News

The New York Gaming Commission has approved Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive to accept mobile sports bets in the state from 8 January.

The regulator determined the four operators have “satisfied all statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to accept and process mobile sports wagering activity”, and so each will be able to take their first bets from 9am Eastern Time on Saturday.

Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Rush Street Interactive were four of the nine operators recommended for licences following the conclusion of the state’s tender process.

The regulator said the other five operators – PointsBet, Resorts World, BetMGM, Bally’s Corporation and Wynn Bet – “continue to work towards satisfying statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch”.

It added that these licensees will be approved on a rolling basis when they do meet these criteria.

While the regulator did not outline which specific requirements the remaining operators did not yet meet, the four approved operators all have existing retail sports betting agreements with land-based casinos in upstate New York.

Caesars operates sportsbooks at Point Place Casino, Turning Stone Resort and Yellow Brick Road Casino; DraftKings operates at del Lago Resort;  FanDuel’s sportsbook is at Tioga Downs and Rush Street Interactive operates via the Rush Street Gaming-owned Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady.

State senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr, who pushed for legal mobile betting in New York as chair of the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, hailed the launch and the Gaming Commission for making it happen.

“Today’s announcement by the New York State Gaming Commission that four of the nine licensed Mobile Sports Wagering Operators have been approved to begin operations starting on Saturday, 8 January, 2022, is great news for New York in terms of revenue, new funding for education, addiction programs and youth sports, as well as new jobs,” he said,

“I want to thank the Gaming Commission for their efficiency in ensuring that these operators met all of the requirements to bring their mobile sports betting product to the people of New York ahead of the NFL playoffs. I look forward to the other five operators satisfying the statutory and regulatory requirements necessary to launch in the near future and working with the Hochul Administration and Gaming commission.”

In the bidding process, the nine operators approved to launch together submitted two bids to operate mobile betting in New York. FanDuel led one bid, alongside DraftKings, BetMGM and Bally Bet, while the other bid was led by supplier Kambi, and included Caesars Sportsbook, PointsBet, Resorts World, Rush Street Interactive and Wynn Bet.

Kristian Nylén, chief executive of Kambi, said it was excited to power Rush Street Interactive’s sportsbook as it goes live.

“We are excited to launch online in New York State this weekend, along with our partner Rush Street Interactive, which marks another significant milestone in the growth of Kambi,” he said. Being selected to operate in New York by the New York State Gaming Commission underlines the high quality, integrity and reliability of Kambi’s sports betting technology and I’m delighted that Kambi will be up and running on day one of the market, in time for the business end of the NFL season.

“New York is among the most populated and sports-passionate states in the US and will no doubt be one of the largest regulated wagering markets in North America, one we are both excited and honoured to be playing a leading role in.”

All participants will be required to pay a 51% tax on sports betting revenue, the highest tax rate in any multi-operator US state.

The tender process launched in July this year with six bids submitted. Alongside the winning FanDuel- and Kambi-led proposals was a rival proposal led by Kambi, featuring Penn National Gaming and sports merchandise retailer Fantatics. TheScore, which has since been acquired by Penn National, and Bet365 also put forward solo bids. 

The New York State Gaming Commission approved a final set of rules for sports betting in late November.

Consumers will be limited to one mobile sports betting account per skin, and subject to extensive Know Your Customer (KYC) checks before they can bet. Accounts can be funded by a host of payment options, including credit cards, though there will be a $2,500 annual limit for this form of payment.

Igamingbusiness

Córdoba looks set to become the next Argentinean province to regulate online gambling after regulations were approved by legislators last week.

Bill 34270/L/21 will regulate various iGaming activities, including online casino table games and slots, sports betting and lottery games, and will establish a register of iGaming licensees with ten licences to be issued initially, which can be increased to 20 licences.

It also provides the provincial government with powers to detect and eradicate illegal gambling operations under fraud and criminality charges.

“This is not a massive and uncontrolled empowerment,” said legislator and co-author of the bill Silvia Paleo. “Some ask me ‘why regulate?’. Well, because the only possible path towards responsible gambling is the responsibility of the State. And that is why we raised this project. The only possible path towards responsible gambling is to have a safe game, and for that we must set guidelines, clear and concrete guidelines for operating companies and users.

“I wish we could dedicate ourselves solely to enacting laws on happy issues, on issues that are comfortable for us, on issues that morally have no reproach, on issues without controversy,” Paleo added. “The truth is, we have to work on the issues that reality imposes on us, and clandestine online gambling is a reality in Córdoba.”

Paleo also noted that Córdoba is not a pioneer in this matter after Buenos Aires City and province launched their regulated iGaming markets last December.

The province of La Rioja is also looking to regulate online gambling after regulator Administración Provincial de Juegos de Azar (Ajalar) signed an agreement last year with the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (IPLyC) of Misiones to develop a safe and responsible online gambling market for the province.

Moroccan state lottery operator La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) has launched a Request for Proposal to designate a new operator for its omni-channel lottery, sports betting and instant games offerings.

The lottery is offering two tenders for one or more operators, or one or more consortia, to be granted an eight-year contract for the management of games from 1 January 2023, which can be extended by two additional years under certain conditions.

