Infinity Gaming Magazine October 2019

Infinity Gaming www.gaming-awards.com | ISSUE109

FLUTTER MERGER REVIEW

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

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12 MEET THE IGA JUDGES

18 WHAT SLOT PLAYERS WANT

Andy Cosgrove

28 PRODUCTS VS MARKETING Lynn Pearce de Freitas

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.

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

08 THE FLUTTER MERGER

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12 MEET THE IGA JUDGES 18 WHAT SLOT PLAYERS WANT 24 EVENTS FOR BUSINESS

THE FLUTTER MERGER REVIEW

28 PRODUCTS VS MARKETING EVENTS & BUSINESS

32 MALTA MEMORIES

Lee-Ann Johnstone

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39 ADS BANNED

+ 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

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

Lana Thompson - Editor-in-Chief

Welcome to the latest edition of the Infinity Gaming Magazine

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Welcome to the latest edition of the In-

Games, Pilot Games and Yggdrasil. You

finity Gaming Magazine and here we are

are so supportive of our charity focused

in the Autumn, as we all know this really

event, thank you and we have some new

is the business end of the year, with ex-

sponsors coming soon so if interested

hibitions and conferences coming at us

do drop us an email and can tell you all

from all over the place.

about taking part.

Business Partnerships Svetlana@gaming-awards.com

The true test of any executive is to know

Inside also talking of support is our

Marketing & Advertising claire@cleverduckmedia.com

which to attend and which not, we have

wonderful line-up of IGA2020 Judges, a

a superb article in the magazine by Lee-

vast selection of experience that will be

Ann Johnstone to help you there

working hard over the coming months on deciding the winners of the IGA

Also this month we welcome our latest

come February.

writer to our family in the shape of Andy Cosgrove, Andy is an expert in the slots

Back to the magazine and our feature

business and will be writing on an array

writers, Teresa Tunstall and Lynn Pearce

of subjects over the coming months, he

De Freitas bring as always some superb

starts off with asking “what do slot play-

insights from the world of gaming.

ers want?” which if you are running the slots department is a very good ques-

I know everyone has been talking about

tion to have the answer to.

last weeks announcement of the merger between Flutter and The Stars Group

The IGA is well underway with nomina-

and we have that all covered in the

tions and you still have time to enter,

magazine.

so please head over to Gaming Awards and get nominating, always free to en-

Have a super month, enjoy the magazine

ter of course and in aid of two very de-

and we will catch you all next month.

serving charities. Also want to thank all our current sponsors: Melco, IGT, BBIN, BetConstruct, Les Ambassadeurs, Ultraplay, Galaxy Entertainment, Scientific

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Sponsorship Opportunities Colin@cleverduckmedia.com

Editorial Content & PR media@cleverduckmedia.com

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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 prducts, technology and current affairs with the sector the Infinity Gaming Magazine is delighted to showcase our superb line-up of contributing writers.

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/

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.

Teresa now works independently consulting on all issues relating to Social Responsibility and Problem Gambling.

Working closely with the betting and gaming industry, She developed strong links delivering Social Responsibility and Problem Gambling training around the world, from Antigua to Moscow, and Auditing in the UK.

To contact Teresa regarding consulting please email: Teresatunstall1@gmail.com

Lee-Ann Johnstone With almost two decades of digital and affiliate marketing experience gained within retail, payments and iGaming brands.

Lee-Ann Johnstone has a wealth of expertise as an award-winning digital and affiliate marketer and business mentor. She is a regular speaker , industry writer and the founder of AffiliateINSIDER a specialist agency offering strategic consulting and affiliate program management, training and coaching.

Lynn Pearce de Freitas Lynn has creatively strategized and implemented B2C and B2B acquisition, conversion and retention marketing campaigns.

Lynn started off her igaming career consulting to LCI, a prestigious land-based casino in the UK, where she was responsible for the online marketing and projectmanagement of conferences, events, presentations, video production, and other activities.

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She joined Forwardslash, (an igaming marketing company) as Marketing GM: Creative Studio. She then went on to work for a sportsbetting company to launch a poker room and casino for a while, before being headhuntered to join a startup casino company in Prague, where she worked as the Marketing Operations Manager. Longing for the sea and sunshine, she relocated to Malta to consult for a B2B igaming software development company.

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Videoslots

BEEN LOOKING FOR? FOR MORE INFO VISIT: www.videoslotscareers.com

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Consolidation

Flutter & The Stars Group A Result For All?

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onsolidation within the gambling industry took a giant leap forwards last week with the announcement that Flutter and The Stars Group would be merging in a deal worth an estimated £9.8 billion. Flutter are the owners of Paddy Power and Betfair while The Stars Group own SkyBet, and a merger between the two could create a mega-group within the worldwide betting scene.

In recent years, there has been a clear move towards mergers and acquisitions within the gambling industry, partially due to tougher regulation and higher taxes. However, this would be the granddaddy of them all, making the new company the largest online betting operator in the world.

Takeovers are nothing new to either Flutter or The Stars Group as both have been through the process before, although not on this scale.

Here’s a closer examination of the meteoric rise of both betting firms, and what the public can expect when they combine operations.

Paddy Power and Betfair become Flutter Listed on the FTSE 100, Flutter Enter-

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tainment plc was created when betting giants Paddy Power and Betfair merged. However, even the most enthusiastic gamblers might still be unfamiliar with their moniker, knowing them better as one of their individual trading names: Paddy Power, Betfair, TVG, Sportsbet and FanDuel.

Their story began in 1988 when three Irish bookmakers came together, merging a total of 40 shops to create the now-iconic brand known as Paddy Power. Adopting an aggressive expansion strategy, Paddy Power aimed for main towns to open new branches while simultaneously reaching out beyond mere horse-racing. By 2001, they had managed to acquire a third of the market on off-course betting.

Over the years, Paddy Power became notorious for offering odds for unusual bets and for sometimes taking a controversial stance. In 2010, they were one of the very few betting firms that refunded punters who had bet on F1 driver Felipe Massa to win the German Grand Prix. Despite having a clear lead, Massa was ordered to allow team-mate Fernando Alonso to win, a move that caused great controversy. Sympathetic to the views of frustrated customers, Paddy Power sided with them and offered their

money back.

In 2008, Paddy Power acquired McGranaghan Racing and in May 2010, they acquired a majority stake in Aussie betting firm, Sportsbet.

While Paddy Power were steadily building their empire, Betfair were doing similar after entering the market in 2000. With an ambitious approach, Betfair made an impact on audiences quickly with advertising campaigns such as being the first betting firm to sponsor a football team in England - in the days before gambling could be advertised on TV or radio in the UK. Betfair went on to go live with its own radio service which broadcast gambling info, such as horse-racing results. By 2002, they took the next step of acquiring Flutter before moving on to snap up TVG Network in 2009. The following year they floated on the London Stock Exchange with a value of £1.4 billion.

In 2012, Betfair moved to Malta in a bid to reduce taxes and became the first firm to offer a sportsbook cashout service.

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In 2015, the two firms agreed on a merger which finally went ahead in February 2016. The new group were known as Paddy Power Betfair and together they continued with the same ongoing plans for expansion, acquiring smaller operators FanDuel and Adjarabet in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

In the same year, the group agreed to rebrand as Flutter to represent the diverse number of brands in its portfolio.

