated the Tokenized platform, from which a business could manage all of their tokenized assets.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Nj-x8KWGg?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]

Using the Tokenized platform, a business will be able to manage every aspect of their tokens, from creation, to issuance, to the rules applied to it. By using the power of the BSV blockchain, companies can use smart contracts to manage all of the rules applied to their tokens, and monitor everything from one place.