Tag: Casino & games

Weekend Report: Caesars launches retail betting in Maine; talk of Newfoundland casino

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we cover Caesars launching in-person betting in Maine, reports of a new casino in Newfoundland and the start of SkyCity’s temporary closure in Auckland.
Caesars first to launch retail sports betting in Maine
First off, Caesars has become the first to operator to roll out retail sports betting in the state of Maine. The Portland-based Oddfellahs sportsbook officially opened on 13 September and is operating in partnership with First Tracks Investments.

Portland mayor Mark Dion placed the first ceremonial first bet at the site, which features self-service betting kiosks and a ticket window on-site. Cash deposits and withdrawals for Caesars Sportsbook mobile accounts is also available.

Online sports wagering with Caesars has been available in Maine since November of 2023.

Local mayor proposes new casino in Newfoundland
North of the border, reports of a poten..

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GSGB H1: UK gambling participation flat as nearly a third of customers play non-lottery verticals

The UK Gambling Commission today published its latest iteration of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), looking at gambling participation across the UK between 15 January and 28 April. Participation remained flat on 2023, as majority of participants gambled to win “big money”.
The data follows the annual GSGB survey published for the first time in July and looks at how much UK adults are gambling.

Participation for the actual survey sample increased 8% as the sample size grew from 4,801 in the GC’s equivalent report last year (January to April), to 5,191 this year.

Gambling participation remains flat across the board
Overall gambling participation between January and April was the same as last year at 48% across the entire sample. This dropped to 27% when excluding lottery.

When taking a deeper look at online gambling rates, 16% of participants had gambled via desktop or mobile apps in the last four weeks (excluding lottery). Broken down by sex, slightly more men (20%) p..

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Betano leading in Brazil with 23% of grey betting market share ahead of Bet365

Betano is currently leading the way in Brazil with a 23% share of the grey wagering market, a new white paper from OpenBet has indicated using research from global industry data consultancy H2 Gambling Capital.
Offering exclusive data analytics and projections from H2GC, the OpenBet report revealed Betano 23%of the Brazil betting market, with Bet365 following closely behind with a 20% share.

However, the report also outlined that with the legal market set to launch on 1 January 2025, the Brazilian industry will be increasingly competitive as local brands as well as a raft of international brands seek to get their share of an onshore market that H2GC predicts could reach $10.1bn (£7.7bn/€9.2bn) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) by 2029.

That would represent growth of nearly double, with H2GC estimating Brazil’s legalonline sports betting and igaming market will be worth around $5.6bn in 2025 GGR.Around $3bn of that will come from online sports betting, with igaming responsible for $2.6bn…

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Survey estimates 10% of Brazil population has suffered gambling-related financial issues

A survey by market research specialist Hibou has revealed 10% of the population in Brazil has endured financial problems from gambling ahead of regulation coming into force.
The survey, which included 2,839 respondents in Brazil from all social classes, studied the prevalence of gambling in the population.

The study found 68% of Brazilians gamble, with around 16% of respondents stating they had suffered from financial issues due to their gambling.

Is pre-regulation gambling causing social issues?
That equates to around 10% of the Brazilian population. While this may cause concern it is important to note it covers a period before the legal online market launches. The first legal bets will be placed on 1 January 2025, with 113 operators applying for a licence during the initial 90-day window of preference.

Of those who had endured financial problems from gambling, 32% stated they had sold assets to make up for their losses. Additionally, 29% borrowed from friends or family, while 25% ..

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Weekend Report: Addabbo sounds off about NYC casino process, DraftKings stymied in court, Aristocrat’s new UK deal

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at an FBI arrest in DC, as well as a California bill that would allow tribes to sue cardrooms.
Frustration continues over NYC casino bid process
New York Senator Joe Addabbo continues to push for and vent his frustration about the status of three downstate NYC casino licences. Per Action Network, Addabbo was vocal during the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga, NY earlier this month.

“Why not codify the timelines? Why not give definitive answers to why we’re not doing this on a timely basis when we did three licences upstate in a fraction of time?” Addabbo asked during a conference panel. “Because we’ll have this same panel here five years from now.”

At issue is the timing of awarding three casino licences. Eleven entities are bidding for the licences, which are currently scheduled to be awarded in the middle of 2025. Casinos would be able to op..

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Priority window closes for Brazil licence applications as 113 apply in total

The window for prioritised licence applications in Brazil has now shut with 113 operators submitting requests ahead of the deadline and excitement is building ahead of the market going live.
By applying before the 20 August deadline passed, the 113 operators have ensured their licence applications will be processed by 1 January 2025, the forecast launch date of the legal market in Brazil.

The 90-day initial window of preference opened in May. For a while, it appeared the number of applications would fall well short of industry expectations with just Kaizen Gaming-owned Betano applying by the end of June.

However, the publication of the remaining ordinances sparked an acceleration of requests, with 108 of the 113 applications coming after the final ordinance on sanctions was announced on 31 July. Notably, the much-awaited Normative Ordinance No 1,207 on online games clarifying which games would be allowed was one of the last to be published.

The total number of applications fell shor..

