Wilna van Wyk

A new union of gambling business leaders, the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG), has been established as a response to “concerns over the significant health and economic risks of iGaming.”

Its slogan is “Not worth the bet,” and its mission statement is “Protect jobs, communities, and our loved ones by opposing online gaming.” The association is straightforward with what it hopes to achieve: “iGaming threatens our economy, our health, displaces jobs and weakens oversight of responsible practices.”

The coalition’s leadership team includes executive members of The Cordish Companies, Monarch Casino & Resort, and Churchill Downs Incorporated; the National Association Against iGaming was said to have been formed to oppose the expansion of online iGaming and its potential dangers.

Specifically, the National Association Against iGaming has said that the legalization of online casino outlets can cannibalize land-based operations, which could lead to revenue loss (including job loss) and potentially millions of dollars in lower tax contributions. Due to the convenience of iGaming, fears were also raised around higher addiction rates and concerns regarding player protection.

The coalition published a study by The Innovation Group that “debunks the myth that iGaming offers easy revenue for states” and instead argues about the “damaging effect of iGaming expansion.” It is based upon the research started by regulators in Maryland to determine (and assess) the economic impact of online casino outlets.

Self-described as “champions of local communities, small business, and responsible gaming,” instead, the National Association Against iGaming reiterates its support of in-person, legal gambling due to it being highly regulated, prioritizing the safety and well-being of its players. This is due to safeguarding against underage gambling, the limiting of access, and the prevention of excess thanks to established support programs, something claimed to be lacking from the rising popularity of iGaming.

The organization has posted statistics related to the dangers of iGaming, claiming that a staggering 81% of gambling addicts play online or through gambling-related applications. Additionally, it has cited a massive rise of 267% in calls made to the National Problem Gambling hotline since iGaming was first introduced and eight times the likelihood that iGaming can lead to “compulsive gambling” with projected losses of $1 trillion by 2028.

The National Association Against iGaming advocates against addiction, mental health risks, economic damage, and harm to vulnerable people. There is a call to action for concerned citizens to get involved with sign-ups, giving people resources and data on the “risks of iGaming” and updates on advocacy efforts and initiatives as they happen.

In world news, UK banks join the Gambling Harms Action Lab.

Written By

Wilna van Wyk

Wilna van Wyk is an online casino enthusiast with over a decade of experience working with some of the world’s biggest gambling affiliates, including Thunderstruck Media and OneTwenty Group. She specializes in gambling sites and games and provides expert knowledge on the online casino industry’s essential fundamentals.

The post National Association Against iGaming Formed to Curb Risk of Expansion appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Wilna van Wyk

Merkur Group has announced a partnership between UK-based slots developer Blueprint Gaming and US-based Rush Street Interactive to expand into Ontario, Canada.

The new partnership between Blueprint Gaming and Rush Street Interactive will see the former’s suite of top-performing games available to Canadian gamers in the city for the first time. This includes its popular titles that thrived in UK pubs (such as Wetherspoons found in cities such as Bath and London) and gambling establishments for years, such as Napoleon Megaways, Majestic Fury Megaways, and licensed hits like Rick and Morty: Strike Back, The Lost Boys, and more.

This expansion further cements Blueprint Gaming’s push into the territory, aligning with its roadmap to grow in Canada and North America. Director of key accounts for Blueprint Gaming, Samuel Haggblom, said: “The popularity of Blueprint slots continues to grow across Canada and the Americas and so we are delighted to go live with an industry renowned operator in the region”. He added: “This exciting deal pays further testament to how our games can resonate with players in multiple markets worldwide and we look forward to seeing the response from BetRivers players.”

Rush Street Interactive CEO, Richard Schwartz, said: “Blueprint Gaming boasts a growing collection of exciting titles and we are thrilled to be working with them to bring these games to our BetRivers players in Ontario”. Later adding: “We are happy to partner with Blueprint Gaming and look forward to watching this collaboration flourish”.

