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Gambling in the USA

Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – April 19-25

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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 and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Betsson Perch Investments AB, a subsidiary of Betsson AB (publ) (Betsson), has acquired a 50% stake in the software development company JDP Tech Ltd, which owns a proprietary technology platform for handling LatAm payments. The consideration payable for the shares amounts to EUR 8.8 million. This allows Betsson to secure customer payment flows for the continued expansion in Latin America.

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Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced that the casinos in the state can operate at full capacity from June 1. Nevada is one of the leading tourist destinations in the world and has dramatically suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic. At one point last year, the entire state was shut down for three months until mid-June. But even then capacity limits were in place and hotel casinos were begging to return to full capacity. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said the vaccines played a huge role.

According to PlayMichigan, the online sportsbooks in Michigan set fresh records for handle and revenue, reaching nearly $400 million in online and retail bets in March and surpassing $30 million in online revenue, while online casino revenue approached $100 million. The NCAA Tournament spurred Michigan’s online sportsbooks to $359.5 million in handle, according to official data released. That total was up 19.1% from $301.9 million in February. Combined with the state’s $24.2 million retail handle, Michigan’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $383.7 million in bets. That overall total is up 17.8% from $325.6 million in bets in February.

Caesars Entertainment has revealed its plan to invest $400 million into its Atlantic City resorts by 2023. In Atlantic City, Caesars owns and operates three of the region’s preeminent casino destinations – Caesars, Harrah’s Resort and Tropicana Atlantic City. The plans include remodeled room towers; freshly appointed interior design elements; enhancements to the casinos’ gaming floors; new dining concepts with acclaimed restaurant partners; and many more exciting additions within the next three years.

Argentine organisation KRÜ Esports has selected international marketing agency Vanquish as its exclusive commercial agent. KRÜ Esports was established in October 2020 and is founded by Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero. KRÜ Esports currently has three partners in the form of GIGABYTE gaming brand AORUS, streaming platform Twitch and American multinational semiconductor company AMD.

Scientific Games Corporation has signed an agreement with Gold Dust Casino to install its iVIEW displays across 233 slot games and seven table games in addition to SDS and CMP core systems. iVIEW technology enables operators to show dynamic marketing content, animations and videos on the gaming machine while providing an instant response through a sophisticated multi-touch display. iVIEW uses player-friendly graphical widgets to enable marketing teams to easily update content throughout the property, significantly enhancing the player experience.

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Betsson Perch Investments AB, a subsidiary of Betsson AB (publ), has acquired a 35% stake in Strive Platform Ltd (Strive) for a total amount of USD 6.5 million. Upon launch in the US, planned for the second half of 2021, Betsson has an option to increase its shareholding in Strive by another 5% for the consideration of USD 1 million. Betsson will also grant to the company a convertible shareholder loan facility of USD 2.5 million.

Partnerships

Phoenix Suns and FanDuel Group have announced a multi-year market access partnership designating America’s #1 Sportsbook operator as the Suns’ Official Sportsbook and Daily Fantasy Sports Partner. As part of this new commercial arrangement, FanDuel will open a luxury sportsbook retail location inside the Phoenix Suns Arena. The sportsbook is expected to be completed in time for the 2021-22 NBA season.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a new, multi-year partnership that designates DraftKings as the Official Sportsbook and Daily Fantasy Partner of the PFL. The partnership will give MMA, daily fantasy and sports betting fans a truly unique viewing and gaming experience utilising PFL’s proprietary SmartCage technology.

Ainsworth Game Technology has partnered with Konami Gaming to launch historical horse racing machines (HRMs) for Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI). Konami’s newly engineered historical horse racing machines will operate on Ainsworth’s proprietary Historical Horse Racing System. Konami’s HRMs include a suite of popular game titles and cabinet platforms. The machines will be deployed at CDI’s HRM facilities in Kentucky, including Derby City Gaming, Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel and Newport Racing & Gaming.

