The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced that Tom Mungham, its current registrar and chief executive officer, has decided to retire from his current roles this fall. The regulator will now look out for a suitable replacement with the help of an executive search firm.
In the meantime, Mungham will continue serving as registrar and CEO until his successor has been appointed. Even then, he will remain with the company for a while longer to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Mungham Contributed a Lot to the AGCO
Mungham has worked in the public service sector for the past 33 years. Prior to his tenure at the AGCO, the man worked in the Ministries of Correctional Services and Solicitor General. He was later admitted into the Ontario Provincial Police, which he served in many capacities. Thanks to his hard work, Mungham was appointed honorary superintendent in 2016.
The public service veteran joined the Ontarian gambling regulator in 2006. At first, he served as its director of licensing and registration before being promoted to chief operating officer. In 2020, Mungham was finally named the authority’s registrar and CEO.
During his time at the AGCO, Mungham was an exemplary leader who helped the regulator with many regulatory modernization initiatives. He was instrumental in many such initiatives such as the modernization and expansion of land-based casinos, the regulation of OLG lotteries, the expansion of charity gambling and the merger of the Ontario Racing Commission and the AGCO. He also played a role in the introduction of beer, wine and cider sales in grocery stores and the introduction of Ontario’s private cannabis retail framework.
The AGCO Team Thanked Mungham for His Exceptional Work
Mungham’s latest endeavor was overseeing the launch and regulation of Ontario’s fresh iGaming market. The Canadian province launched online gaming last year. Thanks to Mungham and the AGCO’s hard work, the Ontarian regulated framework received the International Association of Gaming Regulators’ Regulatory Excellence Award in 2022.
Mungham supported the regulator’s diversity, inclusion and accessibility efforts, thanks to which the AGCO is currently implementing a long-term DI&A strategy.
Lalit Aggarwal, the AGCO’s chair, thanked Mungham for his “tremendous contributions” to the AGCO. Aggarwal praised the outgoing CEO’s exceptional qualities as a leader and wished him all the best.
We extend him our deepest appreciation for his guidance in fulfilling AGCO’s mandate with unwavering commitment to the values of integrity, respect, accountability, and public interest. We wish him the very best for this next, well-earned chapter.
Lalit Aggarwal, chair, AGCO
In other news, Ontario continues to see attempts at illegal betting despite launching licensed iGaming.
On March 9, 3 Oaks Gaming, a fast-growing iGaming distributor based in Douglas, Isle of Man, released Dragon Wealth, one more installment in its lineup of online slots enhanced with the exciting Hold and Win game mechanic.
The provider’s previous Hold and Win hits include Sunlight Princess, Sticky Piggy and Green Chilli.
This latest slot entices players to travel to the Far East, discover ancient Chinese culture and join an epic adventure.
Outstanding visual:
True to its title, the main theme of the game is Asian culture, specifically Chinese culture. The red-colored background of the game shows trees, silhouettes of Chinese mountains and historical Pagoda buildings.
To win, players must form a combination of at least 3 matching symbols that appear next to one of the 25 win lines on the new, dynamic 5×4 grid.
The basic low-value symbols are the A-J card ranks, while the high-value bonus symbols are frogs, lions, trees and an ascending order of gold coins. A combination of 5-of-a-kind low or high-value symbols is worth 2x to 8x a player’s bet.
However, there are Wilds, aka Dragons, and they are key symbols in the game. Furthermore, they can replace any regular symbol in winning combinations. In addition, their combination is worth up to 15x a player’s bet.
The game’s volatility is in the high range, with a below-average RTP of 95.61% and a maximum win of 5,000x a player’s bet. The game can be played on any device.
Slot features:
Hold and Win respins feature – this is the most important feature of the game. To access it, players need cash symbols, aka gold coins. They always show random bet multiplier values that are between 0,5x to 15x, and if 6 or more land at the same time, the feature is activated.
Upon activation, players move to special reels, where only bonus symbols and Multipliers are available and where players are rewarded with 3 Respins to begin.
As soon as they start, the triggering symbols are locked in place and all bonus symbols become sticky throughout the respins. When a new symbol appears on the reels, it holds its position for as long as the feature lasts, and resets the number of respins to 3.
This further causes the Multiplier symbols to be collected and added to the meter on top of the corresponding reel they land on. Multiplier symbol values range from 2x to 10x and are added to any cash values on that reel at the end of the feature.
