The leading IT service provider with a presence in strategic European markets, adesso, confirmed its plans to tap into the lottery industry in North America. Ultimately, the company confirmed its wants to engage in partnerships with all lotteries within Canada and the US. The ambitious growth plan represents an important milestone for adesso as it would mark the debut of the company in North America, a lottery market identified for its significant potential.

Coinciding with its plans for growth in Canada and the US, adesso confirmed that it became a member of the North American lottery Association, the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASLP). The company explained that this membership marked the “starting point for the rollout of the technology and consulting portfolio to the US and Canadian markets.”

With the aforementioned markets, adesso will primarily focus on expanding two of its solutions. Those are adessoDraws and LotteryForce. The former is described by the company as an electronic, blockchain-based draw system that represents the first completely transparent auditable and repeatable solution for a secure drawing of winning numbers for lotteries within the digital vertical. The latter adesso described as a “technologically leading, cloud-based iLottery platform of the future for all channels.”

The Company Strengthens Its Gaming Advisors Team

Dr Rudiger Striemer, adesso’s senior vice president of lottery, explained that the company’s products are ready to meet the challenges of the fast-growing digital lottery market in North America. Moreover, he pointed out that the company remains committed to establishing itself within the Canadian and US markets. Finally, Dr Striemer predicted that adesso’s solutions and products will help “enrich the state and provincial lottery companies.”

“adesso is ideally equipped to meet the challenges of digitalization in the global lottery market.“

Dr Rudiger Striemer, senior vice president of lottery at adesso

In addition to the NASPL membership, adesso announced a strategic appointment that is expected to help fuel the company’s growth in North America. The company confirmed it hired the services of the industry insider and expert, Bishop Woosley, of Woosley Gaming Advisors.

He joined adesso’s team as Gaming Advisor and delivers extensive experience within the lottery market in America. Thanks to Woosley’s leadership and skills, the company plans to easily deploy its innovative solutions and engage with operators within the sector.

adesso’s plans to expand in North America come as no surprise, considering the high potential of the market. At the same time, the company is also a perfect fit for the ever-growing lottery market in the region, considering its extensive experience in strategic jurisdictions around Europe and North Africa, as well as the Middle East.

NeoGames and Pollard Banknote’s jointly owned company NeoPollard Interactive, announced it delivered new games for the North Carolina Education Lottery. On Monday, the company confirmed it expanded the Lottery’s Online Play offerings by introducing Pick 3 and Pick 4, two new online draw games. The addition of the games complemented the existing online game offerings that include Carolina Cash 5, Powerball, Mega Millions and Lucky for Life.

The expansion of the online draw game offering comes at a time when the Lottery has recently reported the success of its Online Play program. In fact, the sales within the program have seen 224% since its launch. Moreover, 22% of the draw games sold online and via retail in North Carolina were a part of the Lottery’s Online Play program.

At the same time, the Lottery said that Pick 3 and Pick 4 were responsible for 60% of the retail draw games sales in FY 2022. Those results reaffirm the potential of the games and their appeal to lottery fans in North Carolina. By expanding the Online Play program with Pick 3 and Pick 4 online games, the Lottery is also expected to help increase the revenues raised for good causes.

The Addition of Games Brings Excitement

Moti Malul, NeoPollard Interactive’s co-CEO, explained that the strong results reported by the Online Play program of the Lottery reaffirm the demand of the players to access lottery games in a convenient way. He added that more than 75% of the online sales in North Carolina are completed via mobile devices. Finally, Malul said: “We look forward to continued innovation and growth in the Online Play program through our partnership with the Lottery.”

“The year-over-year growth experienced by the Lottery’s Online Play program is a testament to players’ demand for access to lottery games through their preferred channels.“

Moti Malul, co-CEO at NeoPollard Interactive

Pick 3 and Pick 4 are powered by NeoPollard Interactive’s NeoDraw Interactive Central Gaming System. Players that want to participate in the games can either pick a random selection of numbers via the Quick Pick feature, use their own saved favorite numbers or pick new numbers. The add more combinations, the lottery players can also use the Fireball feature.

