Sega Sammy Holdings, the prominent Japanese gaming giant which builds products for the video gaming and land-based gambling industry, has reported its latest financial results. The company has focused on the six months that ended on September 30, 2022. During the period, the company saw a 19.9% decrease in profit to JPY9.62 billion ($65.3 million). This comes despite an increase in net sales to JPY150.1 billion ($1.02 billion), an 11.3% increase.

Sega Sammy Holdings Reports Strong Sales

Meanwhile, sales in the resort’s business skyrocketed by another 47.4% year-over-year, to JPY5.65 billion ($38.4 million). Sales also increased for the company’s pachinko sales, which went up to JPY27.5 billion ($186.7 million), or up 18%. The company has ties with two resorts presently, including Paradise City in Incheon, South Korea, and the Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki, Japan.

Paradise City continued to fill the sting of a world that is slowly awakening from the COVID-19 pandemic and that is lacking sufficient travelers to make up for pre-pandemic demand. As such, the loss was posted at JPY2.39 billion ($16.2 million), which was still down from a year ago. Sega Sammy noted that there has been some uptick in the number of Japanese VIPs, which were venturing out to Group locations as restrictions have been easing up.

Sega Sammy though is not going to relent in its pursuit of customers. Rather, the Group has confirmed that it will make sure that it invests more in customer acquisition, an important metric for companies that pursue long-term growth. Sega Sammy has been rolling out refurbished gaming cabinets and solutions to make sure that its businesses remain as attractive as ever:

The introduction of No. 6.5 models as a new regulation responding to the revision of regulation has been progressing since June 2022, and titles supported by users have appeared one after another with the recovery of utilization level after their introduction.

Sega Sammy Holdings

Pachinko Gaming Machines DO Well over the Six Months

Sega Sammy teased new pachinko gaming machines that will be coming in the spring of 2023. The Group has been able to notch up overall sales in terms of pachislots and pachinko machines by 34,000 units, as mentioned earlier.

This is up from the 31,000 pachislots sold over the last year. Overall, Sega Sammy remains confident about its forecast of consolidated financial results for the fiscal year that will end on March 31, 2023. The forecast was first introduced on May 13, 2022, the company informed.

Canadian sports betting operator NorthStar Gaming has signed an agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is being listed as an Authorized Gaming Operator by the league. 

Canada’s NorthStar Gaming Becomes One of NBA’s Authorized Gaming Operators

NorthStar Gaming is partnering with NBA in a new agreement that will see the Ontario-based sports betting operator offer live NBA data to its customers. 

The NBA logo will be included in NorthStar Gaming’s platform and Canadian bettors will be able to enjoy an alluring sports wagering experience.

The collaboration will also ensure that the integrity of all NBA matches is being protected with the implementation of professional integrity standards.

Michael Moskowitz, CEO of NorthStar Gaming has elaborated on what players can expect: “As an Authorized Gaming Operator, NorthStar Gaming will connect our players with official data and stats from the NBA and provide them with an insights-packed user experience. We’re excited to offer current and future NorthStar Bets players with an authentic NBA experience on our platform.“

The collaboration with NBA is one more step in NorthStar Gaming’s expansion of its odds offerings through partnerships with major sports leagues. 

NorthStar Gaming Has Been on a Growth Path Since the Start of 2022

At the beginning of July, NorthStar Gaming proceeded with an agreement with Baden Resources for a reverse takeover. NorthStar Gaming is going through a merger with one of Baden Resources’ subsidiaries in order to become a publicly listed company. 

Before the merger plans were announced the company stepped in on the recently launched iGaming market in Ontario with its brand NorthStar Bets. 

The brand, which is Canadian-owned, builds upon NorthStar Gaming’s local tradition and Ontario roots and offers localized sports betting and casino products. NorthStar Bets offers an exquisite betting experience catered to the specific needs of Ontario residents. 

The NorthStar Bets platform is being facilitated by a partnership with Playtech, which has provided it with casino services and its IMS platform.

In recent months, NorthStar Gaming lined up a few new partnerships in order to expand its product offering and improve the gaming experience for its customers.

Just a few days ago the company announced a collaboration with iGaming games supplier Pragmatic Play. Under the new agreement, NorthStar Bets will start offering Pragmatic Play games such as Sugar Rush, Big Bass Splash, and Gates of Olympus. In September, NorthStar Gaming also signed an agreement with Genius Sports, which provides live data and pre-match services to the company’s NorthStar Bets brand. As a result, NorthStar Bets will benefit from Genius Sports’ rights agreements with major world sports leagues such as Premier League, NCAA, NFL, and NASCAR.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is run on Sunday, November 6 at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona. Thirty-six drivers need to pass 312 one-mile laps before finishing the race.

