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Gambling in the USA

PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks tick up while online casinos soar

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PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks tick up while online casinos soar

 

Pennsylvania’s retail and online sportsbooks rose in May, but lost out on about $275 million in potential bets, according to PlayPennsylvania estimates, while gamblers again turned to online casinos and poker rooms in record numbers. And with land-based casinos reopening in June and major sports slowly returning, the Keystone State is entering its recovery phase.

“May was another challenging month for Pennsylvania’s gaming industry, but it appears that it will be the last month of online casinos and poker rooms being the only bearer of good news,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “The casinos that have recently reopened appear to be experiencing relatively strong traffic, and sports bettors are finding increasingly more to bet on. Recovery for the entire industry will be a long road, but there are reasons for optimism.”

Pennsylvania sportsbooks would have expected to accept more than $350 million in a typical May. Instead, online sportsbooks generated $77.5 million in wagers, up 68.4% from April’s $46 million handle, according to official data released Tuesday. This during another month that again featured no retail sports betting, which would have generated nearly $40 million in a typical May, PlayPennsylvania estimates. In-person sports bets produced $35.9 million in May 2019, before online sports betting launched.

May’s handle yielded $4.8 million in gross revenue, up from $3.2 million in April, and $1.6 million in state taxes.

With NASCAR and some European soccer reopening in May, bettors had more to bet on, which helped drive interest. Boxing and the PGA Tour recently restarted, too. And the MLS and the NBA appear ready to begin in July.

“A normal menu of sports would likely mean an almost instant recovery for online sportsbooks, though we may still be a few months from that happening,” said Valerie Cross, analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. “Pennsylvania’s online sportsbooks have been savvy in keeping their customers engaged with sports well outside the mainstream. That will only help when things begin to return to normal.”

FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino once again topped the market with a May handle of $29.6 million, up from $19 million in April. Those bets fueled $2.5 million in taxable revenue, up from $1.3 million. FanDuel was followed by:

  • DraftKings at The Meadows ($21.8 million handle, up from $12.6 million; $908,635 taxable revenue, up from $706,589)
  • Rivers-Philadelphia ($8.5 million handle, up from $5.9 million; $457,952 revenue, up from $309,551)
  • Fox Bet at Mount Airy ($7.8 million handle, up from $3.7 million; $351,876 revenue, up from $229,469)
  • Rivers-Pittsburgh ($4.9 million handle, up from $2.4 million; $272,898 revenue, up from $190,013)
  • Parx Casino ($3.8 million handle, up from $2.2 million; $278,850 revenue, up from $193,662)
  • Unibet at Mohegan Sun Pocono ($714,400 handle, up from $92,521; $43,912 revenue, up from $14,362)
  • Presque Isle Downs ($265,938 handle, up from $97,107; $6,036 revenue, up from -$4,066)
  • Harrah’s ($143,991 handle, up from $28,155; $1,545 revenue, up from -$557) 

Online casinos and poker boom

With many gamblers still homebound in May, online casinos and poker rooms continued their meteoric growth, setting a new record with $55.9 million in gross revenue. That was up 29.7% from $43.1 million in April and nearly triple from $19.5 million in February.

A remarkable $1.8 billion was bet on online table games and slots in May — up from $1.4 billion in April — producing $51.2 million in revenue. And Mount Airy/PokerStars, the lone poker operator in Pennsylvania, again generated more revenue than any single state with legal online poker by generating $4.6 million, down from $5.3 million in April.

Casinos and poker revenue hit $1.8 million per day in the 31 days of May, up from $1.4 million per day in April. Operators, though, were still out of the $286.1 million land-based casinos generated in May 2019. But with casinos reopening in June, the state’s sole reliance on online revenue will change.

“As welcome as the online revenue has been, it can’t come close to replacing what was lost with the shutdown of land-based casinos,” Cross said. “So far early signs are good for Pennsylvania’s land-based casinos, but they are still navigating diminished capacity and uncertain demand as they reopen. For that reason, online casino games and poker will remain critical in bridging revenue gaps as Pennsylvania casinos recover.”

Rivers-Philadelphia led the online casino market with $17.6 million in revenue on $641.3 million in wagers, up from $13.7 million in revenue on $477 million in wagers in April. DraftKings, a sudden Wall Street darling, enjoyed a strong debut of its online casino under the Penn National license. After launching on May 1, DraftKings helped boost Penn National to $9 million in revenue on $313.4 million in wagers from $4.6 million in revenue and $122.2 million in wagers in April.

“DraftKings’ online casino is a well-designed product, and bettors obviously reacted positively,” Gouker said. “FanDuel and DraftKings are the dominant players in the state, and their dominance will only grow as their online casinos grow and sports betting returns.”

For more information on the revenue generated by Pennsylvania, visit www.playpennsylvania.com/revenue.

Gambling in the USA

New Trade Association Launches Unprecedented Effort to Strengthen Responsible Online Gaming, Promote Best Practices

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New Trade Association Launches Unprecedented Effort to Strengthen Responsible Online Gaming, Promote Best Practices

 

The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA), an independent trade association launched by seven of the largest U.S. legal mobile gaming companies, will actively promote a new industry-wide best practices charter, overseen by one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of responsible gaming (RG).