“We are excited to now give players the opportunity to purchase Pick 3 and Pick 4 games on web and mobile channels.“

Mark Michalko, executive director of the North Carolina Education Lottery

Mark Michalko, the Lottery’s executive director, explained that delivering unique experiences and games to players in North Carolina is a main priority for the Lottery. He pointed out that the Online Play program helps deliver entertaining experiences for the lottery players in the state and at the same time supports the Lottery’s commitment to helping good causes. Finally, Michalko said that the Lottery is excited to expand its online offering.

888, William Hill’s ownership company, released a statement regarding the fine imposed by the United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission. As the group had previously announced, it is prepared to take responsibility for its subsidiary’s past failures.

Earlier today, the UKGC slammed the British operator with a £19.2 million ($23.67 million), the largest penalty it has ever handed to an operator in the UK.

The fine stems from William Hill’s past failings. Between 2020 and 2021, the British gambling company breached many social responsibility and anti-money laundering regulations. The investigation found William Hill guilty of not providing customers with sufficient safeguards, allowing new players to lose thousands of pounds in a single sitting and failing to check the source of funds of its customers, among other breaches.

The regulator said that had even considered suspending William Hill’s license but decided not to because of the operator’s cooperation and willingness to improve its practices.

888 Will Make Sure William Hill Does Better

Despite its recent struggles, 888, which acquired William Hill last year, said that it is prepared to pay the regulatory settlement and has set enough money aside in its accounts.

A spokesperson from the 888 emphasized that William Hill will do better under the new management and will follow a strict plan to address its past failings:

The settlement relates to the period when William Hill was under the previous ownership and management. After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with the implementation of a rigorous action plan.

888 statement

The spokesperson added that the entire 888 shares the UKGC’s commitment to improving compliance standards across Britain’s gaming industry. As a result, 888 vowed to continue working closely with the regulator and other stakeholders to prevent future violations.

A Brief History of 888’s Acquisition of William Hill

888 acquired William Hill from Caesars Entertainment for approximately $2.5 billion. The deal, approved by almost all of 888’s stakeholders, had to be amended because of changes to the macroeconomic and regulatory landscape before closing. Soon after the acquisition, 888 introduced major changes to William Hill’s team, appointing new executives to oversee the business.

888 was always prepared to cover the fine. Despite that, the regulatory settlement comes at a somewhat inconvenient time for the company, which has been experiencing various hurdles over the past few months. The company’s latest financial reports highlighted the continuous declines in certain metrics. At the same time, the company faces regulatory problems in Austria and Gibraltar.

BetConstruct, a leading provider of iGaming and online sports betting solutions, announced that it has successfully earned a license from the Danish Gambling Authority. As a result, the supplier will be able to enter Denmark and offer its products to local operators.

Denmark, BetConstruct remarked, is known as one of the “most reputable and strictly regulated” gambling markets in the world. The local market is under the watch of the Danish Gambling Authority, which has been very proactive in fighting unlicensed gambling.

Having secured a license in the Nordic country, BetConstruct will be able to make a foray into a flourishing and well-regulated iGaming market that offers tons of new opportunities. The provider said that most of its products and services have been greenlit for launch, which will greatly expand its overall reach in Europe.

The License Is a “Sublime Advantage“

BetConstruct noted that gambling and sports betting operators in Denmark will now be able to benefit from its cutting-edge solutions, which include iGaming titles, sports betting offerings, live casino games and various solutions for retail betting locations.

The new license allows BetConstruct to work together with other operators, content suppliers, marketing affiliates and payment providers that have been granted a license by the Danish Gambling Authority.

BetConstruct concluded that it is honored to be one of the first providers to secure a Danish Online Casino and Betting license and noted that this will provide it with a major advantage over its European competitors.

Obtaining a license from The Danish Gambling Authority is a sublime advantage for businesses to widen their game offerings, enter a new, less saturated market in Europe and provide safe and engaging services to players. Hence, BetConstruct is proud to become one of the first providers to receive this prestigious license.

BetConstruct statement

The Provider Continues to Expand Its Presence and Product Suite

Earlier this year, BetConstruct also secured a license from the Malta Gaming Authority, which allowed its Vivaro Limited brand to accept wagers and deposits in cryptocurrencies. The major development allowed BetConstruct to further its foray into the crypto space and promote blockchain solutions in iGaming.

A few weeks later, the provider also signed a new round-the-clock partnership with Sports Information Services, a major racing company. Under the deal, SIS agreed to supply BetConstruct with live content from the world of racing. As a result, BetConstruct was able to enhance its offering with content from 35,000 horse races and 38,000 greyhound events.

