Online casino – Page 4

September 16, 2024

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..

August 27, 2024

Yield Sec report: Illegal US gross gaming revenue continues to significantly outpace legal GGR

A new Yield Sec report shared exclusively with iGB shows that the US gambling market reached $39.9bn (£30bn/€35.7bn) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first half of 2024. The company said $29.1bn of that GGR came from illegal platforms between January and June 2024.
Yield Sec uses predictive analytics in its report. The report is for sports betting and online gambling only and reveals $10.8bn in GGR on legal platforms. According to the report, there were 892 illegal operators working in the US in the first half of 2024. In addition, 651 affiliates were promoting illegal platforms.

In 2023, Yield Sec predicted that the US market was $40.9bn in GGR for the year. It appears the 2024 numbers will easily eclipse that. Two new US states entered the live US market in 2024 – North Carolina and Vermont. No US jurisdictions legalised wagering in 2024. North Carolina is the ninth-biggest US state by population and the sixth-biggest legal betting state by population.

Through its first five ..

August 21, 2024

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 ..

August 21, 2024

ACMA orders blocking of more illegal affiliate websites in Australia

The Australia Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has asked internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to a further four illegal gambling sites.
Casino Australia Online, Pokies.bet, Pokiesman and Smart Pokies were all identified as targeting consumers illegally earlier today (21 August). The four affiliate sites promote illegal online gambling in Australia, in breach of the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act.

The Act bans products such as online casinos, online slots and in-play sports betting.

Websites may also face action for offering online gambling without an operating licence in Australia. ACMA can also block sites publishing adverts for prohibited or unlicensed gambling services.

Ongoing effort to combat illegal online gambling in Australia
ACMA began making blocking requests in November 2019. Since then it has blocked 1,026 illegal gambling and affiliate websites.

In addition to this, 220 services have exited Australia since ACMA began enforcing illegal offshore gam..

August 20, 2024

Stake.com continues regulated market push with Peru online gaming launch

Crypto gaming specialist Stake.com is expanding its regulated footprint, securing casino and sportsbook licences to launch in the Peru online gaming market.
The rollout of Stake.pe marks the operator’s second regulated LatAm market, after it acquired Betfair Colombia in November last year. This push is going global, as shown by this month’s acquisition of Idealbet, a licensed Italian operator.

“We are delighted to bring Stake to Peru, a country that has a lot of potential for digital growth, which has been evident in recent years,” said Stake’s general manager for Latin America Diana Otalora. “This shows our ambition to provide world-class entertainment to Peruvian customers and to expand our reach in LatAm.”

Boylesports and Inkabet veteran joins for Peru igaming market push
Jennyfer Escobar joins as country manager to lead Stake’s Peru online gaming push. She joins after a short stint at Boylesports, where she served as growth manager, and also spent over six years at Inkabet, acq..

August 19, 2024

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…

August 19, 2024

Portugal online gambling revenue hits record high in Q2, land-based declines

Online gambling revenue in Portugal reached €261.8m (£223.1m/$289.2m) in Q2, a record figure and the eighth consecutive quarter in which revenue has hit an all-time high. However a decline in table games revenue hit the country's land-based industry.
The Q2 total is marginally higher than the previous record of €260.8m, which was set in Q1 this year. Revenue for the three months to 30 June is also 27.2% higher than Q2 2023, according to Portugal regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ).

However while online gambling in Portugal is thriving, local operators are warning of a growing threat from the illegal market.

Online casinos still king in Portugal
Breaking down the quarterly performance, online casino games accounted for €158.5m of all revenue in Q2. This represents an increase of 29.9% from €122.0m in 2023 but a slight drop from €160.3m in Q1.

In terms of spending, players wagered a total of €4.37bn across online casino games during Q2. This is 34.7% higher ..

August 13, 2024

Flutter beats street and won’t tax winners in the US; DraftKings backs off plan

Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said on Tuesday (13 August) that his company has no plans to follow DraftKings' lead with a winners' surcharge. The company, the market-share leader in the US, reported second-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations and raised earnings guidance for FY2024.
DraftKings in early August announced that it will introduce a winners’ surcharge in four high-tax states beginning 1 January 2025. Industry watchers have since been waiting to see if other companies, and Flutter in particular, would follow suit.

