DraftKings goes after Jackpocket, iGaming a boon to land-based gambling, Casino Guru Awards

The first big news of the week regarding mergers and acquisitions came from DraftKings’ corner on Thursday, with the Massachusetts-incorporated company confirming that it had tabled a proposal to buy out Jackpocket, a leading lottery platform in the United States.

The company is offering $750m to make a splash in the lottery sector, a sum that is difficult to resist despite Jackpocket’s growth trajectory, and the company has seemingly accepted the takeover bid. An estimated 55% of the sum will be paid in cash tapping into DraftKings’ war chest, with the rest coming from the company’s stock.

Meanwhile, a study published by iDEA has indicated that iGaming is not to be feared, and certainly not to the extent that some lawmakers argue. The study conducted by Eilers and Krejcik argues that a control group of land-based states only, i.e. states where only physical casinos existed, tended to do slightly worse than their counterparts in states where iGaming is in fact allowed.

The study claims that the introduction of iGaming does not only fail to sap economic momentum for the brick-and-mortar segment, but it further adds to it with an estimated growth of 1.7% a year.

Meanwhile, Native American tribes in the United States have taken an issue with the status of daily fantasy sports and pick’em games. The California Nations Indian Gaming Association has urged for the clarification of the status of the former and issued a direct challenge to the latter as an illegal form of gambling.

California has recently decided to not put a sports betting question on the ballot, with local Native American tribes cautioning private backers of the issue to not go with it as they would diminish the chances of the state passing a sports betting legislation any time soon should it fail – as they expected it to.

GamCare has a new Deputy Chief Executive Officer in the face of Mark Weiss who is stepping at the helm of the organizaiton at a time of heightened scrutiny of the gambling sector and an increasing momentum in safeguarding consumers against harmful practices. GamCare has been working hard to help direct the national conversation on responsible and harmful gambling, joining a number of other bodies in the United Kingdom sharing this goal.

Meanwhile, La Royale Gaming Investments, a company that specializes in mergers and acquisitions in the land-based and online gambling sectors, has announced the appointment of Eamonn Faulkner in the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Operators and suppliers growing their footprint this week

Of course, there was a string of news to do with suppliers. Wazdan made a move into the Netherlands – again – strengthening its local footprint with 711.nl, a locally recognised iGaming operator.

Meanwhile, Pragmatic Play was able to bring out a brand new game set in the popular and player-favorite Big Bass franchise, with Big Bass Float My Boat promising to be another worthy continuation of the game series.

Bethard has turned to Enteractive to seek better engagement with existing customers and reactivate lapsed or dormant accounts. Enteractive has a strong reputation for delivering on results in the sector, and Bethard is confident that this strategic move would help it consolidate its operational results as well as important metrics such as retention and engagement.

GeoComply, a company that provides geofencing and tracking services for gambling businesses, has said that it has seen new records set by Super Bowl weekend activity. There has been a 22.3% increase in geolocation checks during the festive weekend bringing some significant insight into how much sports gambling is growing.

Anna Sainsbury, GeoComply CEO and Co-Founder, do note that still only a fraction of the United States has access to online gambling as well, with results expected to continue growing in future.

Meanwhile, Afflika by SOFTSWISS, the affiliate management platform by the company, has closed the books in 2023, posting one of its strongest years on record. The platform said that it had welcomed more than 24m new players and 100,000 affiliate account registrations.

Casino Guru Awards ceremony all set

Casino Guru is very happy to invite you to the online Casino Guru Awards 2024 ceremony celebrating excellence in the industry and distinguishing the efforts of operators and gambling companies who promote safe and responsible gambling in the industry.

The ceremony is due on Wednesday, February 21, at 13:00 GMT +1. We are expecting to see you there as Casino Guru will be revealing the list of winners across seven categories and the Voice of the People, which is separate, and where you, the people, decide who the best casino brand is. You may tune in and watch the ceremony live on our YouTube Channel.

Not least, Casino Guru News sat down with Matt Smith, Head of External Affairs for UK for Betknowmore. Our conversation focuses on how the gambling industry has evolved to put a heavier focus on player protection and safety. Smith himself has lived experience with gambling, which makes him uniquely placed to take stock of the efforts put into making gambling safer over the past years.

Not least, we caught up with Dmitry Hotsyn, Head of CIS Desk and Senior Consultant at 4H Agency, who spoke at length about the changing nature of the Curacao regulatory regime, and what could have been done better while the country is moving in the right direction. Hotsyn’s analysis is worth reading in its entirety.

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