Whoever completes this challenge first is the winner of the race. It can be any of the 36 drivers, but only four of them are still in the race for the 2022 NASCAR title – Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Chase Elliott.

Rather unsurprisingly, these four drivers are the only ones with betting odds shorter than +1000. The main favorite is Chase Elliott, who’s currently priced at +240. The other three have +400 odds each.

2022 Championship Race Odds

*Odds taken from BetOnline on Wednesday, November 2.

When and Where to Watch

• Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022
• Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
• Place: Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
• How to Watch: NBC

Chase Elliott Going for His Second NASCAR Drivers’ Championship

When Chase Elliott won his first NASCAR Drivers’ Championship in 2020, it happened at Phoenix Raceway. Two years later, he has a chance to do the same.

The good news for his fans is that Elliott seems to love this racetrack. The evidence is that apart from winning the Championship Race two years ago, he also has some good memories from the regular-season races held in Arizona.

Now known as the Ruoff Mortgage 500, this race is pretty much the same as the one that decides the champ. Elliott has competed in this event every season since 2016, finishing in the Top 10 in six of the seven races.

Christopher Bell’s Superb Form Mustn’t be Overlooked

In his third season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Christopher Bell finished the regular season with just enough points to qualify for the Playoffs. He won one race in the regular season and finished on the podium on another two occasions.

However, when the Playoffs started, Bell switched into top gear. He won two races, as well as finished in Top 5 in another three events.

The only reason why Bell isn’t getting even shorter odds by the bookies is that the 27-year-old simply doesn’t have much experience with nerve-wrecking races such as this one.

2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Prediction

In 2022, Chase Elliott is probably the best NASCAR Cup Series driver. The guy also has plenty of experience and knows how to triumph in big events. On top of everything, he just loves racing at Phoenix Raceway.

We think Elliott is going to finish first on Sunday, but we also think Bell will do well in this race. He might not win, but we can definitely see him get on the podium.

Picks: Chase Elliot to win; Christopher Bell Top 3 finish.

Last weekend, the Green Bay Packers lost their fourth straight game in the NFL. Losing four games in a row in one season is something that hadn’t happened to them since 2016. Does this mean Aaron Rodgers & Co. are in trouble? Not necessarily, especially not if they manage to end their losing streak on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions Week 9 Odds

Spread

Moneyline

Points

*Odds taken from bet365 on Wednesday, November 2.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
• Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022
• Time: 1:00 PM ET
• How to Watch: FOX

Green Bay Packers Have 17% Chance to Make the Playoffs

Since Aaron Rodgers became the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback in 2008, this team has missed the playoffs only on three occasions. Unfortunately for their fans, they could miss it this year as well. The thing is that after going 3-5 in the first eight weeks of the 2022 NFL season, Green Bay’s chance of qualifying for the postseason is just 17%.

It’s not only because they haven’t been playing good football; it’s also because their divisional rivals (particularly, the Minnesota Vikings) have been pretty decent in 2022.

The good news, however, is that there’s still time for Aaron Rodgers and his teammates to get to a playoff spot. For that to happen, however, they need to up their game ASAP. Green Bay’s offense just has to do better as with 18.1 PPG, they’re sixth from behind in the league.

Their defense, on the other hand, has been decent, but we’ll see how they do on Sunday against the revamped offense of the Detroit Lions.

Detroit Lions Offense is Back on Track

The Lions offense scored 27 points against the Miami Dolphins in the previous round, which is a great improvement in comparison to their previous two games, in which they scored just 6 points combined.

Quarterback Jared Goff did a fine job in that game, throwing 27/37 for 321 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. Still, the hero of the day was Detroit’s running back Jamaal Williams who made 10 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns against Miami.

Detroit’s defense, however, was abysmal, which is what cost this team the win – they ended up conceding 31 points that night.

Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions Week 9 Prediction

Green Bay’s Achilles’ heel this season has been the offense. Aaron Rodgers has been playing okay, but he just doesn’t have good enough receivers to aim at. The good news is that even mediocre receivers should be enough to outplay Detroit’s horrendous defense. As a result, we could see the Packers scoring more than 30 points for the first time in 2022.

Picks: Green Bay Packers to win and cover the spread; over to hit

EPIC Risk Management, a consultancy that helps companies minimize gambling harm, has strengthened its core team with a new director of operations. The one joining the company is Danielle Smith, an experienced veteran in the truest sense of the word.

