New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market earned $10.7m in revenue in December, $2m more than it earned the previous month. The gains are a bit illusory, given the fact that November’s numbers were negatively impacted by a $1.3m slots jackpot paid out by Caesars interactive New Jersey. Nonetheless, the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) is trumpeting the fact that December’s total is up 63% over December 2013, the first full month of the state’s regulated online gambling market.

As usual, the casino vertical earned the bulk of revenue, generating nearly $8.7m, while the poker vertical earned $2.05m, an improvement on November’s record low of $1.87m. The market’s poker vertical peaked at $3.4m in January and has been on a largely uninterrupted decline ever since.

For 2014 as a whole, online gambling earned nearly $122.9m, with $93.8m coming from casino games and just under $29.1m from poker. The state’s annual tax haul from online gambling came to $18.4m.

The Borgata/Bwin.party/Pala online combo earned $3.6m in December, $2.5m (+5%) from casino and $1.1m (+10%) from poker. With no crippling slots jackpots to pay out, Caesars Interactive earned $2.63m, roughly equivalent to what it earned back in September. Caesars’ casino vertical earned nearly $1.7m, while poker earned $950k (+8%).

The Tropicana’s casino-only site earned $2.3m, virtually unchanged from the previous month. The Golden Nugget’s casino-only site earned nearly $2.2m, up $700k from November, reflecting a full month’s contribution from Betfair, who switched over to the Nugget’s platform on Nov. 21.

For 2014 as a whole, Borgata/Bwin.party generated a total of $44.3m ($29m casino, $15.3m poker), easily eclipsing Caesars’ $32.8m ($19.5m casino, $13.3m poker). The Tropicana earned nearly $22.6m while the Nugget claimed $10.8m.

Atlantic City‘s casinos reported revenue of $2.74b in 2014, 4.5% less than they earned in 2013 and a whopping 48% decline from the seaside gaming hub’s peak of $5.2b in 2006. The annual decline would have been 8.5% were it not for the additional $122m in revenue AC earned from online gambling, which was only operational in the state for about six weeks at the tail end of 2013.

The struggles Atlantic City faced in 2014 are well documented, with four casinos closing their doors and the Trump Taj Mahal’s survival still far from assured. Yet there is some indication that AC’s eight remaining casinos may have a brighter future, given that six of these joints reported gaming revenue increases in the month of December, and the elite eight saw their share of gaming revenue rise nearly 8% in 2014.

Stripping aside December’s $10.7m in online gambling revenue, the eight surviving casinos earned $179.8m for the month, up 7.3% from the amount those same eight earned in December 2013. Perennial top dog Borgata maintained its number one position, gaining 13.3% to $49.9m. Harrah’s placed second with $29.8m (+11.1%) while Caesars fell 6.1% to $27.6m. The rest shook out as follows: Tropicana ($20.2m, +23.6%), Bally’s ($17.2m, +5.4%), Golden Nugget ($13.7m, +47.4%), Resorts ($10.6m, +20.9%) and the Taj Mahal ($10.8m, -34.9%).

Up in Detroit, the city’s three casinos posted a modest 1.2% annual gaming revenue decline to $1.33b in 2014. The Michigan Gaming Control Board said the decline would have been much worse were it not for December’s tally, which was up 10.8% year-on-year. The Board had been expecting a decline in the range of 2.5% to 3%, so executive director Richard Kaim figures the real numbers are “certainly manageable.” MGM Grand captured 42% of the city’s casino revenue, with MotorCity owning 33% and Greektown 25%.

Trigger-based customer marketing campaigns enable businesses to deliver relevant, personalized messages when they matter most

New York, NY – January 13 –  At the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and EXPO today, Optimove, a provider of automated retention marketing solutions for customer-centric businesses, announced that it has added real-time marketing capabilities to its innovative retention automation platform. By automatically delivering personalized, highly-relevant messages to individual customers based on real-time activity triggers, marketers are now able to deliver the right message to the right customer at the exact moment when it has the greatest impact.