Beside cash values, some of the bonus symbols can reward one of 4 Jackpots such as Mini, Minor, Major and Grand individually worth 20x, 50x, 100x and 5,000x the stake.
Free Spins- a combination of 3 or more Scatters, landing on the reels on the same spin, activates this feature. At the start of a round, players get up to 15 Free Spins, which work just like in the base game.
However, there is one big difference – Wilds now have Multipliers and their number depends on the number of Scatters that activated the feature.
3 Scatters – 2x Multiplier Wilds;
4 Scatters – 3x Multiplier Wilds;
5 Scatters – 5x Multiplier Wilds.
Commenting on the launch, Sebastian Damian, Managing Director of 3 Oaks Gaming, said: “Dragon Wealth sees us take our popular Hold and Win mechanic and significantly boost it with massive multipliers that can bring players huge wins.
“It is a hallmark of our portfolio that every game adds new elements of innovative and immersion, and Dragon Wealth is another stellar example of this.”
The gambling regulatory authority in the Netherlands, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), announced it imposed a hefty fine against Hillside New Media Malta, a Bet365 company, operating currently in the country. Details regarding the €400,000 ($373,600) regulatory penalty against the operator emerged Friday. Upon announcing the sanction, the KSA claimed that the operator breached the rules related to advertising to young adults.
Per the current Dutch regulatory framework, advertising targeting young adults, aged 18 to 24 is prohibited. Keeping in mind that this target audience is yet to mature, the law restricts gambling operators from engaging in such advertising. A prime reason for this restriction is that young adults can be vulnerable to easily developing a gambling addiction.
“The brains of young people are still developing. As a result, they are extra vulnerable to developing gambling addiction. Gaming providers must fully respect the rules intended to protect vulnerable groups,“
reads a statement released by the KSA
The new fine comes after the KSA probed into Hillside’s operations. According to the regulator, young adults, aged 18 to 24, registered with the company between October 26, 2021, and February 1, 2022, were contacted with ads offering bonuses. Considering the existing regulations, the KSA said that such interactions are prohibited and therefore enforced the €400,000 ($373,600) fine. At the same time, the regulator noted that this is the third fine imposed against an operator due to advertising to young people.
“The KSA found that Hillside had directed advertisements and bonuses to young adults (18-24-year-olds) registered with Hillside in the period from October 26, 2021 to February 1, 2022. That is prohibited. This is the third fine for a permit holder for advertising aimed at young people,“
explained the KSA
A Busy Period for the KSA
The latest fine against Hillside comes after last week, the KSA introduced another financial penalty against Gammix. According to the regulator, the company offered its services to Dutch customers without the necessary license. That breach dated back to last year but the operator was given a chance to remedy the situation. Since no remedial action was taken by Gammix, the KSA ordered the company to pay a €4,410,000 ($4.7 million) fine.
Before that, earlier in March, the KSA announced fines against five operators surpassing $27 million. The regulator said that the fine comes after it uncovered that the operators offered their services without a license for the Dutch market.
Despite its charitable work for the war effort, Parimatch has been sanctioned by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, forcing the company to shut up shop in its home country. The sportsbook is just one of 287 gambling-linked legal entities sanctioned by Ukraine, in addition to 120 individuals.
President Zelensky signed Decree No. 145/2023 to set the sanctions, announced on Friday by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
financed various Russian schemes.”
In a statement, Zelensky said that the sanctioned individuals and organizations “through gambling business schemes, worked against Ukraine, withdrew funds from our state and financed various Russian schemes.”
The other sanctioned legal entities include Betcity, Bet.Ru, Leo Financial Company, Sportbet, Sportloto, PokerMatch UA, and Matchbet. The duration of the sanctions imposed on Parimatch and the other firms is 50 years.
Parimatch pulls the plug
Expanding on the decision to issue sanctions, Zelensky said it had taken some time to come to the resolution, but it had “been thoroughly worked out and:
closes schemes worth tens of billions.”
State enforcers have blocked Parimatch’s website in Ukraine in accordance with the sanctions, which industry observers expect will have a significant impact on the betting and lottery industry in Ukraine.
According to UKrinform.net on Monday, Parimatch has now suspended its operations in the country. The company said its next step will be to provide refunds to clients who it claims will all receive their balances in full. The operator is also looking for a legal mechanism to repay all debts.
