Mile High expectations
Bet365 makes 1,000-strong Denver staffing commitment
Bet365 confirms Colorado for its US HQ.
Analysts say MGM Resorts’ prospects are tied to a troubled Strip outlook.
Playtech CEO hails company’s “return to its roots” as a pure play B2B.
Crypto payments facilitator XDA.io launches a gaming accelerator.
Friends around the campfire and everybody's high.
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Bet365’s big US bet
I guess he’d rather be in Colorado: Bet365 has confirmed it has selected Denver to be its US HQ and will be hiring nearly 1,000 new employees to staff the operation. Colorado is one of 11 states where bet365 is operational in the US and it currently employs 30 in the state.
The news from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade confirmed a rumor from April 2023.
The Stoke-on-Trent, UK-based company will be taking up residence in 120,000 sq ft of renovated office space in the city.
In its 2023 accounts, the company said it had nearly 7,000 staff worldwide working at offices in the UK, Malta, Gibraltar, New Jersey and other regulated jurisdictions.
I'm goin’ out to Denver, see if I can’t find: A bet355 spokesperson said the unveiling of the company’s US headquarters was a “watershed moment” for the firm and was the “ideal location to launch the next chapter.”
The Colorado Economic Development Commission has approved up to $14m of tax credits for bet365 over the next eight years, dependent on the company meeting job creation and salary targets.
Bridgehead: The establishment of a Denver HQ comes as bet365 appears to be making headway in the US; in particular, in Ohio, where it has claimed third spot behind market leaders DraftKings and FanDuel.
In July, the most recent month’s data, bet365 claimed an 11% share of handle and 9% of GGR.
The latest download data showed bet365 has grabbed an 8% share in the NFL season to date, fifth behind FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Hard Rock.
The analysts at EKG noted the company launched a major UX update in September, which they said was a “clear Americanization.”
Venture capital firm Yolo Investments manages in excess of €500m in capital across 100 exciting fintech, gaming and blockchain companies. The Yolo Investments' Gaming fund, regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, has taken positions in fast-growth suppliers and operators, including Dabble and Enteractive. Yolo Investments (yolo.io) wants to hear from readers of this newsletter. Get in touch with your pitch, or for a chat about innovative products which can plug into our investment ecosystem.
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Cooling-off period: Major gaming CEOs are cautious about business prospects in the year ahead with a significant minority now expecting a consumer slowdown in the next 3-6 months, according to the latest survey of industry leaders from the AGA.
AGA VP of research David Forman said expectations around customer activity have “cooled considerably.”
Allwyn has announced it has relocated its Allwyn International to Switzerland from the Czech Republic as of yesterday, October 1.
Gentoo and GIG Software have officially completed their split, with each company now trading separately on the Nordic exchanges. Meanwhile, the Juroszek family’s Betplay Capital and the MJ Foundation have each added to their holdings in Gentoo.
Inspired Entertainment has signed a licensing agreement with the National Hockey League for the production of a virtual sports offering.
FairPlay Sports Media’s Oddschecker has launched its US subscription service called Oddschecker+.
By the numbers – Macau
Stimulated: The analysts from Jefferies said September revenues “moderately outperformed,” with GGR up 15.5% YoY to $2.15bn. However, this represented a 12% MoM decline.
Still, after the stimulus news from the Chinese authorities last week, the tailwinds for the market look likely to continue, with the team at Seaport suggesting Golden Week was set to be “strong.”
Macquarie noted the proposed economic measures would likely lead to upward revisions across the sector.
Off the boil
Roped together: MGM Resorts’ share price has struggled in the YTD alongside the worsening revenue picture emerging from Las Vegas, showing the extent to which in the eyes of investors the company’s fortunes are tied to those of the Strip.
When the going gets tough: Such is the conclusion of the analysts at Deutsche Bank, who have revised their adj. EBITDA forecasts for what looks to be an increasingly tough end to the year in Vegas and cut their target price on the shares even though they remain a Buy.
Deutsche Bank now predicts MGM Resorts’ adj. EBITDA for Q3 will be $40m lower than previously at $1.18bn, while the FY24 figure will be nearly $100m lower than forecast at $4.75bn.
Hypertext: The latest data from Las Vegas showed GGR down 3% YoY, which prompted the analysts at Macquarie to argue that the period of “hyper growth” was now at an end. “From here, we expect Strip trends to remain challenging,” the DB team wrote this week.
The analysts have also lowered their forecasts for MGM in Macau. However, regionally they expected revenue to come in “nicely above consensus.”