The Optimove platform already enables marketers to maximize revenue and customer lifetime value by managing and automating multi-channel customer marketing plans using proprietary predictive micro-segmentation technology. The addition of trigger-based campaigns to the Optimove platform enables marketers to respond to customer behaviors as they happen in real-time, in order to dramatically increase customer engagement and loyalty while reducing churn.

“One of the holy grails of personalization is the ability to implement real-time, data-driven customer marketing,” explained Optimove CEO, Pini Yakuel. “By building into our customer retention software a complete, end-to-end system for real-time personalized messaging, we have not only taken another great stride towards achieving the ultimate retention marketing solution, but we’ve also become the first platform to offer real-time retention marketing in such a sophisticated and easy-to-deploy manner.”

Optimove’s real-time messaging capabilities come as an integrated part of the Optimove platform. Businesses simply choose which message or offer to serve to each particular customer persona using Optimove’s proprietary customer modeling technology, and select an event or activity that will trigger the message. Messages can be personalized to individual customers based on their specific purchase history, lifecycle stage, predicted future value, risk of churn, and many other factors, such as in the following scenarios:

When a customer is about to spend more than $75 in a particular product category for the first time, the merchant can offer free shipping if the customer increases their purchase to spend $100 or more.

When a retail customer views three similar products on a merchant’s website or mobile app, but adds none to their shopping cart, the retailer can serve a message offering a discount on any product in the category.

London Affiliate Conference Acquisition Zone sponsors and speakers confirmed Now in its second year running, the Acquisition Zone has more speakers and a dedicated sponsor zone

13 January, 2015, London, UK (Press Release): Leading publishing, research and events company iGaming Business has confirmed the full schedule for the CAP Network sponsored Acquisition Zone feature at the London Affiliate Conference 2015.

The Acquisition Zone targets senior marketing executives working within both operator and affiliate brands. The zone will include a dedicated lecture theatre open to all attendees, with hand picked experts discussing topics such as:

Smart acquisition using real time context

SEO is dying: Six figure iGaming opportunities without SEO

Open mic with online acquisition experts Digital Fuel

Turn players into stayers; attract, convert & retain the right players for your business

In article #1: ‘How to be an iGaming Conference Hero’ I went over attitude and how to prep before a conference. The main take-away from that article is to be positive and bring the energy. In this article I am delving into the existence of the prevalent drinking culture and how to avoid some of poison traps which inevitably exist.

I enjoy these conferences. I think they are extremely well run and endorse people to go to them if they think they can kick some goals.

Everyone going to these iGaming conferences should always keep in mind these two goals:

Networking.

Try to be +ROI.

With that in mind, let’s look at drinking culture and poison traps.

Drinking Culture

After reviewing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s request, the board approved a motion to launch a new request for proposals for a fourth casino in the Southern Tier.

Cuomo wrote to the board on Dec. 26 and requested it grant a fourth and final upstate casino license to the Southern Tier after it was passed over for a casino in the Finger Lakes.

Board members met in New York City Tuesday night where they made the decision. In a five to zero vote, the board reversed itself and declared New York’s Southern Tier and the state ready for a fourth Las Vegas-style casino – if the right proposal comes forward.

“We are unanimous in our belief that the Capital Region will not be reopened. The Catskills Hudson Valley Region will not be reopened. Our decision in the Finger Lakes Region will not be reopened. All we are entertaining here tonight is the reopening of a new bid for that Southern Tier Region,” said Chairman Kevin Law.

The decision comes a month after the board declined to recommend fourth casino, considering the state faced better odds if it licensed three full-scale casinos instead of four, as New York voters approved in 2013. The board was able to recommend four locations in December but only casino proposals in Schenectady County, the Town of Thompson in Sullivan County, and the Finger Lakes Region, were chosen.