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New Appointments

Rush Street Gaming has announced that Justin Moore, former general manager of Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady, has been named general manager of Rivers Casino Philadelphia, pending approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Justin joined Rivers in Schenectady soon after the property opened in 2017. He helped establish the Rivers Casino brand in a new and competitive market, operated The Landing Hotel and debuted New York’s first sportsbook—all while leading dynamic teams and earning a market-leading position.

Scientific Games Corporation has announced that Victor Blanco will join the Company in 2022 as Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Blanco will oversee Scientific Games’ technology strategy to support the Company’s leadership across gaming, lottery, sports betting and iGaming as well as support the development and execution of the Company’s great games.

DraftKings has appointed Gisele Bündchen, an environmental activist, philanthropist and former super model, as a special advisor to the company’s CEO and board of directors for environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. Bündchen has been recognised in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and 100 Fashion Icons lists, appeared in hundreds of campaigns for the most prominent and iconic brands, graced more than 1200 magazine covers worldwide and walked the runway in close to 500 fashion shows. She is a prominent supporter of numerous environmental and social projects.

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Detroit casinos

Detroit Casinos Report $109.44M in April Revenue

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The three Detroit casinos reported $109.44 million in monthly aggregate revenue (AGR) for the month of April 2024, of which $107.87 million was generated from table games and slots, and $1.57 million from retail sports betting.

The April market shares were:

  • MGM, 46%
  • MotorCity, 30%
  • Hollywood Casino at Greektown, 24%

Monthly Table Games, Slot Revenue, and Taxes

The casinos’ revenue for table games and slots for the month of April 2024 decreased 1.6% when compared to the same month last year. April’s monthly revenue was 11.8% lower when compared to the previous month, March 2024. From Jan. 1 through April 30, the Detroit casinos’ table games and slots revenue decreased by 1.6% compared to the same period last year.

The casinos’ monthly gaming revenue results were mixed compared to April of last year:

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  • MGM, down 0.7% to $49.86 million
  • MotorCity, down 4.5% to $32.68 million
  • Hollywood Casino at Greektown, up 0.6% to $25.33 million

In April 2024, the three Detroit casinos paid $8.74 million in gaming taxes to the State of Michigan. They paid $8.88 million for the same month last year. The casinos also reported submitting $12.8 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit in April.

Monthly Retail Sports Betting Revenue and Taxes

The three Detroit casinos reported $15.28 million in total retail sports betting handle, and total gross receipts were $1.57 million for the month of April. Retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) were up by $1.5 million in April when compared to the same month last year. Compared to March 2024, April QAGR was down by 1.7%.

April QAGR by casino was:

  • MGM: $475,492
  • MotorCity: $516,812
  • Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $578,131

During April, the casinos paid $59,362 in gaming taxes to the state and reported submitting $72,554 in wagering taxes to the City of Detroit based on their retail sports betting revenue.

Fantasy Contests

For March 2024, fantasy contest operators reported total adjusted revenues of $494,162 and paid taxes of $41,510.

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Gambling in the USA

CogniPlay Launches New Social Casino Platform

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CogniPlay has today announced the official launch of their new software product, which aims to provide a robust online sweepstakes or social gaming platform to their clients.The system is designed to be modular, allowing customers to tailor their brand and offering to what they believe will give them optimal performance.

The rise of sweepstake casinos in the US is continuing to gather pace and many companies from real money gaming are investigating the business model and the potentially lucrative revenue opportunity. With no standout platform solution currently on the market, CogniPlay looks to serve clients a full white label style solution with every detail taken care of. Brands like Chumba and Pulsz are already seeing tremendous success and CogniPlay gives an extremely efficient route to market for potential new sweepstake casino owners.

The CogniPlay system has several key integrations which help to deliver the product, including games integrations with the likes of Pragmatic Play, BetSoft, Mascot Gaming and many more, giving them 100s of games for their clients. There are other integration options for their customers to pick from too, including affiliate programme software, CRM platforms and associated products, KYC, ID verification, Geo-IP systems, Gamification, and customer support.

They also have a very long and extensive development pipeline which will see the product offering develop at pace, giving clients an extensive list of options and USPs, and of course giving players a great user experience as a result.

