A plethora of things for your perusal
Five lottery corporations get together, BetRivers' Canadian lead presents his thoughts, "entertainment" replaces "gaming" in company rebrands, and much, much, much more.
In this issue:
Lottery corporations establish coalition
BetRivers’ Caughill on Ontario’s launch
Hood has new AGCO gig
That’s Entertainment
The Company Line - Kinectify
As mentioned in Tuesday’s newsletter, we’re going to take a break from Twitter Spaces for the remainder of August to allow our loyal listeners to enjoy the rest of the summer. We’ll be back beginning on Thursday, September 8 to resume our weekly gabfests on the latest in the sports betting and gaming industry.
Lottery corp coalition takes aim at illegal online gambling sites
Seven days ago, minutes after clicking the “Publish” button on Substack to send to the masses the latest newsletter, a news release came across in the internets with the headline, “New Pan-Canadian Coalition of Provincial Gaming Corporations Calls for Interjurisdictional Cooperation to Tackle Illegal Online Gambling”.
In case you were in full-out, away-from-all-devices summer vacay mode, the coalition (made up of the Atlantic, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia lottery corporations) “is calling on the federal government to continue to work with the provinces and regulators to protect Canadians from the misleading advertising and operation of illegal gambling websites within Canada”. The announcement comes on the heels of some backlash to the rash of advertising that ramped up in April with the opening of the regulated Ontario igaming market involving both operators approved by iGaming Ontario and unlicensed operators.
A couple of thoughts here:
The five lottery corporations forming the coalition are looking at the competition faced by OLG since April 4th, and wondering when the jurisdictions where they’re located will follow Ontario’s lead (the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission has committed to bring in two sportsbook operators before the end of the year to develop land-based and online sportsbooks with the province’s casino operators, and there’s been plenty of speculation about which province opens its doors next).
As we were reminded this week, Loto-Quebec has been vocal for quite some time now in calling on law enforcement and the federal government to clamp down on illegal online operators.
The spate of advertising by sportsbooks, particularly on TSN and Sportsnet between April and the end of June - covering the NHL and NBA playoffs, and other major sporting events - allowed sportsbooks to promote their product to a national audience. It’s safe to assume that there’s been a greater awareness around sports betting, given what’s happened in Ontario, and that means more competitions for the lottery corporations.
From last week’s release:
“Part of the coalition's advocacy will work to raise public awareness about the prevalence of illegal operators and advise media platform owners of their duty to comply with existing laws and regulations by refusing to accept misleading advertisements for illegal gambling websites. The coalition also encourages the federal government to enforce current laws and regulations to shut out these operators from the markets where the Provincial Lottery Corporations operate.”
While there’s been a break of sorts from the barrage of advertising in July and August, the start of the NFL regular season next month is pretty much a lock to coincide with not only some serious spend on advertising dollars, but the additional integrating of betting content into game broadcasts.
As the old saying goes, we most certainly haven’t seen/heard the last of this.
Rush Street’s Caughill weighs in on Ontario’s launch
Bruce Caughill understands as well as anyone that there’s a long(er) game to be played in Ontario’s still-new igaming industry.
When Rush Street Interactive named Caughill its Canadian country manager at the end of March - five days before the April 4th launch of the province’s wide-open market, the online gaming and sports entertainment company hired someone with more than 20 years of experience in the country’s gaming industry. Caughill came to RSI via the AGCO where he served as Chief Legal Officer, and included stints running his own consulting firm to advise international gaming companies, and working for the owners of Niagara Casinos.
“As I’ve said often, these are early days,” Caughill told us during a recent conversation over the phone.
That is reflected in RSI’s BetRivers Trend Report that was released earlier this month. With the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors taking early exits from their respective postseasons, the Toronto Blue Jays proved to be the most popular team with sports fans placing wagers with BetRivers.
Live betting, as we’ve heard from other sportsbooks, has been popular north of the border, accounting for 61 per cent of the handle in Ontario compared to 49 per cent in the U.S. The PGA Championship in May won by Justin Thomas received the highest volume of bets as an event while, not surprisingly, the NHL accounted for 20 per cent of placed bets.
