We want you (r thoughts) on Ontario's 1-year anniversary, American Gaming Association rewrites its code, and much more
Our loyal subscribers are being asked to submit their observations on the first 365 days of the regulated market. CCES event is coming together and Homestand Sports is live on SportsGrid Canada.
In this issue:
Send us your thoughts on Year One
AGA does a code rewrite
Covering the bases on LinkedIn Audio today
CCES symposium is taking shape
Homestand Sports in shows mode on SportsGrid Canada
Seeking your thoughts on Ontario’s first anniversary
We’ve had lots to write - and say - on the first 360 days of the regulated sports betting and online gaming industry in Ontario-ari-ari-o. And we’ll hear more over seven hours or so Tuesday at the Canadian Gaming Association’s celebratory summit in downtown Toronto.
Now it’s your turn.
Your hospitable host of this Substack series of newsletters and podcasts wants your two cents’ worth on the wins, losses, challenges and opportunities for not only Year 2 of the Ontario market, but across the rest of Canada. Send us an email (steve@theparleh.com) between now and Monday at 5 p.m., and we’ll include the wisest words - and a wily wisecrack or two - along with a look back/look ahead from yours truly on the past 12 months in the Tuesday morning edition of Gaming News Canada.
Our only ask is that you not see our offer as an opportunity for taking pot shots or cheap shots. We’re seeking some bon mots of the productive, constructive and reflective types.
The Thursday dispatch next week will include coverage of the CGA event, which we expect will include iGaming Ontario making public the numbers and notes tallied for the January-March quarter (we’re also hearing iGO will welcome a 44th operator to the province next week. . . 45 when you include OLG).
American Gaming Association rewrites its code
The American Gaming Association, as Ed Orgeron put it so amusingly in The Blind Side, peppered the gumbo yesterday.
The gumbo, in this case, is the AGA’s Responsible Gambling Code which this morning has more bite to it thanks to the following updates:
Enhancing protections for college-aged audiences by:
Prohibiting college partnerships that promote, market or advertise sports wagering activity (other than to alumni networks or content focused on responsible gaming initiatives or problem gambling awareness).
Prohibiting sportsbook NIL deals for amateur and college athletes.
Adding age restrictions (21+) for any individual featured in sports betting advertising.
Changing all references to the “legal age of wagering” to 21-plus.
Banning all use of “risk free” in advertising.
Formalizing an annual process for reviewing and updating the Code.
The gumbo that is the relationship between sportsbooks and university campuses across the United States of Amarica had been under scrutiny, including the risks faced by NCAA athletes in the brave new world of legal wagering across more than half of the country’s states. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal had mailed/emailed/couriered correspondence to 66 post-secondary schools about their partnership plans with the sports betting industry. Yesterday, the AGA’s announcement sparked a Jeff Edelstein piece on the partnership between Caesars and Michigan State University no longer complying with the guidelines.
And there was this:
We’ll broach this topic on the Gaming News Canada Show this afternoon, and will also continue to follow the fallout in your friendly neighbourhood newsletter.
Covering the bases on the Gaming News Canada Show
The headline pays tribute to Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season on this Thursday (which takes us back to our days as a sandlot scribe for - in the words of Toronto Star sportswriter Doug Smith - the people’s wire service when we donned shirt and blazer for Game 1 of 162 before reverting to polo shirts and khakis).
Our weekly 60-hour gabfest this afternoon on LinkedIn Audio (2 ET first pitch. . . see what we did there!) is scheduled to include usual suspects Amanda Brewer (Kindred Group), Will Hill (Sightline Payments) and Kris Abbott (Betano Canada). Also on deck will be Canadian Gaming Association president/CEO Paul Burns, who’ll set the table for the association’s one-year anniversary recognition Tuesday of the regulated Ontario market. Mike Adorno, the VP of Communications at Hot Paper Lantern, will emerge from the dugout (OK, no more baseball references) at around 2:30 to talk about his company’s recently released State of the Sportsbook: Media Scorebook on Innovation report. Last but not least, Albert Vartanian of The Homestand Show on SportsGrid will join our show to talk about a very busy spring sports calendar.