A charitable firm
Parimatch — who’s co-CEOs Syrotian and Maksym Liashko are from Ukraine — previously made significant contributions to the war effort in Ukraine. The company’s charitable work included supplying medical equipment, supporting veterans, and contributing to the building of military barracks.
At the end of 2022, Parimatch confirmed its foundation had raised more than $500,000 in support for the humanitarian effort in Ukraine.
In March last year, Parimatch also used its advertising space with Premier League partner clubs such as Chelsea FC to show support for Ukraine. The advertising space showcased the tag line “The World is Against War” with the hashtag #StandForUkraine.
The post Parimatch Sanctioned by Ukraine President Zelensky Despite Charitable Work for War Effort appeared first on VegasSlotsOnline News.
CT Interactive, a company that develops and supplies games for online casinos, has announced a new distribution agreement with GrooveGaming, an expert iGaming aggregator. As agreed, the former company will supply the latter with its premium iGaming portfolio.
Under the agreement, CT Interactive’s suite of games will become available to GrooveGaming clients. The Bulgarian casino supplier boasts a library of over 200 unique titles, each featuring exciting mechanics, engaging features and excellent math models. CT Interactive’s games have varied themes, helping its content appeal to a wide range of players.
The current deal between CT Interactive and GrooveGaming was finalized during ICE London 2023, the biggest annual gaming industry convention.
GrooveGaming Clients Are Sure to Appreciate CT Interactive’s Diverse Games
The partnership was welcomed by the two companies’ leadership. CT Interactive’s head of business development for the EMEA region, Milena Tsankarska, addressed the deal in a new statement. She lauded GrooveGaming as a reputable company that has cemented itself as a top platform for casino content.
Because of that, Tsankarska is happy to join forces with the aggregator and provide it with the best games CT Interactive has to offer.
We are very happy that our content will become available for more clients worldwide, and we plan to continue supplying the platform with our new games.
Milena Tsankarska, head of business development EMEA, CT Interactive
Yahale Meltzer, GrooveGaming’s co-founder and chief operating officer, also commented on the agreement. He praised CT Interactive’s products for their high quality and applauded the company for its diverse content. Meltzer concluded that he is certain GrooveGaming’s customers will appreciate the variety of content that CT Interactive will bring.
We are sure that our customers would appreciate the diversity of their content and enjoy the new games.
Yahale Meltzer, COO, GrooveGaming
Other Recent Developments Involving the Two Companies
The agreement follows other developments for CT Interactive. A few days ago, the content provider expanded its presence in Italy thanks to an agreement with the Italian operator Slot Plus. This launch was important for the supplier which was proud that its portfolio was accepted in the Italian gaming market.
In February, CT Interactive also penned an agreement with QTech Games. This agreement was also negotiated during ICE London 2023 and will see the companies collaborate in Asia, Europe, LATAM and Africa.
Last year, GrooveGaming sealed a major content deal with the Georgia-based gaming studio SmartSoft. The latter company considered this deal a privilege as it was excited to grow its global footprint with GrooveGaming.
Brazilian star Allan “allan sheik” Mello was one of many online poker tournament players celebrating this weekend, with Mello taking down the a $1,050 buy-in freezeout that was part of the PokerStars Bounty Builder Series.
Dozens of household names, including Andras “probirs” Nemeth and Team PokerStars’ Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis found themselves in the winner’s enclosure, having triumphed in high stakes PokerStars tournaments, to give their bankrolls a serious boost.
Mello’s victory came in the Bounty Builder Series #73, a $1,050 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max High Roller freezeout. Some 207 players bought in and created a $207,000 prize pool.
The nine-handed final table was littered with top-tier professionals, although it lost one when Andrey “Anjeyyyy” Novak bowed out early into proceedings. Finland’s “realshisjiii” and Brazilian “MatheusMocci” joined Novak on the rail before “25264556” and “AcidValue” crashed out, leaving only four players in contention for the title of champion.
Kelvin Kerber crashed out in third
Those four became three with the elimination of Stevan “random_chu” Chew, then two after Kelvin “Kelvin_FP:AR” Kerber was relieved of his stack. Heads-up saw Mello stand toe-to-toe with |gammiil€120| of Montenegro. Mello finished his opponent, and reeled in a $42,170 score.
