Gambling Insider Sep/Oct 2021 by Gambling Insider

Sep/Oct 2021

SPACs vs. IPOs Which is the true king of the M&A jungle? ROUNDTABLE BetConstruct, EveryMatrix, Yggdrasil & GiG talk omni-channel ENTAIN-MENT Exclusive Q&A with Grainne Hurst, Entain Director INDIA FOCUS We round up the latest regulatory updates in Indian gaming

EDITOR’S LETTER COO, EDITOR IN CHIEF Julian Perry EDITOR Tim Poole Tim.Poole@gamblinginsider.com STAFF WRITER Peter Lynch Peter.lynch@gamblinginsider.com JUNIOR STAFF WRITER Isabella Aslam Isabella.aslam@gamblinginsider.com LEAD DESIGNER Brendan Morrell

Julian Perry, COO, Editor in Chief

Tim Poole, Editor

s the industry prepares for the first non-virtual Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in two years, gaming is bracing itself for its biggest gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic began. And, although there are fears of Las Vegas regressing into greater social distancing measures, G2E really couldn't come at a more opportune time for our sector. While online gaming has simply gone from strength to strength, it might even be the time to ask the following question of the land-based industry: given the success of US casinos since they reopened, are 2020's losses actually going to be evened out by 2021's success? It might be a touch premature to arrive at that particular conclusion, especially with the spectre of the pandemic still looming large, but please let no one fool you: US gaming is absolutely thriving right now. The reasons? Pent-up demand is one, for sure. The buzz generated by sports betting is another, without doubt. But it would be remiss of us not to put forward another factor: the leadership of organisations and individuals that have pushed forward unabated with new technology, new marketing and new ways of doing business. One such new (but not really new) method is going public via a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company). It's a topic we've covered before but, with the help of industry titans Matt Davey, Matt Sodl and Jason Ader, it's one we revisit in depth in this issue's cover feature. Elsewhere, we preview the G2E show itself, while also speaking with some of the industry's leading women: Grainne Hurst of Entain and Martina Åkerlund, CEO of Triggy AB. Parimatch Founder Katerina Belorusskaya is another leader to feature in our September/ October edition, while some of our regular columnists are at their finest: the likes of Alex Czajkowski, Paul Sculpher, Ranjana Adhikari, Nick Hill and more. We've additionally got our finger on the pulse in our Big Question and Roundtable features, where we address the growing link between online and land-based – from two opposing angles. Our Final Word, meanwhile, goes to Evolution, which is only fair given the market dominance the supplier is enjoying. Jeff Millar, the company's North America Commercial Director, speaks about Evolution's plans not just in the US but Canada, where the potential is seemingly endless. TP, Editor

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE

DESIGNERS Olesya Adamska DESIGN ASSISTANTS Radostina Mihaylova, Aleksandra Cakikj, Inna Shtereva MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER Mariya Savova FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Dalia Ambrazaite IT MANAGER Tom Powling COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Deepak Malkani Deepak.Malkani@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7729 6279 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Warren Wilkinson Warren.wilkinson@gamblinginsider.com +44 (0) 207 613 5863 ACCOUNT MANAGERS Michael Juqula Michael.Juqula@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 3487 0498 William Aderele William.Aderele@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 2062 Clive Waite Clive.Waite@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7729 0643 Martin Dilleigh Martin.Dilleigh@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0) 203 435 5628 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Sam Ford Samuel.Ford@gamblingInsider.com Tel: +44 (0) 207 739 9918 US BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Aaron Harvey Aaron.Harvey@playerspublishing.com Tel: +1 702 425 7818 CREDIT MANAGER Rachel Voit WITH THANKS TO: Warwick Bartlett, Harris Interactive, Jason Ader, Matt Sodl, Matt Davey, Alex Leese, Mike Ciavarella, Max Meltzer, Adam Noble, Elena Kvakova, Alex Czajkowski, Grainne Hurst, Katerina Belorusskaya, Nick Hill, Ranjana Adhikari, Paul Sculpher, Ebbe Groes, Martin Collins, Sargis Poghosyan, Stuart McCarthy, Steve Thomson, Martin Åkerlund, Amit Lakhani, Ruslan Bangert, Tim Booker, Oliver Lamb, Karin Beumer, Adam Rowley, Gareth Treharne, Jeff Millar Gambling Insider magazine ISSN 2043-9466 Produced and published by Players Publishing Ltd

JEFF MILLAR NORTH AMERICA COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, EVOLUTION 6

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

KATERINA BELORUSSKAYA FOUNDER, PARIMATCH TECH

All material is strictly copyrighted and all rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is forbidden. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of Gambling Insider but we assume no responsibility for the effects arising therefrom. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

CONTENTS 24

ISSUES

GGA AWARDS FEATURES

10 Facing facts Gambling Insider takes a close statistical look at various results from the second quarter of 2021

24, 26 Global Gaming Awards We look at the latest developments for next year's London Awards, as well as the upcoming Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas, with the ceremony fast approaching

36 G2E Preview The Global Gaming Expo is back! And we have the lowdown

COVER FEATURE

42 Big Question We ask influential gambling companies: How important is bricks and mortar for digital gaming growth in the US?

28 SPACs vs IPOs Following the latest series of industry consolidation, Tim Poole evaluates the best route of going public for gaming's hottest properties. Why exactly are so many firms going via the SPAC route?

48 Worth the investment Regular Gambling Insider contributor Alex Czajkowski discusses an alternative stable coin just for gaming, and assesses different CRM systems

12 In numbers A gaming snapshot by Fantini Research 18 The global outlook Global Betting & Gaming Consultants, the global gaming data expert, provides exclusive data to Gambling Insider 20 Taking stock We track operator and supplier stock prices across a six-month period 22 Harris Interactive In a one-off special, Harris Interactive provides research into player attitudes across both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

40 GI Huddle Gambling Insider speaks to Pronet Gaming CEO Alex Leese

50 Methods in motherhood Grainne Hurst, Entain's Director of Corporate Affairs, speaks exclusively to Gambling Insider 54 The qualities that matter Katerina Belorusskaya, Parimatch Tech Founder, gives an honest and refreshing interview in conversation with Tim Poole

56 A smart bet? Gambling Insider contributor and consultant Nick Hill discusses how blockchain can enhance responsible gaming 58 India: Regulation round-up Regular Gambling Insider contributor and Partner at IndusLaw, Ranjana Adhikhari, provides an in-depth review of the latest regulatory developments in India 62 Time spent playing How much time on the casino floor is too much? Regular Gambling Insider contributor Paul Sculpher reviews 66 Roundtable Gaming Innovation Group, BetConstruct, EveryMatrix and Yggdrasil discuss the ins and outs of omni-channel supply 71 A culture of 'sameness' Alex Thomson, RVP of EMEA, Quantum Metric, discusses moving away from a homogenous ecosystem in online gambling 72 The golden days of betting We speak with Triggy CEO Martina Åkerlund, about sports betting, women in gaming and STEM subjects in online

76 Time for change? Amit Lakhani, Investment Director of Zeal Ventures, discusses the race to land the UK National Lottery licence 78 The modern poker player The resurgence of poker is steadily on the horizon as Covid-19 restrictions ease. PokerMatch tells us more

INSIDERS 82 Tim Booker Mr-Gamble 83 Oliver Lamb Kambi 84 Karin Beumer EM Group 86 Adam Rowley RavenTrack 87 Gareth Treharne PST

PRODUCT REVIEWS 88 What's new? The land-based gaming industry is now seeing plenty of recovery. Gambling Insider takes a closer look at some of the products making all the difference at casino properties

FINAL WORD 98 Innovation vs. novelty Evolution's Jeff Millar talks to Gambling Insider about the company's plans in not just the US but Canada as well. It's all systems go in North America

British Columbia Quebec Quebec Ontario Ontario

2,788 2,788 6,516 6,516

ISSUES Sports

1,000 2,000 1,000 2,000

3,000 3,000

4,000 4,000

5,000 6,000 5,000 6,000

24% 24%

7,000 7,000

NUMBER CRUNCHING

Sports Casino (including Casino (including poker and bingo) poker and bingo)

FACING FACTS Canadian GGY by product in 2019 Canadian GGY by product in 2019

Gambling Insider companies Italy: monthly e-gaming and and betting revenues Italy: monthly e-gaming betting revenues 1% 1%takes a statistical look at the results of different (index based at 100 in June 2018*) (index based at 100 in June 2018*) for the second quarter of 2021, with many operators recovering fromban a ban The advertising in Italy did not e-gaming. The advertising in Italy didreduce not reduce e-gam difficult Q27%2020 400 400 7% Horse betting Horse betting

350 350

400 200

1000 Charitable gaming Charitable gaming 1000

24%24%

400 200

236.9 236.9 48.6

48.6

38.7 38.7

Las Vegas Las Vegas Locals Locals

Downtown Downtown Las Vegas Las Vegas

Midwest & Midwest & South South

50 50 Advertising Advertising 244 ban begins ban begins 0 0 62 244

-425

Melco Resorts Melco & Entertainment Q2 2021 Q2 operating Resorts & Entertainment 2021 Melco Resorts & Entertainment Q2 2021 revenue distribution by sector operating revenue distribution by sector operating revenue distribution by sector

125 125

500 500

19.8 19.8

23.5 23.5

0 Nordics Nordics UK UKRest of Rest ofAsia Asia NorthNorthOtherOther EuropeEurope America America Sports Sports Source: Company reports Casino (including • Q2 2021 operating revenue was €256.7m ($301.1m), a 100% Casino (including and bingo) year-on-yearpoker increase poker revenue and bingo) • Rest of Europe led the way with €104m, with Asia in second at €65.7m Evolution Q2 2021 revenue Evolution Q2 2021 revenue per geographical region per geographical region

100 100

39.7 39.7

25.4 25.4

1 185.1

200

200 200

Revenu Revenue

22.6 22.6

0 CasinoCasino RoomsRooms Food and Entertainment, Food and Entertainment, Beverage retail retail and other Beverage and other

Evolution Q2 2021 revenue Evolution Q2 2021 revenue per geographical region per geographical region 400 400 S$ million)

million)

400 400

400

Source: Company reports • Total operating revenue for Q2 2021 was $566.4m, a 222% increase from the prior-year period • Casino revenue grew 224% year-on-year

600 600

515.1 515.1

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

million)

600

Evolution Q Evolution Q2 2 per geog per geograp 600

300 300

400 400

376.4 376.4

317.8 317.8

300 300

Comparing Wynn Comparing W

262

257.9 257.9

S$ million)

27.2 27.2 16.4

Cut-off for f Cut-off existing deals d existing

200

Revenue (US$ million)

50 50 25 25 16.4

478.6 478.6

400 400

S$ million)

65.7 65.7

Revenue (US$ million)

Revenue (EU€ million)

75 75

400

104

100 100

(US$ million) (US$ million)

Evolution Q2 2021 Evolution revenueQ2 per2021 geographical region revenue

104

100

-425

Source: Company reports • Casino revenue represented $843m of total revenue • Macau operations represented $855m of total revenue

-425 -425

Property usted Property TDA EBITDA

100 100

Source: Company reports • Total revenue climbed 326% year-on-year from $209.9m to $893.6m • Downtown Las Vegas grew 732% year-on-year, with Las Vegas Locals and Midwest & South growing by 385% and 295% respectively

Evolution Q2 2021 revenue per geographical region per geographical region

244

100

125

19.8 25 16.4 19.8 25 16.4 Jun-18 Jun-18 Oct-18 Oct-18 Feb-19 Feb-19 Jun-19 Jun-19 Oct0 0 Nordics UK 0 -500 Nordics UK Revenue Adjusted Property -500 Revenue Adjusted Property EBITDA EBITDA

156.5 156.5

4.6 4.6

500

1,173

125

S$ million)

600

618.7 618.7

600

Comparing Q2 2021 and Gaming Q2 2020 revenue for Boyd revenue for Boyd per Gaming Corporation, region Q2 2021 Q2 2020 200 200 Corporation, per region 1500 150 1500 Lottery and and sports betting Lottery sports betting 1,173150 (US$ million) (US$ million)

Revenue (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million)

800

Comparing Q2Gaming 2021 and Q2 2020 per revenue for Boyd Corporation, region Gaming machines Gaming machines for Boyd Q2 Gaming per region 2021Corporation, Q2 2020 800

Evo Evoluti p per g

Revenue (EU€ million) Revenue (EU€ million)

300 300 CasinoComparing Las Vegas Comparing Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue for Boyd Casino Sands revenue and adjusted Comparing Q241% 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue 27%27% Q2 2021 2020 Gaming Corporation, per region property EBITDAComparing for Q2 andand Q2Q2 2020 41% 250 2021 250

Q2 2020 and Q2 2020 dming Gaming gion er region

2,649

300 300270.3

270.3

27.2 27.2

2525

-425 -425

ainment Q2 2021 ribution by sector

Adjusted AdjustedProperty Property EBITDA EBITDA

23.5 23.5

19.8 19.8

16.4 16.4

Nordics Nordics

UKUK

Rest Restofof Europe Europe

Asia Asia

Revenue Revenue

244 244

5050

200 200 100 100

39.7 39.7

25.4 25.4

22.6 22.6

North North Other Other America America

Casino Rooms Casino Rooms Food Foodand and Entertainment, Entertainment, ISSUES NUMBER CRUNCHING Beverage Beverageretail retailand andother other

nue Melco Resorts & Entertainment Q2 2021 on Q2 2021 revenue Melco Resorts & Entertainment Q2 2021 n operating revenue distribution by sector and Q2revenue 2020,distribution byComparing Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue for Gaming eographical regionComparing Churchill Downs Q2 2021operating sector

revenue and EBITDA

Other Asia

nue on 2021 revenue

North America

Other

Revenue (US$ million)

30.1

Casino Revenue Revenue

25.4 30.1 30.1

39.7

22.6

25.4

22.6

300 200 100 0

VICI Adjusted EBITDA perties

400

270.3 300

200

355

376.4

317.8

400

376.4

317.8 262300

262 262

257.9 257.9

200 200 100 100

257.9 262

Gaming Gamingand and leisure leisureProperties Properties

VICI VICI Properties Properties

300 300 per venue 400 2021 revenue355

270.3

257.9

184 200

200

165.2

revenue for two of the biggest casino

2267.9 2267.9

Q2 2021 300 200 200270.3

Q2 2020

rs ment

200

539 289.8

MGM Resorts

(US$ million)

2267.9

289.8

100 383

0 Caesars MGM 121 Entertainment Resorts

750 500 250

12.7

Caesars Entertainment

Source: Company 0 reports • MGM Resorts reported Revenue net income of $105m; Caesars $71m Consolidated • MGM Resorts regional venues reported revenues of $856m; AEBITDA Caesars regional venues reported $1.4bn

1000

(US$ million)

500 250

12.7

100

Revenue (US$ million)

(US$ million)

750

2520

880

539

250 Revenue

383

383 121

Consolidated Revenue AEBITDA

121

Consolidated AEBITDA

Source: Company reports • AEBITDA (adjusted EBITDA) was the highest in Scientific Games’ history • Revenue grew 63% year-on-year, while AEBITDA grew 217%

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

500 500

00 Encore Boston Harbour

750 500

750 750

250 250

880

539

880 880

165.2

2021 and Q2 2020 revenue, and 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue, and consolidated AEBITDA Q2 2021 Q2 2020 consolidated AEBITDA

2520

880

Wynn WynnPalP

1000 1000

355

2520 2520

Harbour

revenue for two of the biggest casino Comparing Scientific Games’ in the US Q2 Q2 2021 operators Q2 2020 operators in the US 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue, and 300 1000 consolidated AEBITDA 300 200

100 100 00

Comparing Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue for two of Comparing Scientific Games’ Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 and Q2 2020 Comparing Scientific Games’ Q2 the biggest casinoComparing operatorsQ2 in2021 the US AEBITDA Comparing Q2 2021 and Q2 2020 revenue, and consolidated Comparing Scientific Games’ Q2

1000

200 200

184 200 Source: 165.2 Company reports 184 289.8 • Q2 2021 revenue 289.8 100 100 reached $990.1m 100 100 64.8 100 100 • Las Vegas operations led 64.8 64.8 11.8 8.7 the way with $355.1m 11.8 12.7 12.7 2 11.8 8.7 8.7 0 0 2 00 Vegas Boston Gaming and 0 VICI Wynn Palace 0 Wynn Macau MGM Las Caesars Encore Las Vegas Gaming and VICI WynnMGM Palace WynnCaesars Macau Operations Harbour leisure Properties Properties Las Vegas Encore Boston Wynn Palace Wynn Macau Resorts Entertainment Resorts Entertainment Operations leisure Properties Properties

2267.9

270.3 270.3

Comparing Comparin revenue 2021 revenuefor fortwo twoofofthe thebiggest biggestcasino casino 2021and andQ Comparing Wynn Resorts Q2 2021inin revenue operators the conso operators theUSUSper venue cons Comparing Wynn Resorts Q2 2021 Comparing Wynn Resorts Q2 revenue per venue

300

Operations

2 2020 st casino

300 300

Source: Company reports • Gaming and Leisure Properties revenue grew 21% year-on-year, Vici Properties grew 46% • Both real estate investment trusts specialising in casino properties Comparing Q2 and Comparing Q2 2021 andQ2 Q22020 2020 reported a year-on-year increase in 2021 net income

per geographical region per geographical region

400

317.8 317.8

300 300

0 Rooms Food and Entertainment, Casino Rooms Food and Entertainment, Adjusted Adjusted Beverage retail and other Beverage retail and other EBITDA EBITDA

Evolution Q2Resorts 2021 revenue Comparing Wynn Q2 2021 revenue per venue Evolution Q2 2021 revenue

400

233.3

10039.7

Source: Company reports • Total operating revenue for Q2 2021 was $566.4m, a 222% increase from the prior-year period • Casino revenue grew 224% year-on-year

hical region

257.9

233.3 233.3

185.1 185.1

200 200 100 0 00

200

Revenue (US$ million)

North Rest of America Europe

300

400 400

376.4 376.4

Revenue (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million)

Food and Entertainment, Beverage retail and other

23.5

400 400

Comparing Compari

(US$ million) (US$ million)

27.2

400 400 200

Revenue (US$ million)

23.5

22.6

Revenue (US$ million)

27.225.4

300

515.1 515.1

400 Revenue (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million)

65.7

400 600 600

Evolution EvolutionQ2 Q22021 2021revenue revenue Q2 2021 Q2 2020 per pergeographical geographicalregion region

Revenue (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million)

(US$ million) (US$ million) Revenue (US$ million)

104

and Leisure Properties and Vici Properties

478.6 Q2 Evolution Evolution Q22021 2021revenue revenue 500 478.6 Q2 2021 Q2 2020 per pergeographical geographicalregion region

Revenue (US$ million)

500

Rev Re

ISSUES

FANTINI RESEARCH

IN NUMBERS BILLIONS: NEVADA HITS NINE FIGURES FOUR MONTHS IN A ROW

Nevada gaming revenue rose 14.64% for June compared to the same month in 2019, though the Las Vegas Strip slipped 0.98% thanks to a decline in baccarat on both low hold and low volume. Without baccarat, Strip revenue rose 7.9% as slots and blackjack grew double digits. Meanwhile, downtown and the locals markets boomed, up 51.53 and 42.92% respectively. Since the Covid-19 (coronavirus) restrictions were lifted, Nevada casinos took over $1bn in winnings for four consecutive months. State regulators reported the amount nearly reached an all-time record. Since mid-May, the global pandemic has seen some ease in restrictions and as life goes back to ‘normal’ it has seen a spike

in coronavirus cases. The restoration of indoor mask mandates for vaccinated and unvaccinated people began Friday 30 July. This could cause a sully outlook for tourism and gambling. In an attempt to keep casinos up and running without any disruption and financial depreciation, MGM Resorts CEO, Bill Hornbuckle, asked the operator's workers to get vaccinated as soon as possible. He said: “Please, get the vaccine as soon as possible. It is safe, and it is effective. "If you’re still unsure, ask your doctor, the person you trust most to provide informed, professional medical advice regarding the health of you and your family. But please, do it as soon as possible.” June house winnings of $1.19bn were

reported by The Nevada Gaming Control Board. The amount is more than double the $567m reported last June 2020, and tops the monthly casino winnings amount of $1.04bn back in June 2019. Board Analyst, Michael Lawton, reported that the last time casinos accrued billion-dollar winnings for four months straight was in 2008 between the months of January-April. For the financial year ending 30 June, casino winnings totalled $10.7bn with a 14% increase, after a 22% decrease during the pandemic in 2020. In comparison to 2019, casino winnings were 11% less, with the Las Vegas Strip accounting for the majority of the decrease, Lawton said.

REGION

REVENUE (M)

CHANGE VS. 2019

Las Vegas Strip

$610.562

-0.98

Downtown LV

$79.063

+51.53

North LV

$24.592

+7.96

Laughlin

$42.691

+8.32

Boulder Strip

$97.575

+46.41

Mesquite

$13.391

+37.50

Balance of County

$147.599

+48.59

Las Vegas Locals Market

$269.765

+42.92

Washoe County

$88.425

+26.66

Reno

$64.532

+26.61

Sparks

$14.151

+25.52

North Lake Tahoe

$2.537

+19.35

Balance of County

$7.205

+32.28

South Lake Tahoe

$31.184

+89.44

Elko County

$28.968

+14.58

Wendover

$19.198

+12.92

Balance of County

$9.770

+17.99

Carson Valley Area

$ 11.056

+17.65

Other Areas

$ 18.322

+37.31

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

ISSUES

FANTINI RESEARCH

REGION

REVENUE (BN)

CHANGE VS. 2019

Nevada

$1.193

+14.64

Clark County

$1.015

+12.00

STRIP COMPONENTS MAJOR STRIP SEGMENTS

REVENUE (M)

CHANGE VS. 2019

Change % 2021

Change % 2019

Blackjack

$ 76.604

+11.47

13.7

14.09

Baccarat

$ 40.012

-74.46

6.48

20.89

Total Games

$233.767

-30.47

12.31

17.71

Total Slots

$376.794

+34.39

8.72

7.84

TABLE DROP 2021

REVENUE (M)

Change % 2021

Change % 2019

Blackjack

$559.153M

$487.715M

+14.65

Baccarat

$617.469 M

$750.048M

- 17.68

Total Games

$1.899BN

$1.898BN

+ 0.03

Slots

$4.321 BN

$3.576 BN

+20.83

RACEBOOK AND SPORTS POOL NEVADA

REVENUE (M)

CHANGE VS. 2019

Change % 2021

Change % 2019

Race Book

$ 2.896

-12.72

15.70

15.02

Total Sports Book

$29.185

+75.95

5.35

5.15

fantiniresearch.com

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

ISSUES

FANTINI RESEARCH

REVENUE REPORTS: Illinois Illinois sports betting revenue for June vs. May was again led by FanDuel and DraftKings. FanDuel, 95%-owned by Flutter and 5% by Boyd, had 47.76% market share and DraftKings had 28.6%. Rush Street Interactive was third at 15.4%, while Penn National came in at 5.64%.

