GBG brings a new product to Ontario market, and a conversation with Low6's Josh Turk
Also, Penn is pumped to bring theScore's platform to the U.S., Loto-Quebec is talking to Les Habitants about video gaming machines at the Bell Centre, and iGaming Ontario welcomes two more players.
In this issue:
GBG Plc takes another step forward in Ontario
GNC celebrates its second anniversary, LinkedIn Audio style
Penn bringing theScore’s tech to the USA
Some thoughts from Low6 strategy sultan Josh Turk
The Company Line - Finnplay
GBG Plc unveils exclusive access to two Canadian credit bureaus
Call it another step in technology and trust which will benefit the players in Ontario.
Gaming News Canada has learned that GBG Plc, a global player in digital identity and fraud prevention solutions, will be first to provide igaming companies with access to two of Canada’s main credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion.
GBG lists more than half of the operators in the regulated Ontario market as customers, which now can exploit GBG’s ID3Global solution to maximize player acquisition rates and deliver FINTRAC compliance.
“We are excited to extend our data coverage in Ontario; with direct access to two of the main credit bureaus in Canada our clients can increase their player match rates, ensure the best possible service uptime and onboard more first-time players,” said Rebekah Jackson, the director of gaming for GBG. “By layering traditional data with alternative data sources, such as GBG’s email and mobile intelligence, iGaming firms can also prevent pervasive frauds such as bonus abuse when onboarding players in Canada.”
According to GBG, - which includes Bet365, FanDuel, Betway, 888, Entain, LeoVegas, Bally’s Canada, PokerStars, and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation as customers - it sits alone as a digital identity provider with access to the pair of credit bureaus. Checking against both Equifax and TransUnion allows operators to avoid verifying a player’s identity document at the point of onboarding, which improves the customer experience.
The company also touts itself as the first technology provider to deliver iGaming Ontario/FINTRAC-compliant identity verification solutions when the regulated Ontario industry opened for business last April.
“Ontario is a key jurisdiction within our core market strategy, and we’re passionate about playing a major role to help operators win in these growing global markets with the best technology and data available,” said Jackson, who’ll join us on LinkedIn Audio this afternoon to further discuss the GBG news.
An invitation to join GNC’s second anniversary gathering, LinkedIn Audio style
ICYMI in the Tuesday offering, Gaming News Canada turned two last weekend, so we’re inviting everyone who has been a part of our journey to join us this afternoon on LinkedIn Audio for a sentimental journey through the past 24 months. As always, we’ll have a conversation around the news of the week, and what lies ahead.
If you were otherwise occupied and missed last week’s Gaming News Canada Show podcast, NorthStar Gaming CEO Michael Moskowitz, GeoComply senior executive John Pappas and Jonah Sigel of YYZ Media were our special guests.
Penn boss looks ahead to integrating theScore Bet platform this summer
Perhaps a little lost in the shuffle of last week’s announcement by Penn Entertainment that it had completed its takeover of Barstool Sports is the comments from Penn CEO Jay Snowden about integrating theScore Bet tech stack into its U.S. business in June.
So, from the must-read Sports Business Journal sports betting newsletter authored by Bill King:
Barstool Sportsbook owner Penn Entertainment pointed to the performance of its ScoreBet app in Ontario as a window into the benefit it expects to see when it moves its U.S. business onto that same proprietary tech stack in July.
ScoreBet’s secret sauce is an integration that allows users to create betting slips while on its popular theScore.com sports news app. Those then automatically migrate to the betting site to execute the wagers. It plans to operate similarly between the Barstool Sports app and its sportsbook app once it integrates the platform this summer.
Penn said ScoreBet had an 85% higher three-month customer retention rate than its Barstool Sportsbook saw in the U.S., where it operates on a platform provided by Kambi. “That’s really where the focus has been,” said Penn CEO Jay Snowden. “Where we have not been focusing, understandably, is on the platforms that we run on here in the U.S., which are third-party platforms. We have not been able to throw the resources at those to innovate and iterate and really focus on enhancement.
