Ontario sports betting and igaming operators still miffed about banking bill
A lack of details around due diligence-related banking charges continues to not sit well. At NYC23, raisers and investors of money in the gambling industry are optimistic about new opportunities.
In this issue:
Ontario’s operators ask: where are the deets?
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
A tweet or more from NYC and Vancouver
Rivalry expands its partnership with Grayhound
Gaming News Canada Show on temporary leave
Operators ask: where are the deet(s)?
In case you were in full-on meetings and/or conferences mode Tuesday morning, you may have missed our reporting that iGaming Ontario and its banking partner (Scotiabank) were in the bad books of the province’s regulated sports betting and gaming operators because of unanticipated invoices for “due diligence processes”.
It appears that angst isn’t going away any time soon. One operator said yesterday that submitting an invoice to the folks in charge of accounts payable without a summarization of said processes would go over as well as sportsbooks omitting Edmonton Oilers shooting stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl from player prop lines when they play the white-host Boston Bruins this evening.
“We can’t submit invoices with zero details on it,” were the exact words conveyed to us via email, referring to Scotiabank taking the ultralight course on itemizing the aforementioned due process.
While the “what in the name of Sam Hill” is being directed towards Scotiabank on the surprise banking charges (between $25,000-$150,000), iGO is also facing some flak less than a month before the one-year anniversary of the regulated market for not yet delivering a cloud-based anti-money laundering tool and a province-wide self-exclusion program.
As is the case of the 44 operators registered in Ontario (OLG doesn’t need the blessing of the AGCO/iGO) and finding their way through a new jurisdiction, iGO - which is a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of Ontario and was established in July 2021 - could be experiencing its own growing pains.
Robyn McNeil of Bonus.com put a little more meat on the bone when it comes to the banks and the gambling industry. iGO executive director Martha Otton, speaking at ICE London last month, mentioned the organization’s own challenges in getting a bank to handle its business.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
The chorus from the North American gambling industry that it’s in the first inning, the first period, the first quarter, the first half, the first lap (we think you get the picture, so we’ll stop) was reinforced during the . . . . umm . . . first panel on the first day of the iGaming Next NYC23 conference by a panel which makes its living raising and investing money in the business.
“There’s always an opportunity in these regulated industries,” Tom Waterhouse, the man behind Aussie venture capital fund Waterhouse VC. ”We’re very very early in the U.S. and there’s a long way to go.”
Added Acies Investments co-founding partner Edward King: “We are fortunate to be in a regulated market. . . . It’s almost inconceivable that igaming won’t (at some point) be regulated across the majority of states.”
King and Waterhouse, along with SeventySix Capital managing partner Wayne Kimmel and Houlihan Lokey Technology Group managing director Joel Simkins sat on stage with CNBC journalist Contessa Brewer to discuss M&A and other activity in sports betting and igaming. Simkins said that despite the choppy waters of the global economy post-COVID-19 pandemic, Simkins sounded anything like the Maytag repair man.
“Things are heating up; the punchline is uncertainty creates opportunity,” said Simkins. “It’s still the early innings of the industry and it’s still a relatively small industry, so there are stock for stock, or small-cash deals.
“What dance partner do I want to sign up with so my business can survive and we can create long-term return for our investors?”
Added Waterhouse, who told us afterwards that he’s had conversations with Canadian companies but hasn’t put pen to paper (or done the Docusign thing) on a deal to date: “There’s a lot of money ready to be deployed.”
And this from King: “There’s more predictability right now. For the public markets, we’ve seen a bit of a reset. Over the next six months, you’re going to see a rapid return of M&A (action).”
The panelists also agreed that investors are looking for something that’s unique/out of the box/innovative, etc.
“We’re investing in entrepreneurs like Eric Frank at OddsOn Compliance who are changing the landscape,” Kimmel said. “You find those opportunities and try to keep those companies moving forward.
“Segmentation, personalization. . . my app should not look like yours. We need to be able to have the same type of experience we have on Amazon today when it comes to betting on sports.”
