Every week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most fascinating stories. SOFTSWISS’ Game Aggregator reported “stellar results” in Q1, the UK Gambling Commission issued a financial penalty to Paddy Power Betfair while also laying out an Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme.

70

SOFTSWISS added more than 70 igaming brands to the Game Aggregator solution in Q1 2023, bringing the number of clients on the SOFTSWISS casino platform to over 770.

The firm believes that growth is due to the recognition of the platform within the industry, as the number of game providers and studios included in the solution improved year-over-year as well to 195.

Tatyana Kaminskaya, Head of SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator, commented: “The growing number of game providers integrating their content into our aggregation platform and the rising number of games being played signifies the value and quality of our offer. 

“The SOFTSWISS Game Aggregator’s portfolio contains top-notch and exclusive games from various operators. This ensures that our clients discover unique opportunities for their business that will help them achieve their goals.”

490,000

The UK Gambling Commission has issued a £490,000 financial penalty to Paddy Power Betfair operator PPB Counterparty Services Limited after customers that had registered with GAMSTOP or directly self-excluded had received promotional material.

On November 21, 2021, excluded customers received promotions for enhanced odds on a Premier League match by the company, breaching UKGC regulatory requirements where operators must take “all reasonable steps” to stop marketing material being sent to self-excluded customers.

Within two days of receiving a completed self-exclusion notification, a self-excluded customer’s details are supposed to be removed from marketing databases to make sure they don’t receive such promotions.

Kay Roberts, UKGC Executive Director of Operations, said: “Although there is no evidence the marketing was intentional, nor that all the people with apps saw the notification or that self-excluded customers were allowed to gamble, we take such breaches seriously.

“We would advise all operators to learn from the operator’s failures and ensure their systems are robust enough to always prevent self-excluded customers from being sent promotional material.”

6

The UKGC has unveiled the Evidence Gaps and Priorities programme, a three-year research and evidence collection project for the UK gambling industry spanning over six areas to help achieve a “safer, fairer and crime-free” industry.

The commission will seek evidence on the following areas: early gambling experiences and gateway products; the range and variability of gambling experiences; gambling-related harms and vulnerability; the impact of operator practices; product characteristics and risk; and illegal gambling and crime.

“Evidence matters. We all make decisions based on how we understand the world around us, what the evidence is telling us,” noted Tim Miller, UKGC Executive Director of Research and Policy.

“The bigger the decision and the wider its impact, the more likely we all are to want more information before we act. Before the big choices, we all want to fill in the gaps in our understanding. What’s true for us all in our daily lives is just as true for our understanding of gambling.”

95

LeoVegas 2022 difficulties carried over into Q1 2023, with the operator reporting a 4 per cent decline in group-wide revenue to €95m (Q1 2022: €98.5m).

EBITDA for the MGM Resorts-owned casino operator fell as well by 3 per cent to a loss of €3m (2022: €1m loss) with decreases in gross and operating profit too, down by 7.5 per cent to €61.5m (2022: €66.5m) and 186 per cent to an €8.2m loss (2022: €9.6m gain) respectively.

Net gaming revenue in LeoVegas’ Rest of Europe segment improved by 17 per cent year-over-year with growth in the UK and Spain but setbacks in Germany.

Further issues occurred in the Nordics with NGR dropping by 3 per cent YoY, although a record-high customer base was achieved in Sweden during the quarter. 

4

Playtech has declared a strong start to operations through the first four months of the year, with “good progress” being made across B2B and B2C strategic objectives.

The company noted that “strong growth” from Snaitech and Caliente is anticipated to produce an adjusted EBITDA ahead of current consensus expectations.

Snaitech progress is being maintained, while Caliente expansion in Latin America is continuing alongside growth in the US.

“The strategically important live casino business continues to capitalise on the market’s rapid expansion, delivering good growth in the period,” the group said.

“Momentum also continued within the higher-margin SaaS business with very strong revenue growth, further launches and new customer signings.”

338.5

Super Group’s global growth slowed down in Q1 due to North America problems, but losses fell compared to the previous year.

Revenue from the Betway and Spin operator improved by one per cent to €338.5m (2022: €334.5m) thanks to progress in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while the group is confident in US footprint growth despite setbacks in the region.

Operational EBITDA was €34.7m (2022: €63m) following losses of €16.6m stateside, but net losses fell by 98 per cent to €1.9m (2022: €163.3m) and active customers rose by 34 per cent to 2.6 million.

Neal Menashe, CEO of Super Group, said: “Super Group has delivered another solid quarter and we remain focused on growing revenue and profits. 

“During the month of March, net gaming revenue was a record high, along with the Operational EBITDA margin of over 20 per cent and this is a strong reminder of the value of operating leverage in our business. 

“We are confident that we will continue to build on another strong quarter across igaming and sports betting across the world.”

151

Rivalry reported Q1 2023 as the “most impressive” quarterly results yet with revenue up 151 per cent year-over-year with sequential quarterly improvements of 27 per cent as well.

The operator of the Casino.exe platform and a sportsbook and esportsbook product noted that losses were cut by 50 per cent YoY during the quarter while gross profit improved by 89 per cent.

During Q1, Rivalry also launched the Casino.exe platform in the Canadian province of Ontario, bringing eight casino games and exclusive titles to the market.

Steven Salz, Rivalry Co-Founder and CEO, said: “Building innovative products, which add to an overall unique and interactive betting experience on Rivalry, will remain a strategic focus in 2023.

“The competitive advantage of engaging and fun products is increased user activity and satisfaction, and when combined with a profitable acquisition strategy, creates a flywheel effect in the business generating consistent organic momentum and enhancing our operational efficiency.”

45,000

The Investigations and Enforcement Bureau of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission issued a $45,000 fine to MGM Springfield for underage gambling violations.

Between June 2022 and December 2022, multiple incidents occurred at MGM Springfield where people under the age of 21 years old had gaming and gaming floor access.

Several of these incidents were self-reported by the casino, which has also agreed to the penalty issued and has taken steps to prevent those underage from entering the gaming floor in the future including additional railings and a security station.

“We appreciate that MGM Springfield self-reported many of these instances and their ongoing cooperation to put enhanced practices into place to prevent similar incidents in the future,” noted Kathleen Kramer, Senior Enforcement Counsel at the MGC.

Kramer added that MGM Springfield’s compliance and remedial steps will continue to be monitored by the IEB moving forward.