US gambling in focus, suppliers keep momentum

The US gambling landscape is changing rapidly, with plenty of interesting developments. After briefly reporting on DraftKings’ surcharge a week ago, we used the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the reasoning behind the move.

It’s arguably one of the most dramatic changes a mainstream sports betting operator in the United States has introduced, and it also served as a marketing pivot for other companies who vowed to not introduce such "surcharges."

Yet, DraftKings’ saga is hardly all there is to it. Lawmakers are all over the place these days, with several big developments on the legal front, and specifically in the United States.

As DraftKings is trying to navigate the tougher regulatory and tax regime, Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith have pitched a new proposal to eliminate the so-called federal sports betting excise tax of 0.25%.

The lawmakers argue that the tax has been unjustly suppressing the results of regulated sportsbooks and making it harder for them to compete against the offshore sector, which often avoids paying taxes altogether and can outprice regulated bookies. Yet, the economic impact is not quite clear.

The excise tax does contribute significant amounts to the federal budget, and scaping it altogether would have to come with the justification that the ensuing economic activity would generate bigger benefits than simply keeping the tax in place.

Democrat lawmakers are also trying to shut down what few betting exchanges there are in the United States, arguing that they undermine the sanctity of the elections.

However, it’s worth noting that exchanges that remain are strictly and heavily regulated, they can hardly lead to any significant commercial gain, and are mostly used by academics who are using them to track electoral trends and inform political science.

Online gambling and online spending trends

A survey by TransUnion has discovered that Millennials remain the most valuable group for sports betting businesses, as they tend to contribute the most money to betting, usually have the best credit score rating, and have plenty of disposable income.

The survey though did suggest that despite their well-to-do status many sports bettors from this group are actually delinquent on basic payments such as bills, loans, or child support and are far more likely to miss a payment than their non-betting peers.

Back in Europe, gambling spending has been inching up. The Danish market has seen people spend more on gambling, with gross gaming revenue in the month of June hitting DKK703m ($102.6m).

Online gambling has also been doing very well during the first half of the year in the United Kingdom, based on the UK’s latest data published by the regulator, the Gambling Commission.

Speaking of gambling and the industry, we also touched on an interesting topic in this week’s entertainment section – how many slots are in Las Vegas? Most estimates get it wrong, so we combed through the Nevada Gaming Control Board data to arrive at the exact (almost) slot machine number.

Licenses, responsible gambling, and expansions

Moving on, there have been other noteworthy news coming through. For example, Oddin.gg, a supplier of odds and tech for esports operators has obtained its license in West Virginia, with the company determined to push further into the market in the United States.

iGaming Ontario in the meantime has doubled down on its commitment to make gambling safer in the province, with the operator teaming up with Compliance 360 and IXUP to set up a new self-exclusion program designed to strengthen protection.

New Jersey has also issued one of its stiffest penalties to a gambling operator with bet365, a prominent local operator, ordered to reimburse $519,323.32 to players because the company has self-adjusted odds that were obviously "wrong," but failed to notify the state regulator, the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Meanwhile, SkillOnNet made a leap into the Peruvian iGaming market, securing a license from the local regulator and launching with PlayUZU. Peru has been a focal point for many operators, suppliers, and gambling businesses’ efforts in recent months.

Push Gaming has also reintroduced a beloved franchise, with Razor Ways a continuation of the game franchise about menacing sharp-toothed sharks. The new game has plenty of ways to win, awesome multi-tiered payouts, multipliers, free spins and more.

Entain has published its report for the first half-year, noting that the company is moving forward according to plan.

Although the report was not overly expanding and mostly used comparative percentages year-over-year, the EBITDA is slated to beat forecasts, loss has dropped, and the company seems to have moved past its most difficult spell involving internal revolt, regulatory action, and questionable acquisitions.

Award nominations and a close-up of the industry

Casino Guru has much to celebrate this week, as the company made it onto two awards ceremony shortlists. Casino Guru was shortlisted for the VIXIO Global Regulatory Awards 2024 in the Outstanding Contribution to Safer Gambling.

Similarly, Casino Guru was shortlisted for the SBC Awards 2024 under the Casino Affiliate of the Year.

Casino Guru News also had the opportunity to catch up with industry insiders. We spoke with Mancala Gaming's Chief Technology Officer, Evgeny Prozorov, with whom we discussed the company’s progressive network jackpot, and how the integration of such solutions can go smoothly and have an immediate business impact.

In the meantime, we also caught up with Nikita Golodaev, Evenbet Gaming’s Business Account Manager, who explores the key issues shaping the evolution of poker: the transformative changes within the game, the innovations impacting the market, the evolving regulatory landscape, and the anticipated challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the industry.

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