REVENUE (M)

% CHANGE VS MAY

OPERATORS

Fairmount Park

$20.296

+ 5.40

FanDuel

DraftKings at Casino Queen

$13.623

+ 91.83

DKNG

Rivers

$ 7.319

+ 41.01

RSI

Hawthorne

$ 3.449

+ 41.53

PBH

Aurora Hollywood (PENN)

$ 2.256

+ 34.40

PENN

Alton (PENN)

$ 0.340

- 2.17

PENN

Elgin (CZR)

$ 0.129

+106.13

CZR

Joliet Hollywood (PENN)

$ 0.083

- 46.21

PENN

Par-A-Dice

$ 0.022

+ 626.49

FanDuel

Total

$47.517

+ 31.15

MULTIPLE PROPERTIES

REVENUE (M)

% CHANGE VS MAY

Penn National

$ 2.679

+ 22.88

In-person

$ 3.030

+ 62.14

Online

$44.488

+ 29.47

Handle (M)

% change vs May

$ 476.517

- 6.06

SEGMENT

Total

fantiniresearch.com

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

FEATURES

GBGC DATA

GLOBAL OUTLOOK: CANADA FOCUS Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC), the global gaming data expert, provides exclusive statistical data to Gambling Insider on markets from around the world; visit www.gbgc.com for more Ontario sports and racing handle (C$m) 2009-2019 2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

Racing handle

1,039

999

935

857

840

855

889

860

840

805

Sports games sales

266

269

272

257

286

299

294

298

303

Total

1,306

1,268

1,207

1,114

1,126

1,154

1,183

1,158

1,138

1,108

Sports games as a % of total

20%

21%

23%

25%

26%

25%

26%

27%

As we can see from the data, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation sports betting games sales and Ontario racing handle show a gradual decline in racing handle and a parallel increase in sports wagering. Most years during the period in question, the percentage of Ontario's sports betting handle increased – although it still holds a minority share of overall handle.

Canadian GGY by Province / Territory (C$m) in 2019

Territories Northwest Territories, Nunavut

As the table shows, Ontario accounts for a hefty 38% of Canada's overall gross gaming yeild. Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta form its 'second tier' of gaming regions.

Yukon Territory

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundland and Labrador

274

New Brunswick

313

Nova Scotia

356

Saskatchewan

741

Manitoba

803

Alberta

2,634

British Columbia

2,649

Quebec

2,788

Ontario

6,516

1,000

*All values represent regulated, licensed gaming in Canada and not offshore

GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

GBGC DATA

FEATURES

Canadian GGY by product in 2019 1% Canadian GGY by Province / Territory (C$m) in 2019 7%

Territories Northwest Territories, Nunavut Yukon Territory

In 2019, the data shows casino took up the lion's share of Canadian gross gaming yield (GGY). Lottery and sports betting came second, with gaming machines third. Charitable gaming produced just 7% of revenue, although horse betting barely registered with 1% of total revenue. It will be interesting to see if revenue goes up or down for the Canadian sports betting market, once single-event sports wagering is legalised. This will increase the amount of sports betting – but does give bettors a greater chance to win.

Horse betting

2 15

Prince Edward Island 27%

Casino

41%

Newfoundland and Labrador

Gaming machines

274

New Brunswick

313

Nova Scotia

Lottery and sports betting

356

Saskatchewan

24% 741

Manitoba

Charitable gaming

803

Alberta

2,634

British Columbia

2,649

Quebec

2,788

Ontario Loto-Quebec sports and racing handle (C$m) - 2007-2018

6,516

2007/08 2008/09 2,000 2009/10 3,000 2010/11 4,000 2011/12 5,000 2012/13 6,000 2013/14 7,000 2014/15 0 1,000

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

Sports betting sales

Racing handle

136

Total

188

150

128

134

131

138

146

154

Sports betting as % of total

28%

35%

72%

60%

54%

39%

42%

48%

53%

56%

Loto-Quebec sports betting sales and Quebec's racing handle (C$m), show sports betting has increased significantly over the years, growing from less than a third of overall handle to eventually representing over half in 2017/18.

Canadian Online GGY Generated from local licences (US$m) 200 150 (US$m)

100

124

112

101

100 69

158

150

135

183

176

171

164

101

Sports Casino (including poker and bingo)

0 2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020p

2021f

2022f

2023f

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Canadian regulated gross gaming yield has been steadily on the rise recently but is projected to considerably increase its growth this year and beyond.

*All values represent regulated, licensed gaming in Canada and not offshore

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Italy: monthly e-gaming and betting revenues (index based at 100 in June 2018*) The advertising ban in Italy did not reduce e-gaming. 400

TAKING STOCK

TAKING STOCK Gambling Insider tracks operator and supplier stock prices across a six-month period (March to August 2021). The stock price is taken from the first day of each month and last date available at press time WYNN RESORTS

MELCO RESORTS

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Six-month high - 3.64 (Jun) Six-month low - 3.05 (Mar) Market capital – NZ$2.433bn (US$1.72bn)

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Six-month high - 21.86 (Mar) Six-month low - 13.09 (Aug) Market capital - $6.14bn

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Six-month high - 25.32 (Jun) Six-month low - 16.85 (Apr) Market capital - $3.819bn

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Six-month high - 485.30 (Mar) Six-month low - 371.60 (Aug) Market capital - £1.156bn ($1.61bn) GAMBLINGINSIDER.COM

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15% 58%

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nning the useBanning the use celebrities in of celebrities in ambling ads gambling ads 15%

13% 60%

58% 27%

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STATE OF THE GAMBLING MARKET 2021: UK & US

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Harris Interactive provides Gambling Insider with exclusive customer research data into player mindsets across both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In total, 4,248 interviews were collected earlier this year across the US and the UK. Each graph measures the percentage of total respondees (2,129 in the UK, 2,119 in the US) Which brands are brands considered leading Which are considered leading in terms of in responsible gambling? gambling? terms of responsible 100

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Understanding

Importance of a responsible gambling environment

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81%

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We have seen that gamblers can have concerns over their spend and frequency. Here, it’s clear that the majority of UK and US gamblers feel a responsible gambling environment is important when choosing a provider

Perception of effectiveness of measures (UK)

(US)

59%

Restricting the time at which bookmaker ads can be shown on TV

58%

26%

28%

14%

15% 59%

Limiting the number of gambling ads during live sports

58%

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Making warning messages compulsory on any gambling ads

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49%

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53%

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80%

100%

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The UK and US mostly agree that all proposed restrictions on gambling advertising would be effective, with most support for restricting the times adverts can be shown and limits during live sporting events (already in place in the UK, to mixed views on impact). Banning bookmaker sponsorship is most polarising in the UK, while the US sees less harm in celebrity endorsements, which is rife in gambling advertising

Perception of brands providing a safe and responsible gambling environment

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Perception of brands providing a and responsible gambling environ

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GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS LONDON

A TRULY SPECIAL OCCASION The Global Gaming Awards London return to the Hippodrome Casino next year, after a year of virtuality

The Global Gaming Awards London are back next year! They never left, you may point out – and you’d be right to do so. But our most recent edition of the GGA London ceremony, of course, took place virtually, as Gambling Insider announced the results via a live digital show and executives called in for the After Show. All being well, however, 2022 will see the return of the physical event at the Hippodrome Casino, where we will invite the most respected executives in the industry to an afternoon tea

in London. The date is scheduled to coincide with the first Monday of ICE London week, 31 January, as is tradition. With plenty to celebrate in gaming over the past 12 months, competition will be fierce for the most respected and prestigious Awards in the industry – especially in the online categories. The Covid-19 pandemic hit land-based casinos hard, but even they are now experiencing a bounce back following a much tougher 2020.

"With plenty to celebrate in gaming over the past 12 months, competition will be fierce for the most respected and prestigious Awards in the industry"

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Serial winners such as bet365, LeoVegas and Kambi will be looking to defend their Awards once more, while up and coming firms will naturally have something to say in their respective categories, too. Whatever the outcome, we expect a special day as the industry comes together once more, in a room that will contain the highest number of high-profile industry CEOs at any one time. Gambling Insider COO Julian Perry said: “Providing everything continues to improve with regards to Covid-19 safety and travel restrictions, we envisage a truly memorable occasion on 31 January. The Global Gaming Awards London are a special occasion in a normal year. But to have everyone back under one roof to see the winners announced live, two years since the last physical event? That will be truly special.” Self-nominations are scheduled to open soon, with the Global Gaming Awards London powered by Gambling Insider and independently adjudicated by KPMG.

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GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS VEGAS

TWO NEW ADDITIONS We preview the upcoming Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas, with two new categories to speak of The most prestigious Awards in the gaming industry are back for the eighth year. And, after a year out, the Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas is actually returning... to Las Vegas, after last year’s digital ceremony. While our virtual Global Gaming Awards were a huge success, the return of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) has allowed for the return of the physical Awards ceremony, at the Sands Expo on Monday 4 October 2021. The Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas recognise and reward the gaming industry’s strongest performers across the previous 12 months, with a primary focus on the Americas. These are the most trusted Awards in the sector and have gained respect among industry heavyweights, making this the must-attend event that kicks off G2E. The Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas are powered by leading B2B-gaming publications Gambling Insider and Gaming America, in association with the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) and independently adjudicated by KPMG.

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The headline news ahead of this year’s ceremony is that two new categories have been created specifically for the event: LatAm Property of the Year and Payment Solution of the Year. This additionally means there will be two Property of the

will no longer even be considered an emerging market; so choosing a LatAm Property of the Year makes perfect sense to everyone at Gambling Insider and Gaming America. “Secondly, the Payments Solution of the Year category is an absolute must-have,

"The headline news is we've added LatAm Property of the Year and Payment Solution of the Year" Year categories, with one being dedicated specifically to North America. Gaming America COO Julian Perry said: “These two new categories show the diversity of the industry and the growing presence of two key areas. Latin America is growing into such an important region that, soon, it

and I think we’ve seen that in the vast amount of nominees we could have had. Payments are just so important now, especially with the growth of cashless and digital payments within North America. BetConstruct is the Lead Partner of the Awards. Can you feel the excitement?

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SPACS VS. IPOS Tim Poole weighs up the common choice facing gaming firms going public: SPAC or IPO? Investment specialists Matt Davey, Matt Sodl and Jason Ader provide the expert analysis, as we assess which truly is the king of the M&A jungle

Matt Davey

Matt Sodl

Jason Ader

When Microsoft, Amazon and Google went public, there was little question as to how they would do it. On 13 March 1986, Microsoft held its Initial Public Offering (IPO) at $21 per share; on 15 May 1997, Amazon IPOed at $18 per share; on 19 August 2004, Google IPOed at $85 a share. All three giants joined the Nasdaq and didn’t look back: there was no major choice as to how they would do it – IPO was the given route. And, until recent years, the same scenario faced the gaming industry’s biggest firms. When Caesars Entertainment wanted to go public? IPO. When Las Vegas Sands took to the market? IPO. If you wanted your shares to trade publicly, there was one recognised and widely accepted method – and that, generally, was that. But when DraftKings announced in December 2019 that it will combine with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp, additionally acquiring supplier SBTech, this all changed. The gaming M&A picture began to shift. Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are not new. Existing since the 1990s and experiencing growing popularity since the early 2000s, the SPAC route has always technically been there. Now, though, as part of the trend kickstarted by DraftKings and

followed up on by several others, this is a genuine heavyweight option for gaming firms looking to go public.

sponsors, who provide what is called the institutional sponsorship, by going to the market with a business plan, leveraging their strong reputations and attracting capital. “They essentially put their resumes out and say: ‘we’re legitimate guys in the industry and provide a halo effect for companies we buy, and we vet them,’” Sodl adds. SPAC investors buy their shares at $10 a share, which is a low point, and allow 18-24 months to create a deal, before it then launches and goes public. Traditionally, there is a follow-on investment called a PIPE (private investor and public entity), which funds any additional needs of the deal. “There’s been a tremendous amount of interest in SPAC sponsorships that have been filed and gone public,” Sodl says. “The earlier SPACs have done pretty well. The SPAC sponsorship quality has gone down over the years. What really drove the SPAC trend was the DraftKings reverse merger into a public entity – you saw that stock price go crazy through the roof. A lot of these other sponsors came out and said ‘hey we can do the same thing.’ Why has that been a success? To really go public and do an IPO, you’ve got to show big-time growth. So sports betting – it’s a gold rush and there’s a significant

SPACS: A BACKDOOR IPO? According to Matt Sodl, Founding Partner, President & Managing Director at Innovation Capital, a SPAC is “really a backdoor IPO.” He tells Gambling Insider over Zoom: “Ultimately, it’s a mechanism for a company to take their business public in a vehicle that effectively avoids the traditional SEC registration underwriter and underwriter evaluation process. What you have are guys who are called sponsors, who could be private equity guys, or it could be a couple of industry executives – like Dan Silvers and A. Lorne Weil. They filed to do a SPAC – probably one of the first in the industry – and ended up buying a gaming equipment company called Inspired Entertainment. It was before the SPAC craziness of this past 12-18 months.” Silvers and Weil went to investors with the selling point of having strong industry relationships, without themselves holding that much capital. In filing for a SPAC, crucially, it enabled Inspired to go public and raise proceeds without the traditional underwriting fees of an IPO: typically 5-7%. SPACs involve

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domino effect going across the US, in terms of more states enabling the legalisation of sports betting to take place; retail as well as mobile. That’s been a big driver in what’s allowed DraftKings to roll out and grow their company.” The interest in DraftKings took its stock price to “another level,” Sodl comments, which indeed sits at $52 at press time, inspiring rivals like Rush Street Interactive and Golden Nugget Online Gaming (which has since agreed to be acquired by DraftKings) to follow suit. “That’s been the real driver of this gaming SPAC craze,” Sodl says. “There’s growth opportunities that were embedded in these brick and mortar companies, that have now been bifurcated, spun off and sold to the public.” SPAC-TACULAR: THE BENEFITS Naturally, the popularity of SPACs has not surfaced from nothing. If they were slow and inefficient, they wouldn’t have had the clout to truly challenge IPOs as the preferred route to market of many. The opposite seems to be true, in the view of Tekkorp Digital CEO Matt Davey, who himself owns a SPAC and champions the virtues of its speed to market and forward-looking nature. Davey’s starting position on one side of the issue may suggest a bias – but one has to ask exactly why the experienced gaming veteran, former CEO of NYX Gaming Group, has chosen to pursue this route. “If you’re a private company and you want to go public in the US, you’ve got three primary options: you can do an IPO, a direct listing or you can merge into a SPAC,” he tells Gambling Insider. “A key difference between the IPO and SPAC is that IPOs can only speak to past revenue performance. So, above all, SPACs appeal to fast-growing businesses whose value is in their future growth, not their annals. “By contrast, IPOs restrict what you can discuss in your public documents in terms of future forecasts. Time-wise, meanwhile, the process of merging with a private company into a SPAC is far more efficient than going through a 9-12-month IPO. If you’re facing competitive pressures and need access to capital for quick growth, SPACs can take just 3-6 months. That speed is a big draw. The SPAC process allows companies to merge into the vehicle and clearly set the table for what their growth trajectory looks like. And we’re seeing projections go out three to five years. Investors get a good sense as to how the business is developing, where it is today and where it will go in the future.” Davey additionally highlights the ability to work with the shareholder base and define the price at which you go public, as opposed to diving into the “public market ocean and

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swimming with whatever the tide brings your way.” The PIPE investment previously referred to by Sodl equally allows a SPAC to bring “sophisticated investors” over the wall before going public. MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY Another industry investor to show faith in the SPAC route is Jason Ader, CEO of SpringOwl Asset Management. In January 2021, he added 26 Capital Acquisition Corp, a SPAC, to his range of existing gaming

industry interests. He is in agreement with Davey about the direct benefits of the SPAC route, emphasising the key difference between the documents that need to be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Ader tells Gambling Insider: “You file a document that’s called an S4 with the SEC, that’s versus an S1 you would file for a regular IPO. Because you’re technically having a merger, the S4 document does provide materially more flexibility to make disclosures about your business than the S1, which is just constraining. The S4 allows you to talk about your business potential and your projections beyond 2021, in some cases as far out as 2026 – although that is a bit far. For me, it’s better for companies to have the maximum flexibility without talking about their story. It could lead to higher prices – not always – but it could mean higher prices to the issuer. Or it could just mean a better understanding of the business on behalf of the investors.”

Ader feels investors should know as much as they can about the business, a task he believes is made far easier via the SPAC S4 document. He additionally references, like Davey, speed to market and the ability to collaborate with SPAC shareholders. Using the purely hypothetical example of Flutter Entertainment, Ader suggests a SPAC would allow investors to inform him if $15bn was too high a price at which to go public, and that $10bn might be more realistic to attract capital – essentially creating “real-time

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feedback.” He adds: “The IPO of dating site Bumble went up 80% on the first day – and you say to yourself why didn’t they just price it higher? This is a situation you don’t have with a SPAC.” ONE PLUS ONE = MORE THAN TWO Ultimately, creating shareholder value is the major goal in any decision to go public, or merge with a competitor. A phrase used by both Jason Ader and Matt Sodl during our discussions is “one plus one equalling greater than two.” From Sodl, this is his view on the recent

acquisition of Score Media and Gaming by Penn National Gaming (in a $2bn deal). The merger of the two public entities saw Penn National’s stock soar because of the strategic benefits of the duo joining forces – helped chiefly by Penn National’s ownership of Barstool Sports. This created a “one plus one equals three” scenario. In Ader’s eyes, the biggest example of this was the DraftKings/Diamond Eagle/ SBTech transaction – which he uses to champion the greatest benefits of the SPAC route. He comments: “You have the ability to do a merger as part of the listing process. The DraftKings situation: never has there been a way for a company to merge, as they did with SBTech, and list as a combined co and vehicle. In those cases, one plus one needs to equal greater than two – maybe three, maybe four but more than two.

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And so being able to be creative around an M&A situation and list concurrently is a very unique advantage to the structure.” THE X-FACTOR The partnership of the sponsor can, too, be considered another SPAC strength. Via this route, the private company can recruit a specialist who can guide it through the public process. For Ader this is a “unique” advantage: “This way, you can get myself, Rafi Ashkenazi and Joseph Kaminkow, and we become advisors who don’t even need to become directors. That’s unique, bringing in Matt Davey is unique, bringing John Malone in from Liberty Media is unique – his SPAC trades at the highest valuations. “There are a lot of really great businessmen and successful entrepreneurs who are sponsoring SPACs/owning SPACs, who are bringing an X-factor to a company – who could go IPO. It’ll take longer; they won’t get to say as much about the business, the pricing factor will be more of a guess. This way you could leave money on the table and annoy your shareholders. It is your team versus a team that is so skilled and so regarded by the market, they were able to raise money without a business – in the expectation that they can find a business and help it become a successful public company.” IPOS – STILL A POPULAR ALTERNATIVE It is with some confidence, however, that we can say IPOs are still around – and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, despite the plethora of pro-SPAC factors discussed above. SPACs in gaming are very much the new kids on the block and, while their benefits are clearly plentiful, IPOs are still considered the traditional route. As Davey acknowledges, IPOs and direct listings remain “popular alternatives.” Perhaps the biggest single example in gaming this year is Sportradar. The sports betting data company recently announced it will IPO, having unsuccessfully attempted the SPAC route with Horizon Acquisition Corp. II, led by Los Angeles Dodger Co-owner Todd Boehly. None of our analysts wanted to be too speculative and guess exactly why this SPAC didn’t reach the start line, but the fact it didn’t raises the serious possibility the SPAC isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Hypothetically at least, one reason a SPAC might not work is a disagreement on valuation. As Sodl proffers: “Maybe they won’t like the valuations they are getting from the sponsors. And they feel the dilution they’d be taking from that sponsor value-add isn’t worth it. So they might say okay, if we’re not going to get the valuation, let’s just go and do it direct, and pay the underwriters. That’s really the trade. I think

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that would be the most common drawback.” Agreeing that it can be a case of sponsors vs underwriters, he adds: “In these SPAC deals, there are underwriters involved, because there is traditionally a very large PIPE that needs to be issued. That PIPE is still done by an underwriter, but with a lower price than an underwriter of an IPO.” THE BIGGEST DRAWBACKS Capital dilution is a potential sticking point for a SPAC, according to Ader. Going public via this method creates warrants that are paid to the original SPAC’s shareholders, which are potentially dilutive. Typically, Ader says, warrants give you the ability to buy shares at $11.50 over a five-year period. On top of that, SPAC sponsors typically get a 20% grant of shares based on the amount they raise. In the case of a $200m SPAC, it’ll be $40m in shares; if it’s a $500m SPAC, the sponsors would receive $100m and so forth. He continues: “What I hear from people going the IPO route is ‘we love the speed, we love the S4. But we have a very clean company and merging with you, we have warrants now we have to think about. We have a lot of dilution from you, Jason, and you, Matt Davey (hypothetically). You guys didn’t really do as much work as we did to raise the money – but you get a pretty big ownership in our business.’” Because of this, Ader says the headline of the post-SPAC bubble from last summer is, to preserve a good deal, sponsors are now being more creative about giving away their economics to the company. But it’s still a fair chunk of your business to let go of. Sodl reiterates this point: “The disadvantages are there has been a very significant equity interest that goes to the SPAC founders. That can be up to 20%. That has been dialed back big time by the SEC, because there’s really a disalignment of interest between the SPAC sponsors and the company that’s merging in. The sponsors put up little to no money and they get effectively up to a 20% interest in the company, in exchange for their sponsorship.” Perhaps a final drawback Davey is willing to raise – albeit one he disagrees with – is the view that there is now too much SPAC money chasing too few opportunities. This relates back to Sodl’s earlier point about the quality of SPAC sponsors diminishing with time. Although Davey and Tekkorp Digital feel this is not the case, he acknowledges SPACs subsequently “won’t be for everyone” as a result: “You need the desired asset to be aligned with the appropriate management team.” WORTH THE SACRIFICE? So, despite the speed to market, increased flexibility and greater ability to forecast growth (and include that in your business’ valuation), it’s fair to say the largest disadvantage of the

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SPAC route is dilution. The big question, then, is: is it worth the sacrifice? It’s a trade off of the industry expertise, reputation and relationships of the SPAC sponsors versus independence and retaining a greater share of your business (it is worth remembering you also save on the potential proceeds of the IPO going to an underwriter). Perhaps it is a case of taking the plunge and looking to the future, rather than holding on to the traditional concepts of the past? This is no doubt how a SPAC supporter would see it. And yet if this was good enough for DraftKings – now one of the leading entities in the industry – why shouldn’t it be for anyone else? “Clearly, we have our own SPAC in Tekkorp Digital, so we’re perhaps prone to subjectivity here,” Davey remarks. “However, the DraftKings deal set the US market ablaze and provides a SPAC bellwether which is as instructive as it is obvious. DraftKings required a complicated merger, effectively combining three different assets (two of which were operating assets) under a Nevada structure, and the task was to take it public during a pandemic. “In short, it’s the formidable forerunner which paved the way for others to go public, shining a

meanwhile, is an envious one. Outside gaming, Virgin Galactic has seen success, now trading at $24 but having reached as high as $55.91 – having begun at $10. A SPAC that helped a rocket go into space is a good case study, according to Ader. In gaming itself, Genius Sports is now trading at $17 and Rush Street Interactive at $12, not forgetting that pioneering DraftKings deal all the while. Gaming has become one of the best-performing areas for SPACs, alongside the electric vehicle and alternative area sectors. CONCLUDING STATEMENTS Drawing an objective conclusion, Davey says: “Really, potential IPO drawbacks are just the upside-down of the SPAC advantages we’ve spoken about. So let’s go with: comparative sluggishness, allied to far less certainty around pricing and a weaker grip on price terms. The current caricature seems to be that SPACs represent the new kid in town who’s turned the heads of investors, while the traditional IPO grudgingly waits it out on the sidelines for the fad to fade. However, the reality is that both routes have their strengths or specific merits, and can happily co-exist together in the long-term.”