“We’ve fallen a bit behind. And I think our market share in sports betting, this fall and this winter here in the U.S., has softened up a little bit. And we really haven’t been as focused on driving acquisition, knowing that our product isn’t as competitive currently here in the U.S. as it was compared to everybody else a year ago.”
Snowden said that will change when football season arrives. Penn plans to launch its new U.S. platform in July, during MLB's All-Star break, when the sports calendar is thin. It intends to roll it out simultaneously in all 15 states in which it operates.
Free to play “a softer leap to sports betting”: Turk
Among the many conversations your humble correspondent had during ICE London was a half-hour chat with Low6 strategy sultan Josh Turk and Brittany Almeida, the company’s recently-added sales and strategy director. Low6 entered 2023 on a high note, having announced deals with Rivalry and Bet99 last fall and also adding the NHL, PGA Tour, Cincinnati Bengals, and Sacramento Kings as partners. This week, it announced the delivery of a March Madness game to the market (no jumping or taking charges required).
Turk, who grew up in the small community of Keene, ON just outside of Peterborough, and got his foot in the door of the gaming industry almost seven years ago with Global Daily Fantasy Sports Inc., politely answered our questions on a few topics.
On getting the Oh, Canada! effect: “It’s great coming to these shows and seeing a lot more Canadians. I’ve seen (in London) people from Rivalry, Bet99, Sports Interaction and OLG. (Regulated gambling) is still in its infancy. There are more people not playing, so I’m excited for the dominoes to fall and for Canada to open up. We’ll talk to platform providers with clients looking to launch in Canada. They want to pick your brain.”
On the buzz around the Ontario gambling industry: “Ontario took the best parts of New Jersey and other jurisdictions to make (a marketplace) that’s very inclusive. They’ve created a great market, and (Ontario is) a great introduction for operators to get their feet wet in North American and establish their brand. They’re pushing the boundaries of innovative ways to acquire users but also through a responsible format.”
On the debate around the glut of advertising: (Operators) were rushing to get their product out the door last April, so you saw the same commercials running. I think you’re going to see them retool and rejuvenate the market. I’ve talked to a few operators and I think you’re going to see some innovative and creative ads come out around the Stanley Cup playoffs.”
On the opportunity for free-to-play games in a regulated marketplace: “You’re going to see more (of them). It’s a softer leap to sports betting, and a way to educate customers about spreads, what the over/under and moneyline are. When they’re ready to take that leap and play with real money, they’ll understand the terms. It’s helped our business because we have lots of operators in Ontario.”
On what free to play brings to the table for sportsbooks: “You can collaborate your brand with a (pro sports) team and have a very safe way to promote your brand. It’s all about increasing daily activity. . . you’re using free to play to drive up those KPIs (key performance indicators). We’ve seen our customers get four times the weekly or monthly visits. Who’s going to turn down free-to-play games to win some cash or get other incentives?”
On attracting new customers to FTP: “We’ve built games specifically for the GenZ audience, and they’re highly visible. We’ve put a different spin on traditional fantasy where you get these packs that you open digitally. You can trade or sell a player. Sports betting can be a very isolated experience. (With FTP), you’re integrating social leaderboard pools and friends want to play against each other. Our NHL game has lots of points of interaction.”
On localization and personalization: “When you land on a sportsbook, there’s no welcome message. You just get blasted with everything from ping pong to rugby to NHL hockey. You learn the user in free to play, and you can customize a welcome message. If you have someone who’s always playing Sidney Crosby, you can greet them with ‘Hey, we’re live, and we have great odds on Crosby to win the MVP award.’ That can also mean having free to play specifically for Toronto FC, or the Maple Leafs, or defaulting to French in Quebec.”
The Company Line - Finnplay
We called an audible this week and moved TLC back to the Thursday newsletter. Introducing Finnplay, which was announced this week as a sponsor for the Canadian Gaming Summit that’s coming to Toronto in the middle of June.
Birthdate: 2008
Home Base: Helsinki
Founder: Martin Prantner
Raison D’Etre: Finnplay is a software development company which provides operators in regulated markets with technology platforms.