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

Less than an hour after the Flutter call ended, DraftKings released an announcement saying it would not move forward with the idea.

DraftKings Statement on Gaming Tax Surcharge pic.twitter.com/cucbsQJIVD
— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) August 13, 2024

Other companie..

August 9, 2024

Online slots growth pushes Lithuania gambling revenue to €116m in H1

Gambling revenue in Lithuania increased 12.6% year-on-year to €116.0m (£99.3m/$126.7m) in H1 with a strong online performance mitigating a decline in land-based revenue.
Figures from the Lithuania Gaming Control Authority show H1 revenue was clear of the €108.5m reported in the same period last year.

Starting with the online market, revenue for the channel climbed 12.5% year-on-year to €72.2m. Player spending increased by 8.7% to €1.05bn, winning $973.1m in the process.

Slots reign supreme in Lithuania online gambling market
Category A online slots – games with unlimited winnings – were undoubtedly the star of the show in H1. These slots generated €53.5m in revenue, more than any other segment across both the online and land-based market in Lithuania. Player spending on these machines also hit a market-high of €627.7m, up 6.2%.

For Category B online slots, with maximum stakes of LTL1 (€0.3) and wins limited to 200 times customer bets, revenue was flat at €1.8m in H1. In addition, o..

August 3, 2024

After rolling out proposed winners’ tax, DraftKings projects $1bn in 2025 profits, fails to meet estimates

DraftKings founder Jason Robins has so much confidence in his company's product, that he is willing to risk driving customers away by charging them for winning in some states. During the company's second-quarter earnings call on Friday (2 August) he doubled down on that belief.
On Thursday (1 August) DraftKings announced that, beginning 1 January 2025, it will charge a surcharge on winnings on customers in high-tax (more than 20%) legal gaming states. A day later, the company announced that it expects between $900m-$1bn (£781m/€917m) in EBITDA in fiscal year 2025, which began 1 July.

The new fee, Robins explained in the call, is a sort of insurance, which he calls a “nominal” fee to bettors.

“It makes a huge difference to our ability to make a reasonable margin,” he told investors on Friday. “And more importantly [it will help us] to compete with the illegal market that pays no taxes and can invest 100% of revenue into their products.”

Robins banking on consumers to “ulti..

August 1, 2024

UKGC data: Record quarter for online gambling activity in Britain

Great Britain’s online gross gambling yield (GGY) increased by 12% year-on-year to £1.46bn (€1.73bn/$1.87bn) in Q2, with the total number of bets and spins reaching a record high for the second consecutive quarter.
Players in Britain placed 24.5 billion bets and spins in Q2 (April to June), representing an increase of 11% on last year and a new quarterly record since the UKGC began publishing player data in 2019.

Breaking down the UKGC data, online slots were the primary source of GGY at £642m, noting a rise of 10% from last year. May proved the busiest month for online slots gaming with GGY hitting £217.9m.

Consumers placed a total of 22.4 billion spins during the quarter, which is up 12% on last year. However, slot session length was marginally shorter at 17 minutes, compared to just under 18 minutes in the previous year.

As for how many people were playing online slots, total active players in this segment hit 13.3 million for the period. This represents a year-on-year increase..

July 29, 2024

Investment year paying off for BetMGM as H1 NGR hits $1bn

With revenue reaching $1bn in the first half of 2024, BetMGM expects growth to accelerate in H2, underpinned by Angstrom’s product capabilities and leveraging its omnichannel opportunities through MGM Resorts.
In a trading update published today (29 July), BetMGM chief executive Adam Greenblatt described 2024 as an investment year, focused on improving customer acquisition and enhancing player experiences.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, iconic quarterback Tom Brady and Hollywood star Vince Vaughn starred in BetMGM’s Super Bowl commercial
Net gaming revenue (NGR) for the six months to 30 June grew 6% year-on-year. Despite no new state launches revenue grew 9% year-on-year in Q2, following a slower first quarter.

This showed the strategy of investing in players gain momentum, Greenblatt said, with BetMGM exceeding its acquisition and retention targets for the six-month period. This was helped by a successful Super Bowl campaign featuring Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky and Vince Vaughn and a ..

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Tag: Online casino