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Gaming in Holland News
Read the latest in Dutch and international gaming news.
Fire Destroys Holland Casino Groningen
Early Sunday morning, a devastating fire completely destroyed the Holland Casino branch in the Dutch city of Groningen.
“It is a black day for Holland Casino Groningen,” a company spokesperson said. “Fortunately, there were no casualties and all alarm systems worked as intended. Thanks to the quick response of the emergency services, more destruction was prevented.”
As of yet, it is unclear how much cash money, if any, was destroyed in the fire.
The casino operator has already announced it will be looking for a new location in the city. In the mean time, some of the staff that is employed in Groningen will be transferred to the nearest Holland Casino branch in Leeuwarden.
The Groningen branch of Holland Casino, which opened in 1988, has had an eventful history.
Bookmakers Win Big on Mayweather-McGregor Fight
Bookmakers won big in the early hours of Sunday morning as Floyd Mayweather outclassed Conor McGregor, despite around 80% of punters backing the Irishman to pull off the upset.
A Kindred Group spokesperson stated the fight entered the firm’s top 10 highest ever events in terms of turnover.
Paddy Power’s Lee Price said: “It was the biggest betting event of the year.”
Betway’s Head of PR Alan Alger commented on the event: “The bet count throughout Saturday was similar to if a major football final was taking place that evening.”
“Some of the early rounds for McGregor had liabilities that would have produced a record loss on any market we’ve ever offered. Thankfully, in the end, we couldn’t have picked a better outcome. It was one of the busiest and most profitable events in the history of the company.”
Regulatory Uncertainty Could Drive Further UK Gambling Industry Consolidation
British gambling groups could be preparing for a fresh round of consolidation as the industry braces itself for further regulatory crackdowns from UK authorities, The Financial Times observed in response to the failed merger talks between GVC Holdings and Ladbrokes Coral.
Online gambling group GVC Holdings approached Ladbrokes Coral in recent weeks with a takeover offer worth as much as £3.6bn to create one of the world’s largest betting companies. However, the UK government’s prospective review of FOBT wagering, made it hard for GVC to make a straight-up offer for Ladbrokes Coral.
Upcoming Events
The following upcoming events may be of interest to members of the GiH community.
- On 12 September, the World Regulatory Briefing London 2017 will take place at the OXO2 conference center. WrB London 2017 will focus on responsible gambling politics, technology, and commercial strategy. The event’s latest agenda is available here. UK Gambling Commission Executive Director Tim Miller previews his appearance at WrB Responsible Gambling Innovation here.
- SBC Events’ Betting on Sports Conference is set to take place on 12-15 September at the Olympia Conference Center in London. The conference will feature an impressive 165 speakers across 44 sessions and focuses on everything related to sports and betting, including leadership, legislation, marketing, innovation, and “super affiliates.” Members of the GiH community are offered a 25% discount if they use the promotional code GIH25 when registering.
- Eurocoin Gaming is organizing two invitation-only open days on 14 and 15 September at its headquarters in Waalwijk, the Netherlands.
- On 24 November, Malta’s largest iGaming conference SIGMA’17 will feature a session on regulatory developments in the Netherlands, moderated by GiH founder Willem van Oort. Conference registration is open. Gaming in Holland and Leaseweb invite SIGMA’17 attendees to join us for drinks – including Dutch beers – on Thursday, 23 November 2017, starting at 7:30 pm. Places are limited, so please reserve your place today by registering here.
- Registration for the 2017 Excellence in Gaming conference, which will be taking place 30 October-1 November 2017 in Berlin, is now open.
Mounting Concerns over UK Problem Gambling Rates
Last week, the UK Gambling Commission published the comprehensive survey Gambling Behaviour in Great Britain 2015.
Notwithstanding some alarmist messages in the UK media, problem and at-risk gambling rates had remained essentially flat (p. 52):
“Looking at problem and at-risk gambling, rates were similar to those published in 2012. In 2015, approximately 0.8% of adults in Great Britain were estimated to be problem gamblers (according to either screen) and a further 3.9% were either low or moderate risk gamblers according to the PGSI. Taken together, this means that one in twenty adults (5%) experienced some difficulty with gambling in the past year; the same as observed in 2012.”
Nonetheless, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has said that the industry must do more to tackle issues related to problem gambling. “Whilst overall problem gambling rates in Britain have remained statistically stable, our research suggests that in excess of two million people are at-risk or classed as problem gamblers, with very many more impacted by the wider consequences of gambling-related harm,” Tim Miller, executive director of the UKGC stated.
