Infinity Gaming Magazine May 2021 by Clever Duck Media

InfinityGaming www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE127

GAMING + ARTICLES + BUSINESS+ GLOBAL + ONLINE + NEWS+ AWARDS + etc

22 AFFORDABILITY

16 STREAMERS WITH DISABILITIES

50 A DEALERS PERSPECTIVE

Opinion Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in all external articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Infinity Gaming Magazine Any content provided by our feature writers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to malign any religion, ethic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

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4 EDITOR NOTES Editor welcomes you to the latest edition of Infinity Gaming Magazine.

7 IGA2021 All the latest news

08 OUR WRITERS Meet our feature writers, the superb writers on our rosta.

10 BATTLE FOR WH SLOT MANAGEMENT 101

15 FLORIDA SPORTS BETTING 36 TERESA TUNSTALL ARTICLE

KEBAB & THEFT

45 CONNECTICUT SPORTS BETTING + NEWS & MORE NEWS from the gaming industry

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A note from the editor CONTACT US Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK Tel: +44(0)1543 478 889 PRODUCTION Clever Duck Media Centrix@Keys Keys Park Road Staffordshire WS12 2HA UK

Judging Time

PUBLISHING Infinity Gaming Magazine is operated by © Clever Duck Media Ltd ®

Lana Thompson - Editor Welcome to the latest edition of the Infin-

ments we have heard.

ity Gaming Magazine and what a reception we have had to the launch of the 2021

A quick thank you also to our growing list

International Gaming Awards (IGA), our

of wonderful sponsors who have the belief

trusty team working on the nominations

and support our charity focused event:

have reported that we have had a more di-

Betconstruct, Digitain, Melco Resorts,

verse selection of entries from more companies than ever before.

Ultraplay, BBIN, 1XBet, IGT, Pragmatic Play, Pilot Games, Videoslots and Galaxy Enter-

That means more companies have entered

tainment

than before, it shows the strength of the gaming sector that there is so much di-

Now to the magazine and always our su-

versity within our business, we can’t wait

perb writers give us their experience and

to see what our judges make of this years’

insight on the gaming industry with contri-

entries.

butions this month by, Andrew Cosgrove, Lynn Pearce de Freitas, Teresa Tunstall, Tim

The past 18 months have been a challenge

Cullimore and special guest writer Silvie

for all of us and it shows the strength and

Mazacova.

ingenuity of our industry that companies have succeeded and flourished even in the

Of course we got all the latest news cov-

most difficult of times.

ered from Australia, Asia, Macau, Europe and all over North America and a lot of

Indeed as I write this editorial we have now

news concerning sports betting, but that

closed the nominations part of the IGA and

does seem the hot topic of the moment.

within the next week our judges will be reviewing and casting their votes, by our

As always- “May the Force be with you” -

next edition we will have had the finalists

Star Wars

for the 29th July Ceremony. Regards, We have spoken to so many entrants over the past two weeks and the words “can’t wait” and “will be superb to meet people again” are the two most popular com-

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Lana The Editor

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Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@cleverduckmedia.com Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com Marketing & Advertising claire@cleverduckmedia.com Editorial Content & PR media@cleverduckmedia.com

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GAMING NEWS

The IGA 2021 Nominations Break Records

he International Gaming Awards (IGA) is back following the announcement that the World’s most recognised awards ceremony for the gambling industry is to be held on the 29th July at the stunning Savoy Hotel in London. Delayed from its normal February slot because of the dangers with COVID-19 the July event will be a celebration of innovation and endeavours through what has been the most difficult period in a lifetime. With nominations now closed the team at Clever Duck Media charged with organising the process has stated that for 2021 there has been a more diverse selection of nominees than ever before.

To this already major companies within the gaming sector have already supported the IGA as sponsors and the list grows every week. Currently those supporting this charity focused event are: Betconstruct, Digitain, Melco Resorts, UltraPlay, BBIN,1XBet, IGT, Pragmatic Play, Pilot Games, Videoslots and Galaxy Entertainment. Colin Thompson the co-founder of the IGA said of the new date: “It has seemed like a long time ago now since the IGA2020 and the feedback from the industry has been a positive one for the July date.”

year the interest shown by that sector is amazing and shows that people want to get back to meeting, enjoying a normal life and doing business face to face. In line with government guidance the IGA will ensure the safety of both attendees and staff and with international flights to begin in early June the IGA expects to see an international audience at what has become the recognised event of the year for the entire gaming industry. Good luck to all those entering the nominations and we look forward to seeing on the 29th July at the Savoy Hotel.

With online gaming continuing to make huge strides during the last

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Infinity Gaming Magazine Contributing Writers A magazine is only as good as the content inside and with some of the leading specialists within the gaming industry. With specialised articles covering customer service, the gaming law, new products, technology and current affairs with the sector the Infinity Gaming Magazine is delighted to showcase our superb line-up of contributing

Christina Thakor-Rankin Christina is Principal Consultant at 1710 Gaming Ltd, a specialist betting and gaming consultancy, delivering a range of services including licensing and compliance (incl. regulation, money laundering and social responsibility), business start-up, training and strategic re-engineering, project management, research, business analysis and development, to start-ups and

established multi-national operators and providers, gambling regulators, law enforcement and government agencies, media, and specialist interest groups and associations within the sector, in both established and emerging markets across the world. www.1710gaming.com

Teresa Tunstall – Independent Gaming Consultant After many years of working in casinos in the UK and on USA ships as a croupier and inspector, Teresa turned from ‘poacher to gamekeeper,’ spending 16 years with GamCare, who offer help and support to those who develop problems with their gambling. Working closely with the betting and gaming industry, She developed strong links delivering Social Respon-

sibility and Problem Gambling training around the world, Teresa now works independently consulting on all issues relating to Social Responsibility and Problem Gambling. To contact Teresa regarding consulting please email:

Andrew Cosgrove - Slots Guru Andrew Cosgrove is a seasoned slot operations veteran and certified project manager with over 24 years of hands on experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Andrew has worked on both the operator and supplier side of casino slots and continues to help clients succeed and exceed customer expectations.

Andrew can be reached at andy.cosgrove@hemingwaycasinoconsulting.com or see http://hemingwaycasinoconsulting.com/

Lynn Pearce de Freitas Lynn has extensive senior management experience in online gaming. She is an experienced, data-driven, commercially focused, strategic marketing leader. She has over 15 years of proven success in gaming, from land-based casinos, to online gaming companies offering sports betting, poker and casino, live casino and Esports. Lynn has many start-ups under her belt

and is now co-founder and CEO of a start-up igaming company, Mobius Interactive Ltd, headquartered in Vancouver BC Canada.

Tim Cullimore From dealer to CEO in the U.K., Europe and North America, Tim has pretty much seen it all in Casino gaming. For over 40 years, from running slot rooms which needed to frisk for guns to the Ritz in Mayfair, arguably the most luxurious casino in the world, Tim has never stopped challenging what we think we know about casinos.

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Tim is a well-respected Consultant to the gaming industry, encompassing project management and operational analysis, as well as representing and advising some key manufacturers within the industry. Tim is a renowned conference speaker and also proud to be visiting lecturer at the University of West London College of Hospitality and Tourism.