“When we launched, we didn’t have the opportunity to run those products we would offer in advance of a season,” Caughill said. “Those are now being offered as we anticipate the NFL, NBA and hockey, of course.
“In April, we were catching some seasons at the end. We’re excited to see the longer duration because this is a long game for all of us.”
During an earnings call with investors last week, RSI CEO Richard Schwartz said the banning of inducements and bonuses in advertising by the AGCO was welcomed by the company.
“That’s forced operators to focus on product and customer attention, and that’s good for us,” said Caughill, which has been honoured by the EGR North America Awards the past three years in a row for customer service. “As this industry transitions into a more operational environment, it’s about focusing on the customer.”
Ontario has emerged as Rush Street’s technology development hub, said Caughill, with “60-70 Canadians” employed. BetRivers is bringing in another TSN alumnus to support its marketing efforts, announcing this week that Natasha Staniszewski will be joining Dan O’Toole as a brand ambassador.
“We have a pretty good complement of Canadian-based employees,” Caughill added. “Having people with that Canadian perspective t’s nice to have that . . . particularly in Ontario.”
New role for Hood at the AGCO
We were perusing LinkedIn yesterday morning and came across the news that Doug Hood has a new title with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario - Project Director, Gaming Modernization. Hood, who joined the AGCO in 2005, had spent the previous 13 months as the commission’s Project Manager, Sports Betting.
According to his LinkedIn profile, his new role involves “leading the development and delivery of modern gaming regulatory frameworks in Ontario, with a current focus on casinos, lottery and iGaming”.
That’s Entertainment
Penn National Gaming and Great Canadian Gaming made some news along identical lines last week, and in case you missed it, here’s a hint:
Indeed, Penn National is now Penn Entertainment, and Great Canadian Gaming will henceforth be known as Great Canadian Entertainment. The rebranding exercise with both businesses shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the moving and shaking going on in a gaming world that, especially in North America, is in the early stages of an evolution as gaming companies attempt to be multi-tool players.
From Great Canadian COO Matt Anfinson in the news release about the rebranding:
"Diversifying our amenities, by way of additional hotels, entertainment venues, and more food and beverage offerings, elevates the guest experience while making a significant, positive economic impact in the communities where we operate.”
Baron Manett, the president of Per Se Branding Experience, agreed that the new names better reflect the menu of offerings by both Great Canadian Entertainment and Penn Entertainment, which also owns a racetrack, casinos, online sports betting, online casinos and the Barstool Sports media entity.
“These name changes signal a brand position that these are experiential entertainment companies,” Baron Manett, the president of Per Se Branding Experience, told us Tuesday. “You can choose to gamble, but you can also dine, see a show, watch a game, have a form of gaming experience like in-game betting. . . . whatever will help increase engagement.
“When you think about what we used to call gambling which is now gaming, I see it as a cultural spectrum,” Manett continued. “(The rebrands) really mirror the ongoing development of Las Vegas and what’s been happening there. At one time, the gaming revenues were the leader. Entertainment revenues are now the leading metric.
“It’s all being thrown into that pot of entertainment, and the customer can chose that form of it.”
So, with apologies to The Jam, not quite an electric train and a ripped up phone booth. . . .
The Company Line
This week, Gaming News Canada introduces our loyal subscribers to Kinectify, which recently registered with the Canadian Gaming Association as a new member.
Birthdate: 2021
Home Base: Las Vegas
Founder: Joseph Martin, the company’s current CEO
Raison D’Etre: Kinectify is an anti-money laundering (AML) risk management technology company which combines AML data into one platform.
If you’d like to have your company featured in this section to profile the players in the Canadian gaming space, please drop us a note at steve@theparleh.com.
On the Home Front
Nick Jones at Pokerfuse reports that BetMGM has leapfrogged PokerStars to take the lead in Ontario’s online poker market, which continues to trend upwards.
Conor Porter did us a solid by capturing the takes of operators on the opening months of the Ontario market whilst speaking with financial analysts the past couple of weeks.