Founded in 2012, Rush Street Interactive has become one of the most trusted online gambling and sports betting companies in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It owns brands such as BetRivers, PlaySugarHouse, RushBet, and more and was a major player in the burgeoning territories that legalized gambling.

In contrast, Blueprint Gaming Inc. started operating in 2001 in the UK before becoming part of Germany’s Gauselmann Group. It creates slot and online casino games for an international market and is backed by the BeGambleAware campaign in the UK, pushing players to be aware of their spending when using its machines and online games.

Blueprint Gaming has many established game series available to play, including its franchise titles like Jackpot King, Megaways, Pub Fruit Series, Rapid Fire Jackpots, Merkur, and Deal or No Deal. New releases are coming out at a steady rate, including Fishin’ Frenzy Even Bigger Fish, Kong 3, Cash Strike Win Boost, Cop the Lot, and Eye of Horus Tablets of Destiny, many of which could make their way over to Ontario, Canada and beyond.

In other news, Royal Caribbean Cruises adds a new non-smoking casino floor.

Written By

Wilna van Wyk

Wilna van Wyk is an online casino enthusiast with over a decade of experience working with some of the world’s biggest gambling affiliates, including Thunderstruck Media and OneTwenty Group. She specializes in gambling sites and games and provides expert knowledge on the online casino industry’s essential fundamentals.

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Publishing its first quarter fiscal 2023 operating results, the Authority stated that its net revenues experienced a small growth of 1.2 per cent, $406.6m, when compared to the same period the year prior (2021: $402m). 

Mohegan noted that the growth in net revenues compared with the prior-year period was primarily driven by a full period of operations and a return to relatively normal operating conditions at the Niagara Resorts, combined with the continued growth in its online

casino gaming and sports wagering operations in Connecticut.

Overall income from operations at its properties spiked by 99.5 per cent in Q1, ended December 31, 2022, totalling $70.2m (2021: $35.2m), an increase of $35.03m. The firm’s adjusted EBITDA also grew by 3.8 per cent to $101.05m (2021: $97.4m). 

On the latter, Raymond Pineault, Chief Executive Officer of Mohegan, stated: “Our consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $101.1m continues our trend of strong performance,” 

“Our diversification strategy and continued focus on profitability have enabled Mohegan to offset some of the inflationary and labour pressures and achieve these strong results.”

Echoing the thoughts of Pineault, Carol Anderson, Chief Financial Officer of Mohegan, also noted: “Our adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.9 per cent was 605 basis points favourable compared with our pre-COVID-19 first quarter of fiscal 2020 and 62 basis points favourable compared with the prior-year period.”

Starting with the aforementioned Niagara Resorts, net revenues at the venue increased by $11.2m to $74m, a 17.8 per cent rise. These, according to Mohegan, reflected the increased volumes related to the opening of its OLG Stage venue, as well as the property operating without any COVID-19 related restrictions. 

Furthermore, adjusted EBITDA increased by 8.7 per cent, ($1m) with a margin of 16.1 per cent. 

However, its other two properties – Mohegan Sun and Mohegan Pennsylvania – witnessed drops across the board, with net revenue declining by $12.2m and $4.4m, respectively.

Income from operations at both properties also dropped with Mohegan Sun reporting a 16.8 per cent drop, $10.4m, to $59.8m (2021: $64.2m) and Mohegan Pennsylvania declining by 19.9 per cent, $2.3m, to $9.2m (2021: $11.5m).

Following a similar vein, adjusted EBITDA also experienced double digit percentage drops, with Mohegan Sun reporting a 13.3 per cent loss, $10.4m, to $67.8m (2021: $78.2) and its Pennsylvania property totalling a 16.7 per cent decline, $2.4m, to $12.1m (2021: $14.6m) 

The Authority noted that the decline in Mohegan Sun’s figures was a reflection of lower volumes against the year-prior due to its 25th anniversary celebrations. It also pinpointed “unfavourable” slot and table hold and weather as a key contributor.

