Online casinos to boost land-based gaming in US, PGAM in focus

We are caught in the midst of several important events this week. The tip-off for March Madness took place on Thursday, with the event now set to eclipse betting handle and interest in the Super Bowl two-fold and drive as much as $2.72bn in bets across sportsbooks in the United States.

On the occasion of March Madness, the NCAA has launched a new campaign, "Draw the Line," to help better educate student-athletes about the risks associated with sports betting and how the activity may impact the integrity of the game, but also to help strengthen problem gambling awareness.

Meanwhile, college students are impacted by the popularity of sports gambling. According to a new study by Intelligent, and cited by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, 20% of college students who bet are tapping into their financial aid money to fund their habit. Sports gambling is used to relieve stress, although it is also practised with the false hope of winning money, the report found out.

This news comes as New Jersey’s Attorney General office has announced a new 11-month program that will use $300,000 in funding to raise awareness for problem gambling. The number of players who are at a risk of developing a problem in the state is at 6%, which is higher than the national average, the public statement released by the AG’s office said.

An ambitious new study by the Sports Gaming Alliance, an organization represented by some of the largest betting and gaming companies in the United States, claims that the legalization of iGaming or online casinos has had a significant economic impact on the land-based sector, helping boost the vertical and not really cannibalizing it or sapping its performance or momentum.

Legalizing online casinos ought to lead to a higher overall commercial impact for gambling companies in regulated states, although the study somewhat fails to explore the potential impact of problem gambling in detail. Meanwhile, DraftKings and Kindbridge have expanded their collaboration to now cover 25 states and Ontario, Canada.

The partnership seeks to provide vulnerable and at-risk consumers with therapy and treatment options using the DraftKings platform directly. This tie-up is an expansion of the two companies’ previous collaboration from last year.

In a bit of saucier news, MGM Resorts International has refuted rumors that Bruno Mars, a long-standing partner of the company and a frequent performer across its venues in several states, owed it any gambling debt. Rumors began to swirl several days ago that Bruno Mars had accumulated a $50m debt from gambling with the company, but that was quashed by the company which said that nothing could be further from the truth.

Around the World

This week has had other interesting events to talk about. For one, the debate around channelization in Sweden continues. ATG, a Swedish bookmaker, has warned that channelization rates continue to decline, as more and more punters are choosing the offshore market. This comes at a time when Sweden is discussing a possible tax hike, which could further lessen the competitiveness of regulated operators.

Speaking of offshore gambling sites, Australia continues to block access to operators that do not have a license in the country but may have offered their products locally. The Australian Communications and Media Authority blocked another eight sites this week, adding to a list of 945 names already.

A study by FairPlay Sports Media sought to understand what consumers think of sportsbooks in different countries. DraftKings and FanDuel were nominated as the most popular options for US players with DraftKings edging FanDuel by 4 percentile points (37%-33%) respectively.

Asked which was their favorite and most trusted bookmaker in the United Kingdom, players unanimously agreed that this was bet365, which was given 40% of the votes, compared to 16% for SkyBet, the second most-trusted bookmaker in the country.

Mindway AI has teamed up with Interwetten, a German bookmaker, to help the company strengthen its responsible gambling solutions. Mindway AI uses advanced software to make sure that partners can track consumer behavior in real-time and flag any abnormal spending, prompting a response from the operator and thus protecting vulnerable consumers.

The Scoop

In this week’s industry focus, we have caught up with several companies. We spoke with Fortuna Entertainment Group, which won the Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative at the Casino Guru Awards, with whom we discussed how the awards have motivated the company to seek and further strengthen the responsible gambling education and training for its employees, so that the group may continue to be a leader in the field.

We also caught up with the Voice of the People winner of the Casino Guru Awards, WinSpirit Casino which discussed the importance of cultivating a loyal customer base, who recognizes the brand and celebrates its successes. Not least, we had the chance to talk to BETCORE CMO Vlad Slyusarenko who discussed TV games and how they create a sense of fairness and instil trust among players.

In the meantime, the Prague Gaming & TECH Summit is fast approaching, and Hipther Agency shared a few insights about the upcoming events from some of its most prominent participants.

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