Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – March 15-21

Published

7 months ago

March 24, 2021

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, new partnerships and compliance updates. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Konami Gaming’s DIMENSION 49J video slot cabinet and All Aboard video slot series have got nominated in three separate categories in the Annual EKG Slot Awards by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. DIMENSION 49J has been nominated for Top Performing NEW Cabinet, while All Aboard has been nominated for Top Performing NEW Premium Game and Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game.

Caesars Entertainment has announced a $32.5 million expansion to its Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. Construction is set to start on April 1 and the project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The expansion is expected to create more than 100 new casino jobs. Currently, Indiana Grand has about 100,000 square feet of gaming space. The 25,000-square-foot expansion will provide space for 100 new slot machines and 25 additional gaming tables.

NASCAR partner WynnBET, the digital gaming division of Wynn Resorts, has launched the WynnBET mobile app in the Commonwealth of Virginia in conjunction with being awarded an online sports betting permit in the state. With the recent announcement from the Virginia Lottery, WynnBET is now a legal gaming operator in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the WynnBET mobile app has been launched for sports betting enthusiasts to register and use throughout the state. Players who are 21 years of age or older can now download the app on Apple or Android devices with a $500 risk-free bet.

Inspired Entertainment has generated total revenue of $71.7m and adjusted EBITDA of $34.9m in the fourth quarter of 2020. These results include a payment from a UK LBO customer related to the company’s contractual revenue share of their value-added tax rebate, which positively impacted revenue by $32.5m and adjusted EBITDA by $31.7 million (in conjunction with third party fees).

Gross gambling revenues at MGM Springfield rose in February to $16.89 million, up from $14.5 million in January. But gross gambling revenue at the downtown casino still lags pre-pandemic figures in a pattern that holds true elsewhere and reflects the hospitality industry’s continued efforts to rebound from COVID-19 and the shutdowns necessary to prevent its spread.

Partnerships

Sportsbet.io has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with Copa do Brasil. The agreement involves collaboration between the two brands, visibility on signs (LEDs and static), panels and rugs on the lawn, in addition to the traditional backdrops and materials in digital media. According to Justin Le Brocque, Head of Marketing at Sportsbet.io, this association with the national tournament is more of a connection with the Brazilian fan and a reason for pride for the company.

Pragmatic Play, a leading content provider to the gaming industry, has extended its presence in South America through its new partnership with Grupo Cordialito in Venezuela. The operator, one of the largest in the South American nation, will soon gain access to the supplier’s complete collection of Slots, including its latest titles, such as Eye of the Storm and Joker King, as well as its leading Live Casino products and the Virtual Sports offering.

FanDuel Group has announced a new multi-year partnership with two-time NBA champion and Inside the NBA analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith. This new partnership designates FanDuel as the exclusive sports betting and daily fantasy provider for Kenny Smith. Additionally, Smith will appear in FanDuel advertising and TNT promotions featuring FanDuel’s free-to-play contests. Smith will also provide unique content for FanDuel Group’s social media channels.

Dignitas and HyperX have renewed and extended their partnership. The renewed partnership is the continuation of HyperX and Dignitas’ relationship that dates back to 2013. HyperX will continue to be the official peripheral partner of Dignitas. Through the partnership, HyperX and Dignitas will collaborate on exciting new content for Dignitas’ die-hard esports fans. HyperX Cloud Comms, a new and recurring content series, will bring Dignitas fans closer than ever before to their favourite players.

Kindred Group has teamed up with Gamban to offer Unibet customers in the US the ability to block online gambling sites across devices. Kindred has a long-standing cooperation with Gamban since 2017 across Europe and Australia. Gamban’s gambling blocking software works as an online gambling self-exclusion tool, preventing access to any online gambling site on individual devices.

Scientific Games Corporation has announced that its instant scratch games are coming to the Idaho Lottery. Scientific Games will design and manufacture Idaho Lottery scratch games under a new two-year contract, which begins in March 2021 and may be extended by the lottery for up to six additional years.

New Appointment

Everi Holdings has appointed Kate C. Lowenhar-Fisher as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer – General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, effective 22 March 2021, subject to customary regulatory approvals. She will have responsibility for the Company’s legal and regulatory compliance affairs and will report to Everi’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rumbolz.

Compliance Updates

Nuvei Corporation has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Nuvei Technologies (Nuvei) has been approved to support the sports betting industry in Virginia. The Virginia Lottery has issued a sports betting vendor registration to Nuvei in accordance with the state’s sports betting regulation. The Company can now offer its innovative payment technology and industry expertise to provide an optimised payment experience and increased revenue opportunities for licensed gaming operators across the State.

Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc. has announced that it has received a temporary permit to commence online sports wagering in the State of Virginia.

Up Next

Clear increase in the Covid-19 year: German games market grows by 32 per cent

Don't Miss

Tax Revenue from Cambodia’s Casino Sector Drops 53% in 2020

Click to comment

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – October 4-10

Published

5 days ago

October 13, 2021

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, new partnerships and new appointments. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

SW Nordic Limited, a subsidiary of Betsson, has completed the acquisition of Inkabet’s B2C online gambling business, a rapidly growing sportsbook and casino business targeting the western region of South America.

The mobile cash payments platform PayNearMe has launched a new platform named “MoneyLine” to manage the complexities of iGaming money movement.

Scientific Games Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ACS’s cashless table game solution titled PlayOn. The PlayOn cashless product line conveniently provides players with a seamless debit solution at live table games.

DraftKings, a leader in the digital sports entertainment and gaming industries, announced its latest, state-of-the-art office location to be based out of Las Vegas, where the company expects to eventually have an expanded team of more than 1000 employees.

Betfred Sports has launched a new OpenBet-powered retail sportsbook in Louisiana through a partnership with Paragon Casino Resort. The Betfred Sportsbook inside The Draft Room at Paragon Casino Resort, Marksville, is the first retail venue in the state to allow customers to place legal wagers on a variety of sports.

Comanche Nation Entertainment of Lawton Oklahoma has chosen Table Trac’s CasinoTrac casino management system for its new Comanche Cache Casino currently under construction in Cache, Oklahoma.

Following the signing of an exclusive agreement to distribute the game in the US, TCSJOHNHUXLEY has debuted Richer Spin Roulette at this year’s G2E.

Partnerships

Sightline Payments and Konami Gaming have partnered to bring cashless gaming solutions to Resorts World Las Vegas via Sightline’s Play+ digital payments technology and Konami’s SYNKROS casino management system.

Genius Sports has entered into a new partnership with Hard Rock Digital. As the premier mobile and desktop sports betting brand, Hard Rock Digital will have access to Genius Sports’ leading suite of sportsbook solutions, including official sports data from tens of thousands of events per year, customer acquisition and retention tools, and immersive fan engagement solutions.

The PGA TOUR and PointsBet announced a three-year extension of their multi-year content and marketing relationship designating PointsBet an Official Betting Operator of the PGA TOUR.

Genius Sports Limited has announced a new supplier agreement with PointsBet, a top-tier global online gaming operator, to provide its full range of official sportsbook data, content, and fan engagement solutions including for NFL, NASCAR and EPL.

The Esports Awards has announced Expedia, one of the world’s leading full-service travel brands, as the Official Travel Companion of the 2021 Esports Awards.

Appointments

International Game Technology has appointed Joe Asher as President of Sports Betting. Reporting to Enrico Drago, IGT CEO Digital & Betting, Asher will lead the ongoing expansion of the IGT PlaySports sports betting business in North American markets.

Flutter Entertainment has appointed Amy Howe as CEO of FanDuel. Amy joined FanDuel in February 2021 as President with responsibility for leading the company’s core commercial functions across its Sportsbook, Casino, Racing and Daily Fantasy businesses. She was appointed as Interim CEO in July.

Wynn Resorts’ online sports betting and iGaming brand WynnBET has appointed gaming industry veteran Ian Williams as its new Chief Operating Officer.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – September 27-October 3

Published

2 weeks ago

October 6, 2021

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Latest News

GeoComply Solutions has announced that Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica, Mississippi has become the state’s first commercial operator to offer on-premise mobile sports betting via BetMGM across their entire casino floor and restaurants. The BetMGM mobile app utilises GeoComply’s on-premise mobile solution PinPoint which enables fast and reliable wagering while on the Gold Strike casino property.

Endeavor Group Holdings has entered into an agreement to acquire OpenBet, a leading content, platform and service provider to the sports betting industry, from Scientific Games Corporation for $1.2 billion paid through a combination of cash ($1 billion) and Endeavor’s Class A common stock ($200 million).

International Game Technology has announced that its U.S. market-leading PlaySports platform will power sports betting at Angel Of The Winds Casino Resort in Washington State.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and DraftKings Inc. announced that retail sports betting in Connecticut begun on September 30 at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The Texas Lottery has reported $8.107b in sales for the 2021 fiscal year, an increase of 20.9% or $1.403bn from 2020. The Lottery, in its 30 anniversary year, said it made a $1.998bn in contribution to public schools and veterans in the state.