Bounty Builder Series 73: $1,050 NLHE 8-Max High Roller Freezeout Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Bounties
Prize
Total Prize
1
Allan “allan sheik” Mello
Brazil
$24,398
$17,772
$42,170
2
lgammiil€120l
Montenegro
$7,398
$17,772
$25,170
3
Kelvin “Kelvin_FP:AR” Kerber
Brazil
$6,734
$11,659
$18,393
4
Stevan “random_chu” Chew
Indonesia
$4,625
$8,858
$13,483
5
AcidValue
Montenegro
$5,906
$6,730
$12,636
6
25264556
Switzerland
$625
$5,114
$5,739
7
MatheusMocci
Brazil
$2,687
$3,885
$6,572
8
realshisjii
Finland
$3,875
$2,952
$6,827
9
Andrey “Anjeyyy” Novak
Ukraine
$1,375
$2,506
$3,881
Multiple $1M GTD Events Scheduled for Returning PokerStars Bounty Builder Series
MakuFz and Yan Chop the Titans Event
David Yan finished second after a heads-up deal netted him more than $84K
The $5,200 Titans event saw 75 high-rolling PokerStars players take to the virtual felt and create a $375,000 prize pool. As you would expect, a tournament of this magnitude attracts the biggest names in the business, and nine of those elite grinders navigated their way to the nine-handed final table.
Just as he had done in the $1,050 NLHE 8-Max Freezeout Bounty Builder Series event, Andrey “Anjeyyyy” Novak busted in ninth place in this tournament. Austrian “CherryOnTop” and Brazil’s Rodrigo “seijistar” Seiji Sirichuk followed suit, before Juan “Malaka$tyle” Pardo, and “roo_400” saw their tournaments end prematurely.
“Gogac sniper” was shot down in fourth, and heads-up was set when Jans “Graftekkel” Arends busted in third. Arends’ untimely demise left David “MissOracle” Yan and “MakuFz” heads-up for the title and the lion’s share of the prize pool. The heads-up duo struck a deal that saw Yan collected $84,936, and MakuFz bank $92,090 and the title of champion.
$5,200 Titans Event Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
MakuFz
Estonia
$92,090*
2
David “MissOracle” Yan
New Zealand
$84,936*
3
Jans “Graftekkel” Arends
Austria
$56,782
4
Gogac sniper
Austria
$42,529
5
roo_400
Canada
$31,854
6
Juan “Malaka$tyle” Pardo
Andorra
$23,859
7
Rodrigo “seijistar” Sirichuk
Brazil
$17,870
8
CherryOnTop
Austria
$13,385
9
Andrey “Anjeyyyy” Novak
Ukraine
$11,691
*reflects a heads-up deal
PokerStars and Oracle Red Bull Racing Continue Partnership
Other PokerStars Highlights
Andras “probirs” Nemeth became a Bounty Builder Series champion, while Team PokerStars’ popular Dutchman Lex “L. Velduis” Veldhuis won the $1,050 Sunday Warm-Up. There was also a victory for Michael “imluckbox” Addamo in the $1,050 Sunday Supersonic.
Tournament
Entrants
Prize Pool
Champion
Prize
$530 Bounty Builder Series 70-H
712
$356,000
tmavrodiev
$56,944*
$109 Bounty Builder Series 69
2,545
$254,500
Mairam “marjanko89” Kim
$29,531*
$109 Bounty Builder Series 68
1,870
$187,000
Andras “probirs” Nemeth
$23,695*
$109 Sunday Fenomeno
1,393
$139,300
ShipTheFliip
$21,591
$1,050 Sunday Supersonic
60
$60,951
Michael “imluckbox” Addamo
$18,939
$1,050 Sunday Warm Up
52
$52,000
Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis
$16,157
*includes bounty payments
ukrLaci Wins Big as $100K Mystery Bounty Beats Guarantee
Over at 888poker,“ukrLaci” padded their bankroll with an impressive $12,300 after being the last player standing in the $35,000 Sunday Big Shot 525. The Ukraininan topped an 82-strong field, and won more than a quarter of the $41,000 prize pool.
The champion defeated 888poker regular “Destroyer300” heads-up, resigning the Lithuanian runner-up to an $8,200 consolation prize. Other finalists that are always grinding 888poker’s biggest tournaments included Finnish star “wellyxx” and Canadian “algsxr.” The finished sixth and ninth for $2,337 and $1,476, respectively.
