Investors on the move in PENN & Entain, Stake sponsors F1 Team, Gauselmann rebrands

The first week of January was filled with fresh developments that may as well set a course for the rest of the year.

For starters, activist investors in Penn Entertainment and Entain have shown that they are no longer content sitting at the sidelines and want a more tangible presence and having a say in the day-to-day affairs of the gambling giants.

First, came the news that HG Vora Capital Management, a hedge fund, had increased its stake in PENN Entertainment to 18.5%, marking a willingness for a more hands-on approach to the company’s financial and operational dealings.

The fund’s boss, Parag Vora, has said that he wants to help improve the company’s Common Stock, which according to him, has been ailing. To do this, he will seek to designate "highly qualified" directors within the company to help steer it to profitability and better shareholder value.

This is the exact same thing that Eminence Capital’s boss, Ricky Sandler, is doing. A long-standing critic of Entain, Sandler has finally been appointed to the Board of Directors as a non-executive director. Although a final decision may not rest with him, his voice will be heard within the boardroom rather than publicly criticizing the company’s internal process.

Sandler, though, shares a similar opinion to Vora's. The executive believes that Entain has chronically underperformed more or less, executing some questionable acquisitions backed by the wrong type of equity.

He has insisted on being allowed on the board since November and joins a long list of investors to have raised concerns with Entain’s operational results. The conclusion of a recent investigation against the company was marked by Jette Nygaard-Andersen, the former CEO’s, decision to leave.

Don’t Miss the Headline

If there is one headline news that you ought not to miss, this is the rebranding of Gauselmann Group to Merkur Group, a groundbreaking move that seeks to better establish the company’s digital identity and help the operator transition to a model that highlights the benefits of its expansion in the online space.

Speaking of digital transformations, Curacao has now said that companies that have been licensed under a new regulatory process may display, and are in fact obliged to display, a badge that demonstrates the completion of the verification process.

This all comes as part of the country’s efforts to burnish the reputation of its gambling industry and convey trust to international partners that rogue businesses are not welcome. So far as headlines go, ASA, the UK advertising watchdog, has upheld a decision against Buzz Bingo and an advertisement that used Halloween imagery.

The regulator found the ad to be inappropriate and hold a particularly strong appeal to children, which is a breach of the CAP Code. Buzz Bingo has denied wrongdoing, but ASA has ordered the ad to never appear in its sanctioned form.

Partnerships and Companies on the Move

Moving on, Veikkaus has become the first gambling company in the world, or at least so the operator stated in a press release, to now require verification checks for its scratch and card games. The measure is designed to further strengthen player protection at a time when Finland is moving away from a state monopoly and inviting more casinos and operators to join in.

This has more or less led to the launch of Casimba Gaming in the country this week, with the website rolling out. Meanwhile, Stake.com has confirmed that it will be an official sponsor of the Sauber F1 Team, rebranding the organization as Stake F1 Team, and gaining even more popularity with motorsports fans.

This is another big achievement for the company which has been looking to actively get involved with sports organizations and leagues. There have also been several interesting developments in terms of jackpot opportunities this week.

For one, the fifth-biggest jackpot for the Powerball was won with a ticket bought in Michigan. One lucky soul now can step forward and claim a $824m payout within 60 days. Speaking of jackpots, though, this is not all. Games Global’s unique WowPot! feature has led to a €38.4m win as well, obliterating previous records for progressive jackpots won from online casinos, including those set by Mega Moolah.

Hear Them Talk: The Industry’s Voice

This week we had a chance to catch up with several industry representatives. First, there is Bryan Upton, the founder and director of Lucksome, a supplier and slot developer, who spoke at length about his company’s designing process and how it goes about designing titles that are simplistic and purposefully seek to engage players through straightforward yet rewarding features.

Upton suggests that in the quest for innovation, players have become fatigued with increasingly complicated games that do not add to the actual level of enjoyment. Well, Lucksome is bucking this trend, the director argues.

Catching up with the shortlisted candidates for the Casino Guru Awards, we had the opportunity to chat with Bitcasino, which is running for the Fairest Bonus Policy and Most Transparent Casino categories.

Bitcasino has walked us through their strategic decisions and how they ensure transparency and fairness across the board for their offer.

Not least, we had the chance to catch up with King Billy Casino who is also a contender for the Fairest General T&Cs and the Most Effective Handling of Complaints categories, and who spoke about how their internal processes worked.

King Billy Casino welcomed how complaints had made it possible for players to get a better experience overall, and what pitfalls there have been to the proliferation of complaint platforms.

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