"Despite the speed to market, increased flexibility and greater ability to forecast growth (and include that in your business’ valuation), it’s fair to say the largest disadvantage of the SPAC route is dilution. The big question, then, is: is it worth the sacrifice?" light on the public’s unswerving belief and faith that sports betting is an entertainment format with a long-term future for Americans across all states. Importantly, it both framed and validated betting as a legitimate entertainment product, too, showing it could follow in the digital footsteps of Amazon and Netflix – for whom the Covid-induced move to digital has naturally been a huge net positive.” In Davey’s eyes, the SPAC model is performing a “great service for the investment community.” This is particularly apt given iGaming and sports betting have huge growth built into them as sectors, as opposed to having virtually zero history in the US. “The migration from land-based entertainment consumption to online is driving this growth.” The list of impressive recent SPACs,

So with the various benefits and drawbacks to consider, SPACs vs IPOs is the primary choice facing private gaming companies today. As Sodl summarises, SPAC and IPO “are the two main options – and/or merge with another company.” Perhaps the biggest hypothetical example we can refer to is Bet365, which Ader believes would command a “compelling valuation, more premium to Flutter Entertainment or DraftKings.” If it had any interest in going public, Bet365 would be able to attract enough capital via the SPAC route, going public at a huge price; at the same time, an IPO would more than likely see its price soar by popular demand. It’s Speed, Penetration, Agility and Creativity versus Independence, Provability and Order. The choice is yours.

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G2E_PREVIEW

G2E 2021: THE RETURN OF THE FULL HOUSE With the American Gaming Association (AGA) having formally announced the return of The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) for 2021, Gambling Insider sheds some light on what to expect from the wonders of the mammoth tradeshow The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is back in town, at a Las Vegas near you. Place all your bets that you’ll be losing sleep, and if you don’t; we’ll raise you. G2E returns for yet another in-person professional premier social event, across four days (4-7 October), at the Sands Expo. Amid the hubbub of excitement among professionals and friends alike,

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the expectation to join forces with your industry peers once more is definitely the subject of long-awaited anticipation. For over 20 years, G2E has offered an informative, efficient and gratifying means to connect and showcase innovation in the gaming industry. Although ‘freedom day’ has finally arrived in the UK, G2E is dedicated to advocating the safest precautions by means of responsible

social distancing. Direction and distance markers will guide you to your destination with temperature screening taking place upon arrival. Only vaccinated guests will be allowed to attend and increased sanitising stations will be situated throughout the venue. Covid-19 (coronavirus) will indeed have a small but important part to play during the event, but let this not dampen your spirits!

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G2E_PREVIEW

This too shall pass, my friends. We repeat, this too shall pass. Following the disastrous effects of Covid-19 across all land-based industries, we envision nothing but a ubiquitous sense of unity throughout the event, and thereafter. Because that’s the point of it, isn’t it? This is a cultivation which aims to bring everyone together, appreciating old and new professionals, and celebrating people and their brands in general. The amount of business veterans integrating themselves through the venue ensures you’ll definitely be able to mix and mingle like a little corporate family, all the while gaining the experience and knowledge you need for your established or budding gaming enterprise. Covering the vastness of the event, the buzz of exciting tradesmanship runs

electric through the venue. You can almost always sense the finalisation of an important deal being made, or feel the essence of partnership between brands, companies and suppliers coming together. This is a social, yet highly professionally driven event, with the support of many large corporations. G2E, in itself, is a way to humanise businesses away from the regimented requirements that come with meeting in an office or a boardroom. This trade show allows people to familiarise themselves with their business partners as real people with real deals instead of systematic robots with no soul. After all, just because you’re doing business, doesn’t mean your characteristics have to take a step back. It looks like G2E will have a full house this year, after a research survey showing 80% of participants stated they were excited to attend G2E. It’s evident that this year’s event is set to boom, in more than just a social aspect. Considering the praise of the 2019 event, we presume the list of gregarious activities will be exquisite, brimming with event schedules and never-ending networking opportunities. The recent NIGA event was a hustle and bustle of success, boasting celebrity guests such as Mark Wahlberg and A.C

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Green, and laying the template for G2E. Following on from the virtual G2E last year, a full suite of gambling products and services will be displayed at this year’s in-person G2E. The virtual event brought many discussions to light surrounding the recovery of businesses after the pandemic, and displayed how to use marketing data in a Covid-world to one’s advantage. Other topics, to name a few, highlighted subjects around diversity and inclusion, a guide to omni-channel systems and the possibilities of further states including online gaming. This year, expect many conversations on sports betting, tribal gaming, cashless payments – which was a huge focus during NIGA – and esports. The post-pandemic future will still be one of high importance, focusing on the views of land-based gaming, and the success of land-based casinos since reopening, notably in Nevada. Expect all the corporate schmoozing of past experiences, alongside a plethora of opportunities to develop one’s knowledge of the gaming sector. The colossal company booths and staggeringly large stands from suppliers are enough to cement one’s understanding of how huge G2E really is, and how importantly they mean business. Big-brand giants Novomatic, Bally’s Gaming, Kambi, Aristocrat and many more will set up an impressive display, no doubt enticing guests with brand new state-of-the-art ideas and concepts. With around 30 conferences a day, especially from the outset on Monday,

you’ll also never be without a chance to learn more about the industry. During your time in Las Vegas, you may additionally ask what’s there to do while you’re in sunny North America? More than you could ever need to is the answer, despite the previous impact of the pandemic leading to a Las Vegas shutdown last year. For the free days before or after the G2E trade show, your choices are endless. The Sands Expo, part of the Venetian property, boasts an abundance of leisure and amusement surrounding the resort; the city really is the Entertainment Capital of the World.

If you have a vice, any vice, whether it be shopping, gambling, dining out or partying, the Venetian property as a whole caters to anyone and everyone’s personal needs. Exploration is limitless: why not indulge in a party (or two), or ride on a Dune Buggy through the Nevada Desert. Your possibilities are pretty perpetual. G2E = Global Gaming Expo or... Got To Eat? With the extent of fine dining restaurants to choose from, your options here are infinite. The resort holds some of the most prestigious culinary goodness. You may prefer to dine at the Mercato Della Pescheria and try its exquisite authentic Italian seafood menu, or taste the five-star Spanish paella at Edo Gastro Tapas & Wine. Your Japanese cuisine fix will most certainly be met by the reputable restaurant, Mizumi, so esteemed it was quoted as "out of this world."

"Real people with real deals instead of systematic robots with no soul" With all the distinguished diners in Las Vegas, it’s a given that your foodie needs will be met regardless, even if you decide you want a quick Maccy’s after a night (or day) out, the McDonalds won’t fail you and is never, ever far from sight... Ah, sweet Neon City...It’s safe to say ‘we’re lovin’ it.’ So, are you excited for this year’s upcoming G2E? The biggest land-based casino event in the world? With all systems go and an atmosphere just bursting at the seams, the return of the premier US event of the year waits patiently. Round up, round up, expect a show like no other! Like we said, place your bets please.

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THE HUDDLE

In front of the curve Alex Leese speaks to Tim Poole on the GI Huddle about his gaming industry journey so far, life as a CEO and his vision for expanding Pronet Gaming You didn’t mention you were a Liverpool supporter – I should have worn my Liverpool top! Could you explain your history in the industry and how you got involved in gaming? I always think gaming is an industry that finds you, rather than you find gaming. A lot of people seem to come across it accidentally, but once they’re in, they get the bug – and it’s very difficult to leave. I went into sports broadcasting, then eventually went through to the Press Association where I was Head of Sales. I moved to GVC (now Entain), then to Offside Gaming – where I took on a Managing Director role. I then had a stint with running a site in the UK – Smart Live Casino – which it is fair to say was a difficult experience given the shareholders involved, but one I certainly learned a lot from. I then moved to William Hill, where I worked as the International Director. Two years after that I moved on into their Corporate Development department. Looking back at my time as the CEO of Smart Live Casino, once you’ve experienced doing it yourself from the top, it’s very difficult to go back to working for a big corporate. I was waiting for the right opportunity to arise and that’s when I heard of the role with Pronet Gaming. It was absolutely the role I was always waiting for. You've spoken about your time at William Hill: how useful and beneficial was it working in emerging markets and new territories there? At William Hill, my role was to run their regulated businesses with Italy and Spain, which came with its own challenges including a lot of advertising restrictions. When you’ve got a business as big as WIlliam Hill, it’s very difficult sometimes to be as agile as you need to be. As I moved into Corporate Development, it became obvious to me there was a clear appetite to go into new markets. I started off the licence application into the Buenos Aires

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province and made partnerships – maybe something that William Hill wasn’t used to; that was quite an exciting role. And Pronet’s focus? There was a perception previously before I joined that it was an emerging market specialist; however, that’s something I’m keen for us to get away from because we are operating in regulated markets! So, in that bid to change perceptions, what do you have to do to get the message out about regulated markets? The level of marketing we now have across LinkedIn and digital advertising is excellent, and something I’m very proud of. The stand we had at ICE 2020 was a real statement and a huge success. It was what paved the way for the growth we saw during 2020, when we signed over 21 new customers.

"I always think gaming is an industry that finds you, rather than you find gaming" It’s about getting Pronet at the top of B2B platform providers and that’s been the working progress of the last 18 months. Given the achievements you’ve set out and what you’re aiming for, how would you sum up your time as Pronet CEO so far? Pretty successful I would hope! It was always my aim to build a company I always

THE HUDDLE

wanted to work for. As a CEO my focus is obviously to drive growth, and we’ve seen that. In 2020, we drove 18% growth in relation to 2019. And in 2021, it would be a disappointment if we are not seeing 25-30% growth in the business; and that comes down to improving the product. If you had one wish for improving Pronet – anything in the world – what would it be? Good question! It’s our job to be at the forefront of product development, on behalf of our clients, to push boundaries. Since the pandemic, the challenge has actually been the recruitment of new developers. Global demand for developers has gone up and it’s much more difficult to recruit developers, in particular, which is why we have upped our game in regards to marketing, recruitment and the benefits we offer. So my wish would be to have an additional 500 developers now, to be able to make sure our platform is pushing at the forefront of new technologies. Not that we are actually behind the curve now, but you’re effectively behind the curve if you are not constantly moving on. It will happen. It’s just not fast enough for my liking because of the increased competition. What are the major challenges you face in the industry right now. You alluded to one there in terms of the development side, what about regulation? For a B2B platform provider, the regulation challenge is almost indirect, in some respects. For example, for us to be able to take clients into regulated markets, we ourselves do not always need to have a B2B licence from that jurisdiction. What we are finding is how we respond to the challenges the B2C operators are facing.

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As they are going into these new emerging markets, they don’t have the expertise to do it. In a European market they know what to do in terms of platforms, teams and marketing. But some of the newer markets can be quite alien to them. So, we are coming under more pressure now, not just to provide the platform but to provide the managed solution, which includes the marketing, affiliate marketing, advising clients on local law firms and how to create new companies. We have been taking a consultative approach with these new clients. In certain markets, because of the team I have, we all have our specialist areas in terms of specific knowledge in particular sectors. And very often it’s about knowing who to pick the phone up to to get something done! It’s about making sure we can support our clients in the relevant jurisdictions. How does Pronet stand out with such competition in sports betting, and how exactly do you stand out in an industry that’s so saturated? I think with any market with a significant tax burden it’s difficult for companies to use a third-party provider. It’s just a harder business case to look through when you are having to consider an extra percentage of your gross gaming revenue (GGR) to pay a platform provider. That’s why I think our strength lies actually when it comes to other markets, which are obviously regulated in a very different way, and maybe where the marketing spend doesn’t need to be so big. There has been a bit of consolidation at the moment and I think the aspirations into the US market have actually played in our favour. What we are seeing is that it’s very difficult for either B2B and B2C to be effective in both at the same

time. It almost feels like people are going into the US in a big rush with all their eggs in one basket. This is making it even more difficult for them to be cutting edge in the other markets, which is where I think we can compete very effectively. To conclude, what are your goals moving forward for Pronet? Pronet’s goal is of course to grow the business and also get to the point where we are the number one provider. We want to be known to have the best product and solidify our position in respect of gaining industry recognition. With us being a relatively new entrant into the B2B industry, things are going really well; we have completely changed the perception of the brand. I want to see us in the top three of every award. My challenge and aims are to make sure we maintain our family-like, close-knit culture. It’s a difficult thing as you get bigger because you can’t spend time with everyone, so that puts down a challenge for me to try and maintain that. How we see our team is like this: we have the robustness of a big corporate, but the agility of a startup. It’s the startup culture that I want to maintain, alongside winning an employer of the year award.

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BIG QUESTION

How important is bricks and mortar for digital gaming growth in the US?

Michele Ciavarella, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, Elys Game Technology

Mike Ciavarella It is critical that bricks and mortar or “retail” distribution forms an integral component of the sports betting and gaming ecosystem for digital gaming growth in the US. Because gaming products – be it sports betting, casino or poker – are generally consumed in physical environments where players can gain a high degree of trust with the operator and have external stimulus to keep play time in perspective. The memory created in a public retail environment is encoded and stored in your brain and can be retrieved

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to influence future behaviour in a private digital environment. The drive, feeling and atmosphere that is created in bricks and mortar establishments, the physical interaction with other people, including senses like touch, smell and sound, simply cannot currently be created or replicated on a digital screen; and thus, bricks and mortar distribution serves as a reciprocal partner to digital growth. Competition is part of daily human life. We compete with each other, we try to get the best deals on products we buy, we take chances on purchases we make, we meet people and compete with them every day in many social and work environments. Sports, in fact, are primarily a physical or mental competition between players, while casino games are enjoyed in a vibrant, exciting environment, and poker – despite being a card game – is played continuously in our daily lives, in almost every situation we face. This human-to-human interaction is why bricks and mortar establishments are so important to digital growth. Since gaming is consumed mostly in physical environments, the concept of an ecosystem includes a digital experience that can best replicate a player’s experience at a physical location. The connection between the memory encoded by the physical experience will ultimately fade away in digital time, and thus, a recharge to refresh the memory will ultimately be needed.

Entertainment value to create the drive to play – which can only be generated in a physical venue, be it a sports arena, a casino or your favourite pub – is priceless. Take sports betting, for example. Players want digital velocity without the shackles of gaming accounts, payment systems, KYC and the nuances around online playing experience. A sports bet is simple; it’s a competition between two people that think they are choosing the right winner. In sports betting, there is nothing better than arguing with your pal as to who will sink the putt! That vibe currently doesn’t exist by betting against your mobile device, but can if sports betting occurs at a pub/sports bar while enjoying a meal and beverage with friends. It is equally important that both channels exist cohesively within the engagement ecosystem because of the nature of our industry. After all, gaming is not so much about selling physical products, but rather the entertainment value of the games, relationships, and the thrill of the unknown outcome; whether that’s against a machine, or against a bookie. Despite technological advances for security, transparency and responsible gambling, many players don’t entirely trust digital operators not to rig games against them, so it’s difficult to get ultimate convenience. This gives brick and mortar operators the edge on trust and reliability in the ecosystem. The digital channel is bringing a new

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BIG QUESTION

dimension to the industry and is growing rapidly, particularly with the widespread adoption of cutting-edge technology tools in our daily lives. A prime example is how the flow and availability of data on digital channels have transformed sports betting from meeting with a local bookie offering only local or regional events, to being able to bet on virtually any sport being played in any part of the globe 24/7. Casinos, resorts, restaurant chains and every small venue operator you can think of around the world work very hard, spend a

lot of money and create unique identities and differing environments, brand loyalty and continuity to attract and retain their customers. The intersection of retail and digital starts here with the crossover and connection between human nature, the need to compete and to be involved, and the convenience of having instant access and gratification that comes from gaming entertainment. While bricks and mortar creates the consequential memory and experience, the digital channel brings it all together in the palm of your hand instantly – and with more choices than ever before.

Mike Ciavarella is the Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Elys Game Technology, Corp., a Nasdaq listed company with iGaming operations in Europe and the United States. Mr Ciavarella studied mining engineering and spent the greater part of his career in financial planning and business management. He also spent 20 years in the hockey coaching community where he authored several books that are followed by thousands of ice-hockey coaches around the world. These combined experiences were instrumental in bringing together the Elys group of companies and team to become a key contender in the rapidly growing US sports betting market.

Adam Noble, Co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer, PlayStar Casino

Adam Noble

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On a level playing field, I believe the answer is a resounding – not important at all. In considering this statement let’s take a look at the retail book industry; did Amazon require bricks and mortar retail locations across the globe to form a part of their growth strategy? Absolutely not. If you look at Tesla, the world’s highest valued car manufacturer at the moment, does it have thousands of car yards scattered across the globe? No, it has gone for a very different business model to reach its consumers. However, it is important to acknowledge when considering this question that this type of “free market” growth is not directly transferable to the online casino industry in the US, since one of the major factors the bricks and mortar casinos have up their sleeves is the control of market access. The fact the bricks and mortar industry controls market access will allow some clever operators a strategic advantage, in leveraging those assets into a dominant position for growth. But for the purpose of debating this question, let’s leave that aside for the moment and consider what it means from the perspective of the brand – and product of the bricks and mortar casino. Let’s also consider how that translates to growth strategy of an online casino. From this perspective let me just say nothing will replace the bricks and mortar casino experience that many casinos have to offer across the US; but I do not believe it is a critical part of an online growth strategy. The reason I believe this is that, in the first instance, they are very much different products; yes, the gambling aspect is consistent across both, but there are many factors that are different once you get past that. What works well in a bricks and mortar

casino doesn’t directly translate to what’s going to work well online and, in some instances, it actually hampers the bricks and mortar casino; as it struggles to find a way to replicate its brand and casino experience into its online offering. Therefore, a player may initially follow that familiar brand from bricks and mortar to online, but it may find they’re disappointed with the experience that is provided. Of course, leveraging the strength of your brand is going to be important; however, tying it to the physical bricks and mortar casino is another thing. As an example, in New Jersey if you’re sitting on your couch in Hoboken, are you that interested in receiving an incentive that you need to travel to Atlantic City to recoup? There is a definite advantage in leveraging your brand to attract players in the first instance, yet the acquisition strategies in the digital world are very different to the acquisition strategies in the bricks and mortar world. Therefore, aside from the initial brand familiarity, many online casinos are brought back to the pack when it comes to acquisition in the digital world. Once a player starts to compare like-for-like online casino experiences, the strength of the bricks and mortar brand is diminished considerably, and the strength of its online experience needs to shine through. If you are playing on a site that has no ties to bricks and mortar and it’s offering a superior experience to the trusted bricks and mortar brand, your loyalties may quickly change. There is no reason why the online casino industry in the US won’t follow a very similar trajectory to other transitioning industries into a digital environment, and that is that their bricks and mortar brands

BIG QUESTION

will have less significance and the brand that is providing the highest levels of personalisation, customer experience and engagement will succeed in the end. I am not saying this is a winner takes all by any stretch. The bricks and mortar brands are

still going to have a considerable share of the market, but I do not believe it will be as a result of being tied to bricks and mortar property; it will be because their online offering competes well in the market. Irrespective of my opinion on this

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question, when you look at the data it is irrefutable that bricks and mortar is not a critical component of online casino growth in the US. Three of the top four market shareholders have minimal to no ties to brick and mortar properties.

Max Meltzer, CEO, Strive Gaming

Max Meltzer In Post-PASPA 2018 everyone would likely be referring to bricks and mortar mainly as commercial and tribal nation casinos. That’s clearly one sector, it’s the one that in a lot of states some operators have to collaborate with to get a licence/access to a market; or those powerful brick and mortar locations and casinos may opt to operate themselves under their own brand. Fast forward to 2021, and bricks and mortar could easily also mean OTBs like Parx has, restaurants and bars; as we’ve seen more companies partnering with or with sports stadiums, particularly as leagues and sports teams are now growing their strength in this industry. The US is on a path to find ways of digitising while working with bricks and mortar locations in an innovative way like never seen before. This is where leading B2B technology offerings can help in converting physical on-property customers into digital ones without cannablising on-property revenues. On-property experiences are a way of entertaining and understanding some of your most important customers, creating acquisition and retention strategies that will be imperative for long-term growth.