17 different jurisdictions around the world and just like Flutter, its services include casino, poker and sportsbook.

In 2018 the group had an operating income of ÂŁ360 million and 7503 employees.

The Canadian betting company was beset by allegations in the early years after the merger with CEO David Baazov accused of multiple counts of securities fraud. He quit as the CEO and later attempted to buy the company back with a group of anonymous investors but by November 2016 a new CEO was installed and the bid was dropped.

Formation of The Stars Group The Stars Group has a prestigious history and represents the amalgamation of a number of successful betting brands. It has licences to operate in

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker were previously operating under the name of Amaya in Canada, but in 2014 the parent company was taken over. The buyout came to an eye-watering ÂŁ4.9 billion and involved a name change to The Stars Group.

Following the acquisition of The Rational Group in 2014, The Stars Group went on to buy out Victiv in 2015, Crownbet in early 2018 and six months later, made their flagship purchase of Skybet, worth $4.7 billion.

In May 2019, The Stars Group announced a hookup with Fox Sports to develop free-to-play betting platforms and real-money gambling in the states that have legalised it. Operating under the banner of Fox Bet, it was the first dual-branded sports betting platform.

Fox were handed a 4.99% share, with the option of staircasing to 50% within the next decade.

The planned merger with Flutter provides Fox with the option to acquire up to 18.5% of FanDuel, one of the Flutter subsidiaries in 2021.

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www.yggdrasilgaming.com

The Flutter Stars Group Merger

In 2017 the revenue of The Stars Group was $1.3 billion, with 4500 recorded employees (2019 figure).

The Future of the New Company According to the latest information available, the heavyweight jobs are all being filled from Flutter, with executives from The Stars Group being edged out. The Chief Executive, Chairman and Finance Chief roles are going to Peter Jackson, Gary McCann and Jonathan Hill, all of whom hold those roles currently in Flutter.

Out of the eight non-executive roles available, five will be occupied by individuals from Flutter.

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the betting ban, leaving it up to individual states to decide their own gambling laws. Since then, a number have chosen to legalise betting and more look set to follow suit.

The sports betting market in the US has barely begun to open up, and with rich pickings available, creating a super-group capable of taking advantage was the smart move.

The emergence of the US sports betting market has undoubtedly played a role in the appetite of the two companies to come together. In May 2018, the Supreme Court in the US erased

Some analysts believe the expected scrutiny from competition regulators could put the brakes on progress, slowing down the completion of the deal even further.

Not Yet a Done Deal Amid all of the excitement on the market, some experts have been urging caution. The merger between the two betting giants will take some time to

Despite what many are describing as an uphill battle to win approval, the chair of the new group, Flutter chief Peter Jackson said the group are “confident” that the regulators will give them the green light.

Positive Market Response

Flutter shareholders will own 54.6% of the new company which will be listed on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Dublin. The headquarters are planned to be located in Dublin.

The Stars Group will hold 45.4% shares when the merger completes.

At present, Flutter have around 6 million global customers, with The Stars Group having slightly more at 7 million. With a total of 100 different markets covered between them, the new mega-betting firm will have vast coverage all around the world. Its expected that approximately 45% of joint revenue will come from sports betting, with almost half coming from the UK and Ireland and 15% from Australia.

would net them a total market share of 38%. The Competitions and Markets Authority typically launch an investigation if a deal either exceeds £70 million or the market share is likely to be higher than 25%.

The jury is still out on what the regulators might think, and many experts believe that one or more of the minor brands will have to be sold off to meet competition requirements.

Nevertheless, the response from the market has been favourable, with other betting companies experiencing a lift in their share price in response to the news.

complete with some estimates suggesting as long as 18 months.

And it’s not just the time-scales to consider; for the deal to go ahead it will first have to win approval from the regulators in a raft of countries including the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the US. The deal, which is being described as a merger, is likely to cause the biggest waves in the UK where analysts from Regulus Partners have calculated it

If the merger does go ahead, it won’t take place until the third quarter of 2020 at the earliest and the group believes that it could take up to three years to deliver the £180 million savings it’s promising.

However, with digital revenue for the gambling industry growing at a compound rate of 11% since 2013, and further migration expected, the Flutter deal could be the first of many large takeover bids to hit the market in the coming months and years.

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THE IGA2020 JUDGES 01

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Alexander Stevendahl CEO Videoslots

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Britt Boeskov Chief Experience Officer at Kindred Group plc

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Christina Thakor-Rankin Gaming Consultant

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Desmond Lam Ph.D Professor in International Integrated Resort Management

Ebba Arnred CMO Play’n GO

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Gavin Isaacs Chairman of SBTech

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Jennifer Bowman Senior Director Global Field Marketing at IGT

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Liz Karter Specialist in Gambling Addiction in Women

Lynn Pearce de Freitas Global Head of Marketing OGaming

Noam Kanfi CEO Playtech B2C

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Marek Milewski Operations Manager Casinos Poland

Paul Fitchford Managing Director & Casino Consultant at iGamingUK

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THE IGA2020 JUDGES 13

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Peter John Caveny Assistant Senior Vice President, Investor Relations Galaxy Entertainment Group

Phil Horne - Chief Executive SG Gaming UK

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Richard Noble Chief Operating Officer of the Aspers Group

Roger Marris CEO at The Ritz Club

Sarah Sculpher Chief Marketing Officer Caesars EMEA

Shelly Suter-Hadad Chief Executive Casumo

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Stephanie Cheung Chief Legal Officer at Melco Crown Entertainment

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Teresa Tunstall Head of Development & Training GamCare

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Tracey Stevenson General Manager – Compliance & Integrity at Crown London Aspinalls

22 Vigen Badalyan CEO BetConstruct

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www.yggdrasilgaming.com

GAMING NEWS

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Multilotto Malta Workforce Hit By Redundancies

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the move with some calling it “disgusting” after being caught completely unawares by the announcement.

The move comes hot on the heels of an announcement by Multilotto of an expansion to its casino platform, adding more slots and entering a new partnership deal just one week ago.

The news was broken via letter from CEO Christian Hellbjer which was handed out to those employees affected. The letter confirms the decision was not based on staff performance but was taken based on the loss of recent licences. The letter goes on to set out the redundancy package and offers the chance of a reference, if required.

he employees of Multilotto in Malta have been rocked by the news that around half of them are being made redundant. The online lottery operator has told its staff that it’s been forced to make the cuts after it surrendered licences in Malta and the UK.

Loss of half the Malta staff The news that Multilotto was cutting jobs came as a complete shock to staff who were informed that approximately half the employees would be leaving. The exact numbers are not yet known but what has been confirmed is that Multilotto made 10-15 individuals redundant, shrinking the operation by half.

Surrendering UK and Malta betting licence Hellbjer was only promoted to the role of Multilotto CEO in January 2019, having first joined the company from university as a financial controller. When 500.com took over the lottery firm in 2017 for a fee of €50 million, Hellbjer was gradually moved into what is hi present position.

Christian Hellbjer confirmed via email that widespread changes are taking place, describing “restructuring”that has been necessary. He said there would be no further redundancies but the ones that have been performed were unavoidable.

Multilotto recently surrendered its licences to both the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gambling Commission. The company said that it has been the loss of these two key licences which are the reason why redundancies have taken place.

Despite surrendering its licences, the two sites appeared to be still accepting new bets and live in the market.

