Casino & games – Page 3

June 24, 2024

Christopher Hebert appointed new Louisiana gaming chief

On Monday (24 June) Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry appointed Christopher Hebert as the state's new gaming chief. Former head regulator Ronnie Johns announced his retirement earlier this year and 30 June will be his last day.

Hebert was a director handling gaming in the attorney-general’s office. In that role, he worked closely with Johns, who retires as one of the most influential figures in Louisiana gaming. Herbert is the first black man to be named chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), according to a press release from Landry’s office.

“Proper regulation of the gaming industry is crucial at a time in which gaming revenue continues to be a substantial part of our state’s economy,” Herbert said via press release. “I am both humbled and honored that Governor Landry has tapped me as the first African-American chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control board and I vow to continue the hard work of previous chairmen in ensuring that gaming is free from criminal and c..

June 24, 2024

Weekend Report: MGM hacker arrested, Colorado tribes still shut out

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB updates you with the stories you may have missed over the last few days.

Suspected MGM hacker arrested in Spain

In 2022, MGM confirmed that its loyalty programme had been hacked. On 14 June, the Spanish national police arrested a man they believe to be involved in the hack at Palma Airport. He was boarding a flight to Italy, reported Murcia Today.

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office issued the arrest warrant for the 22-year-old UK national, per CyberNews.

The group responsible for the cyberattack, Scattered Spider, allegedly hacked multiple major corporations. The man arrested is accused of hacking corporate accounts and allegedly controlled $27m worth of BitCoin. Caesars Entertainment was also hacked last autumn.

Colorado tribes still shut out of digital wagering

Nearly five years after Coloradans legalised digital sports betting and four-plus years after launch, the state’s tribes still aren’t live. Per the Colorado Sun, the state has ..

June 19, 2024

Pennsylvania igaming revenue jumps 24% in May

Growth within the igaming market drove gambling revenue in Pennsylvania up 8.7% year-on-year to $521.0m (£409.9m/€485.2m) in May, while the Keystone State also posted increases across sports betting and the land-based sector.

Igaming gross revenue came in at $174.1m in May, up 23.5% year-on-year.

Total revenue in May was comfortably higher than $479.4m in the same month last year. It also surpassed the $504.6m reported in Pennsylvania in April this year by 3.3%.

While the igaming segment saw the most growth, land-based slots remain the main source of gambling revenue in Pennsylvania. For May, revenue from physical slots hit $214.1m, a rise of 1.6%.

Mobile sports betting gross gaming revenue increased 10..5% annually to $59.1m on a handle of $557m, which marked an uptick of 21% on the previous year. Promotional spend across operators was up 6.3%.

In the land-based sector, table games revenue edged up 2.5% to $83.7m.

Deutsche Bank noted gross gaming revenue for both Caesars and ..

June 18, 2024

Massachusetts May handle up on last year as DraftKings maintains top spot

Player spending on sports betting in Massachusetts fell for the second consecutive month in May, although the Bay State was able to report a year-on-year rise in handle.

Overall betting handle for the month hit $587.3m (£462.7m/€547.6m), 32.4% higher than May last year, but 2.7% behind the $603.3m wagered in Massachusetts in April this year.

Online handle across the six sites active in the state accounted for 98% of all bets placed.

In terms of revenue, this amounted to $57.0m in taxable betting revenue for May. The monthly total is 4.0% lower than $59.4m last year. However, it is a 16.1% increase on the $49.1m posted in April this year.

Online betting accounted for $56.9m of all taxable revenue during May. In contrast, just $105,629 came from the retail betting sector.

Overall revenue hold across all operators hit 10% in May.

A Deutsche Bank analyst note on the month’s figures noted the calendar in May was favourable for betting and gaming, with nine weekend days in May of 2024..

June 17, 2024

Bet365 gaining NJ market share as May statewide betting handle rises 8%

Bet365 looks to be gaining market share in New Jersey sports betting as it reported $3.5m in gross revenue for May, according to the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement's monthly revenue figures.

The UK-headquartered operator reported year-to-date betting revenues of $16.6m for the month, coming in at fifth place behind BetMGM with $26.7m, PointsBet’s $88.3m, DraftKings’ $123.1m and FanDuel’s $211.4m.

FanDuel topped the list in May with $36.7m in gross betting revenue for the month, with DraftKings a close second at $22.1m and BetMGM trailling in third place with $5.6m, down 17.1% on last year’s total.

The regulator began publishing monthly numbers by each operator in January, after previously showing only the revenues raised by each master licence, which accounts for multiple operators.

Also of note was ESPNBet’s gross betting revenue of $2.6m and PointsBet’s losses of $201,201 during the month. The former recorded year-to-date revenues of $5.1m and the latter of $88.3m in ..

June 11, 2024

How senate redistricting could make Alabama more gambling friendly

A seemingly unrelated legal battle playing out in a federal courtroom could have an impact on the future of gambling in Alabama. The case, centred on the potential redrawing of state senate districts in Montgomery and Huntsville, may hold the key to whether the state legalises casinos, sports betting, or lottery in 2025.

The backdrop for this potential shift lies in the narrow defeat of gambling legislation in the Alabama senate in April. The bill fell short of passage by a single vote.

Proponents of the legislation, which included both Democrats and Republicans, argued that casinos would generate significant tax revenue for the state, create jobs and boost tourism. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama previously reported analysis that showed that gambling could lead to $749m in annual state revenue. Other reports put the total at as much as $1.2 bn.

On the other hand, opponents, primarily on moral grounds, expressed concerns about the potential social ills associated with..

May 30, 2024

Nevada gambling revenue declines again in April

Total gambling revenue in Nevada amounted to $1.24bn (£977.0m/€1.15bn) during April, an increase on last year but the second consecutive month of decline in the Silver State.