If you haven’t listened to the latest Gaming News Canada Show podcast, SBC Americas editor Jessica Welman delivered an update on the efforts to expand legal sports wagering across the U.S. of A., including an astute prediction that Kentucky may be next to get the green light.
CCES match-fixing symposium is taking shape
The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is getting its proverbial ducks lined up for the May 30-31 Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport.
Professor Richard McLaren, whose deep involvement in arbitration and sport law more recently includes the International Tennis Integrity Unit as an anti-corruption hearing officer, will deliver the keynote address on the opening day of the symposium. Other scheduled speakers include Responsible Gambling Council CEO Shelley White, Doug Hood (the AGCO’s project director for gaming modernization), Jeffrey Mishkin (the former executive VP and chief legal officer for the NBA), Dieter Braekeveld (a training officer on integrity in sport with INTERPOL), CCES president/CEO Jeremy Luke, Curling Canada CEO Katherine Henderson, and two-time Olympic artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau.
The topics for the program so far include the impact of legal sports betting in Canada, a discussion around The Macolin Convention and the IOC Code, and Canada’s response to competition manipulation. Friday is the deadline for registering at a more favourable fee.
Speaking of match manipulation, we’re keeping our promise from last week’s newsletter to dig a little deeper into the second annual Betting Corruption and Match-Fixing report released last week by Sportradar Integrity Services.
Among the key findings:
The AI model developed by Sportradar for its UFDS in 2022 directly identified 438 suspicious matches (36% of annual total), leveraging the vast amount of data the company already has on suspicious betting activity and reflecting the important role that technology can play in the monitoring process.
Soccer continued to have the highest number of suspicious matches (775), but one of the key trends of 2022 was the sharp rise in suspicious basketball matches (220), which increased by approximately 250% compared to 2021.
Europe continues to see the highest number of suspicious matches (630) followed by Asia (240) and South America (225) in total across all sports. Compared to 2021, the number of suspicious matches has risen in each region except North America and Oceania.
The trend from 2021 of lower-level competitions being affected has continued. In 2022, 52% of suspicious soccer matches came from the third tier or lower, including regional leagues and youth competitions.
Homestand shows live on SportsGrid in Canada
With all of the comings and goings taking place in the wide world of sports, there’s been some slippage in the cracks as it pertains to the arrival of SportsGrid in our home and native land - and in our homes.
A Day 1 staple of SportsGrid’s programming - available on The Roku Channel, Fubo, LG, Toshiba, Hisense and other streaming TV platforms - has been The Homestand Show. James Sharman and Albert Vartanian lead the discussion on the biggest sports stories du jour, the show includes guest appearances from the likes of Olympic pole vaulter and Bet99 brand ambassador Alysha Newman.
Homestand also sets the table Saturday mornings for the weekend’s busy Premier League schedule with Room 442’s Soccer Today EPL Preview Show co-hosted by Sharman, Sara Poraria and Michael Singh.
On the Home Front
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation’s latest responsible gambling awareness campaigns lean into the similarities between professional athletes and bettors.
Speaking of the BCLC, it has become a member of the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports.
Scott Longley and Jake Pollard at Compliance+More interviewed U.S. Integrity boss Matthew Holt, who discussed his company’s role in the end of the UFC ban by Ontario sportsbooks.
Matthew Lomon reported about the concern with the links between loot boxes and problem gambling.
Former Blue Jays skipper (and new author) John Gibbons is joining Team Sports Interaction:
Let’s Get Together
Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe wrote about the opportunities, and the concerns, about the relationship between Major League Baseball and legal sports wagering.
Betano announced Monday that the Greek Freak will be the operator’s first global brand ambassador.
Inspired Entertainment and Aristocrat Gaming will be doing the collaboration thing around NFL-themed virtual sports simulations.
Roobet has launched its first Snoop Dogg game. We will. . . umm. . . er . . . drink to that.
New Zealand operator TAB NZ is opening the door for Entain to continue its expansion into the Australasian market.
Sports Information Solutions is getting together with ReSpo.Vision to create a little magic with soccer analytics data.