In case you missed it at the beginning of the week, the Responsible Gambling Council will conduct a research project to inform global marketing and advertising standards in gambling for operators and regulators. RGC will receive funding support from Flutter Entertainment for the project.
OLG announced Monday that its new app is now live, allowing players to place bets via the company’s ProLine+ online sportsbook and a bet-builder feature for retail betting.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) announced on Monday that its “first of its kind” app is now live, allowing players to place bets via the company’s PROLINE+ online sportsbook and a bet-builder feature for retail wagering.
It’s official: Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has launched as Ontario’s igaming market’s first land-based casino operator.
We’re Live! Our online slots and table games can now be played on your desktop web browser & mobile devices anywhere in Ontario at PlayFallsview.com. Mobile apps coming soon to App Store & Google Play! Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connexontario.ca.
Greg Warren writes on SportsHandle.com that there’s cautious optimism about Ontario getting a retail sportsbook up and running next month.
Warren also profiled Pete Smaluck and his Props.cash company.
The digital gaming and entertainment division of Novomatic has been granted a supplier’s licence by the AGCO.
Betswap co-founder and CEO - and Toronto guy - Brent Winston is Jesse Learmonth’s latest guest on The Betting Startups Podcast.
Illegal gambling charges against two alleged members of Hell’s Angels were withdrawn because their cases took too long to go to trial.
Let’s Get Together
As sportsbooks get locked and loaded for the beginning of the NFL regular season, the league announced Tuesday that BetMGM will be an official sportsbook partner in our home and native land.
The SportsGrid Network will appear on FuboTV in both Canada and the U.S.
Playmaker Capital is at it again. The Toronto-based company announced Monday that its latest partner is social media automation business Echobox.
Better Collective will be providing German sports platform SPORT1 with sports betting content.
WynnBet is becoming a substantial sponsor of SportsGrid’s In-Game Live All Access Saturday program.
Kambi is expanding its presence in Argentina.
Novibet is getting together with Caesars to launch igaming and online services in New Jersey.
EQL Games and Present Content are hooking up on a lottery-focused content partnership.
Low6 is banking on a new deal with SCCG Management to grow its sports gamification business in North America.
Retired English football star Michael Owens will be bandying about the Maxim88 brand.
Twain Sport is bringing Sportradar into the fold to lend a hand with its integrity services.
Matters of M&A
News of the breaking kind this Thursday morning that Entain has acquired a 75 per cent stake in Croatian gaming leader SuperSport.
Flutter Entertainment last week completed its acquisition of Italian online gaming company Sisal.
MGM is moving forward with its plans to acquire LeoVegas.
Quarter(s) Pole
On a call with investors earlier this week, Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinted that the company has a sports betting partnership in the works.
The lads at Wagers.com Earnings + More continue their August foray into the latest financial results, including Wynn Resorts, and Light & Wonder.
LeoVegas delivered its Q2 financials this morning.
Bally’s Corporation is feeling pretty bullish about its business upon releasing its Q2 financials.
ICYMI, FOTP Scott Longley and Jake Pollard delivered the downlow on DraftKings’ latest earnings. And, the lads at Wagers.com Earnings + More dug into other earnings reports this morning from Entain, LeoVegas and FOX Corp. - great reading as always.
The big players in the video game industry had a Q2 to forget.
States Side Stories
The newly launched Betr announced this morning a 10-year agreement with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, to become the company’s official mobile sports betting partner. Ohio is scheduled to open its legal market on New Year’s Day, 2023.
Steve Ruddock has a good read on Props.com on the contenders to lead the way among sportsbooks operating in the U.S. of A.
The new legal sports betting law in Massachusetts received the governor’s John Hancock yesterday.
Despite a noticeable drop in handle, the New York State Gaming Commission still saw a small month-over-month rise in sports betting revenue for July.
The Hurricanes, Panthers and other professional sports teams in North Carolina have resumed lobbying efforts to have sports betting become legal in the state.
ESPN’s David Purdum did a deep dive into the growing popularity of prop betting on NFL games.
