Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. In this first edition of the new year we take a look at a tenth anniversary networking party, a higher uptake of payment blocking tools and a significant partnership for the NFL.

10

Sports Betting Community is all set to host a lavish celebration in honour of its ten year anniversary, coinciding with one of the biggest gaming industry exhibitions in the world in ICE London.

Approximately 900 invited industry guests are to attend Leicester Square’s Café de Paris for London Baby, which is to be transformed to reflect the different areas in which the gambling industry is expected to thrive in 2019, including the US market, football betting and cross selling into gaming.

This will allow attendees to fully immerse themselves in this year’s big SBC Events: Betting on Football, Betting on Sports and the CasinoBeats Summit, as well as the inaugural Betting on Sports America in New York and New Jersey.

SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark said: “We can’t wait to welcome the industry to our birthday party, which has coincided perfectly with the new look London Baby. SBC is turning 10 by putting on a massive party for everyone that has helped us towards a decade of fun-filled success. We certainly wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our clients, partners, colleagues and industry friends.”

66m

Santander, Lloyds and RBS have followed Barclays’ lead, after positioning themselves to allow customers to control and block specific types of payments via mobile applications.

Last month Barclays introduced plans to integrate a gambling block component into its customer-facing digital platforms, with a further three UK high-street banks reported to have approved proposals to develop payment-blocking functions, relating to retail and online betting transactions.

Each state that they are to introduce similar measures to those unveiled by Barclays to their combined 66m customer base, which will enable customers to turn off in-app engagements with all gambling-related properties, as well as blocking payments in four further categories.

RBS (30m customers), Lloyds (22m) and Santander (14m), also state that customers will be able to implement controls to limit ATM withdrawals, as well as credit card purchases both in-store and online.  

A spokesman for Lloyds commented: “Throughout 2019 we will be enhancing our customer communications so customers are informed and alerted to their gambling spend, as well as introducing tools to improve self-service options such as gambling restrictions.

“New card controls give customers more control over debit card transactions for extra peace of mind.”

1

Caesars Entertainment has been unveiled as the first ever official casino sponsor of the National Football League.

Under the terms of the new multi-year agreement, which is set to begin with the upcoming NFL playoffs, Caesars is to provide a series a “unique experiences” for NFL fans via its casino properties and stable of celebrity chefs, premier music artists and a range of entertainment elements.

Furthermore, the organisation is to also have the exclusive right to use NFL trademarks in the United States and the United Kingdom to promote Caesars casino properties, with no agreement in place to use such logos in connection with the company’s sportsbooks.

“All of us at Caesars Entertainment are thrilled to be the first-ever casino partner of the NFL, the most prominent sports league in North America,” stressed Mark Frissora, president and CEO of Caesars Entertainment. “Combining the league’s 180 million fans, with our 55 million Total Rewards loyalty program members, will expose millions of people to the exclusive and exciting year-round opportunities at our properties.”

30,000

Melco Resorts and Entertainment has strengthened its “core focus” of environment sustainability, after partnering with Man Io Energy to develop “Macau’s largest solar array”.

Installation has taken place at the organisations flagship City of Dreams and Studio City integrated resort, where 18,000 solar photovoltaic panels, covering close to 30,000 square meters of rooftop space, is to be seen.

Once fully operational, the system will have the capacity to generate a total of nearly 7.7 million kWh of energy per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1,500 average households over a period of 12 months.

Each year, the system is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 6,000 tonnes, equivalent to the volume of CO2 that 260,000 trees would absorb in one year.

Sam Liu, director of business development at Man Io Energy, commented: “We are thrilled, as a local small and medium enterprise, to have the opportunity to collaborate with Melco on this pioneering sustainability project for Macau’s gaming and hospitality industry.

“The vast scale of the system has never before been seen in Macau, and through the ongoing partnership with Melco, our company has gained valuable knowledge and on-the-field experience to establish its foundation as a forerunner in the area of sustainable energy.”