Lottery Archives

April 5, 2024

State of the Union: A look at the week that was in North America

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

Queens casino controversial among politicians

Businessman Steve Cohen’s plan to build a casino in Queens adjacent to the Mets’ Citi Field earlier this week got the endorsement of a city councilman, but a state senator said Cohen has not been “open and transparent”, according to the New York Post.

State Senator Jessica Ramos, who appears to back a Genting Resorts World project, took issue with Cohen’s lobbying strategy. Any downstate casino will need legislative approval in Albany. Cohen is partnered with Hard Rock in his proposed venture.

Queens Councilman Francisco Moya told the NYP that “If we fail to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we ensure that the area around Citi Field remains underutilised parking lots for the foreseeable future; and we permanently stymie the future growth potential of Q..

April 5, 2024

PNR Tecnologia and Lema request Loterj accreditation amid IBJR criticism

PNR Tecnologia and Lema have become the latest gambling companies to seek accreditation from the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj), which is coming under fire from the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR).

On Wednesday (3 April), PNR Tecnologia delivered documentation seeking to operate sports betting and online games with Loterj accreditation. On Friday (5 April), Lema visited the Loterj headquarters.

This was to carry out a proof of concept and evaluate its compliance with Loterj regulations. This was after Lema had previously presented its platform to operate sports betting and ilottery in March.

In March, Caesars Sportsbook-licensee BIG Brazil announced it was looking for Loterj accreditation to offer both sports betting and lottery. Loterj has since been criticised for its attempts to operate in Brazil outside its state of Rio de Janeiro.

PNR Tecnologia director Yuri William threw his support behind Loterj’s initative. He stated: “Loterj has a lot to add to t..

March 15, 2024

Caesars-licensee BIG Brazil nearing lottery accreditation in Rio de Janeiro

BIG Brazil, a licensee of Caesars Sportsbook, has announced it will look to achieve accreditation with the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj).

André Feldman, president of BIG Brazil International Games, visited Loterj president Hazenclever Lopes Cançado on Thursday. While declaring his interest in operating sports betting with Caesars in Brazil, Feldman also requested information on becoming accredited by the Loterj to offer lottery in Rio de Janeiro.

In February 2023, BIG Brazil International Games partnered with Caesars to introduce sports betting in Brazil when legalised. After Bill 3,626/2023 was approved in December, sports betting is expected to be regulated by late 2024.

“Expectations are high,” Feldman said. “We intend to enter the Caesars Sportsbook brand in Brazil, starting in Rio de Janeiro. We are already working on composing all the technical documentation to, in the next few days, officially enter into the Loterj accreditation.”

Cançado added: “We are very happy wi..

March 11, 2024

Entain, Betfred and Flutter join GC Industry Forum led by Nick Rust OBE

Directors of Flutter, Betfred, Entain and The Rank Group have been named among the nine appointed members of the Gambling Commission’s (GC) new Industry Forum, which will be chaired by Nick Rust, OBE.

Rust, who previously spent six years as British Horseracing Authority chief executive, was appointed as Industry Forum chair in November 2023.

Over a two-year term, Rust will oversee a forum that includes Ashley Padgett, director of compliance and anti-money laundering at Flutter’s UK and Ireland (UK&I) division, as well as Entain’s customer operations director for UK&I Leo Walker.

As well as Entain and Flutter, other UK gambling industry leaders will be represented. Betfred’s head of media Mark Pearson has been appointed to the forum, as well as David Williams, director of public affairs at Rank Group.

Merkur UK’s director of public and political relations, Tony Boulton, and Betsmart Consulting founder and director, Kirsty Caldwell, will also be joined on the forum by Charles Cohen,..

March 8, 2024

FanDuel takes DC as lottery gives up on Gambet

FanDuel will soon replace GambetDC in the District of Columbia as the only sportsbook platform available to bettors across the city, according to a letter from the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) to the DC City Council obtained by iGB

The letter does not indicate when FanDuel might launch its platform citywide, however.

Dated 8 March, the letter confirms the OLG has “approved Intralot’s request to select FanDuel as a new subcontractor” for the lottery’s sports wagering platform.

Intralot, which contracts with the District of Columbia, has struggled to put out a competitive product in GambetDC. The platform lost $4 million in 2021.

“OLG and Intralot have evaluated the current platform and believe that FanDuel and its industry-leading platform will perform better within the highly competitive DMV region,” OLG executive director Frank Suarez wrote in the letter. “Having a national, market-leading platform will help to quickly improve the player experience and drive significant re..

March 8, 2024

Alabama advances scaled-back gambling bills with sports betting excluded

The Alabama senate has passed a pair of bills that would see lottery and state-regulated gambling legalised, although statewide sports betting has been excluded.

Alabama lawmakers passed HB151 and HB152 in February. In its original form, HB151 would have legalised retail and online sports betting, as well as a state lottery and casinos in areas of the state that have bingo-type games. HB152, meanwhile, was to create a state lottery and gaming commission to regulate gambling in the state.

However, HB151 stalled in the senate, with sports betting and casinos now removed from the bill. The amended HB151 passed by a vote of 22 to 11 on Thursday, reaching the 21 votes required to advance. Meanwhile, HB152 also passed.

The bills still include lottery. Additionally, the bills would authorise the governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PBCI) to regulate gaming activities on tribal lands. The PBCI operates the three existing casinos in Alabama.

Senator Greg Al..

March 7, 2024

ICE and iGB Affiliate reveal record attendance figures in 2024

Clarion Gaming has announced that both its ICE 2024 and iGB Affiliate 2024 last month set new records for attendance, with the events drawing visitors from 164 countries around the world.