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Beating its Q4 performance in 2021, the AGA published its Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker, which showed that nationwide commercial gaming revenue totalled $14.81bn in the second quarter of this year – a 3.3 per cent increase from the previously set record.

Bill Miller, President and CEO at the AGA, explained: “Q2’s results mark a 16-month period of gains for commercial gaming. With increasingly difficult year-over-year comparisons, our strength through the first half of 2022 reflects sustained consumer demand for legal options as well as gaming’s record popularity.”

Alongside the Q2 revenue, the AGA also revealed that $29.16bn was generated through the first half of 2022, around an 18 per cent YoY increase, which puts the year on track to set a new annual record for commercial gaming revenue for the second consecutive year. 

The industry’s growth rate softened throughout the second quarter, with the pace of monthly year-over-year gains slowing from 13.1 per cent in April, to 10.7 per cent in May, and 2.5 per cent in June.

The AGA put these figures down to the sector “demonstrating stabilising customer demand” and the return to normal gaming operations over a year ago. 

The AGA also noted that traditional casino gaming “continued to drive” industry success, with both brick-and-mortar slots and table games witnessing Q2 revenue records. Furthermore, slot machine revenue was up 0.2 per cent YoY, as revenue from table games leaped 18.2 per cent.

In the first six months of the year, traditional casino gaming generated $23.67bn in revenue, 11.7 per cent ahead of the first half of 2021.

Moreover, 22 of the 31 commercial gaming jurisdictions operating during the same period last year experienced revenue increases during the second quarter. In addition, Arkansas, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Pennsylvania, all reported “all-time quarterly highs”.

Meanwhile, the six operational US igaming markets generated $1.21bn in Q2 2022, narrowly beating the vertical’s previous record set in Q1 2022. With the addition of one market, the $2.42bn in commercial igaming revenue generated through June is a 43.5 per cent jump over the same period in 2021—the vertical’s highest-grossing year.

“While on pace to set an annual revenue record, we are cognisant of the continued impacts of inflation and labour challenges as well as marketplace concerns of potential recession,” Miller added.

“Our members have proven their agility and resilience over the last two years and are well-positioned to face these potential headwinds heading into the second half.”

The AGA’s commercial gaming revenue report for the second quarter comes off the back of the National Indian Gaming Commission’s announcement that tribal operators generated a record $39bn in gaming revenue for 2021. 

Miller concluded: “Tribal gaming demonstrated its responsible leadership throughout the pandemic and these record results reflect that commitment. The full recovery and ongoing success of tribal casinos goes well beyond the casino floor to support vibrant communities across the country.”

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Planned for rollout within 15 weeks of order, the Cashless Casino – powered by Acres’ Foundation technology – is said to help “set the stage” for the option of a cashless casino gaming floor “within a few years”.

Noah Acres of Acres Manufacturing Company noted: “Early deployments of Foundation cashless gaming have proven that cashless players increase their play and visitation. As a result, casino operators are increasingly expressing wide-scale interest in deploying cashless gaming technology.  

“However, implementing cashless gaming quickly becomes a burdensome, do-it-yourself project for operators, as they struggle through the limitations of decades-old legacy casino management systems technologies to integrate a payment processor and user interface while solving for dispute resolution and regulatory compliance.  

“These issues have dramatically slowed industry adaptation of cashless gaming. Cashless Casino addresses this challenge by making the rollout incredibly easy and intuitive, as it enables operators to focus on player education and the gaming entertainment experience.”

Additionally, Acres asserts that Cashless Casino can work on any slot machine or table game, including those connected to various casino management systems. 

These legacy CMS solutions continue to account for play and loyalty data, while Foundation processes the entire machine event stream in real-time.  

Looking to the future, casinos can transfer all CMS functionality to Foundation and remove the legacy CMS without any disruption to loyalty, reporting or analytics programs.