System links like loyalty cards physical to/ from digital can help players transition to an online experience. Some casinos are using applications such as on-premise betting where regulation permits, or preparing betslips digitally and paying at cages – therefore educating and digitalising players. Sport stadium experiences are now including more betting experiences. Likewise, some casinos are digitising ahead of state regulation by running social casino or utilising other verticals, to enhance the ROI on those players and prepare for online transformation without diminishing their physical experiences. Big physical locations, like casinos on tribal nations, rightly see their customers as their biggest asset and have found ways to evolve their strategy and futureproof their whole business, by building a digital brand to serve these customers. The pandemic has driven organisations across North America to seek a way to digitalise their customer database. Ultimately, having the right player platform is key; it’s the core to not just storing customer data but being intelligent enough to analyse data behaviours and realising what customers really want. As part of that, technology as a flexible, rules based engine allows you to engage with customers in real-time, to meet their needs, ensuring the experience from offline

to online is as authentic as possible and in keeping with your physical brand– which is imperative. If a customer is used to being able to go from one of your casinos or bars in one state, they’ll also want to be able to have access in the next state your brand is (where regulations permit).This is where regulation and digitalisation is going; the more this grows, the greater the digital and physical relationship can grow too as an entire experience. I also want to be clear – it doesn’t matter whatever perspective you look at this, B2B or not, lots of tribal nations rely on their on-property revenues. Therefore, if the industry wants some key future states to regulate in a digitally approachable way, it’s imperative we find ways to use digital strategies to drive land-based revenues as well. What better way than being rewarded online with physical experiences and that enable you to bet or play casino games in your community? These bricks and mortar locations have a great way of building genuinely loyal customer databases with a long history of their habits. There is so much casino content and there are so many games on-property that these customers play, and would love to play online if they had the chance. Many want to go online – now that’s powerful. As it pertains for sports wagering as a patron wanting to place a bet for effective digitalisation growth to occur, the platform a brand uses must be able to scale with the peaks and troughs of sports events quite unlike casino traffic. Finally, you can see in M&A today that the industry clearly understands the importance of a powerful iGaming/player platform. It’s also clear having access to good databases is becoming one of the important battlefields among the leading US operators. Ignore the importance of bricks and mortar at our industry’s peril. Whether that’s a lack of understanding about how good some of these databases are, politically how important they are to companies and how that can impact your strategic objectives; or how much of a role they have to play in acquisition and retention.

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BIG QUESTION

Elena Kvakova, Head of US Expansion, Internet Vikings

"As of today, there are 21 states where online betting is legal, with New Jersey leading the game after officially becoming one of the largest iGaming markets in the world, behind only Germany, the UK and few other major European players"

Elena Kvakova The United States of America is going ‘all in’ as virtual gaming begins to rapidly spread around the US. All eyes are on the enormous potential it holds. However, the legal specifics can be somewhat confusing because every state in America has the right to effectuate and enforce their own regulations to the industry. Over and above having to abide by particular legal policies, any online gambling operator wishing to do business in the USA requires a lawful affiliation with a brick & mortar casino in most states. While the brick & mortar casino affiliation rule can cause certain challenges, it should not be viewed in a negative way at any given point in time. To say the least, it provides clear structure and balance to a very complex industry in the newly established legal ecosystem. However, before evaluating the role this legislation plays in the development of the online gambling industry in the United States, it is important to understand the specifics of the market itself. First and foremost, the US market is rather complicated on its own, especially when it comes to gambling. Under the current set of regulations, it should be viewed as 50 independent markets instead of a single one. Because of this, its development was not as fast and smooth as many would have liked it to be. Although the US opened its doors to online gambling back in 2013, only six states had iGaming legalised by 2019. After seeing the commercial success of iGaming in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia,

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other states decided to join in. In addition to this, unprecedented events of 2020 have accelerated this process even more. Yet again, a gold rush has begun. As of today, there are 21 states where online betting is legal, with New Jersey leading the game after officially becoming one of the largest iGaming markets in the world, behind only Germany, the UK and few other major European players. Due to an absence of brick & mortar casinos in certain territories, some new iGaming jurisdictions do not require lawful affiliation with land based casinos. But, in most established iGaming markets in the US, this rule is non-negotiable. Moreover, if you are a service provider, like Internet Vikings, being attached to a local, physical casino is not critical. However, when it comes to casino and sports gambling operators, there is no way around it and the law is not likely to change in the foreseeable future. So when it comes to the question of how important is the bricks & mortar concept for the development of online

gaming in the US the answer is ‘CRUCIAL’. While some operators may view it as a major setback, it’s important to understand that every state is simply trying to adjust to a newly created reality, allowing space for fair competition while trying to avoid discrimination. Land-based casinos have been successfully operating in the United States for many decades, significantly adding to the country’s economy. Yet they may feel threatened by the rise of online gambling. Especially due to the changes in consumers behaviour caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. An emerging market of this magnitude requires some degree of control. IGaming companies can also gain from brick & mortar affiliation law. One benefit is that it limits competition. For example, if there are only five physical casinos in the state, and the law allows only five online “skins” per casino, competition is limited to a maximum of 25 online gaming websites within the state. The iGaming operators that are quick enough are guaranteed a good share of the market. Additionally, being attached to a well-established native casino has its perks too, such as improved marketing for lesser-known overseas online gambling brands. Overall, there are of course both pros and cons when it comes to this concept. Brick and mortar should not be seen as a menace to online gaming. While it may be seen to limit accessibility to the market, it allows greater monitoring of the business. The idea furthermore maintains a degree of proportion relative to demand. As each state adapts and evolves its own sense of balance between the two, there is plenty of space and opportunities for both, enabling technology and a greater number of players to come to the table.

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ALEX CZAJKOWSKI

WORTH THE INVESTMENT Regular Gambling Insider contributor Alex Czajkowski shares some of his marketing and iGaming expertise on two on-trend topics: a stable alt-coin solely for iGaming; and CRM in the 21st century CHIPS AND TOKENS When you sit down at a table in Vegas, you “money in,” put your cash down and get chips (although sometimes “money plays” and your cash sits in that little circle). You then get chips that reflect your deposit. There are lots of reasons for this. It’s faster and easier for the dealer to deal with for one. But there’s a psychological factor, you’re no longer playing with cash money, they’re “just chips.” And as another “free” drink kicks in (always cheaper to drink at the bar), the distinction between real and play money diminishes. You tip with a five dollar chip for that one-dollar Corona…

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In iGaming, you “post up” or deposit into your wallet (mainly) and play in your currency. That’s a five-dollar spin. A twenty dollar bet. You are always acutely aware of your spend – although you might not notice how fast it goes. And of course that money goes through myriad hands before hitting your wallet, each hand taking their one, two, eight percent cut. Processing costs are huge for every iGaming site – and the process of processing is getting tougher and tougher. Ah but enter crypto. Maybe. Here, processing costs (and AML, and KYC) can nicely go away. Sometimes. I’ve heard of $20 bets costing $200 in “gas fees” on Ethereum (ETH).

Not sustainable. Bitcoin (BTC) processing is getting more expensive and slower. But what if you could buy chips, tokens, that you could use on any iGaming site that didn’t have these dangling liabilities? What if the industry rallied around an “alt-coin” that was exchangeable for “fiat” (cash money) on multiple “exchanges”. Without the ridiculous volatility of BTC or the expensive processing fees of ETH? Long-time industry veteran Adriaan Brink is following in the footprints of Jez San OBE by embracing the latter’s FUN token. After a controversial ICO (Initial Coin Offering) of his BETR alt-coin, he may be on to something

ALEX CZAJKOWSKI

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now. Leveraging the astounding international traffic for Freebitco.in, the FUN token has seen an enormous take-up by would-be players taking on a simple Hi-Lo game, a Wheel of Fortune and “lotteries” for prizes like Lamborghinis and Rolexes. Or BTC if the winner prefers. Poker, proper casino games, Mahjong (of course, Brink saw Mahjong as a larger market than poker more than a decade ago) and other games are on the FunToken.io roadmap. Will this be Brink’s homerun? Maybe. Following on from the indisputably brilliant San’s initial FUN Token and Funfair casino (and innovative, cool games), this effort ticks a lot of boxes: low or no processing costs. A “token” like a casino chip, transportable between iGaming sites; anonymous transactions (like playing with cash in a land-based casino). It has a lot of legs. You have to watch this space. Someone is going to crack it; iGaming has notoriously been slow to adopt innovations, but with efforts to expand into markets with highly volatile currencies (Africa, looking at you) and increasingly restrictive policies in regulated markets (Germany and UK, looking at you) there has to be an alternative to heavy-handed government-controlled banking. A stable alt-coin for iGaming could be the answer. CRM IN THE 21ST CENTURY So I inherited a very manual and unreliable in-house CRM solution with this client. Better than nothing. If you’re not dropping daily, relevant, authentic and timely emails in your players’ email inboxes, how are you driving monetisable traffic to your site? SMS; relatively expensive but effective. Webpush: essential but too-often over-used. On-site messaging: great when they are on site. Retargeting via ads. Everyone with an iota of intelligence loves the value-add of data analysis from industry-darling Optimove. It makes tons of sense to automate comms based on player behaviour. But how do you reach these players with your essential “daily, relevant, authentic and timely” messages? SMS. Webpush. Emails. Inbox messages. On-site messaging. All of the above. And all in real-time. Because different channels work for different players. And different geos (try sending an SMS with a link to New Zealand). So I needed a CRM platform that would give me all those channels, so we could reach out to players, in real time, via all of them. I looked at tons, from long-standing Hubspot to Salesforce.com. There are pros, cons and costs for each. I settled on Fast Track for lots of reasons: it was recommended by my CRM geek friends, my client knows the CEO, it seemed like a safe bet and met most of the criteria. Later,

Alex Czajkowski I discovered OptiKPI and Simplify, also contenders worth a look. We really needed “omnichannel” comms. Automated triggers based on player behaviour. Easy access for customer service to see what we’re sending/saying to players. And we’re small-ish, so wanted a small-ish price tag. Fast Track seems to tick all of these boxes. Phase 1 of the project was to simply get off our old in-house system that was often unreliable, doing things like not sending, or worse, sending multiple times. This was relatively easy to do – and arguably any (well, most) modern CRM solutions could handle these base needs for Phase 1. And that’s a big part of the problem, as your ESPs want to sell you “marketing automation” and promise the world. But can they actually deliver? Look to their roots; that’s what they are good at… and an SMS provider might have this and that on their road map, or an ESP might have “integrated” an SMS provider. Another important (and differentiating) component for Phase 1 was adding an on-site inbox. This has proven invaluable and popular; it’s one of our most trafficked pages now. We put everything we send in the on-site inbox; we get a decent open rate

(and great deliverability) on emails, but still only a percentage opens them. The inbox gives us an easy, safe, uncrowded space to communicate. And in tough SMS geos, we can simply say “log in and check your inbox; you have a new message at <site>.” No link allowed. No marketing/promotional copy allowed. This helps get us through that. Phase 2, which we’re now on, included “triggered” messages and automated bonuses: fast bust-out, here’s your rebate, via on-site pop-up messaging and/or email and/or SMS. It also includes “management alerts,” so the VIP team knows when a key player logs in (the iGaming platform itself should do this, but, alas, it doesn’t). Phase 3 will be using Fast Track to enable “gamification.” There’s lots of positive chat about this, and Captain Up looks like a nice (if pricey at $5,000 a month) easy add-on. But while my webdev team will have to do the front end, it looks like we can rely on Fast Track for the backend. While I don’t think there’s any easy integration tying your database to a real-time CRM platform, I know real-time communications based on “player state” are vital. So it’s worth the effort and investment.

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ENTAIN

METHODS IN MOTHERHOOD Grainne Hurst, described as the 'mother of Changing for the Bettor,’ speaks to Gambling Insider about comparisons between Government and gambling, and the growing accolades of women as gaming industry professionals

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bringing those interests together under the umbrella of the one goal you’re trying to achieve. Whereas in the gambling industry when you’re working in-house, you’re all striving for the same goal with the same outcome. So it’s a lot easier to navigate, and therefore decisions are taken in a much quicker and efficient manner than they are in Government. Can you speak to me about the ‘Changing for the Bettor’ program? How is it making a difference and how are you ensuring it applies overall, as opposed to just being a promise? One of my colleagues kindly described me as ‘The Mother for Changing for the Bettor’, which has stuck with me (for better or for worse). The program was really established as our global safer gambling strategy, where it came from was really GVC Holdings at the time – before we rebranded to Entain – acquiring the Ladbrokes and Coral business, which was very UK-facing. It was a bit of an eye opener in terms of the amount of regulation in the UK market. So, in hopes to learn the lessons from previous regulatory hurdles in the UK, we decided that it would be best to be proactive and get ahead of the game by putting all of our priorities out there when it came to safer gambling. Underneath all of those we decided what our commitments would be in each one.

to expect, in trying to get the balance right between all the different stakeholders we were trying to communicate with; that has really helped.

"Every little we can do to help [women join our sector] is another step towards greater equality"

What are the comparisons of working in politics and gambling? I’d say working in the gambling industry is a lot faster than working in the circles of Government. For obvious reasons, and understandable reasons, the cogs of Government move quite slowly. There are lots of different decision makers and departments that you have to bring along the journey with you, to get to a policy decision, creation of an idea or an announcement. Sometimes there are competing interests; you might have the Treasury on one side, your department on the other side and the political view on another side. So, it was often quite challenging

It’s such a multifaceted area that we couldn’t nail it down to one core pillar, so we actually ended up having seven pillars, which is quite a lot for a strategy. The area of gambling-related harm is so diverse that we felt that we wanted to try and cover off as many avenues as possible as part of our strategy. We had seven focus areas and we have made a difference in each and every one over the last couple of years. We were the first organisation to call for an increase in our donations to research education and treatment for problem

Grainne Hurst How have your previous roles in senior communications, corporate experiences and working in Government helped mould your new role as Entain’s first Corporate Affairs Director? It must have helped to have all of those experiences spearheading you onto this innovative role? It definitely did, I think in two ways: the first two prepared me for what to do well and what to avoid. Having seen it from various sides of the fence, it’s been quite useful to know how you should be engaging and interacting with those sorts of audiences and stakeholders when you’re in the role that I am in now. I’ve seen it done really well but equally, not quite so well. So, I think that was quite a good influence coming into the role. Also, I’ve had some experience previously in other large FSTE companies, so that was a good grounding for me to know what

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ENTAIN

gambling. It used to be 0.1% of our revenue and it’s now jumped to 1%; we were pleased that the other big five in the industry followed our lead on that. We thought it was the right thing to do and it’s paying great dividends for research education and treatment, because they have such a bigger pot to be able to expand their treatment centres nationally, and also look at some areas of research that haven’t been looked at before; so that was great. And what about the whistle-to-whistle advertising ban? We were also the first company to call for a whistle-to-whistle advertising ban in the UK; again, that’s because we saw there were quite a few gambling adverts on the TV during live sports before the watershed; and we spoke to lots of our stakeholders who weren’t too happy about it, so rather than sit back and wait for something to be done about it, we wanted to go out proactively and make sure we were leading the charge on that. I think the evolution of Changing for the Bettor is that we started off with a strategy which was looking at how we can work with our partners externally; whether that’s the Harvard Medical School – looking at the causes of problem gambling harm – or running educational programs for people that

to whichever risk profile they are showing. We always said at the time that Changing for the Bettor would never be a static document, it would always be evolving and I think ARC is a really good example of that evolution. How do you feel about being named as an important part and influence of the gaming industry’s future? (As said by former GVC CEO Shay Segev). I’m honoured, but obviously it also comes with quite a big responsibility to make sure we continue to drive and deliver [that responsibility] throughout the business. It’s not just me. We have a huge team internally that works to ensure we are following through with our promises. It’s definitely a team game and I am pleased to play my part in it. In regards to Entain, what particular changes or adaptations did you envision for the company before you became promoted to Corporate Affairs Director? For a long time, we’ve been grappling with how we make the evolution in Changing for the Bettor, and deciphering a global corporate strategy to operationalise it within the business. That is not my forte, I’ll be honest. It was something we always wanted to do but I was never able to crack that nut, as it was not

"One thing about women involved in the industry and Entain, which is important, is our partnership with Girls Who Code. They aim to inspire a passion in young girls and women to enter into the STEM world" may be at risk of gambling-related harm. We are now evolving Changing for the Bettor by looking deeper into our own operations and how we can better improve player protection. What is it that you’re doing exactly to improve player protection; can you tell me a little bit about ARC? You might have seen that we launched our Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) program six months ago, which was really focusing on what we can do internally with our algorithm. We compile all of our data, advice and evidence we have from all of these expert groups, to actually identify our customers who might be at risk at an earlier point and then intervene with them according

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in my area of expertise. However, we have worked with an amazing team, especially my colleague, Peter Marcus, our Group Regulatory Operations Director; we are kind of like yin and yang. I do the policy strategy side and he does the operational delivery. I think that’s worked really well to move Changing for the Bettor on to the next iteration to make sure it is really at the forefront of driving player protection for our customers. It is a small number of our customers who are at risk. We obviously know that a vast majority play and enjoy our products safely and securely but we wanted to make sure we have the most robust safety net in place, which we are delighted to say we are in the process of rolling out through ARC.

How have you found juggling your new role alongside motherhood? With all your past achievements and these major adaptations to your life, you’re pretty much Supermum. I definitely don’t feel like Supermum! I now have two boys and they are a delight. Juggling motherhood, Covid, working from home and the new job is a challenge but I am really lucky that Entain have been massively supportive in letting me work flexibly. I have a really strong home network that is also supportive, so I’ve been very lucky to be able to follow both paths at the same time. Furthering my professional career while also having my kids keep me on my toes at the weekend. Children are quite good at bringing you back down to earth, if you’ve had a stressful or challenging day, or you’ve had to get your head really deep into solving a problem or working out a solution – as soon as you see the kids it kind of blows away the cobwebs. Finally, I wanted to end with the question of gender equality in the gaming industry. How do you feel about the phrase ‘Women in Gaming’ or more so, ‘Women in the Industry? I actually think it is still quite important, as there are so very few women in the gaming industry. I feel like we need to almost highlight and shout about that. And I’m not sure how best to do that if we don’t necessarily use that phraseology. I don’t at all want to stigmatise any particular group, but I think that women in the industry should talk about the joy, importance and excitement of being a woman in the gambling industry – if only to try and encourage others to want to get involved and join the sector. I think it’s very important. There’s a great organisation called Global Gaming Women, which works across the board to try and encourage and influence more women to get involved in the industry or the sector; wherever that might be and whichever roles that may be. I personally think the more we can do and say, and raise the profile about it the better. One thing about women involved in the industry and Entain, which is important, is our partnership with Girls Who Code. They aim to inspire a passion in young girls and women to enter into the STEM world. This is so important to us as we know that 50% of the world’s workforce are women but only 15% are in STEM – at Entain we are already at 30% but we want to inspire as many more women as possible to join. It is also great having a female CEO role model in Jette Nygaard-Andersen to drive this change and inspire the next generation. Every little we can do to help is another step towards greater equality.

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KATERINA BELORUSSKAYA

THE QUALITIES THAT MATTER Parimatch Tech Founder Katerina Belorusskaya gives honest and refreshing answers in discussion with Tim Poole,, as she addresses her changing role at the company, the future of the operator and the success of female executives within gaming What is your role within Parimatch Tech and how has that changed over the years? Formally, my role and title has changed a few times during my career with Parimatch. The focus of my attention has mainly been on the development and growth of the company. During the start of my tenure at Parimatch, in 2011, I was mainly focused on business development in different countries. Parimatch is an international company and, when I joined the team, we very actively evolved and progressed. There was a lot of attention given to processes in different countries; for example, Belarus. I also focused on new launches in Kazakhstan, Cyprus and in Africa. From 2018, I started working more on the firm’s corporate development. We’d grown a lot as a business by then, with a more sophisticated management structure. There were more complex and serious business processes and, to that end, I started focusing more on the central operations of the company. At that point, though, we decided we wanted to decentralise, empowering our local teams more and having less control from above. I helped develop a lot of our HR, PR and CSR functions, which I was personally determined to grow myself. As well as being Chairwoman of the Parimatch Foundation, I’ve always been a partner in the company and I’ve always felt it’s important to understand how operations are going and how we’re progressing. I never wanted to be a partner who just looked at the numbers. For me, it’s always been important to take part in the daily life of the company, to better understand it. If we talk about what I do today: I’m part of our Supervisory Board, which came to fruition in April. It’s very new but it’s a sign of our progress as an organisation; I don’t see a better role

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for myself than what I’m currently doing right now. We constantly evaluate our results, risks and targets. I see a lot of potential in Parimatch Tech. How involved will you be in the running of the business moving forward, given the roles of Co-CEOs Maksym Liashko, Roman Syrotian and Chairman Sergey Portnov? Like I said in my previous answer, my main role is being part of the Supervisory Board and I am no longer too involved in the operations side. Today, I focus more on corporate control, capital and talent management – because people are at the heart of our business, so it’s always important to focus on our people.