Christian Hellbjer said that this was because they had “protected” their customers and there would be due warning for them to withdraw their money once they agree final details with the regulators.

Employees were quick to condemn

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What do slots players really want?

A guide to remembering who your slots players are and how to keep them happy

By Andy Cosgrove

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ave you ever walked into an empty casino during peak business hours and not asked yourself why is this place empty? If the answer is yes, then maybe it’s time to think again as not asking the right questions is probably one of the main reasons why potentially catastrophic events happen.

Imagine a once-upon-a-time loyal slots customers suddenly leaving for the competition,lifesaving promotionsthat are now constantly failingand imagineworking forthe kind ofGM that ends up blaming the economy, the staff and anything elsein order to avoid blaming themselves for not asking the right kind of questions. Not asking the right questions to your employees is one way to steer your operation into decline but not asking questions to your customers, and not understanding who your customers are, who you want them to be and what you can do to attract more of them will push your operation from a steady decline into a fully vertical nose dive that will send your casino into the kind of tree bending chaos that itmay never recover from.

Asking, understanding and taking proactive action towards achieving and exceeding what the customer want’s is potentially the most important part of any business strategy so let me start by giving advice about what the casino slots customer doesn’t want. The customer doesn’t

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want to hear the phrases, ‘that’s not my job’ or ‘I don’t know, I only work here.’ The customer doesn’t want to pay crazy prices for F&B. The customer doesn’t like it when the ADT criteria to qualify for comps is tripled overnight with no explanation. They also don’t like it when time on device decreases from one day to the next or hearing about an exciting promotion post-event!!!!! I could go on but I’m positive that by know you are beginning to understand the importance of not classifying your customers as a necessary inconvenience for making money!

Time to switch focus onto what your customers really want andwhat will ultimately keep them coming back trip after trip, and hopefully with a few friends.

Safety, Cleanliness and Comfort: Safety of all casinos assets is a top priority for a casino company, but this isn’t limited to just cash, slots machines. Safety also includes the customers and at no time should your patrons (you remember, the people that pay your salaries!) be made to feel threatened inside or outside the Casino so it’s imperative that procedures are in place and that all staff remain vigilant. Cleanliness is a must as no customer wants to hear a squishy, squashy sound as they walk through the casino.Nor do they want to see a bunch of left-over glasses of beer from the night before stacked

up beside the slot machine. Cleaner’s should be available before, during and after the casino closes. Comfort means a great atmosphere, with great lighting, comfortable chairs and above all, a place that makes your customer feel welcome.

Slots of entertainment: I can’t put enough emphasis on how much casino customers like to be entertained and being entertained on a slot machine includes that adrenaline rush player’s get when chasing that life changing jackpot and, believe it or not, actually winning alife changing jackpot from time to time (much to the distress of some executives!).

It also involves having a good mix of slot machine, a player friendly layout, plenty of familiar themes, progressive jackpots,maximum bets that your player segment can afford and pay tables that suite their different risk appetites. The slot machine of today also needs to engage customers with more interaction and entertaining bonus rounds.

Systems technology also contributes to the entertainment factor so it’s important to keep up with industry technology also contributes to the entertainment factor so it’s important to keep up with industry trends and innovation. However, the entertainment value can evaporate in an instant if there are lengthy response times, machines that don’t work and slot attendant’s who don’t understand the game. Therefore,

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it’s essential to have a technically efficient operation in place and use it as a firm foundationfor taking the customer experience to the next level and beyond expectations.

Time on device: Yes, it’s true that player’s do want time on device. It doesn’t always mean winning but it does involve receiving value for their entertainment dollars. Most people won’t return to a restaurant where the food arrived cold, the drinks went to another table and there were no apologies, or discount, for the waiter spilling red wine all over your white, very expensive, new silk shirt. The same goes for slot players, they won’t return to a casino where they invest $100 of their entertainment budget and lose it in a blink of an eye when playing on a penny machine. This is especially the case if there’s 10 local casinos within walking distance. If this happens, take note and try, at the very least, to reduce the hold% on some of your slots.

Players club perks and amenities: Just take a step back in time and consider how Fabulous Las Vegas has evolved over the years from a dusty frontier town in the desert to the entertainment capital of the world

and you can’t help but stop and admire what has been achieved in Sin City and continues to be achieved on a daily basis in terms of player amenities and the use of player data to acquire, retain and expand their customer base. You have local casinos, strip casinos, signature restaurants, designer clothes, exploding volcanoes, comedy clubs, exotic dancers, mega-concerts, party pits and any other form of entertainment imaginable. It’s fabulous but it can go wrong and you can easily end up giving the customer a little too much which is why it’s so important to know your customer base, know your competition and plan your marketing strategy (yes, I said plan!) accordingly before your customers happiness becomes your casinos nightmare.

Personalized service: A lot of slot’s player’s see the casino as an opportunity for a social event where they can get together with friends and family and have a good time so it’s of the upmost importance that the casino exploits this kind of opportunity and makes it part of the player’s personalized experience. Using a customers first name, knowing what games they like and what their favorite food is are just a small part of making the cus-

tomer feel special and making them feel that they are part of the extended casino family where each interaction is an opportunity for the relationship to grow. It’s an easy concept to understand but if you don’t have the buy in and feedback from your staffit will be very difficult to compete as without an engaged and happy staff how can you expect to retain an engaged and happy customer?

The casino business is constantly evolving and adapting in order remain relevant in today’s fast paced society so it’s easy to understand whycompanies can lose track of what it is exactly that the customer really wants.In the age of the experience economy customers demand a personalized experience that meets their expectations even before they set foot in your casinoand this can makemeeting those expectationsan even more challenging proposition.

A great leader will take even the most challenging situation and turn it into an opportunity to learn, to grow and to inspire others to create personalized and memorable moments that give the customers what they want even before they know it themselves.

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GAMING NEWS

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Flutter Entertainment To Merge With Stars Group

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n a major development in the gaming industry it was announced that Flutter Entertainment which owns Paddy Power and Betfair are to merge with online poker giant The Stars Group.

It will become once the deal is finalised the worlds largest gambling entity with combined revenues of £3.8 billion based on 2018 figures.

Flutter Entertainment was only created in 2016 with the merger of Paddy Power and Betfair and the new merger will see Flutter hold a 54.6% share in the combined business with The Stars Group holding 45.4%.

It is understood shareholders will approve the deal in the second quarter of 2020 and completion will be done by the end of 2020.

Observers say that with the merger the new company will be a huge player in the US market with both betting and poker being the new businesses major brands.

Peter Jackson the Chief Executive of Flutter said of the deal, “The combination represents a great opportunity to deliver a step-change in our presence in international markets and ensure we are ideally positioned to take advantage of the exciting opportunity in the US through a media relationship with FOX Sports as well as our development of US sports betting through Flutter’s FanDuel and TSG’s FOX Bet brands.2 He went on to say, “We are committed to these two high-quality brands to drive the growth of the combined group in the US.”

Stars Group Chief Executive Rafi Ashkenazi said: “This exciting combination will allow us to enhance and accelerate our existing strategy.

The combination with Flutter will further enhance our company’s core strengths, and position us strongly for the future in this rapidly evolving industry.”

It is understood that oce the business is full combined Rafi Ashkenazi will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer.