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THE BATTLE FOR WILLIAM HILL Who is in the frame for the UK & European Assets for this iconic brand

ollowing the acquisition by Caesars

Entertainment of William Hill and an-

of suitors for the assets of William Hill

quisitions.

in Europe.

nouncing the casino giant only wants to

Entain are already in a bidding war for

retain the US business of the UK book-

Now Entain has joined those names

Australian gaming firm Tabcorp who

maker the rumours of who would buy

with rumours circulating that the owner

they have currently offered $2.9 billion,

the Uk and Europe business has been

of brands such as Ladbrokes and Coral

but Apollo Global Management are in

relentless.

interested in the business.

the mix for Tabcorp also having lost out

When Caesars bought the entire Wil-

Indeed Entain themselves were a target

liam Hill business for £2.9 billion earlier

of an acquisition by another US casino

this year and the casino operators Tom

giant MGM Resorts for $11 billion. Now

Indeed there a rumours Apollo could

Reeg, chief executive of Caesars En-

it seems the best way to fight off an-

make a bigger run on Entain itself who

tertainment stating the company only

other attempt is to get bigger and that

earlier this year were valued at £6.6 bil-

wanted to retain the US entity of Wil-

is why Entain are in the market for ac-

lion, but MGM Resorts offer that amount

in a bid for William Hill when Caesars

liam Hill there has been an endless line

were successful.

plus a 22% premium on the shares but failed. Entain see the online gambling industry only growing and value their business highly, indeed estimates have the online gambling industry to grow by double digits by 2028 and valued at $158 billion by then. The rumours of Entain throwing in their hat for William Hill assets is not wild as Chief Executive Officer Jette NygaardAndersen said herself recently in an interview: “We’re looking at everything, so

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11 In actual fact another potential runner in the bidding, Fred Done and Betfred would also come up against that same fact, Betfred have an extensive retail portfolio and any deal to acquire William Hills retail business would come under the competitions scrutiny. Another rumoured suitor is Kindred, that would make sense from a business side, Kindred has strong online presence but the addition of William Hill online would certainly boost their offerings, Kindred does not have any retail experience in the UK market, so would have to source experience for that, but the brand name of William Hill is a huge attraction to any company. It is no surprise that the interest in the William Hill assets are strong, the company has done well in the UK and Europe and with estimates that online gambling will grow then the WH brand is strong with customers and the synergy with retail can only help their online business. It is the conclusion that the winning bidder for the decades old brand of William we’re certainly also looking at whether

shares were higher.

this could be an interesting opportunity.”

Hill will come from a business that has no retail presence at the moment, for

Analysts believe that a new bid from

if it has then what would it do with the

Rank Group and 888 Holdings is not

hundreds of retails outlets William Hill

This has also been something Shay Se-

out the question, 888 they went in an-

has, companies such as Entain and Bet-

gev the previous chief executive of En-

other year later in 2017 to acquire Wil-

fred would struggle with including WH

tain had said would be of interest to the

liam Hill and failed then again and so

retail into their businesses as the com-

company.

the company has a history of interest in

petitions watchdog would not allow it.

William Hill. But Entain are not alone in William Hill

The coming months will be interest-

race for assets, it is known although not

In fact one UK gaming consultant who

ing for all those involved, maybe the

official 888 Holdings could make a bid

did not want to be named said: “it would

company that wins has not even made

and there are further rumours The Rank

make sense for Rank and 888 to try this

themselves known, it is a possibility but

Group and 888 Holdings could join forc-

time for the non-US assets, Rank knows

with Caesars keen to sell off the assets

es once more on this.

how to run bricks and mortar retail and

this year all the interested parties will

with 888 having extensive experience

show their cards very soon.

Back in 2016 a joint effort by 888 Hold-

in online, then together it could become

ings with the Rank Group, the owner of

a very successful deal and offer a new

Grosvenor Casinos, Mecca Bingo along

player to the market. However any deal

with their online presence made a

with Entain would need competitions

bid for William Hill, at the time it was

agreement with the companies own-

thought the joint offer was around £3.8

ership of Ladbrokes and Coral betting

billion that was a time William Hill’s

shop estate.”

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GAMING NEWS

MGA Rolls Out Vaccination Program For Gaming Sector

Crown Deal With Star Nears As Blackstone Rebuffed

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has an-

nounced that in conjunction with the GamingMalta Foundation has launched a COVID-19 vaccination initiative for all employees within the gaming industry. The announcement by the MGA which will run alongside the national vaccination program is a boost to the industry there eventually allowing for workers to attend and participate in events in Europe. The full announcement from the MGA is as follows: The GamingMalta Foundation supported by the Malta Gaming Authority launched a Covid-19 Vaccination initiative aimed for the Gaming Sector in Malta. In line with existing initiatives by local Health Authorities towards reaching herd immunity as rapidly as possible, both entities are currently assisting the local gaming industry towards COVID-19 vaccination of their respective personnel by coordinating a bespoke service for the sector. Gaming companies’ employees will now benefit from a coordinated vaccine booking schedule, one which works in parallel with the state-wide programme. Some companies may also benefit from onsite vaccinations, thus making the process safe and easy.

Crown Resort the Australian casino operator has announced it has rejected the offer from US equity giant Blackstone for $6.5 billion and in turn is asking rival operator Star Entertainment for more details on their bid. Blackstone owns a 10% stake in Crown Resorts that is controlled by James Packer and has not been able to carry out any due diligence but still went ahead with the offer, however the Crown Resorts board say that the Blackstone offer undervalues the potential for Crown. As previously reported by the iGaming Post the offer now from Star Entertainment is the strong favourite, it values Crown at A$14 per Crown share or A$9 billion, that offer along with cost saving potential due to the businesses working practices makes more sense for Crown. It would also offer Crown Resorts a certain release from continued inquiries into their regulatory governance with a new inquiry taking place in the state of Victoria lasting some six-weeks to determine the suitability for Crown to operate casinos there. Insiders close to the operator believe that a deal with Star will be completed prior to the end of the Victoria hearing on their suitability.

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GAMING NEWS

Florida Gives Final Approval & Lets Donald Trump In

he State House in Florida approved the gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida paving the way for the tribe to operate online sports betting and expand their casino business with three new venues. In return the Tribe will pay the state a minimum of $500 million a year, the House voted 97 to 17 in favour of the compact that was drawn up by governor Ron DeSantis and the tribe and will last for the next thirty years and offer the Tribe exclusive rights on sports betting. Earlier in the week the Senate approved the bill 39 to 1 against, meaning now that the bill will go to the Federal Government and Federal Court for final approval and this is not a given still and everyone

involved expects for legal challenges to take place, both on terms of the exclusivity for online sports betting and the permission to build another three casinos.

appeal any decision by state lawmakers if it were to offer a casino license to an outside operator, so long as it is fifteen miles from the Tribes current Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

In a statement following the approval vote the Seminole Tribe said: “Today, all the people of Florida are winners, thanks to legislative approval of the Gaming Compact between the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. It is a historic and mutually beneficial partnership between the State and Seminole Tribe that will positively impact all Floridians for decades to come.”

Interestingly that would allow former US President Donald Trump’s Doral Golf Resort which sits slightly outside the fifteen mile radius to eventually apply for a casino license.

However one detail from the gambling compact was overlooked by many reporting the deal between the Governor and the Seminole Tribe, that is that the tribe is not allowed to

Trump acquired the resort in 2012 and had spent $250 million renovating and updating the resort and only recently the son of Donald Trump, Eric Trump the executive vice president of the Trump Organization has stated the companies interest in applying for a casino license for the resort.