The decision renews hope for Jeff Gural, owner of Vernon Downs, as he announced his plans to resubmit his proposal to expand Tioga Downs near the Pennsylvania border from a racetrack and video gaming site into a casino with table games and a hotel.

But the board said that plans already submitted and rejected are very unlikely to make the cut. “Let’s see what else and who else may want to bid a casino in the region,” Law said at tonight’s meeting in New York City.

A strong possibility has emerged that the state of Florida would not renew a key provision in its gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe, allowing the state to finally update its outdated gaming laws and open new gambling options for other casino operators.

The Miami Herald reported that because of the positive outlook of the state’s budget, Florida’s lawmakers could use that as leverage and ultimately reject the estimated $116 million revenue pot it stands to get from the Seminole tribe as part of their 2010 agreement.

Destination resort casinos in the state have often argued that the state could gain more from expanding their businesses rather than sticking to its compact and extending the tribe’s monopoly to run blackjack tables and other banked card games.

Seminole tribe has made its argument that it can guarantee nine-figure revenues for the state, for as long as it receives exclusivity on blackjack, baccarat, and chemin de fer at five of its casinos—one of the compact provisions, with a 15-year expiration date, giving the tribe a virtual monopoly outside Miami-Dade and Broward.

But casinos in the state, specifically the eight ones in Miami-Dade and Boward counties, are pushing lawmakers to scrap the compact altogether so they can begin offering the games that have eluded them for years.

The sole authority to negotiate the compact lies in the shoulders of Florida Governor Rick Scott but he also needs legislative approval to renew, revise, or drop the compact altogether. Doing so would mean getting enough votes from the legislation, which will undoubtedly open up a lobbying free-for-all from all sorts of sectors tied to the gambling industry.

With the current compact set to expire on July 31, 2015, the next few months could turn into a bonanza of discussions regarding the future of the gaming industry in Florida. Some lawmakers, including Republican Bill Galvano, believes that “it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the governor and Legislature end up doing nothing on the compact.”

The English Premier League champions and the Spanish Liga BBVA champions have announced separate sponsorship deals with two established businesses to help expand their reach to a global audience.

First up is Manchester City, which has announced a new deal with Chinese lottery provider DJI Holdings.

Terms of this deal were not disclosed but the tie-up can be attributed to DJI leveraging its new partnership with Manchester City to offer its Chinese clientele exclusive offers to various city-related events, including flights to see the team play and private club gatherings. In addition, DJI customers will also receive the benefit of gaining access to exclusive news and information pertaining to the English football club.

“DJI (Holdings) is a pioneer in providing exclusive and unique content and games for its players in China,” Manchester City Chief Business Officer Tom Glick said in a statement. “As we expand our commercial partners across the globe, we want to work with partners, like DJI, who are established and well-connected in their market, but also looking for innovative ways to activate our partnership.”

Meanwhile, Club Atlético de Madrid, SAD, the reigning and defending Liga BBVA champions, has announced its own partnership deal with Plus500 Ltd., an online service provider of that allows customers to trade on movements in the price of shares, Forex, commodities and indices without needing to buy or sell the underlying instrument. If Plus500 was looking to strike a deal with a team that’s blossomed to become a force in Spanish football, it couldn’t have picked a better squad to do business with than Atletico Madrid.

As part of the deal, Plus500 becomes an official sponsor of Atletico Madrid for the remainder of the season with a chance to extend and expand the relationship in succeeding seasons. A big perk of this partnership for Plus500 will be seeing its logo prominently displayed on the back of the team’s home and away shirts for national matches.

In addition, Plus500 will also receive a handful of branding rights at the Vicente Calderon stadium to go with a host of other sponsorship benefits.

Philippines Commission of Audit have criticized the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for investing in non-core assets and failed slot machine venture.

PAGCOR paid Php262.6 million to buy 66 condominium units from AMVEL Land Development Corp. In 2013, out of 66 units 54 remain unsold, leaving the the gaming agency with Php218.1 million unrealized profit.