It has also been confirmed that the newly combined company will be incorporated, headquartered and domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, what will become of The Stars Group Headquarters in Isle Of Man has not yet been announced.

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..... 3rd February .....

LONDON

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GAMING-AWARDS.COM

GAMING NEWS

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Court Appeal Rules Slots Continue at Florida Casino

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ruling from the three judges at the Court of Appeal has confirmed that slots can continue at a Florida casino but that horse-racing can be shut down. The news will come as a blow to thoroughbred breeders who had claimed that it was a fundamental change to the conditions of the licence and race meets should be preserved.

The decision from the Court of Appeal was made following the decision from Calder Race Course, based in Miami Springs, to cancel future race meets earlier this year.

Switch to Jai Alai The casino at Calder was first opened in 2004 when a constitutional amendment was issued which allowed existing licence holders to add slots to their existing offering. At that time, there was a fully functional horse race track at Calder and the slots were simply added to the facilities available.

However, over time the popularity of horse racing has waned and the owners have been exploring alternative endeavours. In May 2019, it became possible to bet on Jai Alai at Calder, a ball sport played on a small court which is extremely popular with punters. It has been legal to bet on Jai Alai in the state of Florida since 1935 and many operators are happy to offer this, given the small amount of space it takes up.

The successful introduction of the Jai Alai betting at Calder led to the closure of the race track, and the subsequent complaint from the body representing the horse owners.

No Breach in Conditions The thoroughbred horse owners’ association took their claim to court contending that the decision to close down the race track would render the whole licence illegal. As the slots activity was added onto an existing licence for horse racing, the group

had claimed that moving to Jai Alai would invalidate the terms.

However, the Court of Appeal ruled in the favour of Calder and said that there were no conditions which would preclude the activity switching from horse racing to Jai Alai.

The ruling will undoubtedly be an enormous disappointment to the thoroughbred group as Calder accounts for approximately 10% of all the purses paid out in South Florida.

This means that between $8-10 million in revenue will now be lost every year.

But with Jai Alai taking up less space and without the complications of needing to take care of live animals nor employ so many employees on the track, it’s a much cheaper option for Calder and a direction the casino is determined to pursue.

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Why attending events is so important for your business

By Lee-Ann Johnstone

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unning an affiliate business, or programme can be quite complex. There’s nothing more important than your relationship network when you are building your business. Finding the right partners and affiliate opportunities is key for your success.

Networking and building solid business relationships is an important part of running any affiliate program in order to keep the supply of new deals and marketing opportunities flowing. Building a live rapport with your affiliates will ensure you maintain your brand stature with existing relationships too.

As we head into one of the busiest conference periods for our industry, with events taking place both in Europe, the US and further abroad in Africa - these events present a great way for you to build your performance. Below I’ll be taking a look at the key reasons why shows, including affiliate events, and conferences are so important to your business.

1) Events - make your business grow The number one reason to attend conferences is to shake some hand, engage in meaningful conversations,

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and make new contacts. Networking is best done organically, and conventions are the place to make those get-togethers happen in real time.

Affiliates attempting to find operators on their own can spend a lot of time chasing potential opportunities that end up offering nothing in return. Conferences act like a bridge between you and the other brands they work with, allowing you to start building personable relationships with multiple partners across the course of a single day. Furthermore, conferences and affiliates events specifically, offer an advantage to your business that non-attending competitors simply don’t get. You’ll be engaging and learning in the moment and will find opportunities where they may not otherwise exist.

These water cooler moments can help shape your strategy in future to keep competitive and in the forefront of affiliate’s minds.

2) Benefit from wider industry knowledge In our industry there are always improvements to be made and new insights to learn. For one, staying on top of the latest digital trends in the affiliate industry is essential to making sure your affiliate program and offering remains valuable to your

partners. Learning how to improve the visibility and reach of your affiliate marketing content and making it more engaging will mean you have more to offer potential new partners.

Conferences offer an opportunity to benchmark your own program against the rest of the industry.

Outside of learning from veteran affiliates alongside, there’s intel to be mined from those who are new to the industry too. Learning more about the trends and struggles your affiliates are experiencing will help you to service them better. You’ll also pick up great new digital, marketing and service insights from the content that is delivered at these events.

3) Get some business visibility and reach Staying competitive as an affiliate marketing business is crucial. There are plenty of affiliates out there and brands/advertisers aren’t going to offer work opportunities to all of them. So, what is it that determines which business a brand/advertiser will work with? In part, it’s about reputation and authority, both of which are gathered by getting your name and brand out there - consistently. Attending conferences and

Lee-Ann Johnstone Article

affiliate events helps you get your foot in the door or, at the very least, make you a known figure. Making a good impression now can lead to opportunities coming down the pipeline in the future.

4) Make some new friends While it might not seem quite as beneficial to the business as the rest of my points above, the new friends you make at events and conferences do bring value, too. We learn faster when we work with others and when we have partners and friendly rivals to watch. If you have a network of affiliate marketers to work alongside with, you’re more likely to first hear about the tools and resources that you can use to improve your own business.

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The old adage - sharing is caring applies here.

The affiliate world is always growing as more and more brands and advertisers enter the market place.Affiliate events should be a staple part of your marketing calendar to ensure you don’t miss out on engaging new business owners entering the space. Then there are the unique opportunities to be found at affiliate events. Connections lead to guest posts, reciprocal links, social media cross-promotion, referrals, and a host more great content opportunities.

In conclusion The best thing about attending conferences and events is how many

free-to-attend conferences there are.

Look through the events listings on information sites for events near you and you’re certain to be able to find some low-to-no cost opportunities to build your network, learn a little more about your business, and make some new friends along the way.

There’s really no reason not to get yourself on the road and attend a few conferences this year. It’s one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to build your network that not only leads to paid opportunities but also partnerships with other businesses that can help you grow, so do check out the schedules and start making room in your calendar for conferences and affiliate events near you.

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Melco Casino to Boost Cyprus Off-Peak Tourists

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yprus’s reason for offering the casino resort licence to Melco is in a bid to try and drum up interest in the holiday resort out of season. With an influx of visitor during the summer months, the nation suffers a huge drop in revenue in the winter and many businesses find it difficult to cope.

Many countries with a strong tourist trade find it quiet off-peak but Cyprus is determined to remedy this by planning a luxurious casino. With Melco at the helm, the casino should be ready in two years time.

A New Ministry Set Up season. The body decided that luxury integrated casino resort would attract a wave of visitors from overseas.

Melco Casino has been awarded

the licence for the new resort and expects to be able to complete in approximately two years. The Hong Kong-based gambling giant Melco will be responsible for building the very first of its kind in the whole of Europe.

During the summer season, Cyrprus gets a flow of visitors particularly from regions such as Britain, Russia and Scandinavia but numbers drop off in the colder months. Melco believes that with the opening of this casino it will be able to change the fortunes for Cyprus off-season.

Melco has also been handed permission to run a chain of smaller, satellite casinos and since last year, it’s opened three in Ayia Napa, Nicosia and a third at Larnaca International Airport. As part of the grand plan, it will be opening a 4th satellite casino in Paphos.

Creating Jobs in the Casino Industry When Melco opens its doors on the new large-scale casino, it’s estimated that a total of 2000 new jobs will be created. The company has said it’s keen to create “quality” jobs and to offer career advancement and education for all its staff.

