Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. In this latest edition we look at confidence in the Netherlands, Enlabs’ Global Gaming offer, Las Vegas COVID concerns and a reduction in Paf’s annual loss limit.

2021

René Jansen, chairman of the board at Netherlands regulator Kansspelautoriteit, has asserted that everything remains on track for the Remote Gambling Act to enter into effect on March 1, 2021.

Making a keynote address at a Gaming In Holland conference, Jansen backed-up previous assertions that from the aforementioned date onwards, it will be possible to submit applications for online gambling licences. That, in turn, means that the online gambling market will open on September 1, 2021.

A number of crucial steps ahead of the licensing process were also addressed by the KSA chair, with Jansen saying that the country’s central exclusion register, CRUKS, has been handed over to the operational managing party, Netcompany.

Furthermore, the control database, the instrument online operators will use to monitor gambling behaviour and that will serve as the basis for Ksa’s digital supervision of the operators, is also said to be “ready to go”.

5,000

Åland-based gaming firm Paf has announced another reduction to its annual loss limit, bringing the figure down by a further €5,000 to €20,000.

Aiming to strengthen its commitment to responsible gaming further still, and gaining support from the Red Cross, the latest reduction will equate to a €2m-€3m drop in income for the group.

“It is a large sum of money for Paf, but more importantly it is good for our customers that we say no to it,” noted Christer Fahlstedt, Paf CEO.

When Paf first introduced the loss limit in 2018 it was set at 30,000 euros per year, before the group detailed its first loss limit reduction to €25,000 during 2019.

Two years ago Paf became the first international gaming company to introduce a maximum limit for the amount customers can lose in one year. The new lower loss limit of €20,000 comes into force on January 1, 2021 and applies to all online customers.

5

The Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom is investigating whether the proposed acquisition of NetEnt by Evolution Gaming will lessen the competition in the region’s igaming market.

The UK’s competition regulator officially announced the launch of its merger inquiry by notice to those concerned yesterday, before inviting comments on the purchase by any interested party.

These comments need to be provided before the invitation closes on October 5, following which the CMA will proceed to its analysis stage of phase one before reaching a decision on whether to enter phase two or close the inquiry on November 16.

Evolution Gaming had previously expressed an expectation of closing the transaction on November 2, with an acceptance period commencing on August 17, 2020 and expiring on or around October 26, 2020.

548

Almost a quarter of people infected with COVID-19 in the Nevadan region of Clark County, which includes the Las Vegas strip, may have contracted or spread the virus at a hotel, motel or resort, reports the Reno Gazette Journal.

Commenting that a connection between positive cases and the strip could exist, Julia Peek, deputy administrator of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said that 26 per cent of those infected in the region during a 30 day period in August had visited one of the aforementioned facilities.

This comes as casino properties document their own testing numbers, with the Journal also stating that Las Vegas Sands had recorded 399 positive cases at the Venetian and Palazzo venues since reopening in June. However, it is added that not all were discovered during on-property testing.

Furthermore, Wynn Resorts has also provided an update on its testing and contact tracing program for Wynn Las Vegas, continuing a prior pledge for public transparency regarding its efforts to keep guests and employees safe during the pandemic.

In partnership with University Medical Centre, the group has conducted 15,051 tests of its employees resulting in 548 positive cases, for a positivity test rate of 3.6 per cent. Of those, 51 positive results were pre-reopening and 497 were post-reopening, for a 3.3 per cent positivity rate regarding the latter.

11

Entertainment Laboratories has made its mandatory public offer to secure the remaining shares in Global Gaming, after previously taking its holding in the firm to 27,266,114 shares which corresponds to 66.70 per cent stake.

The offer value for the remaining 13,611,386 shares in global gaming is SEK 11 apiece, or SEK 149.72m (£13.18m), and therefore values all shares in the company at approximately SEK 450m (£39.63m).

Furthermore, Enlabs offers all shareholders in Global Gaming a consideration, for each share in Global Gaming, of either: the cash consideration, the share consideration, or a combination corresponding to 50 per cent of each.

The group will publish a document regarding the proposed takeover, which is expected to take place around October 2, 2020. The acceptance period is anticipated to begin around October 5, 2020 and end approximately November 2, 2020.