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Streamers with Disabilities are doing it for themselves. In honor of GAAD – Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which took place on Thursday 20th May 2021

By Lynn Pearce de Freitas

he purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access/inclusion for people with different disabilities – and as we have just celebrated this event On Thursday 20th May 2021, I thought it was highly appropriate to mark the occasion and speak about streamers with disabilities who are forming their own communities and not waiting around for us to do it for them. Imagine living in a world where your disabilities inhibit you from most of the digital world that we live in, it is a plight not often considered by most companies when developing websites. According to the 2020 WebAim Report, 98.1% of webpages had at least one WCAG 2.0 Failure, and 60.9% errors per homepage with low contrast text, missing image alt text, missing form input labels, empty buttons and missing document language. And that is in a world with over 1 Billion people suffering from visual, hearing, motor and cognitive

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skills disabilities. According to GAAD, people who are blind need alternative text descriptions for images. People who are deaf or hard of hearing will need captioning for video presentations and visual indicators in place of audio cues.People with motor impairments may need alternative keyboards, eye control or some other adaptive hardware to help them type and navigate. Consistent navigation and the use of plain language would be useful for people with different learning disabilities/impairments. These are not difficult items to help us conceptualize and integrate some of these elements into our homepages and other webpages with information that would be useful and digitally accessible for the disabled – so let’s do our part to ensure we communicate effectively with all forms of disabilities, as much as we possibly can. However, there are gamers who have

taken the bull by the horns and have formed their own communities – they are no longer waiting for big tech to catch up – they are actively working within their own groups to make it a priority for gameplay to become more accessible to them. Consider Twitch, one of the biggest streaming portals for gamers – regardless of the improvements they have made for other marginalized groupsto find like-minded communities – they have still not put up a Disability Tag for players with disabilities, leaving these players to rely on other social media platforms to find groups of their own! WIRED have put out an article in honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, where they highlighted the work of some streamers doing it for themselves, very successfully. They wrote on the efforts that Chris Robinson, Carlos Vasquez and Michael Luckitt were individually doing to change the status quo.

Chris Robinson is a deaf gamer, who started hosting tournaments for a collegiate club and took a couple years off before returning with “DeafGamersTV” and his mission to teach the able-bodied about the struggles the deaf community were facing when gaming. As his audience grew, his advocacy for the needs of the deaf community gave him the opportunity to give insight to studios like Ubisoft – and even Microsoft! He sat on panels at conventions like TwitchCon and the Gaming Accessibility Conference to raise awareness for disabled gamers. He hopes for a feature that would translate his signing into speech or text, allowing him to easily chat with his streaming audience of deaf and able-bodied people alike. Carlos Vasquez is blind and yet he prides himself on being able to provide high-level gameplay to his audience. His advocacy within the fighting game community gave him the ability to represent disabled players on a global level. He streams under the

handle Obsrattlehead and his presence at the Evolution Championship Series in 2013 and Combo Breaker in 2019 allowed him to connect with developers from several studios and he was responsible for NetherRealm Studios adding accessibility features, like environmental sound cues when characters approach interactive objects. Michael Luckett suffered a C6 spinal cord injury after a motorcycle accident in 2011, where he lost the use of his hands. He started utilizing equipment to play video games and he streams under the handle MikeTheQuad, as he wanted to ensure that his brand aligned with his mission of advocating for players with disabilities. I was also interested to learn about gamers on the autism spectrum, particularly children from the ages of 13 years old and upwards and how companies in this space were helping them to get involved, as physical and

traditional sport is not something that they can really get involved in. One of the companies assisting these children is Overworld, an esports company offering digital education courses, livestreaming and YouTube content, tournaments and parties. Its facility is designed to engage with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) individuals to help them understand the complexities of social interaction and gaming. Nik Turner, head of education at Overworld, writes all the courses, as he has a 13-year-old son who is severely autistic and non-verbal. His son spent most of his time watching cartoons, as many of these children do, so this I believe is a great way to get these children with special needs into esports as a way of promoting inclusivity –I personally think it is an amazing initiative and long may it continue.

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GAMING NEWS

New Athens Resort Open By 2026

Galaxy Entertainment Leaves Yokohama Race

The new casino resort on the old Hellenikon

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment has announced it is leaving the bidding for an integrated resort in Yokohama Japan.

airport in Athens will be completed and open by 2026 said the casino company that has won the rights to develop the resort. US company Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment said in a statement that the resort could open in 2025 but likely to be 2026. Ray Pineault, Mohegan’s the interim CEO said: “Right now, we anticipate that upon conclusion of the contractual negotiation process, permitting and design will take approximately 12 to 18 months.” The project would then move into construction phase with its Greek construction partner GEK Terna, initially the owning company of the land is developed Lamda who will also develop shopping malls, hotels and housing. Total cost of the whole development including the casino resort is estimated at €8 billion and Lamda won the tender process after lengthy opposition but once the new Greek government came into power in 2019 the process was given to Lamda. Pineault said on the new resort: “We anticipate the resort will grow international tourism in the Attica region by at least 10%,” he concluded by saying. “It will be a facility that’s unforeseen anywhere else in all of Europe.”

In what was a surprise to the casino industry Galaxy Vice Chairman Francis Lui said: Galaxy Entertainment Group, along with our partners from Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer from the Principality of Monaco, have been actively pursuing discussion for several years with the Japan government and local communities including Yokohama. The world and business climate continues to evolve which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. We are honored to have learned a tremendous amount about the people, culture, and ambitions of Yokohama and highly value the relationships that we have developed with the government, business associations and local community including Kanagawa over the past few years. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to play an active role in Yokohama’s IR selection process but have decided to not participate at this time.” He finished by saying: “We will continue our dialogue to support Japan in achieving its goal to develop a sustainable and world-class IR industry.” The announcement follows the 2020 departure by Galaxy Entertainment from the Osaka bid for a casino resort and now questions are asked where for Galaxy Entertainment in Japan?

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GAMING NEWS

Sports Betting In Japan A Real Possibility

Only Two Left For Yokohama Resort

Rumours continue to grown that Japan will

move to allow sports betting within the country, ever since an article by the Financial Times citing that the government had commissioned a report into the potential for sports betting last year an expectation has grown for further action. The reason behind it is that with major sports clubs suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of revenues and attendance it could give the industry a much needed boost and what a boost it would be given that estimates have the value of sports betting in Japan at upwards of $60 billion a year. Indeed sporting attendances are down around 78% it is reported since last year and the impact of that is hurting sports clubs across the country. Also given that Japanese love their sports and with a population of some 150 million any form of sports betting would be a major boost to government tax coffers. Online gambling already exists in Japan with overseas gambling firms offering their services illegally in the country so why not instead help sports clubs and the countries tax income instead?

The race for the integrated resort in Yokohama is now down to two companies it is being reported with both Sega Sammy and Shotoku effectively out the running. According to analysts Shotoku does not have the scale and experience to run an integrated resort and Sega Sammy recently stating it would prefer to be a minority partner, to which there are none available. So that leaves Melco Resorts and Genting Singapore the clear two frontrunners in a race that has seen many international operators leave the field open.

With the governments push for integrated resorts stalling with opposition parties against them and already some 3 years behind the plan to build a resort then maybe sports betting could be the way to go.

Only recently Galaxy Entertainment, the Macau based operator left the competition for Yokohama, indeed Yokohama has had its ups and downs in the integrated resort race itself, back in August last year it announced it was suspending the application to apply for an integrated resort, but now that process is back up and running.

Should sports betting happen in Japan there would certainly be controls in place such as affordability checks, a limit to which sports and strong regulations on licensing, but the possibility of such a huge market opening up would outweigh any of those hurdles and attract huge interest from regional and international operators.