The first tender covers fixed odds and pool betting, including betting on virtual competitions, with the exception of betting on horse and greyhound racing, while the second tender concerns lotteries, instant lotteries of a sporting nature and raffles.

Interested parties are able to submit bids for individual tenders or for both by 4 April.

Intralot has been powering MDJS since 2010 and signed a new eight-year deal in June 2019. This was amended last March, with both parties agreeing to reduce the duration of the contract as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

MDJS was created in 1962 and supports Moroccan sports by donating all profits to the country’s National Sports Development Fund (FNDS).

Gamingintelligence

The Swedish government has proposed a new weekly deposit limit of SEK4,000 for online gambling that it believes will protect consumers during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The proposal, which is due to be introduced on February 7 after a consultation period, is similar to the restrictions introduced in 2020 but lowers the weekly limit by SEK1,000.

Gustaf Hoffstedt of the industry association BOS said that the new scheme will be counterproductive as it leads to players opening accounts with multiple operators.

“Before the deposit limits, they played with one or two gaming companies,” said Hoffstedt, “but after the introduction of the limits, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of gaming accounts held by individual players. Thus, the statutory duty of care, which aims for the gaming company to acquire an overall picture of gaming behavior and offer support to risky players, is lost.”

The new rules are intended to run from February 7 until the end of June 2022. In addition to the weekly deposit limits, players will also have to limit the time they spend gambling online and operators will be limited to SEK100 bonuses, as laid out in the previous period of restrictions.

The SEK4,000 per week loss limit will also apply to those playing on state-owned gaming machines in venues other than a casino, as will the time limit and bonus rules.

Virginia’s licensed sports betting operators generated total wagers of $402.6m in November 2021, marking the second-best monthly performance since the opening of the market at the start of last year.

Total sports wagers from the state’s 10 licensed operators were 6 per cent lower compared to the previous month’s record $427.3m, with Virginia bettors winning a total of $354.3m in November.

This resulted in a combined 12.01 per cent operator win percentage, a significant increase compared to October’s 7.06 per cent.

VIRGINIA SPORTS BETTING WAGERS: JANUARY – NOVEMBER 2021 (US$)

Wagers Adjusted Gross Revenue
January 2021 58,896,564 (3,235,612)
February 2021 265,778,306 (3,231,752)
March 2021 304,066,245 13,845,012
April 2021 236,432,524 11,380,137
May 2021 226,963,573 15,663,201
June 2021 234,943,435 14,896,898
July 2021 161,901,955 12,691,020
August 2021 182,418,252 8,688,064
September 2021 293,851,531 10,334,395
October 2021 427,320,306 9,785,700
November 2021 402,621,132 29,926,697
Year-to-Date 2021 2,795,193,823 120,743,760

After allowing for bonuses and free-play incentives of $15.0m, as well as other deductions of $3.4m, operators posted record adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $29.9m in November, compared to $9.8m in the previous month, with four operators reporting net positive AGR.

This generated total tax revenue of $4.2m, of which $105,829 is directed to Problem Gambling Treatment and Support and the balance to the General Fund.

Since the opening of Virginia’s sports betting market in January 2021, operators have generated total wagers of $2.80bn and AGR of $120.7m after ten full months of reporting, with $18.6m collected in taxes.

Gamingintelligence

Sports bettors in Arkansas may soon be allowed to place bets remotely under amended casino gaming rules.

The amendments approved Thursday by the Arkansas Racing Commission would allow players who are physically present in the state to place bets without the need to visit a casino or to pre-register an online wagering account in person.

Under existing rules, sports betting is only available to patrons who are physically present at a licensed casino.

The amendments also include a requirement that licensed casinos retain a majority of the revenue generated from sports betting when contracting with a third-party sports betting vendor.

Licensed casinos must operate a retail sportsbook in order to be eligible to offer online sports betting, with each casino licensee limited to operating two individually branded online sports platforms.

The amendments were approved by the Arkansas Racing Commission on December 30 and are subject to further approval by the Arkansas Legislative Council before coming into effect.

Gamingintelligence

Colorado’s regulated sports betting market continued to see strong growth from licensed operators as total handle more than doubled to $475.4m in November 2021.

November handle increased by 106 per cent compared to the same month in 2020, with online wagers climbing 107 per cent to $469.0m. Retail sports handle from the state’s 17 retail locations increased by 45 per cent year-on-year to $6.4m.

Professional American football was again the most popular betting sport with $140.3m in wagers, followed by Basketball at $124.7, NCAA Football at $29.4m, NCAA Basketball at $29.0m, and Ice Hockey at $14.0m.

A total of $438.7m was paid out to players in winnings in November, generating gross gaming revenue of $36.8m, double the prior year period’s $14.8m total.

Net sports betting proceeds amounted to $19.3m during the month, compared to $9.0m a year ago, helping the state collect sports betting taxes of $2.0m.

Parlays and combination bets contributed a further $83.8m in wagers during the month, equivalent to nearly 18 per cent of the total.

Gamingintelligence

The Finnish Government has approved amendments to the country’s Lotteries Act to reduce the negative effects of gambling and strengthen the state monopoly more effectively, including the possibility to block payment transactions.

