January 2023

January 12, 2023

Super Group approves $25m share repurchase

Betway parent company Super Group announced that its board of directors has approved a $25m (£20.5m/€23.2m) share repurchase scheme.

Super Group said the scheme is set to run until 31 December 2023, though the board reserved the right to extend or shorten the timeframe at their discretion.

The operator also emphasised that the announcement did not legally bind it in any way – noting that Super Group was “not obligated” to repurchase any shares, and that repurchases if any would be made from time to time on the open market at prevailing prices or “in negotiated transactions off the market”.

“Our debt-free balance sheet is strong and we actively consider using cash to drive long-term shareholder value through investment and through returning cash to shareholders,” said CFO Alinda van Wyk. “We believe a modest share repurchase programme is an efficient potential use of cash depending on market circumstances.”

The share repurchase scheme happens after a fraught Q3, in which declines in..

January 12, 2023

Bet365 partners with Cleveland Guardians in US expansion

UK-based global betting brand Bet365 has partnered with Ohio-based MLB team the Cleveland Guardians.

Ohio – where sports betting launched on 1 January – is the third US state in which Bet365 is live, following New Jersey and Colorado.

The partnership lands as the Guardians bid to retain the American League (AL) Central title, which was the franchise’s first since 2018.

Ted Baugh, the Guardians’ vice-president of corporate and premium partnerships, said: “We’re very excited to work with Bet365 as our exclusive mobile sports betting partner and welcome them to the State of Ohio.

“There is a tremendous bond between our organisation and Bet365. With nearly 90 million customers registered worldwide, Bet365 is one of the world’s leaders in online gambling and will provide our fans a trusted source to complement our organisation’s success on and off the field.”

The Guardians annual “Guards Fest”, which runs on 21 January for the first time after a two-year pause, will mark the beginn..

January 12, 2023

Catena earns record revenue from Ohio sports betting launch

Catena Media said it recorded its strongest-ever start for a US state launch of licensed online sports betting.

The Malta-based affiliate revealed that according to its preliminary data, new registrations in Ohio have led to engagement levels that surpass its launch in New York in 2022.

“This is without doubt our strongest state sports betting launch period to date,” said Ryan Harper, vice-president of Catena Media North America.

“We’re delighted to see strong traffic on our websites in relation to the Ohio launch. Player engagement in licensed sports betting has been very solid.”

Catena operates in Ohio through its national brands including Legalsportsreport.com, Gamingtoday.com, Thelines.com and Lineups.com, as well as through strong regional websites such as Playohio.com.

Operating in over 20 regulated states and provinces in North America, Catena recorded revenue of €80m (£71m/$86m) in the 12 months to September 2022, representing a growth of 33% from 2021.

Ohio launches spor..

January 12, 2023

Entain completes €450m BetCity acquisition

Entain has completed the €450m (£398.1m/$484.2m) acquisition of Dutch operator BetCity from Sports Entertainment Media.

The deal grants Entain access to the Dutch regulated market, where BetCity was one of the initial 10 licensees and quickly became a market leader after the market launched on 1 October 2021, holding a 20% market share in Q4 of 2021.

Entain’s brands had not been able to launch in the Nertherlands as part of the initial batch of licensees due to the country’s “cooling-off” period for operators that accepted Dutch customers before the market opened.

While this period ended last year, and Entain had initially expected its legacy brands to receive licences in 2022, this has not yet happened.

“We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of BetCity,” Entain chief executive Jette Nygaar-Andersen said. “The combination of BetCity’s local expertise and strong brand, alongside Entain’s global scale and market-leading platform provides customers with an enriched and broa..

January 12, 2023

Stats Perform scores streaming and data deal for Australian Open

Stats Perform has agreed a deal with Tennis Australia to become its exclusive distributor of live video streaming and data to licensed sports betting operators.

The multi-year agreement will cover all Tennis Australia tournaments, including the Australian Open and Australian Open Qualifying.

Tennis Australia will also have access to Stats Perform’s media tools including Opta Facts, PressBox Graphics and news services, while the Stats Perform Integrity division will work with forces with Tennis Australia’s in-house Integrity Unit to monitor all matches.

This will include Stats Perform Integrity’s core services on competition and match integrity risk management, as well as monitoring, intelligence and analysis of global markets, and performance analysis and investigation of any suspected match manipulation.

“Stats Perform has a reputation for trust and innovation, making them a clear choice and providing more opportunities for us to reach and engage with our fans,” Tennis Australia..

January 12, 2023

Tipico extends US presence with Iowa launch

Online gambling operator Tipico has further extended its reach in the US by rolling out its sports betting offering in Iowa.

After securing approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, Tipico launched in the state via its Tipico USA Technology business and is now accepting online wagers from Iowa consumers.