Indeed the whole process for integrated resorts in Japan is really under question, initially they were supposed to be built in time for the Tokyo Olympics, but that process was delayed because of political opposition and even now the majority of public opinion is against casino resorts. So Melco and Genting are left in the race but will Japan ever see an casino resort is still very much up for debate.

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Is Money the Right Barometer By Tim Cullimore

Tim Cullimore looks at affordability checks and self-exclusions to see what if any help they are for gamblers

gentleman I shall call Pierre, a successful businessman in Geneva in the late 1990’s was a regular visitor to the casinos in the area. The casino in Geneva at that time was a low limit slot salon with only a boule table to cater to live gaming aficionados, but despite the existence of sizable casinos a short drive across the border in France, Pierre happily played the slots and boule in Geneva. His Porsche could regularly be seen parked outside the building, indeed very regularly, as Pierre happily admitted that he was hooked on gambling, a selfconfessed “joueurpathologique”. A private fortune meant that money would never be a problem, but surely the hours he spent at the casino would have a negative effect of his family life. What type of mood would Pierre be in when he returned home, perhaps late for dinner with his wife and children? We know that time spent in front of a screen can have detrimental effects on the behaviour of

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people. Would the frustration of losing push him into a black mood? So should we judge the harm created by problem gambling in monetary value only, and how would affordability checks help someone where affordability is not the issue. In my career I have had the fortunately rare but still distressing experience of finding children left in cars in the casino car park whist one, or occasionally both parents played in the casino. Follow ups on the family and correct investigation and reporting of the incident often showed relatively wealthy individuals, and the quality of their vehicle suggested the same. Therefore, an affordability check would be useless in this instance.

terms with their addiction. Cases of people hoping to solve their financial problems by starting to gamble are very uncommon.Continuing to gamble in the hope of recuperating previous losses is quite common and may seem very sensible from the viewpoint of someone who is waiting for their luck to change.

I am not trying to hide that obvious fact the problem gambling can have a devastating financial effect on not only the individual in question, but also the wider circle of family and friends. But it is only one indicator, and not a strong enough argument on its own to help a player come to

In the U.K. there is no obligatory national database that can be effective in stopping those who wish to spot gambling. The Multi-Operator SelfExclusion scheme relies totally on the agreement of the player, and that the player respects the arrangement they have entered into.

They even have the option to be excluded from just 1 casino or from all the casinos in your area.

It also writes on the website one of the most naive statements I can imagine:

Here is an extract from the UK Gambling Commission web site on the subject:

If you have gambled whilst selfexcluded you should inform the gambling business as this may help them identify any areas where their procedures could be improved. For similar reasons you may wish to let us know as it provides useful intelligence about potential shortcomings.

It is up to you to stick to your selfexclusion agreement, but if you try to gamble during that time the gambling business should take reasonable steps to prevent you from doing so. This statement is intended to give peace of mind to a person who, by the fact of them looking at the web site, will be in some distress or difficulty. Telling them that it is their responsibility is rather futile.

How is this supposed to help the player, other than giving them the false impression of some kind of retribution. In Switzerland there is a relatively successful system of federal exclusion,

where a player is excluded from all the casinos in Switzerland, and as the visitors to the casinos must show photo ID to enter there are few instances of players flouting their exclusion. This obviously doesn’t stop players from playing in clandestine gaming venues, or crossing the border to play in France, Germany or Austria. Few people in Switzerland are more that 1-2 hours from a cross border casino, so although the casino industry is protecting itself from accusations of profiting from problem gamblers, it is in reality just pushing the problem to another country’s jurisdiction, perhaps where controls are less strict. (PTO)

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About us London Gaming, through its senior management, has been a trusted advisor and consultant to land based and on-line gaming operators for over 10 years.

LONDON GAMING What we do Specialising

restructuring,

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term

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management, compliance and procedures, AML and social responsibility coaching, and pan-European legislative matters. Our directors have individually over 40 years experience of on-line and land based gaming, earning a reputation for delivering cross-channel solutions.

tim.cullimore@londongaming.co.uk

Contact number: +44(0)7826857931

Tim Cullimore Article

You would think that a similar system is perfect for a country such as Great Britain where it would take a lot of effort to play in our closest neighbouring countries, but the likelihood that such a system would actually help distressed players is small. The players would simply slip into the netherworld of illegal gambling dens or of course play on-line on less scrupulous or un-certified casinos sites. The only way to relieve the misery some players find themselves in is to recognise early when someone is tilting from social player to pathological player, and to offer a choice of remedies to help alleviate the problem. There is no one-size fits all panacea as each individual reacts differently, and certainly affordability checks would be the last thing the player would want to discuss, because remember, in a players mind, any suggestion that they stop playing means that the casino management know that he or she is about to hit big! So once again we have to take the emotion out of the discussion, starting with our elected members

of parliament who are happy to denounce all forms of gambling as an evil without ever bothering to look at the issue seriously. Although I have mentioned this before it is worth looking closely at the efforts the on-line sector of our business are doing with positive television ads explaining how to limit the time and money spent on gambling. I have yet to see a supermarket advertisement explaining to the customer how it is not the best idea to buy 2-for1 in the shops as this will encourage obesity, or alcoholproducers suggesting that the cheap bottle of wine should only be bought once a month. The discussion surrounding the wholesale shake-up of the regulator is very welcome, but can we have an adult dialogue about the reality of the industry and not a knee jerk reaction to individual stories of tragedy and loss, which grossly distort the real picture. I don’t believe that food and alcohol producers are directly held financiallyresponsible for the treatment of patients who are suffering from food

and alcohol related illnesses, so why isn’t treatment for gambling related illnesses widely available on the NHS or similar health providers, and this is not simply a Britishissue, but relates to all gambling jurisdictions.

Come Fly With Me I am very excited at the thought of traveling again to see friends and colleagues throughout Europe. I have very much missed the delight of visiting a casino for the first time, especially those I have heard so much about. I may be a little nervous about sitting in a busy plane for a couple of hours, but I think masks and enhanced hygiene are going to stay with us for a long time after Covid has hopefully become an irrelevance. I wish all of our industry colleagues great success with the reopening of casinos, and just maybe just once we will feel some love from the clients who have to admit that they have missed us.

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GAMING NEWS

Ex-Gambling Boss Fined & Banned For Stealing Car After Kebab

he former boss of one of the world’s largest gambling companies has admitted to taking and driving away a car and driving without insurance. When you have run one of the biggest online gambling firms and retired with what must be millions in the bank, what would you normally do? Most buy a yacht, a luxury villa in the sun, but not for Kenny Alexander the former chief executive of GVC Holdings now known as Entain the owner of Ladbrokes and Coral among others. Kenny Alexander was out having a drink back in May 2020 in the local pubs in Perth Scotland with a friend when at 10pm decided to leave and go to the kebab shop round the corner for the traditional food after having a skin full.

However the 52-year-old retired chief executive while in the shop asked staff to book a taxi for him but they said none were available, so normally you would use your mobile to book your own, not Alexander he noticed a delivery drivers car outside collecting food from the shop and Alexander decided to jump in while the driver was in the shop and took off in the vehicle. However the ex-gambling boss only drove around the block where the actual owner of the car tracked him down using his GPS tracking device, he found Alexander just sitting on the drivers seat, he spotted the owner and ran off making his way back home. Police arrived at Alexander’s and stated: ‘the accused was standing in front of his house and said: “It’s me you’re looking for”.’