Partnerships

EvenBet Gaming has entered into a partnership with Caleta Gaming. As per the deal, Caleta’s full portfolio including video bingos, kenos, slots, scratchcards and lotto games have been integrated at EvenBet platform.

Leander Games has entered into a partnership with ODDSworks. The collaboration will see ODDSworks utilise Leander’s LeGa remote gaming server platform in the US.

International hosting supplier Internet Vikings has announced a long-term partnership with PlayStar Casino in the United States. They will support the Swedish online casino operator’s advances into the U.S. market by providing them with bespoke iGaming-specific hosting services in New Jersey.

FanDuel Group and Port Madison Enterprises announced plans to bring America’s #1 Sportsbook to the state of Washington. FanDuel Group will form an exclusive partnership with the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort to bring retail sports betting to the state of Washington.

Gaming Realms has signed a commercial deal with 4ThePlayer.com. The deal will see 4ThePlayer games integrated onto Gaming Realms’ platform for distribution in the US.

Strendus, the Mexican-facing online betting and gaming brand of Logrand Entertainment Group, has become the Official Sponsor of LaLiga in Mexico.

Elys Game Technology Corp and New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) announced the entry into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that expresses a joint interest in promoting and facilitating opportunities for food and beverage establishments to participate in the State’s sports betting industry.

Playtech has secured a multi-state agreement in the US with Kindred Group’s Unibet Interactive. Under the agreement, Playtech will provide its award-winning RNG Casino software to Unibet in New Jersey, with further states to follow in the coming months.

Appointments

FanDuel Group has appointed sports radio and television personality and problem gambling advocate Craig Carton as its first national responsible gaming ambassador.

Gaming Arts has Promoted Jean Venneman, the Company’s current Chief Commercial Officer, to the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – September 20-26

Published

3 weeks ago

September 28, 2021

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Latest News

ZK International Group has announced that it has made an additional investment of $10M in Maximbet.com (Maximbet), increasing its ownership stake in the rapidly-growing sports betting and casino operator to 15.73%.

Caleta Gaming has announced that its full portfolio is live at Playbonds. Players now have access to Caleta’s video bingos, kenos, slots, scratchcards and lotto games, including Halloween family games like Halloween Bingo, Halloween Raspadinha and Halloween Keno.

EmuCasino has launched a new sister site, EddyVegas, to serve the Canadian market. The new site has drawn inspiration from the famed Las Vegas strip. EddyVegas has been designed based on Las Vegas strip aesthetics and graphics.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A team Flamengo in partnership with Chiliz, the leading global blockchain providers for the sports and entertainment industry, have announced that they will launch a $MENGO Fan Token on the Socios.com app.

Payments platform PayNearMe has announced that it has been approved by the Arizona Department of Gaming to provide its services to licensed operators in the state.

EPIC Risk Management has launched a U.S. subsidiary in the state of Delaware. The new headquarters of EPIC Risk Management in the US will service both the U.S. and Canadian territories and will be a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), codifying its commitment to reducing gambling-related harm in the US as a commercially sustainable but socially driven business.

New Partnerships

LSU Athletics and Caesars Entertainment announced a multi-year partnership to make Caesars Sportsbook the exclusive gaming and sportsbook partner of the Louisiana State University athletics department.

WynnBET has become the Official Sportsbook Partner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. As per the deal, Lucas Oil Stadium’s West Club will be re-named the WynnBET Club, featuring a 21+ only sports bar environment in the upstairs club level, as well as a WynnBET VIP area.

Tipico has entered into a partnership with display screen provider TVM DOOH that will see its odds and content appear on screens in restaurants and bars in Colorado and New Jersey. TVM DOOH is the largest display screen network in restaurants and bars across the US.

Rush Street Interactive, a Chicago-based gaming and betting company which operates the BetRivers, PlaySugarhouse and RushBet sportsbook brands, has become the Official Sports Betting Partner of Magic City Jai-Alai.

Pragmatic Play has launched various verticals in Peru with Apuesta Total. The operator will be able to enjoy Pragmatic Play’s collection of Live Casino, Virtual Sports and Slot titles, including the latest video slot Chilli Heat Megaways.

New Appointments

PointsBet has appointed Jeff Gamble as its new Vice President of Creative.

Sportradar has announced that Michael Jordan, NBA legend and early Sportradar investor, will serve as a special advisor to Sportradar’s Board of Directors.

Scientific Games Corporation has announced the appointment of Connie James as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary, effective October 15.

Complexity Gaming, one of North America’s most elite and longest-standing esports organisations, has announced that TimTheTatman, one of the most popular esports personalities with more than 18 million social followers, has joined Complexity.