Wire EMEA
Sun Casts Light on the Cost of COVID
South African casino and hotel group Sun International has detailed the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on its business in 2020.
Te group has permanently closed the Naledi Sun in Bloemfontein and is looking to sell its Carousel Casino in the north of Pretoria.
SOUTH AFRICA OPERATIONS
Portugal - Casino Estoril selects JCM iVIZION The famous Casino Estoril in Portugal has confirmed JCM Global as its preferred supplier and iVIZION as their preferred bill acceptor.
Casino Estoril is one of the top 10 EU casinos, and now all of their 800 slot machines are operating with iVIZION. Casino Estoril achieved this by retrofitting some of their existing machines with the new bill validators as well as acquiring a number of new slots with iVIZION already installed.
“The use of JCM’s iVIZION by this well-established casino is testament to the quality of our automated transaction technologies as well as the commitment of our staff. We are sure that players and employees at the historic Casino Estoril will find the new bill validators a great step forward,” said Payam Zadeh, JCM Global EMEA General Manager.
“We are very pleased with iVIZION for its intelligent validation and fast processing speeds, as well as how comfortable it is for casino staff to take away and introduce. It is also great to work with JCM thanks to their fantastic team of Product Managers, Technical Managers and Sales support,” said Mr. Manuel Anok of Casino Manager Casino Estoril.
UK - 1account boosts its board Simon Bazalgette, the previous CEO of the Jockey Club and an independent director at the English Football League, and Ralph Topping, the former CEO of bookmakers William Hill, are joining forces after being appointed to the advisory board of 1account, a KYC & AML provider to online vendors of age restricted products and services. Following 1account’s
success in KYC validation, Bazalgette and Topping will help drive the continued roll out of the company’s existing solution as well as its new consumer digital ID app, 1account ID.
UK - Neil McArthur departs Neil McArthur, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, has announced that he will be leaving the organisation after nearly 15 years. He joined the Commission
in 2006 and was General Counsel before rising to the role of Chief Executive in 2018.
Germany - GiG pens German facing agreement GiG has signed a letter of intent with an established German facing iGaming operator for the provision of its iGaming platform technologies to power the company’s new online casino. GiG has put pen to paper on the final agreement with the operator with a minimum duration of four years from launch.
P8 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
South African casino and hotel group Sun International has detailed the affect the COVID- 19 pandemic has had on its business for the year ended December 2020, with group adjusted headline earnings falling from R763m to a loss of R1.1bn. As a result, the group has permanently closed the Naledi Sun in Bloemfontein and is looking to sell its Carousel Casino in the north of Pretoria.
Income from continuing operations fell by 49 per cent from R11.8bn to R6.1bn and continuing adjusted EBITDA reduced by 72 per cent from R3.2bn to R897m.
Te group said: “In response to South Africa’s lockdown restrictions which commenced on 27 March 2020, all our group’s operations were closed from late March 2020 to June 30 2020. With the easing of the lockdown restrictions, our South African casino operations were able to resume trading with effect from July 1 2020, with Sun City having re-commenced trading in September once the restrictions on inter- provincial travel were lifted and Te Maslow Sandton and Te Table Bay hotels having re- opened in October and November respectively.
“Our operations in eSwatini remain closed while our operations in Nigeria resumed trading in September 2020. Casino operations were able to return to business, subject to strict operational
protocols being put in place and limitations on the number of guests permitted in the casinos of up to 50 per cent of normal guest capacity.”
“While the hotel industry has re-opened for domestic leisure and business travel, trading levels remain severely muted. International travel for business and leisure purposes resumed on 1 October 2020 albeit with strict restrictions in place.”
Sun City re-opened on September 2 2020, Te Maslow Sandton on October 1 2020 and Te Table Bay Hotel at the beginning of November 2020.
“Te easing of lockdown restrictions to level 1 increased domestic leisure travel demand into our resort destinations such as Sun City and the Wild Coast Sun. Te Sun Vacation Club at Sun City performed well under these trading conditions achieving occupancies of 79 per cent,” it said. “We expect a slow recovery from our international business segment which will impact trading at Te Table Bay in Cape Town and at Te Palace at Sun City.”
For the first six months of the year in South Africa, income declined by 55 per cent to R2.5bn compared to the prior corresponding period, with adjusted EBITDA down by 95 per cent to R80m.
Slovenia OKTO partners with Advansys in EMEA
OKTO has partnered with Advansys to bring instant mobile payments directly on gaming machines in casinos and gaming halls across Europe with the OKTO.WALLET.
Players in Europe will be able to embrace a cashless mobile payment experience, using the free OKTO app on their mobiles to interact with machines, connected to Advansys’s NEXIO Casino Management System
Te service allows players to load credits directly from their mobile phone via the OKTO.WALLET to a gaming machine and collect their winnings at the end of the play session, straight into their OKTO app. Te players have multiple ways to load and withdraw funds from their OKTO account, such as payment card and bank as well as
access their account instantly through the OKTO issued prepaid card connected to their OKTO.WALLET.
Simon Dorsen, Director of Gaming at OKTO, commented: “Europe can be considered a digital fast adopter, showcasing a strong potential for growth and rise of mobile payments. Te pandemic accelerated the need for innovative and secure digital payment methods across all channels, including land-based gaming, and OKTO meets that demand.”
Andrej Sluga, CMO of Advansys, added: ”Many countries in Europe relied heavily on cash, but COVID- 19 brings about many opportunities for the mass adoption of mobiles payment solutions. OKTO came just at the right time.”
Spain
Plans for the remodelling of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium include space for a casino capable of generating €120m. Club President Florentino Pérez has said that the remodelling, scheduled for 2023, will cost more than €575m, but that the casino would help the club recoup some of that investment. Each structural corner of the stadium will be used to generate extra revenue streams for the club with other amenities including a restaurant, a new museum, spaces for tours and events, integrated shops and 360 screens, including a video scoreboard. Mr. Pérez said: "For many more unforgettable moments at home, we present you the Santiago Bernabéu of the future."
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