Wire EMEA
Third of Players Prefer Online Gaming A new study has found that over a third of gamblers prefer to play online and
believe a responsible gambling environment is important in choosing a provider.
Of those surveyed in the UK, 51 per cent said they’ve gambled in the last 12 months, with sports betting proving the most popular by 42 per cent of respondents.
UK ONLINE GAMING
UK – Entain has posted H1 net gaming revenue of £1.792bn, up 11 per cent on a year ago, with underlying Ebitda climbing 12 per cent to £401.1m and profit after tax rising by £69m to £90.9m. Online NGR was up 28 per cent to £1.587bn - sports rising 55 per cent to £751.1m and gaming 10 per cent to £825.9m - and 38 per cent higher excluding Germany. Retail NGR was down 46 per cent to £191.3m, impacted by national lockdowns, with an underlying Ebitda loss of £54.4m compared to a £24.7m profit in 2020. The Group says full- year Ebitda remains on course to be in £850m-£900m range.
Entain's BetMGM joint-venture with MGM Resorts in the US "continues to perform strongly", with H1 NGR of $357m. Entain CEO, Jette Nygaard- Andersen (pictured), commented on the results: "Entain's platform continues to deliver. The quality and diversification of our businesses has enabled us to deliver our 22nd consecutive quarter of double- digit online growth, while also making excellent progress on our strategic priorities.”
UK – AstroPay has launched its digital payment service to the European market, following a period of significant growth for the business which has seen its users and merchants increase exponentially. Founded in 2009, AstroPay has been successfully providing payment solutions to customers across Asia, Africa and Latin America, and the launch of its offering in Europe is part of its ambitious global expansion plans, which have been informed directly by customer feedback. AstroPay will be offering its service to customers in the UK, Spain and Portugal initially, following feedback from clients who expressed interest in reaching users based in these countries.
MALTA – Casino and sportsbook platform provider Soft2Bet has created a dynamic, optimised and exclusive environment with live casino content provider, Evolution. The deal will see Soft2Bet add three blackjack tables to its offering, which will be shared among all its brands in the form of an exclusive package called Club Royale.
Brands including Cadabrus, Soft2Bet’s most recent casino brand launch, and Betinia, the gamified sportsbook, will now be able to offer a more varied offering to a wider audience wanting to enjoy a live casino experience.
Soft2Bet's Head of Casino, Daniel Mitton, said: “Evolution provides exemplary live content, this new slick and luxurious environment is a key addition to our online offering across all our brands. We are excited about all the opportunities that this new agreement presents and are eager to see the content go live.”
P12 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
A new gambling study by Toluna, a tech company operating in the market research space, has found that over a third of gamblers now prefer to gamble online with 68 per cent believing a responsible gambling environment is important in choosing a provider.
Te study was conducted to understand current gambling interests and attitudes in the UK during unprecedented times. Te study surveyed 2,100 people in the UK. It claims that lockdown- induced digital worlds have encouraged more people to gamble with a call for a duty of care approach in providing a responsible and safe gambling environment. Of those people surveyed in the UK, 51 per cent said they’ve gambled in the last 12 months, with sports betting proving the most popular by 42 per cent of respondents followed by casino games at 36 per cent.
Whilst 26 per cent of respondents said they love to gamble, over a quarter said the social side is a key appeal. Over 20 per cent of those surveyed have spent more money on gambling since the pandemic started. Debit card usage for placing bets continues to grow -with 28 per cent of those asked said they’ll now use debit cards more often - and contactless payments are gaining popularity with 26 per cent agreeing
they’d use this method of payment more often. Te most popular sports to place bets among respondents were football at 61 per cent, horse racing at 52 per cent, followed in third place by boxing with nearly a quarter of people betting on boxing matches in the last year.
When it comes to casino games, roulette at 48 per cent and blackjack at 47 per cent are the most popular choices among players, followed by slot machines at 40 per cent and poker at 40 per cent. While online gambling was a growing trend before Covid, the pandemic hugely accelerated digital driven gambling. Although venues are currently open, some people now prefer the online environment, underpinning a permanent change in behaviour, perhaps. Over a quarter of those surveyed said they do not want to return to traditional gambling venues whilst 23 per cent of respondents said returning to gambling venues depends on what Covid restrictions are in place.
Nearly half of respondents said they prefer to gamble online with over a third, saying gambling online is much more convenient. A quarter are worried about how easily Covid can spread in a casino or betting shop with 23 per cent not confident people will follow the social distancing rules and prefer to stay away.
Te Netherlands GLI EMEA Team Expands to Meet Global Demand
GLI has significantly expanded its EMEA team in response to ever- increasing customer demand around the globe. GLI EMEA has added nearly 70 new test engineers, mathematicians, computer support specialists, data entry operators, and document specialists to their teams in the Netherlands, South Africa, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Austria to support the EMEA and global gaming industry.
As an example, just last month, GLI announced it had been appointed by the Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board of Uganda to support them in developing new technical standards for the gaming industry in the country. Te appointment is one of several new projects the EMEA team are working on. Managing Director for GLI EMEA, Martin Britton, commented, “Te impact of Covid-
19 on the economy and on employment has been significant across the globe with millions of people losing their jobs. We are really pleased that we have been able to provide employment opportunities to these talented people and at the same time ensure we have the team in place ready to support our customers when they need us.
“Te growth in the EMEA team has been driven by global uptake in online gaming and sports betting. Te nature of our business means that we can test in any office location for almost any jurisdiction. Tat means we can hire the best talent in EMEA, and they can work on global projects anywhere. It’s about having the right people with the right skills to support our customers and meet demand no matter where in the world they are based.”
UK
Te UK Government is to increase the fees payable by gambling operators to the Gambling Commission. Te changes include a 55 per cent increase in the fee bands for annual operating licences for online operators, which will take effect on October 1, 2021.
Fee bands for land-based operators will increase by 15 per cent, with these increases coming into effect on April 6, 2022 in recognition of the impact that COVID-19 closures have had on these businesses.
Te Commission said: "Te increased fees, which were last revised in 2017, will help the Gambling Commission respond to new risks and technological developments, as well as the increasing cost of its existing regulation.”
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