PressEnter, which departed the regulated Ontario industry in December after a brief stay, is doing some business with Swintt.
Realistic Games and Napoleon Sports & Casino are partnering with an eye on Belgium.
OpTic Gaming is back in the NASCAR game as a sponsor.
DAZN Bet is partnering with the Professional Fighters League.
Matters of M&A
Esports agency Bad Moon Talent is being acquired by StudioNow.
Quarter(s) Pole
Kambi’s 2022 Annual Report, released this morning, includes the tidbit that the sports betting supplier had a hand in 18 online and retail launches across Canada last year.
Sparked by a revenue boost from its U.S. business, Gambling Group released last week some very, very favourable Q4 financials.
James Fudge of The Esports Advocate perused the FY2022 and Q4 2022 financials for Enthusiast Gaming.
States Side Stories
Some positive news yesterday for proponents of legal sports betting. Ryan Butler of iGaming Next has the deets:
Not everyone’s on board, however:
DraftKings grand poobah Jason Robins says the company is pulling back the reins on pursuing legal sports betting legislation in California.
Speaking of Robins, we were feeling pretty good about the single-digit raise we saw in our CPP cheque this a.m. until we read Sonja Lindenberg’s reporting about the DK CEO getting a neat and tidy 238 per cent bump in his pay package.
The Wall Street Journal’s Matt Grossman keyboarded yesterday that a study by the U.S. Conference Board revealed that 37 per cent of Americans say they will spend less on gambling and lotteries over the next six months.
From the Dept. of No Spit Sherlock, NFL owners voted Tuesday to allow sportsbooks inside league stadiums to remain open on game days.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is saying nyet to operators offering wagers on Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Olympic Games.
There’s a betting angle to a postgame altercation between Washington Wizards guard Bradley and a fan.
GeoComply is stepping up to fund a two-year research project for the International Center for Responsible Gaming.
A recent SBC webinar which included the participation of Hard Rock International VP Paul Pellizzarti examined the protection of Indigenous communities against the threat of human trafficking.
The mayor of DC’s proposal to reallocate dollars destined for responsible gambling programs isn’t sitting well with the gaming industry:
Some reporting from the latest study on a sporting event cutting into productivity at the workplace.
According to a new report, one in three Pennsylvanians reported a problem with gambling over the past year.
Covers chronicler Geoff Zochodne wrote about the growing popularity of DraftKings’ horse racing betting app, which is now approved in Massachusetts.
Speaking of The Bay State, there’s a tug of war happening around third-party affiliate marketing.
Jake Paul’s problems with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could prevent the Betr co-founder from getting an Ohio Casino Control Commission licence.
At the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention yesterday, the discussions included the increasing competition faced by tribal casinos.
Not surprisingly, there was also a laser-focused panel on the continued efforts around responsible gambling.
JohnWallStreet turned on the laptop and wrote about the potential threat of institutional sports betting to pro sports leagues and the NCAA.
Cubs fans will have their hands full this season at Wrigley Field licking their fingers after eating loaded Greek fries to place their same game parlay.
The governor of Mississippi has given his blessing to a sports betting task force bill.
Speaking of DK, it has opened new digs in southwest Vegas.
Stephen Elliott of pewtrusts.org reported on the introduction to newcomers to regulated sports betting in the U.S. of A. about gambling addiction.
Gaming Innovation Group announced late last week that it now has licences to thrill in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In Arkansas, sports betting handle was down but casino revenues were up last month.
The attempt to legalize online casino in Maryland has been pushed back to next year.
There’s been a step in the right direction for legal sports betting in Oklahoma.
David Cook provided for iGaming Next a good-and-bad parsing of Flutter’s dual listing.
Rush Street Interactive is walking away from its online sportsbook partnership with Connecticut Lottery.
Payments provider Paysafe has made its way to the Massachusetts market.
ESPN Chalk scribe David Purdum has the story of a veteran bettor who, thanks to a text, may land a big bet from a wild-and-crazy March Madness men’s tournament.
