The most notable iGaming news from within the US in the past week;
After a long-awaited regulatory decision, Eldorado Resorts have finally secured the go-ahead from Louisiana and can now proceed with the acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
According to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the $17.3 billion deal meets all regulatory criteria that are expected in such a move and can proceed. This is an important milestone for the merger as an approval from Louisiana was one of the main prerequisites for the deal to go ahead.
Moving forward, Eldorado expects to finalize the deal and acquire Caesars within the first six months of the year. More regulatory approval and other closing conditions are yet to be met, but the deal is proceeding according to schedule.
Even though Detroit’s economy has been moribund, the casino sector has been booming. The revenue collected from casinos in Detroit, Michigan through December 31, 2019 has reached $1.45 billion, a staggering overall number.
Combined gross revenue for the leading properties, to name MotorCity Casino, Greektown Casino and MGM Grand Detroit inched up 0.7% year-on-year, marking up a $10 million improvement from a year before.
MGM Grand Detroit specifically managed to claim $623.5 million, which was another 0.7% higher than the results posted in 2018. MGM Grand is also the property with the biggest market share in Detroit right now, claiming some 43% of the total casino sector.
The Empire State has decided against enabling mobile sports betting for the time being. After Senator Joseph Addabbo has been a staunch supporter of the move, he has faced opposition on multiple levels.
The Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is reluctant to allow sports betting to expand quickly throughout New York. Instead, New York will have to continue entertaining the same familiar sports betting options, i.e. within casino sportsbook lounges.
On April 1, 2020, the state will see a small expansion of operations – outside the lounges – but still within the confines of the upstate casino.
Sen. Addabbo has argued that this decision is counter-productive and bars the state from scooping up much needed revenue that is now seeping through across the state’s border in other neighboring regions or even offshore.
Soccer global regulatory body FIFA has issued a new toolkit outlining guidelines to preserve the integrity of the sport. With one corruption scandal rocking the organization after another, FIFA is finally committed on tackling foul play across the world.
While FIFA cannot oversee every single league under its brand, it can continue to work closely with sports regulators from around the globe, trying to provide parties tasked with upholding the integrity of the sport with the tools they need to stay competitive and on top of any match-fixing.
FIFA has attached an e-Learning Tutorial to its toolkit that would allow regulators to focus on identifying match-fixing and fight corruption. This is all part of the organization’s efforts to keep sports clean, FIFA’s deputy chief legal and compliance officer Oliver Jaberg said.
Betfred’s gambling expansion in the United States continues after the British company’s U.S. subsidiary shook hands with Saratoga Casino Black Hack in Colorado and agreed to set up a sports betting shop.
As per the deal – which will have yet to clear regulatory approval – Betfred will run a full-scale sportsbook for Saratoga in the state, as Colorado prepares to be one of the largest sports betting states in the country.
After legalizing the industry in November 2019, the state has been pushing for an active regulatory framework that would allow Colorado to claim a fair chunk of the sports betting revenue that is right now syphoning off to neighboring states.
Commenting on the partnership, Saratoga Casino Black Hack president Daniel Gerrity said that the tribe was excited to welcome Betfred in its midst and recognized Betfred’s lineage spanning over 50 years on the domestic and international markets.
Mississippi casinos post a subdued sports betting overall revenue in December, with the total amount generated sliding down 43.7% year-over-year (YOY), the lowest to date. Even though the handle actually went up, revenue plummeted. MS coastal casinos were once again the busiest, drawing the biggest crowds, but they also suffered the greater declines in December.
Scientific Games has introduced its OpenGaming suite in New Jersey as a part of partnership deal with DraftKings, a sportsbook and DFS platform with a broad footprint in the United States. As a result, DraftKings will be able to integrate SG’s full portfolio in its own online websites thanks to the Open Gaming System aggregation platform provided by SG.
Commenting on the partnership, SG Digital SVP for casinos, Dylan Slaney, said that New Jerseys’ casino sector is booming and more positive changes are coming to the sector. Signing up a partnership with DraftKings in the state, Slaney explained, meant that two market leaders had entered the state.
Penn National Gaming has appointed an Apple executive, David William, to sit as the company’s new chief financial officer and vice president. Mr. William will step into his new position on March 3 and he will be responsible for various growth initiatives as well as new strategic accomplishments to help push the company in new directions.
After teaming up with Tennis Australia earlier last week, Sportradar added another important partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on January 24. The partnership will last through 2023 and it will cover the Asia Cup China 2023 tournament.
As a result, Sportradar will support the AFC Integrity Unit which oversees soccer games in Asia and strives to offer an environment that is free of match-fixing and other forms of foul play. Sportradar has been one of the most dedicated companies striving to maintain the safety of sports across the world.
Kevin was raised on sports since a young teen and following a (fortunate) injury pursued new hobbies in table games such as Blackjack and Poker. Since 2009 Kevin has been writing for casino sites for various big names in the industry and CasinoSites.us is but one of his latest passion projects.
Amid changing gaming legislation, Sweden is taking a closer look at the AML laws in the country and whether operators have been living up to their end of the deal. Casino Cosmopol, apparently, hasn’t. Casino Cosmopol Fails AML Standard Test Land-based operator Casino Cosmopol, owned by the state’s Svenska Spel, the first iGaming entity in […]
Following an internal upheaval that saw founder Teddy Sagi sell the last of his shares in the company, Playtech is now back on track, signing new partnerships with Fortuna Entertainment Group and IWG, and consolidating its market presence. After the Storm, IWG and Fortuna Partnerships Following a rather rocky few weeks, Playtech is back to […]
The Danish gaming watchdog, Spillemyndigheden, is launching a fresh campaign intended at protecting players from gambling harm, and specifically aiding problem gamblers. The campaign will focus on the StopSpillet initiative designed to help gambling addicts find help and stop indulging in destructive gaming habits. The initiative was originally launched in January 2019, and StopSpillet has […]
