Gaming Archives

July 14, 2022

May was second-best month ever for US commercial gaming

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has reported that US commercial gaming revenue came to $5.03bn (£4.25bn/€5.02bn) in May, the second highest month in industry history.

This was a rise of 7.9% from May 2021, in the earlier stages of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Slots continued to generate the most gross gaming revenue (GGR) overall, at $2.94bn, down just 0.1% year-on-year.

GGR from table games amounted to $873.9m, a rise of 10.5% year-on-year, while sports betting revenue came to $487.5m- up significantly by 78.2%.

Online gaming revenue also grew, by 30.9% to $406.4m.

For the year to date, total GGR is $24.39bn, up 20.6% from the same period in 2021.

Slots revenue for the year so far increased by 11% to $14.08bn and table games revenue grew by 38.2% to $4.05bn.

Sports betting revenue for the year to date jumped by 73.5% to $2.64bn. Online gaming GGR also grew significantly to $2.03bn, up by 45.6%.

The AGA also noted that March, April and May have been the three mos..

July 13, 2022

Industry shares resilient amid report of white paper details

Industry share prices rebounded from an initial dip following a report that the new Gambling Act white paper will include a £125 monthly soft cap on affordability – with harder checks for players losing £2,000 in three months.

Industry commentators Earnings + More reported a number of details this morning related to the content of the Gambling Act White Paper.

Industry sources confirmed to iGB it matched up with their understanding of the document.

Perhaps the most significant detail in the report was detail of the affordability checks that operators may be required to perform. Players would be allowed to have a net loss of up to £125 per month or £500 per year before “passive” checks – to see if players have obvious signs of financial difficulties such as county court judgements – kick in.

Those who lose more than £1,000 in 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days will face “more detailed” checks.

New accounts will face lower thresholds.

Sources raised questions, however, of what the d..

July 12, 2022

888 raises €700m to pay off William Hill debts

Online gambling operator 888 will raise €700m through a notes issue related to its acquisition of William Hill’s non-US business, despite reports last week that banks had struggled to sell on its debts.

The business will offer €400m worth of notes with an aggregate principal of 7.558%, due in 2027 plus €300m at a floating interest rate, due in 2028.

These notes form part of a wider financing plan as part of the operator’s recent £1.95bn acquisition of William Hill’s non-US business, also including revolving credit facilities and bonds.

These bonds, though, were subject to some uncertainty. 888 had issued the bonds underwritten by banking giants JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. These banks then intended to sell the bonds onward to investors, but allegedly found little appetite amid ongoing uncertainty related to the Gambling Act review, which is set to have a very large impact on 888 due to its large exposure to Great Britain.

A white paper, a key next stage of the review, was expected ..

July 11, 2022

Dutch minister defends Curaçao reform timeline

Dutch Minister for Legal Protection Franc Weerwind has defended the timeline towards reform of Curaçao’s gambling system, noting the progress the island is making towards implementing the reforms demanded by the Dutch government.

Although the island’s Council of Ministers recently approved new gambling legislation that would drastically overhaul gambling from Curaçao – by replacing the master licence system with a new licensing authority – Weerwind still faced questions on illegal gambling from Curaçao.

The new rules are expected to raise the bar to entry, potentially forcing some operators out of the market, though Finance Minister Javier Silvania said that operators who cannot meet the new standards would not be a great loss.

The questions came just over six months after his predecessor Sander Dekker faced similar questions about the steps the Netherlands was taking to deal with the sector.

In response, Weerwind said that the Dutch government was already working to pressure Curaç..

July 11, 2022

Curaçao minister: Risk of market exits will not stop us raising standards

Curaçao Finance Minister Javier Silvania has “no issue” with the island’s planned gambling overhaul resulting in operators pulling out of the jurisdiction, saying those who fail to meet its new standards will not be missed.

Speaking to iGB, Silvania explained the rationale and context behind Curaçao’s plans to drastically reform its gambling laws.

Among the changes will be the introduction of the Curaçao Gambling Authority (CGA), a body that will oversee licensing and enforcement.

The CGA will replace the current system, whereby four private entities hold master licences from the government, and offer sub-licences to operators with little to no government oversight.

Silvania noted that under the current system there had been a number of “shortcomings and challenges” and that the master licence system was “not an ideal situation”.

“The new bill ensures the monitoring is under the control of the government,” he explained to iGB. “It is important for the government to know who has l..

July 11, 2022

Curaçao to overhaul regime with new regulator, higher bars to entry

Curaçao is set to drastically reform its entire online gambling regime, setting up a new licensing body – with higher barriers to entry and the ability to cooperate with other regulators to tackle illegal gambling – to replace master licences.

The island’s licensing regime was notable for its extremely liberal system and low barriers to entry with little scrutiny for operators, but the government intends to change this.

