Author: Staff Writer

On Monday (17 June) morning, the US Supreme Court denied the writ of certiorari in the Florida sports betting case filed by West Flagler and Associates (WFA). This decision allows digital sports betting to remain active in Florida. WFA might still pursue the case through the Florida state court system. In March, the Florida Supreme Court declined to hear WFA’s quo warranto bid, deeming it the wrong “vehicle” for the case, but left the option to re-file in a lower court. Initially filed in federal court in late 2021, WFA has now exhausted all federal avenues. “The Seminole tribe of…

Crown Resorts has successfully transitioned to operating its Sydney casino under an unrestricted licence, marking the end of over three years of regulatory uncertainty in New South Wales. The company faced significant hurdles following the 2021 Bergin report, which found Crown “unsuitable” to operate its Barangaroo facility due to money laundering activities and inadequate oversight of junket operators linked to organized crime. Despite these challenges, Crown has undergone substantial changes under the new ownership of Blackstone, which acquired the company for AU$8.87 billion. This transformation included a AU$200 million investment in reforms aimed at enhancing compliance, governance, and harm minimization…

In July of last year, the Commission revealed plans to review the acquisition of a 6.57% stake in 888 by FS Gaming, an investment group led by former Entain CEO Kenny Alexander. This development came after the announcement that a trio of former Entain executives was poised to assume leadership roles at 888, prompting the Commission to launch an investigation over concerns regarding the potential change in corporate control. The proposed leadership changes would have positioned Alexander as CEO, with former Entain chair Lee Feldman stepping in as 888’s chair and Stephen Morana as chief financial officer. This move would…

In February, the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADOG) initiated a call for applications to award sports betting licenses, including one specifically aimed at tribal entities and another for professional sports franchises, within the framework of a total of 20 licenses allowed by law. These licenses are evenly split, with 10 designated for tribal casinos and another 10 for professional sports venues or franchises. Despite the open application window, the ADOG revealed to iGB that it hadn’t received any applications for the professional sports franchise license during this round, mirroring the outcome of a previous licensing period. To this point, eight…

In June 2022, Gammix faced an ultimatum to exit the Dutch market or face weekly fines amounting to €1.4 million. Following this, in March, the KSA imposed a penalty of €4.4 million on Gammix for failing to adhere to the directive to cease operations in the Netherlands. The most recent fine is a consequence of these prior directives, with the KSA emphasizing Gammix’s failure to take actions to prohibit Dutch players. The regulatory body noted, “has not taken any measures to ban players from the Netherlands.” In its latest ruling, the KSA asserted that Gammix persists in offering illegal online…

In January 2024, revenue experienced a slight increase, reaching just over $1.27 billion, although it lagged behind December’s earnings of $1.43 billion by 10.5%. Slot machines contributed significantly to January’s revenue, totaling $885.9 million, a modest 1.3% increase compared to the previous year. Of this amount, $567.2 million stemmed from multi-denomination slots, while penny slots accounted for $231.1 million. Conversely, revenue from table, counter, and card games witnessed a decline of 7.5% to $393.5 million in January. “Despite a decrease in revenue from blackjack by 18.2% to $98.3 million, baccarat showed growth with an 8.0% increase to $98.0 million,” noted…

Primmer assumes his new role promptly, reporting directly to Aristocrat CEO and managing director Trevor Croker. This marks Primmer’s most senior position with Aristocrat since joining the company in August 2014. Previously, Primmer served as the chief product officer for Aristocrat’s land-based business, holding the position for four years. Before this, he held roles as executive vice-president and senior vice-president of global products and insights. He also served as senior director of portfolio planning and strategy for the Americas at Aristocrat. Prior to joining Aristocrat, Primmer worked as the domestic product marketing manager at Ainsworth Game Technology. His other roles…

Revenue for the three months ending 30th September 2023 surged to $97.5 million (£77.0m/€90.1m). However, heightened expenditure across various sectors resulted in Inspired concluding Q3 with diminished net profits. The Q3 outcomes have been released several months behind schedule. The figures were anticipated in late 2023, but Inspired postponed publication due to several issues. These encompassed accounting discrepancies concerning compliance with US GAAP, linked to accounting policies for capitalising software development costs. This, incidentally, prompted Nasdaq to reach out to Inspired in November. It cautioned that the delayed filing places the company in violation of its regulations. The stock exchange…

In the fourth quarter, gross gaming revenue saw a modest increase of 0.6% compared to the same period in 2022 in Spain. Additionally, it rose by 3.6% when compared to the revenue generated in the third quarter of the year. Breaking down the figures, casinos emerged as the primary revenue driver during Q4. Casino activities contributed significantly, with total revenue reaching €171.3m, constituting 54.3% of the entire market revenue in Spain. The growth in the casino sector was notably supported by a substantial 25.9% surge in slots revenue and a 15.3% increase in revenue from live roulette. In other sectors,…

In 2023, revenue saw a slight decrease of 1.9% to £2.02 billion (£2.02bn/€2.37bn) for Playtika, although the net profit took a significant hit, plummeting by 17.9% due to increased costs. Throughout the year, Playtika expanded its portfolio by acquiring various assets. Notably, in September, the company finalised its acquisition of Innplay Labs for $300.0m. Additionally, in August, it concluded the purchase of the Youda Games portfolio of content from Azerion. Earlier in the year, Playtika had expressed interest in acquiring Rovio Entertainment, renowned for the Angry Birds series, but eventually withdrew from the bidding process. The acquisition was later made…