Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (GLPI), the NASDAQ-listed company that acquires, finances, and owns real estate property leased to operators as part of triple-net lease arrangements has published its results for Q4 and year-ended December 31, 2022. The company’s board also established its first-quarter dividend for 2023 while introducing its guidance for the new year in a complex report.

Q4 Results “Highlight the Durability” of GLPI’s Rental Streams 

As stated by the company’s chief executive officer and chairman Peter Carlino, GLPI finished 2022 with record results for Q4 as well as increased dividends thanks to their “deep, long-term knowledge of the gaming sector” and the durability of their rental streams. Together, these allowed the company to keep expanding and diversifying its database of tenants, reach new markets, and constantly grow its rental streams. 

Carlino also emphasized the important role of their sealed agreements with Bally’s Corporation and The Cordish Companies announced at the end of 2021 and in 2022 in the record numbers presented in their new report. 

Accordingly, in its new report, GLPI recorded total revenue of $336.4 million in the three months that ended December 31, 2022, compared to $298.3 million in the same quarter that ended December 31, 2021, marking a 12.7% growth. The company also reported $1.3 billion in total revenue for 2022 compared to $1.2 billion in the previous year. 

The income from operations recorded for the whole year in 2022 reached the $1.02 billion mark, signaling a 22% growth on a YoY basis from $841.8. The Q4 numbers for the same income from operations recorded a rise of close to 35% from $204.4 million to $275.5 million. The net income for the year ended December 31, 2022, was $703.3 million compared to $534.1 million at the end of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA in 2022 reached $1.22 billion from $1.09 billion in 2021. 

Growth Expected to Continue in 2023

The company predicted that its continued efforts to grow will carry on in 2023 while expressing its trust in the capacities of its relationships with important gaming operators, expansion initiatives, and power to structure and support innovative transactions at highly competitive rates.

By harnessing the strength of its tenants aligned with its liquidity and balance sheet, GLPI hopes to keep growing its cash flows while building more value for its shareholders in the current year and beyond.

The company has already announced a value of $0.72 per share on the common stock earlier in the week while setting the special earnings and profit dividend at $0.25 per share in relation to the sale of the Tropicana Las Vegas venue. 

According to its 2023 Guidance, GLPI estimates its adjusted funds from operations for the year ending December 31, 2023, will range between $980 million and $997 million. The company also gave an estimate for diluted share or units of limited partnership interest in the operating partnership of between $3.61 and $3.67.

The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), confirmed Friday that it has decided to suspend the membership of the Russian Federation. The watchdog confirmed that the country remains accountable for its implementation of FATF Standards and must meet its financial obligations.

Despite the decision, the FATF confirmed that the Russian Federation will continue to be an active member of the Eurasian Group on Money Laundering (EAG) and at the same time keep its rights as such a member. The FATF vowed to continue to monitor the topic and reassess, lift or modify restrictions during future Plenary meetings depending on changes within the vertical.

“The FATF strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Over the past year, the Russian Federation has intensified its inhumane and brutal attacks targeting critical public infrastructure,”

explains a statement released by the FATF

Back on February 20, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale military invasion against Ukraine, an action that was classified by the FATF as an “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion.” The financial watchdog acknowledged the devastating impact of the invasion that brought an unprecedented loss of lives and destruction in the country, saying that the Russian Federation continues with its “brutal attack on Ukraine.”

“The Russian Federation’s actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system,“

added the FATF

The military invasion, according to the FATF, is against its principles for a global financial system that is safe and secure. “They also represent a gross violation of the commitment to international cooperation and mutual respect upon which FATF Members have agreed to implement and support the FATF Standards,” added the watchdog. The FATF urged all jurisdictions to be on the lookout for any safety, security and integrity threats to the global financial system that may arise from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Gibraltar Continues to Be a Part of FATF’s Grey List

Coinciding with the announcement about the Russian Federation, the FATF confirmed that Gibraltar, a famous gaming jurisdiction, remains on its increased monitoring list, also known as the grey list.

Gibraltar was added to the watchdog’s list last summer. This coincided with the removal of Malta from the grey list. Remaining part of the list means that the country will be under increased monitoring by the FATF and will continue to collaborate with the watchdog to resolve “strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.”

Gaming and betting technology supplier Betby announced a change within its executive team as former Chief Sportsbook Officer, Sergey Tsukanov, assumed the role of Chief Product Officer.

New Challenges Ahead

The appointment of Tsukanov as Chief Product Officer for Betby will see the company’s former sportsbook executive extend his position and influence within the business, assuming the responsibility to provide oversight for Betby’s Risk Management and Trading functions.

Commenting on his new role within the business, Tsukanov expressed how excited he felt at the opportunity “to take new challenges and drive even greater success” for the company he had been working for in the past few years.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve in an expanded capacity and look forward to working with everyone to build on our past successes and drive future growth,” he said.

As Chief Product Officer, Tsukanov will be based at one of the company’s offices – in Riga, Latvia – and will be expected to leverage his industry experience and help the business to pursue its strategy and achieve its objectives.

Tsukanov joined Malta-headquartered Betby in July 2008 as Head of Sportsbook and spent more than four years perfecting the role before being promoted to Chief Sportsbook Officer now.

Trial and Error in His Early Career

Tsukanov, who holds an Engineer Diploma in Applied Mathematics from the Moscow State University of Instrument Engineering and Informatics, now part of the Moscow University of Technology, began his career in February 2010, when he assumed the role of Live Trader with betting operator Liga Stavok.