This unprecedented effort will be led by Dr. Jennifer Shatley, a deeply respected responsible gaming executive with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. She will serve as ROGA’s full-time Executive Director, and her role will be to facilitate widespread education to all relevant parties on the subject of responsible gaming.

ROGA will embark on a series of initiatives under Dr. Shatley’s direction. These include research, consumer and industry responsible gaming education and awareness, promoting responsible gaming best practices, an independent data clearinghouse, and an independent certification program.

Demonstrating their commitment to this endeavor, initial member companies – who together represent more than 85% of the legalized online sports betting and iGaming industry – have pledged more than $20 million in support of ROGA’s mission in year one. ROGA’s member companies include BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital, and PENN Entertainment.

“I am humbled, honored, and excited to be selected to lead ROGA during this important period of growth in legalized mobile gaming. Many of America’s largest legal mobile gaming operators will be establishing a framework that helps to aid in responsible gaming education and awareness. Together, our members will work alongside researchers, experts, regulators and stakeholders to promote responsible online gaming and maximize our efforts to support additional responsible gaming education and awareness. By coming together with a clear set of objectives, ROGA and our members will work to enhance consumer protections and help provide easier and more efficient access to responsible gaming tools for consumers to enjoy the entertainment of online gaming,” said Dr. Shatley.

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Compliance Updates

Play’n GO awarded Pennsylvania license 

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Play’n GO awarded Pennsylvania license 

 

Play’n GO has continued on its upward trajectory in North America by landing its latest US iGaming licenses and will soon supply its award-winning content portfolio to operators and players in Pennsylvania and Delaware

These licenses are the fifth and sixth obtained by the Swedish gaming giants in the USA, following New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut.

Play’n GO have taken a dual-pronged approach to its strategy in North America, with these US licenses being complimented by the company’s success north of the border in Canada, where Play’n GO was one of the first suppliers to be licensed to supply slot games in the province of Ontario.

Although early in its American journey, Play’n GO games such as Piggy Blitz, make regular appearances in the top 15 most popular titles in all of North America*.

Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer for Play’n GO, said: “Play’n GO content is the most conducive to player retention across the industry. With player acquisition costs sky high in the US, we’re pleased to be able to offer operators in Pennsylvania access to our content which will keep players coming back for more.

“We are determined to be the number one casino gaming supplier in every regulated market in the world, and given that we are thriving in more than 25 jurisdictions around the world where we have a license, we fully expect a similar success story in Pennsylvania in the coming years.”

Play’n GO is set to release more than 50 online slot titles in 2024 and is active in more than 25 regulated jurisdictions worldwide, including Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan and West Virginia in North America.

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Gambling in the USA

Lightning Box concocts scientific experiment with new release Experi-MENTAL

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 Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ and ASX: LNW) (together with its subsidiaries, “Light & Wonder” or “L&W”) announced the launch of its new game, Experi-MENTAL, stacked with features, modifiers and a clash with the mad scientist.

Experi-MENTAL has two in-game features to enhance the overall player experience.

This 3×5 title, exhibits the distinctive Expanding Wild Feature, which can award huge prizes for players should the Wild Brain symbol expand and replicate by five times during the Free Games round.

When players enter the mad scientist’s lab, they will stumble across the Upgrading Feature, which zaps the 9, 10, J, Q, K or A symbols into high-paying icons, including Test Tubes, Power Switch, Cat, Pug or Man. The wins are then accumulated and paid out once the reels have stopped spinning.

The Barrel Pick Feature can radio-activate the feature by awarding an extra 15 Free Games, as players are presented with highly dangerous barrels with an unknown material.

A meter appears when players select a barrel, with a red area and a green area in view. Landing on the meter’s green area ensures the Free Games round is triggered and additional games are awarded but landing in the red zone activates only the round itself.

The classic Free Games mode is unlocked when Scatter symbols appear, with five Scatters granting the maximum of 10 Free Games and the Barrel Pick Feature. During the round, Free Games can be retriggered at any time.

Experi-MENTAL is set to go live with Caesars in New Jersey, Michigan and Ontario initially, and will be available at a later date to customers of Light & Wonder’s industry-leading OPENGAMING™ platform.

 Michael Maokhamphiou, Studio Director at Lightning Box, said: “Experi-MENTAL is one Wacky slot game, and we believe it can propel our slots onto the next level.

 “During this game, players can unlock some new features, which add a dramatic element to this slot and classic round that are a cornerstone of Lightning Box’s portfolio. We are in no doubt will love taking on the mad scientist in this epic title.”

 Rob Procter, VP of Game Development at Light & Wonder, said: “2024 is going to be a big year for Lightning Box and the launch of Experi-MENTAL gives players the opportunity to showcase this thrilling game.

 “With a variety of different features exhibited on this captivating title, it sets Lightning Box apart from its competitors, ensuring the player experience is unrivalled.”

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