Tag Archives: Online casino

Kindred to withdraw from Germany

Kindred to withdraw from Germany

Kindred brand Unibet will exit the German market on 1 July blaming the slow progress of licensing and onerous regulatory restrictions.

The operator said it had taken the “difficult decision” to withdraw its application for sportsbook and virtual slots licences, and cease all operations from 1 July.

“Our long-term strategic direction sets out locally regulated markets as the core engine for our growth, however licence application procedures, licence conditions, and the regulatory environment need to be transparent, sustainable, and financially viable for a market to be competitive,” Kindred explained.

It said the current application processes, and the terms and restrictions for product offerings, meant the regulated market was not sustainable nor competitive enough to withstand offshore competition.

“Therefore, we do not see a foundation for long-term shareholder value and customer experience at the moment.”

As its current operations in Germany are limited, the withdrawal would ..

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NatCen study claims 10% of online accounts responsible for 79% of GGY

NatCen study claims 10% of online accounts responsible for 79% of GGY

A new study conducted by NatCen for GambleAware claims that 79.0% of online operator revenue comes from the highest-staking 10% of accounts, with online slots showing a particularly concentrated spending pattern.

The study used records from seven online operators, which each provided data about 20,000 accounts active between July 2019 and June 2019. These seven operators together made up more than 85% of the UK betting market, though only 37.5% of the gaming market.

It then weighted the data from these accounts to be representative of the overall online gambling market.

For each customer, NatCen had access to betting data showing the exact date, time and stake of all bets placed by each customer, while for gaming, data was split into 15-minute windows.

For both online betting and gaming, the research found that revenue at these operators was highly concentrated among a relatively small share of accounts.

Overall, it found that the 10% of gamblers with the largest stakes – all stak..

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Kindred secures Dutch licence

Kindred secures Dutch licence

Unibet operator Kindred Group has secured an online gambling licence from the Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA).

The licence, which comes into effect from today (8 June) will enable Kindred to offer both commercial online gambling and betting to players in the country’s regulated market.

Kindred said the issuing of the licence follows an extensive application process including the successful completion of relevant audits.

The group added that it will launch its flagship Unibet brand in the Netherlands within the coming days.

“The Netherlands is a large and important European market and one that we look forward to operating in with a local licence,” Kindred chief executive Henrik Tjärnström said.

“We have been advocating local licence schemes for the past decade, and are thrilled that our newly awarded licence in the Netherlands will allow us to deepen and develop our involvement in the Dutch society, as well as actively contribute to a fair and sustainable gambling ma..

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BCLC expands PlayNow.com into Saskatchewan

BCLC expands PlayNow.com into Saskatchewan

The British Colombia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is to expand the reach of its PlayNow.com online gambling platform into the Saskatchewan province.

Under a deal with both the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and SaskGaming, PlayNow.com will offer players in Saskatchewan access to over 400 casino, live casino, poker and sports betting products.

The agreement follows a request for proposal process that SIGA launched last year.

“This partnership reinforces the confidence the legal gambling industry has in BCLC, and our leadership in providing players with entertaining and engaging gambling experiences through our safe and secure online platform, PlayNow.com,” BCLC interim president and chief executive Lynda Cavanaugh said.

“In addition to an innovative suite of online casino and sports-betting products, BCLC’s PlayNow.com is the only gambling website in North America and one of few in the world that offers dedicated player-health specialists – known as GameSense Advisors – ..

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iGB Live! targets 4,500 visitors for 2022 edition

iGB Live! targets 4,500 visitors for 2022 edition

Clarion Gaming is gearing up for the 2022 edition of iGB Live!, which aims to build last year’s successful return to Amsterdam.

The iGB team has unveiled a new campaign slogan for the 2022 show, with ‘Connect. Converse. Convert.’ designed to emphasise the unique aspects of the event, which runs from 5-8 July at the RAI Amsterdam.

iGB Live! brings together the B2B and affiliate communities, allowing delegates to connect and converse with suppliers, and convert these insights into growth opportunities for their businesses.

Attendees will be able to network with over 4,000 visitors – with a target of 4,500 – and 250 exhibitors during the event.

“Last year’s edition of iGB Live! raised the bar in terms of engagement with an independent satisfaction survey conducted by exhibition research specialists Explori placing it among an elite top 2% when benchmarked against other exhibitions,” said Naomi Barton, portfolio director responsible for the iGB brand at Clarion Gaming.

“For 2022, we ..

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Córdoba opens tender process for 10 online gambling licences

Córdoba opens tender process for 10 online gambling licences

Córdoba, Argentina’s second most-populous province, has opened its tender process for 10 online gambling licences.

Participants will bid for one of 10 online gambling licences on offer, with each lasting 15 years.