Based in the Russian capital, Moscow, Tsukanov stayed in the role until October 2016, gaining more than six years of betting industry experience with the leading Russian bookmaker.

After ten months on the sidelines, his career resumed in August 2017 with the sports betting affiliate FortunaLive, where he assumed the role of Head of Trading but stayed with the company for just four months.

After the short stay with Ukrainian-based FortunaLive, Tsukanov remained unemployed for eight months and in search of his next career move, until he finally joined Betby in 2018 where his career began to flourish.

In January, Betby opened a new office in Montenegro to expand its geographical footprint and operational capabilities. Located in Budva, the modern facility marked the tech supplier’s second European office, besides its headquarters in Sliema, Malta, and has the capacity to expand further and meet future scaling personnel needs of the business.

The development also marked an encouraging start to the new year for the company which managed to double its headcount to more than 80 people in 2022.

L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), France’s gambling authority, wants operators to reduce the gross gaming revenue (GGR) they make from problem gamblers. Echoing Kindred’s Journey To Zero initiative, the French regulator hopes to implement a similar safer gambling initiative on a national scale.

The ANJ claims that it is imperative to solve what it believes to be the biggest danger to the French gambling industry. According to the regulator, companies should do more to lower the income they receive from excessive gamblers or minor players. Statistics from 2019 demonstrated that 38.3% of GGR comes from problem gamblers, out of which 20.7% comes from excessive gamblers.

The initiative comes as France continues to struggle with high problem and underage gambling rates. According to L’Observatoire des Jeux, there were around 1.4 million at-risk players in 2020, 400,000 of which were problem gamblers.

Furthermore, while underage gambling is illegal, it is a grim reality. According to OFTD’s latest EnClass study from 2021, between one in four college students claimed to have already gambled at least once that year. Another study conducted by the SEDAP had a whopping 34.8% of minor respondents say they are active gamblers.

Licensees Must Do Better

The ANJ hopes to drastically reduce the money operators have taken from problem gamblers in 2022 and told its licensees to take immediate and definitive action to improve their practices. The regulator outlined a few criteria, ordering companies to make improvements in four categories.

The regulator told licensees to improve their underage gambling prevention protocols and protect minors from the dangers of gambling harm. Operators will therefore have to communicate to players that only adults are allowed to play and check user IDs.

Gambling companies will also have to modify their measures concerning the detection of excessive players and take action once such customers are identified. Better monitoring systems will help operators prevent problem gambling. Diversification of the problem player support measures will also lower risks, the ANJ said.

In addition, companies will have to examine their games and be careful with offerings that might appeal to minors. Operators might have to reevaluate their portfolios and avoid games of addictive character.

Lastly, gambling companies should make sure to better inform clients of the dangers of excessive gambling, while making sure to promote responsible gambling tools to their clients. The ANJ also asked companies to include detailed information about the chances of winning or losing.

Licensees must provide the ANJ with an update on their results in reducing the GGR they take from excessive gamblers. At a later date, the ANJ will publish a practical guide on the identification and support of problem gamblers. The guide will be consulted with various stakeholders before being published.

Sports betting and gaming operator BetMGM announced that its marketing and advertising campaigns will feature responsible gaming messages starting from March 1.

Responsible Gaming Messaging

The brand co-owned by MGM Resorts and Entain will align with the Problem Gambling Awareness Month initiative by introducing responsible gaming messages within its mobile app and across all advertising channels.

“As the legalized sports betting and online gaming industry continues to expand, it is vital that we not only equip players with tools and resources for how to play in a responsible and safe manner but that we also make a significant commitment to showcasing responsible gaming in our advertising,” commented BetMGM’s CEO Adam Greenblatt.

Developed in partnership with GameSense, responsible gaming messages will appear on physical billboards, prints and on-property signage within BetMGM Sportsbooks in the US and Canada, as well as on television, radio and BetMGM’s digital and social platforms.

GameSense’s integration with BetMGM’s digital platforms allows the gaming operator to provide its customers with spending limit tools, information about the basic rules of gambling and access to highly trained GameSense Advisors, essentially guaranteeing the same experience GameSense ensures for them at MGM Resorts properties nationwide.

Moving in the Right Direction

The president and CEO of MGM Resorts, Bill Hornbuckle, and the CEO of Entain, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, also commented on the announcement, highlighting the importance of responsible gaming for both the industry and its consumers.

“With the continued growth of sports betting and iGaming, it’s imperative that our industry remain committed to supporting the best interests of our guests and customers,” said Hornbuckle, commending BetMGM for their commitment to responsible gaming.

“Technology is the key enabler in providing a safety net for our customers [and] building these tools with GameSense into the BetMGM platform is the best way forward,” said Nygaard-Andersen, reiterating Entain’s commitment to providing the safest gambling platforms.

The launch of responsible gaming messaging represents a significant step forward for BetMGM and the gambling industry in the US as it continues to grow but it is just the beginning of a process that requires continuous efforts to progress and evidence to step on, underscoring the essential role of research to tackling problem gambling.

To support research-based evidence and ensure the highest level of protection for players across the country, BetMGM partnered with the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) in November and provided a $180,000 grant to support the organization’s objective of educating people about the threat posed by problem gambling, the role of gambling advertising and best responsible gaming practices.