All units were meant to be sold as “decent and affordable housing facilities” to PAGCOR officials assigned to the Casino Filipino office in Parañaque City. However, five years after the acquisition, PAGCOR has so far struggled to sell these units, leaving the company with “idle funds that could have been used for activities more beneficial in the attainment of PAGCOR’s objectives/goals.”

COA also found out that PAGCOR incurred unnecessary expenses that the developer should have paid, specifically Php2.5 million in transfer tax and registration fees for the 66 unit.

“Apparently, there was inadequate planning prior to the purchase of the units,” the report added.

The gaming agency said that “a few [staff] qualify in terms of capacity to pay the amortizations” but efforts to sell the condominiums were being pursued. PAGCOR has taken legal steps to address the issues pertaining to the transfer tax and registration fees.

Then there’s the issue of the Plaza Del Norte Slot Machine Arcade in Laoag City in the province of Ilocos Norte, almost 500 kilometers north of Manila. According to the report, PAGCOR failed to meet its projected winnings amounting to Php2.88 million per month or Php34.56 million per year since it opened on January 2, 2013.

Jimmy Fricke has decided to branch out and write a food blog. Lee Davy lends his opinion and picks out a few more superstars of poker who could get a thing going with a personal blog of their own.

There is an inextricable link between poker and dining. The two go together like shoes and socks. You travel to the most exotic places in the world, play poker, get knocked out and then spend the rest of the night eating at the most expensive restaurants whilst sweating on the results of credit card roulette.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) can hit you hard in the pocket, more than most, when it comes to food. If you are not sufficiently organized you could end up doing as much dough off the tables as you do on it. Fortunately, for the WSOP grinders, Jimmy Fricke has come to the rescue.

Gobboboy has started a food blog and his area of concentration is Las Vegas. The blog is aptly named: Jimmy Eats Vegas where he offers you the opportunity to ‘Grow Fatter With Me,’ and at the moment the site contains just one review: Chada Thai.

So do we have another Alan Richman on our hands, or is he nothing but a Mr. Creosote?

I liked Fricke’s first review, and think the idea is an excellent one. If Fricke can focus on the little gems that the rest of us might miss, instead of writing reviews on the more common eateries, then this blog could be a little place of gold.

The greatest thing about Fricke being a food critic, is he eats so much (sorry Jimmy but it’s true). If I were to review Chada Thai you would get two or three dishes, but with Fricke, you get an expansive lowdown on most of the menu. All American Dave, Ronit Chamani & Ryan D’Angelo, and Tatjana Pasalic have got some competition.

PokerStars continue their Inside PokerStars series by delving into the question of gaming security as they once again head to the data center on the Isle of Man.

If you’ve ever wondered why your connection on PokerStars never seems to be disrupted and yet the rest of the online poker rooms have you reaching down your throat to pull your lungs out in despair, then wonder no more.

Inside PokerStars is back for their fifth installment of the “Look at us U.S. congressmen, we run a safe and secure online poker room” series, and this time they are answering the question: “When I’m playing online PokerStars where do the games take place?”

James Hartigan is once again tapping those fingers like a bad guy from a 1970s James Bond movie. He returns to the Isle of Man H.Q and this time he is talking to the Director of IT Operations: Gary Hill.

Hill takes Hartigan on a tour of The Data Center. A place that seems to be more secure than Air Force One. Hill tells Hartigan that only 3-4 people have access to the servers and you need to go through three different levels of security, including two different levels of biometric testing. I watched Demolition Man the other night and all it took was a fountain pen and an eyeball and Wesley Snipes was in – so I’m not so sure.

The Data Center looks like a place Scotty would hang out on the Starship Enterprise. It does give you the feeling of security, but I guess that’s the whole purpose of the series. Whilst I remain cynical about the series (timing and selection of questions, etc), I still think it’s something that should have been done a long time ago, and by every online poker room.