Craig Ballantyne, the head of Melco in Cyprus, said that he believed building the casino would attract a further 300,000 visitors every year, establishing it firmly as a year-round destination and not just a resort for the summer months.

When it opens in 2021 it will have hundreds of villas and rooms, areas for meetings and exhibitions, multiple entertainment and dining facilities and a luxury casino.

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Product vs Marketing

By Lynn Pearce de Freitas

A

s the head of marketing for many companies over the years, I have seen the role of product management, business unit managers and marketing take on many different forms.

I have witnessed issues and arguments arising out of the different roles, mostly due to confusion between product and product marketing, which are two very different roles. I have also seen and experienced firsthand how product can withhold new technologies from marketing teams based on bitter division between the heads of these departments, stifling the business in the process. On other occasions I have seen the head of Product trying to coerce the marketing team to go live with a new product, telling them they would market the new product themselves if the marketing team did not get behind their product. The struggle is real!

I guess the real question is – whose decision should it be to go live with a new product? Under normal situations, it is generally marketing that

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require new products in order to be agile, more efficient and productive in being able to get to market sooner, with marketing automation productsin order tostay ahead of the competition. At the same time, product teams regularly get asked by other business units for product innovation.

In the absence of open communication between the various teams, issues can arise.

Quite frankly, I do not believe there should be a problem. If the roles and responsibilities were clearly defined, with the proper goals and KPIs put in place by top executives,there would be no confusion or angst.

In addition, the size of the company matters. In small to medium businesses, I believe the role of product overall could easily be handled by one person, developing the product roadmap, with the help of a business analyst doing the competitor analysis.

In larger companies it would make sense to divide these roles between product, dealing with software development and external development companies; and business unit manag-

ers or product marketers developing the strategy.

The role of marketing itself has become more complex as well over time, where we started off with the 4 Ps i.e. Product, Place, Price and Promotion, we have had to add other Ps into the marketing mix in this datadriven world we now find ourselves, like People and Performance, Process and Physical Evidence.

As a strategic brand marketer, I know full well that a customer will leave if the product does not support the messaging or value proposition that got them to the website in the first place – you are only as good as your product offering. On the other hand, if the product is great, but the messaging is ineffective in getting the customer to visit the website, then the onus lies on marketing to fix it.

When you dissect and dig deep into the roles and responsibilities of both the product and marketing teams, there should be synergy, but no overlap.

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Marketing goals are focused on driving the success of the business, working across the company to drive brand awareness, lead generation and customer loyalty. Marketing’s focus should be to look outward, analyzing trends, gaining insights into new markets, using these insights to guide priorities and areas of new investment for the company.

The head of marketing should set the overall marketing strategy and creative direction, owning the company’s position in the market through brandbuilding efforts and acquisition, conversion and retention campaigns, including entry into new markets. These strategic plans that they set then help to focus the marketing team on the setting the messaging, content themes, campaigns, and promotional mix to the target audience.

Product goals are centred on the

actual product and roadmap, with continuous innovation, adding improvements to the functionality of the product or on the delivery of entirely new products to market. These goals could also include pricing of new services that add value to the existing products or increasing the efficiency of the product based on customer feedback and requests, acting as the voice of the customer.

The head of product should set the overall product strategy, delivering on the roadmap and setting the priorities in accordance with the software development teams, working across the organization with legal, compliance, customer service, operations, commercial and marketing teams.

The ultimate goal for both teams is to launch products that customers truly love, and this can only be done in a communicative and collaborative

environment.

As senior leaders within a company or organization, it is imperative that each respects the roles and responsibilities of the other, leading by example and inspiring their teams to work together and deliver on the best product and go-to-market campaigns. Communication throughout the process is paramount, with both parties sharing timelines and agreeing these in conjunction with other business objectives and priorities across all departments.

This will ensure success for the company overall – brilliant teamwork builds great products that customers will want to keep on coming back for – and will be more than happy to recommend to their friends.

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EXCITING ROLE FOR FRENCH SPEAKING CASINO MANAGER EXCELLENT SALARY AND BENEFITS

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GAMING NEWS

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Philippines Governor Would Like Betting Firms to Leave

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he Central Bank Governor of the Philippines, Benjamin Diokno has confessed that he would be much happier if all betting companies left the country for good.

While acknowledging there would be an economic impact, the financier admitted that he’d prefer to deal with the consequences than continue to allow betting in the Philippines.

from POGOs but a large number of Chinese nationals work and play at them, many illegally.

The Philippines has tightened up its gambling licensing in recent months but continue to draw nationals from other countries such as China where the laws are more stringent.

China has been applying pressure to the Philippines to ban POGOs to support its own efforts to stamp out illegal gambling. It claims that POGOs are being used by criminals to launder money and illegally recruit more workers. Neighbouring Cambodia has already confirmed that it will be closing down online gambling and has called for the Philippines to follow suit.

Calls to Ban Gambling Gambling has been under the spotlight in the Philippines recently with pressure being piled onto the country by neighbouring nations to close down their offshore operations.

Online gambling companies are still legal in the Philippines and known as POGOs, provide offshore betting opportunities for nationals from other countries. Filipinos are banned

Due to concerns over the number of illegal Chinese workers, the Philippines has now ceased issuing new licenses to online betting firms and is closely monitoring those currently in operation.

Data suggests there are 60 POGOs currently active in the Philippines but critics believe there are far more in operation.

Financial Contribution from POGOs

Despite the concerns over the draw for illegal Chinese workers, POGOs contribute to the Philippines economy, paying taxes on their revenue. In addition, the influx of workers drawn by the POGOs contribute to the overall economy with their spending power.

Despite this, the governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines has said that he’d prefer to forego the cash in return for getting rid of all online gambling firms. Benjamin Diokno said that the money received from casinos was relatively low compared to other revenue, and admitted he’d be happy to do without it in return for getting rid of all gambling activity in the country.

The governor said the Philippines receives “a few billion peso” in taxes from casinos but he said he preferred to take a “risk-averse” stance and get rid of casinos in order to prevent money laundering from occurring, something he believes continues to present a real risk.

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Malta and sad memories

By Teresa Tunstall

T

he first time I ever went on a plane was to Malta with my friend Carol after we left school aged 16.We both worked onday jobs and evening work in the theatre to raise the money for our tickets. It was an exciting time!

Carol’s mother was Maltese and this helped us to make new friends; it was a really fantastic time and Malta is a country which I have returned to many times.

So it was with great sadness that I read of the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a renowned Maltese journalist onThe Sunday Times of Maltaand associate editor ofThe Malta Independent who was assassinated by a bomb hidden under her car. October 2019 will see the second anniversary of her death and it is noteworthy that the FBI were asked to help investigate, European Parliament named theirpress room after Daphne, the Pope wrote a rare letter of condolence, the Swedish National Press Club awarded her their ‘Freedom of Speech,’ and the American Society of Journalists and Authors honoured her. The list is endless yet the culprit goes free.

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The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering has named Malta egaming as ‘inherently vulnerable,’ to money laundering and requires them to be more vigilant in their investigations.

It continued, ‘While Malta has a sound legal framework to fight the financing of terrorism, the report notes that few investigations have been conducted so far none of which have resulted in any prosecutions or convictions.

While noting recent progress, the report concludes that the actions undertaken by the authorities are not fully in line with the country’s exposure to possible terrorism financing risks.