The monthly total was 6.9% ahead of $1.16bn in April last year but 3.9% less than $1.29bn in Nevada in March this year. March was also lower than February’s total, with February having been boosted by Nevada’s hosting of the NFL’s Super Bowl.

Once again, slots proved to be the primary source of revenue for operators, generating a total of $886.8m. This is 5.9% higher than in April last year. Multi-denomination slots drew the most revenue at $586.8m during the month, a rise of 26.4%.

High-stakes slots also saw more revenue, with increases across both $25 (up 137.6%) and $100 machines (up 14.5%). In contrast, revenue from all lower-stakes machines was down year-on-year.

Blackjack and baccarat drive growth

Looking elsewhere in Nevada, revenue from table, counter and card games – including sports betting – climb..

May 21, 2024

Michigan online gaming revenue drops 8.7% to $234.8m in April

Michigan sports betting and igaming operators reported $234.8m (£184.7m/€216.3m) in April revenue, down 8.7% on March’s total.

March’s revenue figure of $257.1m was the highest total in Michigan so far in 2024, although comparably April’s numbers fell short. Nonetheless, April’s revenue total still beat January and February, which produced $229.6m and $218.5m respectively.

Year-on-year, April revenue was 20% ahead of the same month last year, when Michigan’s sports betting and igaming operators reported revenues of $195.7m.

Igaming revenue down but sports betting stable in Michigan

Igaming revenue fell from $215.5m in March, Michigan’s strongest igaming month to date, to $192.9m in April.

Sports betting handle, meanwhile, also dropped significantly. Michigan’s online sports betting operators took $399.1m in bets in April, down from $480.4m in March. However, April sports betting revenue stayed stable at $41.9m.

In terms of monthly adjusted gross receipts (AGR), igaming and sports..

May 20, 2024

Weekend report: NY casino hurry-up bill, NCAA harassment report, new places to bet

IGB takes a look at what happened in gambling news over the weekend.

NY casino process: Let’s get a move on!

New York State Senator Joe Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow dropped a bill that would speed up the current NY casino timeline. Regulators earlier this year said they would award licences for three downstate casinos by 31 December 2025. The bill would require bids to be filed by 31 July and the New York State Gaming Commission to award licences by 31 March 2025. The bill outlines 17 areas applicants must address from capital expenditure to proposed partnerships to workforce training, demographic plan and “harmony”.

The New York Post reported that a shortened timeline could help out certain parties and hurt others. Addabbo’s district borders Aqueduct, which is the location for the Resorts World bid. Pretlow’s district is near the Yonkers race track.

On the flip side, Steve Cohen’s Citi Field NY casino proposal would benefit from a longer runway. That project needs legisl..

May 17, 2024

New Jersey gambling revenue up in April despite land-based decline

Gambling revenue in New Jersey hiked 10.4% year-on-year to $510.9m (£403.7m/€470.6m) in April with increases across the igaming and sports betting segments more than offsetting a decline in the land-based market.

Total revenue was comfortably higher than $462.7m in April last year. However, the figure fell 3.0% short of the $526.6m reported in New Jersey in March this year.

Beginning with land-based casino, this remains the primary source of gambling revenue in the Garden State. However, the $216.8m generated in April is 6.3% behind $231.5m last year.

Physical slot machine revenue declined by 6.4% to $158.8m while land-based table games revenue also fell 6.1% to $58.1m.

Further igaming success for New Jersey

Turning to the igaming sector, the situation is very different. Revenue from all igaming in April hit $187.9m, up 18.2% year-on-year. This means igaming was only $28.9m behind the long-established land-based segment in April.

Some $185.6m of all igaming revenue was attributed..

May 16, 2024

Massachusetts sports betting revenue down 16.6% in April

Sports wagering revenue in Massachusetts amounted to $49.1m (£38.7m/€45.1m) in April, down 16.6% year-on-year despite an increase in player spending.

Revenue was $9.8m lower than the $58.9m posted in the same month last year. Incidentally, April 2023 was the first full month of legal online sports betting in Massachusetts.

However, the April revenue total is 6.3% higher than $46.2m in March of this year.

As to where revenue came from, online betting generated $49.4m during April. Retail betting resulted in a $256,593 loss, pushing the overall revenue total down.

In terms of spending, players in Massachusetts wagered a total of $603.3m on sports. This is 4.1% higher than last year but 6.1% behind $642.3m in March.

Of this total, some $591.5m was spent wagering online, while the remaining $11.7m was bet at retail sportsbooks.

DraftKings’ handle tops $304.1m in April

Looking at individual operators, DraftKings continues to lead the way in Massachusetts by some distance. During Apr..

May 15, 2024

Detroit casino revenue dips to $109.4m in April

Commercial casinos in Detroit reported a year-on-year decline in revenue during April, while the three venues in the Michigan city also posted a month-on-month drop.

Total Detroit casino revenue for April amounted to $109.4m (£86.8m/€101.0m). This is only marginally lower than $109.7m in April 2023 but 11.7% less than $123.9m in March this year.

Of this total, $107.9m came from table games and slots, down 1.6% year-on-year. This was also 11.8% behind March’s total.

The other $1.6m of revenue was generated in qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) from sports betting. This is in contrast to a $14,489 loss in April 2023 and in line with the $1.6m posted in March.

MGM retains the lead in Detroit

Looking at each commercial casino in Detroit, MGM remains some way out in front in terms of total revenue. During April, MGM held a market share of 46.0%, compared to MotorCity on 30.0% and Hollywood Casino at Greektown with 24.0%.

MGM reported $49.9m in table games and slots revenue in A..

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Tag: Casino & games