Every week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most fascinating stories. An influx of first quarter financial reports dominated the new agenda during the course of the past seven days. Elsewhere, Jay Z penned an open letter to New Yorkers regarding an ongoing casino battle, the SGA’s legal dispute with Genesis Global offered feedback and the AGA echoed calls for an illegal gambling crackdown.

360,000

Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court backed the Spelinspektionen in an ongoing legal dispute with Genesis Global, however, the size of the penalty fee must be redetermined.

This, said the nation’s highest-ranking court of appeal for legal challenges, is due to a lack of detail regarding “the concept of turnover,” as well as a difference in opinion in how this is applied.

The Swedish gambling authority lodged an appeal after the Court of Appeal in Jönköping slashed the figure handed down despite acknowledging “a serious violation.” 

It said that the size of penalty fee should be determined based on the seriousness of the violation, instead of being based on the companies’ turnover.

In March 2019, three months after the launch of Sweden’s newly regulated online gambling marketplace, Genesis was fined SEK 4m (€360,000) for failure to integrate its white-label brands with the Spelpaus self-exclusion system. 

2022

Jay Z, through his Roc Nation entertainment agency, published an open letter in several local publications to outline why “there’s no better location” for such a destination than “the crossroads of the world”.

In December 2022, the agency, founded by the rapper and producer, aligned with Caesars Entertainment and SL Green as the race to secure one of up to three casino licences gathered pace.

As well as outlining a series of potential benefits to be felt by his backed proposal, the communication was also quick to allege that “some conflicted parties have attempted to spread misinformation, so we wanted to speak with you, New York, directly”.

Noting the “palpable energy” of the “epicentre of entertainment”, the open letter pleaded that “the winning licensee must always put the well-being of New York at the top of their agenda and do right by its residents. This is too important of a moment in our city’s illustrious history”.

670

Light & Wonder reported a “strong start” to 2023 following a first quarter where double-digit revenue growth across all segments was achieved.

With new income records set for SciPlay and igaming operations, President and CEO Matt Wilson noted that the company is strengthening its position in the industry and achieving “enhanced returns” thanks to its strategy and investment.

In addition to its existing primary Nasdaq listing, L&W’s board of directors also noted that it is preparing for a potential secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange as the company seeks to enhance its profile in the country and gain access to new investors.

Publishing its Q1 financials, L&W declared a total revenue of $670m, up 17 per cent year-over-year (Q1 2022: $572m) thanks to double-digit growth across all segments, including new records set in SciPlay and igaming operations.

1.42 

Wynn Resorts wass basking in the aftermath of a bumper performance through the first quarter, with significant upticks in both Las Vegas and Boston, as well as the Asian gaming hub of Macau, leading the operator’s charge.

Coming just weeks after the group named its $3.9bn UAE development Wynn Al Marjan Island, which will house the region’s first legal casino, the company withheld particular praise for the aforementioned autonomous region. 

Following a sustained period of difficulty across Macau being endured across the board, Wynn noted that due to a return of visitation and demand it is “well positioned for success” during a next stage of expansion.

Group-wide revenue rose 32.86 per cent to $1.42bn (2022: $953.3m), driven by across the board increases in all individual reporting segments.

77

The American Gaming Association vowed to maintain a drive to accelerate protections for customers, as well as echoing calls for a continued crackdown on the US’ illegal ecosystem.

Publishing the results of fresh data, the industry association revealed that 85 per cent of American adults agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down PASPA, compared to 63 per cent one year earlier.

Elsewhere, 77 per cent support legalisation in their state of residence, with 78 per cent of bettors said to place all or most bets through regulated operators.

It was also found that 77 per cent of online sports bets are now placed through regulated operators, with that figure having stood at 44 per cent in 2019.

64.3

Moti Malul, Chief Executive Officer of NeoGames, hailed the momentum carried into 2023 after affirming that the group stood “very well positioned” to achieve lofty internal ambitions set earlier in the year.

Following a 2022 that was previously hailed as ending “on a very strong note”, Malul voiced enthusiasm at steps taken to “further solidify our position as the global leader in ilottery, sports betting and igaming solutions”.

With “equally exciting” developments detailed across all business units and financial results, the latter saw group-wide revenue through the first quarter, including its share of NeoPollard Interactive, reach $64.3m.

This represents a 187 per cent surge from the $22.4m recorded one year earlier, which is primarily aligned to the impacts of the business combination with Aspire Global.

22.71

Mohegan voiced encouragement at the future growth potential of its digital business after being uplifted by the “strong results” delivered by the segment during the year’s first quarter.

Driven by growth across Connecticut and the addition of online gaming in Ontario, revenue surged to $22.71m (2022: $5.91m) while adjusted EBITDA increased $16.6m to close the quarter at $18.1m.

Regarding the online performance, the company noted: “Mohegan Digital Connecticut also benefited from a one-time cumulative update to the revenue share allocation from our digital gaming partner, which impacted net revenues and adjusted EBITDA.”

Group-wide revenue through Q1 increased 13.2 per cent to $405.84m (2022: $358.47m), driven by a full period of operations as well as “relatively normal operating conditions” at Niagara Resorts.

1

Bragg Gaming CEO Yaniv Sherman is “confident” that the company’s first quarter momentum can be carried through the rest of 2023 to help create “near and long-term shareholder value”.

Reflecting on a record Q1 revenue total, the CEO noted that the opening period of the year benefitted from “growing contributions from higher margin proprietary and exclusive third-party games, and platform solutions”.

He added that the results demonstrate Bragg’s ability to deliver “strong near-term financial performance” alongside its plan of “consistent profitable revenue growth and increasing cash flow”.