If you’d like to have your business featured in The Company Line, please drop us an email (steve@theparleh.com). Gaming News Canada is also looking for a company seeking a larger presence in Ontario and across the rest of the country to sponsor our twice-weekly newsletter for the month of March.
On the Home Front
During a radio interview yesterday, Loto-Quebec CEO Jean-Francois Bergeron said the lottery corp is in discussions with the Montreal Canadiens to install hundreds of video gambling machines at the Bell Centre.
In case you missed the latest arrival to the Ontario marketplace that was announced just before the start of the long weekend:
And it was joined this week by Betsson’s Betsafe brand. The Swedish company also has a supplier’s licence, courtesy of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
A tap of the True AX9 to FOTP Troy Ross, named Public Affairs and Government Relations Counsel of the Year by Lawyer Monthly.
In a Q and A with CDC Gaming Reports’ Mark Keast, BetRegal marketing guru Aly Lalani says the company hasn’t abandoned its plans to operate in Ontario.
PlayCanada’s Robyn McNeil interviewed Dr. Richard Wood of Gamres about the Ottawa company’s Positive Play Scale tool.
Mitch Davidson, iGaming Ontario’s chief of staff, lent his voice to a Canadian Chamber of Commerce report on the benefits of a regulated industry.
Radio-Canada reporter Anne-Marie Trickey wrote about the intersection of sports culture and sports wagering.
FSB executive Bob Akeret and Fitzdares CEO William Woodhams appeared on camera together to talk about their joint foray into the regulated Ontario market.
A tap of the old Scotty Cameron putter to the BCLC on being named one of the province’s Top 100 Employers.
County politicians in Alberta are calling on the province's gambling regulator to move the Camrose Resort Casino to Edmonton.
Matthew Lomon for PlayCanada.com delivered a slice of Canadiana with the city of Peterborough using OLG funds to build an outdoor rink.
Canadian Gaming Business is reporting that Toronto-based Bragg Gaming will announce in March its plans for continued expansion in Canada and the U.S.
Playmaker Capital head honcho Jordan Gnat did the podcast thing on Double Down with Breslo.
VIP Entertainment Technologies, in a news release last week, announced it has begun the process of being licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Council so it can commence operations in Canada.
Finally, Lambton College in Sarnia, Ont., will offer scholarships to students enrolled in the school’s Esports Entrepreneurship and Administration program, beginning this fall.
Let’s Get Together
DraftKings and the PGA Tour unveiled their plans for an NFT fantasy game.
Kindred Group’s Unibet brand is now an official partner of the NHL in Sweden.
The Trail Blazers of Portland are teaming up with Genius Sports to incorporate optical tracking into the NBA team’s broadcasts.
The XFL has done a deal with Genius Sports to be the new football fold’s official data distribution and fan engagement confrere.
Kambi’s latest bricks-and-mortar sportsbook partner is del Lago Resort & Casino in New York.
BetMGM has a new partnership with Anaxi to bring Aristocrat content to the North American gaming market.
Oddin.gg and Sportradar subsidiary NSoft have an agreement to work together.
A partnership has been created between AD Gaming and SAWA Group to build an esports ecosystem in Abu Dhabi.
Betsson will be featuring content from Pariplay’s Fusion platform.
Toronto-based Gamelancer Media is getting together with TikTok North America.
Generation Esports is doing the collaboration thing with Nintendo.
The Randox Grand National Festival has named William Hill as the official betting partner.
SKS365 has extended its agreement with Sportradar.
We direct you to this partnership announcement between Flows and Ibex.ai.
Talon Sports is renewing its partnership with GBeat.
Matters of M&A
In case you were heading for the hills late last week to get an early start on the long weekend and you’re still digging through you inbox, Penn Entertainment sealed the deal on acquiring Barstool Sports.
James Fudge of The Esports Advocate riffed off a report about the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Esports Entertainment Group has put the For Sale sign on its Bethard business.
Quarter(s) Pole
Kambi released its Q4 2022 financials yesterday morning, and Jake Evans reported that the sportsbook platform supplier came through the FIFA World Cup with flying colours.
Better Collective’s Q4 financials were of the rather outstanding sort.