🚧 The MGM Resorts share price is down 14% YTD, though that performance has been improved in the past week by the rebound in Macau-related stocks.
Before that bounce, MGM was off by over 23% YTD.
🚨 MGM Resorts’ bad year to date
Stay positive: Looking ahead to Q4 in Las Vegas, the DB team have trimmed their forecasts but they do strike a positive note, suggesting the trends aren’t as “ominous as most believe.”
The team argued the negative sentiment is driven by the challenging comps with last year rather than a “distinct change in the cadence of demand.”
Still, they noted the additional headwinds from a “presumably” weaker F1 event.
Recall, at the time of the Q2 earnings in late July, CEO Bill Hornbuckle admitted to “some softness” with F1 but hoped “this race will continue to pace up.”
Back where we belong
Zippin’ up my boots: CEO Mor Weizer said after two announcements that would “fundamentally transform” the business – the renegotiated deal with CalifPlay and the sale of Snaitech to Flutter – Playtech was “returning to its roots” as a pure play B2B provider.
Weizer was speaking after the company produced its H1 earnings showing B2B revenues up 14% to €382m, helped by a 42% increase in the Americas – largely CaliPlay – to €142m.
It said that 2024 adj. EBITDA for the B2B unit would come in on target at between €200m and €250m.
Forget me not: Among the mentions given to various continuing partnerships – including the stakes in Hard Rock Digital, Wplay in Colombia and Galera Bet in Brazil – Weizer said he wanted to note the previously unmentioned 49% equity stake in sports data supplier LSports, which he said had paid a cash dividend of €1.8m in 2023.
On CaliPlay, Weizer said the business was well-positioned for expansion outside of Mexico.
He also noted the progress made by the live dealer offering, which saw revenues rise 17% in H1. Over the period, the company signed a partnership for live dealer with MGM Resorts.
Hungry like the wolf: Asked about the incentive plan that will see the management team collectively receive ~€100m from the Snaitech deal and sets them up to receive 10% of any further large-scale transactions in the coming years, Weizer said the team “remained hungry” despite the size of the upcoming payout.
“This is long term,” he said. “This secures the management. This creates stability.”
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Venture playground
Funding program
Get with the program: Crypto payments-to-gambling operators facilitator XDA.io has announced a new accelerator program aimed at the gambling sector, which it said is “designed to empower startups in gambling and fintech.”
The new program will give participants access to a network of industry experts and the opportunity for direct investment.
“Unlike traditional investment models, XDA.io exclusively utilizes its own funds, ensuring committed support for the most promising ventures,” the company said in a blog posting.
Startups can apply via this link.
Startup focus – SavageTech
Who are you? Berlin-based B2B SaaS provider SavageTech was founded by CEO Tom Jang Lemke in 2024.
What’s the big idea? Lemke claims SavageTech has created the world's first true gamified retention engine for the iGaming industry. “It is a simple to integrate overlay that we can put on top of a sportsbook and/or casino,” he says.
“The users receive an avatar and get to go on an adventure, fighting monsters and collecting epic loot anytime they place a bet or use the casino.
All assets are 100% customizable and we can tap into the loyalty system of the platform to give the users bonus spins or free bets based on the progress within the gamified layer.
Funding backgrounder: Lemke says SavageTech has raised a pre-seed funding round at a seven-digits valuation and is currently in the middle of raising its seed round.
Growth company news
Serial winner: Match Hype collected the prize at the SBC Summit First Pitch, which took place in Lisbon last week, the company’s second pitch win in three months after picking up the iGB version in Amsterdam in July.
Speaking immediately after winning to the Betting Startups podcast, CEO Radek Pšurný said he would encourage more startups to enter into the gaming sector.
“In gaming, you can say that not much has changed in 10 years. Innovation is not on the operators’ side.”
QTech Games: The game distributor for emerging markets has launched with games developer SmartSoft Gaming with a range of slots, keno and roulette products alongside a category of crash titles known as XGames.
ALT Sports Data, the San Diego-based alternative and emerging sports trading and consumer data provider, has announced an official partnership with Abelson Info.
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We are best known for our next generation Bet Builder/Same Game Multiples product that offers the widest range of sports with unrivalled coverage, markets and features, both pre-match and in-play.
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Event calendar
Oct 7-10: G2E, Las Vegas
Oct 21-24: World Lottery Summit, Paris
Nov 5: Gaming in Germany, Berlin
Nov 11-14: Sigma Europe, Malta
Dec 2-4: Thai Entertainment Complex Summit, Bangkok
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