“For us, what are companies coming into the market with and really disrupting things,” added Waterhouse (who also spoke about investment opportunities last month at ICE London). “Improving customer acquisition, payments, (doing something around) crypto.”
And from King: “We’re only at the beginning of what content is going to be available. The innovation of content can be driven by startups.”
Kimmel also pointed to the opportunity for the industry and also for states seeking additional tax revenues from incorporating igaming into the gambling mix.
“I believe that there are only six states (with legal igaming) right now, and sports betting is in 36 states. I think it all comes together. What do we love more than anything - other than our families - it’s sports, sports, sports and your teams.”
We also grabbed a trio of tweets from other corners of the conference yesterday, including a bit of a brouhaha:
Some tweets from SBJ Tech Week and New Horizons in Responsible Gambling
There’ll be more to highlight in next week’s submissions from this little corner of Substack but we grabbed a few tweets from Tuesday’s happenings at both SBJ Tech Week here in The Big Apple and from the New Horizons in Responsible Gambling conference in Vancouver.
Rivalry expands partnership with Grayhound, Down Under
Some news of the esports sort yesterday as Toronto-based Rivalry continued its Australian invasion by extending its partnership alongside Grayhound. The two companies will collaborate on a cornucopia of content to shine a brighter bulb on Grayhound’s Counter-Strike team and players through the ESL Pro League and DreamHack Melbourne. Rivalry and Grayhound will also co-host local in-person meet and greets between fans and players. Among the assets for Rivalry stemming from the partnership is the team competing as Grayhound Rivalry for CS:GO tourneys.
Counter-Strike, by the way, was the most popular esports for bettors in Australia last year, and the second-most popular title globally on Rivalry.
“Our partnership with Grayhound is kicking off alongside one of the most prominent Counter-Strike leagues globally,” said Cathy Stapleton, marketing director for Rivalry Australia. “This is not only a great opportunity to position our brand in front of a key audience, but to create meaningful content for Grayhound fans during tentpole competitions.”
We're excited to be an official partner of SBC Summit North America, and are inviting you to join us at the event on May 9-11, 2023!
As partners we are pleased to be able to offer you a $200 discount on your All-Access Pass when you enter this code at checkout: GNC23NA.
Gaming News Canada Show on hiatus
A reminder that we won’t be doing the Gaming News Canada Show thing today. We return to our regularly scheduled Linkedin Audio get-together next Thursday.
If you missed the latest Gaming News Canada Show podcast, we were joined by iGaming Next’s Pierre Lindh, Christopher Bohlmann of Bayes Esports, the BCLC’s Ryan McCarthy and Nic Sulsky from PointsBet Canada along with regular insiders Amanda Brewer and Kris Abbott.
On the Home Front
We’ll have more on this next week, but BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said earlier this week that the company’s advertising strategy will include an increased focus on responsible gambling in Canada and the U.S.
In case you missed it, iGaming Ontario welcomed Betsson to the province’s sports betting and gaming party last week:
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority opened its first sports bar at a casino this week.
We’ll dig deeper into this in the near future, but for now, Great Canadian Entertainment has unveiled its plans for a casino next to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto that’s scheduled to open this summer.
PointsBet Canada’s guru of compliance, Chantal Cipriano, sat down with Lucy Saddleton for CanadianLawyerMag.com for a conversation about law, compliance and responsible gambling.
PlayCanada’s Matthew Lomon provided a comprehensive look at the B.C. government’s latest money laundering investigation.
Speaking of B.C, Tekkorp Capital will be leading a $2 million private placement in Vancouver-based FansUnite Entertainment.
Canadian company Playmaker Capital will release its latest financial results on March 20.
Dalhousie University and the Association of Certified Gaming Compliance Specialists are launching a 12-week Casino Gaming Investigations course.
Quick Hits
This morning, Entain released its full financials for 2022.
SBC is now accepting applications for its latest First Pitch competition, at this spring SBC Summit North America.