“Women have shown they can go far in the gambling and technology sectors. Women can be absolutely as competent as men; it’s more about self-belief” How can you help champion the rise of female executives in gaming, and encourage more to come through the ranks? I try to show by example that you can reach high-ranking positions in any industry and any business. I think, today, the industry does see things differently: women have shown they can go far in the gambling and technology sectors. Women can be absolutely as competent as men; it’s more about

self-belief and women, for some reason, can think they can’t reach senior roles in so-called male industries. That’s not the case and plenty of women are reaching high positions, leading by example. Quite simply, the more women that succeed like this, the more people can see it’s possible and believe in themselves. I hope my example can inspire some; overall, it’s more about stereotypes that were given to us at one time and, gradually, we’re getting rid of them. Soon, hopefully, we’ll see an exactly even picture. At Parimatch Tech, we still have a relatively low number of women in top positions – but we do have them. We only judge based on the competence and experience of different candidates, which are the only qualities that matter. Are there any non-betting aspects the business will now focus on, having rebranded to Parimatch Tech? Yes, we rebranded to Parimatch Tech because there was an acknowledgement that we’re no longer just a bookmaker but a technology company. You can see this from the number of IT specialists that work for our company. We are, of course, still majorly focused on gambling products, with our main aim to get players betting. So it’s difficult to say exactly how much we are focused on non-betting aspects, as betting remains our core proposition. But the industry overall has changed and technology is the most important service you can offer your client. There have

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been a huge amount of technological advancements in our industry. Which new markets are your biggest priorities? We are of course very big in the CIS markets, seeing as we started here and became leaders here. So right now our focus is beyond these markets and elsewhere; because we know we’ll reach a saturation point where we can no longer grow in our core markets. So our main focus now to develop the Parimatch brand for our partners in Europe and on the African continent. I won’t name specific countries just yet, because it’s still up for internal discussion. But with confidence I can say Europe and Africa. How would you rate the success of Parimatch’s Supervisory Board so far, following the restructure? I think it’s still very early to rate the success of the Board. We only restructured in April and, through trial and error, we are getting better as a board. From one side, the Supervisory Board does not quite fit into the old Parimatch culture; we’ve always been ambitious and quick-moving. We’ve been used to making quick decisions – again through trial and error. Now, we have to discuss things in greater detail at a board level, which is more difficult for a brand like Parimatch given our traditional go-getter culture. Our product hasn’t changed, we are still focusing on betting – and the Parimatch brand remains. But the evolution of Parimatch Tech means we are a company that works internationally, looking at every aspect of the technology chain and ultimately aims to entertain the end player. Today, we are just as strong in terms of technology as our branding. Now, we are thinking a great deal about franchising, so there’s a lot of focus on both the betting branding and the technology side. At the same time, a company like Parimatch Tech, with the level it’s reached, it can’t really do without this kind of board-level activity anymore. Let’s see: I would say within a year, we will know for sure how effective or not our Board will be, because we’re still in the formation process. We are becoming a little more bureaucratic, but it’s a sign of our evolving nature.

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NICK HILL

A SMART BET FOR RESPONSIBLE GAMING? Regular Gambling Insider contributor Nick Hill proffers the benefits of putting the player journey on blockchain

IGaming as an industry has grown from strength to strength, worth around $60bn in 2020 with projected growth of a further 11.5% by 2027. Across the globe, the popularity of iGaming is surging as more people get smartphones and benefit from better digital infrastructure. Yet for operators, there are still some key challenges that pose a threat to maximising the opportunities of this growth. One of the most significant considerations is regulatory. Governments and their gambling regulators are often walking a tightrope of

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political convenience. While regulating gambling makes sense from a tax perspective, there are political and social issues to bear in mind too, and regulators are becoming increasingly toothsome in how they control these challenges. Responsible gaming is one of the most significant of the societal issues that regulators are keen to address. Problem gambling undeniably causes serious problems for those it afflicts, with some 19% of problem gamblers even having considered committing

suicide in the past 12 months, compared to just 4.1% of the population as a whole. Steps are already being taken across the industry. Throwing money at the problem helps check the box. But in terms of efficacy, there is so much more that could be done to get a better result – first and foremost for problem gamblers themselves, but for the industry as a whole. Luckily, help is at hand. Waiting in the wings is the gradual rollout of blockchain technology, which will revolutionise the

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Nick Hill

gaming industry in many ways, similar to the changes brought about by the internet and more recently, smartphones. From a responsible gaming perspective, blockchain brings forward a huge range of new possibilities that will provide operators with better tools to tackle the problem, as well as to satisfy regulators of compliance with their requirements. RECORDING A PLAYER JOURNEY Regulators are increasingly putting the burden of responsible gaming on the

shoulders of operators. It is frequently up to the operator to identify problems as they arise. Yet without the right data to hand, spotting these needles in haystacks proactively can be a difficult challenge for even the most socially conscious operator. Blockchain makes it possible to record large volumes of player data in real-time, and to pre-programme automated interventions based on that data. Say for example a player suddenly jumps in their spend volumes or gaming frequency, compared to their prior behaviour. With the help of blockchain technology, this could trigger an alert system, which automatically issues an intervention from the operator. Various trigger points can be established on a traffic light system, green, amber and red, allowing operators to seize the initiative in a data-driven, automated way. And because it’s powered by blockchain, there is an immutable audit trail written to the blockchain with every data transaction. This can be visible immediately to regulators, who can analyse all the data collected, to reduce liability to fines for non-compliance. SAFER, MORE RESPONSIBLE GAMING Under current systems, protection measures like self-exclusion extend only to the walls of a single operator – there is no centralised register that can be shared between providers identifying players who may already have experienced challenges with their gambling.

(Editor’s note: Affiliate Casino Guru is attempted to create a global self-exclusion register but has acknowledged the challenges in doing this). Solving this problem is simple with blockchain, giving players their own unique digital identities and data profiles. These can be seamlessly shared between operators and regulators, or even monetised by the players themselves, courtesy of the new data landscape brought about by blockchain tech. Responsible gaming will be pushed ever further up the agenda for the iGaming sector in the years to come. It’s crucial that operators put their trust in new technologies like blockchain to solve these challenges, to benefit from improved service delivery, better compliance outcomes and lower costs. Nick Hill is an iGaming veteran with more than 20 years’ experience within the industry holding various senior positions during this time, most notably he was CCO for EveryMatrix from 2008 until exiting in 2017. On leaving EveryMatrix he spent time in Asia building Flow Gaming an Asian-centric content aggregation platform that was the first to deliver NetEnt content in to the region as well as other well-known content publishers. More recently Nick has incorporated Premier Chain, which is an iGaming consultancy business with a specific focus on the introduction of blockchain technology in to the iGaming vertical for processing, NFT’s, supply chain management, responsible gaming, AML and KYC as well as all other aspects within the iGaming vertical.

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INDUSLAW

WHAT’S BREWING FOR THE INDIAN GAMING INDUSTRY? Ranjana Adhikari & Shashi Shekhar Misra , Partner and Associate at IndusLaw respectively, offer a round-up of the latest regulatory updates in the Indian gaming market 1

Littérateurs have often referred to India as a land of dichotomies. The current legal landscape that is visible in India as regards gaming and gambling is a case in point. On the one hand, while the courts are slowly and rightly affirming the constitutional legitimacy of the industry through a purely legal lens, there is on the other hand a constant litany of litigations calling for restrictions and prohibitions on gaming, based largely on their moral view and sensibilities. Though legal developments over the past few months have been positive for the industry, there is also the nagging worry whether countering such frivolous petitions could end up being a Sisyphean task. In this article, we provide a brief roundup of some recent cases and the legislative efforts of certain states in India, which are of relevance and interest to the world gaming community. 1. CHALLENGE TO THE LEGISLATIVE COMPETENCE OF STATES TO REGULATE OR PROHIBIT SKILL-GAMING: MADRAS HIGH COURT PAVES THE WAY In a significant judgement2 delivered in the first week of August, the Madras High Court (“Madras HC”) held that the blanket ban imposed by the state of Tamil Nadu on all forms of gaming, when played for stakes, is unconstitutional3 and thereby struck down the impugned amendments 4 to the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, 1930 in their entirety. The judgement also attempts to set out clarity on the issue of the legislative competence5 of the state's vis-à-vis skill games. The Madras HC held the amendments to be manifestly arbitrary, disproportionate to the objects they set out to achieve and failing the ‘least intrusive’ measure test. The Madras HC agreed with the contention

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be read so as to provide the state with betting as a separate legislative head. However, with a new State Government with a different political affiliation now at the helm in Tamil Nadu, the state is once again considering yet another law to ban online rummy and poker for stakes, despite the Madras HC quashing the previous amendments (as discussed above)6. It is anticipated that post the Madras HC verdict, the state would have to pass the muster of the tests identified by the court - i.e. the law should be proportionate to its objects, should be based on proper background research and empirical evidence; and should pass the ‘least intrusive’ measure test if impinging upon a fundamental right.

Ranjana Adhikari of the petitioners that the legislative competence of the State, under the legislative head of “betting and gambling,” cannot be enlarged so as to include within it the power to legislate on games of skill; but observed that the State could, however, reasonably claim such competence under other heads of legislation available to it such as ‘public order;’ ‘trade and commerce within the state;’ or ‘sports, entertainment, amusements;’ provided it could justify the need for such a law and the extent thereof. The Madras HC made it amply clear that the legislative head of “betting and gambling” has to be read as empowering the State Government to only legislate on betting related to gambling, which in turn meant betting on games of chance, and should not

2. REAFFIRMATION OF FANTASY SPORTS AS A GAME OF SKILL The fantasy sports industry in India, and Dream11 in particular, celebrated some key orders recently. By way of background, Dream11 is one of the most successful fantasy sports operators in India and a unicorn within this sunrise industry. Over the years, there have been a number of public interest litigations in which the legality of the Dream11 format came into question. In July of this year, the High Court of the state of Rajasthan (“Rajasthan HC”) rejected a writ petition 7 filed by a private citizen which had, inter alia, sought regulation or prohibition of online fantasy games played for stakes. The Rajasthan HC, relying on earlier judgments8 on the issue, rejected the petition and held that offering of online fantasy sports in accordance with self-regulation guidelines of the industry body, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), had already been judicially recognised as a game of skill; and hence a legitimate

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"Though legal developments over the past few months have been positive for the industry, there is also the nagging worry whether countering such frivolous petitions could end up being a Sisyphean task" - Ranjana Adhikari

business, entitled to protection as a fundamental right9 under the Constitution of India (“Constitution”). Towards the end of the same month, the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in a vital judgement10 held that the issue of legality of fantasy sports was no longer res integra11. Though the court acknowledged that a matter12 on the same issue was pending before a different and larger bench of the Supreme Court, it nevertheless affirmed that Special Leave Petitions on the issue of legality of fantasy sports were being rejected by the Supreme Court since 2017.

Also, in a recent official reply to a Right to Information application filed, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has indicated that draft guidelines for fantasy sports platforms, formulated by a government recommendatory body13, as well as the need for a central regulatory framework for online gaming in India, may soon be deliberated upon by the Union Council of Ministers. 3. ACTIVITY IN VARIOUS STATES TO REGULATE ONLINE GAMING One of India’s most populous states, Uttar Pradesh, is considering either amending or

repealing its colonial-era gaming statute14, as per the recommendations of, and the draft bill15 formulated by, its State Law Commission. The draft bill, inter alia, applies to the online medium by including cyberspace as one of the sites covered by the definition of ‘common gaming house.' The said Commission also has rightly recommended that skill games continue to be an exception under the new law/amendment, if any16. In February this year, the Government of one of India’s largest states, Madhya Pradesh, had sought time, on being prodded by the state High Court, to make its stance clear on

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online gaming and gambling17. The Court had granted the State Government time till April earlier this year, to formulate and present its views; but the matter has not received a hearing thereafter owing to pandemic restrictions. Madhya Pradesh is also one of the populous states in India and, therefore, of great interest to the gaming community. The Government of Rajasthan has reportedly been considering a new law on gaming and gambling for the past few months, with more stringent punishments, and is currently in the process of drafting the same18. Meghalaya, a state in the north-eastern part of India, enacted a new law19 around March this year, prescribing a licensing regime for gaming operators; and also setting up a state Gaming Commission for facilitating the enforcement of the provisions of said law. In Karnataka, a petition was filed late last year by a social activist, seeking a ban on all forms of online gambling or online betting, till the State comes out with a mechanism to regulate these activities20. In the latest hearing on 10 August 2021, the State Government has submitted that a draft bill has been prepared, and the same would soon be presented to the Court after due approval of the State Cabinet. The industry is awaiting this development with bated breath, as Karnataka is an important market for most gaming operations. The Kerala State Government had earlier this year revoked the express statutory skill game protection for ‘online rummy when played for stakes’ vide an executive notification21 under its state gaming law22. This had muddied the waters for rummy operators in an important market and made it less conducive for them to operate in. The Kerala High Court has reserved its judgement on a petition challenging this notification and it is likely to pronounce the same soon23. 4. SPATE OF ‘PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATIONS’ Finally, the past few months have also seen multiple frivolous petitions being filed in different High Courts of the country. A petition24 filed in the Madras HC in July this year sought a direction to the relevant authorities, to ban all online and offline video games, which were ‘spoiling’ the children. Rejecting the petition, the Madras HC observed that constitutional courts ought to be wary of entering into such areas and matters, based on the personal sense of morality of the individual complainant, or of the judge or judges concerned. Recently, a petition25 was filed before Delhi High Court (“Del HC”) seeking a direction from the Court to the Central Government to formulate a national policy to protect children from online games ‘addiction,’ and also to constitute a regulatory authority to monitor,

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and rate the content of both offline and online games. The Del HC disposed of the petition with a direction to the relevant central government departments, to consider the representations made by the petitioners. Similarly, an advocates association in Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka, recently filed a petition26 in the Karnataka HC (“Kar HC”) seeking a direction to the State Government to ban apps posing a ‘threat to children’s health’. The matter is currently pending at the preliminary stage before the Kar HC. 1. Ranjana Adhikari is a Partner, Media Entertainment & Gaming Laws at IndusLaw, a leading law firm based in Mumbai. Shashi is an Associate in the same practice group at the firm 2. Junglee Games India Pvt. Ltd. &Anr. v. State of Tamil Nadu (Writ Petition No. 18022 of 2020) 3. Violative of the fundamental right to a profession, business, trade or occupation granted by the Constitution 4. As enacted by Part II of The Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021

No(s). 18478/2020) 11. A point of law yet to be finally decided 12. State of Maharashtra v. Gurdeep Singh Sachar (SLP (Crl.) Diary No. 42282 of 2019) 13. The NITI Aayog. The draft guidelines may be found at http://www.niti.gov.in/ sites/default/files/2020-12/FantasySports_ DraftForComments.pdf 14. The Public Gambling Act, 1867, as adopted by Uttar Pradesh 15. The Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2021 16. Section 11 of the [Draft] The Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2021 17. Abhijeet Malviya v. State of Madhya Pradesh (Writ Petition No. 18426 of 2020), Indore Bench of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh 18. Urvashi Dev, “Rajasthan: State Government to make online gambling, betting jailable offense”, Free Press Journal, 4th March, 2021, available athttps://www. freepressjournal.in/india/rajasthan-stategovernment-to-make-online-gambling-bettingjailable-offense (last visited 13 August 2021) 19. The Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021

"A petition filed in the Madras HC in July this year sought a direction to the relevant authorities, to ban all online and offline video games, which were ‘spoiling’ the children" - Ranjana Adhikari 5. Under the Constitution, legislative competence of states is derived from the prescribed heads of legislation only 6. Akshaya Nath, “Tamil Nadu to soon bring law for banning online rummy games, informs minister”, IndiaToday.in, August 4, 2021, available at https://www.indiatoday.in/ law/story/tamil-nadu-to-soon-bring-lawsoon-for-banning-online-rummy-gamesinforms-minister-1836712-2021-08-04 (last visited on 10th August, 2021) 7. Saahil Nalwaya v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (Division Bench Civil Writ Petition No. 2026 of 2021) 8. Ravindra Singh Chaudhary vs. Union of India& Ors. (Division Bench Civil Writ Petition No.20779 of 2019) 9. Under Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India 10. Avinash Mehrotra v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (Special Leave Petition (Civil) Diary

20. Sharada D R v. State of Karnataka &Anr. (Writ Petition No. 13714 of 2020) 21. No. G.O. (P) No. 26/2021/HOME issued under S. 14A of the Kerala Gaming Act, 1960 22. The Kerala Gaming Act, 1960 23. Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited v. State of Kerala (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8440 of 2021) 24. E. Martin Jayakumar v. Govt. of India & Ors.(Writ Petition No. 13600 of 2021) 25. Distress Management Collective v. Union of India & Anr. (Writ Petition (Civil) 7113 of 2021) 26. Special Correspondent, “Advocates’ Association calls for ban on online gaming," The Hindu, July 6, 2021, available at https:// www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/ advocates-association-calls-for-ban-on-onlinegaming/article35147146.ece (last visited on 10th August, 2021)

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TIME SPENT PLAYING Regular Gambling Insider contributor Paul Sculpher asks whether time played should be considered a key metric in the quest to make gambling safer There’s no doubt that safer gaming is high on everyone’s list of issues for the industry. But we saw something in reply to a Gambling Insider LinkedIn post that, apart from anything else, highlighted how far we’ve come as an industry in the UK. With this in mind, it’s interesting to look at the current mindset surrounding how long customers can play before some sort of interaction is triggered. The most interesting part of looking at this question has been the difference between the approaches of offline and online operators. I’ve shied away from the word “contrast” because clearly both sides are looking to accomplish the same goal, but their resources are certainly different. Firstly I spoke with Jon Duffy, SVP of Corporate Assurance and Regulatory Affairs from Genting Casinos, for his view on the offline casino world. He pointed out that, in the bricks and mortar world, it’s more about customer behaviours than simply clocking time spent playing. He told me “we really don’t have a fixed time period after which we will interact. Our team are very experienced in identifying behaviours that represent risk indicators, and those indicators can appear regardless of time spent playing.” When I asked Jon for some examples, he described some that will be familiar to anyone who has undergone problem gambling awareness training (as has every customer-facing Genting employee). Behaviours like becoming emotional due to gambling results, spending time around the gaming tables after a playing session has finished, and complaining that equipment is “rigged” are all red flags for responsible operators. He also pointed out that there’s an increasing amount of data available to offline operators – loyalty cards give their team much of the data that online operators can wield, although unless the Gambling Review introduces mandatory carded play this data will always be incomplete. There have certainly been some spectacular failures to act responsibly by operators over the years, and one suspects not too many of them make it into the public

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Gaming Consultant at iGAM Consulting – LinkedIn comment Speaking from experience, there were players at various casinos in the US that would regularly gamble for periods of over 24 hours. If they were approached about taking breaks the staff were met with abuse and cursing – something to do with the belief of the player that the machine was either “hot” or “warming up.” Not sure about the case mentioned, but sometimes you just cannot help people no matter what safeguards are put in place. Guest Relation Executive at Bellagio Colombo – LinkedIn comment Many addicted players always play over 24-hour periods... I have seen a Korean player who played on the table for three days... His excuse was it's hard for him to take a break from his work...

domain unless the regulator steps in. If the Australian Daily Mail is to be believed, one of the current licensing challenges facing Crown Melbourne, for example, relates to a baccarat player involved in a 96-hour playing session, along with a host of other unbelievably long sessions.

"Gambling requires just enough attention to keep you interested, but not enough so that it’s draining" I think it’s important to note that, particularly playing offline, most of us are used to the feeling that time passes very quickly in a casino, when you’re in perhaps a comfortable seat, with refreshments to hand,

and maybe a relaxed atmosphere with friends. Gambling requires just enough attention to keep you interested, but not enough so that it’s draining. However, there comes a point when a long session passes from, for most of us, “I’ve had (or lost) enough, time to go home” to, for some, something a little more unhealthy. The equivalent in online play looks quite different from an operator’s point of view. I spoke with Adele Farrell, Director of Compliance and Safer Gambling at Rank Group, for a view from the online side of things. Adele explained that online operators have more granular data than their offline equivalents (given that she takes care of both for Rank Group). “We have details of every hand, every staking decision, and every game selection for our players, so we are able to make decisions in a much more data-driven way,” she told me. “As regards Time Spent Playing (TSP), this is one of the things that is fed into our algorithms and safer gambling models to identify customers who may be at risk or experiencing problem gambling. On its own, our players will see a pop-up on their screen once they reach one hour playing, suggesting they take a break, but that’s not the whole story.” The Gambling Commission’s advice note

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"Rank recently unveiled

a new real-time safer gambling monitoring desk, the new 'HAWKEYE' system will allow it to more quickly identify customer online behaviour that may require intervention"

Paul Sculpher

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from June 2020 touched on session length in the context of additional risks posed by, effectively, lockdown boredom and noted that online sessions longer than one hour had increased by 23% on a like-for-like (equivalent pre-Covid month) basis. The conclusion was that, because it is simple enough for players to switch operators in the online world, interactions would be a more robust approach, so I asked Adele about her company’s approach to personal interactions. Adele explained to me how a range of other factors will feed into the decision to trigger a personal interaction, keyed on changes of behaviour – such as a spike in deposits, velocity of play, frequency of play or indeed playing for longer periods at unsociable hours defined as “late night play.” That interaction might also be influenced by total spend, and the same data collected relating to customer due diligence for anti-money laundering and affordability; this can be useful to feed into customer reviews to help people who may be moving into having issues with their

gambling. Rank recently unveiled a new real-time safer gambling monitoring desk, the new “Hawkeye” system will allow it to more quickly identify customer online behaviour that may require intervention. In summary, Time Spent Playing is only a small part of the puzzle as regards detecting and interacting with people who may be experiencing problems with their gambling. It does seem the offline world and online world are at opposite ends of the spectrum, however. Online, you have access to perfect data, but far less of the softer information, so operators are trying to synthesise behaviour tracking from changes in measurable benchmarks. Offline, experienced team members have their eyes, experience and training to spot troubling behaviour, and are trying to improve the amount of hard data they collect via loyalty cards and other methods. Perhaps over time both ends of the industry will get closer to their shared goal – a blend of soft and hard data to better help the minority of customers who need our help.

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TRANSITIONING TO AN OMNI-CHANNEL SUPPLY Industry leaders from GiG, BetConstruct, Yggdrasil and EveryMatrix discuss making the transition to an omni-channel supply, in an attempt to function successfully in the current climate, with Peter Lynch Ebbe Groes – Group CEO, Every Matrix

Martin Collins - Director of Sales and Business Development, Gaming Innovation Group (GiG)

Sargis Poghosyan Chief Product Officer, BetConstruct

Stuart McCarthy – Head of Partner Programs, Yggdrasil

SARGIS POGHOSYAN:

Market solutions are mainly divided into land-based and online channels, which offer various products and interesting opportunities. If we take from the legislative point of view, in many countries they have different legal restrictions for both online and land-based channels, and the main point for the company is to be able to set different restrictions and rules for these two divisions. From the players’ standpoint, naturally these two channels are offering different experiences, even if they show the same products.

EBBE GROES:

The most basic difference is the existence of anonymous betting. Not technically difficult to handle, but a massive difference in what you can do with the product, say doing player limits, game recommendation, bonusing as mentioned above. Anonymous retail gambling is one-size-fits-all and rather primitive. Next to that is the whole dimension of betting shops, with separate reporting, tracking, features. That comes with a long list of retail specific features, none of them tricky, just time-consuming.

