Fallsview Casino Resort owners to appeal AGCO ruling
A $70,000 fine isn't sitting well with MGE Niagara Entertainment. Also, DraftKings and Barstool Sports are on a path to a partnership. And, it's time for gambling biz leaders to step up and speak.
In this issue:
Fallsview owners to appeal penalty
DraftKings getting together with Barstool
Time to stop with the cone of silence
Betty completes latest funding round
Lots on the docket for Gaming News Canada Show
Fallsview resort owners to appeal AGCO penalty
MGE Niagara Entertainment, the proprietors of Fallsview Casino Resort, is taking umbrage at the $70,000 fine levied by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for “failing to meet requirements in place to minimize the risk of unlawful activity, including money laundering, at the gaming site”.
The AGCO announced yesterday the penalty against the Niagara Falls entertainment venue for an incident involving a customer at the Salon Privé last April. From the commission’s release:
(The customer) presented $80,000 in strapped $100 bills from a reusable grocery bag. Surveillance showed that once the money was counted and confirmed, the patron left the table with casino chips without playing at that time. Despite having previously identified the player as ‘high risk,’ the casino failed to notify the AGCO and on-site police of this transaction as required. The casino operator also failed to take any meaningful steps to ascertain and corroborate the patron’s source of funds, as is required by anti-money laundering rules set out in the Registrar’s Standards for Gaming.
“The AGCO is committed to protecting the public interest and public safety and remains vigilant in its efforts to guard against potential money laundering at Ontario’s gaming sites,” said AGCO CEO and registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr in a statement. “Casino operators are important front-line partners in this effort and the AGCO holds all operators to rigorous standards when it comes to the prevention of unlawful activity.”
Gaming News Canada reached out to OLG, which is responsible for oversight of the province’s casinos, for comment and was directed to the casino resort, which promptly emailed us this statement:
We have reviewed the AGCO’s decision and respectfully disagree with it. Fallsview Casino Resort is a company devoted to compliance and good citizenship. We will be appealing the decision and look forward to presenting our case.
As a responsible gaming operator, Fallsview Casino Resort is dedicated to identifying and preventing unlawful activities. Our company has a culture and history of integrity and transparency, and a longstanding commitment to compliance in Ontario.
We are proud of our track record, and the positive and open working relationship we have with the AGCO, the OLG and the OPP.
As they write/say in the media biz, we’ll continue to follow this story.
DraftKings/Barstool Sports talks the latest in a fast-moving world of betting and media
Well, that didn’t take long.
Sportico’s Eben Novy-Williams, in knock-us-over-with-a-feather fashion, broke the news yesterday that Barstool Sports is far down the road in talks with DraftKings that would put Dave Portnoy and Co. back into the betting business.
Less than six months after Portnoy bought Barstool back from Penn Entertainment, the often-raunchy sports media company is expected to promote DraftKings odds and make some additional money from steering Barstool consumers to the sportsbook. That’s according to Novy-Williams, who also reported Barstool is expected to be paid “in the low eight figures per year” by DraftKings. The deal won’t happen until after the Super Bowl, given the terms of the Barstool-Penn divorce (Chris Grove’s thread about the pending partnership agreement on X is very worthwhile reading).
The BS-DK partnership caps a frenetic week in the business of sports media, which began with The Arena Group letting it be known last Friday that they had missed a payment to the owners of Sports Illustrated and would be laying off staff of the iconic sports magazine. It’s yet to be known what impact, if any, that will have on SI Sportsbook which has been powered by 888 since 2021.
We mentioned the potential acquisition of Diamond Sports Group - owner of Bally’s-branded regional sports networks - by Amazon last week. On Tuesday, word came down that Netflix will be the exclusive home of its super-popular RAW program in Canada, the U.S., UK and Latin America beginning in January 2025. And yesterday, another sports media company, Minute Media, acquired STN Video - giving MM access to STN’s library of two-million-plus videos plus partnerships with professional sports leagues including the PGA Tour and Formula One.