Defence Solicitor John McLaughlin, said: ‘My client has been mortified by what has happened. He has previously been of good character but he doesn’t deny any of the offence. When the delivery driver arrived he spoke with him about the prospect of getting a lift home. In truth the driver is probably not allowed to do that. ‘This was when his moment of madness occurred. He jumped in the car and ended up one street away having effectively driven once around the block. He can’t explain what went through his mind. When the delivery driver approached him he apologised and offered to pay for any inconvenience he had caused.’ In sentencing the judge handed down a £1,000 fine and banned Alexander from driving for a year.

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GAMING NEWS

Chief Executive Of FanDuel To Leave Company

att King the chief executive of FanDuel has announced he is to step down from the company after fours years with the company. FanDuel which is owned by Flutter Entertainment said that King would remain while a successor was found and King would assist in the transition of the role. King has been responsible for transforming FanDuel from an online daily fantasy sports company to the US market leader in sports betting. In his time with FanDuel which started in 2014 till 2016 as chief financial officer and then returning to the company in 2017 as the chief executive when co-founder Nigel Eccles decided to step down from the Board and depart FanDuel.

growth.” King said of his time at FanDuel: “It has been a privilege to lead FanDuel over the last 4 years through what has been an incredibly exciting period for the company.” “With FanDuel well positioned for the next chapter of its growth and always an entrepreneur at heart, now is the time for me to take on new opportunities as the next step in my career. “I want to thank Peter and the whole Flutter team for their unwavering support since acquiring FanDuel three years ago. “I have no doubt that the business will continue to go from strength to strength and I wish all of my colleagues the very best for the future as they pursue the next stage of

Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment said of King: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt for his considerable contribution in helping to make FanDuel the US market leader it is today. “FanDuel has achieved so much in the three years since PASPA was repealed and that is due in no small part to Matt’s leadership and the strong team built around him. While we will be sorry to see him leave, he leaves the business in great shape. “We are starting the process of looking for a new CEO for FanDuel and we remain focused on maintaining our leadership position in the US market.”

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Slot Management 101:

The Project Brief

You developed a well-defined concept for your next big ‘award winning’projectas presented in your business case, but you’re not over the finishing line quite yet because you still need to secure the funding. Next stop: the project

By Andy Cosgrove

his project brief is necessary because nothing should be done until certain base information needed to make a rational decision is defined. This ‘Startup’ phase is as much about preventing poorly conceived projects from being initiated as it is about approving viable ones. The main objectives of the project brief are as follows: to ensure that there is a business justification for the project; to define and confirm the scope of the project; to ensure that the correct project approach is selected andto ensure that individuals are appointed who will undertake the work for the initial stage of the project. The main components of the project brief are as follows:

and should include:

Project Definition – This explains what the project needs to achieve

• Constraints and assumptions constraints are the restrictions and

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• Background- explains the context of the project and what it was that suggested a need for it. • Project objectives - covering time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and performance (following the SMART formula) • Desired outcomes - the events, occurrences, or changes in conditions, behavior, or attitudes that indicate progress toward a project’s goals. • Project scope and exclusions - a detailed outline of all aspects of a project, including related activities, resources, timelines, and deliverables, as well as the project’s boundaries.

limitations by which the project, and the project team are bound.Assumptions are a statement that is taken as being true for the purposes of planning, but which could later change. • Project tolerances - the permissible deviation above and below a plan’s target for time and cost without escalating the deviation to the next level of management. • The user(s) – a group who will use, operate and maintain one or more of the project’s products. Other interested parties – anyone who is directly or indirectly impacted by the project. • Project Interfaces - an interface is defined as a point of connect between entities working on a common project.

33 Outline business case - the outline business caseis only a high level view of the project and is used as a solid foundation for the more detailed business case which is developed in the project initiation stage. It states the reasons why the project is needed, and the business option selected. Project Product description – This is a type of product description used to define what the project must deliver to gain acceptance. It is a living document and is reviewed and updated throughout the life of the project and includes the following: • Skills required to develop the product/service • Customer quality expectations • Acceptance criteria • Project level quality tolerances • Acceptance method and acceptance responsibilities Project management team structure – This is normally presented using an organizational chart format and shows who will be involved in the project. Guidelines for developing the structure include: • Review lessons log for team structures used on previous related projects • Design the project team structure to include: the project board, the project executive, project manager, senior user, senior supplier, team manager, project assurance, change authority and project support. Depending on the size and scope of the project some of the roles can be combined as long as the don’t cause any conflict of interest. • Appoint the management team. Role descriptions – These are job descriptions that describe the roles of those on the project team. Some roles maybe part time while others can be

shared according to the project requirements. What’s important is that those working as part of the project management team are clear from day one on their responsibilities, boundaries and level of accountability. Role descriptions should include the following minimum requirements: • Role description • General responsibilities • competencies References–Includes all references to any associated documents.

Conclusion - At this point you’re all set to get you project approved and move on to the first project stage known as the Initiation stage. Once the project is approved the project brief becomes part of a larger project initiation documentation known as the ‘PID’. You might be thinking that

this seems like a lot of work preproject but by presenting as much information as possible before any major financial commitment is made you will increase investor confidence, provide clarity to stakeholders, reduce risk and decrease the odds of your project running over time constraints, over budget and possibly even being abandoned, so which would you prefer? MY MINI-BLOG - Andrew Cosgrove is a seasoned slot operations veteran and certified project manager with over 24 years of hands on experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Andrew has worked on both the operator and supplier side of casino slots and continues to help clients succeed and exceed customer expectations. Andrew can be reached at andy.cosgrove@henimgwaycasinoconsulting. com or seehttps://hemingwaycasinoconsulting.com/

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GAMING NEWS

European Online Company In Frame For William Hill

he starting gun for the sale of the UK and European assets of William Hill is about to be fired. In an announcement by US gambling giant Caesars Entertainment following the completed acquisition of William Hill last month for £2.9 billion, the US Company said it will sell off the UK and European assets of both the land based and digital businesses of the UK based bookmaker. It has always been clear from the start that the US casino operator wanted William Hill to boost its digital sports betting presence in the states and had no interest in retaining its businesses across the water. Now with Caesars stating that the sale will go ahead sometime during the summer the question is who is up for what? Many analyst’s favourite is Apollo Asset Management, they were the main rival in the bidding for the entire William Hill business but failed to Caesars and it looks almost certain the Wall Street buyout firm will come back again for parts of William Hill, indeed

Apollo have already been privy to the bookmakers books in its attempt last year, so know all about the company. Not just this but Apollo already own Gamenet, an Italian gambling operator and could combine the two and manage costs that way. The other contender is 888 Holdings and its founders the Shaked family, the companies Chief Executive Itai Pazner has stated on more than one occasion that the online firm would be interested in any William Hill sale. However many observers question the need for 888 Holdings to be interested in the 1,400 betting shops William Hill have, the online business makes sense but land based retail? William Hill businesses this side of the Atlantic will be valued at some £1.5 billion when it goes up for bidding in the summer, but there are rumours that there could be a breakup of the business with Fred Done the founder of Betfred interested in taking the retail arm, however Betfred has 1,600 retail betting shops already and would

cause a question over competition monopoly as it would take the retail arm of Betfred to 44% of the whole market. Could some be sold off to independents or to Paddy Power owners or Ladbrokes? But there is one player that is rumoured that could come in for it all and expand their business even further into new fields. Could some be sold off to independents or to Paddy Power owners or Ladbrokes? But there is one player that is rumoured that could come in for it all and expand their business even further into new fields. However takes on William Hill UK & European businesses would need to adjust somewhat with the digital and retail sectors, but to all the mentioned above they are highly attractive and bidding will be competitive, whether combined bids come in will be interesting to see. Whomever wins the bidding it is not expected to be finalised to at least the earliest the end of this year.