In response, Labour MP Carolyn Harris has been calling for maximum stakes for online gambling: “Non-problem gamblers wager £14 when they bet, whereas problem gamblers bet an average of £98. On this basis, a huge proportion of revenue is derived from problem gambling. This is unsustainable, so the government must look at the maximum stakes online once they finally reduce the maximum stake to £2 on FOBTs in October.”
Other News
“The Netherlands Gaming Authority has never tolerated illegal online gambling,” the regulator’s CEO Marja Appelman emphatically stressed in a recent interview.
Peter-Paul de Goeij, MD of recent licensee Lottovate, discusses his company’s experiences with the Netherlands Gaming Authority, as well as the planned roll-out of a new lottery product in the Netherlands.
Sportech, holder of the sole Dutch tote betting license, reported year-on-year growth across a number of key financials for the six months to June 30.
Four Dutch players who were suspected of being involved with match-fixing have been cleared by the Finnish football association.
Lead generation company Catena Media, which recently ran afoul of the Dutch gaming regulator, has been approved for listing on Nasdaq Stockholm.
Holland Casino is looking to hire a Senior Communications Advisor.
Austria’s government has proposed allowing internet service providers to block the domains of websites deemed to be breaking local laws, a category that could include internationally licensed online gambling sites.
Worldwide gambling software services supplier Playtech has announced a higher-than-expected 25% rise in its year-on-year profits for the first six months of 2017. An earnings call transcript with Playtech CEO Mor Weizer is available here.
Cherry AB has reported a 241% jump in online revenues in Q2 to SEK437m, thanks largely to the acquisition of operator ComeOn in 2016.
Bet365 has acquired the bankrupt data technology firm Bash Technologies.
Mobile-first operator LeoVegas has entered into a partnership with the German Handball Bundesliga top-tier club competition.
Betway will sponsor the ESL Pro League, which the longest running in professional CS:GO, for another season.
Following Season 1 and a successful launch in China, the Global Poker League, a team-based poker competition, now sets its sights on India.
Gaming
PG Soft hatches Rio-inspired Chicky Run
PG Soft, a world-class digital mobile games company, has hatched its Rio-inspired title Chicky Run.
Set on the streets of Rio de Janeiro with the Christ the Redeemer statue looming on the horizon, Chicky Run promises players a unique gaming experience. As the game loads, players place their bet for the chick to charge down the street to avoid being squashed by cars. Each time the chick successfully dodges a car it will be joined by another furry friend until the multiplier reaches its maximum. The size of the multiplier depends on the number of successful rounds in a row.
Before running through Rio, players must choose to begin on the left hand side or the right hand side, there is also the choice to use the Random button. This is repeated for each new chick dash. After avoiding a car there is also the option to press the collect button and cash out with your returns rather than run the risk of being hit.
Players can also enjoy Chicky Run with the Extra Coins Chance feature activated. Here any winning round has a chance of awarding between one and three coins worth half of the bet amount (before the increased 50% cost).
The graphic directly below the multiplier metre indicates the directions where no vehicles appeared over the previous 10 rounds.
PG Soft’s spokesperson commented: “Chicky Run is pure joy to play, and where better place to run for riches than the fabulous Rio de Janeiro. Our designers and product team have done a wonderful job and now we finally know why the chicken crossed the road!”
Compliance Updates
ThrillTech Acquires B2B Licences in Romania, Sweden, and Malta
ThrillTech, the disruptive B2B company specialising in providing versatile jackpot and drop technology for operators, platform providers and game studios, has reached a significant milestone by acquiring B2B licences for operations in Sweden, Romania, and Malta.
ThrillTech’s appeal has rapidly achieved success with its “jackpots across everything” solution putting the operator in charge, with versatile implementations possible across all product verticals and trackable events, such as jackpots on deposits, withdrawals and many more. These increase revenue, engagement and retention opportunities for operators via enhanced player appeal.
Offering control and flexibility, via the new licenses, ThrillTech’s solution continues to gain pace and is now available to new and existing customers within a growing number of regulated markets.
Peter Mareš, CTO, expressed his enthusiasm about this achievement, stating, “We’ve been fortunate that our customers realise the value of the products we offer, which has translated into significant interest. The expansion of the markets we can now service marks an important milestone for our young company. We’re excited to offer our monetization and engagement technology to operators within these new jurisdictions.”
ThrillTech is committed to continuing to be the leading independent provider of jackpot and drop technology for operators worldwide. Mareš added, “We are continuously developing key features and improvements to enhance our clients’ positions and support their growth. We continuously focus on performance and scalability which lies at the heart of our value proposition, positioning us to actively shape the upcoming phase of the iGaming industry.”