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Sports betting and igaming continue to offset Pennsylvania retail decline in July

Pennsylvania posted further year-on-year declines in land-based gambling revenue in July, although the state saw total market revenue increase on the back of ongoing growth across igaming and sports betting.
Revenue from gambling in Pennsylvania in July hit $500.8m (£384.2m/€450.2m), according to the state’s Gaming Control Board. This is 7.2% higher than last year and also 6.1% more than $472.0m in June this year.

Despite revenue from retail slots declining 4.8% year-on-year to $204.3m, this remains the biggest source of gambling revenue in Pennsylvania. Land-based table revenue also fell 4.8% to $79.4m but still ranked third in terms of total revenue generated.

Igaming revenue tops $174.3m in July
Turning to online gambling, there is seemingly no stopping growth within the igaming sector in Pennsylvania. For July, total revenue from igaming was $174.3m, a rise of 31.2% from last year.

Of this total, $125.4m came from online slots, up 32.2%. Internet table games revenue was also up ..

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Michigan online gambling, sports betting AGR up YoY and month over month

Michigan's online gambling industry continues to grow, as July igaming and digital sports betting adjusted gross receipts (AGR) grew a combined 3.2% over June.
In addition, compared to July 2023, online gambling AGR was up 24.7% and sports betting was up 5.2%, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), which released results on Tuesday (20 August).

But the big news was wagering hold. Digital sports betting operators recorded an 11.3% win rate in July, the fourth consecutive month of double-digit hold, according to the Sports Handle revenue database. That’s the second-highest hold since digital operators went live in January 2021.

The operators’ most successful month for hold was September 2022 – the second football season during which digital betting was live. That month, operators kept 13.15% of handle.

Overall, Michigan online gambling commercial and tribal operators reported a combined $220.9m (£169.4m/€198.4m) in gross receipts. Michigan has three land-based ..

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Colombia government credits online gambling for supporting GDP growth in Q2

Colombia’s igaming market revenue reached COP10bn (£1.9bn/€2.2bn/$2.5bn) in Q2, with the sector credited as a key component of the nation’s economic growth over the quarter.
National gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1% over Q2 and the country’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) pointed to Colombian online gambling as one of the activities that most helped that growth.

DANE director Piedad Urdinola highlighted the impact of recent sporting activities in particular as driving a rise in online betting. In this summer’s Copa América tournament the Colombia national team reached the final.

Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos, revealed that sports betting was indeed the largest contributor to the online betting sector, accounting for 47% of total gross gaming revenue (GGR) nationally.

Localised games such as bingo and casino were second with 33% of GGR, while lottery games AstroSport and Baloto generated 13% and 7% respect..

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New Jersey: Sports betting and igaming growth offset land-based decline in July

Year-on-year growth across sports wagering and igaming in New Jersey offset a 6.1% decline in revenue from the Garden State’s land-based market during July.
Total market revenue in July amounted to $547.8m (£423.4m/€496.7m) according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement figures. This is 8.2% more than $506.2m in New Jersey last year and also 11.6% more than June this year.

Despite the year-on-year decline, land-based gambling remains the main source of revenue. In July, land-based revenue topped $272.3m, down from $290.0m last year. Of this, $207.3m came from slots, a drop of 4.8%, while table games revenue also fell 10.0% to $65.0m.

How far is igaming from overtaking land-based in New Jersey?
The decline in land-based revenue begs the question: could it be surpassed by igaming? For July, igaming revenue hit $195.4m, a 25.9% increase from the same month last year.

Of all igaming revenue, $192.8m was attributed to slots and table games, an increase of 26.4%. The remaining $2…

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Weekend Report: FBI takes action in DC and the “Drake Curse” strikes again

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at an FBI arrest in DC, as well as a California bill that would allow tribes to sue cardrooms.
FBI takes DC Councilman Trayon White into custody
DC Councilman Trayon White was arrested by the FBI on Sunday (18 August) afternoon, according to the City Paper. White will be charged on Monday (19 August), although what the charges are have not yet been disclosed.

In 2019, the DC Council approved legal sports betting and gave lottery operator Intralot the sole-source contract. White was absent on the day of the 2019 vote. He voted to approve the FY2025 budget that opened the market earlier this year.

Bill that would allow tribes to sue CA cardrooms moves
A bill that would allow California’s tribes to directly sue cardrooms moved forward late last week. The assembly’s appropriations committee voted, 14-0, to send the bill to the floor for a full vote. It’..

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State of the Union: DraftKings’ missteps, Missouri ballot measure

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.
DraftKings has “no excuse” to consider surcharge “cash grab”
Less than an hour after Flutter’s second-quarter earnings call ended on Tuesday, DraftKings announced that, after hearing customer feedback, it will back off plans to impose a winners’ surcharge. The company announced the idea in early August, only to get swift and negative feedback.

Wall Street reacted positively on Wednesday. DraftKings’ shares were up as high as $33.50 per share before they settled at $32.06, up nearly 2%. While Rush Street Interactive and Penn Entertainment previously said they would not follow DraftKings’ lead, the company was clearly waiting to see how FanDuel would react.

“We have no plans to introduce a surcharge to winners,” CEO Peter Jackson said during the Q&A portion of the call. He then declined to entertain the issue..

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