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June…….here comes summer! By Teresa Tunstall

ut not quite yet! I write as our weather is still pretty miserable and somewhat unpredictable; copious amounts of rain, hail, gales and cold! What’s next, a plague of locusts? But finally we are let out of jail and whilst some race to hot countries some of us stay here in Blighty, our Homeland. Thus it came about that I found myself watching Online an interview between the ‘Gambler’ and the ‘Operator.’ At this point I should bring to the

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fore that gaming and betting in the UK has changed considerably. The situation in the gaming industry has altered tremendously whereby gamblers who once found themselves in impossible financial situations caused by their gambling are now fighting for what they consider their right seven though, it could be said, it was their choice to gamble. Instead, those who have lost everything are now talking to the press about their plight. I was honestly shocked to

learn that hundreds of thousands of pounds were gambled and mostly lost. There are so many people in this position and whilst the truth is that they have to bear responsibility for their actions, Gambling Operators also have to accept some of the blame. They must take action to get to know their punters, and check that they can afford to play by providing proof of financial ability.

By the time you read this, restaurants, shops, pubs and casinos will be open and Lockdown might seem a distant memory. However, the reality is Covid is still world-wide and we just don’t know if and when it will crop up again. The UK National Lottery was launched decades ago in 1994 although it seems just like yesterday. The licence was awarded to the Camelot Group who are still running it to this day and are regulated by the Gambling Commission. Camelot installed more than 10,000 terminals to retailers, the equivalent of four biggest high street banks together! At the end of the first licence in 2001 the excitement had worn off as previously three Camelot executives had picked up six-figure bonuses. It caused quite a scandal but in the following year it was re-branded as Lotto and a further brand was created when Camelot joined with their equivalents

in France and Spain to form Euromillions.

from where they were meant to be barred.

In the third term in 2007 another battle commenced, but Camelot easily fended off Indian lottery group Sugal & Damani. The current License expires in 2023 and the fight for another term promises to be the fiercest yet. It will be for a 10year licence but it seems rather unnecessary to award it to any other group as Camelot has been successful throughout their term of tenure. As the saying goes “If it’s not broke why fix it?”

A separate gambler’s submission also raised concerns about the level of support they received from the casino Watchdog, the ‘Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation’. It was exactly the same complaint; the casino’s self-exclusion programme was ineffective!

Dozens of gambling addiction submissions arrived on Victorian Crown Casino’s table in Melbourne, Australia when players told of harrowing tales of lives ruined by gambling addiction. Several submissions raised concerns regarding the self-banning programme stating Crown was just not working properly. Some clients had reported the casino for allowing self-exclusion gamblers to enter areas

In its submission, the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association’s gambling counsellor, Ai Nguyen, said that whilst most of her clients had developed gambling problems at the Crown Casino, the lure of luxury restaurants and operating 24 hours had also drawn vulnerable people from the suburbs. They were tempted to succumb to these evil pleasures in order to try and resolve emotional problems and escape from their often hum drum lives.

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Teresa Tunstall Article continued

For the sake of comparison, the Lithuanian Parliament has voted in favour of banning the promotion and advertising of gambling; they voted on May 20th when by 105 votes they altered the country’s Law on Gambling. Due to an amendment, from July 1 gambling operators in Lithuania will not be allowed to create promotional campaigns, distribute gambling chips or even offer gifts, discounts or other promotions. The Government has said the ban has been passed to help combat problem gambling there. The decision comes after a national survey from the Gambling Supervisory Authority in November revealed public sentiment was very much against gambling advertising. Out of 1,001 adults surveyed, 76% felt gambling advertising should be reduced, 52% said it should be banned and 22% said only lottery advertisement should be banned. Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union member, Aurelijus Veryga,

is quoted as saying: “It is a type of activity that costs too much for some people in terms of health and not just money.”Prior to the ban, the director of the Gaming Control Authority, Virginijus Daukšys, mentioned that the pandemic had severely affected the gaming market. Furthermore the Authority received a number of complaints about gambling providers not fulfilling their promise of not advertising during the pandemic. Gambling operators were advised to stop advertising during the country’s national lockdown in April but many ignored the recommendation: in fact the Authority said gambling adverts had actually increased! Representative of Lithuania’s National Gambling and Gaming Business Association, Mantas Zakarka, warned that a promotional ban would deter new operators from entering the Lithuanian market and would have an adverse effect on the industry. Italy banned gambling advertising from 1 January 2019 – but the country’s gaming

market has since soared, bringing into question the non-effectiveness of the policy! On a completely different note, I for one sat through the annual ‘Eurovision Song contest’ with great excitement and anticipation. There was a lot to look forward to – the costumes, the lighting, the voices, the music and the eager contestants. 26 groups participating from as many countries, however, as time elapsed my interest waned went by all those from these countries my excitement started to drift away the UK seemingly passed without a mention. Our man who represented UK did his best singing his heart out but at the end was left with no ‘points,’ whatsoever. It was a sad pathetic evening for the UK but even worst for Eurovision singers who obviously recognised what was going on. Beware, one year our time will come!

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GAMING NEWS

William Hill begins major iSoftBet content rollout

illiamHill has gone live with its first iSoftBet game, with the operator adding a stream of innovative, player-first content from the leading online and mobile casino supplier across 2021 and beyond. iSoftBet’s latest addition to its Twisted Tales series, Moriarty Megaways™ will be exclusively available from today with William Hill for a two-week period across the UK with its players getting the Sherlock Holmes-inspired slot before the game goes on general release on 18th May. Moriarty Megaways™ is the first of many iSoftBet games that will be available to William Hill players, with plans for a progressive content rollout in the coming months.

The supplier’s offering has been impressively expanded with a collection of Megaways™ and Hold & Win products in recent months. iSoftBet has released nine Megaways™ titles in just 12 months, from the African adventure hit Majestic Megaways™ through to Aztec Gold Extra Gold Megaways™, a sequel to its debut Megaways™ title, Aztec Gold Megaways™. iSoftBet’s Hold & Win games have been a huge commercial success in the last year with the provider integrating the mechanic into several of its latest hits including Gold Digger with the game generating 60% more bets than its top-performing game the previous year. Active in 19 regulated global mar-

kets, iSoftBet provides some of the largest operators with top performing casino games and the quickest route to market via its GAP aggregation platform, adding significant value to all its partners. Federica Faggiano, Chief Commercial Officer at iSoftBet, said: “William Hill are one of the largest and most significant brands in the global gaming market and we’re thrilled to have them on board. “Moriarty Megaways™ is the perfect game to initiate the launch as it is one of our most sophisticated and innovative slots. The game offers players lucrative wins in a truly immersive environment, pushing the boundaries of what a slot is capable of and creating an unforgettable gaming experience.”

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GAMING NEWS

Denise Coates & Ruth Parasol In Rich List Top 10

Casino Reported 25% Of Staff Infected By

The dangers of improper safety protocols have come to the forefront following a casino found that 25% of its staff was found to be COVID-19 positive after the entire staff were tested. As casinos reopen around the world all have to follow safety protocols and social distancing but it appears those were lacking when The Princess Casino (part of the Princess Casino Group) in Belize had to close down following the major outbreak within its staff.