The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism - MONEYVAL is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as with the task of making recommendations to national authorities in respect of

necessaryimprovement’s to their systems.

Through a dynamic process of mutual evaluations, peer review and regular follow-up of its reports, MONEYVAL aims to improve the capacities of national authorities to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism more effectively. Malta is lacking an in-depth analysis of how all types of legal persons and legal arrangements can be misused for money laundering and financing of terrorism purposes.

There are shortcomings in a multipronged approach to obtaining beneficial ownership information.

Considering the nature and scale of business undertaken in Malta, the fines for failing to submit beneficial ownership information on legal persons are not effective, dissuasive or proportionate.

My latest concern about Malta is that of the famousDragonara Casino, which is housed within the Palazzo Dragonara, a beautiful 19th century summer residence in St Julian’s and one of the oldest and most magnificentland based casinos in Malta.

However, other casino operators on

Teresa Tunstall Article

the island are up in arms and considering legal action against the 64 year extension granted to Dragonara Casino which was implemented without a proper bidding process and therefore breached State aid rules. The reality is the new lease agreement will save the Dragonara Gaming at least 13.5 million.A number of businesses had expressed an interest in Dragonara and are now outraged that they were not given the chance to bid. Surely this behaviour is unacceptable. Malta as a country has an entire population of 440,372, as opposed to London with a population of 8,908,081,and should be made accountable for this inherent gambling abuse; somewhere along the line sadly Malta has fallen by the wayside.

We should all take great pride in our UK Gambling Commission who has moved mountains to achieve Regulation particularly in protection of problem gamblers. Gamble Aware have teamed up with the NHS in Leeds and GamCare to work within a partnership, togetheraddressing issues for those in trouble with their gambling prob-

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lems. Thus thanks are due to the Commission and their hard work with the Gaming and Betting industry.

For your edification Samaritans does not denounce suicide, and it is not necessary to be suicidal to contact them.By offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence and accepted without prejudice, despair can be alleviated and emotional healthmade into a mainstream issue.

This is an excellent advancement offering multiply help and a great step forward to helping those problem gamblers. Last but not least, when you’re next considering updating to a new swanky laptop or mobile phone give thought to where some of the the raw materials used to build them emanate from. It’s actually Africa where the miners use picks,pans and bare hands in terrible conditions; bloodshed on a grand scale!

Not only iPhones and laptops, but Tesla’s, the best-selling electric car in the U.S.A., are made from metals such as cobalt, tantalum and tin are mined in countries such as Democratic Republic

of Congo. Prices for these metals have shot up with cobalt hitting a record of 92,500 per pound last year. As a consequence Africa has seen a surge in illegal miners known as ‘Artisanal diggers,’ who break into sites and fill their sacks with cobalt.

In these impoverished countries the rewards can be highly lucrative but the human toll of dangers are immense culminating when 43 illegal workers died in a copper mine which collapsed due to overcrowding.

Amnesty International has accused large companies who smelt the ore before they sell it onto well-known brands are also using child labour for this work.

Changing this situation can only comeby the consumer who should be made aware of the supply chain,and then shun those conglomerates who use such workers. Thus next time you purchase the latest electronic gadget ask what it was made of and where it came from.

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Our Commitment to Multi-Level Progressives.

IGT is excited to continue the success of our robust Multi-Level Progressive (MLP) library with additional game releases to new and existing themes.

Our MLP product pipeline on the Crystal Series gaming machines offer a powerful presence to any floor. Generate excitement by giving players the big-win potential of linked MLPs that feature distinct player-favourite brands and game features.

For more information visit www.IGT.com

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Artwork, descriptions, game play, photographs, videos, and other product details depicted are subject to change.

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GAMING NEWS

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Bangladesh Casino Campaign Catches Kingpin

T

he ongoing clampdown on illegal casinos and betting in Bangladesh has continued with the apprehension of the man who’s believed to be the kingpin of operations in the country. Salim Prodhan was caught as he was trying to flee the country on a flight to Thailand but officers arrested and detained him in custody.

The move to snare Prodhan was part of a larger operation which saw senior officers moved around after allegations of corruption were made.

Caught Attempting to Escape Salim Prodhan was found by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the task force leading the crackdown, at the airport attempting to board a flight to Thailand. No information has been released as yet about how the RAB knew he would be at the airport or what his role has been in the numerous underground casinos.

Prodhan runs an online casino company which includes live B2B casino solutions and makes numerous fraudulent claims such as being the first gaming company in the UK. Their online site borrows content heavily from legitimate providers such as Evolution Gaming in a bid to add credibility.

ment officers as a clean-up campaign to banish casinos continues.

The so-called kingpin of illegal casinos is wanted in connection with charges of money laundering and associated crimes, but is believed to have had extensive involvement in a number of other illegal gambling activities. HIs bank accounts have been frozen but gambling revenue to three local accounts have been traced, with an excess of $1million being credited every month.

In the meantime, sweeping changes have been made to the structure of the Bangladesh police force with no fewer than seven (out of a total of 50) of the officers-in-charge in Dhaka moved to other units. The transfers were made amid claims that some senior officials have been protecting underground operations and hampering the ongoing investigation.

Crackdown in the Police Force The sting operation to nab Salim Prodhan at the airport was just a small part of the ongoing operations from the Bangladesh law enforce-

Gambling remains illegal in the country and amid the efforts to get rid of illegal outfits, politicians are considering bringing in laws which would permit betting for foreigners visiting the country.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has announced it will be launching an investigation into those who profited from any of the illegal operations, and warned that no-one will be immune from prosecution.

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GAMING NEWS

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UltraPlay recorded the 8th award for its leadership

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ltraplay has been recently recognized by the Central and Eastern European Gaming (CEEG) Awards as the Best Overall eSports Service Provider of 2019, during the conference which took place in Budapest at the end of September. The company’s eSports betting provision has been awarded

by CEEG for a second consecutive year through the accumulated votes online as well as those of the delegates onsite. The latest accolade marks UltraPlay’s 8th award for its leadership in eSports betting provision on the global iGaming market.

Lyubomira Petrova, CMO of UltraPlay has commented on the latest award: “Our team is proud to lead the eSports betting movement, by constantly innovating and contributing the entire ecosystem.

Going beyond expectations with our eSports offering, we are glad to supply so many online operators worldwide.”

As part of the CEEGC’s panel discussion on eSports, Petrova shared why betting on it is a gambling vertical not to be missed. One of the reasons why is that eSports offers a profitable and attractive way to sportsbooks, which are seeking to engage adequately the next generation of bettors.

The panelists marked what’s next and challenging for eSports and how the entire ecosystem will evolve over the next following years. In terms of betting Petrova highlighted that widespread coverage will continue to be a must, and operators will need to adapt to the broader portfolio of titles that millennials want to see on their websites.

When it comes to widest pre-match and live coverage, UltraPlay is leading the way with the unprecedented number of game titles and events their dedicated eSports traders are covering, including: o 28 eSports games titles, amongst are the Golden Trio (CS:GO, League of Legends, Dota 2) as well as StarCraft II, Overwatch, PUBG, NBA 2k, FIFA, the newly introduced Madden NFL and Magic: The Gathering, and many more. o Up to 200 live markets on CS:GO (where most of the bets are placed by the eSports punters) o 3000+ pre-match events and more than 2500 live events monthly o Enlarged number of live markets for all games (Decider Map Played, Correct Score, Map Advantage, and much more.)

