Lottery Archives

November 13, 2023

Kenya Gambling Control Bill 2023 proposes new regulator and sweeping reform

Kenya has introduce a Gambling Control Bill in an effort to establish a new Gambling Regulatory Authority.

The Gambling Control Bill 2023, currently before parliament, establishes a new Gambling Regulatory Authority. Once approved, it will replace the current Betting, Control and Licensing Board (BCLB).

KENyA GAMBLING CONTROL BILL 2023 TO INTRODUCE NEW AUTHORITY

Incorporating the board’s present mandate, the new Authority will also be responsible for both licensing and regulation.

“The bill seeks to regulate betting, casinos and other forms of gambling, including the authorisation of prize competitions, public lotteries and media promotions,” the bill states.

The state-backed Gambling Control Bill is sponsored by National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah.

Cracking down on unlicensed and underage gambling

The newly-introduced Gambling Control Bill is designed to greatly enhance the board’s original mandate.

This follows previous statements in 2022 that the majorit..

October 30, 2023

Asian Games boosts Chinese lottery figures in September

The Asian Games in Hangzhou and new instant win games triggered a lottery revenue surge in China in September.

China’s state lottery saw a 58.3% rise in total lottery ticket sales to CNY52.8bn ($7.2bn/€6.8bn/£5.9bn) in September, according to figures released by the ministry of finance.

The most notable rise was in guess lottery sales – effectively sports betting – which grew by 70.1% year-on-year to CNY21.9bn. The ministry said the increase in major events such as the multi-sport Asian Games, which began during the final week of the month, was behind the surge.

The ministry of finance said the launch of new instant lottery tickets and the expansion of new channels also accounted for growth during the month. Lotto digital lottery sales were up 15.0% to CNY14.9bn, while instant lottery sales grew by 152% to CNY12.5bn. Keno lottery sales were up 36.9% to CNY34.9bn.

In September, the sales volume of Lotto digital, guessing, instant and Keno lottery tickets accounted for 28.2%, 41.5%,..

October 20, 2023

Eight in ten Spaniards gambled in 2022

An annual report compiled by CeJuego, Spain's Gaming Business Council, found that 83.9% of the Spanish population aged 18-75 participated in gambling in 2022.

The percentage represents 29.5 million people.

The report is based on CeJuego’s Game and Society survey, which studies the gambling habits of adults in Spain. The 2023 edition found that although Spanish adults participate in gambling, they tend to take part in low-risk games that don’t promise a high reward.

The survey found that 23.3 million people played national lotteries, ONCE games or La Quinela.

A total of 17.9% of Spaniards play games offered in casinos, gaming halls and bingo halls, and take part in sports betting. This equates to 6.3 million people. The report emphasised that this is far below, for example, the number who said they go to the theatre in their leisure time – 24.5%.

However, this is higher than those who said they take part in painting at 16.1% and almost double the percentage of people who play..

October 19, 2023

Netherlands’ NGR up 85% in 2022

The Netherlands' licensed gaming market generated €3.4bn (£2.95bn/$3.59bn) in net gaming revenue (NGR) in 2022, according to a report from regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

The report is based on 2022 only, as it was the first full calendar year for the Netherlands’ online gambling market.

The country’s market officially opened in October 2021, following the passage and ratification of the much-delayed Remote Gambling Act (KOA). This month marks two years since the market became live. NGR comprises of deposits minus prizes paid out.

NGR for 2022 was up by 85.0% from €2.0bn in 2021. KSA noted that this was due to an increase in both online gambling and land-based play, particularly as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions lifted. Land-based venues were closed in the Netherlands until 25 January 2022, with restrictions still applying until 25 February 2022.

Spending on gambling and advertising

Online casino was one of the Netherlands’ smaller markets in 2022, behind lotteries and l..

September 19, 2023

French competition authority clears FDJ for ZeTurf acquisition

France’s national competition regulator, l'Autorité de la Concurrence, has cleared the country’s national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) to acquire online horse racing betting site ZeTurf Group.

However, FDJ will have to change several aspects of its operations to address the regulator’s concerns about risks to competition.

In particular, FDJ has committed to separating its monopoly and competitive gaming operations. It also has said it will allow any French licensed operator to access the common pool of horse racing bets it manages.

L’Autorité outlines competition concerns

Despite both FDJ and ZeTurf offering online sports betting, their low combined market share meant this alone did not concern the regulator.

Instead, l’Autorité said problems could come from FDJ’s monopoly on lottery games and retail sports betting.

It argued that, because of its exclusive rights to offer these segments, the new combined business may have been tempted to restrict the competition..

June 19, 2023

Sweden’s channelisation rate at “critically low” 77%

A report published by Sweden's Online Gaming Industry Association (BOS) has revealed that 77% of Sweden's online gaming market is channelised, a percentage the association called “critically low”.

Sweden’s channelisation goal – the percentage of licensed gaming offerings it wishes to have on the market – is currently set at 90%.

BOS commissioned Swedish survey organisation SKOP to analyse channelisation rates for online gaming in the country, looking at specific categories such as sports betting and online casino.

Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary-general at BOS, emphasised the seriousness of the low channelisation rate.

“There is no doubt that the Swedish licensing system is in a serious situation,” said Hoffstedt. “Far too much power has been spent on the part of the state to force the licensed gambling companies to implement measures that have not been well received by gambling consumers.”

He added that reversing this development would require the regulator, Spelinspektione..