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As well as the platform itself the CogniPlay team, due to their considerable experience, also offer a whole host of managed services, with almost a menu that clients can choose from to fill any gaps in their own skillsets or experience.

It is also this experience that CogniPlay hopes to utilise to great effect to provide industry-leading client management to build successful relationships and partnerships with their clients. CogniPlay’s Chief Executive Officer Allan Turner said, “We are very proud to take the CogniPlay product to market and are excited that people who want to start a new social or sweeps brand can get in touch with us to see what we can do for them, or in fact established brands that are unhappy with their existing provider.

Our underlying principles are that we want to provide the most flexible platform in the space, to enable our clients to create the product they want to have, not for us to dictate the product to them. The two other main areas of focus are that we want to be the most future-proof product on the market with plans for any regulatory or legal changes that may arise in the future, and that we have all the right safeguards in place to ensure that we look after both our clients and players with our responsible gaming setup.

This of course means having the right tech and processes in the key areas of KYC, Geo-IP tech, anti-money laundering, fraud, risk assessment and ID verification.”

 

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Gambling in the USA

XSOLLA RELEASES QUARTERLY ​ INSIGHTS REPORT ON THE FUTURE OF GAMING AND GAME DEVELOPMENT: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF SPRING 2024 METRICS AND UPCOMING TRENDS

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Key trends include the fast-growing mobile gaming segment, the impact of recent regulations, the integration of blockchain and AI, and the investments in equity and inclusion across the gaming industry.

Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, published the Spring 2024 edition of “The Xsolla Report: The State of Play” today. Launched on the heels of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024, this extensive report provides invaluable insights into the emerging trends and pivotal shifts impacting the gaming industry in the short and long term. ​ It sets the stage to significantly shape the future of mobile gaming, deepen academic connections within the gaming ecosystem, and redefine investment patterns.

In an era where mobile gaming commanded a 49% share of the global market in 2023, this edition of “The State of Play” sheds light on the evolving landscape of mobile gaming. The report navigates through the advancements in global compliance and regulation, including the Digital Markets Act in Europe’s new player engagement strategies, offering a glimpse into the potential future of mobile gaming monetization and distribution. It discusses the impact of cross-platform play and the importance of innovative monetization models, providing actionable insights for developers and industry stakeholders.

“The State of Play” emphasizes the importance of academia in the growth and diversification of the gaming industry. It explores how educational programs and initiatives develop talent and promote diversity and inclusivity within the gaming community. This edition underlines the symbiotic relationship between the gaming industry and academic institutions, highlighting programs that significantly impact students and the industry.

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Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla, comments: “As we introduce the latest edition of ‘The State of Play,’ we’re not merely sharing industry insights but advocating for a transformative vision: Equal Access for Everyone. This initiative goes beyond our commitment to innovation and growth within the gaming industry. It’s about breaking down barriers to ensure that every developer, regardless of company size, has the opportunity to showcase their creativity and reach a global audience. Our focus is on providing platforms and tools that foster creative opportunities, international exposure, and the development of unique projects, ensuring that the future of gaming is accessible to all. We aim to empower every player and developer worldwide, ensuring the gaming landscape is as diverse and dynamic as its community.”

The report offers an in-depth analysis of the gaming industry’s current investment climate, including funding trends, mergers, and acquisitions. It outlines the shifts in investment patterns, from the heights of the pandemic-induced boom to a more measured approach in 2024. “The State of Play” provides a roadmap for navigating the industry’s financial aspects, offering insights into strategic investment opportunities and forecasting future trends.

Featuring expert commentary from industry voices like:

  • Mukul Aurora, Co-founder of Appsoleut Games;
  • Mariusz Gasiewski, CEO of Mobile Gaming and Apps Lead at Google;
  • Karla Reyes, Founder and Studio Director,

Anima Interactive, the Xsolla Report: The State of Play is now available for complimentary download. To secure your copy and gain invaluable insights into the gaming industry, visit our website.

 

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