A little closer to home in terms of sports betting/sports media, Playmaker Capital announced at the beginning of the week that its shareholders have approved the Toronto-based company’s acquisition by Better Collective. The deal still needs the seal of approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
It’s a fascinating time for the merging of sports wagering and media. ESPN Bet is off to a solid start as pointed out this week in The EKG Line report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (and some good reading from the LinkedIn page of EKG senior analyst Bradley Allen):
ESPN Bet, which launched in mid November backed by big bonusing outlay, captured nearly 8% U.S. OSB GGR share, per our estimates, vaulting it to third on the podium behind FanDuel and DraftKings.
On the other hand, Fox Bet was a bust, Fubo TV shut down its sports betting service in 2022, the USA Today/Tipico partnership hasn’t been one of the hugely successful sort, and the jury is still out on DAZN Bet. It’s also early days in the U.S. for DraftKings Network and FanDuel TV.
So, once more with feeling, don’t expect to see TSN Bet or Sportsnet Bet any time soon, if ever.
Some words of wisdom for industry leaders
Memo to (too many leaders) in the Canadian gambling industry: enough with the cone of silence thing.
Several items over the past week have brought us to express some consternation with executives in the business of sports betting and gaming. Another year of industry conferences, summits, webinars, etc., get underway with ICE in less than two weeks. Ask a CEO, a suite-level executive, a country manager or a regulator to participate on a panel in front of corporate partners and friends, and they’ll be there before you can say single game parlay three times. Ask many of the same folks to speak with a reporter, especially from mainstream media, and they almost always go all Ralph Kramden.
Or, their communications people decline the interview request, or simply don’t respond to said request (and, in fairness, the gambling industry isn’t alone. More often than not over the almost three years of this media property, the requests emailed by your humble correspondent to one national media company - rhymes with Shell Pedia - go unanswered. That includes most recently when asking if TSN has a sports betting policy for broadcasters, journalists and other positions).
Such was the case when CBC Marketplace aired a segment titled The Big Gamble last Friday on the high volume of advertising and marketing campaigns in Ontario since the Douglas Ford government opened the door to private operators in April 2022.
CBC got together with the University of Bristol in jolly olde England to track gambling messages from TV broadcasts of sporting events over a five-day period. The episode also reported on a study being conducted at the University of British Columbia about brain response around gambling, and included an interview with a problem gambling counsellor in Hamilton addressing the rise in gambling issues since the Ontario market opened.
Canadian Gaming Association president/CEO Paul Burns appeared on Marketplace to defend the right of businesses to advertise in a regulated industry. CBC reached out to FanDuel, which steered the reporter to the CGA while Bet365 didn’t respond to a request for an interview.
Last weekend, Simon Houpt of The Globe and Mail authored a piece, Got questions about Ontario’s online gambling industry? Don’t bet on getting the answers that was critical of the lack of information provided by the provincial government.
From Houpt’s article:
For almost two years, iGaming Ontario (or iGO), which oversees online gambling in the province on behalf of the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), has followed a policy of saying as little as possible. It releases quarterly snapshots that contain a handful of data to show things are going swimmingly.
Which they might be. Who knows.
And this:
. . . the AGCO has been meeting with industry members over the past few months for discussions about the agency’s proposed changes to advertising standards, under which most athletes, celebrities and influencers would be banned from promotional efforts starting at the end of next month.
Who has the AGCO met with? Don’t ask. (I mean, I did; in its e-mailed reply, the AGCO avoided the question.)
We’re really trying to cut the government agencies some slack, given that their boss is as fond of reporters as we are about crawling through cactus after scraping our limbs falling off a skateboard. As for the industry itself, Burns is too often a lone voice of advocacy for a business that has good stories to tell. The CGA head honcho is a pro’s pro when it comes to dealing with the media, even when he knows he’s going to face some flak. Amanda Brewer, Kris Abbott, Nic Sulsky, and more recently, Phill Gray are regular voices to our weekly rendezvous on LinkedIn Audio, educating our audience and subscribers of this media property, and always being willing to discuss the good, bad and ugly sides of the industry. Rivalry co-founder and CEO Steven Salz is a frequently heard and read voice.