ICE took place at the ExCeL London from 6-8 February and iGB Affiliate 6-9 February at the same venue. Together, the 2024 events drew a record 52,345 unique attendees in total.

Unique attendance at ICE reached an all-time high of 45,050, up 12% from the previous year. Meanwhile, iGB Affiliate attracted 7,295 unique visitors, representing a new record and a 27% increase on 2023’s total.

Visitation figures, which measure the number of person days attendees spent at the ExCeL, topped 100,000 for the first time in the exhibition’s history.

The events recorded visitors from 164 nations worldwide. Excluding host country the UK, Malta had the most visitors at 3,364. The US followed on 1,913 and Bulgaria with 1,659.

“February’s historic editions of ICE and iGB Affiliate were what I would describe as ‘I w..

March 5, 2024

EGBA lauds EU’s proposed introduction of digital identification

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has welcomed the European parliament’s approval of introducing a standardised electronic identification method called a “European Digital Identity” (e-ID).

The EGBA-endorsed move would oblige states in the European Union (EU) to issue an e-ID to citizens. This would allow them to authenticate their identity for online services. These e-IDs will be optional for citizens and businesses.

EGBA labelled the European parliament’s approval on Monday a “significant milestone” in providing a safer and more inclusive online environment for citizens in the EU. There were 335 votes in favour, 190 opposing the new regulations and 31 abstentions.

The proposed e-IDs will mean citizens would no longer have to resort to commercial providers to verify their online identification, something that has caused privacy and security concerns in the past.

The hope is that e-IDs will reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft, enhancing security for the EU’..

March 5, 2024

GC’s Gambling Survey for Great Britain: Lottery reigns supreme

The first data from the Gambling Commission’s (GC) Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) has highlighted the prevalence of lottery among gamblers in Great Britain.

48% of respondents had gambled in the past four weeks, although that figure dropped to 27% when excluding lottery-only players. Over a fifth of all respondents had only taken part in lottery draws.

The 48% figure of respondents having gambled in the past four weeks is a slight reduction on the 49.5% number stated in the final experimental stage of the survey, released back in November.

Participation drop-off without lottery the same for land-based and online

The pattern was the same for online and land-based gambling. 38% of all participants had used the internet to gamble in the previous four weeks, the same as in the November data, although the removal of those who only play lottery saw that number fall to 16%. In-person gambling participation also fell from 29% to 18% when lottery-only players were excluded.

The ..

February 28, 2024

Rhode Island’s sports betting handle declines by 6.5% in January

Rhode Island’s January sports betting handle saw a 6.5% decline from December’s figures, although revenue was up by almost 22%.

Rhode Island recorded $44.8m in sports betting handle for January, a significant decrease on December’s number of $47.9m and the lowest since September. The handle also fell 28.1% behind the same month last year, which was a record.

$34.8m of the handle was wagered online, while the other $13.1m was bet at retail sportsbooks. Of the retail handle, Twin River and Tiverton Casino took $6.4m and $3.6m in bets respectively.

Despite the downturn in handle, it was a good month for sportsbooks, who accumulated a combined revenue of $5m, over a fifth higher than December’s $4.1m and the highest since Rhode Island started its new financial year.

Online accounted for $3.8m of that figure, which is 76% of the total. By facility, Twin River outperformed the Tiverton Casino, generating $845,340 to the latter’s $402,750.

Rhode Island into H2 of its financial year

spor..

February 15, 2024

FDJ reports “solid” 6.5% year-on-year revenue growth for 2023

La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has reported a 6.5% year-on-year growth in revenue to €2.62bn (£2.24bn/$2.81bn) for its 2023 financial year.

FDJ attributed the “solid” growth in revenue to momentum in its sports betting and online gaming sectors. This was evidenced by an 18.8% increase in its net gaming revenue (NGR), becoming almost 13% of the group’s NGR.

FDJ’s 2023 report came in the wake of the group submitting an offer worth SEK27.96bn (£2.10bn/€2.45bn/$2.67bn) to acquire the entire outstanding share capital of Kindred Group in January.

During 2023, FDJ’s net profit rocketed by 38% to €425m, from 2022’s figure of €307.9m. Recurring operating income shot up from €459m to €532m, again a sizeable rise of 15.8%.

Despite the rise in revenue, the 6.5% revenue hike fell behind the 9.1% increase to $2.46bn reported last year. The previous year’s success was largely powered by an 11% jump in lottery. Interestingly, this was while the lottery sector only grew by 4.9% in 2023.

FDJ recorded ..

January 19, 2024

Intralot extends contract with Morocco’s MDJS until 2025

Intralot has announced a two-year extension to its games operator contract with La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS).

The fresh deal is set to run out in December 2025. The agreement will see Intralot continue to operate MDJS’ lottery, while also offering sports betting and other games of chance.

Intralot has had a long-term partnership with MDJS, powering its offering since 2010. The Greek operator will continue to operate MDJS’ lottery games, which include Tifo and Chrono.

In March 2021, Intralot announced it had agreed to reduce the term of an eight-year deal with MDJS, signed in 2019, to end in December 2022.

However, despite MDJS launching a tender in January 2022 for a new supplier, a new one-year extension was agreed with Intralot in March 2022. This most recent extension, announced on Friday, prolongs the relationship between the pair.

Intralot at risk of not meeting 2024 bond obligations

In November 2023, Intralot announced a return to net profit for Q3. Gross gam..

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Tag: Lottery