Sonja Lindenberg of iGaming Next dug into the details around Catena Media’s fourth-quarter financials, which received a lift from its North American business.
Speaking of Catena and Better Collective, a tweet of note yesterday from Daniel Stone of Gambling Compliance:
And her colleague Ryan Butler reported on Caesars’ latest numbers.
Our mates at Earnings + More delivered and dissected the comments from DraftKings CEO Jason Robins on the company’s latest investor call last week.
Sands China showed an almost 45 per cent plummeting of net revenue in its interim 2022 results.
States Side Stories
According to Chris Krafcik, DraftKings spent more on digital advertising YOY around the Super Bowl.
Brant James did some keyboarding for Gaming Today on how/where sports leagues fit in the furour around sports betting advertising.
From the Dept. of Slipping Between the Cracks, Xpoint’s request to have GeoComply’s patent infringement case dismissed has been granted.
The latest on the attempt to add legal online casino gaming to the Empire State. And Steve Ruddock asks if/when it will happen.
Speaking of New York, the American Gaming Association responded to a proposed bill by a state lawmaker to ban advertising by sports betting and casino gaming operators.
Buck Wargo reported yesterday that Caesars won’t be all in with regards to its pursuit of a Times Square casino licence in NYC.
The aforementioned Ruddock reported that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is launching a new responsible gambling program.
Online gaming revenue in Michigan reached new heights in January, despite a drop in sports betting handle that some are attributing to the launch of legal wagering in Ohio.
New Jersey’s gaming revenue, as per SBC’s Conor Porter, saw rather healthy growth year over year to start 2023.
Sports teams in Minnesota, reports Matthew Kredell at PlayUSA, are stepping up on behalf of proposed legislation giving Indigenous communities exclusivity over sports betting in The State of 10,000 Lakes.
Good stuff from Earnings + More, which huddled with Paul Leyland from Regulus Partners to dig into the discussion around New York’s gambling tax.
The editorial board of the New York Daily News has the same enthusiasm for a proposal to expand legal gambling in the Empire State as we do for drinking a glass of curdled milk.
CasinoBeats boiled down the latest online casino performance report by Eilers & Krejcik.
GGB Media had the deets on a study that showed sports bettors spent less money towards the end of 2022.
Some folks in New Jersey figure the legalization of online gambling will lead to an increase in underage wagering.
SportsHandle’s Mike Seely reported that Wyoming is the first state to give the green light to betting on power slap. Sigh. . . . .
The launch of retail sports wagering in Massachusetts, wrote Jessica Welman, wasn’t without a hiccup or three.
And it would appear that there’s some clarity required when it comes to the boundaries for mobile betting in The Bay State.
There are three separate bills around legal sports betting in the state of Georgia.
Pat Evans from Legal Sports Report on what’s new (again) in the push for legal wagering in Missouri.
Gaming revenue in Pennsylvania continues to climb, Rege Behe reported.
Behe also had the deets on the numbers in Louisiana last month.
Twas also a rosy picture for Connecticut’s legal gaming scene to open the year.
One Ohio newspaper is jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to Gov. Mike DeWine seeking to increase the tax rate on betting. However, it was problem gambling that sucked up most of the oxygen in Tuesday’s legislative session.
There will be no legal betting on the XFL in the Buckeye State this inaugural season.
A Georgia senator is calling for a statewide vote on legal sports betting.
A lawsuit challenging control of sports betting by Indigenous communities in the state of Washington has been tossed out the proverbial window.
Former governor Rick Perry continues to beat the drum for legal wagering in Texas.
A Virginia Senate panel has put the kibosh on plans for a casino in Petersburg.
Across the Ponds
This morning, the UK government (finally) released the first of two long-awaited white papers.
Also happening this Thursday a.m., Spotlight Sports Group has made public the results from its survey of more than 10,000 horse racing bettors in the UK and Ireland.
It appears the same government and the Premier League have a deal for clubs to remove gambling operators from the front of their jerseys.
The CEO of Betsson tells SBC’s Ted Orme-Claye that he’s feeling good about what lies ahead for the company.