For others in the industry, it’s time to speak up.
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Ontario licensee Betty completes $5 million funding round
In last week’s GNC chronicles, we covered the impact of igaming in Ontario’s regulated market and companies such as Betty benefiting from the inclusion of online slots, casino games and peer-to-peer poker.
Well, speaking of Betty, the female-focused online gaming company with roots in Ontario, the U.S. and Bulgaria, announced this morning it has raised a cool $5 million pre-Series A funding. CEAS Investments is leading the funding round while other participants are Powerhouse Capital, HappyHour and Courtside Ventures.
“Betty has successfully implemented best practices from the most successful mobile gaming franchises into the real money iCasino market. We have seen firsthand how these strategies can supercharge user growth and revenues,” said Salim Mitha, Managing Partner at Powerhouse Capital and former executive vice president at Playtika.
Betty launched in Ontario almost one year ago. In a news release this morning, the company said the funding boost will be used to continue acquiring customers, improve live operations capabilities, and “upgrade Betty's exclusive proprietary platform from Midnight 1 to Midnight 2”.
A robust roundtable scheduled for Gaming News Canada Show
There will be a cornucopia of topics for discussion this afternoon (1 ET) when we gather around the laptops and smartphones on LinkedIn Audio for the Gaming News Canada Show. Regular contributors Amanda Brewer, Kris Abbott and Phill Gray are expected to join us, and we’re hoping Canadian Gaming Association president/CEO Paul Burns can join us after the association’s board meeting. We’ve also invited SBC Americas editor-in-chief Jess Welman and Straight to the Point newsletter author Steve Ruddock to participate in the conversation.
And, in case you missed last week’s episode, iGaming Ontario chief of staff Mitch Davidson was with us to weigh in on the agency’s latest Market Performance Report.
Classified (Jobs) Information
FanDuel has an opening at its Toronto office for a Sports Trader, and is seeking for its Jersey City location a Fraud Investigative Senior Analyst.
iGaming Ontario is looking for an Agency Governance Advisor.
Atlantic Lottery is continuing its search for a Senior Financial Analyst.
BCLC is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Senior Manager, External Communications and Government Relations.
Rivalry has a remote opportunity for a Social Media Specialist in Canada.
Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Jersey City is looking for a Digital Casino Content Specialist.
Hard Rock Digital is looking to bring on board at its Toronto location an ASO/SEO Manager and is also in hiring mode for a Project Manager.
Paysafe is searching for a Sales Manager, Gambling.
Oddschecker Global Media has several openings, including a Head of SEO.
Push Gaming has an opportunity in London for a Senior Mathematician.
ComeOn Group is on the lookout for a Director of Product Development.
Agency Hot Paper Lantern is seeking a Communications Associate.
DAZN Bet is on the lookout for a Sportsbook Content Executive - Germany.
Digital Gaming Corporation has an opportunity for a Content Marketer.
Quantum Gaming is searching for an Administrative and Finance Coordinator.
TalentBet is hiring a Digital Marketing Assistant and is also looking to fill a vacancy for a Regulatory Support Executive.
Casinos.com is seeking some folks with reporting and storytelling chops.
Tennis Canada has a position available for a Senior Director, Finance & Business Transformation, and is also looking for a Program Manager, Women and Girls.
British Cycling is hiring a Head of Business Development.
The National Hockey League has an opening for a Manager, Social Media Marketing.
Wanted by the Canadian Paralympic Committee: a Lead, Events & Special Projects.
The Canadian Premier League is hiring a Senior Graphic Designer for its Toronto office.
Wanted by the Canadian Football League: a Manager, Social Media Strategy and Content.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is in the market for a Manager, Game Presentation.
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