Finally, we share this LinkedIn post from DOFOTPNGNC (Day One Friend of The Parleh Now Gaming News Canada) Chris Grove on behalf of the Delivering with Dignity program in Las Vegas, #VolunteerOrDonate.
Across the Pond
Premier League clubs are set to ban front-of-jersey advertising by sportsbooks.
The UK Gambling Commission, which brought the hammer down on Kindred Group last week, has lowered the boom - to the tune of a record $32 million fine - against 888-owned William Hill for “widespread and alarming breaches”.
Not everyone is on board with the Belgian government’s plans to ban sports betting advertising.
The Puerto Rico Gaming Commission has handed out nine new licences.
The man in charge of Amelco’s American business explained why there’s more than passing interest in the African gaming industry.
An affiliate is facing a stiff fine from the Dutch gambling authority for promoting unlicensed operators in the Netherlands.
A recent SBC webinar which included ubiquitous Entain executive Martin Lycka teed up the potential for a legal gambling industry in Brazil.
IMG Arena is taking legal action against Stats Perform amidst allegations that SP hired scouts to collect betting data from soccer leagues in Europe.
The results of a survey conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies show a link between gambling advertising and riskier behaviour whilst betting.
GBG Plc is the recipient of a 2023 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award.
Esports Reports
Vancouver-based Akshon Esports has released its Canadian Esports Insights 2022/2023 report.
James Fudge of The Esports Advocate peeled the proverbial onion on the relationship between Russia, China, and esports.
Fudge reported this morning that Electronic Arts is planning to trim six per cent of its workforce.
Good stuff from the flying fingers of Cody Luongo in his latest Sharp newsletter, including insight on the number of sportsbooks now offering wagers on esports.
The ongoing run on layoffs in the esports business now includes Evil Geniuses.
Giants Gaming is creating an innovation hub in the Spanish burg of Malaga.
iGaming Business released its third annual report Monday.
A case made for esports organizations to hang on tight to their intellectual property rights.
The recent ESL Pro League Finals, won by FaZe Clan, hit peak viewership of 518,000
Coming soon to a screen/town near you
FansUnite Entertainment has scheduled a webinar Friday morning to go through its 2022 financials and provide its growth outlook for the current year
Startups, place your fingers on your keyboard. The application process is now open for the SBC First Pitch competition during the June 13-15 Canadian Gaming Summit.
Speaking of pitching (and yes, there’s a clock on these, too), Ifrah Law is hosting a pitch competition during the upcoming EGR North America Spring Briefing event. The deadline for startups to apply to participate is TOMORROW.
Registration is now open for the April 19-20 East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City.
Time is running out to get the early bird discount for the May 23-25 SBC CasinoBeats Summit in Malta.
The same EBD is in place these days for the Sept. 19-21 SBC Summit Barcelona.
And, that reminds us, eh. . . tickets are also up for grabs to attend the aforementioned Canadian Gaming Summit.
Quick Hits
The organizers of the Global Gaming Expo (aka G2E) have an all-points bulletin out (well, not really) for speakers and content topic.
FOTP Lloyd Danzig of Sharp Alpha Advisors keyboarded an op-ed for Sportico on the emerging “competitive entertainment” landscape.
SBC’s Charlie Horner reported on the likely impact of Major League Baseball’s rules changes for sportsbooks.
More on the same topic from Jennifer Piacenti at SI.com.
And speaking of MLB, David Broughton of Sports Business Journal put together this week a breakdown of the 35 sponsors for Opening Day. They include MGM Resorts/BetMGM and FanDuel, which is one of seven new partners.
A tip of the chapeau to FOTP Will Hill for flagging this article on the ability for payment-related behaviour to tip off potential problem gambling.
In case you didn’t make it to the iGaming Next NYC23 conference earlier this month, we present a replay of the innovators panel moderated by FOTP Chris Grove.
Speaking of NYC23, the photo album from the event is now available for your viewing pleasure.
GeoComply VP Simon Marchand and Sightline Payments head honcho (sort of) did the double-byline thing on identifying, and tackling, fraud.
iGaming Next’s Jake Evans profiled Simplebet COO Mark Nerenberg and the company’s path to getting back on track.