While this tournament was concluding, the latest $100,000 guaranteed Mystery Bounty Main Event was whittling its field towards the final table. Some 1,071 players bought in, ensuring another guarantee-topping prize pool, with “freeeeeeeeak” being one of the biggest winners so far after pulling out a $10,000 bounty before busting in 190th place.
The $100,000 Mystery Bounty Main Event wraps up on March 13, and PokerNews will have a full recap of the final table action for you on March 14.
$35,000 Sunday Big Shot 525 Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
ukrLaci
Ukraine
$12,300
2
Destroyer300
Lithuania
$8,200
3
Ognian1988
Montenegro
$5,781
4
DeathByFOMO
$4,223
5
IHaveNoBoss
Thailand
$3,157
6
wellyxx
Finland
$2,337
7
Ionutzalx
Romania
$1,886
8
sraigtakkkkk
Lithuania
$1,640
9
algsxr
Canada
$1,476
888poker Steps Up War Against AI in Poker; Refunds Almost $300K in 2022
kellerassel0 Claims Big Shot 215 Title For Germany
Seventy-one players turned out for the latest edition of the Big Shot 215, a tournament with a $12,000 guarantee but that awarded $14,200. A cool $4,402 of that sum went to Germany’s “kellerassel0” who defeated “Iaromachikne” of Brazil in the one-on-one section of the tournament. Second place came with a $3,053 payout.
Three other finalists saw four-figure prizes land in their 888poker accounts. “BeHappyyy” ($1,065), “marllonsanti” ($1,420) and “BIG_BIN” ($2,059) being that trio.
$12,000 Sunday Big Shot 215 Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
kellerassel0
Germany
$4,402
2
Iaromachikne
Brazil
$3,053
3
BIG_BIN
Estonia
$2,059
4
marllonsanti
Brazil
$1,420
5
BeHappyyy
Sri Lanka
$1,065
6
cherrywine
Pakistan
$852
7
Dvingminator
Denmark
$710
8
0nlyBet
Cyprus
$639
Dusek Demolished The Grand at PartyPoker
The $1,050 Grand tournament at PartyPoker is the only weekly event at the site that sees players compete using their real names and not aliases. Eighty players bought in this week, created a $79,785 prize pool, of which Petr Dusek collected $19,362.
Dusek brushed aside Bulgarian Atanas Malinov heads-up, leaving Malinov to capture a $12,676 consolation prize. Other well-known grinders that reached the Grand’s final table but fell short of the victory included Ioannis Angelous Konstas ($3,117), Gavin Cochrane ($3,547), and Tomi Brouk ($4,084).
The Grand Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1
Petr Dusek
Czech Republic
$19,362
2
Atanas Malinov
Bulgaria
$12,676
3
Iago Cherobin
Brazil
$8,888
4
William De Oliveira
Brazil
$6,463
5
Balazs Fogler
Hungary
$4,952
6
Tomi Brouk
Finland
$4,084
7
Gavin Cochrane
United Kingdom
$3,547
8
Ioannis Angelou Konstas
Ireland
$3,117
9
Oskar Massesson
Denmark
$2,744
PartyPoker Grand Prix Spring Features a $250K GTD Main Event for $55
“Spacko22” Secures Big Saturday Win
Although it takes place before Sunday, The Big Saturday is one of three new PartyPoker majors, so it deserves a mention here. The $215 Big Saturday drew in 142 players, which mean another small overlay on the $30,000 guarantee. “Spacko22” collected $5,882 of that pot after leaving 141 opponents in their wake, including runner-up “OddsetProfil,” who netted $4,104.
Only two of the players that reached the final table walked away with less than $1,000 for their efforts. Perhaps make The Big Saturday part of your regular weekend grinding schedule? Satellite from pennies run throughout the week if the $215 buy-in is too steep.
The Big Saturday Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Spacko22
$5,882
2
OddsetProfil
$4,104
3
Mofitz
$2,899
4
FABIANOCUNHA
$2,005
5
Here_is_Jonny0
$1,497
6
jboags1902
$1,245
7
LordVader
$1,044
8
kot_sparac74
$894
9
sexgod123
$771
Other PartyPoker Highlights
Check out some of these other PartyPoker results, including “mch89” who turned a $55 investment into an impressive $8,236 payday.