The stated aim of the reform is to prevent harm caused by gambling and to combat marketing by unlicensed operators, and to drive demand for gambling towards licensed activities under the Lotteries Act.

The amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2022 after the President of the Republic approved the bill Wednesday (Dec. 22).

This will see the player identification requirement extended from gaming machines to cover all forms of gambling, a strengthening of the National Police Board’s approach to unlawful marketing, and efforts to prevent harm through more considered placement of slot machines.

State monopoly operator Veikkaus introduced compulsory identification at decentralised slot machines in January 2021 and in its own game rooms in July, with the requirement to identify players now set to be extended to all Veikkaus games in future.

Compulsory identification will be introduced in stages, with all gambling requiring identification by 2024 at the latest.

The Act also lays down provisions on the use of game and player data collected as a result of the identification requirement. Veikkaus is obliged to process data to identify harmful gambling, with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare granted the rights to obtain data from Veikkaus for the purpose of assessing and monitoring the negative impacts of gambling.

The reformed Lotteries Act also further specifies the marketing content allowed for Veikkaus, which must be considered to be “moderate”. The marketing of particularly harmful games of chance, such as slot games, will be prohibited.

According to the Act, all advertising by Veikkaus must include information on the age limit for gambling and information on tools available to control gambling, as well as support services for problem gamblers.

The marketing of sports betting, which is currently prohibited, will be allowed to direct gambling towards the monopoly operator. The amendment also applies to totalisator betting games, for which marketing is also currently prohibited.

As a new tool, the National Police Board can propose to the Market Court that an administrative penalty payment be imposed for marketing that violates the Lotteries Act.

Another new instrument included in the Act is payment blocking, which will be targeted at gambling companies that direct their marketing to mainland Finland in violation of the Lotteries Act, and whose marketing has been prohibited by the National Police Board.

The regulation on the blocking of payment transactions will enter into force at the beginning of 2023.

Finally, the legislative reform will allow Veikkaus to establish a subsidiary for activities other than gambling, including B2B activities.

The subsidiary will focus on providing gambling products and services to other companies, but will not be allowed to provide gambling services to consumers.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed the state’s sports betting legislation into law.

The approval legalises and regulates sports betting online and at land-based sportsbooks, via self-service betting kiosks, and through the state lottery, and introduces an exclusion list to protect vulnerable gamblers.

An initial 25 Type A licenses will be available for online betting, 40 Type B licenses for sports gaming facilities, and 20 Type C licenses for self-service betting kiosks in licensed liquor establishments

License issuance fees range from $500,000 to $3.3m, with the highest fee applicable to second mobile management service provider licenses. HB29 passed the Ohio legislature in early December and was signed into law by Governor DeWine on Wednesday December 22.

Gamingintelligence

Canadian provincial lottery operator Loto-Québec has reported a 57.5 per cent increase in total revenue to CAD$1.08bn for the first half of its 2021/22 financial year.

The company said that the H1 results were “very positive” as most of its activities only resumed operations at the end of the first quarter under restrictions.

Growth was driven by the lottery sector, which recorded its best half-year performance since Loto-Québec’s inception, with revenue climbing 53 per cent year-on-year to $513.8m between 1 April and 27 September 2021. Revenue from draw-based lottery games rose 59 per cent to $362.7m, while instant games revenue rose 37 per cent to $136.1m and revenue from event-based betting climbed 76 per cent to $15.0m.

While lottery retailers were open throughout the six-month period, the conversion to online sales continued with iLottery sales up 6 per cent at $64.7m.

Revenue from casinos and gaming halls climbed 70 per cent to $305.3m following their gradual reopening in mid-June, with Land-based casino revenue 150 per cent higher year-on-year at $161.7m, while online casino revenue was up 19.5 per cent at $126.2m and gaming halls revenue rose 83 per cent to $17.4m.

Revenue from gaming establishments increased by 53 per cent to $266.6m, with revenue from bars rising 54 per cent to $263.0m and revenue from Bingo and Kinzo climbing 9 per cent to $3.6m. In the comparable period last year, all gaming establishments were completed suspended for the entire first quarter of 2020/21.

“At the halfway point of the fiscal year, our revenues have exceeded 75 per cent of their pre-pandemic level, and about 90% since July,” said Loto-Québec president and CEO Jean-François Bergeron. “Lotteries have achieved record sales. “This success shows that after more than 50 years, interest in this product category remains high for draw-based lottery games as well as for instant games and sports betting.”

During the six-month period, Loto-Québec introduced several new products to its players, including a new MEGA 360 lottery game and single-event sports betting, which became legal on 27 August.

During H1, total cost of sales increased by 49 per cent to $200.9m, with lottery costs up 57 per cent at $103.0m, casino costs climbing 22 per cent to $29.8m, and gaming establishments costs rising 53 per cent to $68.1m.

The company reduced operating expenses by 20 per cent to $294.8m during the period as personnel expenses fell by 35 per cent to $124.3m, helping Loto-Québec generate net income of $584.0m for the period, compared to net income of $181.2m a year ago.