Canada

PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks cool with $500 million in February

Published

3 years ago

March 17, 2021

Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks slowed in February but still surpassed $500 million in wagers for the third consecutive month, while online casinos tallied nearly $80 million in revenue in February. Though February brought largely good news to Pennsylvania, it was still the state’s lowest handle since November while online casino revenue fell behind Michigan, according to PlayPennsylvania.com, which provides news and analysis of the state’s gaming industry.

“With just 28 days and a schedule with one NFL game, even if that game is the Super Bowl, a pullback from January to February is expected,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Pennsylvania remains one of the strongest markets in the U.S., and March Madness will almost certainly put the state back on the upswing.”

In total, Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $509.5 million in bets, according to official data released Tuesday. That was up 54.5% from $329.8 million in February 2020, though off from the record $615.3 million in bets in January.

February’s bets produced $16.4 million in taxable revenue, up 246.9% from $4.7 million in February 2020, yielding $5.6 million in state taxes and $327,596 in local share assessments.

The Super Bowl generated $53.6 million in wagers alone, but even the largest single game in terms of wagering of the year is not enough to replace a robust NFL schedule. The expected month-over-month dip from January to February will likely keep Pennsylvania from surpassing Nevada as the nation’s No. 2 market, something the Keystone State nearly did in January.

“Pennsylvania continues to post strong results month after month, but Nevada is a more event-driven market so the Super Bowl handle there is typically the nation’s highest,” Gouker said. “But at the current trajectory of both markets, it seems it’s not if but when Pennsylvania will become the nation’s No. 2 market.”

Online sports betting produced 92.2%, or $469.7 million, of February’s handle, down from 94.3% in January as retail sportsbooks continued to slowly rebound.

FanDuel Sportsbook/Valley Forge Casino led the market with $176.3 million in online bets, down from $220.7 million in January. Those bets produced $7.3 million in taxable revenue. DraftKings/The Meadows was second with $111.7 million in bets, down from $143.5 million in January, yielding $3 million in taxable revenue.

The Barstool-branded Penn National/Hollywood Casino app continues to be a major player, finishing February in third with $65.6 million, up from $65 million in January. It managed to gross $5.1 million in revenue, but heavy promotion led to a $726,040 loss in taxable revenue.

The leaders were followed by:

BetMGM/Hollywood Morgantown ($33.7 million handle, down from $39.3 million; $2 million, down from $33,148)
BetRivers/Rivers-Pittsburgh ($20.4 million handle, down from $26.8 million; $1.4 million revenue, up from $1.3 million)
Fox Bet/Mount Airy ($18 million handle, down from $26.6 million; $1.3 million, down from $2.5 million)
Parx Casino ($17.7 million handle, down from $22.8 million; $1.6 million revenue, down from $1.8 million)
PlaySugarHouse/Rivers-Philadelphia ($14.6 million handle, down from $20.8 million; $957,245 in revenue, down from $1.4 million)
Unibet/Mohegan Sun Pocono ($7.5 million handle, down from $10 million; $416,533 revenue, up from $377,770)
Betfred/Wind Creek ($1.7 million handle, up from $1.5 million; $50,386 revenue, down from $208,275)
BetAmerica/Presque Isle Downs ($1.3 million handle, down from $1.7 million; $5,496 revenue, up from -$81,367)
Caesars/Harrah’s ($1.1 million handle, down from $1.3 million; $3,541 revenue, down from $36,506)

Retail sportsbooks generated a $39.8 million handle, up from $35.4 million in January. Sportsbooks won $3 million on February’s bets. The top retail sportsbook was Rivers-Philadelphia with $7.7 million in bets.

“Retail sportsbooks still have some time to go before they are back to normal, but with COVID infections dropping as vaccination levels rise, better days are hopefully not far away,” said Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “In the online market, though, Barstool continues to make progress, keeping handle steady, but it took a huge promotional spend to do it.”

Online casinos and poker

Online casinos and poker rooms generated $77.8 million in gross revenue in February, which was down slightly from $80.4 million in January revenue. But that is mostly good news, as online casinos and poker rooms actually raised revenue to $2.8 million per day over the 28 days in February from $2.6 million per day in January.

The revenue yielded $21 million in state taxes and another $10.7 million in local share assessments and county grants.

Despite a record for per-day revenue, Pennsylvania is now the third-largest online casino market in the U.S. after Michigan tallied $79.7 million in its first full month of online casinos and poker.

“Pennsylvania’s online casinos are in a very good place,” Cross said. “Pennsylvania’s fall to No. 3 says more about Michigan’s rapid ascent than it does about anything in the Keystone State. Online casinos will continue to be a most reliable revenue generator for the state for the foreseeable future.”