Moreover, UltraPlay has been enhancing its eSports betting solution by constantly adding new game titles as well as upgrading its live betting model. Through UltraPlay’s impeccable solution for live betting on eSports, online operators can extend the players’ life-time value as well as increase their conversion and retention rates. How? UltraPlay’s Hybrid eSports live betting model ensures the eSports live markets areopen for up to 3 times longer than other betting solutions providers.

This opportunity isgranted by the perfect mixture of Artificial Intelligence and human traders’ interaction.

UltraPlay’s eSports product geographical reach includes predominantly Asia and Europe, as well as North and South America, where eSports betting is gaining a momentum nowadays.

The company’s 8 times awardwinning eSports product is used by more than 50 leading gaming operators from across the world, which entered the eSports betting scene together with UltraPlay and increased tremendously their revenue, player acquisition, conversion and retention rates.Learn more on ultraplay.co.

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32Red Ads Banned Due To Child Appeal

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wo betting ads for an online casino have been banned in the UK because of their appeal to children. The two advertisements for 32Red have been removed from circulation because they appear to be a fairy story.

The company responsible for the creation of the ads insist there was no intent there to appeal to children.

A fairytale appeal The company 32Red, one of the most well-known betting companies in the UK, is a business who excels in sports betting. The allegation is that they created two adverts which is appealing to children and could potentially encourage them to partake in gambling activity. Entering the key phrase “Jack and the beanstalk” returned results which included the two adverts for 32Red. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) questioned whether these two

adverts which appeared in response to a common phrase that a child might use on Google represented a problem.

The adverts in question appeared in April and were both paid-for content on Google. In response to typing in “Jack and the beanstalk” the advert appeared which suggested that a bonus of up to £150 could be paid. Join 32Red would pay out a bonus of £15 for every £10 deposited, with a limit of £150. This level of clear betting content in response to a common childhood search term is the reason that the ASA became involved.

Included in error Jack and the Beanstalk is one of the names of a 32Red game and the company confirmed that it was intentional for the search term to point to gambling content. However it said that the Jack and the Beanstalk game was one of those which had been

categorised as high risk. This means it should not have been visible to any children entering the phrase as age would have to be identified for the content to be seen.

Unfortunately for 32Red, the content was visible to those who hadn’t verified their age. The company said that this was an error and that it should not have been included in the slot games that could be viewed by anyone. 32Red admitted their mistake and removed the ads from circulation immediately, as well as rectifying their error in listing the game. The ASA welcomed the move by 32Red but said that a breach of the advertising code had occurred because there was a “strong possibility” that the ads could have been viewed by a child. 32Red have confirmed they are putting steps in place to ensure this kind of mistake cannot recur.

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EveryMatrix Quits White Label UK Market

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etting operator and white label gambling provider EveryMatrix has quit the UK client market to focus on its B2B business. The decision comes hot on the heels of the news that the UK Gambling Commission suspended its licence earlier this month.

The experience white label provider had more than five years of experience and will leave at least 10 casinos in the client market in a very difficult position.

Loss of an experienced provider The news that EveryMatrix was in trouble came as somewhat of a surprise as it’s been running white label operations in the UK since 2014.

Since then, it had built up a stable of clients who used their services labelled under various other brands.

However, earlier in September 2019 the UK Gambling Commission announced their decision to suspend the B2C licence held by EveryMatrix while it carried out a fuller investiga-

tion.

In particular, the Commission were said to be concerned about how customer interactions were being managed as part of the white label business. It confirmed that the licence would remain suspended until the body could be convinced that all of the operations were fully compliant.

EveryMatrix were initially upbeat about the decision, insisting that they would regain their licence and emerge stronger than ever but they’ve since had a change of heart.

“Unsalvageable” business EveryMatrix announced on its website its intention to withdraw completely from the B2C market, despite its previous statement that it would regroup and continue.

The CEO of the company, Ebbe Groes, described the B2C business for EveryMatrix as “unsalvageable” and expressed his regret over the

disruption caused to their many long-standing customers.

Insiders say that EveryMatrix had made considerable effort to persuade the regulator that they had what it takes to regain their licence.

One rumoured approach was a joint venture with beBettor, a compliance start-up that could have helped boost social responsibility obligations by using a cross-checking affordability tool. However, despite the enthusiasm at first, it quickly became evident that it wouldn’t be sufficient to satisfy the Commission.

This doesn’t mean that EveryMatrix is leaving the market completely; instead of focusing on regaining its B2C licence it has decided to redefine its position and work on its B2B business instead. Mr Groes described the “tremendous growth” chalked up in the B2B business in recent years and confirmed this would now be the focus of EveryMatrix.

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GAMING NEWS

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Gambling Body Complains To European Commission

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n Austrian gambling organisation is poised to take the country to court over what it believes are unfair betting regulations. The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has referred the case to the European Commission as it believes gambling operators are being unfairly treated by the country.

The IBIA is a non-profit making organisation that represents the top gambling operators in the world. It says that Austria’s new framework is set to cause considerable problems for the industry by unnecessarily imposing tough conditions.

New draft laws The row has emerged as the Lower Austria state has produced draft regulation on how it intends to regulate gambling in its jurisdiction.

The Sports Betting Act is the piece of legislature that it has produced, but the IBIA feels that it will handicap the industry and could inhibit investment.

Betting is Austria is regulated in two different ways. Areas such as casinos, lotteries and bingo are controlled nationally by the Minister of Finance for the government. However, other types of betting which are known as “an activity of skill” are regulated on a local basis. Each of the nine states within Austria have the authority to set their own laws governing “skill” gambling. It’s the approach taken by Lower Austria which the IBIA object to.

The previous laws in Lower Austria had been based on a longstanding framework dating back to 1978.

This didn’t take changes such as retail betting terminals or online gambling into account so the state proposed changes to its regulation.

As part of these new proposals, Lower Austria wants to introduce a maximum stake of €350, a ban on live betting and a cap on licensing for online operators of just two years. By contrast, retail units will continue to be able to receive a licence of up to 10 years.

Claims of discrimination The IBIA is claiming that the proposed new changes to Lower Austria regulation are not only unwarranted but discriminatory. The body is unhappy with a difference in licensing for online and retail units and believe that it would deter investors.

The organisation has also said that the maximum bet of €350 is unjustified and that Lower Austria have been unable to provide any explanation of how this figure was calculated. The IBIA has led called for the state to follow countries such as UK and Denmark in their tight regulation of live betting, while still allowing it to take place.

In referring the matter to the European Commission, the IBIA hopes to achieve clarity on betting regulation. The ruling could have implications for all European nations so many are awaiting the outcome with interest.

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Genting To Release Multi-Billion Yen Bonds For Japan

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enting Singapore has announced its intention to issue yen bonds worth $3.2 billion in a bid to raise capital.

Releasing the news on Monday, the casino investment company said the bonds were being created in order to generate working capital for Japan.

Part of the wider Genting Group based in Malaysia, GEN Singapore operates one of the Singapore integrated casino resorts. With the money raised it hopes to expand its existing casino as well as compete to open a new casino in Japan.