The most interesting thing to come out of the short video was the knowledge that PokerStars have invested in their own Internet to run independently to the real thing thus separating PokerStars players Internet experience from the rest of the world. Now I know why they operate so smoothly, whilst the rest of the pack seem to be haunted by gremlins.

Jersey eGaming (Channel Islands) has announced that it will be exhibiting at ICE Total Gaming on 3rd-5th February 2015, at Excel London. Following recent changes to it’s eGaming offering, Jersey is the newest tier-one eGaming jurisdiction to emerge, offering lost cost, high quality services.  Key features of Jersey’s eGaming proposition include:

Providing the cheapest tier one jurisdiction license costs available

Free Disaster Recovery Licenses

An independent Gambling Commission

No VAT

No eGaming Duty

0% Corporation Tax

This is a guest contribution by Stephen Padveen, a Senior Partner with t2Marketing International. . You can connect with t2Marketing International at one of their upcoming appearances. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

When it comes to online gaming, players can be sensitive to even the smallest of issues. What’s more, the reality of the industry is such that players can easily move from one operator to another with little inconvenience to their playing experience. So when a potential crisis begins to rear its head, your casino needs to have a proper strategy in place in order to prevent the issue from spiraling out of control and becoming a viral conversation.

The advent of social media in the world of communications has resulted in information travelling at unprecedented speeds. When a problem comes up, it can take as a little as a few minutes to make the rounds before you have a crisis on your hands that threatens the reputation and, in extreme cases, the survival of your brand. Therefore, it is crucial that your business has a comprehensive social media crisis management strategy so that crises can be identified in their infancy and dealt with before they expand.

There are a number of components that will go into a social media crisis management program but there are certain universal elements that every brand should take into consideration when developing policies and best practices.

Start by Listening

This might seem somewhat intuitive, but social listening is far more than simply watching your feeds and streams for comments. In order to effectively listen to online chatter, gaming operators should be using high-level listening tools in order to pay attention to trends, observe volume spikes, monitor sentiment changes and scrutinize comments regarding their brand as well as those of competitors and the industry in general.

The tangled web that is casino operator Caesars Entertainment shows no signs of untangling anytime soon. Just days after Caesars announced it had secured the support of enough first-lien creditors to approve its plan to reinvent its debt-laden Caesars Entertainment Operating Co (CEOC) unit as a real estate investment trust, a group of aggrieved junior creditors made a pre-emptive strike to force Caesars into an involuntary bankruptcy before the company could file for Chapter 11 protection.

On Monday, Appaloosa Investment LP and funds associated with Oaktree Capital and Tennenbaum Capital asked a US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware to appoint an examiner to look into allegations that Caesars’ controversial asset transfers had “stripped [CEOC] of most of its valuable income-generating assets and hundreds of millions of dollars of cash, leaving the debtor burdened with massive debt that cannot be repaid.”

Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan, told Bloomberg that the move was intended to secure a jurisdictional advantage, in that Caesars has no casinos in Delaware and thus a judge may be more inclined to weigh the issue without factoring in local concerns over potential job losses. The filing also ensures that any subsequent bankruptcy filing would be halted until the Delaware court determines the right venue for the proceedings.

Caesars’ proposed restructuring would shave nearly $10b off CEOC’s $18.4b debt, most of those savings coming at the expense of second-lien creditors, who are set to receive equity worth pennies on the dollar. The junior creditors say Caesars’ plan treats their notes “as fully unsecured and provide them with equity that even the debtor values at a small fraction of the outstanding principal.”

On Tuesday, attorneys for Caesars Entertainment Corp told a Delaware Chancery Court judge that CEOC intends to file for bankruptcy on Jan. 20 and asked that junior creditors’ lawsuits be put on hold. Caesars’ attorneys note that a bankruptcy judge will be asked to freeze such lawsuits once CEOC files for Chapter 11 protection. Attorneys for the junior creditors said granting the request would represent “extraordinary relief for a third party that is not in bankruptcy.” The creditors have also asked for a stay on any attempt by Caesars to submit its own bankruptcy filing.