Smith’s Career Taught Her to Manage People and Operations

Prior to joining EPIC, Smith worked for the Royal Military Police and the British Army. During her time with the police, Smith served as a personnel change manager and a commissioned officer. After leaving the military police, Smith spent 13 years with the army, where she occupied various positions. Her most recent role was that of a life skill developer. 

Smith’s time with these institutions helped her develop robust organizational skills. Her past experiences include a stint as DWF’s legal advisor, where she also learned more about the business and legal sectors.

“Danielle Praises an EPIC Passion”

Smith believes she is joining EPIC at a very interesting moment, saying that the company is currently involved in some impressive and “really tasty” projects. She believes the company has huge growth potential and is excited to join its team.

Speaking about her decision to join EPIC, Smith said that what attracted her to the company was its team’s passion.

Passion runs through the company, no matter what level you’re at. Making that difference to people and delivering that impact is really what sold it to me.

Danielle Smith, director of operations, EPIC Risk Management

John Millington welcomed Smith on board. He noted that her experience will be crucial for scaling the company in key markets, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. He praised her skillset, saying that she is perfectly suited to be EPIC’s director of operations.

Her experience and skillset are a perfect fit for the role, and her efficiency and positivity are fantastic traits for someone who will be an important go-to figure for so many pillars within the business.

John Millington, senior director, EPIC Risk Management

EPIC, Entain and the NCAA Continue Supporting College Sports

Yesterday, EPIC released an update on its collaboration with Entain and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Back in January, the three parties joined forces to protect college sports from gambling harm and support aspiring pro athletes.

Since the start of the program, EPIC shared, a total of 158 education sessions have taken place, reaching 8,000 young athletes and staff across 42 colleges. The program has already connected with collegiate leagues in 22 states and is still going strong. EPIC, Entain and the NCAA are happy with the results and have no intentions of looking back.

GamCare, an independent charity that supports gambling harm victims across Britain, has confirmed its intentions to support Talk Money Week 2022. The charity believes that the event is especially relevant amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

GamCare Understands People Are Struggling with Money

Talk Money Week is an annual event organized by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Its goal is to teach people about the benefits of seeking financial advice for their personal finances. The annual campaign is mainly targeted toward people who often experience financial struggles and provides them with better advice on how to handle debts, loans and savings.

GamCare believes that the rising costs of living caused by the uncertain global situation have made Talk Money Week an especially relevant event. Because of that, the charity vowed to support MaPS’ initiative.

The British charity will participate in the event by hosting a group chatroom for Talk Money Week. The chatroom will see GamCare experts from its new Money Guidance Service team discuss the topic. During the planned runtime of the chat, the specialists will talk about budgeting, helping the audience learn to better handle their resources.

The Charity Will Host a Chat to Provide People with Advice

In addition, the finance experts will discuss how problem gambling might affect people amid the ongoing crisis. GamCare promised that its team would provide victims of gambling harm with direct advice on how to get their budgets under control.

With the increasing cost-of-living-related news, money worries are on most people’s minds currently. We understand how hard it can be to talk about money and that gambling, unmanageable debts or reductions in income can make those conversations harder.

GamCare statement

As explained by the charity, audiences will have a dedicated chat where they would be able to type their questions. The experts will take their time to address people whose finances have been hurt by their or someone else’s problem gambling and will provide them with valuable tips.

The chatroom will open at 14:00 on November 8 and will run for two hours and a half. People who have been affected by gambling harm, struggle with their finances or simply wish to broaden their understanding of finance can tune in and listen to what GamCare’s experts have to say during Talk Money Week.

To join GamCare’s Talk Money Week chatroom, one would need to first register as a user. After that, they would need to pick a nickname that may be different than their real name if they prefer to remain anonymous. Registered users will be able to enter the chatroom once it opens on Tuesday, November 8.

Racing content distributor HBA Media announced it had signed agreements with high-profile media outlets like Entain and ITV for November’s Melbourne Cup and Breeders’ Cup. The new partnerships will allow viewers worldwide to enjoy some of Australia and North America’s most prestigious horse racing events and lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

The Two Cups Promise a Great Spectacle

The two events can easily be viewed as the highlight of 2022’s racing calendar, explaining the surge in interest among media outlets. The Lexus Melbourne Cup is one of Australia’s flagship racing fixtures, now entering its 162nd year. The event started on 1 November 2022 at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse and was attended by more than 73,000 fans. 