For the citizenry in Massachusetts crossing fingers and toes that legal sports betting will come into effect before the end of 2022, we say. . . not so fast, Kaputnik.
And, public health experts at Northeastern University are concerned about the impact of the state’s new legal sports betting business on problem gamblng.
Caesars will pay a $50k fine for allegedly employing unregistered casino staff in New Jersey.
Ad spending by sportsbooks has calmed down. . . for now.
July was a good month for the three casinos in Detroit.
In case you’ve been camping on a deserted island this summer, the latest on the tangled web is the attempt to legalize sports betting in California.
And speaking of the Golden State, there’s an awful lot of money being spent on the duelling propositions.
While it searches for a partner, Fubo is moving forward with its plans to open an online sportsbook in New Jersey for the start of the NFL season.
Another plea to the growing legal sports betting industry in the U.S. to address problem gambling.
Sports betting yes, but not so fast to legal ilottery in Massachusetts.
The governor of Wisconsin has signed off on the state’s new sports betting agreement involving the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The latest on the discussion about a smoking ban at casinos in Atlantic City.
Across the Pond
Betting businesses in Australia now being required to send statements to bettors is a very, very small step in the right direction, says a former punter.
The latest push to ban all gambling sponsorship from the Premier League.
Gambling revenue in Britain went for a bit of a header in June.
And both revenue and player registrations In Portugal took a tumble over the same month.
A Philippine esports team owner is wanted by police on allegations he was involved in drug trafficking.
It appears Catena Media has some difficult decisions to make with its European business.
Esports Reports
There appears to have been some leakage by NFL players (of photos) with regards to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Ball Street University has a deal with Gen.G Global Academy to provide opportunities for student-athletes in the school’s esports program.
A whole lot of players and coaches have been banned from the LOL Development League.
Meet the company that wants to become the TV Guide for sports and esports streaming.
Thai esports company Bacon Time is doing the partnership thing with Red Bull.
And speaking of partnerships, Williams Racing is extending its ties with Resolve.
G3 CEO Anthony Gaud offered his vision for the esports industry.
ESL Gaming is giving its national championships a facelift of sorts.
Belong Gaming Arenas has an agreement with OpTic Gaming for its U.S. venues.
Quick Hits
Kelly Kehn and Christina Thakor-Rankin, the founders of the All-in Diversity Project, spoke with SBC about the changes that need to happen with the gaming industry’s diversity, inclusion and equality initiatives.
Good reading from Julian Cannon at Digiday on ESPN’s advertising campaign to attract fantasy football players.
On our list of recommended links to click this week: Russell Karp’s keys to a well-run sportsbook.
Bet365 is getting into the business of real-money fantasy sports.
Coolbet announced this week it has reached the magic one-million mark in registered customers.
JohnWallStreet has more on Sportico about Fantasy Underdog and its latest round of raising funds.
Jeff Edelstein writes at USBets.com that TopProp is taking head-to-head competition in daily fantasy to another level.
Martyn Elliott at SBCAmericas.com interviewed the founder of X-LEAGUE about his motivation for establishing the company.
We figure this new culinary experience to be offered by Wynn Las Vegas goes beyond a club sandwich and Diet Coke with plastic cutlery. . . .
Getting online gaming up and running in Chile is going to take a little bit longer.
Writing it once again, with feeling: Sports betting is indeed a form of gambling.
The boom in gambling via Twitch is attracting players to Crypto Casinos.
Evolution is unveiling a new craps product in Pennsylvania (no Pittsburgh Pirates jokes, please).
Personalizing sportsbook offerings is a daunting task, BtoBet COO Dima Reiderman told Gambling Insider.
Finally, it’s a bit out of our lane, but we’re big fans of Allison Sandmeyer-Graves and Canadian Women & Sport, which have recruited veteran tennis executive Stacey Allaster, former TSN head honcho Nathalie Cook, Toronto Raptors executive Theresa Resch, Portland Thorns FC general manager Karina LeBlanc, Future of Sport Lab Cheri Bradish and others to assist with a number of new initiatives to keep pushing women’s sports ahead.