Yet another challenge facing Caesars is convincing a bankruptcy judge that the proposed restructuring is ‘fair’ to all creditors. In an unrelated case in Delaware bankruptcy courts, a judge rejected a $42b refinancing plan by Dallas-based power company Energy Future Holdings that offered certain advantages to favored creditors. The high profile of Caesars’ fiscal implosion could similarly sway a judge into requiring a less selectively punitive division of the spoils.

Meanwhile, holders of $5.4b worth of Caesars’ bank loans – including Blackstone Group’s GSO Capital Partners (last seen helping finance Amaya Gaming’s $4.9b acquisition of the Rational Group) and Fortress Investment Group – have reportedly united to force Caesars to sweeten their pot if they are to consent to their version of Caesars’ restructuring plan. Bottom line: don’t expect to wake up from this accounting nightmare anytime soon.

UK-listed online gambling operator GVC Holdings has released a trading update showing 2014 net gaming revenue (NGR) of €224.6m, up 23% over 2013. Revenue was up 22% in Q4 – the sixth consecutive quarter of growth – thanks to sports betting turnover topping €435m, a new quarterly record. Daily betting NGR came to €302k (+24%) while gaming NGR hit €344k (+21%).

GVC says 2015 has started on a positive note, with sports wagers up 9.7% and customer deposits up 22% over the first eight days of January. CEO Kenneth Alexander (pictured) credited the boffo performance to motivated staff, who have bonus plans aligned to the level of dividends paid to shareholders. There must be some happy GVC employees, then, as GVC declared a dividend of 12.5€cents per share, up 8.7% year-on-year.

Looking forward, Alexander says he expects to increase GVC’s focus on regulated markets but don’t expect the company to mimic the ill-advised ‘volume-to-value’ strategy employed by Bwin.party digital entertainment. Unlike Bwin.party, which pulled out of many grey-market jurisdictions two years ago and has since witnessed its revenues plummet, Alexander says GVC has “no plans to exit any of the markets we are in at the moment.”

In fact, Alexander told eGaming Review that GVC was looking to expand into Asian markets sometime in 2015. Alexander offered no fixed agenda for when and where this expansion might take place but said he hoped to appoint a new Asian-facing exec in the next few weeks.

Alexander expects some potential acquisition targets may present themselves as UK-facing operators struggle with the new 15% point-of-consumption tax (POCT), which kicked in on Dec. 1. Alexander said GVC would give some of the “smaller” UK-facing operators a good looking over. Should GVC choose to pull its trigger, Alexander said they “would probably keep the brands … I prefer to take some costs out and keep the brands.”

PokerStars have come up with another innovative way to promote their brand by teaming up with the food group Jones & Sons, to host the first-ever dining experience where you can pay for your meal by winning a poker tournament.

You have to tip your hat to PokerStars. They have some blue-sky thinkers in their team.

The latest initiative is perfect for the poker community. Anyone who travels around the poker circuit understands the intimate relationship between poker players and fine dining, and PokerStars have taken it to the next level.

To celebrate the kick off of the 2015 United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) in London, the world’s largest online poker room has teamed up with the renowned gastronomes Jones & Sons, to create the first restaurant experience where the results of a poker tournament decide the fate of the bill.

The All-In Kitchen in Haggerston, London, will host the three day special, Jan 19-21, and if you were interested – tough luck. The dining room is completely sold out for the duration of the special.

Instead of tasting the goods, you will have to salivate at the thought of eating Queen Scallops, Salt Baked Swede and Bacon Marmalade; The Nuts: Butternut & Chestnut Gratin; The Royal Flush: King Crab Thermidor and Straw Fries, and the Two Pair: Pear Tarte Tatin, Pear Caramel and Ice Cream.

