Industry News
Scientific Games Announces Mike Cardell as Senior Vice President, Americas Systems
Scientific Games announces the appointment of Mike Cardell as the company’s Senior Vice President of Americas Systems. As the industry’s fastest-growing lottery systems supplier globally, Cardell’s appointment is another example of the company’s continued investments in people and products to innovate for its customers.
Mike Cardell.jpgCardell is an accomplished business technology leader with more than 17 years of experience and a proven track record in innovating technology-based products and services, including enterprise and consumer-facing applications, transaction processing platforms, large-scale IT conversions, strategic growth and impactful results.
He will lead all aspects of the company’s Americas lottery system business, driving incremental revenue and expanding product offerings while nurturing existing client relationships to grow lottery profits responsibly. Cardell will also be executing product and business development strategies as well as overseeing central and regional operations, service and contract management.
John Schulz, President, Americas & Global Instant Products, said, “With a keen understanding of developing strategies for sustainable growth, Mike will be instrumental in growing our systems business and ensuring innovation and operational excellence in our existing system operations. His strategic mindset and leadership experience make him a valuable addition to Scientific Games. We are excited to welcome him to our team.”
Before joining Scientific Games, Cardell spent more than 11 years at Fiserv where he most recently served as the global fintech and payments company’s Vice President and General Manager of Next Gen Solutions: Signature and Cloud Solutions. In this role, he managed the modernization of legacy enterprise account processing software solutions and cloud transformation solutions for large financial institutions and financial technology companies. He also spent five years managing business development and marketing for Hewlett-Packard.
Cardell holds a B.A. in Public Relations from Texas Tech University.
Scientific Games is a trusted partner to 150 lotteries in 50 countries around the globe, providing games, technologies, analytics and services that responsibly drive maximum returns to their beneficiary programs.
Industry News
Penn Entertainment to Lay Off About 100 Employees
![](https://gamingamericas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/9-5.jpg)
Penn Entertainment plans to lay off about 100 employees as it focuses on growth for ESPN Bet.
CEO Jay Snowden told staff members in an internal email that the changes will enhance operational efficiencies following its 2021 acquisition of Canadian media and gaming powerhouse theScore.
The company employs about 20,000 people.
“When PENN acquired theScore, we hit the ground running with the build-out of our proprietary tech stack and the migration of our sportsbook to theScore’s best-in-class-platform,” Snowden wrote in the memo. “This led us to temporarily set aside any potential organizational changes that would typically follow a major acquisition.”
Penn went on to say it’s embarking on a new phase of growth in its interactive business, which includes ESPN Bet, a $2 billion branding partnership with Disney’s ESPN. Snowden said the initiatives include product enhancements and deeper integration into ESPN’s ecosystem.
Investors are impatient for Penn to demonstrate its muscle with the rebranded sportsbook, and activist investor Donerail Group has called on the board to sell the casino company.
Rumors have swirled about the potential interest from many other online gaming and brick-and-mortar casino companies.
Truist gaming analyst Barry Jonas wrote in a note Thursday that a sale is unlikely in the near term because of the complexity of a transaction that would likely involve major divestitures.
Penn’s release of new ESPN Bet features this fall during football season should meaningfully improve its product, Jonas said, and a focus on costs indicate the company’s commitment to seeing its investment yield results.
Penn shares have plummeted 25% year to date. It has missed earnings expectations the last two quarters and lowered guidance.
“Investors continue to wonder what an ESPN Bet success could look like, and how much more investment (beyond what’s guided) it’ll take to reach,” Jonas notes.
Industry News
Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith to Promote Gambling Harm Awareness Through EPIC
![](https://gamingamericas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/5-5.jpg)
Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith was at the center of one of the most high-profile examples of gambling-related harm in basketball history, which makes him the perfect latest addition to EPIC Global Solutions’ team as they continue to educate the current generation of professional and collegiate athletes on how to avoid the repeat of a similar scenario.