STUART MCCARTHY:

MARTIN COLLINS:

The one major difference between retail and online is the ability to get up close and personal with the customer. That ability to really know what the customer likes to drink and what they have been up to that day makes a massive difference when driving loyalty. If you can capture both via a seamless solution, you can utilise that loyalty in an online environment, which has been built in retail.

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WHAT ARE THE MAIN DIFFERENCES YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER BETWEEN LAND-BASED AND ONLINE?

Aside from the obvious considerations around RTP (return to player), staking and spin times and how that impacts gameplay, as game builders we also have to take into account how a game sits in its environment. You are no longer building a game that is designed just to be enjoyed on a mobile phone or within the comfort of home. These games have to resonate in betting shops, bingo halls, cafés and truck stops; and from an audiovisual perspective the game has to pack a punch.

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SARGIS POGHOSYAN:

The development of gambling in different countries of the world leads to different legislative solutions, within the framework of which BetConstruct must meet the standards. Most countries try to offer their legislative solutions to the market, which causes difficulties in the “go to market” process. This means that long-term solutions to enter a new market are not entirely appropriate and the company must respond quickly. With bigger product portfolios and more than one targeted channel, companies will definitely feel the pressure to deliver in all instances.

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EBBE GROES:

They are fairly low. In most countries, the online regulation is substantially more demanding than the retail regulation. The most important example of this, of course, is player recognition. Only very few countries demand any sort of centralised player registration for retail gambling. As a result, the classic online player protection mechanism is largely absent. Over time, I’m confident this will change, that operators will be required to monitor player spend across channels. This will place a burden on providers of retail while online providers will have an advantage. Regulation, thus, is less of a challenge and more of a driver towards true omni-channel solutions.

WHAT ARE THE REGULATORY CHALLENGES WITH SUCH A TRANSITION?

MARTIN COLLINS:

There are challenges with regulation in new markets whether there is a requirement for an omni-solution or not. The majority of regulators have their own take on how their framework should work to protect players and, thus, there is very little consistency across markets in Europe or US states. Nonetheless, it is vital to be aware of how regulators view the three pillars of our omni-solution: registration; wallet; and loyalty. If there are restrictions in these areas, we need to ensure the offering falls in line with the requirements. For example, in some jurisdictions, the ability to move money from retail to online is forbidden, so we couldn’t offer that particular solution.

STUART MCCARTHY:

Regulation of European online markets is happening at pace, often following the templates laid down for retail. In this respect, we are finding that the amends we are already making to meet online regulation are also applicable, or similar enough not to present a significant challenge.

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EBBE GROES:

Going from online to omni-channel is a natural step. We signed several land-based clients and have discussed ways to integrate our online solutions with their retail. While one can certainly make some integrations, it quickly becomes clear it leaves much to be desired. True omni-channel must, by necessity, originate from a single system with multiple channels, not by patching together separate systems. This way, all the cool stuff will come along easy; the joint odds management and risk management are obvious, but the most important part is player experience. We see the importance of retail as an acquisition and support tool, since online play is becoming increasingly dominant. Disconnected platforms are a barrier for operators to maximise the opportunity of their retail estate. To make a true difference, we provide a seamless platform with player management and promotion tools, which can help transition retail customers into the online space.

SARGIS POGHOSYAN:

The gambling market is constantly expanding and technological development is forcing companies to compete more aggressively. Our organisation has grown a lot over the years. To comply with the wishes and needs of operators who trust our technology, we develop solutions in different directions and omni-channel supply is a very important branch of development. Such an approach, of course, leads to many problems that need to be addressed.

WHY HAVE YOU MADE THE TRANSITION TO AN OMNI-CHANNEL SUPPLY?

STUART MCCARTHY:

MARTIN COLLINS:

Retail to online has been a key component of our strategy since before 2018. We realised the overall market share for online in the ‘overall’ gambling market was increasing year-on-year. Coupled with increased regulation, this would lead to large established retail brands seeking a route into the online market, while still being able to harness the benefits of what they had built in retail.

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We see this as a natural extension of the Yggdrasil brand. Over the past few years, we have had many requests and approaches from partners with significant retail presence looking to bring our games to market. The stars have now aligned with the right partners for us to do this in a really meaningful way.

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SARGIS POGHOSYAN:

There are quite a few markets that offer great opportunities: the expansion of the gambling industry is constantly opening up new markets, new opportunities. I will mention two markets that provide a good chance of growth for software-providing businesses: the US and Brazil. Being one of the largest markets in the world, the US is a newly regulated online market that offers a huge opportunity for both online and land-based solutions. Brazil is also in the process of drafting a new regulation, it will be a very big market for land-based solutions. Why different solutions for different markets? There are several reasons why one market is a big opportunity for omni-channel supply and another can handle just one. The first reason is the cultural thinking of the players: in some regions, some are more accustomed to on-site betting in brick and mortar venues. Other markets have well-managed and diverse online payment channels and systems, so naturally the players are more keen to play via online gaming and betting.

EBBE GROES:

All regulated markets. Of course, omni-channel is not restricted to sports betting shops. Self-service betting terminals are on the agenda as well, as are lottery outlets and account top up stations. The exact forms differ by country, but omni is relevant everywhere.When one discusses omni-channel, a dimension often overlooked is product. Land-based gambling tends to have an even more strict product separation than online gambling. Roulette and blackjack tables vs slots machines vs sports betting. Our ambition is to unify on products as well: Omni-channel and omni-product!

WHICH MARKETS (GEOGRAPHICALLY) ARE CURRENTLY DISPLAYING COMMERCIAL APPETITE FOR AN OMNI-CHANNEL SUPPLY?

MARTIN COLLINS:

Covid has undoubtedly accelerated the process of retail moving towards online and, consequently, there is no single market I could single out that would have the greatest commercial potential. Any retail concern in a regulated market, with a loyal customer base and solid ‘brand equity,’ should certainly consider the move to online as a potential additional revenue channel.

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STUART MCCARTHY:

There are many well-established omni-channel markets out there to tap into. Our first foray into omni-channel is rolling out this year in Finland with Veikkaus, delivering games to their massive estate. From there, we will then see how this develops further for us. But it is clear there are plenty of opportunities to explore.

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A CULTURE OF ‘SAMENESS’ Alex Thomson, RVP of EMEA, Quantum Metric, discusses moving away from a homogenous ecosystem in online gambling

Alex Thomson Gambling has been around since before official records were written. It is one of the most evolving industries, from baccarat – thought to be the first card gambling game – through to betting on horseracing and even digital scratchcards. Now, although one of the oldest industries, gambling’s ahead of the curve on digital. The nature of the industry means it’s working hard to improve player protection measures and operators are constantly looking to see how they can beat their competition. Gambling companies have shown how agile they can be over the past year, switching entire sports revenues to provide players with that je ne sais quoi and to allow them to continue serving businesses. On the whole, the industry should be patting itself on the back for having weathered the pandemic storm. Despite this, there is one major challenge that is facing the gambling industry today and this is the issue of sameness. People don’t like to talk about ‘sameness’ in

gambling. Some might argue sameness does not exist, but in terms of the user experience, it’s a problem. If it weren’t, why is so much marketing spend focused on producing ‘the best offer’ – 100,000 won every minute, 100 free spins, top 10 placements and so on? The best offer does not necessarily equate to the best experience. It’s a clear sign that the digital product only differentiates itself by expanding the potential winnings for the player. Alternatively, while others may understand that sameness exists, they may not see it as a problem. Where’s the need to differentiate? The industry is genuinely doing well; the digital side of gambling is booming like never before and the UK is leading the way globally. If there’s one thing that history should teach us, it’s that complacency is dangerous and inevitably leads to stagnation. Someone else always comes up with something better in the end. The past 30 years of technology is littered with known examples: Blackberry; Sony’s minidisc; MySpace; petrol-powered cars. The list goes on. It’s also worth noting that US companies have a history of making many of these technologies obsolete. The sharpest minds and companies in the US have listened to consumers, and reacted to what they wanted, even before consumers knew they wanted it. And now the US is starting to move into online gambling, there could well be problems ahead for those elsewhere. To maintain long-term success, a business needs to be prepared to disrupt; the gambling industry is no different and if you don’t, someone else will come along and disrupt it for you. If that wasn’t risky enough, gambling companies need look no further than tightening regulation. Future government regulation in the UK is likely to be used as the basis of regulation worldwide. Its very nature is likely to be antithetical to ‘best offer’ type marketing. Or perhaps,

it’s clearer to say that ‘best offer’ marketing is directly at odds with player protection and the golden chalice of player personalisation. At best, new regulations will water down best offer approaches. At worst, it will ban them altogether, and then where will the marketing spend go? So, gambling industry – here’s your chance. Sameness is a problem, and while it’s not too late to do something about it yet, it will be at some point soon. It’s not an easy thing either, but as Theodore Roosevelt said, “nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” This move away from sameness will involve wholesale, cultural and technical change, and it’s difficult to know where to start on such a big process. I’d suggest looking towards the player. Player experience is at the heart of any digital service. If you have a better player experience than the next company, you’ll naturally win through. Beyond this, there’s also a need to foster a culture of experimentation and innovation. Trying something different has to begin somewhere. It doesn’t have to be big, and it doesn’t have to be permanent, but it’s a start and with proper A/B testing and feedback, channels can be the first step down the path to both innovation and differentiation. This doesn’t mean a better chance of winning a bigger prize. It means a digital journey with fewer friction points, faster (or even proactive) fixes, more intuitive interfaces, and a more personalised experience. This doesn’t just retain existing customers; it actively creates a level of brand loyalty that hasn’t existed since gambling first went online. It will drive up NPS scores, it will help provide increased player protection and it might even help win over people who are currently non-gamblers. More importantly, though, it will provide differentiation from the competition and stop others from getting there first.

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TRIGGY AB

THE GOLDEN DAYS OF BETTING From running a company in the sports betting industry to running marathons, Martina Åkerlund is a woman like no other. The CEO of Stockholm-based sports tech company Triggy speaks with Gambling Insider Reading over a past interview, it was a delight to discover from her answers that Martina Åkerlund was one of the most kind and compassionate people we’ve had the pleasure of researching. It came as no shock to us that when speaking to her personally, she was

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just as warm and welcoming as we had imagined. In such a senior role within a tech company, keeping composure, ethics and good will in a vastly male-influenced industry comes as part of the expectation. “It is important to me, to be kind and personable in

all meetings,” she tells Gambling Insider. “This is something I have developed in my career and it creates a better working atmosphere. When everyone feels respected, everyone wants to contribute and do their best. I’ve always liked the leaders around me

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who have had that type of directorship. It’s something I want to live by. It is important to me that I try to keep this in all parts of my life, personal and professional. It is so important [in making deals], the best deal is when both parts or all parts feel like they’ve made a good agreement with hopes to work well together, it’s important to make a really good start.” In terms of good starts, Åkerlund discusses her upbringing as a well-loved daughter of a ‘serial entrepreneur’ and how this shaped her into the successful businesswoman she is today. “It’s affected me, of course, in a good way. When I was younger, he would say ‘everything will work out fine’, and at the time, at 15-years-old, when everything seemed as if it was the end of the world, he would always say these words. Fast forward to now, as my life has developed – I’ve realised he was so right.” Åkerlund considered her father as a role model, and touches on how important a person’s younger years are as an integral part of character building, physically and psychologically. She explains how those five words gave her the security she carries throughout her adult life; if there is ever something she believes in or strives to do, she will go for it every time. “Maybe I’ll fail? But I’ll always try”.

“The golden days of banking are over; we are really going forward now with the golden days of betting”

As a career-driven woman and working mother since her mid-twenties, the juggle of parenthood and the elevation of continuous success are something it’s fair to say she has mastered, with the help of a “great support system.” Åkerlund and her husband – an entrepreneur, like her father – have “one goal together” and one that has been “a give and take, always, and for both of us to be able to do well at work; but also where the harmony and the balance of family is the most important part.” During our Zoom call, we mention how great it is to be able to speak face-to-face,

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bringing more of a characteristic approach to our interview, and how refreshing it is to see one another, woman to woman. This leads us onto the subject of ‘women in the industry’ or rather, ‘a woman in a male-dominated industry’. “I think there are different ways of making change happen, it’s always difficult to know the best way forward, but for me, it should always be about talent,” Åkerlund states. “What I like about this industry is that – of course, it’s male dominated – but, there are so many entrepreneurs. What I feel about entrepreneurs is that they are so focused on their business they don’t care about which gender is doing what; they care about who will make their company the most successful. Entrepreneurs are less discriminating than larger organisations can be.” TRIGGY HAPPY Earlier this year, Åkerlund’s career took a steer away from banking and finance – where she accumulated 20 years of experience – and into her most recent role as CEO of sports betting supplier Triggy. “They chose me because of my banking background. There are actually a lot of similarities; it’s about including data and transactions. It’s about building teams that can deliver, and it’s about user experience. Both are regulated industries.” With Triggy aiming to increase engagement, retention and conversion within the sports betting industry, Åkerlund expresses her gratitude for working within a team of experienced senior professionals. Åkerlund also emphasises that betting experience itself is not necessarily the most essential ingredient in her role: “The three founders of Triggy know everything about the betting industry. Where I may lack in some knowledge, I have so many other experiences which are great for them in a combination. So they hired me because of a plethora of accolades I can contribute with, besides the betting experience they have. “A really good way of thinking and understanding this is contemplating the view that for any experience one may lack, they can have four other things that are important.

You can most likely find a person who ticks four boxes – but not all five. So, you have to be a little bit more open-minded.” Considering the similarities between banking and finance, and her role in the gaming industry, the correlation between these two professions appears to be separated by a very fine line. “The golden days of banking are over; we are really going forward now with the golden days of betting. With so many similar components, the betting industry can attract people from the banking industry who see business potential going forward. The banking industry is over-mature now, whereas the betting industry is at its infancy;

Martina Åkerlund

TRIGGY AB

there are so many possibilities for the future.” With a role in sports betting, one must have a certain love for sports, right? When Åkerlund is not running a company, well, she’s running 42-mile races. “I love sports, doing sports myself, I have run the marathon and I’ve always been really active. I am married to a huge football fan and now my son is also playing football. Sports is so engaging, bringing so many different types of people together, and makes people passionate about the same thing.” In an era when esports is an ever-expanding community, providing just as much digital engagement as in physical sports, Åkerlund is keen to use technology as an advantage to increase professionalism and innovation within her company. “The purpose of our technology is to make betting and sports more engaging. It’s something that appealed to me when I met with Triggy and learned about their products. With actual sports, it’s about engaging and uniting one another; however, the technological side is all about making things easy and straightforward for bettors. So, that’s why I felt it was a good match for me.” Åkerlund sees many possibilities moving forward with Triggy; in terms of diversity, her aim is to have a wider range of employees, focusing on women employees for particular job roles. “I have an amazing woman on the board, Louise Wendel, who made actual history with Catena Media; she is simply amazing. And that was one of my goals; I met so many talented women in the process. I think it’s great meeting all these confident and competent women.”

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men and women, just like I think it’s best when we combine different ages, expertise and ethnic backgrounds. We all have varied perspectives, experiences and other ways of solving things. So I think we are always best when we try to mix and integrate as much as possible.” The idea that an amalgamation of different skill sets, from both woman and men, contributes to a more-rounded overall picture is a popular opinion among likeminded professional women in the industry. Åkerlund’s viewpoints are mirrored by Grainne Hurst, Corporate Affairs Director at Entain, where a successful business is based around a team of driven characters, all with their own forte (see page 50). Given the conversation around women working in highly ranked professions, or being put off the betting and gaming industry, the end goal remains a subject that is slowly peeping its way up from the horizon. In densely male-filled companies, there still seems to be a stigma focused around the women already working in that industry. Should they be praised and honoured, or should that be eliminated as all sexes need to be recognised and considered as equals in an environment – not applauded for achieving a role suited for both men and women? We live in a society where women institutes like Women Who Code and Global Gaming Women applaud women for working or integrating themselves in the tech or STEM industries, and it’s refreshing to see, but as for now, it’s time to close the gender gap...Don’t you think? Åkerlund’s goals remain the same throughout her career, in any role she’s working in and in any role she decides to choose later in life. As we ponder the notions of an all-woman team and the reactions it would receive, good or bad, the CEO of Triggy is definitely not shy in expressing her passion for the idea. “It would go so well! I wouldn’t see things any other way in an all-woman team. From my perspective, it’s all about the individuals, the great individuals and talented people. The gender is not important to me. I would love to work with a team of women, just like I would love to work with a team of men.”

“They chose me because of my banking background. There are actually a lot of similarities; it’s about including data and transactions. It’s about building teams that can deliver, and it’s about user experience. Both are regulated industries”

STEM – SEEK TO EDUCATE MANY Some studies suggest that only 25% of all tech jobs are held by women. Research has proven the percentage rates of women decrease drastically with age, in females who choose technological studies. During pre-school, 64% of girls choose to learn about such subjects, as opposed to 83% being boys. Moreover, only 30% of females choose to learn science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) subjects at university, in comparison to 54% of males. A shocking

number of 3% of women choose a tech-based job as a career choice, in comparison to 15% of males. This is something Åkerlund aims to change with her visions for expanding a new US tech team, alongside the new technology team already operating in Stockholm. “In the near future, we would like to have more women in the company. Now that we are expanding in the US, we are hopefully looking at getting a woman on board there as well. We will continue expanding our tech team externally to have flexibility, with a stable product and the urge to learn even more in the process. My goal is to have at least one more woman.” With such a strong belief that women should be treated in no way dissimilar to men, Åkerlund both values and welcomes diversity within the workplace. “I think it’s best when we combine

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ZEAL NETWORK

NATIONAL LOTTERY: TIME FOR CHANGE? Amit Lakhani, Investment Director of Zeal Ventures, discusses the race to land the fourth UK National Lottery licence – and why a refresh might be in order Later this year, the Gambling Commission has a decision to make, perhaps its biggest yet. Is it going to award the franchise to run the National Lottery to incumbent Camelot, which has run it since inception in 1994, or is it time for a change? The UK Lotto is one of the most exciting lottery contracts in Europe, and I think this will be a true test of whether the European lottery market is actually open to new operators. Or not. The bidders, so far as we know, are: Sazka of the Czech Republic, Sisal of Milan, Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, and Sugal & Damani, which bid back in 2007 and was chosen as the reserve bidder. And of course, Camelot. I’m told there is a growing feeling in Westminster that Camelot’s time is up and with Sazka and Sisal coming out with all guns blazing, it is hard to argue Camelot deserves another run. For one thing, putting a bid together to run the lottery is a huge undertaking, costing several million pounds. The UK Government is aware it can’t expect businesses to put serious offers together if they think Camelot is just going to land the prize automatically. There are other reasons to expect a change. At face value, The National Lottery’s recent results were pretty impressive – record revenues are certainly nothing to be sniffed at. But if you dig a little deeper, there are some worrying underlying trends that call Camelot’s stewardship of the lottery into question as the Fourth Licence Competition progresses. After 26 years, The National Lottery appears to have lost its spark during the third licence, with nine million fewer players buying tickets. When The National Lottery was founded in 1994, Camelot was tasked with delivering a fun weekly draw to generate funds for good causes and create some millionaires along the way; but during its third licence period, Camelot has failed to reinvigorate draw-based

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Amit Lakhani games, instead relying on a smaller pool of players spending increasingly larger sums on instant win games. In the short term, this strategy has allowed revenues to grow. After all, nobody in their right mind would spend up to £250 ($343) a week on Lotto or the EuroMillions, but the fast-paced and high-frequency nature of instant win games have been crucial to Camelot’s recent success. However, the lottery cannot continue to depend on a declining pool of legacy players committing bigger stakes to keep it alive. With the regulatory environment as it is, and more attention than ever being paid to player protection, it simply isn’t a feasible long-term business plan. Camelot’s quiet withdrawal of the £10 scratch card was a tacit recognition of this. This begs the question – if the status quo isn’t quite good enough, who can deliver credible change? After all, The National Lottery is a vital institution to British society, so it requires a safe pair of hands. While

changing operator intuitively sounds like a gamble, failing to inject new ideas into the lottery is riskier – the fourth licence could end up being a period of terminal decline based on current trends. The National Lottery needs to attract new players, and the only way to do this is by investing in technology and making its products more exciting again. Looking at the competition, Richard Desmond is a known entity and has some knowledge of the UK market through his ownership of The Health Lottery. And yet he should be immediately ruled out. Beyond his controversial background and recent lobbying scandal, The Health Lottery has struggled to make an impact or inject any innovation into the sector. Another contender, Sisal, which operates lotteries in Italy and Turkey, has been making some of the right noises since entering the race. However, its worrying track record of overpromising during tenders and underdelivering once in control is a huge concern. In Turkey, it is even being sued by disgruntled retailers incensed at a failure to deliver the commissions they were promised. Given the impact of the pandemic on retailers, we cannot afford a similar situation with The National Lottery. This leaves Allwyn, whose parent company Sazka Group is one of the major players in Europe. The organisation has grown rapidly, demonstrated an impressive knack of improving lotteries in different markets, while its partnership with Vodafone for the UK bid suggests a serious commitment to innovation. Regardless of who’s awarded the contract, The National Lottery must embrace the latest technology to reinvigorate it’s draw-based games. No amount of marketing spend will make the lottery fun and exciting again without delivering a better product. You want my best bet? I think Sazka is the favourite.