The leading entertainment group, operator, and developer of integrated resorts from the land Down Under has announced that a ransomware group had reached out to them with claims of accessing “a limited number of Crown files”. 

The incident occurred during a file transfer procedure via the GoAnywhere platform. The latter offers managed file transfer software provided by US-based cybersecurity company Fortra.

No Customer Data Was Been Comprised 

According to a Crown Resorts spokesperson, the company’s operations have not suffered any impact as a result of the data breach. At the same time, there were no customer data breaches reported. 

The group that owns Crown Melbourne, Crown Perth, Crown Sydney, and Crown London Apinalls further explained that an investigation into the claims of the ransomware group and the truth behind them has been initiated. 

The spokesperson added that the group has already notified its gaming regulators and that it will continue to offer “relevant updates” while expressing the intention to collaborate with law enforcement. 

The suspicious activity at the file transfer platform was originally identified and reported by Fortra, almost two months ago. A number of other groups and companies were allegedly impacted as a result of the same breach, including mining company Rio Tinto. 

While the ransomware group threatened they would release the stolen Rio Tinto data including payroll information of a limited number of employees onto the dark web, this has not yet occurred. 

Similar to Crown Resorts, the mining giant is still investigating the truthfulness behind the cybercriminal group’s claims. So far, the leading global mining group with a focus on mining and processing mineral resources has found an indication of a “possibility that Rio Tinto data may be impacted”.

At the end of November 2023, Crown Resorts released the results for the financial year up to June 30, marking AU$945 million ($633 million) in losses.  

Rising Number of Cybersecurity Breaches 

In recent weeks, an increasing number of international companies and government institutions have reported similar data breach incidents in connection to the same GoAnywhere platform. 

Among them, we can mention Hitachi Energy, Hitachi’s Japanese unit that also reported a ransomware attack by a cybercriminal group called “CL0P”. The attack resulted in cybercriminals getting unauthorized access to their employees’ data in some countries.

The same CL0P group also explored the security vulnerabilities in the servers belonging to California-based Accellion in 2021. This resulted in a number of data breaches in several important institutions including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Morgan Stanley, and Kroger Co. 

US exchange Community Health Systems also confirmed that the personal and medical data of around one million individuals may have been subject to a security breach in relation to the same Fortra-owned managed file transfer software.

A Bloomberg article detailed that there was a total of 5 offers exceeding $1 billion. The bids were international, with a variety of plans for the future of the waterfront land – from high-end condos or office spaces to situating an entertainment destination there. The Malaysian gambling giant hasn’t announced a final decision yet; however, it was reported that three candidates would be shortlisted before that comes to fruition.

Genting Ready for a Large Profit

Genting’s Miami property sale could be finalized within weeks. The Malaysian operator started marketing their decision to sell the 16 acres of prime real estate back in November 2022, so attracting five bids over $1 billion is an achievement in and of itself. The parcel was home to the Miami Morning Herald newspaper and sits across Miami Beach on Biscayne Bay.

The decision to sell, however, follows a failed push to legalize non-tribal casinos in Florida. As such, Genting is reportedly going to use the proceeds from the sale to fund its casino expansion into New York and further expand its extensive Las Vegas offerings. The operator at potentially very sizable profit from the sale. The land was originally purchased for $236 million in 2011.

Genting’s international status could also potentially enable the operator to distribute the sale profits across markets other than the US. However, such a decision would be motivated very differently. The Genting Casino Nottingham was closed recently, mainly due to “commercial considerations.” The operator didn’t win a Macau concession, so prospects for that market would also require further investment.

And so, although the company’s intentions to use the proceeds from the sale to further strengthen its positions in New York and Las Vegas date a few months back, this is still the more likely option. Other operators have been pouring money into their Macau businesses such as Wynn or MGM, but both won their concession bids, and Genting doesn’t have one.

Eyeing a New York Casino License

Another reason to look to New York specifically is that after Genting’s Macau push didn’t bear fruit during the concession renewal bids, the state has an ongoing bidding war over three new licenses. The competition is expected to be fierce, though, as two of the three licenses are expected to go to racing casinos, potentially leaving only one city casino license available.