People on the Move
Jake Williams has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer at PointsBet USA.
Paysafe is bringing Rob Gatto on board as the company’s first-ever Chief Revenue Officer.
Eamonn Faulkner has been named the new Chief Commercial Officer at Videoslots.
Brad Allen, whose reporting has been cited often in your friendly neighbourhood newsletter, has left Legal Sports Report to join Eilers & Krejcik Gaming as Senior Analyst.
Michael Rasile, formerly of Caesars Sportsbook, has joined Prophet Exchange as Affiliate Marketing Manager.
Erin Shamburger is returning to STN Video as the Director of Publisher Success.
DraftKings has promoted Kevin Schohl to VP/Analytics while the NFL promoted Justin Friedman to VP/Fan Data & Analytics.
Apple hired sports media executive Frank Uddo from ESL Gaming to serve in a business development role for its sports video division.
Amanda Rubin is the new SVP and Global Head of Sales and Marketing at Enthusiast Gaming, stepping up from VP, Sales and Partnerships.
Nicole Du Cane Spencer joined Misfits Gaming as its VP, Partnerships after leaving Wisdom Gaming, where she was the VP, Sales and Partnerships.
Amanda Rubin is the new SVP and Global Head of Sales and Marketing at Enthusiast Gaming, moving up from the role of VP, Sales and Partnerships.
Megan Flemming joins STN Video to headline their Marketing and Communications strategy team.
Fantasy football expert Matthew Berry is joining NBC’s Football Night in America, and will also host daily and weekly fantasy football shows.
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation has promoted Pat Davis to become its new President and CEO. Davis was previously the BCLC’s Chief Information Officer and Vice President, Business Technology.
Steven Monaghan is stepping down as Managing Director of Sky Betting and Gaming after eight years.
Tom Stiffal has been promoted to Head of Sportsbook Execution at William Hill.
Allan Phang has left his role as Chief Marketing Officer for Galaxy Racer after one year.
Wisdom Gaming has boosted the sales and marketing team, promoting Ashley Pinney to Vice President of Marketing, Jake Neerland to Brand Director, and Carl Levi to Partnership Director.
Will Tyrell becomes Director of UK Media for Checkd Group.
Hero Gaming announced the promotion of Andrea Saliba to Director of People and Culture.
Nuvei has selected two new independent directors for the board in Maren Lau and TIm Kent.
Owners Box welcomes Jeremy Thiel as the new VP of Affiliate Marketing.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Great Blue Heron Hotel & Casino is looking for a Sportsbook Operations Supervisor.
PointsBet Canada has an opening for a Manager, CRM Sports Marketing.
The BCLC is hiring a Gaming Compliance Officer.
The AGCO has a contract position available for a Senior Service Designer, Service Strategy & Experience.
The International Betting Integrity Association is hiring an Integrity Analyst.
OpenBet is seeking a Partnerships Manager for its London office.
The National Hockey League is hiring a Director, Business Development.
Wanted by the Toronto Blue Jays (besides another starting pitcher): a Manager, Partnership Marketing.
The Canadian Hockey League is searching for a Manager, Partnerships.
Our partners at STN Video are hiring a Product Manager.
About the Numbers
Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time, announced on Tuesday that she will retire from tennis following the 2022 US Open at the end of the month.
In an emotional piece written for Vogue, Williams, 40, bid her farewell to a game she dominated for more than two decades. In her illustrious 27-year career, the tennis legend won 73 singles titles, 23 Grand Slam titles, 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, four Olympic gold medals – and more than $94 million in prize money.
In singles, Williams won the Australian Open seven times, the French Open three times, Wimbledon seven times, and the U.S. Open six times. She’ll try to make it seven later this month at Flushing Meadows as she says goodbye to a sport that simply won’t be the same without and because of her.
Follow us @GamingNewsCA on Twitter for the latest news on the sports betting and gaming industry. And for our daily picks and other sports video content, visit @theParleh.
Questions? Please contact us.
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