The launch means Tipico is live in four states across the US, with the operator having also gone live in New Jersey, Colorado and, more recently, Ohio after the state opened its legal online sports betting market earlier this month.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

January 11, 2023

Detroit casinos post gaming and sports betting revenue drops in 2022

Detroit’s three land-based commercial casinos reported a year-on-year decline in gaming revenue for 2022, with revenue down across both slots and tables games and sports betting.

Revenue for the 12 months to 31 December 2022 was $1.28bn, down 1.4% from $1.29bn in the previous year. Slots were responsible for $983.7m of total revenue, representing 77% of the market, then table games with $273.3m (21%) and sports betting at $18.8m (2%).

Analysing the performance by market sector, combined slots and table games revenue fell by 0.8% year-on-year to $1.26bn.

Read the full story on iGB North America

January 11, 2023

Virginia bill introduced capping tax deductions for bonuses

A bill has been introduced in the Virginia Senate limiting tax deductions for bonuses and promotions.

Senate Bill 1142 – introduced by Democratic state senator Jeremy McPike – would amend the existing code of Virginia definition of adjusted gross revenue. Under current law, “adjusted gross revenue” means gross revenue minus four specified deductions.

The proposed amendment would change the first deduction which allows for allows for operators to deduct all bonuses and promotions from gross revenue. It would seek to impose a cap on the amount that can be claimed beginning at 2.5% of the total wagered by the player in 2023-24, lowering to 1.75% by 2026.

This would have the effect of potentially raising the tax burden on sports betting operators in Virginia, since it is adjusted gross revenue, not gross revenue which is subject to the state’s 15% gaming tax.

Read the full story on iGB North America

January 11, 2023

Elys Game Technology joins US Integrity

Global interactive gaming and sports betting technology company Elys Game Technology has partnered up with US Integrity (USI) as it expands in North America.

USI will provide event monitoring, market intelligence and fraud prevention for all of Elys’ growing US facing operations, including Nevada-based USBookmaking, which it acquired in 2021.

In the US, Elys’ focus is to provide end-to-end sportsbook services to business operators across the regulated market. The news of this partnership follows the recent announcement that Elys secured a licence in Ohio’s newly legal sports betting market.

USI’s integrity monitoring services from its proprietary dashboard to Elys Game Technology conducts analysis across dozens of data sets to identify any possible irregular sports wagering-related patterns.

Michele Ciavarella, executive chairman of Elys, said the partnership will help the business detect suspicious betting.

“We are very pleased to be engaged with US Integrity as we prepare to ..

January 11, 2023

Free-to-play comes out of real-money betting’s shadow

When online gambling expansion is brought up, discussions are usually limited to sports betting and occasionally online casino. Yet free-to-play games are becoming a key part of the ecosystem, as more than an addendum to real-money betting.

It’s easy to look at the broad spectrum of online gambling expansion and see only sports betting.

After all, it’s the dominant force as far as rapid growth goes, and it’s coming to new states every few months. Maryland launched in November, Ohio on 1 January, and Massachusetts is making real progress.

Meanwhile, daily fantasy sports, fee-to-play sportsbooks, and prediction platforms are firmly nestled in the conversation but often buried by talk of real-money sports betting.

Apps like those offered by Tally Technologies and OddFlex—we’ll hear from representatives of both shortly—can offer things a traditional sportsbook cannot. In turn these platforms fill a gap hitherto left gaping by the light-speed spread of real-money betting across US ma..

January 11, 2023

South Carolina amendment would let legislature legalise betting and igaming

A South Carolina Representative has put forward a bill that would amend the state constitution, allowing the legislature to legalise varying forms of gambling – including sports betting.

The passage of the amendment would not legalise forms of gambling itself. Instead, it would permit the South Carolina legislature to do so.

Titled the South Carolina House Joint Resolution 3095, the bill was introduced in the state House yesterday (10 January) and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary. It is sponsored by Representative Todd Rutherford.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

January 11, 2023

Number of players on Malta-licensed sites hits record high in H1 2022

The number of players gambling with Malta-licensed operators hit a new high in the first half of 2022, after declines in the previous year.

The number of active player accounts with Malta-licensed operators rose by 8.7% year-on-year after a decline in 2021, to 19.3 million. This exceeded the previous high of 19.0 million recorded in the last six months of 2020.

The rise was mostly due to a record 8.9 million new accounts being created.

Much of the rise was due to higher numbers of younger players, with the portion of players aged between 18 and 24 rising to almost 25% of the total player base. In addition, the Malta gaming sector was found to have contributed €573m in gross value added for the half-year, or 8.0% of the Maltese economy. The gross value added total was up 12.4% from the first half of 2021.

The sector also employed 10,861 people as of June 2022, almost 600 more than a year earlier.

“The resilience of the Malta gaming industry during these trying times is largely att..

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Monthly Archives: January 2023