In 2023, March Madness will continue the tradition of being “America’s most wagered-on competition” as described by the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) president and chief executive officer Bill Miller.
68 million Adult Americans Ready to Wager on March Madness
According to data from a survey released by AGA, 68 million of all Americans of the legal age for gambling will wager $15.5 billion on this year’s much-anticipated tournament. As compared to last month’s Super Bowl wagering statistics, March Madness is expected to record 18 million more bettors.
The same survey says that 56.3 million American adults are planning to take part in a bracket contest, while 21.5 million will stick to casual bets with friends. At the same time, 31 million Americans are likely to opt for classic sports via online platforms, retail sportsbooks, or bookmakers.
When compared to the total bets placed on last month’s Super Bowl, March Madness bettors are expected to wager $500 million less on the upcoming tournament that will host 67 games over the course of three weeks.
The tournament has Kentucky as the number one choice to win the national title with 9% of expressed votes from the survey’s respondents, closely followed by Texas A&M with 8%, and Gonzaga, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Alabama with 6%.
What Is Driving the Rise in Bets on March Madness?
In short, a mix between the rebirth of bracket contests and the growth of legal forms of online betting has led to the rise in interest in the event that will begin with the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, and will carry onto the 2023 Final Four event that will be held in Houston.
Three-fourths of American online bettors have also said that this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men’s basketball tournament will mark the first year when they will place their bets on it online.
At the moment, 33 US states and Washington, D.C. now offer live and fully regulated sports betting markets. Three additional markets are waiting to be given the green light to launch. Even more, close to 60% of all American adults reside in live, legal sports betting markets.
In the context of AGA’s “Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly.” campaign that wishes to promote responsible gaming by reuniting sports betting stakeholders, Miller issued a reminder to all Americans planning to get on the action to “have a game plan to bet responsibly.”
This should consist of planning a budget, familiarizing themselves with the odds, focusing on the social components of the March Madness tourney, and always choosing legal forms of gambling.
The AGA survey was conducted by Morning Consult between March 1-March 3 and it was applied to a national sample consisting of 2,200 adults with a +/- 2 percent and a greater margin of error among subgroups. In a recent interview, Amelco’s director of trading Mark Hill expressed his opinion that this year’s tournament will “drive excellent turnover”. Similarly, BettorOff’s co-founder and chief executive officer Alex Dubin discussed the event that “pulls you in” no matter if you plan on participating or not.
The regulator’s executive director himself put into question the fact that an owner of the company is from Tel Aviv while others voiced concerns that the application review process was abnormally lengthy. Many are speculating that this could be the end for NeoGames’ Indiana license.
An Unresolved Issue is the Stumbling Stone
NeoGames is operational in The Hoosier State as a player account management (PAM) services provider for the Caesars Sportsbook. However, neither NeoGames nor Caesars has publicly addressed IGC’s concerns since the regulator’s meeting on March 9. During the meeting, it was made clear that the issue hasn’t been resolved in the three years since the application was first put forward.
What had happened, was that NeoGames received its temporary license three months after application, and the review process has basically been ongoing ever since, as a full license was never issued. The regulator’s current goal is to put forward a clear-cut action plan before June when NeoGames’ ongoing temporary license expires.
Thus, NeoGames’ permanent license is not only still elusive but it now seems even less likely it will ever be granted. Since the concerns that Indiana’s gambling regulator has with the company haven’t been resolved since the application, and the issue was raised yet again, there is still an option to move forward, however – at least in theory. It isn’t clear what NeoGames’ plans are, though.
Indiana’s Market is Preparing for Shifts
In the meantime, Indiana’s gambling market is having its own woes. Multiple analyses show that the most likely reason for January’s dip in betting handle was Ohio. As punters started flooding Ohio’s operations after the state went online, The Hoosier State reported $427.2 million in betting handle. The January 2022 results broke the $500 million mark, turning into a record success for the state.
Compared to December 2022’s $431.4 million, however, the January 2023 result wasn’t all that bad, marking only about a percentage point slide. This means that although Ohio did manage to allure many punters for its online launch, it can still be good news for the industry overall, as more players can now enjoy their favorite hobby.
Ohio’s January results were received well enough by many, though. As this was practically the first month of sports betting in the state, its $1.1 billion sports betting handle was extremely good news for the market’s outlook in The Buckeye State. Almost 99.1% of that was generated by mobile sports betting, leaving no doubt as to what the driving force for the state is.