The bidding process is run by the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which said in January that it would not be imposing artificial deadlines due to the complexity of the process. While the state is looking to cash in more gaming tax revenue, the application fees themselves are at $500 million per applicant. So, that’s already a not-insignificant investment just for the attempt.

Genting operates Resorts World which sits close to the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. The operator’s plans for expanding the slot-machine facility with a hotel, resort, and casino, could potentially cost more than $1 billion, so the Miami property sale could fill in a big chunk of that investment, or cover all its license application costs and leave some change.

The popular operator of online casinos in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as a provider of content and technology for the gambling industry, Rush Street Interactive (RSI), announced that its collaboration with the Connecticut Lottery Corporation is planned to wind down.

Announced Monday, the company said that the in-person sports betting and online partnership in Connecticut is expected to gradually come to an end. The announcement would also see the Connecticut Lottery start a search for a new company to power its operations. A statement released by RSI acknowledges that the Lottery is expected to start that process soon.

Richard Schwartz, RSI’s CEO, thanked the Lottery for the successful collaboration that has been ongoing for years. He pointed out that the partnership with the Lottery helped RSI reach customers in Connecticut. Schwartz explained that the wind-down of the partnership is in line with RSI’s long-term strategic goals. According to him, gradually ending this partnership would be in the best interest of the company, as well as its stockholders.

“Consistent with our long-term strategic goals, after much deliberation and discussions with the CLC, we believe it is in the best interest of RSI and our stockholders to wind down this partnership.“

Richard Schwartz, CEO of RSI

RSI’s CEO pointed out that the company remains committed to delivering its services for the Lottery until a new operator is selected. Finally, Schwartz pointed out: “Through the transition we plan to continue to support all player wagers and ensure a positive player experience and expect the changeover will have an immaterial impact on our guidance for 2023.”

Transition Unlikely to Impact the Lottery’s Betting Operations

Commenting on the topic, the Connecticut Lottery’s president, Gregory Smith, thanked Rush Street for its collaboration. He explained that the partnership with RSI helped establish the Lottery’s sports betting operations and this applies not only to the online but to the retail vertical as well.

“We thank RSI for working closely with CLC to establish the foundation for CLC’s sports betting operation, both online and in retail.“

Gregory Smith, president of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation

RSI explained that despite the plans to wind down the partnership, it will continue to support the online and retail betting operations of the Lottery while ensuring that bettors benefit from valid wins and wagers during the transition period. At the same time, the company vowed to collaborate with the Lottery to limit the disruptions that may be caused by the transition. The transition process to a new operator is expected to be finalized by the second half of this year.

Cat Zingano is the No.1 fighter in the Bellator MMA Women’s Featherweight Rankings, sitting three spots above Leah McCourt. That said, the chances are that the winner of the Bellator 293 co-main event will get a shot at the title, which is currently held by Cris Cyborg.

Cat Zingano vs. Leah McCourt Odds

*Odds taken from BetOnline on Tuesday, March 28, 2023.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California
• Date: Friday, March 31, 2023
• Time: ~10:00 PM ET
• How to Watch: Showtime

Cat Zingano Going for Her Fourth Bellator MMA Win

Cat Zingano is 13-4 in her professional career, with all four losses happening during her UFC days. Plus, all of those defeats happened to true legends of the sport.

Her first-ever loss happened to Ronda Rousey in the UFC championship fight. Rowdey beat her by submission after only 14 seconds, which does seem bad. However, keep in mind that at the time Zingano was going through a bad period of her life, with her husband committing suicide only a year earlier. Speaking of which, she did destroy Amanda Nunes by TKO just five months after her husband’s death. 

Zingano suffered one more loss inside the distance – Megan Anderson beat her by TKO in round 1 in 2018, but it came after Zingano injured her eye. The remaining two losses happened by a decision – to Juliana Pena (unanimous) and Katlen Vieira (split).

The loss to Anderson was her final UFC fight. Almost two years later, she made her Bellator MMA debut. It was an easy matchup (Gabby Holloway), but she then went on to beat two tougher opponents (Olivia Parker and Pam Sorenson). Still, her toughest challenge since coming to Bellator MMA is on the program this Friday.