Second Spectrum, which is owned by Genius Sports, provided last week a first glimpse of its new Dragon tracking system that’s part of a recently announced partnership with the NBA.
OddsOn Compliance’s Playbook platform now includes land-based regulatory information in 10 jurisdictions, with more to come.
Sportradar let it be known Tuesday that its ads: technology is being integrated into Snapchat.
A Gambling Insider panel tossed around some ideas for innovating slots.
Next League’s 2023 Industry Outlook report includes a look at the ties between sports betting and technology.
People on the Move
News of the rather significant sort Tuesday afternoon that former Aristocrat Gaming executive Niaz Nejad is Light & Wonder’s new Managing Director of Gaming, Americas.
Fanatics Betting and Gaming also let it be known Tuesday that former DoorDash executive Hank Couture is the company’s new Chief Operating Officer.
James Jones, the former head of business development for Evolution, is the new Chief Commercial Officer for OnAir Entertainment.
The busiest folks in the Ontario gaming industry these days may well be the people who handle HR for theScore. Bradley Karelson has been bumped up the ladder to Vice President, Media Partnerships while Geoff Glen has been promoted to Vice President of Sales. Christian Bebis was promoted to Senior Marketing Director, and Keith Capstick has a new role as Manager, Content & Brand Integrations. Ahmed Elfeky is getting the code to the directors’ Nespresso machine with his new role as Director of Marketing & Partnership Activations. Ana Jessica Saragossa has joined the company as an Android Developer. Jonathan Sammut is on board as a Senior DevOps Engineer, as is Chadwick Radunske. Jordan Gamble is theScore’s new Sportsbook Operations Specialist.
Former Strive Gaming VP Haig Sakouyan is the new Vice President, Operations & Product Support at Vancouver-based InclineBet.
Dirk Camilleri has been named VP of Products at Pariplay.
Kai Cantwell is the new CEO of Responsible Gambling Australia.
Tenzin Chimi Yehshopa left the University of Calgary as a Research Assistant for a new gig with the Responsible Gambling Council as a Program Analyst.
Kendryx Linscott is joining non-profit Esport Canada as Chief Marketing Officer.
Gui Mucceli is joining Rivalry as a Customer Support Specialist.
KreekCraft (don’t ask) has joined Misfits Gaming Group as Creative Director and co-founder of a new Roblox-focused game studio.
Max Meyer has moved into the PointsBet USA studios in New York as Senior Editor.
FaZe Clan has promoted Matt Augustin to VP of Brand and Creative Strategy.
Sanni Toivakki has joined White Hat Studios as a Senior Account Manager.
Alessia Staffieri has a new role at Rogers Sports & Media: Senior Publicist, TV and Radio.
Christopher Seguin is the new Media Relations Manager for the Canadian Hockey League.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Wanted by theScore: a Senior Product Designer.
Catena Media has a remote opportunity in the true north, strong and free for a Senior Software Engineer.
Esports business Riot Games has a whole lot of employment opportunities right now.
Paramount Commerce, which we featured in The Company Line on Tuesday, is looking for a Compliance Manager at its London location.
HappyHour.io has an opening for a Head of Operations.
Also in London, Push Gaming has an opening for a Legal Counsel/Senior Legal Counsel.
ESL FACEIT Group is in the market for a Brazil-based Creator Partnerships Manager.
Digital Isle of Man is searching for a Head of eGaming.
OpTic Gaming is looking for a Staff/Senior Accountant to work out of its Dallas offices.
Entain is in the market for a Finance Business Partner.
BetVictor has an opening for a Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer in Gibraltar.
Bally’s Interactive in Malta is hiring a Digital Media Executive.
Our friends at The Gist are seeking a Newsletter Editor (smart remarks from the studio audience aren’t appreciated as it relates to this tangled web of words. . . ).
Also from the world of reporting, writing and editing, EGR has an opening for a Senior Reporter in London.
FanDuel’s New York office is holding a Marketing & Commercial Hiring Event on May 3rd, and the application process is already underway. The same office is also seeking a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Manager.
The National Hockey League is searching for a Senior Manager, Finance - Events.
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