As part of its global corporate strategy, ThrillTech plans to expand into additional jurisdictions and focus on product portfolio diversification.
Interviews
A mix of skill and chance: Bitblox on the potential for crypto prediction games
The rise of cryptocurrency over the last few years has been inescapable. From the launch of new tokens to Bitcoin reaching record highs, the world of crypto is slowly becoming much more popular – and the iGaming space has been no exception to its influence.
Making its debut earlier this year, Bitblox has already made its mark on the iGaming industry with a new vertical: crypto prediction games. With games such as Up or Down, Up or Down Turbo and BitSlap making up its portfolio, Bitblox prides itself on blending games of skill with games of chance, thereby offering something completely new for players.
Brandt Page, Chief Executive Officer of Bitblox, walks us through the company’s journey so far and how crypto prediction games can help operators to tap into the elusive Millennial and Gen Z player bases.
Can you start by giving us a very quick elevator pitch – who is Bitblox, and how are you bringing something new to the industry?
Bitblox is really bringing something new to the market that players haven’t seen before. We don’t build slots, or crash games. We are creating games that are a genuine combination of games of skill, and games of chance. Our first games are centred around players making a prediction on the price of Bitcoin – one game runs in 60 second intervals, while the other is much quicker at 20 seconds.
What we have done is really quite bold for the industry. If you walk around the expo floor of any conference now, you’ll see so many different slot titles or crash games. It’s the same in casino lobbies online too. These types of games are fantastic, but our mission was to create something unique for the players.
We also wanted to find a way that would allow us to introduce the iGaming industry to cryptocurrency in a way that is easy to understand. After some internal discussions, and chats with people at industry events, we settled on the idea of cryptocurrency prediction games – they are straightforward, engaging and can act as a platform to introduce players to the world of crypto without overwhelming them.
You describe yourself as offering a blend between games of skill and games of chance. Can you tell us what you mean by that?
You could look at this from two different angles. Firstly, if you are making a prediction on the price of Bitcoin over a set time period, theoretically speaking, you could actually build a model to look at fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin over the last six months or year. If you were smart enough, you could then build a model that might allow you to extrapolate some of that data and offer some sort of prediction on what might happen in the future, based on particular market conditions.
There will be players that try to do this, especially those that are really interested in the trading element. Our odds provider uses an on-chain probability protocol that helps power the odds for our fixed odds games.
On the pools side of things, the probability protocol also ensures that every pool has sufficient funds to pay out winnings.
The other angle that you could look at this blend is that if you look at some of our future games, such as BitSlap, players are still making a prediction on the Bitcoin price, but others may be more interested in which character will win the slap fighting bout.
In that case, we’ve almost flipped the Bitcoin price to become a random number generator in itself. Players are cheering on a fighter, and becoming invested in an individual character, rather than simply just looking at the fluctuations in price.
You can almost think of our games as the perfect mix between trading and gambling. The reality is, we wanted to create an enjoyable experience for players that delivers something new and unique; players have the opportunity to win, unlike in other verticals where the RTP is unbeatable over time.
How will this blend of games of skill and games of chance enable Bitblox, and its operator partners, to engage with both sports bettors and casino players? Does UX play a role here, or is it more about the game itself?
I think it’s hard to say just yet because we are still in the early stages of launching. But based on the discussions we’ve been having at industry events, our games offer operators a way to reach, and engage with, a younger audience that tends to be much more technological and crypto savvy. This is a generation of bettors who are more likely to be comfortable using a Web3 wallet and trading different cryptocurrencies.
If operators can tap into that player base, they can then start to cross-sell much more traditional content – whether that’s sports betting or casino. Engaging with this audience has been notoriously difficult; this is a topic that has dominated industry discussions for years now, and we believe that it is content such as ours that can help bridge that gap.
On the flip side, you then have the more traditional bettors who haven’t had much exposure to the crypto world. We are bringing crypto to players in a way that is easy to understand and engage with. This can then open the doors to introduce those more ‘traditional’ players to newer content that they may have not tried before.
From the conversations that we’ve been having with operators that we’re working with, a clear pattern that we’ve seen is that games such as ours seem to be getting a lot of traction in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Of course, we are aiming for our games to be popular right across the world.
We’ve seen a growth in popularity for crash games, for slots, and now is the time for crypto prediction games. Players like to feel like they are in control of the outcome – by adding cash out features, we are giving players that sense of control that they might not get with other types of games. But I’m very excited to see how our games are received in different markets around the world.
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