Furthermore, casinos can select one or more payment providers, including Everi, Fabicash, Flexia, Koin, Sightline Payments and Trustly. An interface to Marker Trax, a casino marker solution, is also included.  

Acres added: “Cashless Casino allows gaming operators to position themselves for an entirely cashless future in which casinos transition away from physical player cards, kiosks, and direct mail.  

“These legacy technologies and practices are quickly being abandoned by other industries and by implementing Cashless Casino, operators can engage with their customers more easily in the mediums they prefer while also benefiting from operating efficiencies.

“Driving higher loyalty engagement is the core value proposition of our Foundation technology. Incorporating innovative player loyalty features into Cashless Casino is a key differentiator in the player experience.  

“Cashless Casino enables casino operators to significantly improve their connection and engagement with their players.”

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Conducted by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, and less than two months after it was fined AU$80m for illegal use of China UnionPay cards, Victoria’s new gambling regulator has requested information from Crown on its Responsible Service of Gambling obligations. 

Fran Thorn, Chair at  VGCCC, stated: “Crown’s responsible gambling obligations are a condition of the casino licence, designed to protect vulnerable patrons and to prevent gambling related harm to patrons, their families and the community. There is no more important obligation.

“We heard many distressing stories at the Royal Commission of vulnerable patrons being encouraged to gamble beyond their means. The VGCCC will therefore be unflinching in its resolve to deal with the issues uncovered at the Royal Commission regarding Crown’s approach to responsible gambling, and to ensure the casino operator acts in line with its legal obligations and the community’s expectations.”

The disciplinary proceedings are also said, according to the VGCCC, to be a result of findings by the Royal Commission, which included “not adequately supervising or interacting with hundreds or possibly thousands of customers who exhibited signs of problem or risky gambling.”

This allegedly included a case of a female player who was allowed to gamble at the Crown Melbourne property for 96 hours straight. 

The VGCCC said it will consider the information provided by the Crown before determining the appropriate disciplinary action to take.

As alluded to above, the second round of disciplinary proceedings follow on from its first phase conducted earlier this year due to illegal transfer of funds from China. 

Said to have found that the group had devised the plot in a bid to evade Chinese currency restrictions, the royal commission report described the process as “the use of the Chinese-based bank card, China Union Pay, to allow international patrons to access funds in order to gamble at Crown Melbourne,” which occurred between 2012 and 2016.

Moreover, the investigation comes a mere few weeks after Blackstone had finalised its “largest transaction to date for the firm in Asia Pacific” after completing the long protracted A$8.9bn (US$6.3bn) Crown Resorts takeover.

The transaction includes the acquisition of three resorts and casino properties, including Melbourne, as well as Perth and Sydney.

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The council, which will include Jason Koon, Andrew Lictenberge, Fedor Holz, Seth Davies and Nick Petrangelo, will independently investigate allegations of cheating, conduct fair reviews and enforce sanctions for suspicious behaviour flagged at GGPoker tables. 

“I joined GGPoker with an important objective in mind; to help the GGPoker team make their poker games more secure and fair than ever,” said Koon. “It’s an honour to launch the Poker Integrity Council and take another massive step in ensuring online poker is safe for all players. 

“Our long list of allies also means that the wider community will be better protected via the industry-wide blacklist; we’re sending a united message that there’s no place in this game for cheaters.”

In each case brought before the council, the process stages will include detecting suspicious behaviour, reviewing relevant hand histories and ruling, which will see council members vote on whether or not disciplinary action is required.

Should disciplinary action be warranted, this can include the player being warned about their behaviour, their account being suspended or permanently banned by GGPoker, and a permanent ban combined with confiscation of funds.

Furthermore, the council has the power to add players to an industry blacklist, in the most serious cases, after GGPoker’s PIC formed an alliance with live poker tours and venues, such as the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, Triton Poker, Poker After Dark, Kings Casino, and the Asian Poker Tour.

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Publishing its operating results for Q4 as well as the full year ending December 31, 2021, the igaming equipment developer revealed that revenue across the former exceeded the level reached in Q3 2021 by approximately four per cent.