You don’t have to play poker, of course, but if you choose to sit out then the three course lunch will set you back £50. Alternatively, get stuck into the action and play a three-hand tournament to try and knock a few quid off your final bill.

The Greek-controlled southern half of Cyprus has announced that 13 companies have expressed interest in winning the right to operate a casino on its territory. Philippos Katrania, head of the government’s casino coordinating committee, announced the news on Tuesday. Katrania declined to offer up the identities of the baker’s dozen applicants, but in November, Caesars Entertainment confirmed that it was among those interested in the opportunity.

In the meantime, work continues on the country’s casino legislation. Lawmakers will begin discussions on the bill next Tuesday (20) and hope to have the bill approved by the end of January. Three weeks later, a tender will officially commence in which operators will be invited to reveal their proposals for what is expected to be a €500m project. The government expects the tender process will take an additional two months.

Constantinos Petrides, undersecretary to the president, warned legislators not to substantially divert from the bill’s original guidelines, which he said had been “painstakingly and expertly” drafted. As written, the bill calls for a venue with at least 100 gaming tables, 1k slots and 500 hotel rooms. Gaming revenue will be taxed at 15%, while annual license fees will start at €2.5m for the first four years, rising to €5m for the following four. The operator will be allowed to select the location of the project and will also be allowed to open several smaller slots-only venues in other locations on the island.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus government has been forced to announce that no decision has been made on privatization of the state lottery. Local daily Phileleftheros had reported that the lottery was targeted as one of the state assets to be sold to help repay the €10b bailout Cyprus received from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

On Monday, a lottery department source told the Cyprus Mail that no cabinet decision had been made regarding the sale of the lottery. The lottery generated revenue of €22.3m in 2013 while operating expenses were just €1.05m. Over the past 25 years, the lottery has contributed over €600m to the government’s coffers.

South Africa will take another stab at passing online gambling legislation in 2015, according to the author of its most recent legislative effort. Democratic Alliance shadow minister of trade and industry Geordin Hill-Lewis, who introduced his Remote Gambling Bill last year as a private member’s bill, says this time around he’s “offering government a possible solution, so I am confident that the Bill will succeed.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers analysts would beg to differ, having said in November said they “don’t see anything happening” on the online gambling front “for quite a period of time.” This, despite the country’s Gambling Review Commission having recommended updating the country’s online gambling legislation some four years ago. South Africa currently allows only sports betting to take place online while Hill-Lewis’ bill would expand the range of online betting options.

Hill-Lewis’s bill would make licensing the combined responsibility of the National Gambling Board and the country’s nine provinces. The Board would serve as an umbrella body for issuing gaming licenses but the provinces would be allowed to provide input into the process.

Even Hill-Lewis admits the Department of Trade and Industry has “not yet developed its own policy position, and, if anything, favored the prohibition of online gambling.” Regardless, Hill-Lewis intends to reintroduce his bill when Parliament reopens in February, after which he hopes it will be sent to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry for debate. Hill-Lewis told ItWeb he hopes the Committee debate “will force government to engage properly around this argument.”

LAND-BASED OPERATORS ONLINE FEARS UNFOUNDED

Meanwhile, the Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) is waging a campaign to convince people that online gambling poses a threat to the country’s brick-and-mortar casinos. CASA CEO Themba Ngobese says even if only 5% of the country’s land-based revenue was diverted online, it would deprive the government of R110m (US $9.5m) in annual tax revenue. Casino revenue growth slowed to 0.6% last year after a 10% gain in 2012-13.

Ngobese claimed (without citing sources) that casinos in Europe had suffered a 20% drop in visitation due to the popularity of online gambling and a similar trend in South Africa would result in a “devastating” loss of tax revenue and casino jobs. This doesn’t jibe with numerous studies and the personal testimonies of casino owners that have found that online gambling complements, rather than cannibalizes, brick-and-mortar casino revenue.