The soft launch for placing in-person sports bets was set for the end of this month, ahead of the Superbowl, and six operators are already in line, waiting to see if their applications for mobile sports betting licenses will be accepted.

Online Sports Betting Discussions

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is reconvening on January 3, and its 10 am public meeting/hearing will be focused on the six operators who have applied for an online sports betting license. The hearing will allow for anyone interested to provide input or comments on the operators and their applications. The review process will continue in the following days.

The applicants are Bally’s Interactive, LLC, Betfair Interactive US, LLC (the business name behind FanDuel); Betr Holdings, Inc.; Crown MA Gaming, LLC (the business name behind DraftKings); Digital Gaming Corporation USA, and PointsBet Massachusetts, LLC. Currently, however, only three brick-and-mortar casinos have licenses – Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino, and MGM Springfield.

Sports betting in Massachusetts has been developing heavily recently, with Encore Boston Harbor being the first casino to receive a sports betting license in the state’s history. MGM failed on the first attempt at taking that title but was later found suitable for a license as well. Plainridge soon followed suit, with Caesars eagerly awaiting developments on the mobile front.

Massachusetts Gambling Expansion

The mobile sports betting market in Massachusetts was scheduled to launch in March this year, with the license applications review process picking up where it left off from the very first workday of the new year. The road to getting a mobile sport betting implementation hasn’t been entirely a smooth ride, however, with some hurdles slowing down the process.

As it currently stands, the license applicants are looking at a $5 million bill if their application bids are approved. The licenses will be covering a 5-year period, at the end of which another application will be due, bringing with it the possibility to pay another $5 million bill if the operator is deemed suitable for license renewal.

Massachusetts was very active in its gambling expansion in 2022, and by the looks of the MGC’s meetings schedule and agendas, 2023 is going to bring more of the same. Sports betting is looking at being finalized soon, with a soft launch for in-person sports wagers scheduled for the end of January. There’s more on the to-do list, though.

With Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut, all having online poker regulated, and being relatively close to Massachusetts, speculation has been bubbling about whether the Bay State might be looking into it as well. However, the pressure from proximity to legalized gambling activities isn’t as high for mobile implementations, so this is pure speculation at this point.

Winning the lottery regardless of the amount brings excitement to everyone who gambles. Only recently, one lucky winner forgot their ticket in a shopping cart. Luckily, the ticket was uncovered by an honest man that now wants to return it to its owner.

Just after Christmas, Richard Haslop, an honest citizen living in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK, was visiting the famous grocery retail chain Tesco. This is when he saw a shopping cart that had multiple lottery tickets, as well as a cheque forgotten by a person named Barry Levett.

As an honest citizen, Haslop took the ticket and is now trying to find its owner. In a post on social media, Haslop revealed that the winning cheque was found in a trolley and that he wants to return it to the owner. Seeking at avoiding impostors, the man explained that he would give the tickets only to a person that can give a detailed description regarding the tickets.

“Cambridge folk – Anyone know a Barry Levett? – reason I ask is that my wife found a number of lottery tickets (which also included a winning cheque made out to Barry hence why we know a name) in a Tesco’s trolley and we wish to return to him,“

reads a statement released via social media by Richard Haslop

In a recent interview for ITV News Anglia, Haslop pointed out that there were a total of six lottery tickets in the shopping cart. The tickets from the National Lottery and Euro Lotto, he explained, were “all with a number of lines on them, and we found them in a trolley outside the store.” The man tried contacting customer services but due to a queue, he decided to go on social media and try to find the lucky owner of the tickets.

Although the sum of the winning cheque wasn’t disclosed, Haslop said that it was of “significant value.” Last but not least, the honest man said that he is sure that Barry, the lucky winner, would want this money in his account.

The taxation of gambling plays an important part in the regulation of the activity and raises invaluable revenue for local and country-wide initiatives. Currently, gambling operators in Macau pay a 35% tax on their gross gaming revenue. The operators are due to pay another 5% of their gross gaming revenue in the form of tax and help with different initiatives in the country. But besides taxes, the Macau SAR Government now secured a new stream of revenue by implementing new annual fees for casino floors.

Macau SAR Implements New Casino Floor Fees

Only recently, on December 31, 2022, the previous rules for gambling concessions expired. As of the start of 2023, a new type of fee was introduced for gambling operators which now have to “rent” back the casino floors, a report released by IAG reveals. This additional annual fee will be depending on the size of the casino floors. The cost per square meter will also be dependent on the years of concession and will undergo indexing.

Under the new 10-year concessions rules, the gambling operators will pay MOP$750 ($94) per square meter of their gambling floor space during the first three years. However, for year 2 and year 3, the charge may be increased based on Macau’s average price index. Then, for year 4, the fee per square meter will be changed to MOP$2,500 ($311) per square meter. After that, for the remaining period up to the 10th year, the fee per square meter may undergo similar indexation.