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POKERMATCH

THE MODERN POKER PLAYER The resurgence of poker is steadily on the horizon as Covid-19 restrictions ease. Can this year compete with the boom of the 2000s? Gambling Insider speaks with PokerMatch CEO Ruslan Bangert, on how best to attract the “modern player”

The worldwide lockdown and ongoing global pandemic saw thousands of people take to online gaming and poker (due to enforced stay-at-home measures). How has the influx of new users aided in the resurgence of poker and its online development in Ukraine? The end of April 2020 was a record-breaking time for the online poker industry. The previous time when similar figures for the number of online players were observed was as far back as 2014, when the market capacity was 2.5 times higher than now, in August 2021. For PokerMatch, April 2020 was also a record-breaking month in many aspects. We clearly understood that we needed to provide an exciting interactive experience for the people who stayed home, and we did it by offering unusual promotions, bonus offers,

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and our humanity and empathy for our users. Now we see that many of those who came to us during lockdown are still in the game. That helped us to develop in Ukraine as well, but we realise that now people also need to relax after a long time at home and in online games, and we remind our players more often to take breaks. Do you think the new surge in poker this year could even equate to how huge the online poker boom was back in the 2000s? You can compare it to the boom of 2003–2006 and to one in Eastern Europe in 2008. But only in terms of quantity, not quality. The interest in poker in general and online poker (in particular), was due to the victories of charismatic players in live tournaments that were shown on TV. So the reasons for

the interest were very positive and vivid, people were interested in something new. The 2020 boom is a little bit different; as an industry, we were supposed to be happy, but I would have preferred that any interest in our beloved game was spurred not by pandemics and restrictions on humanity. Instead, the same bright victories by ordinary people like it was in the early 2000s. Back in the 1990s, poker was largely televised, which increased its popularity. Given the restrictions on gambling advertising nowadays, do you think this will curtail the growth of poker? Or is the growth of mobile more effective in increasing people’s interest? Nowadays, television no longer plays such an important role in brand promotion as it

POKERMATCH

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convenient mobile apps. And we are honest with our players, we tell them: "Don’t spend all your time on poker. Play a little bit, and then make time for your family or friends and come back later.” Today’s players need the same things our friends or coworkers need – we just have to give it to them. Based on your experience, can you compare the modern poker player to those of past generations? Yes, the portrait of a player is very different. When I started playing poker in 2009, the player’s portrait was stricter. Online was kind of a closed club with a small community where everyone spoke some strange language. Software was heavy; there were no mobile applications. And, of course, no one understood how to advertise poker on the internet. You could say knowledge of the game was spread almost literally by word of mouth. Now, the super-convenient mobile applications and online advertising have opened poker to thousands of new people. Their portrait is significantly different. Advertising campaigns started to position online poker as entertainment, and those who want to have fun started to come here. I’m not talking about gambling addiction, which of course I sympathise with. I’m talking about an easy-going fun attitude toward the game. Ask 100 players in our poker room about their BB/100 or $/hour – and they won’t give you a clear answer because they don’t think about this stuff. They’re here to have fun and that’s the main difference.

Ruslan Bangert once did. Mobile platforms and the internet have taken over the market and are growing at an incredible pace. Of course, being on TV is still a landmark in any company’s marketing strategy, but you can no longer say it’s impossible to develop without television; the internet does an excellent job. The main thing is for advertising managers to set up their advertising campaigns correctly so they do not target and affect children. The influx of online players will generally be newer and more inexperienced compared to veterans. Do you expect PokerMatch will boost its customer profile and how will you be adhering to the more novice gamers? Historically, we’ve had six or seven amateurs per one pro at the low-limit table, and it’s a great ecosystem. We’ve always been focused only on attracting beginner players, because the professionals themselves come where the conditions are comfortable for them. That’s why the profile of our players hasn’t changed and won’t change much if our marketing strategy is aimed specifically at amateurs. We support beginners through a

friendly atmosphere, a high-quality support team and direct interaction with the company management (for example, our C-level executive can easily communicate with players via messenger chat, and our audience appreciates it). Alongside this, easy affordable promotions are available, which switch from a competition format to an individual challenge format. Amateurs don’t want to compete with others – they want to complete missions and get something. So we give them that. What do you think should be used to attract the modern poker player? The modern player is tempted and overwhelmed by possibilities. Online poker competes with video games and other types of entertainment. I am convinced online poker should not try to win all of its customer’s attention; we should approach being a part of our player’s life very consciously, allocating only a fraction of time to ourselves. It’s much more important for us to have a long-term relationship with players than to squeeze them out in a week, and then lose them. That’s why we use a friendly atmosphere and clear game mechanics to attract players: fun promotions, easy tasks,

What will you do to evolve PokerMatch as a poker room ready for poker's resurgence? We realise being an independent poker room without being part of any big network is challenging right now. It is becoming more and more difficult to compete with the giants of the industry, who are much larger than us both in terms of their liquidity and marketing budgets. That is why we are considering joining one of the existing poker room networks, to get reliable allies with whom we can fight for global share of the online poker market more effectively. We are also considering building our own network based on the software we currently use. We are working on both scenarios at the same time and are already in talks with some well-known brands. And, of course, we will continue using our greatest strength: vibrant marketing that creates emotion. This applies to advertising as well as to game offers. On top of that, we are accumulating very good offline expertise and strengthening our profile managers to improve the synergy between offline and online. I am convinced this will have a correspondingly positive effect.

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INSIDERS

ALEX CZAJKOWSKI

In every issue, Gambling Insider commissions guest columns and interviews with people at the heart of the gaming industry – to discover more about the challenges its leaders, pioneers and innovators face. These contributors form The Insiders

TIM BOOKER Mr Gamble

ADAM ROWLEY RavenTrack

KARIN BEUMER EM Group

OLIVER LAMB Kambi

GARETH TREHARNE PST

INSIDERS TIM BOOKER

Affiliate focus: The cutting edge Tim Booker, Chief Technology Officer at Mr-Gamble, says affiliates must see themselves as technology businesses if they are to deliver the experience users are seeking well as using automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Not only does Google now consider the user experience when ranking sites and pages in the SERPs, consumers have come to expect a smooth and seamless experience when researching brands, and looking for new casinos and sportsbooks to play at based on their preferences. Of course, getting this right is easier said than done.

The technology challenges being faced Aside from developing a website that is fast and stable, affiliates must ensure they deliver the best possible experience to site visitors and users. For most, this means quickly finding the casinos or sportsbook that offer what they are looking for. But with most affiliates now listing 200+ brands on their sites – each with their own bonuses, payment options, providers stocked, etc – there is a huge volume of data and information to be collected, stored and then used to ensure visitors can find casinos based on their preferences. Another challenge is mapping data to the user intent to understand what information a user wants to see from the page they have landed on. It was only a few years ago that you could launch a successful online gambling affiliate business with a basic WordPress template website and, with a small amount of development work, offer a reasonably good user experience to those engaging with your brand. During this time, the focus was mostly on content as the vehicle for driving traffic from the search engine results pages to affiliate sites. While content remains a key component, today it is only one part of the mix with the technical prowess of the site just as – if not more so – important. Essentially, affiliates need to see themselves as technology companies rather than just basic listing websites. This means developing bespoke content management systems as

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How technology challenges can be overcome

A state-of-the-art platform should be the foundation of any affiliate website – without this, it is not possible to build out the frameworks, infrastructure and features required to deliver the best possible user experience. But this is just the starting point. From here, affiliates need to develop intelligent data storage solutions. Evolving from generic data handling attributes, such as those found in WordPress, enables affiliates to use their data more practically. It is just as important for the technical infrastructure of the website to be built in a way that ensures it provides the comprehensive insights and real-time analytics required to

see how users are interacting with your website; to be able to make improvements to user journeys and UX. We also believe machine learning and artificial intelligence should play a major role in the technical structure of affiliate sites. For example, using it to quickly and accurately match users with their preferred online casinos.

Affiliates should be at the cutting edge The global online gambling industry is renowned for pushing technological boundaries and affiliates have a role to play in this too. This means developing state-of-the-art technology and using the latest open-source projects. Affiliates should look to contribute to open source, too. This is a code that is made freely available to other developers for possible modification and redistribution.

"If more affiliates contributed to open source, developers could work more efficiently and move the industry forward much faster" If more affiliates contributed to open source, developers could work more efficiently and move the industry forward much faster. To succeed as an online gambling affiliate, you must be able to provide the information players are seeking to compare brands and what they have to offer. This may seem simple on the surface, but it requires tremendous technical capabilities to pull it off.

OLIVER LAMB INSIDERS

Collaboration must come first Oliver Lamb, SVP Product Compliance, Kambi, believes unity – not rivalry – is needed in the battle for sporting integrity

There are few industries that have experienced the regulatory movements similar to those felt by the gambling industry over the past decade. The regulatory momentum that began in European markets at the start of the 2010s has spread across the globe, with the move towards locally regulated environments being a clear trend that has taken hold over the previous 10 years. This spread and fragmentation of regulation across the globe has been a key contributing factor to the ever-sharpening focus on the need for sports betting businesses to take a proactive approach to sporting integrity. The sports betting industry’s foundations are built on the trust that consumers need to have in the integrity of sporting events, and those competing, if they are to place a wager on them. Any breakdown in trust would have immense implications for the long-term

sustainability of the sector, and as such protecting sports from harm and making compliance central to the business model is of paramount importance. Put simply, without the integrity of the events it takes bets on, a sportsbook would be unable to function, and protecting the games we love from manipulation must be a central tenet of any successful sportsbook. In sports wagering, as in any competitive business environment, there are robust commercial rivalries which exist between operators and suppliers alike. These companies won’t share information or data in many areas, but integrity is one area where there must be an open willingness to cooperate because of just how beneficial it is to all parties. Protecting the whole sports ecosystem, which incorporates sports bettors, athletes and the institutions of the sports themselves is vital, and collaboration is a cornerstone of best practice here. Detecting corruption requires an earnest and ongoing approach to working together and sharing information. Detecting suspicious betting patterns is naturally much harder for operators who work in silo or do not have the many benefits that come with working with technology providers: with robust and extensive partner networks. And these operators run the risk of working without a full and clear picture of how their customers’ activity matches up with the rest of the market. Institutions like the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), of which Kambi was the first sports betting technology supplier to attain affiliate membership, enable sports betting stakeholders to work together; in the pursuit of upholding the highest levels of sporting integrity and probity when it comes to betting. The sharing of information when it comes to suspicious betting patterns enhances our ability to protect the entire sports wagering

ecosystem, and integrity bodies where open communication is championed have a vital voice in the promotion of integrity. The Covid-19 pandemic certainly made efforts even more crucial. With more niche sports and competitors – where player data and integrity history is naturally more limited in scope – being thrust into the limelight, joint efforts to combat instances of sporting manipulation (and putting the right processes in place for monitoring events and betting activity) became more vital than ever.

"Collaboration is a cornerstone of best practice here" An effective integrity ecosystem requires deep and robust knowledge of competitors and their history, alongside the commitment of stakeholders to work diligently when it comes to sharing new intelligence and advising of potential threats. And yet the importance of collaboration extends beyond operators working together in conjunction with integrity bodies such as the IBIA. Working closely with sports governing bodies, as well as state and national regulators, is equally crucial when it comes to promoting mutual understanding. Taking things from the perspective of a sports betting supplier, it is just as important for regulators to understand our service and role as it is for us to understand their rules and expectations. Fostering these relationships ensures rapid launch timetables, enabling companies to deliver bettors engaging and compliant experiences – which put the integrity of sport first.

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INSIDERS KARIN BEUMER

Raising the game Karin Beumer, Business Development Manager, EM Group, discusses the Malta-based company's compliance and corporate services, especially when targeting the Netherlands market

encourage it, as we believe this provides a strong regulatory environment and in turn a stronger online gambling market, as well.

"We can only encourage a strict framework and the efforts to make gambling as responsible as possible"

Operators applying for an online gambling licence in the newly opened Dutch market seem to struggle with a number of regulatory requirements. What is the main challenge in obtaining the Dutch online gambling licence? There are several challenges that licence applicants have to deal with in the Dutch market. The one that stands out and poses a challenge is the legal separation of player funds from the operator’s own risk baring capital. The Dutch regulator has prescribed three accepted methods for this separation, being the use of a Dutch bank guarantee, the use of a Dutch Third Party Funds Account, or the use of a Dutch Third Party Funds Foundation. The first two options are difficult to obtain, as they require the involvement of a Dutch bank. It is hard to find a bank that is willing to work with online gaming companies, especially in the Dutch market. The third option, the Third-Party Funds Foundation, is inherently Dutch and therefore we believe

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the requirement of a Dutch bank is no longer a necessity. This means the Third-Party Fund Foundation is a great option for operators to choose, not only because it gives them the opportunity to separate the player’s funds, but also to do this in a strong corporate and compliant manner. Of course, we cannot disregard the fourth option the Dutch regulator has provided for the separation of player funds. This option gives operators the opportunity to provide their own method for the separation of player funds. However, when choosing this option, the regulator will take up to six more months to decide on the application. These options prove that the Dutch regulator has set a strict compliance framework for obtaining the Dutch licence. A lot is asked from licence applicants, as was to be expected from the Dutch legal and corporate landscape, but in the end the application process and requirements for obtaining the licence are on par with other jurisdictions. Even though the process is extensive, we very much

What particular assistance do you offer in navigating the obligations of the KSA with regards to the separation of player funds? How does EM Group come into play in assisting operators targeting the Netherlands? Entering new markets puts quite an administrative burden on your operation, especially since the focus should not only be on regulatory compliance, but also the need to be compliant on a local financial and legal perspective. This is exactly where we come in. Our Dutch heritage and over 15 years of experience in this industry allow us to provide our clients a complete package designed for a Dutch Third Party Funds Foundation. We take care of the incorporation, opening of the bank account and make sure the Foundation is compliant from a regulatory and audit perspective. On top of that, we provide an independent board of directors and industry experts as supervisory directors. As an operator, you will have a Dutch team available for any other assistance needed to navigate the Dutch corporate and online gaming landscape. What do you think of the new framework and the proposed regulations on responsible gambling? We can only encourage a strict framework and the efforts to make gambling as responsible as possible. This is a joint effort between the regulator designing the rules for responsible gaming, the operator taking responsibility to take care of their players, and other service providers by maintaining and monitoring the compliance framework; and those operating therein. EM Group provides its services under a Dutch trust-licence’. This means the services provided are regulated by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), providing an extra layer of corporate governance and compliance which, in the eyes of the Netherlands Gaming Authority, is another positive development in its favour.

INSIDERS ADAM ROWLEY

Remote-first growth Adam Rowley, Managing Director of RavenTrack, discusses the company’s new website, how the pandemic has impacted day-to-day business, and plans and ambitions for the three years ahead HAS THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW WEBSITE GONE AS SMOOTHLY AS YOU WOULD HAVE HOPED?

As website builds go, I have to say this was one of smoothest I’ve been a part of. We made the conscious decision not to rush the build as we knew how important it was to provide the correct first impression to potential new business. Our old website did not portray our technology in the way it should. A website is the front cover to your business and needs to grab attention straight away.

"We, like many companies in the gaming industry, flourished through the Covid-19 pandemic with a number of clients coming on board" As we have a lot of features and information, we wanted to give all of this easily to the consumer without drowning them in too much data. We’re really happy with how the website has turned out, and that’s thanks to our talented team for their hard work in making something better than I could have imagined.

RAVENTRACK IS NOW INTEGRATED WITH OVER 70 CLIENTS, BUT DO YOU HAVE A GOAL FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CLIENTS IN MIND, FOR EXAMPLE BY THE END OF 2021? We have a number in our models and plans to reach; however this is just one part of the overall objective for RavenTrack. We are aware of the continual developments in tracking technology and we’re investing heavily in our infrastructure and resource, to ensure we not only keep up with these advances, but continue to be top of the class.

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We have recently acquired our Colorado Minor Vendor Licence and see North America as an area of real growth for us as a business, so expect some announcements soon on that front. We, like many companies in the gaming industry, flourished through the pandemic with a number of clients coming on board to further increase the success of their online brands. This helped us advance quicker than we anticipated and now we are looking to further build on those accomplishments.

HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC CHANGED HOW THE COMPANY HAS BEEN RUN ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS? I guess the biggest change for us as a company is that we are now a remote-first business. We took the decision early in the pandemic to change to this policy, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees. We do still have our two offices in Nottingham and Manchester, with the team welcome to use either at any time. It’s important to us that we give the option of working remote or from an office environment, as we want to keep the culture we have built over the last three years. The team have benefited from remote working with some of them even working in different countries. We have a dedicated, hard-working team and we’re happy for them to work from wherever they feel the most comfortable. Moving forward, we will be running strategy days and team-building projects to ensure they continue to thrive. Client wise, I’d say the toughest element has been not having the face-to-face possibility when trying to acquire new business and building relationships with current partners. Video calls are fantastic but nothing beats a meeting in person. I’m very much looking forward to getting back on the road and continuing to build partnerships.

RAVENTRACK WAS FOUNDED THREE YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AND AMBITIONS FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS? Growth! As mentioned previously, we grew extensively throughout the pandemic and we want to further build on that success. We have a lot in the pipeline both in and out of the gaming industry. We have key target areas

and have identified where we can improve. The main reason we have been able to keep our commercials so low is that we continue to improve the infrastructure of the platform and technology. This helps us to keep our operational costs as low as they can be – and we then pass this saving onto the clients. We want to be in a position in the next 12 months where we are onboarding clients daily and are currently onboarding additional Dev-Ops resource to help achieve this. We are also welcoming a Business Development Manager into the company, who will be responsible for acquiring new business and helping increase the success of current partners. We know that North America is going to be an important target for us; however, we are aware of huge potential still within the UK & Europe. The benefit of our technology is that we are not geo-restricted, meaning we are already operating in countries such as Mexico, Canada, and South Africa, which are all seeing significant growth.

GARETH TREHARNE INSIDERS

A matter of psychology PST Bespoke Furniture Commercial Director Gareth Treharne speaks to Gambling Insider about adapting to the pandemic, company plans and the perfect casino chair custom made architecture, which would imply the ability to differentiate and be individual is, again, the one thing customers look for in a casino chair.

IF YOU COULD NAME THE ONE THING CUSTOMERS LOOK FOR IN A CASINO CHAIR, WHAT WOULD IT BE? An obvious answer would be price! However, operators are increasingly discerning and an influential consideration when determining how to appeal to customers is individuality. Therefore, at PST it’s the ability to offer an entirely bespoke service, which customers appreciate and specifically look for in casino chairs and furniture. Realistically the same combination of basic attributes will always be important to anyone when looking to buy something; price, quality and delivery. Yet significantly there are many additional factors perceptive PST customers consider extremely relevant – such as trustworthiness of a brand, craftsmanship, creativity, durability, technology and increasingly, environmental sustainability of the manufacturer. Comfort is also key as the length of time a player remains seated directly converts to commercial success, therefore, design psychology is equally paramount. Consumer intelligence is of vital importance to PST and customer collaboration from initial concept through to design, manufacturing, delivery and even installation ensures a faultless process. PST has become synonymous with

HOW CHALLENGING HAS ADAPTING TO SOCIAL DISTANCING BEEN FOR PST? While the introduction of social distancing measures provided an opportunity for PST, exploiting it was undeniably challenging. As the world seemingly spun slowly on its axis, manufacturing dynamics were rapidly evolving from workplace and employee safety considerations to escalating material costs and availability. Initially, the PST development team collaborated with customers to create an entirely new range of products specifically providing socially distanced measures in high-traffic areas. Designed, manufactured, rapidly delivered and installed, PST’s safety screens ensured when Government restrictions were lifted, customers were immediately ready to open strictly adhering to Covid guidelines. All of which took entrepreneurial vision, meticulous planning, perceptive material commodities observation and purchasing to assure customers were not exposed to volatile market fluctuations in basic materia ls, as demand outstripped supply. A degree of flexibility was also required. If a key component suddenly became unavailable or reached an artificially inflated premium which rendered a product commercially unviable, an alternate was immediately sourced to retain the competitive pricing promised by PST. DO YOU THINK, LONG TERM, SOCIAL DISTANCING PRODUCTS COULD STAY AND ARE WORTH INVESTING IN? OR ARE THESE PURELY FOR THE HERE AND NOW/REMAINING PANDEMIC TIMES? Gaming is no different to any other communal industry where there is social interaction, therefore, it’s really a matter of psychology. As we have witnessed,

even when Government restrictions are completely lifted, many people still do not feel confident without social distancing measures in place. Maybe operators will need to adopt a conciliatory approach retaining a combination of products to ensure all customers are satisfied? In regards to those measures which do not encroach on floor space or impinge negatively on profits, there is obviously an argument for them to remain, especially if they inspire confidence. Indeed, there is increasing evidence that social distancing screens, for example, provide an additional privacy enjoyed by many players and marketing opportunities for operators. PST has been producing bespoke branding messages and advertising across its entire range of screens for various clients, determined to utilise the additional visionary opportunities they provide. WHAT ARE PST’S PLANS FOR THE REST OF 2021 AND LOOKING AHEAD TO 2022? The foreseeable future is incredibly busy and exciting at PST. Innovative projects delayed by the pandemic are beginning to resume as the world slowly and cautiously emerges. While synonymous with chair and furniture manufacturing, PST has demonstrated its ability to adapt to the dynamic conditions across all gaming industries and is proud to be inspiring conceptual evolution throughout traditional environments. For example, Virgin Cruises chose to partner with PST on its inaugural cruise ship, Scarlet Lady, which recently launched its delayed maiden season. Bespoke furniture was designed throughout the ship, which boasts lavish rockstar-inspired suites, a vegan restaurant and a tattoo parlour. This collaboration continued with Valiant Lady, which is due to launch in the latter part of 2021; plus Virgin has announced a third vessel, Resilient Lady, due to set sail in 2022.

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WHAT’S NEW ON THE MARKET As the land-based industry slowly but surely finds its feet again, Peter Lynch helps takes a closer look at some of the exciting new products now available on casino floors around the world PRESTIGE SEATING TECHNOLOGY: SAFETY SCREEN PRO When Covid struck and the gaming industry was forced to shut, PST decided to utilise its facilities to help customers prepare for re-opening in a post-pandemic world. In a marked departure from its furniture and seating production, PST rapidly designed a social distancing screen range which the industry was quick to acclaim, appreciating the quality build, durability of materials, manufacturing momentum plus commitment to delivery and installation. Both the Safety Screen Pro and Safety Screen Essential are manufactured with 6mm toughened Optifloat glass, available either clear or smoked, and the entire range can be fitted between any form of gaming equipment such as slot machines, multiplayer automatic table games, even a redemption terminal. Delighted with his rapid return on investment, Silvertime Amusements’ Edward Reed credits the Safety Screen Pro as the “reason why we were able to re-open.” “Our customers really appreciated the fact we were taking their safety seriously, and by installing the screens we were able to re-open with an entire complement of machines rather than having to keep some switched off,” he said. Complementing the social distancing screen range, PST introduced SafeTouch to combat the spread of harmful bacteria and subsequent risks associated with germs spreading more easily. As technology advances, resulting in an increased use of touch screen devices such as gaming terminals, it is paramount to reduce the threat of crosscontamination, to provide peace of mind for both players and gaming staff. Safe Touch utilises silver ion technology, which is released from the surface when the product comes into contact with humidity. The silver ions react rapidly, blocking and destroying bacteria, preventing any transfer upon contact. Constant antibacterial action,

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ensuring protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Safe Touch is intended for use in areas that require a high degree of hygiene. The product range offers antimicrobial protection durability for three years and is resistant to cleaning procedures. Tested to the ISO 22196 standard, the products show reduction rates of 99.99% of microbes.