All bidders must provide their “legal documentation, legal capacity [and] history of technical and economic/financial capacity” to operate online gaming, as well as their offer for a licence fee.

Operators will have until 5 July to submit bids, with plans for licences to come into effect from 14 September.

The licence will allow an operator to offer online casino games and betting on sports, horse racing and certain non-sporting events. Each vertical will be subject to a 10% gross gaming revenue tax rate.

Córdoba – which is home to 3.3 million people – passed a bill to legalise online gambling in January, after it was introduced at the end of 2021. The original version of the bill only allowed for five licences, before this was expanded to 10.

Argentina allows for gamb..

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Swedish gaming revenue up to SEK6.54bn in Q1

Swedish gaming revenue up to SEK6.54bn in Q1

Total gaming revenue in Sweden was up 5.8% to SEK6.54bn in the first quarter of 2022, as growth in land-based casinos and online gaming offset a decline in lottery sales.

Despite being a year-on-year increase, revenue was down 6.8% from the previous quarter.

Online betting and gaming made up most of this total, with revenue growing 7.2% to SEK4.20bn. This was also up 0.3% quarter-on-quarter.

The state lottery – run by Svenska Spel – as well as Svenska Spel’s Vegas brand of slot halls – brought in a combined SEK1.29bn, down 4.4% from Q1 of 2021 and down 23.6% from Q4.

Svenska Spel’s Casino Cosmopol brand of land-based casinos, meanwhile, brought in SEK103m, after no such revenue in Q1 of 2021, when these casinos were closed because of Covid-19. Compared to Q4, revenue was down 28.5%

Charitable lotteries brought in SEK863m, which was very slightly up from the same period of 2021, but down 3.0% from Q4.

Restaurant casinos brought in SEK39m, up from just SEK5m in Q1, but down from SE..

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BetMGM to limit presence in New York until tax rates change

BetMGM to limit presence in New York until tax rates change

BetMGM chief financial officer Gary Deutsch said the business would continue to adopt a “conservative” approach in New York until the state’s “irrational” tax environment changes.

During its latest investor day, BetMGM reiterated its net revenue guidance for 2022 of $1.3bn (£1.06bn/€1.25bn), up from $850m in 2021. Executives also said BetMGM’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the year should be similar to 2021, when the business reported an EBITDA loss of $430m.

However, chief financial officer Gary Deutsch noted that there was a change in the portions of this $1.3bn produced by different states.

“Within this guidance, the revenue mix is different than previously expected,” he said. “We expected lower New York revenue and higher revenue in our other online sports and igaming states.”

Deutsch then went on to outline why BetMGM had taken few steps to establish a foothold in New York. During April, the operator reported $5.0m in revenue from $1..

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GiG: Media rules supreme, but platform potential grows

GiG: Media rules supreme, but platform potential grows

Another record peak for Gaming Innovation Group’s (GiG) media division was the highlight of the supplier’s first quarter results, but the platform arm is poised for a potentially transformational year.

Gaming Innovation Group reported revenue of €19.1m for the three months to 31 March, representing its second consecutive record-breaking quarter.

Key to this was the ongoing performance of its media arm, which reported a 40.0% year-on-year jump in revenue to €14.1m for the first quarter of the year. The affiliate business, chief executive Richard Brown explains, took a massive leap forward with player intake hitting a record 69,800 for Q1, and intake from its paid campaigns up 160% year-over-year.

“We’ve been launching quietly in a number of markets,” he explains. “Over 12 to 18 months, we launch, analyse and optimise. Once we’ve managed to ascertain the optimum return on investment we ramp up marketing spend.”

Richard Brown, GiG CEO

While there has been a marginal decline in pla..

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Lithuanian gambling revenue grows by 90% in Q1

Lithuanian gambling revenue grows by 90% in Q1

Gambling revenue in Lithuania grew 90.0% to €43.4m in the first quarter of 2022, as neither the return of the land-based sector or a wide-reaching marketing ban stopped the online sector from continuing to grow.

Online gambling revenue came to €26.8m, up 16.7% from Q1 of 2021.

The majority of revenue came from slots – which are split between category A and category B machines.

Category A slots, with uncapped payouts and stakes, brought in €15.5m, which was up 24.7% from 2021. This came on stakes of €210.4m.

Category B slots, which limit stakes to €0.50 per spin and have win amounts capped at 200 times the original stake, €683,313, up 57.9%.

Table games brought in €1.6m, up 25.5%, on €19.4m worth of stakes and betting revenue was €9.0m, up 2.1%, on stakes of €125.3m.

Turning to the land-based sector, revenue was €16.9m after the sector recorded negligible revenue in Q1 of 2021 with land-based gaming venues closed.

Again, most of this came from slots. category A machines brought ..

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