The CEO of the Gambling Commission says the UK government isn’t abandoning its position to make significant changes to the Gambling Act, despite the many delays.
Speaking of the UK, the chair of Entain is calling for the country to be a global leader in responsible gambling.
Paddy Power’s advertisement for Tottenham Hotspur on YouTube has come under fire from charities which accuse the sportsbook of poking fun at the autistic community.
Four academics, writing for The Conversation, made their case for tightening the restrictions on gambling ads in the United Kingdom.
Martin Purbrick provided an education of sorts on the displacement of illegal gaming and transnational organized crime in Asia.
Umm, we have no words for this one. . . .
Esports Reports
Business Insider had the goods on FaZe Clan’s plans to eliminate 20 per cent of its workforce.
James Fudge reported yesterday that Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is getting rid of its esports division.
Ivan Simic did his best Richard Crouse impersonation, albeit in written form, in teeing up some esports documentaries.
A recent meeting between the leadership and employees at Activision Blizzard apparently didn’t go all that well, writes Shannon Liao.
SBC’s Ted Orme-Claye interviewed PandaScore’s Oliver Niner about what to expect this year in the esports betting space.
Guild Esports has a new chief financial officer and director of operations.
French esports company Team Vitality raised the curtain last week on its first female League of Legends squad.
Jake Nordland at Esports Insider wrote about Amazon University Esports launching a metaverse to bring together esports and education.
Bayes Esports CCO Amir Mirzaee appeared on the GI Huddle and offered some advice to operators looking for better ways to exploit the industry.
GRID and Riot Games are collaborating on a VALORANT data portal.
CS:GO is going back to Rio de Janeiro for this year’s IEM Brazil tourney.
Media Musings
Your resident editor-in-chief appeared on The Sport Market with Tom Mayenknecht last weekend to discuss the betting frenzy around the NFL title tilt.
FYI, on TV advertising spending around Super Bowl LVII:
Elizabeth Merrill and David Purdum of ESPN have the must-read of the week on the Kansas City Chiefs superfan who is facing robbery charges.
Joey Levy and Jake Paul’s enterprise has launched a combat sports media vertical.
Alexander Lee, writing for Digiday, explained why independent esports media is climbing.
One person’s take that the sports industry has reached its breaking point when it comes to the tele-o-vision.
Quick Hits
There were some familiar names in the list of award winners announced by the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association at its Winter Conference in Vegas last week.
OddsOn Compliance will release its new PlaybookAI data on March 1.
iGaming Next founder and grand poobah Pierre Lindh joined Jesse Learmonth on the latest episode of The Betting Startups Podcast.
Lindh then moved into the interviewer’s chair and was joined by Evolution CEO Magnus Anderssson on the iGaming Next Podcast.
A fun read from Mike Seely at SportsHandle about Ryan Reynolds’ appearance in the gambling movie Mississippi Grind.
The fine folks at iGaming Business collected a preponderance of predictions for the online casino industry in 2023.
CDC Gaming Reports chronicler Rege Behe profiled Sightline Payments co-founder and current CEO Omer Sattar.
LiveScore Group CEO Sam Sadi did the Q and A thing with iGaming Next on the evolution of the business side of sports wagering.
Enthusiast Gaming sits atop the Comscore rankings in the U.S. of A. in the gaming category.
Yolo Group founder Tim Heath wrote for medium.com looking at the gaming biz as a “portal into web3”.
Hannah Gannage-Stewart, keyboarding for CDC Gaming Reports, wondered if cuts in the tech sector will include the igaming biz.
Strive Gaming marketing head honcho Jamie Shea was a guest on The Knup Sports Show.
Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl hopped on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast for a discussion about data.
The chief product officer of Shape Games looked under the front-end hood of sportsbooks for iGaming Future.
A gentle reminder to include your thoughts in the All-in-Diversity Project’s All-Index 2023 survey.
We were a little hurt, although certainly not surprised, that our name isn’t included in the Gaming Intelligence Hot 50.
Bede Gaming, which includes OLG among its customers, has a new look and feel to its website.