Currently, only four businesses are licensed by the government. Each of these then offer out their own licences on their own terms, meaning that private entities rather than the government wielded most practical control of licensing.

This will be drastically changed under a new bill that has been approved by the Curaçao Council of Ministers, part of an overhaul of gambling regulation on the island.

A new system will be set up, with licences for both B2C operators and B2B suppliers issued by the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), an independent body set up by the gover..

July 8, 2022

Entain shares slide amid concerns online slowdown continues into 2023

Entain’s share price dropped by more than 10% this morning, amid concerns its slowing online performance may continue through the rest of the year and beyond, before a rebound late in the day.

The business reported an 18% year-on-year increase in net gaming revenue for the first half of the year.

However, online revenue was down 7% year-on-year.

Entain said this was due to a weaker macroeconomic environment, leading to customers spending on average 5% less during the period than they had the year before.

“As a business, we are relatively resilient to cyclical macroeconomic effects,” chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen said. “However, no business is completely immune.

“We’ve seen some moderation in the rate of spend by customers, resulting in lower underlying growth across many of our markets versus our expectations earlier in the year.”

Chief financial officer Rob Wood noted that online revenue was “ultimately behind our expectations from earlier in the year, due to a couple ..

July 5, 2022

Romanian government publishes plan for 40% tax on withdrawals

The Romanian government has published the country’s new draft Fiscal Code, featuring a tax hike on gambling withdrawals to as much as 40%.

The new code was published by the Ministry of Finance, and contains updates to the country’s tax laws.

Previously, gambling withdrawals in Romania of less than RON66,750 (£11,579/€13,493/$13,980) were taxed at 1%, while withdrawals of up to RON445,000 faced a 16% tax – plus an additional payment of RON667.50 and withdrawals beyond that total were taxed at 25%.

However, now withdrawals of up to RON3,000 will be taxed at 10%. Withdrawals of more than RON3,000 but no more than RON10,000 are taxed at 20%, plus a RON3000 fee. Beyond RON10,000, the tax rate will be 40%, plus a RON1,700 fee.

The tax will be applied with each withdrawal.

When the tax hike was first reported, trade body the Association of Remote Gambling Organisations (AOJND) said that it would push players towards illegal operators.

It estimated that – if the tax comes into effect – ..

July 4, 2022

Bally’s approved to launch BallyBet in Ontario

Bally’s has been approved for an internet gaming licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

The licence was approved on 30 June and will last for two years, expiring on 29 June 2024.

It covers fourdomain names – ballybet.ca, ballycasino.ca, ballysbet.ca and ballyscasino.ca, as well as the BallyBet mobile app.

Bally’s is one of the most recent operators to receive a licence to operate in the province, joining the likes of PokerStars, SkillOnNet and BetVictor.

Ontario’s regulated igaming market launched in April three years after Ontario announced plans to end the lottery’s online gambling monopoly on the province.

Operators such as theScore, PointsBet and Bet365 were approved for licences before the market opened.

July 1, 2022

888 completes £1.95bn acquisition of William Hill assets

Online operator 888 has completed its acquisition of William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars for £1.95bn (€2.25bn/$2.35bn), and has announced the group’s new leadership team.

888 had initially agreed in September 2021 to acquire the non-US business of William Hill. This came soon after US operator Caesars acquired the entire William Hill business for approximately £2.90bn, with the intent to dispose of all but its US assets.

Originally, the purchase price for the deal was £2.2bn. However, 888 and Caesars agreed to reduce the purchase price to acquire the assets by £250m, with the cash portion of the deal now set at £584.9m instead of £834.9m.

This, it said, was due to a “change in the macro-economic and regulatory environment”, but at the time it also revealed that the William Hill business’ licence to operate in Great Britain was under review.

After receiving shareholder approval last month, the deal has now closed today.

“I am delighted to announce the completion of our trans..

June 28, 2022

Towards intolerance of illegal operators

Illegal online gambling remains a threat to both player protection and government tax yields. Yet, as Paul Girvan explains, most regulated jurisdictions continue to tolerate operators making money outside of the regulatory environment. Could more be done to fight the unlicensed sector?

Online gambling has existed since the inception of the internet, and over time we have seen increasing concern arise from the issue of black market gambling.

Equally, nearly all countries implementing legal market controls have encountered rising rates of gambling harm and negative social consequences, the causes for many of which remain outside the licensed market.

While there is much talk about the “licensed level playing field”, it’s hard to see how any marketplace is effectively levelled to the benefit of any parties if it tolerates the presence of the illicit black market. These shadow operators reap a competitive advantage as their regulated competitors pay a licence fee and taxes and comply wi..

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Tag: Gaming