Leah McCourt Could be the Next Big Think in Featherweight Division

Leah McCourt is only 30 but she already has a pretty impressive MMA portfolio. She’s 7-2 since the start of her professional career back in 2017. Before that, she competed in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, winning gold medals on the international level.

Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that she’s an expert wrestler and grappler. On top of that, she also moves very fast, not letting her opponents land too many strikes. However, the fact is that she still hasn’t fought such a good striker as Zingano. That said, there’s a big question mark on whether she can handle Zingano’s power.

Cat Zingano vs. Leah McCourt Prediction

Cat Zingano is turning 41 this summer, meaning that there’s not much time left for her to win a title (and the money that comes along with it). But if she beats Leah McCourt on Friday, she will almost certainly get a chance to take the championship belt away from Cris Cyborg in a few months’ time.

That sure seems like good enough of motivation for Zingano to go all-in at Bellator 293. We think she’s gonna fight her best fight in years this weekend, possibly even beating her opponent with ground-and-pound in round 1.

Pick: Cat Zingano to win by KO/TKO in round 1

The UK Gambling Commission has finally pronounced its verdict on William Hill, slapping the operator with a gargantuan fine of £19.2 million ($23.67 million). This is notably the largest fine ever handed by the commission, exceeding the previous record of £17 million.

The commission explained that the William Hill Group will have to pay £12.5 million for its failings, while the William Hill Organization will have to pay £3 million. Mr Green, a brand in the William Hill family, will be handed a fine of £3.7 million, resulting in the aforementioned total fine of £19.2 million.

These fines come in the wake of a lengthy investigation that probed into William Hill’s business. As a result, multiple failings were uncovered and the UKGC even considered suspending the operator’s license. In the end, the regulator decided against that idea.

Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the Gambling Commission, acknowledged that William Hill recognized its failings and worked with the commission to make improvements. It is thanks to this that the operator was able to hold to its license, Rhodes noted.

The money from the fine will be directed toward socially responsible purposes, the UKGC said. In the meantime, William Hill’s license will be subject to additional conditions that will ensure a business board member oversees an improvement plan. The operator will also be required to hire a third-party auditor to see if its safer gambling and AML procedures are up to standards.

The fine signifies trouble for 888, which acquired William Hill a few months ago. The parent company has been struggling with a lot of trouble already and is likely to be further impacted by the measure.

William Hill Violated Many Rules

The UKGC listed William Hill’s multiple failings, which saw the company breach various social responsibility and player safety rules. The company lacked sufficient controls to protect new customers, who could, as a result, spend thousands of pounds in minutes without any checks. This happened on several occasions with customers losing tens of thousands of pounds in hours or even minutes.

In addition to that, the operator was unable to identify high-risk customers and prevent gambling harm. The company failed to intervene on time and protect its customers from addiction. The lack of checks and controls made it harder for the company to spot harm.

Speaking of failing to stop harm, William Hill had allowed hundreds of self-excluded Mr Green customers to play with WHG.

William Hill also did not apply the required 24-hour delay between receiving a request for an increase in a credit limit and granting it.

In addition to its social responsibility failings, William Hill also violated AML protocols, allowing customers to deposit suspiciously-high amounts of money without conducting appropriate checks and asking players to cite their source of income.

Records show that some customers fueled their accounts with ludicrous amounts of money and placed high wagers without being monitored or scrutinized by William Hill. The operator’s policies, procedures and controls “lacked guidance on what was the appropriate action to take following the results of customer profiling and how its findings should be used to establish the appropriate outcome.”

Anti-money laundering controls were insufficient are could not put hard stops to mitigate and prevent money laundering before customer risk profiling was complete. In addition, the company’s AML staff did not have sufficient training to be familiar with risks and risk management.

The UKGC Will Continue Enforcing Its Standards

The UKGC is working hard to prevent regulatory breaches in the United Kingdom. Since the beginning of 2022, the authority has concluded 26 enforcement cases, forcing incompliant operators to pay more than £76 million ($93.57 million).

In the last 15 months, we have taken unprecedented action against gambling operators, but we are now starting to see signs of improvement. There are indications that the industry is doing more to make gambling safer and reducing the possibility of criminal funds entering their businesses.

Andrew Rhodes, CEO, UKGC

Rhodes praised his team’s active approach and said that he can already see signs of improvement. He noted that more and more operators are leveraging high-tech solutions to mitigate AML risks and identify harm.