May 19, 2023

Lithuania gambling revenue jumps 26.1% in Q1

Gambling revenue in Lithuania increased 26.1% year-on-year during the first quarter, with growth across both the online and land-based segments.

Total revenue in Lithuania during the three months to 31 March amounted to €55.3m (£48.0m/$59.7m), up from €43.9m in the same period last year.

Some €36.6m came from online gambling, a 36.0% year-on-year rise. The majority of this came from Category A online slots, with these games generating €23.1m in revenue from €306.8m in player bets.

A further €979,987 came from Category B slots after consumers spent €6.3m betting.

Lithuania’s remote sports betting revenue reached €9.6m, after players wagered €151.2m, while online table games activity resulted in €2.9m in revenue from €31.3m in spend for the quarter.

Turning to land-based gambling and revenue was 10.0% higher at €18.7m. Category B slot machines were the primary source of revenue, generating €8.0m in revenue after players bet €50.7m.

Category A slot machine revenue reached €3.8m from..

April 20, 2023

FDJ revenue ticks up across the board in Q1

French national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) reported revenue of €662m (£583.9m/$726.5m) for the first quarter of 2023, ended 31 March.

This was up by 8% compared to FDJ‘s performance in Q1 2021.

On a pro forma basis for 2022 – which included revenue from FDJ’s point of sales segment Aleda and payment service L’Addition – the revenue was up by 5.3% comparably.

Lottery revenue for the quarter was 6.4% higher than in Q1 2022, at €497m, while sports betting revenue grew slightly by 0.2%, remaining fairly level at €129m.

A total of €5.49bn was wagered with the operator during the quarter, a rise of 8.6%. Digital stakes made up €698m of the total.

From points of sale, revenue hit €4.79bn, a rise of 6.9%.

“The first quarter of 2023 was marked by the continued good financial and extra-financial performance of the FDJ group,” said Stéphane Pallez, chair and CEO of FDJ. “Our turnover is up by more than 5%, driven both by our network of 30,000 points of sale and by the good m..

April 11, 2023

US: Gaming “significantly” more diverse than workforce

A new report by the American Gaming Association (AGA) has revealed that the gaming sector is “significantly” more diverse than the US workforce as a whole.

According to the trade association, 61% of employees in the gaming sector are racial minorities compared to 52% of the broader hospitality industry and 42% of the total US workforce.

This comprises the 23% of those working in hospitality coming from Hispanic backgrounds, and the 19% who are black, both of which is above the total US workforce in general, and in line with the hospitality industry in specific. The 14% of employees who are of Asian descent means that the group is over-represented in the sector at around twice the national average.

The gaming sector is now “significantly” more diverse than both the hospitality sector and the US workforce as a whole

“Consumers, policymakers and investors are raising their expectations for all businesses on how they contribute to society beyond the bottom line,” said AGA president an..

February 27, 2023

First ilottery and online sports betting solution launched in Brazil

NeoGames and Intralot do Brasil have announced the launch of LotoMinas, the first regulated ilottery and online sports betting solution for Brazilian state Minas Gerais' official lottery, Loteria Mineira.

The multiyear turnkey agreement, which was first announced in June, sees NeoGames enter the Brazilian market, in a project that will involve long-term cooperation with the state’s lottery operator.

The undertaking is NeoGames’ first large scheme led by its subsidiaries with Aspire Global and BtoBet – companies that the business acquired last year.

neogames will provide ilottery and online sports betting services to the lottery operator

NeoGames CEO Moti Malul said the organisation was “excited” to launch in the Brazilian market and to be partnering with Intralot do Brasil, which is more familiar with the local market than the Israel-based supplier.

“Together we will provide online lottery and sports betting players in Minas Gerais with a first-class online gaming experience..

February 17, 2023

FDJ hails “very strong” FY22 results

France's national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) reported full-year 2022 revenue of €2.46bn (£2.18bn/$2.62bn), up by 9.1% compared to 2021, as lottery ticked up by 11%.

Stéphane Pallez, chairwoman and CEO of FDJ Group, said that the full-year results were indicative of growth across the business as a whole, as well as a steady balance of retail and online betting activity.

“FDJ recorded very strong results for the year as a whole, marked by an increase in all of our business activities and supported by significant growth in our 30,000 points of sale and sustained momentum online,” said Pallez.

“This good performance benefits all our stakeholders, in particular our employees,
our retailers and our shareholders.”

This growth was seen across the board. Lottery revenue rose by 10.9% year-on-year to €1.91bn. Revenue from sports betting and online gaming activities came to €467m – up by 0.6%.

In addition, FDJ said that 6% of the total revenue for the year was generated ..

November 23, 2022

Swedish monopolies carving out their place in the market

In the second part of Daniel O’Boyle’s deep dive into the changing role of Sweden’s gambling monopolies, ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth and Svenska Spel CEO Patrik Hofbauer discuss how their businesses have evolved since re-regulation.

When the new Gambling Act came into force in 2019, Svenska Spel and AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) face licensed competition online for the first time. They underwent many changes themselves.

2019: a new era for Swedish gambling regulation

For Svenska Spel the changes were mostly aimed at preventing the business from using its former monopoly status to gain an unfair leg-up in online betting and gaming.

Sweden launched its regulated gambling market in January 2019

This necessitated major changes, Hofbauer recalls.

“The biggest change was to adjust the whole organisation and operations to be in line with the re-regulated gambling legislation. Today Svenska Spel operates as a group with three separate business areas.

“And an important factor in that was c..

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Tag: Lottery