In addition, The PST SafeTouch clear screen protection films provide high-performance anti-glare and anti-scratch screen protection for touch screens and LCD displays. Available in custom sizes and designs, these films are suitable for a wide range of devices such as touch screen slots and ETGs, electronic displays, kiosks, cash registers and ATMs.

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MGR CASINO CHAIRS: CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE? MGR Casino Chairs launches the new curved LOVE bench. A spectacularly innovative chair design that combines comfort with functionality. The perfect fusion of MGR's cutting-edge technology with the maximum functionality required in front of a slot machine. All naturally Made in Italy and with a highly competitive price. MGR has just launched a new version of its bench, designed to be functional and extremely ergonomic at the same point.

"We decided to redesign our armchair with an even more innovative design, giving the customer a comfortable seat and inviting them to spend the entire gaming session in good company," says Guido Rizzo, Global Sales Manager of MGR Casino Chairs. He also adds: "We believe that a bench structure can increase the player's gaming time throughout the session "A seemingly perfect choice of one of the leading companies in the world of casino furniture, given that in just a few months since its launch it has already had requests from all the major operators.” “The growth of MGR Casino Chairs' business in the American market is increasing vertically and this is an indication of great service, at the highest quality. Our products are designed to increase the time spent playing in front of the slot machine, increasing the attractiveness of the slot and therefore increasing the income," says Giorgio Rizzo, Sales Director for United States.

CASH SUPPORT: CTM-ONE What the pandemic has brought is renewed and increasing demand from casinos to operate more cashless, to avoid direct cash desk handling and give the customer more protection to eliminate as many cash contacts as possible. This can be achieved by using a full contactless card system, something we already integrated in the late 1990s and is used by a good number of Dutch arcades: a well-proven system used for other reasons at that time. Concentrating your cash in a CTM terminal and being able to upload and redeem cash to a contactless card allows the operator to skip the bill validator and coin hoppers:

GEWETE: CASH CENTRE PREMIUM AND CASH RECYCLER PREMIUM GeWeTe has for many years offered a wide range of PC-based cash handling solutions that provide a total site solution for dedicated ticketing applications, membership system and many other customer-driven applications worldwide. Two of our most popular models are the Cash Centre Premium and Cash Recycler Premium; both have high-security cabinets with multifunction options including banknote to coin/banknote out, bulk coin in for banknotes out (cash recycler premium), tickets in for banknote, coins and tickets out, dedicated membership systems and now bank card to ticket options. For increased security on sites, especially in 24/7 AGC’s, we have seen an increase in the use of the “Account Facility,” whereby staff, via a dedicated PIN protected card, can withdraw money (notes & coins) from the GeWeTe for “Hand Pays”/“Refills” or “Floats” avoiding the need to go into a back office or open safes. More and more customers are looking for a total solution, with a wide range

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less “dead cash” in the slots and lower investment, as well as maintenance. That’s why we promote our Casino Redemption terminals, the CTM-ONE, able to handle all cash desk functionalities 24/7. Integrated with the CMS, this is a perfect solution. Next to that, we are integrating as we speak fintech solutions, to accept E-Wallets to use digital “cash” on the casino’s smartcard by using cash. This is a perfect crossover for land-based and online gaming. As times are changing in the casino industry, we also offer our CTM terminals based on a full rental base, including 24/7 support, maintenance, parts and for one fixed monthly fee. So there is no initial investment is needed.

of features in one high-security cabinet; therefore, our latest cabinets have been designed to accommodate card readers (mag stripe/chip & pin/barcode) allowing applications like sports betting and membership accounts, or wallets, to be handled within the same cabinet, making it a multifunctional machine. We continue to work with our customers to identify what their needs are and adapt our models/systems to meet these needs. With having our own dedicated in-house R&D Team ,we have the flexibility to react to special requests, and prioritise our work schedules quickly and effectively. From a player perspective, having a single multifunctional machine that is easy to use, reliable and a quick process for each transaction is a vital part of the system offered on site. More importantly from the player’s viewpoint, it is a discrete process for obtaining cash or cashing in the winning money/ticket, or adding/withdrawing cash from their “Player Account” or wallet.

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IGT: PEAKSLANT32™ CABINET IGT’s PeakSlant32™ cabinet is expertly crafted to provide casino guests with an exceptional gaming experience. The versatile slant cabinet is an innovation in design and function that operators can deploy with confidence. The global rollout began in October 2020 and is going strong for this impressive cabinet, with three pristine 32-inch displays. Thoughtfully Engineered and Artfully Designed The eye-catching PeakSlant32 stands out on casino floors. The hallmark of the cabinet is its three, 32-inch seamlessly integrated, high-definition gameplay displays. IGT also embedded its most advanced lighting and audio technology into the PeakSlant32; with an innovative Dynamic Player Panel that includes a 13.3-inch multi-touch display, an inductive wireless charging pad, and a USB charging port for player convenience.

INTERBLOCK GAMING: PULSE ARENA™ PULSE ARENA™ is an immersive, multisensory electronic table game stadium with customisable technology designed to enhance the player’s experience and attract new players to the casino floor. A hybrid of entertainment and gaming, PULSE ARENA™ enhances Interblock’s Stadium environment by blending live, automated and dealer assist style games with social interaction features, live dealers, a DJ booth, and an expansive video wall complemented with state-ofthe-art lighting. In PULSE ARENA™, dealers are “dealertainers” responsible for interacting, cheering on and bringing in players. Interblock revolutionised its core platforms and created new user-friendly applications for both the dealer console and player station, allowing for seamless transitions between dealers and an innovative interface for players of all experience levels. Central to the PULSE ARENA™ is a video wall controlled by WAS (Wizard Animation System). With WAS, operators can choose between various themes or moods to change and enhance the gaming arena to an option that best suits their needs. Interblock works closely with its partners to create a multitude of custom environments that cater to any demographic. Dealers or Ambassadors are also able to control and customise the Stadium environment according to players’ preferences, giving PULSE ARENA™ staff the opportunity to change the vibe of the PULSE ARENA™ on the fly. Software improvements to the PULSE

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Globally Relevant with Proven-Performing Content The PeakSlant32 cabinet is backed by a strong library of market-attuned and performance-tested game titles. In the US, IGT launches PeakSlant32 with Wu Dragon, Wolf Run Gold, Lucky Wealth Cat and Treasure Box. A highly anticipated title for Europe on the PeakSlant32 cabinet is IGT’s Olympus Link game. With exciting base game titles King of Olympus and Queen of Olympus, Olympus Link is an action-packed, player-selectable, multi-denomination game that features stacked wilds and compelling progressives. In Eastern Europe, casino operators can look forward to performance-tested IGT multi-game backs on the PeakSlant32. Research Guided and Player Tested While developing this versatile slant cabinet, IGT conducted extensive internal and external performance testing to ensure the

design delivers an ergonomic, entertaining and intuitive player experience. The PeakSlant32 is IGT’s third Peak-series hardware to hit casino floors, joining IGT’s PeakBarTop™ cabinet and the debut of PeakSlant49™. Learn more about how PeakSlant32 can elevate casino game play by visiting IGT.com.

ARENA™ include an entirely re-designed graphics user interface that offers popular side bets, dealer tipping via each player station, simultaneous wagering on up to four games, tournament and promotion capabilities, and an education mode for beginners. New games offered in the PULSE ARENA™ include dealer assist and video

versions of Dual Dai Baccarat and live Craps. Live Craps in a PULSE ARENA™ gives players an exciting opportunity to shoot real dice on a Craps table within a stadium environment and a new way to enjoy this classic game of comradery without the pressure or intimidation of a crowded, traditional Craps table.

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APEX LIVE GAMING: CHIPPERX Apex Live Gaming is made up of people who understand and have experience working in a land-based casino. That's why it makes equipment that helps casino staff do their jobs faster, better, more comfortably and easier. This is no different with its latest innovation – ChipperX – a new device for casinos designed to be more than a regular chip sorting machine. Designed and manufactured by Apex Live Gaming, ChipperX is a dedicated chip management device. It automatically sorts chips by value or colour into one of 12 designated chip tracks. Each chip track is configured to sort and store a defined number of chip types. ChipperX has the computing power to quickly and accurately count, sort and distribute up to 500 chips per minute. It produces game statistics with a minute-by-minute display stored in the device's memory for one year. Easy operation is guaranteed by remote control and diagnostics. Through remote

access to ChipperX settings and management, Apex's team of technicians can help customers control the device remotely in real-time. This reduces operating costs and service time. The capabilities of this equipment go far beyond the sorting of chips. It provides casino management with detailed game statistics and helps them make the right decisions in

JCM GLOBAL: UBA PRO FAMILY As some regions are coming out of lockdown, operators considering efficient and reliable cash handling solutions should consider the UBA Pro™ family suite of products. The UBA Pro™ comes as a part of a comprehensive product family, where it is accompanied by two bill recyclers, the UBA Pro-RT™ and UBA Pro-RQ™. The different configurations of UBA Pro™ Family make it flexible enough to suit all gaming needs. One of the main attractions of the suite of products is the modular design, which makes them particularly technician-friendly, making on-site servicing easier, as well as providing easy retrofit for improved performance. This means that down-time is reduced to an absolute minimum, as replacement of removable components can be carried out quickly from the front of the unit. The UBA Pro™ also offers faster note-to-note speed, a new and superior sensor package and Plug & Play upgrade from UBA and iPro bill validators. The Pro is future-proof and offers significant security

against counterfeits. The UBA Pro™ has a 2- or 4-Way Barcode Reader and offers quicker acceptance of TiTo tickets, as well as banknotes. The newest generation of compact banknote recycler for 2/4 denominations, the UBA Pro-RT/-RQ™ features improved performance. The speed, reliability and cutting-edge technology of the UBA Pro-RT/-RQ™ set industry standards for banknote recyclers, with faster processing speed and a lockable and removable recycling module with non-volatile memory, allowing note refills in the back office for secure cash handling. The UBA Pro-RT/-RQ™ also features JCM’s patented anti-stringing technology, consisting of an anti-pullback mechanism to protect against banknote stringing/manipulation. “The UBA Pro™ family has established its credentials in the gaming sector with a number of high-profile installations since its launch,” says Payam Zadeh, General Manager of JCM Europe.

situations where it is needed the most. With reliable chip sorting, 12 chip tracks, simple operation, a clear touch screen, and many other features, it brings convenience to the staff at the table. And as a result, it speeds up the pace of the game.

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HONG YEN TECHNOLOGIES: AHY 40 AHY 40 is the latest generation of the Upright cabinet model of the HYT company portfolio. Up to date design, cutting edge features, performed by developers without any compromise with its standards. General features include high-resolution 27” widescreen monitors; vDesk touch screen panel button; overhead multimedia topper with a 27” monitor (optional); appropriate features, providing maximum comfort for players; high-quality stereo sound system; and attractive LED illumination alongside the cabinet; HYT Inc. has been producing quality metal cabinets and components since 2006. Over the decades, we have worked on many amazing and inspiring projects for a variety of industries. During all these years, we have been constantly investing in improving our production base and process. Our facilities are with the best equipment in technology, which gives us the ability to handle orders from different industries from small lots to mass production quantities. We are producing and exporting from our factories in China and Taiwan, to many companies in the whole world, such as Australia, Europe, Near East, North, Central and South America. Our mission is to bring about a constant flow of wide-ranging ideas and carefully designed slot cabinets. Every step, from the conception and design, service and support is dedicated for the HYT products to become a synonym for top quality.

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SIGNS4U: EXTREME BONUS WHEEL Boost your gaming floor with our latest bonus mystery eXtreme Bonus Wheel. Casino Flex Systems and Signs4U have combined their strength and have developed a totally new concept called eXtreme Bonus Wheel. This new system will give a completely new boost to any casino floor.

It’s the first real flexible bonusing system that provides casino operators with the known link options, not only to their existing machines, but any machine mix on the floor. The system exists with a complete sign package to be installed on any existing bank of machines, and consists of a full LED overhead sign and LED end-caps. Besides the

TCSJOHNHUXLEY: QOREX ELECTRONIC GAMING SOLUTIONS TCSJOHNHUXLEY, manufacturer and supplier of world-renowned live gaming products and services, recently received Nevada Gaming Board approval for its range of Qorex Electronic Gaming Solutions following a successful trial at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno. Qorex is the first fully in-house designed and developed electronic gaming solution from TCSJOHNHUXLEY, and provides a complete package for operators looking to create a striking centrepiece on their gaming floors, as well as generating excitement and entertainment for players. The first installation of an extensive rollout program took place recently at the iconic STRAT Hotel & Casino – the first Las Vegas property to feature Qorex. Here, the casino chose a full six-player Qorex circular carousel with a SaturnTM Auto Wheel set in a podium, complete with HiLite Orbit LED ring, and HiLite Luna overhead LED signage. The Qorex Circular Carousel has created an eye-catching feature on the gaming floor and has already attracted a lot of interest from players. The Qorex range provides unlimited configurations through its modular design that can be networked and configured anywhere on the gaming floor, offering

players the experience of a comfortable, individual and more personal terminal, or the exciting sociable carousel or stadium environment. Qorex terminals are available in the US with a 23” widescreen HD display, ergonomically designed with a space-saving footprint, yet packed full of features to

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sign package, the machines will be attached to a new external jackpot controller, and with an easy-to-use dashboard the system is configurable for any operator wishes. Cash prizes are normally shown on the Bonus Wheel, but any other prize can be added to the LED sign, which gives the operator plenty of freedom. In short, the eXtreme bonus is a completely configurable mystery jackpot; whenever a player hits the bonus, the machine locks and the player will win a prize by spinning the bonus wheel shown on the overhead sign; a second feature, the multiplier, will start afterwards and gives the final outcome of the prize won. The biggest advantage of our system is the ability to add this to any machine already on the casino floor; any single (mixed) bank of eight machines will give a completely new look and boost to the machines. With this new concept, operators don’t have to invest in brand new machines with a linked jackpot; this will be extremely cost-saving. Additionally, the ability to add more machines at any moment gives an operator more flexibility; it can choose to add a complete area of machines to the bonus, there is no maximum; and with the extra LED signage options, the casino floor will be profitable again. entertain players. The terminals feature stunning graphics on an easy-to-navigate touch-screen interface, which allows the player to swap easily between multiple games of live or RNG options (such as the SaturnTM Auto Wheel) for roulette, sicbo and baccarat. Games can also be linked with live camera feeds of dealer-assisted games from around the gaming floor; with the ability to turn the camera on and off, as well as the unique feature of moving the live wheel image around the screen by dragging it to a position that suits the player. For further flexibility, Qorex is easily configurable for various player tracking and SAS systems, bill validators and ticket printers. Qorex Terminals are the heart of the system, but operators are finding the ease of choosing the complete Qorex package an extremely attractive option. Qorex HiLite incorporates high-impact LED signage that connects to the centralised system for full synchronisation of the game, as well as custom-designed podiums, drinks shelves, phone charging spots and back panels that have the option to include custom designs or logos. Like the rest of the system, Qorex HiLite is modular in design and able to create almost unlimited layout configurations, which enhance the user experience while providing a stunning centrepiece and attraction on the gaming floor.

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DFI: DFI BOARDS Enable Eye-catching High-resolution Graphics Professional gamers love to immerse themselves in the virtual world when playing game machines such as slots and arcade games. DFI understands that the interaction with machines should be more interesting and vivid. With our products, gaming clients can easily achieve brilliant graphics performance and higher gaming satisfaction. One thing is certain: the phrase “DFI Boards” is synonymous with “good graphics”. High Speed Processing, Qualified Computing and Wireless Transmission Capacity In a fast-paced and intense gaming environment, gaming machines such as Jackpot, Sport & Race, and KENO are required to possess fast data processing and even wireless transmission capabilities. DFI’s products are equipped with Wi-Fi/3G/4G connectivity for quick data transmissions, making it the right fit when it comes to those requirements. Besides wireless connectivity, DFI systems also provide the best computational capacity and high-end performance. ALFASTREET: REMOTE PLAY Remote play is a software solution that offers diverse and complex gaming operations for any gaming venue. The system provides options to connect a mobile device to any existing gaming table on the floor, so the player can place a bet on the number of games on any chosen table. The player is therefore able to move around, follow the table games results and pick the right time, and the right table to place a bet. This system offers a multitude of customisation options, with the highest regard to security and redundancy of the system. We can configure the system to function only in a very specific area, or limit the system to work only inside the premises. Alternatively, we can make the system operational specifically in the hotel rooms. The financial aspect is also covered, with different options of credit handling. Every player can not only play the game of choice, but they can also view real time video feeds from the table and monitor all other live table information. In the situation where the casino is limited to the number of gaming stations, our system can automatically shut down one of our terminals on the floor and hand over the operation to the remote device. In addition, our Remote Play system can also connect to the tables and electronic

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Reliable Multi-game Streaming Combined with DFI’s products, it's now easier for gaming clients to utilise three, four, six, or even 10 displays to show information. Based on DFI’s product technology, we can now help our gaming partners bring out the wonderful and sensuous delights of multi-screen gaming machines. As a leading provider of embedded solutions, DFI is a possibility thinker that can draw unlimited opportunities in smart gaming and provide the most suitable products for gaming clients. With its innovative design, premium quality management system and synergy with

Qisda/BenQ Group, DFI's industrial-grade solutions enable customers to optimise their equipment and ensure high reliability, long-term life cycle, and 24/7 durability in a breadth of markets. Those markets include factory automation, medical, gaming, transportation, smart energy, mission-critical, and intelligent retail. DFI is the ODM partner in which gaming industries can't miss out the most.

games that are placed in a different location and until the player would enjoy the same real time information, security and comfort. We tested this system multiple times with different gaming and cyber experts. To this point, we strongly believe this is the only truly working system of this kind currently available on the market. We are running Remote Play in different

locations around the world, with one of the world's most reputable casino resorts being one of our customers. Remote Play offers something different, a step into the upper level of gaming experience and accessibility on the gaming floor. We are looking forward to presenting it in full power at the next big gaming event; hopefully that will be at ICE London.

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Betradar

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Aristocrat

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BtoBet

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AstroPay

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Connective Games

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BBIN

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bet365

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DataSpade Inc.

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EvenBet Gaming

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Everi Holdings Inc. www.everi.com T: +1 70 2855 3000 E: info@everi.com

EveryMatrix

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Evolution

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Elys Game Technology www.elysgame.com T: +1 62 8258 5148

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M N

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Relax Gaming

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Scientific Games www.scientificgames.com T: +1 (702) 897 7150

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Zitro

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FINAL Innovation WORD vs. novelty Jeff Millar, Commercial Director of North America, Evolution, discusses 2022, the supplier’s position within the US market, and new studios and games moving forward

Looking ahead to 2022, which US states are most promising for Evolution? Entering new states can be challenging – regulation is always adapting. But once you’ve met the criteria, there’s nothing holding you back and there’s always more potential to grow. We’re keeping an eye on several US states, namely Illinois, Indiana and Virginia. Connecticut quickly passed legislation earlier this year and we’re planning for that market to open later this Fall. Several other US states are considering online sports betting, which we can see eventually expanding to iGaming. But the one new North America jurisdiction that has us very excited isn’t in the US at all, it’s in Canada. The province of Ontario has a population of close to 15 million people, surpassing the size of any US state where iGaming is legal. We’re already working with over a dozen operators who plan to obtain a commercial licence in Ontario. There’s still some uncertainty on the timing for the market opening, but the regulator is targeting to have iGaming launched by December this year. What has Evolution done differently to carve out such a strong position within the US market? There are a couple of things that make the US market unique. First, where in Europe slots and live casino are established in

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online gaming, for US players they remain relatively new additions – and there’s a little hesitancy there. Second, the markets are regulated differently. The frameworks surrounding each state impact how quickly a game can be certified, what that game needs to look and feel like, and so on. We must also bear in mind that most Americans still look at online gaming as an unlawful activity – it takes time to shake that idea loose and get them comfortable with the technology. So we take a localised approach to the US by keeping the needs of the players front of mind. Players want elements of familiarity, especially when they’re right at the start of their customer journey. We have to get the blend right between innovation and novelty, and getting customers to try something new.

"THE ONE NEW NORTH AMERICA JURISDICTION THAT HAS US VERY EXCITED ISN’T IN THE US AT ALL, IT’S IN CANADA" -Jeff Millar

We offer players a chance to try new products that don’t feel too far out of their comfort zone. In the US, that has predominantly been slots in land-based forms, so we want to provide similar

touchpoints. NetEnt and Red Tiger both have portfolios that contain the same kind of play mechanics that can be found in land-based casinos, and those acquisitions have helped the group in securing a strong foothold in the US market. Both ventured into the US before Evolution, and this means that together there are more opportunities to grow and to put to good use the reputation those brands have already created. What are your plans for new studios and games moving forward? We’ve just started to scratch the surface, and the possibilities for the US are huge. Each new state brings enormous amounts of potential customers, and our game releases of the future will look to expand into exciting new genres. We’ve already taken the first steps with recently launched titles such as Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen™ and First Person (RNG) American Roulette. Many US operators have made massive strategic moves in the acquisition of digital brands. These media brands have a large audience who expect to have a similar experience on Evolution’s platforms. As such, we’re partnering with customers to develop areas within our studios where they have more control over the look and feel of live casino environments. These dedicated areas provide operators with the opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Operators can customise the table felt of the game, the background images behind the dealers, and the dealer uniforms – all to align with their brand. We see this trend continuing throughout 2022 and as more states open iGaming. We’ve already launched our Michigan studio, and as more US players transition from land-based to online, and as individual states start to open and put regulations in place, we’re going to be poised to continue building our momentum; and providing games that will set operators apart from their US competition.

Gambling Insider Sep/Oct 2021

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The modern poker player

Tim Booker

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The golden days of betting

A culture of 'sameness'

Roundtable

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Big Question

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The global outlook