Wire NORTH AMERICA
Washington DC pushes for Rules Change
US - Industry veteran returns to G2E show Latin America market specialist, Urbain Thewissen, was back in Vegas for G2E 2022, declaring that business is returning to normal, especially in LatAm, a region in which Mr. Theswissen acts as both a distributor for gaming developers and consultant.
“It is great to be back at G2E after three years,” said Mr. Thewissen. “It’s been a busy show and great for business and I look forward to business returning to normal. It’s was also amazing to reconnect with industry friends and colleagues again after so long.”
US - Hard Rock Indiana swells slots floor Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana has expanded its slot floor, adding 65 new machines across 1,240sqft of gaming space. It now offers more than 1,700 slot machines and 80 table games.
Michael Gaudreau, Hard Rock Vice President of casino operations, said: “We incorporated the feedback we received from our guests when making our decisions about the games, as we wanted to include familiar favorites to best utilise the new space and enhance the gaming experience. Be sure to stay tuned as we continue to enhance this space in the future.”
US - Boyd Gaming delivers solid Q3 results Boyd Gaming reported third-quarter 2022 revenues of $877.3m, increasing from $843.1m in the third quarter of 2021. The company reported net income of $157m for the third quarter of 2022, compared to $138.2m for the year-ago period. Keith Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, said: “This quarter was another solid performance by our company, as we achieved third- quarter EBITDAR that was second only to last year’s record quarterly performance.”
US - TCSJH signs Sweet 16 Blackjack deal TCSJohnHuxley recently signed a global distribution agreement with game studio HITSqwad Interactive Gaming, for its Sweet 16 Blackjack game to go into land-based casinos.
Debuting at G2E, Sweet 16 Blackjack is a side bet game that is played in conjunction with the traditional blackjack game. It uses standard decks of cards and pays out if the player’s initial two cards add up to 16, with the “Sweet 16” coming from ace of hearts and five of hearts.
Tristan Sjöberg, Executive Chairman, TCSJohnHuxley, commented: “Sweet 16 Blackjack is a fun and easy to play game, offering a unique concept to players. 16 is not the hand you normally want to be dealt in Blackjack, but in this game you most certainly do! This makes Sweet 16 a true innovation, and we are really excited to be able to offer this side-bet game to our land-based casino partners around the world.”
P18 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
Washington DC looks at new sports betting laws to bring DraftKings and FanDuel into play after calling Gambet App a ‘dud.’
Councilmember Elissa Silverman introduced legislation that would reset the online sports betting programme in Washington DC allowing mobile apps such as DraftKings and FanDuel to compete for business alongside D.C. Lottery’s poor performing GambetDC app. Te bill would also prohibit the renewal of the city’s lottery contract with Intralot, which received a $215m sole-source deal to run both the lottery and sports betting that was highly controversial.
Te District’s sports betting programme was supposed to be a bonanza, contributing approximately $25m per year for the District’s budget. Instead, it has been dud—actually losing $4m in its first full year of operations.
“We need to turn the page on this embarrassing episode,” Silverman said. “Residents deserve an online app that works, taxpayers deserve a programme that brings in money for the District, and we all deserve a system where we don’t hand huge contracts to a preferred company and its subcontractors without even looking at the competition.”
Canada
Pinnacle has launched its
Pinnacle.ca website, allowing Ontario bettors to bet on the brand’s sports content. Having recently received official approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Pinnacle is now registered to service the Province’s betting enthusiasts with its sportsbook offering.
Pinnacle.ca customers will benefit from the brand’s responsible gaming commitment and fair deal approach to all bettors, while the operator will also focus on delivering better value odds to Ontario customers.
Customers will be serviced with betting content across all major sports, including NFL, NHL, NBA, soccer, and tennis, all available with pre-match and live markets, while esports fans will soon also be able to bet using the Esports Hub.
US Inspired extends Virtuals contract with 49’s
Inspired Entertainment has announced a long-term contract extension with partner 49’s owned by Sports Information Services (SIS). As part of the contract extension, Inspired’s team will develop and upgrade 49’s collection of bespoke Virtual horse and greyhound products to include the latest lifelike graphics, improved backgrounds, race simulations, and updated branding, creating an exciting and enhanced player experience that will continue to be delivered in over 7,000 betting shops in the UK and Ireland.
“49’s was the first company to pave the way, launching Inspired’s Virtual products over 20 years ago into UK betting shops with such iconic Virtual tracks as Portman Park, Steepledowns, and Sprint Valley. Since then, we have enjoyed a successful and fruitful partnership, and we look forward to working with them to innovate
our products for new and unmatched experiences,” said Steve Rogers, Chief Commercial Officer of Virtual Sports at Inspired. “Our new agreement also includes upgrades to our platform that will allow SIS to display 49’s products to online clients 24/7 in new territories; this in turn will increase opportunities for new and existing players.”
“We are excited to continue our work with Inspired to update our products and bring an additional stream of constantly available online products which can be accessed across the globe,” said Conleth Byrne, Product Director at Sports Information Services (SIS).
“Inspired’s best-in-class products have revolutionised both the retail and online Virtuals markets, taking the user experience to the next level and offering new opportunities to expand our customer base.”
Silverman was one of five Councilmembers who voted against the sole-source contract to Intralot, which operates D.C.’s lottery system. Te contract and enabling legislation created an exclusive market for Intralot’s sports betting GambetDC app in the city, except around venues such as Capital One Arena and Nationals Park. Proponents of the deal said that the city would benefit from being a “first mover” in the region, but the Gambet app has been roundly criticised by betters for being difficult to use. Gambet largely shut down during the biggest sports betting event of the year – the Super Bowl. Te programme is bringing in less money than it has spent and is operating at a loss.
Gambet is the only app allowed to operate in the District, except in stadiums and retail establishments that are licensed separately to offer sports betting and in federal areas where sports gambling is not permitted. Meanwhile, neighbouring jurisdictions are competing for sports betting revenue. Mobile sports betting apps became legal in Virginia last year, and Maryland is poised to launch its programme.
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