The former point guard made his name as a star player at Arizona State University in the early 1990s, setting college records for three-point attempts and being a two-time All-Pac-10 selection. However, his involvement in point-shaving – which was the subject of a 2021 Netflix documentary – led to a one-year prison sentence and impacted an NBA career with hometown team, Dallas Mavericks.
The source of his gambling harm – being approached by a gambler to change the final score of a game without changing who wins – is an issue that remains very pertinent to student-athletes 30 years on, in spite of the significant changes to sports wagering legislation.
This ensures that his planned involvement in EPIC’s range of education sessions to teams connected to partners such as the NCAA, MLB, and MLSPA will be an important lesson for the athletes, coaches, and staff in attendance when he travels to address them in his new role as US sports advisor for the company.
“I’m passionate about wanting to tell my story and get out there to prevent this from happening again,” he explained.
“I’ve been able to tell my story to players previously and I’m able to have a relationship with all of them in the audience because of the way I deliver my message and coming from one big fraternity in sport. Knowing that EPIC has a global reach is something that really stood out to me about this opportunity and I’m passionate about getting out there and speaking about my experience.”
Though already a renowned name in sporting circles, Smith’s profile is set to rise again in the months ahead with the release of eponymous autobiography, ‘Hedake’, which will coincide with his work with EPIC.
“We’re proud to welcome Hedake to our team and can’t wait to see the impact he’ll have on audiences,” added Teresa Fiore, EPIC’s VP of partnerships.
“In being approached to shave points on game, Hedake has experienced a type of gambling-related harm which is different to many of our other team members. His story represents an area of increasing concern within sports, which adds to the range of our education designed to benefit our valued partners and the key people in their organisations.”
Industry News
Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) Calls for Overhaul of “Responsible Gambling” Model
![](https://gamingamericas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2-7.jpg)
As the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) gathered for their annual conference in San Diego last week, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI)—a nonprofit research center for public health laws affiliated with Northeastern University School of Law— released a new video to highlight the ethical and scientific failure of the “Responsible Gambling” model.
Under the direction of its president, Professor Richard Daynard, Executive Director Mark Gottlieb, and Director of Gambling Policy Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI is leading the efforts to replace the Responsible Gambling model with a comprehensive public health response to the unprecedented expansion of the gambling industry and online gambling. PHAI will be advocating for and advancing much-needed public health reform and regulation at both the federal and state levels.
The new video, which can be found on the PHAI website here, analyzes key flaws in the Responsible Gambling model—an approach favored by both the gambling industry, and the gambling-industry-funded NCPG.
In the video, Dr. Levant highlights the situation’s urgency, stating “The expansion of online gambling without appropriate safeguards and regulation is an industry-driven ‘wild west’ environment, resulting in a looming public health crisis.”
President Daynard echoed this statement by criticizing the current Responsible Gambling model: “The Responsible Gambling model puts the onus on the customer, rather than focusing on the irresponsible design and marketing decisions of the gambling industry.”
Professor Gottlieb also emphasized the need for change. “The time has come to expose the failures of the Responsible Gambling model and move forward with a public health approach to regulation and reform,” he said.
-
Latest News3 days ago
Fast Track Secures Landmark Deal with Suprema Group – Setting a New Standard in the Brazilian iGaming Market
-
Gambling in the USA5 days ago
BetBlocker Recognised for Outstanding Contribution to the Prevention of Gambling Harm at NCPG Awards 2024
-
Latest News3 days ago
Light & Wonder Expands Presence in Oregon with Additional Placements of KASCADA Dual Screen Multi-Games
-
Industry News4 days ago
Penn Entertainment to Lay Off About 100 Employees
-
Latest News3 days ago
Rakin’ Bacon Sahara® Launches Exclusively in New Jersey at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and online at Hard Rock Bet
-
partnerships3 days ago
GGPoker & Triton Poker Offer High-Roller And Super-High-Roller Events At 2024 WSOP Paradise
-
Latest News3 days ago
bet365 Announces Official Launch in Pennsylvania
-
Daily Fantasy Sports5 days ago
DraftKings Becomes Official Partner of the WNBA