The STA Group announced its Sports Technology Awards winners last week.
SBC has extended the deadline to submit nominations for its 2023 North America Awards.
Kambi’s report on the 2022 FIFA World Cup is now available for your reading pleasure.
People on the Move
Former Bally’s senior VP Robbie Bressler has joined ForumPay as Chief Financial Officer.
Brian Kraft, the former head of North American business development for Evolution, has been appointed Vice President, Commercial at Rush Street Interactive.
David Dashtoyan has been appointed Head of Business Development by Tundra Esports.
Former SkyBet product designer Lewis Bamber has joined Midnite as Senior Product Designer for the esports betting platform company.
Vicky Jarman and Mark Gregory have given notice that they’re leading the board of directors at Entain.
Seth Brody has been promoted to Senior Director, Business Development at Wave Sports & Entertainment.
Rebecca Longawa has submitted her resignation as the CEO of Women’s Car Ball.
Arunima Vijayakumar is a newcomer to The Score as a Quality Assurance Analyst.
Rory Gibson is the new Marketing and Campaign Manager at Guild eSports.
Amy Moores has joined the iGaming Next team as an Editorial Assistant.
The plethora of promotions at the CFL continues with Lucas Barrett’s title being elevated to Associate VP, Communications & Public Affairs.
Tennis Canada announced Tuesday that Michael Downey will step down - for a second time - as President and CEO of the national sports federation at the end of the year.
Former Eleven Sports Media CEO Marc Watson is the new CEO of DAZN, which acquired Eleven earlier this year.
Former Canadian national soccer team player Kaylyn Kyle has been named Lead Host at Major League Soccer.
Maria Marino is leaving SNY to join The Action Network.
Former Hockey Canada events person Riley Wiwchar will join the B.C. Lions next week as Executive Director of Grey Cup 2024.
The Toronto Blue Jays have hired Josh Goreham as Lead Performance Analyst.
Kyle McFarlane is the new Chief Executive Officer at Golf Ontario.
Coming soon to a screen/town near you
GeoComply VP Product, Risk Simon Marchand will be in the driver’s seat next week for a webinar on staying ahead of fraudsters.
The BCLC is getting its ducks in a row for the March 6-8 New Horizons in Responsible Gambling conference.
Registration is well underway for the Esports Insider Next Gen conference, March 22-23 at the University of Warwick.
The Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention is returning to San Diego next month.
Stathletes co-founder and FOTP Meghan Chayka and Jacie deHoop of The Gist are among the guest speakers for the April 27-28 Gender Analytics: Possibilities conference being hosted by the Rotman School of Management.
Adyen is accepting applications for its May 8-12 North America Accelerator event in Chicago.
Tickets are now available for CasinoBeats Summit 2023, May 23-25 in Malta.
And you can also buy your ticket now for the June 21-22 iGaming Next Valletta 2023 conference.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Vancouver-based law firm Segev LLP is expanding its business, and hence, has an opening for a Senior Corporate/Commercial Paralegal.
Red Bull is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Gaming and Esports Manager in Toronto (it’s a role of the hybrid kind).
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is hiring a Senior Specialist Sports, Social Media.
Toronto-based fintech firm Adyen is searching for a Senior Account Manager.
DraftKings is on the hunt for a Senior Process Manager.
Damn good sports business publication Sportico is in the market for an Associate Editor.
BetVictor has a job available in Gibraltar for a Fraud Analyst.
Bally’s Interactive has a bunch of openings at its London location.
Gambling.com Group has an opening in Dublin for a Credit Controller.
Comeon Group is seeking a Senior PPC Specialist overseas.
Flows is looking for a Client Success Manager to work out of its Malta location.
The CFL is hiring a Manager, Media Sales & Global Partnerships.
Swimming Canada is seeking a Director, People & Culture.
Gamelancer Media has an opening for a Director of Strategic Partnerships.
About the Numbers
You can count James Sharman and Albert Vartanian of Homestand Sports among the admirers of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ new Ontario Line which rattled the Sabres earlier this week.
Follow us @GamingNewsCA on Twitter for the latest news on the sports betting and gaming industry.
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