4 November marks the beginning of the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland, Kentucky. The event originated in 1984, featuring some of the top Grade 1 races in the world. Breeders’ Cup senior VP of Marketing Justin McDonald was hopeful that the event’s popularity would spark increased interest.

We are grateful to our broadcasting partners for all they do to ensure that the Breeders’ Cup is accessible to all our amazing fans around the world.

Justin McDonald, Breeders’ Cup senior VP of Marketing

Twenty-one broadcasters will air the Breeders’ Cup live across all continents. The most anticipated race is, without a doubt, the $6 million Longines Classic on 5 November.

HBA has been a long-time distribution partner for both events and has onboarded several new broadcasters to ensure that the exciting content reaches as many fans as possible. UK free-to-air channel ITV will broadcast the Breeders Cup for the second year, giving local fans more access to international races. 

In mainland Europe, HBA partners with high-profile networks like Scandinavia’s OTT network and Portugal’s Sport TV. Setanta will air HBA’s content in the Baltics, WeDoTV will cover Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, while Swedish viewers will be able to enjoy the events on Kanal 75.

FOX Sports aired the Melbourne Cup in the USA, reaching 70 million households. In Australia, both events piqued the interest of Racing.com and Entain, the latter undoubtedly wishing to bolster its burgeoning media business.

Asia, South America, and Africa also saw great interest, indicating continued worldwide interest in horse racing content. 

Racing Content Remains Highly Popular

HBA Media managing director Frank Sale remarked on the popularity of the two events as clear standouts in the yearly calendar and their ability to consistently capture the attention of fans.

Our strong working relationships with both federations on content and distribution has resulted in several new broadcasters showcasing the races for the very first time.

Frank Sale, HBA Media managing director

Sale added that the continued collaboration with the two events and HBA’s efforts were vital to their sustained worldwide popularity. The long-year success of the cups indicates that traditional racing content can still draw an audience thanks to innovations like interactivity and on-demand content.

Award-winner of Slot Supplier Rising Star at the EGR Awards in 2022 and winner of the Game Innovation category at the SBC Awards 2021 AvatarUX has released KokeshiPop. The new slot belongs to the iconic PopWins series that consists of roughly 15 titles. All games rely on the one-of-a-kind PopWins game mechanics. The special mechanics boosts players’ experience while expanding the length of average reel-spinning sessions. Just like the rest of the games in its series, KokeshiPop brings more thrills to the table and attracts a higher win potential. Both features are defining for the brand that officially launched its first game in 2019 via the Yggdrasil network. 

KokeshiPop Metrics Overview

Travel to the Far East Next to the Wooden Kokeshi Japanese Dolls 

The company’s chief executive officer Nicola Longmuir spoke about KokeshiPop, inviting players to join the beautiful Kokeshi Japanese dolls on their journey to the Far East. Longmuir described the game as being “packed” with large multipliers and a maximum win capped at 10,000x. The CEO called the new slot ”another stellar addition” to their constantly-growing catalog of slots.  

The game has a cool design with beautiful and subtle elements that belong to Japanese culture with a special emphasis on origami. The slot features an expandable grid surrounded by a pagoda-like structure in a rural location. All symbol animations and winning ways light up nicely as soon as the reels stop spinning. To create a winning way, players must land matching symbols on a minimum of three adjacent reels starting on either of the sides. The game features 12 regular paying symbols, with low-paying symbols like 10-A cards ranks, amulets, cats, and swords for medium-paying symbols, and colorful characters in the form of high and the super-high-paying symbols. The wild symbol is represented by a waving cat, which is a substitute for all regular paying symbols. The wild symbols can only pop during free spin rounds.

Free Spins and the Kokeshi Multiplier

When players land at least three scatters, the Free Spins mode is activated. Here, players receive a minimum of five free spins with the reels starting at four symbols high with a potential to expand and reach up to 33,614 paylines. When all the reels are unlocked during Free Spins mode, players are given the Kokeshi Multiplier which boosts the value of the current multiplier by up to 20x.

Prior to entering the feature, players can also use the Gamble Wheel to win as many as 12 free spins. In some jurisdictions, the game comes with the Buy Bonus or Buy Max Bonus options. KokeshiPop will first be exclusively available for AvatarUX’s partners. It will reach the global market next year.

At the beginning of October, AvatarUX inked an aggregation deal with Light & Wonder.

The worldwide money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has issued new sets of recommendations regarding the way European Union member states should assess risks connected to anti-money laundering (AML) and tackle threats regarding countering the financing of terrorism (CTF/CFT).