The Sunday Times released their latest Rich

List that shows two women from the gambling industry within the top ten, founder of Bet365 Denise Coates wealth is estimated to be £8.4 billion and sits in second place on the wealthiest women in the UK. At number nine is Ruth Parasol who has been out of the gambling industry since selling her shares in PartyGaming in which she founded with her partner at the time Russ Deleon. Although Parasol sold the remaining shares in the once the biggest online gambling company in the World back in 2013, the amazing success of PartyGaming in the outset of online gambling still keeps her in the top ten of wealthiest women in the UK. However the woman with ever growing success is certainly Denise Coates, along with her family the total wealth of the family and their Bet365 has jumped up by £1.3 billion in the last year to sit now seventeenth overall of richest families in the UK. In the gambling world overall however coming in 27th in the rich list are Ian & Richard Livingstone and gambling firm Evolution Gaming with £6.1 billion, up an amazing £2.2 billion from last year. Then comes Mark Scheinberg, co-founder of PokerStars with £3.52 billion in 49th place and in 208th Ruth Parasol and family with £780 million.

A Belize Government spokesperson said, “All positive persons are in complete isolation and contact tracing is ongoing.” While the contact tracing takes place, the Princess Casino will remain closed, and proper sanitization of the facilities is currently being carried out. It is also worth noting that 10 of the infected persons had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and they all are asymptomatic.”

Lithuania Bans Gambling Advertising The Lithuanian parliament has voted to ban all forms of gambling advertising within the country to try and tackle problem gambling, in a vote this week lawmakers have voted to ban all forms of gambling ads on televisions and radio along with any other media or mass gathering events such as sporting or social gatherings. In the vote by parliamentarians this week it is hope that the new ban will reduce the spend residents are staking on gambling and will come into full effect on July 1st. The Gambling Supervisory Authority (GSA) conducted a survey late last year and found that 76% of all adults questioned approved a gambling advertisement reduction and 52% thought gambling ads should be banned altogether. In the survey the GSA also found that 47% of all questioned said they had seen or heard gambling advertisements.

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GAMING NEWS

Connecticut Approves Sports Betting

he Connecticut Senate has approved the largest ever gambling expansion in the state by voting in favour of sports betting and online gambling by a majority of 28-6.

Mohegan Sun and the Foxwoods Resort Casino in the state will be the major winners in the new gambling expansion and will now become even bigger employers within the state which they already are.

blocked from offering their products to state players, under the new bill it requires companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings to be licensed to operate, something at present is not regulated.

In a marathon session that lasted late into Tuesday 25th May lawmaker approved the bill that has taken years in the making and now goes to the governor Ned Lamont for his approval and then to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior.

Connecticut has a population of some3.6 million residents and is ranked the 29th most populous state in the US, however it is expected to generate millions in tax income for the state over the next few years.

Those companies say some 600,000 people play fantasy sports in Connecticut and if lawmakers are unable to write the regulations concerning fantasy sports betting in time then the activity will be banned until such time.

Should it gain final approval lawmakers are hoping that sports betting will begin on 9th September which is the start of the National Football League Season.

The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, said the bill “could result in the shutdown of paid fantasy sports in Connecticut for a significant period of time, possibly through the NFL season.’’

As the governor was instrumental in its formation his signature is a formality and will see the Indian tribes of Connecticut compete against each other for customers. In the bill all forms of online gambling will be permitted such as casino games and online poker along with sports betting, the state lottery will also be allowed to offer customers an online play.

As part of the expansion in online gambling there will also be permitted 15 retail sports betting outlets statewide, however not betting will be allowed in-state college sports. Another issue is from fantasy sports operators who from 1st July will be

The group went on to say it “strongly urges the General Assembly to make the necessary changes to the legislation to ensure Connecticut residents can continue to participate in the fantasy sports contests they know and love.’’

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:: EUROPE

Casinos to reopen in Cyprus

M Crown’s Hope Of Wynn Resorts Bid Unlikely Aussie operator looking for Wynn now not on the cards

elco Resorts and Entertainment, who operate four casinos in Cyprus have been given the green light to re-open at reduced capacity from May 17. Operating under the name “The Cyprus Casinos” (C2) THE Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus who legislate for the Greek part of the island have said that the casinos can re-open at 30% capacity and from June 1 up to 50% normal running capacity.

:: AMERICA afford to make an offer however given the current situation with Australia and China along with the concerns of a Hong Kong based firm owning Crown may be a little too much at the current political climate.

:: AUSTRALIA

he battle for control of Crown Resorts, the Australian casino operator controlled by James Packer that has endured a torrid year with investigations into the companies regulatory failings ultimately ending in the loss of its license application for their billion dollar project in Sydney, has now heard that another company may put in a bid for the company. Sources in Hong Kong say that CC Landing Holdings a real-estate development business which is majority owned by CK Cheung may put in a bid for Crown. Certainly CK Cheung the billionaire could easily

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With bids already in by Crown Resorts competitor Star Entertainment along with Blackstone Group and Oaktree Capital there is one company that Crown were hoping to re-emerge with a new bid. Wynn Resorts who made a $10 billion bid for Crown Resorts some two years ago now and ultimately that bid fell through, it is hoped by Crown that Wynn will come to the bidding table again. However sources in Las Vegas close to Wynn say that is highly unlikely now, Wynn is busy developing their online sports betting business and plans to float that on the US stock market. It is also understood that from their bid in 2019 the company has re-focused its business model and would no longer make a bid for the Australian casino company.

Miami Casino Resort Hopes Dashed For Now

lorida state President Wilton Simpson has blown away the hopes for both Fontainebleau Resort owner Jeffrey Soffer and Trumps Doral resort of gaining a casino license for their Miami based locations. Soffer had been lobbying hard to be allowed to transfer his current Fontainebleau Resort license to Miami but the most powerful Republican in Florida has stated that the special session on May 17 to approve a new gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida will not have time to discuss Soffer’s hopes of the transfer or even Trump’s Resort license hopes. In an interview over the weekend Simpson said: “We will not contemplate moving a casino license out to the Fontainebleau,” he went on to say, “I do not think that that’s being contemplated in this special session, I actually I know it’s not.”

Sports Betting In Alabama Goes To Public Vote

The advancement in gambling within the US continues to grow pace as Alabama has now pushed through gambling legislation to allow for a state lottery, the licensing of six new casino casinos and the permission to grant sports betting within state borders. Gambling Bill SB319 has gone through committees and already was approved by state senators last month and now with lawmakers approving the bill it will almost certainly go to a public vote and if approved the state Governors signature to pass into law.

NEWS SHORTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

:: AMERICA

It has been a long haul for pro-gambling lawmakers to get this far, some 10 years in total and there is still a little way to go as the public vote would not happen till November 2022 but that will not deter supporters who see the legislation as a new tax generating mechanism.

:: AMERICA

Palms Casino Resort Sold For $650 million The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority has announced they are to acquire the Palms Casino Resort (the “Palms”) in Las Vegas, Nevada from Red Rock Resorts, Inc. The transaction is expected to close later in 2021, The sale price is understood to be $650 million in cash.

:: EDITORS CHOICE

UK Gambling “Affordability Checks” Rumours from within the review is the the government may scrap affordability checks for gaming companies

umours coming out of the current gambling review in the UK suggest the government is going to scrap the current “affordability checks” for customers. The news will anger the anti-gambling lobby but is good news for bookmakers, casinos and online operators. The UK Gambling Commission had called for the rule to be enforced to £100 per month for affordability from customers to offer payslips of proof they can afford to lose, however the feeling within the review body believes the measures would be too restrictive and damage an industry, especially the land based sector that is reeling from the current COVID0-19 pandemic. It is understood the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is considering removing these powers from the Gambling Commission or raising the current level to a much higher threshold. The review that started in December 2020 for a call for evidence and will report its findings in the autumn of this year is the biggest

shakeup of the gambling industry for decades and it is still understood to contain the removal of advertising and VIP programmes for operators but the loosening of the affordability check will be welcomed by all sectors of the industry. It is also rumoured that the Gambling Commission could be replaced by a gam-

bling ombudsman as reformers say the Commission has lost its way in the ever growing digital business. Indeed with the departure of long serving Gambling Commission chief Neil McArthur who has served for the commission for 15 years it is strongly thought there will be a major shakeup of the regulator.