Existing casino licence Genting already holds a casino licence with Singapore which has enabled it to run the successful Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

This is about to undergo a facelift worth $3.3 billion in an agreement that company has set out with the government.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genting Singapore will retain a licence to operate a casino in Singapore until at least 2030. This provides some stability for the company and allows it to continue to collect revenue from its casino business for a further decade.

Plans to expand Genting has ambitious plans to expand beyond its current service which is why it has decided to offer the yen bonds. Designed to raise enough money for it to expand, Genting is planning on scheduling the bonds to mature in October 2021.

The bonds will be worth $3.2 billion and will enable Genting to undertake the expansion of its existing Singapore casino. However with the money it also hopes to open a new casino in Japan.

It won’t be the first time that Genting has raised money by using

bonds. In October 2017, Genting announced a similar plan, that time for the sum of JPY20 billion. Those bonds were issued for working capital in Japan too, similar to what’s required this time around.

Licence to be granted During all of this, Japan is said to be ready to issue a further casino licence. Five companies, including Genting, have put their names forward for consideration to be awarded the licence for Osaka.

Out of the five that applied originally, it’s believed that Genting Singapore, MGM Resorts International and Galaxy Entertainment Group are the ones battling it out to take the licence that’s up for grabs.

It’s believed that an estimated $10 billion will be required to build the casino and it’s not yet known whether Japan will provide any subsidies or whether private firms will have to fund the full amount.

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GAMING NEWS

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Casino Investors Top Rich List in Philippines

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new report has revealed that casino investors in the Philippines are amongst the wealthiest individuals in the country.

The latest list of the 50 richest individuals in the Philippines, compiled

by Forbes, has named some of the prominent figures from the world of gambling.

Many of the casino owners listed in the rich list have diverse business interests and earn income in other industries in addition to gambling.

Taking top spot The prestigious position of first place on the list went to the offspring of the late Henry Sy, a tycoon who passed away earlier this year. His six children have inherited the estimated fortune of $17.2 billion which takes the form of wealth from malls and real estate in addition to revenue from the gambling industry.

Belle Corp one of the biggest inves-

tors in the gambling sector, was created by the deceased and his family.

This business invested in the City of Dreams casino in the capital and had plans to create a nationwide chain of casinos under the same moniker.

Enrique Razon was the next entrepreneur on the list, ranking 4th overall.

His net worth comes to a cool $5.1 billion and his business interests include chairing the Bloomberry Resorts Corp. Their sites include the Manilla complex, Solaire Resort and Casino Entertainment City.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp has ambitious plans to extend further. It hopes open a second casino in the Philippines in Quezon City as well as obtain a licence to operate in Japan.

Additional entries In addition to casino owners in the top 10, there were other wealthy Philippines scattered throughout the list. All of these are also involved in

the casino and entertainment industry in some way.

Dennis Uy is in 22nd position, with a fortune of $660 million he is currently in the process of opening up gambling sites having made his money in oil, gas, petroleum and shipping.

Plans are afoot to build a casino on the island of Mactan. Once opened it will employ a significant number of people in the local economy, boosting revenue for the area.

Other casinos are planned for opening in other locations in the Philippines from other investors. In particular, Penang is expected to be the site of the next investment. Plans to open a casino there have already been mentioned with a completion date of 2022.

It’s clear from this list that within the Philippines at least, running a casino continues to be an extremely lucrative business.

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48

..... 3rd February .....

LONDON

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GAMING NEWS

49

Poker Machines in South Australia to Accept Cash

P

roposed new gambling laws for South Australia will permit the payment with bank notes for the very first time ever. The changes due to take place in poker machines is a move that will align South Australia with other regions and will be tightly controlled by the government.

The Attorney-General for the government believes that introducing payment by bank notes won’t cause any harm and providing it’s carefully monitored represents no risk to the population of players.

Proposed reforms for South Australia The proposals will apply to gambling in South Australia and supporters of the new law believe that it will simply bring the area in line with other jurisdictions, making it clearer and fairer about what can be played.

Vickie Chapman, the Attorney-General for the government insisted that it would not become a free-for-all

and instead, the payments would be “strictly controlled”. Ms Chapman believes that close monitoring of the payments means that any potential harm will be minimised.

The Attorney-General also explained that there would be restrictions on the denomination of the notes that could be used, together with limits on the total amount of cash that will be able to be gambled.

The pending legislation doesn’t just bring in the ability to pay with banknotes, it also provides new powers to casinos to deal with players.

This includes enhanced provisions which support certain players being removed from sites with pokies machines, and a wider range of programs backed by the rehabilitation fund for gamblers.

Small community and sporting clubs will find it easier to transfer their licences, thereby allowing them to open on special occasions such as

Christmas Day and Good Friday if they so choose.

Ms Chapman said that the wide scope of the legislation would balance social responsibility for safe play with offering support to making the gambling industry economically viable.

Support not universal Although the government has set out its basis for the new legislation, it hasn’t won widespread acceptable amongst the opposition. The SA-BEST party slammed the legislation as being “callous, thoughtless and heartless”.

Connie Bonaros, and MP in the Upper House said she refused to accept that notes would be a harm-minimising measure. She challenged the Attorney-General’s view, describing her plans as “outrageous”.

SA-BEST did not support the introduction of the new measures, despite the fact it will harmonise South Australia with other regions.

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GAMING NEWS

51

Panama To Scrap Gambling Tax to Attract Tourists

P

anama has announced sweeping new changes to the taxation of betting in the country, with the abolition of the unpopular 5.5% Income Tax. Under the new rules, players will be able to receive their winnings taxfree whether they choose to take it as chips or cash.

2015 with the aim of raising revenue to pay for retirement benefits for citizens. However, this levy was a policy of the previous government and the current incumbents believe that it is proving detrimental to the tourist trade.

The move is a desperate attempt to prop up the diminishing tourism industry in Panama and there are hopes that lucrative rules around betting will lure more visitors to the country.

The secretary of the JCJ confirmed that the income tax would be abolished right across the board on all aspects of gambling in Panama. This includes casino tables, slots, bingo and sports betting and is designed to encourage more tourists the visit the country.

Changes announced by regulatory body Junta de Control de Juegos (JCJ), the body responsible for gambling regulation in Panama, announced that it would be introducing changes relating to the taxation of betting. The 5.5% tax which currently applies to gambling winnings is being scrapped by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Backed by other bodies Getting rid of tax on gambling winnings has proved to be a popular policy with a number of agencies.

The head of the tourist body Autoridad de Turismo de Panama has backed the plan. The tourist industry has slumped with the loss of approximately 40,000 jobs and hotel occupation rates plunging to below 45% in the last two years.

The tax was originally introduced in

The gambling body in Panama,

Asociación de Administradores de Juegos de Azar, has been campaigning for the tax to be scrapped since it was first introduced four years ago. They believe that the taxes has played a part in persuading local players and international gamblers to visit neighbouring countries instead.

At the same time as getting rid of the tax for players, the Panama government is preparing to introduce a new audit system for operators.

Using an “interconnected electronic system” the government will be ensuring that operators are paying the right amount of tax, and will also be stepping up their monitoring activity to identify taxable revenue.

Inside sources have suggested that many of the changes announced have been implemented as a result of a recent meeting between the head of the JCJ and his Mexican equivalent, Luis Calvo Reyes, who leads Mexico’s gambling regulatory body.

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