Supranational Risk Assessment Report 

Last updated three years ago back in 2019, the European Commission’s Supranational Risk Assessment Report (SNRA) introduced the recommendations. According to the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the SNRA report should be updated once every two years. Nonetheless, because of the pandemic, it was delayed to 2022, enabling AML stakeholders to take their time and issue clearer and more relevant judgments on certain sectors.

Among them, the online gambling sector together with crypto-assets, are two areas that required the re-calculation of their levels of risk. The changes were necessary for the context of the stakeholders identifying a series of important changes. 

Covid-19 Aftermath and the War Against Ukraine 

The FATF has also acknowledged these two factors as additional factors with a lot of impact on the EU member states, with emphasis on the rise in the level of money laundering risks throughout businesses and economic sectors in the EU. These have led to the creation of brand new opportunities that criminals did not hesitate to profit from.

The FATF study on CTF and AML threats was conducted on more than 40 services or products included in eight different business categories. Among them is the gambling sector which was “characterized by fast economic growth and technological development,” according to the SNRA’s overview. The significant expansion of the online gambling sector recorded during and at the end of the pandemic also triggered competent authorities to signal higher risks arising from online gambling since the last SNRA report in 2019.

The Cash Problem

In spite of the improvements brought to the regulations, the same SNRA report showed that brick-and-mortar casinos continue to be subject to high-risk exposure to AML threats with cash transactions as the main triggering factors. The report also raised the problem of banknotes and the paradox around them. Namely, the demand for banknotes during the pandemic went up during a time when cash retail transactions dropped significantly across the continent.

Since the criminal economy is still based on cash, EU member states are still subject to significant ML and TF risks. This is especially true because of the anonymity and ease of movement connected to cash and similar assets. 

As for the online gambling sector, AML threats are mostly connected to member states that are targeted by unauthorized online gambling operators. Anonymous e-money processing platforms and virtual currencies are also part of the problem, considered the FATF which signaled the lack of proper feedback and reporting suspicious solutions in the gambling sector. European financial intelligence units are recommended to work on improving the quality of their reports and make better use of the information they are given. At the same time, gambling AML safeguards are advised to strengthen with “training focusing on appropriate risk assessments of relevant products/business models for staff, compliance officers and retailers.”

At the end of September, the UKGC fined Betfred $3 million for failing to protect its customers and failing to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding.

The Netherlands’ gaming regulator, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), has warned the National Postcode Lottery (NPL) over its use of a celebrity in marketing. The authority believes that such ads may unintentionally appeal to minors.

The Regulator Reprimanded the Lottery

The KSA noted that the NPL featured a local celebrity in one of its recent TV ads for the Deal or no Deal game. While lotteries are generally considered low-risk, the regulator insists that they must follow the same rules and refrain from appealing to young people.

The KSA explained that featuring celebrities in marketing is not entirely forbidden but operators must first make sure that the said person has no appeal among minors and young adults. The regulator emphasized that the latter are not prohibited from playing but are very prone to gambling harm.

The celebrity in question is Buddy Vedder, a Dutch voice actor, dancer, singer and presenter who enjoys a lot of popularity in his home country. He has more than 222,000 followers on Instagram and over 125,000 followers on TikTok. His impressive following includes a lot of people aged 25 and below, which is why the KSA reprimanded the NPL for its ad.

KSA Wants to Prevent Operators from Featuring Celebrities in Marketing

The KSA refrained from handing down any fines and further penalties. The authority recognized the fact that the rules on featuring role models in gambling ads were introduced fairly recently. In addition, the rules on role models were introduced in March, and therefore, the NPL’s marketing campaign featuring Vedder preceded the ban.

The National Postcode Lottery disputed the KSA’s decision to reprimand it for featuring Vedder. The operator pointed out that low-risk operators are allowed to feature celebrities in their marketing. Moreover, the NPL argued that Vedder is not really a role model as he doesn’t rank among the top 10 largest Instagram celebrities in the country.

The role model ban was introduced this year and prohibits high-risk operators from using role models in their marketing at all. According to the KSA, there haven’t been any major disputes. The ban was breached only two times since its introduction, with the two responsible operators immediately taking down the problematic ads when contacted by the Kansspelautoriteit.

In other relevant news, the Kansspelautoriteit appealed to Dutch operators ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, advising them to advertise in moderation. The regulator reminded them that they must refrain from featuring celebrities and asked them to be moderate with their overall advertisement.