The company stated the increase was supported by over 20 per cent growth in EGM equipment sales, domestic revenue business, record table performance, and international EGM gaming operations revenue recovery. 

“If 2020 was the year of resiliency within our business, 2021 was the year of transition,” AGS’ President and Chief Executive Officer, David Lopez, commented.

“Supported by the foundational changes put into place over the preceding 18 months and an accommodative macroeconomic backdrop, we were able to establish operating momentum within all three business verticals as we progressed throughout the year, a trend that continued into the fourth quarter.”

Alongside the above, the company also reported an increase in gaming operations to $52.9m, compared to $40m and $51.6m in Q4, 2020 and Q4, 2019, respectively.

Furthermore AGS revealed that its fourth quarter net loss of $9.1m improved in contrast to the $17.2m net loss incurred in Q4, 2020. The firm cited that the year-over-year decline in the reported net loss reflects its “improved financial performance and lower depreciation and amortisation expense”.

Total adjusted EBITDA was $32.3m compared to $21.3m in Q4 2020 and $37.3m in Q4 2019. Interactive and table products adjusted EBITDA increased sharply relative to the levels achieved two years ago, supported by the successful execution of our strategic revenue growth initiatives within each of the segments, says AGS.

The company also stated that, due to an increased mix of higher-yielding premium games, more consistent core game content execution, and a stable gaming macroeconomic backdrop was a factor in its domestic EGM gaming operations growing to $43.4m, compared to $34.1m and $41.6m in Q4 2020 and 2019. 

Moreover, quarterly domestic EGM recurring revenue exceeded corresponding 2019 levels for the third consecutive quarter. International EGM gaming operations revenue totaled $3.9m compared to $1.8m in Q4 2020 and $6m in Q4 2019. 

Lopez continued: “With our improved 2021 financial results behind us, our attention has shifted to ensuring we are best positioned to achieve even greater success in 2022. To that end, I would characterise 2022 as a year of acceleration for AGS; one in which we will look to further leverage the continuous improvement in our people, products and processes to strengthen our financial performance.”

Gaming operations for its table products also grew to a record $3.1m, citing sustained customer demand for AGS’ table game progressive products. In addition, recurring revenue increased approximately five per cent over the previous record of $3m set in Q3 2021.

Kimo Akiona, AGS’ Chief Financial Officer, added: “I am pleased with the degree to which we were able to improve the quality and flexibility of our balance sheet throughout 2021. 

“Looking ahead to 2022, I believe the operational momentum we continue to see within the business, the approximately $10m of annualised cash interest expense savings we expect to realise as a result of our recent refinancing transaction, and our organisational commitment to maximising free cash flow position us to deliver upon our year end net leverage target of less than x4.”

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The partnership between the two companies will see Everi launch its catalogue of gaming products for Delaware players to access, along with the launch of three properties scheduled for the end of 2021. 

Dean Ehrlich, executive vice president of Everi, explained: “This is an important opportunity to work with the Delaware Lottery to grow our installed base and generate excitement with our high-performing products in a new market.

“We are excited to bring patrons of Delaware casinos the elevated experience Everi is known for, with our engaging gaming content and cabinets.”

Additionally, the partnership will see the company install nearly 500 units across Casino at Delaware Park, Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, and Harrington Raceway & Casino by early 2022. 

Everi will deploy almost every cabinet in its portfolio, including the Empire MPX, Empire Flex, Empire DCX, Empire Arena, Flex Fusion, Player Classic, Player Classic Skyline, and Skyline Revolve platforms.

Releasing 68 total themes in the state, each of the three properties will receive the The Vault game theme with its 360-degree LED sign as a showcase bank for the company’s Empire Arena platform. 

Other titles that will launch in Delaware include: Cashnado on Flex Fusion, as well as Double Black Diamond, Crystal Star, and Cash Machine on Player Classic.

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