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GAMING NEWS

Rank Group Target For US Takeover?

he Rank Group who operate Grosvenor Casinos, Mecca Bingo and also have a digital presence with four online gaming sites are rumoured to be the target of a US company looking to acquire the business.

However casino insiders close to Rank believe there is little in the latest speculation as Rank are predominantly a land based operator, they do have an online presence but nothing on the same scale as US operators are looking for.

Rumours started circulating Monday 24th May as the share price in the company rose by nearly 8%, analysts believed that an announcement by Rank was forthcoming on the rumours but nothing materialised.

One gaming consultant told the iGaming Post: “I really cannot see this happening, US operators are looking for UK businesses to improve their online sports betting businesses such as Caesars back in the US. As Rank has no such technology or presence in that area why would a US operator look to acquire Rank?”

Over the last year US gaming companies have snapped up UK gambling firms such as William Hill by Caesars Entertainment for £2.9 billion and MGM Resorts has been trying to acquire online gambling company Entain but with little success so far.

Caesars Entertainment are themselves looking to offload their casino business in the UK without much luck at present and it is rumoured that Genting would also want to do the same with their UK

casino operations but there are no buyers for either. All focus is on US sports betting and unless any company has that technology and or presence then it is unlikely that Rank would be viewed as a potential asset. The Rank Group have potential to increase their business in online gaming and that is what John O’Reilly their Chief Executive is charged with doing having come from an online gaming background with William Hill and Ldbrokes Digital. Rank were contacted for a comment but at the time of writing no response from the company was made.

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A DEALERS PERSPECTIVE How to survive working in casinos

By Silvie Mazacova

Silvie Mazacova is a Certified copywriter with 11-years experience in gaming, she started working in casinos from 2010 and hopefully, she will be able to maintain her job even after publishing these, sometimes critical, articles.

et me explain what I have learnt in the gaming industry over the years as a croupier:

*PEOPLE ARE NOISY Wherever you move, there’s always going to be someone who “closes” the door with a bang, hoovers for 8 hours a day, or singing out loud (not just when they’re in the shower). I can guarantee you that when you start working in a casino; your neighbours will turn into the noisiest creatures in the universe.

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You’ll hear a lot of bangs, whacks, stomps and crashes. Someone will always find time to cut grass, start building a second shed in the garden, or hang a picture on the wall, which, by the way, will somehow take all day! Even if you manage to get the best neighbours ever, there are always binmen to wake you up early in the morning. You’ll soon find out that even your own friends or family you live with turn into extremely annoying creatures. There will always be someone

who feels the urge to turn a noisy washing machine on at 9am and select the longest program in human history. There will always be someone who listens to the TV or music so loud that you feel like they’re in your room. And if you think you can get around this by living with people who also work nights, you’re terribly mistaken! As soon as they’re up on their day off, you’ll know about it.

51 *TIPS ARE GREAT TILL A PANDEMIC Tips are amazing! Until they don’t come. And it doesn’t always have to be due to a pandemic. There could be many reasons for them to plummet. Change in marketing and therefore different customers coming in could be one of them.

Silvie Mazacova

When your casino shifts marketing from Middle East to Asia, the decrease in tips can be quite painful. It’s not customary to tip in Asian countries and if you think they’ll do it when they come over here, you’re wrong. And, as we all learned last year, if the world gets in trouble, you’ll end up being poor in a very expensive country. It’s been incredibly generous from the government to pay 80% of people’s wages, but if half of your wage is tips, you’re not getting much. That’s when you realise that tips are not guaranteed and, this year, many people found themselves in a situation where they couldn’t live off their basic salary. I think we have to start looking at how much we’re actually getting from the company and what benefits are we entitled to. Is our pension any good? How about healthcare insurance? Discounted gym membership? Does your company help people commute? Many scrapped the Cycle to Work scheme which is completely funded by government. Yet, they are happy to pay managers for their cars and parking. With climate change being such a big issue now, it’s a complete fail. Some also got rid of discounted gym memberships which is another blunder, considering the increase in obesity, type-2 diabetes and decline in mental health. *YOU’LL END UP WITH A COLLEAGUE

Yep. No way around it. You most likely won’t be able to meet anyone else. And who else is going to understand your weird shifts? They’re not the same every day. The hours change at least 3 times a week! Who else is going to stay on top of it than a fellow casino employee? You’d be surprised how many people had to deal with jealous partners who didn’t believe the constant change in hours and thought their other half is cheating on them.

*DO YOU WANT KIDS? Do you want to finish at 4am and take your kids to school for 9am? I didn’t think so. Switching to part-time hours in the future is not guaranteed and the morning shift disappeared from dealer’s rota thanks to the pandemic. It may come back, but will it? Who is going to pick them up from school when you work a day shift finishing at 10pm? You are probably thinking: “My other

I’ve known some to have partners outside the business, I don’t want to generalise. But I’d say good 8 out of 10 casino people’s other halves are in the industry. It’s just easier because they understand.

PTO

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Silvie Mazacova Article

half, of course.” Do you want to spend the next 15 years working opposite shifts to your husband/wife and never see them again? Your life will consist of going to work, taking kids to school, sleeping for a few hours, picking them up, saying hi to your partner, and leaving again. You won’t have time to go out together because you’ll never see each other. You’ll have opposite days off and your family probably won’t be a family because you won’t spend any time together. I know everyone says that having children is a blessing, but, come on, let’s get down to Earth and admit that it’s often far away from what we all imagined and instead of idyllic family life, we end up facing a lot of noise, mess, badly disciplined kids, and unimaginable amount of stress. According to divorce lawyers Crisp & Co, 42% of marriages in the UK end up in divorce and 60% end before their 20th wedding anniversary! Sorry,

those are just terrible odds. Even if you somehow manage to stay together, you’re not going to have a same day off with your partner for the foreseeable future. I guess these people who manage to have a family don’t get divorced because they don’t even have time to tell each other that they’re out. *YOU COULD TRAVEL If you’re in your 20s and have no commitments, do it! My 20s working as a croupier have given me the best times of my life!

Also, summer is usually a great time for tips - certain customers come in summer and if you are decent in money management, you can save up a lot to send yourself travelling. I’ve been to weekend breaks in Paris, Marseilles, Prague, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona, and countless places here in the UK. My job allowed me to go to countries I’ve never dreamed I could go to; South Korea, Hong Kong, USA, Mexico, Cuba, Norway, Santorini, Thailand, Cambodia, and less exotic Italy, Spain, France, Austria, and many more.

When I first started, you could take holiday whenever you wanted and you could even sacrifice as little as 40h to get 10 days off! Good old 10h shifts.

I didn’t have to pay it with a credit card and when I did, I was able to repay it over the next couple of months.

I’m not entirely sure this will be the case now since many casinos reduced numbers to bare minimum. But they’ll have to hire again and perhaps it will get better over time.

READ MORE from Silvie in part 2 of her humorous article next month only in the Infinity Gaming Magazine

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