It’s not a surprise, then, that out of the 33 states (plus DC) that have sports betting, 24 states (again, plus DC) offer mobile sports betting. Nebraska, Florida, and Maine are currently getting ready to implement sports wagers, and again – two of the three states are also going to launch online, with Nebraska being the one holding back.
Spotlight Sports Group, a global leader in sports tech, media and content, has unveiled a new agreement with XL Media, another leading media company. Under the deal between the two media giants, SSG will provide its new partner with premium horseracing content.
SSG will leverage its Superfeed content engine to integrate content for some of the most popular racing events into some of XL Media’s most popular domains. The agreement will see the content delivered through a custom-built widget. What will follow is a full API integration across all domains.
At first, the partnership will center on content from horse races in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, the agreement can be further expanded to include racing content for many other regions. Thanks to Superfeed, adding more territories to the agreement would be easy and seamless.
In addition to making the integration smooth for both companies, Superfeed provides content in more than 80 languages. This would allow XL Media to serve all the markets it desires.
Superfeed racing content in based on robust and reliable racing data with the solution analyzing more than 60,000 races each year.
Both Parties Are Thrilled
Darren Hale, XL Media’s director of commercial partnerships, commented on the agreement. He noted that he is looking forward to working with SSG and praised the company’s content and data for being “the best in the industry.” Hale further lauded his company’s new partner for its expertise, saying that the deal is sure to benefit XL Media.
We believe this horseracing expertise will add immense value to our audience as we launch over the busy Cheltenham Festival. The innovative Superfeed content engine will allow us to best serve our customers at scale due to the flexibility that the single API integration offers.
Darren Hale, director of commercial partnerships, XL Media
Meanwhile, Spotlight Sports Group’s head of UK and Ireland B2B sales, Daniel Smith, said that he is just as thrilled to be working with XL Media. He added that his team is honored that such an affiliate powerhouse has chosen to trust SSG’s Superfeed content engine.
We know that our racing content provides prospective bettors with important insight and we are excited to help improve user engagement and grow an already loyal customer base.
Daniel Smith, head of UK and Ireland B2B sales, SSG
Speaking of Superfeed, at the beginning of 2023, the company introduced a major upgrade to its content engine. This resulted in the delivery of richer content from more markets and across more sports events and leagues.
The global COVID-19 pandemic impacted significantly the gaming and hospitality sector a few years ago, resulting in temporary closures and unemployment. Since the start of the pandemic, to date, much has changed in Nevada. Despite the heavy hit for the gaming and hospitality industry, the sector has been on the path to recovery, resulting in more companies hiring employees and resuming normal operations.
Although the recovery from the pandemic has started, Nevada, the state that is home to the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, still has the highest unemployment rate out of any US state, judging by recent data. The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), released a new report last week, outlining that the unemployment rate in the state sits at 5.5% as of January 2023.
The result means that Nevada had the highest unemployment rate out of any state. On the other hand, the adjusted unemployment rate increased by 0.5% from 5.1% to 5.6%. DETR explained that “this is expected when going from one year into the next due to seasonal shifts in employment.”
Jobs in January Increase Year-Over-Year
DETR’s new report positioned Nevada as the state with the highest unemployment rate, although a year-over-year showed an increase in the number of jobs. The new figures reveal that nonfarm employment for the state in January increased by 6% or 86,300 jobs when compared to January last year.
Besides a year-over-year increase, a month-over-month comparison also marked an increase in jobs. In January, nonfarm employment in the state increased by 0.3% or 4,600 jobs when compared to December 2022.
Not unexpectedly, Las Vegas reported an increase in nonfarm employment for January this year. Overall, the gambling capital of the world reported a 3.9% increase in jobs or 62,600 jobs more when compared to January 2022. When compared to December 2022, in January, jobs in Las Vegas increased by 0.4% or 4,000 jobs.
Similarly, jobs in Reno increased by 4.6% or 11,900 jobs more in January when compared to the corresponding period in 2022. A month-over-month comparison showed that jobs in Reno increased by 0.3% or 800 from December 2022 to January 2023.
Finally, DETR revealed that Carson City jobs increased in January by 3.9% or 1,200 jobs when compared to the same period last year. From December 2022 to January 2023, Carson City reported an increase in employment of 0.3%.