Government Hopes GGR, Visitation Will Increase in 2023

The government in Macau estimates that gambling gross gaming revenue may hit MOP$130 billion ($16.2 billion) this year. If that happens, proceeds from gambling are expected to hit MOP$52 billion ($6.5 billion), delivering a solid cash injection for the government’s coffers. Still, whether or not this will happen remains uncertain, considering that in 2022, Macau’s GGR plummeted by 50%. Last year, Macau posted a GGR of MOP$42.2 billion ($5.3 billion), marking a 51.4% decrease when compared to the GGR reported a year earlier, in 2021. What’s more, the revenue last year marked the worst figure for Macau since 2004.

Without any doubt, the GGR result was impacted negatively by uncertain regulations as well as sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks. A decline in traveling and tourist visitation also contributed to the result. Still, in hopes for a better future, Macau officials said they hope to see an uptick in visitation. The head of Macau’s Government Tourism Office, Maria Helene de Senna Fernandes, recently acknowledged that the SAR expects to see an average of 40,000 daily visitors this year.

After announcing a series of changes that would help it comply with Macau’s gaming regulation upgrades at the beginning of December, Las Vegas Sands’ Macau-located arm, Sands China Ltd, has prepared a discretionary allowance for 23,000 of its employees. All eligible full-time staff members will receive the payment on January 18 as a token of appreciation for their hard work and dedication shown in 2022.  

99% of Employees to Receive a Discretionary Allowance or a Sales Incentive 

Sands China has announced that the discretionary allowance will be the equivalent of one month’s salary and that it will reach over 23,000 of its eligible employees. Other workers may benefit from the sales incentive scheme of the company that renewed its brand licensing agreement for three more years, starting January 1, 2023. The fresh licensing agreement will expire on December 31, 2025, and it will cost the company $377 million divided into three installments representing $114 million in 2023, $125 million in 2024, and the rest of $138 million in 2025.

In total, 99% of all staff members will be rewarded for their “dedication and contributions in 2022.” The company has not made the total amount of the benefits public. For several years, staff members have benefitted from additional payments from Macau operators at calendar New Year or Chinese New Year. The incentives, however, were never tied to the actual economic performance of the respective gaming operators.

Ongoing Support for Macau

Sands China’s president and executive director Dr. Wilfred Wong Ying Wai spoke about the way the company has proved its ongoing support for the popular gambling destination “through good times and difficult times”. He also expressed their dedication to driving economic diversification while completing their corporate responsibility of giving back to the community.

In spite of the slight revenue rebound triggered by the VIP sector and the slow recovery of the gaming market after the lifting of the zero-Covid policy, Sands China reported a wider revenue loss during the third quarter of 2022 when compared to the April-June 2022 period. In December, the same Macau-based resort developer announced the restructuring of the share capital of subsidiary Venetian Macau Ltd. The decision was made in order to prepare the company for its fresh ten-year gaming license. According to Macau’s new gaming law, all gaming concessions need to have a minimum share capital of MOP$5 billion ($630 million). Their managing directors must also be permanent residents of the province and they must hold a minimum of 15% of the companies’ minimum share capital amount.

Texas is one of the US states that have strict laws when it comes to gambling and the activity is in fact illegal in the state. Placing monetary wagers on any game that involves dice, cards or machines such as slots is forbidden. However, a loophole related to poker enabled a statewide expansion of the activity.

Poker in Texas: Not Entirely Illegal

To operate in Texas, poker rooms collect membership fees. At the same time, the locations benefit from offering beverages and food to their patrons, as well as from receiving tips. This enables poker rooms to operate in a bit of a gray area because they do organize games for real money but do not take a cut from the winnings and charge a members’ fee instead.

The loophole in the gambling regulation enabled the establishment of poker businesses around Texas in Austin, Houston and Dallas. However, a legal battle challenging the operation of poker rooms in Dallas may result in thousands of dollars spent on lawsuits, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Legal Fight Expected to Surpass Half a Million

Back in 2020, Dallas city officials greenlighted the opening of Texas Card House and Shuffle 214, two new poker businesses. At the time, the officials believed that the operation of those businesses wasn’t in breach of the state’s gambling regulations. Overall, there were a total of three poker businesses in Dallas at the time.

In an unfortunate turn of events for the operators, city officials reevaluated their decision to allow poker gambling in 2021. As a result, the three poker businesses were deemed illegal as the city decided to revoke their certificates of occupancy. At the same time, Dallas city officials decided to stop issuing such certificates, preventing other poker businesses from opening doors.

Consequently, a legal battle began which may surpass more than half a million in legal fees. After the revocation of their license, Texas Card House and Shuffle 214 owners challenged the decisions in front of the Board of Adjustment. Surprisingly, the Board of Adjustment ruled in favor of the two poker businesses claiming that they secured their certification through a legal way.