For more information on the revenue generated by Pennsylvania, visit www.playpennsylvania.com/revenue.

Canada

Play’n GO announces partnership with Canadian operator Loto-Québec

Published

3 days ago

May 16, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

play’n-go-announces-partnership-with-canadian-operator-loto-quebec

Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced a partnership with Canadian operator Loto-Québec, launching the Swedish gaming giant’s games into another Canadian province.

Already active in another Canadian province , this partnership sees Play’n GO’s content available in the province of Québec exclusively with Loto-Québec, a state-owned corporation, where online players now have access to titles such as Tome of Madness.

Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer, Play’n GO said: “At Play’n GO, we have always been clear in our vision to be active in every regulated market in the world, and this partnership with Loto-Québec is the next step on that journey.

“Our past success in Canada gives us confidence that players in Québec will enjoy the best Play’n GO content, and we look forward to many years of success with Loto-Québec in the province.”

Stéphane Martel, Head of Product and Innovation at Loto-Québec added: “As the sole iGaming operator in Québec, we pride ourselves on offering titles that truly add value to our platform, lotoquebec.com. We are happy to bring Play’n GO games to our players.”

Canada

Court Decision Upholds iGaming Ontario’s Model

Published

4 days ago

May 15, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

court-decision-upholds-igaming-ontario’s-model

iGaming Ontario has welcomed the decision of the Ontario Superior Court, which found that iGaming Ontario’s model is consistent with the Criminal Code and that iGaming Ontario is conducting and managing igaming in the province.

“We have always been confident in our model and are pleased that the court has ruled in our favour, and that Ontarians can continue to play with confidence in our regulated igaming market,” said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario.

“Ontario’s model meets the requirements and contributes to the public good by protecting players, their data and their funds, while helping to fund priority public services in Ontario, and bringing well-paid, high-tech jobs and economic development to Ontario,” Otton added.

In dismissing the application brought forward by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), the Superior Court found that iGaming Ontario is the “operating mind” behind Ontario’s competitive igaming market in accordance with the conduct and manage requirements of the Criminal Code.

iGaming Ontario will continue to conduct and manage igaming as it has since the launch of the regulated market on April 4, 2022.

Bragg Gaming Group

Bragg Gaming Appoints Renowned iGaming Executive Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer

Published

1 week ago

May 10, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

bragg-gaming-appoints-renowned-igaming-executive-neill-whyte-as-chief-commercial-officer

Bragg Gaming Group, a global iGaming technology and content provider, announced that Neill Whyte has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective 1st May 2024, establishing a new global commercial structure at the Company and bolstering its leadership team.

Whyte brings over 18 years of experience in the iGaming sector, most recently in the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Digital Gaming Corporation’s (DGC), B2B iGaming Division. After joining DGC in early 2020, he was responsible for the commercially successful launch and growth of its content distribution business in the US.

Prior to joining DGC, Whyte held multiple positions in the gaming industry including as Head of Business Development at Isle of Man-based iGaming specialist Apricot Investments, as Board Member at Swedish iGaming product and Lottery content distributor Genera Networks, and in various senior roles over eleven years at leading iGaming content supplier Microgaming, including as Head of Product Channels.

In his new role with Bragg, Whyte will be tasked with leading the Company’s global commercial teams to drive growth across all of the Company’s product verticals which include proprietary online casino content from its Atomic Slot Lab, Indigo Magic and Wild Streak Gaming studios, exclusive content from content partners, HUB a leading casino content aggregation platform, Fuze player engagement, as well as its award-winning player account management (PAM) platform and turnkey solutions.

Matevž Mazij, Chief Executive Officer at Bragg, said: “I am very pleased to be announcing today the appointment of Neill Whyte as Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg. His iGaming product and market knowledge, together with his record in driving growth from developing successful and mutually beneficial commercial partnerships are exceptional.

“As we leverage our broad content and product portfolio to grow in existing and new markets, including in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe, Neill’s unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience in this sector are a perfect fit for our ambitions at Bragg.”

Neill Whyte, Chief Commercial Officer at Bragg, said: “It’s an honor to join Matevž and the wider teams at Bragg already in place across North America, Europe and in India. I have been impressed with the depth and quality of the content, product and technology offerings at Bragg, and its ability to rapidly adapt, certify and deploy this content and technology in newly regulated markets is a distinct advantage.

“We also have a huge opportunity to grow our footprint with our existing customers in markets in which we are already established. Our content and product roadmaps are second to none, and I’m planning to get on the road in the coming weeks and months to meet the team and our customers and to start building for the next stage of mutual growth. I can’t wait to get going.”