Speaking of SBC, Jessica Welman reported that the hunt for regulated sports betting in Georgia is done like dinner for 2023.
And speaking of Welman, she put the Callaway on the tee for the opening of online sports betting in Massachusetts on Friday. PlayMA conducted its own survey ahead of the Bay State launch. And this:
Powerful reading from Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley, in his own words for The Players’ Tribune, explaining why he bet on football.
On International Women’s Day, Sonja Lindenberg of iGaming Next wrote about the work still to be done on getting more women into the executive suites of gaming companies.
CNBC’s Contessa Brewer and Jessica Golden did the double-byline thing with profiles of women leading the way in both the sports and sports betting industries.
Flutter will be digging deep into the digital wallet as it has agreed to pony up $4 million to settle allegations of bribes by PokerStars to Russian consultants.
BetMGM unveiled its Wheel of Fortune online casino in New Jersey yesterday, Ryan Butler reported.
Alex Sherman at CNBC wrote yesterday that WWE is in conversations with gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to allow betting on scripted rassling matches. The reaction to this news was pretty much unanimous:
WYLDE Esports, the Irish company owned by sprinting legend Usain Bolt, has a new partnership with PUMA.
FOTP Eilers & Krejcik Gaming have released its latest Online Game Performance Bulletin.
Aussie sports betting and tech company PlayUp has pulled back the curtain on its sportsbook, facebook and daily fantasy sports platform.
Finally, Snoop Dogg is widening his web3. . . umm. . . net (see what we did there).
People on the Move
PENN Entertainment has hired Kathryn Jenkins as its new Vice President and General Manager.
Jessica Wu, who led Betway’s marketing efforts in Canada, is joining Future Anthem in the same role to support the company’s U.S. expansion plans.
Fraser Pealing has a new role at GBG Plc: Global Talent Attraction Lead. And Gemma Icke has been elevated to Director, People Plan and Services.
FOTP Nicole Fields has been appointed Vice President of Relationships - North America at SBC.
Daniela Calafato has been named Chief Commercial Officer at Gaming Corps.
Betsson Group has promoted Laura Peretta to Head of Supplier Relations.
Ken Kay and Michael Messara have joined the board of directors at Genius Sports.
Robert Rogers has been promoted to Vice President of Content at OpTic Gaming.
Sonya Noronha is joining GeoComply as Senior Product Marketing Manager.
David Holland departed BetVictor last week and is joining Entain as Senior Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.
Chris Brennan has been promoted to Senior CRM Specialist at Lotto.com.
Also receiving a promotion is Demetrios Deligiannis, who is now Head of Pre Event Sports for Kaizen Gaming.
Michael Sonbeek has a new gig at FanDuel as VIP Account Manager.
Avi Koen left Boyd Gaming to join theScore as a QA Analyst. Andrae Cari is moving from Toronto Metropolitan University for the same role. The same for Dwayne Christie. Former Goldman Sachs senior analyst Payton Strubhar has also joined theScore gang as a Product Manager.
Alex Parsons is the new Esports Marketing Coordinator at Rivalry.
Former Amazonian Gabriel Novoa has come on board at Sportradar as IT Operations - Customer Support Manager while Bostjan Kamnik has joined the company as a React Developer.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Barstool Sports is hiring a Director, Product Development.
TheScore is in the market for a Senior Auditor - IT, and is also looking for a QA Automation Lead.
SBC Events has an opening for a Senior Customer Success Executive.
U.S. Integrity is on the lookout for a Business Development Manager.
Belong Gaming is searching for a Partnerships Associate.
Activision Blizzard is seeking a Competition Operations Coordinator, Path to Pro.
Follow us @GamingNewsCA on Twitter for the latest news on the sports betting and gaming industry.
Questions? Please contact us.
Did this email get forwarded to you? Sign up for the Gaming News Canada newsletter.
If you’d like to sponsor our twice-weekly newsletter, please email steve@theparleh.com.