Now, according to the latest report, Dallas is facing a dilemma about whether or not to spend some $600,000 in the legal battle against poker businesses. Soon, the city is due to take a decision on whether or not to increase the sum designated for those legal challenges.

After being increased multiple times, the budget for the aforementioned legal challenges may grow exponentially. Chad West, a City Council member and an attorney supported delaying the vote to increase the money for the legal challenges. He claimed that spending hundreds of thousands of the taxpayers’ money is a lot for a “relatively simple legal question.”

After announcing he would resign from his position as chief executive officer at Rush Street Interactive in January 2022, casino industry veteran Greg Carlin has announced a fresh project up his sleeve. The new casino startup is called G2 Gaming, LLC and will rely on Carlin’s two and a half decades of experience in the field to pursue “endless opportunity across the gaming spectrum”.

G2 Gaming – 150+ Years of Combined Experience in the Industry

Created with the help of a skilled and knowledgeable team of casino industry veterans, the new casino startup will summon more than 150 combined years of online and brick-and-mortar casino expertise. G2 Gaming will focus on both land-based and digital verticals in the casino world. Carlin, who will take on the position of chief executive officer, will use his knowledge in casino management, development, and investment to see the next-generation casino company succeed. 

The startup aims to bring “the latest technologies and experiences to the land-based and iGaming casino environments”, while on a clear mission to create state-of-the-art customer engagement experiences. This will be achieved by connecting online technology with top brick-and-mortar technology and delivering “innovative and memorable patron experiences”.

An “Exciting Time” for the Industry

G2 Gaming’s new CEO called it an “exciting time” for the industry to keep evolving, describing the entrepreneurial spirit as “alive and well”. He also mentioned the emerging jurisdictions that reunite online and the recalibration of currently existing gaming markets in an attempt to keep up with the ongoing changes. Carlin explained that all these changes are endless types of opportunities in the online and physical casino industry.

From his position as CEO for Rush Street Gaming, Carlin was busy supervising the growth of several land casino projects for mixed-use located in Canada and the US. The list includes four Rivers Casino venues in Schenectady, New York, Des Plaines, Illinois, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, Philadelphia. Each of these properties which exceeded a total of $3 billion in investments turned into market leaders in their locations while being voted as top workplaces by team members. Carlin also co-founded Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and filled in the CEO position for the company created in 2012. RSI went public eight years later, turning into a top online casino and sports betting company in the US and Latin America. In August 2021, Carlin, together with two other RSI executives, Neil Bluhm and Richard Schwartz, received the Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 Midwest Award. 

Africa’s gambling market is the fastest-growing in the world. Many high-profile operators have already taken notice of the untapped opportunities and have invested significantly in the area, hoping to establish an early presence. However, many African countries are still rife with poverty, meaning a lack of effective regulation often hurts the most vulnerable parts of society.

Ineffective Regulations Endanger the Most Vulnerable

Developing African countries have become an increasingly lucrative target for sportsbooks in the last few years. A growing middle class with increased disposable income and the area’s prevalent sports betting culture make it a veritable gold mine for savvy operators. High-profile companies like Betway, Bet365, Bet9ja, and eBet have flocked en masse to the continent, often relying on celebrity partnerships to secure an advantage.

While thriving sports betting market can be a boon to a country’s economy, it depends substantially on effective and strictly enforced regulations. Unfortunately, many African governments are unable or unwilling to implement and uphold a proper regulatory authority. This fact leaves a lot of vulnerable and financially struggling individuals without any protection from unscrupulous businesses.

Stories of gambling addiction and its consequences are becoming commonplace in many African nations. A recent case in Uganda saw a government official lose $1,800 meant for a polio immunization campaign on sports betting. In a country with an annual income per capita less than $1,000, many view gambling as one of the only ways to get out of poverty, only to eventually become even more destitute.

Several Countries Are Making Slow Progress

Ugandan analyst Reagan Wamajji from the Center for Policy Analysis expressed growing concern over the spread of sports betting and its effect on youth. In a country where more and more people turn towards gambling to cover their daily needs, a lack of regulation puts disadvantaged individuals even more at risk.

“There have to be deliberate campaigns against gambling. However, it is such a lucrative business that meaningful reforms might be hard to push.”

Reagan Wamajji, Center for Policy Analysis researcher

An outright ban on sports betting would likely have disastrous results, as it has become a deeply ingrained part of society. Recent statistics showed that 61% of Africans planned to wager on the World Cup matches, and almost two-thirds (64%) of the respondents have placed a bet in the past twelve months, predominantly those from Kenya and Ghana, with 68% and 60%, respectively.

Some African governments have taken heed of the growing sports betting issues and started implementing reforms. In April, Ugandan lawmakers proposed a bill to restrict sports betting activities between 5 PM and 2 AM. Zimbabwe likewise approved amendments to its gambling legislation to introduce greater control and accountability. While often slow and ponderous, the region as a whole is making at least limited progress toward effective regulation.