Gambling in the USA
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – December 14-20
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.
Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, new partnerships and new acquisitions. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
New Jersey has become the first state in history to post a legal sports betting handle of more than $900 million. NJ sportsbooks generated $931 million in wagers in November, breaking the previous record of $803.1 million set in October and marking the fourth consecutive month the state has set an all-jurisdiction record for handle.
iTech Labs, a testing and certification laboratory for the global online gaming industry, has added Buenos Aires and Panama to its growing list of online gaming jurisdictions. With over 16 years of specialising in the online gaming space, iTech Labs has built a solid place for itself in the industry, with many of the world’s leading online gaming companies turning to iTech Labs for their certification needs.
Further to the announcement on December 11 from the Ontario provincial government that certain businesses in certain regions, such as casinos, will be restricted further for indoor gathering limits, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation has suspended the gaming operations at Elements Casino Grand River from December 13. Currently, only seven of the Company’s 26 properties are open with the 5 Ontario properties operating with a guest capacity of fifty, Casino New Brunswick operating with 25% of pre-closure capacity, and Casino Nova Scotia Sydney operating with 20% of pre-closure capacity.
Casinos in Pennsylvania have once again been ordered to close their doors as part of the new Covid-19 restrictions in the state. Governor Tom Wolf ordered the casinos to close until January 4. Wolf’s mandate covers other indoor entertainment venues, theatres, museums, gyms and activities in public gathering spaces. Indoor dining at restaurants is also prohibited.
Wind Creek Bethlehem casino closed for the second time this year, but it plans to continue to pay its active employees throughout the three-week shutdown. Wind Creek issued a statement pledging to pay its 1600 “active salaried and tipped employees.” The closure includes the casino, its restaurants and hotel. The Wind Creek Event Centre and Vision bar remain closed. The Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem will be open at a reduced maximum capacity of 50% in line with the new state requirements.
New Partnerships
BetWinner has entered into a partnership with ESPN’s flagship programme SportsCenter, a daily national and international sporting events highlights show, to increase its footprint in Brazil. The four-month partnership will see BetWinner’s imagery and QR code appear in the Sportscenter programmes.
FanDuel Group has entered a strategic business deal with The Cage Companies to launch online and retail sportsbooks in South America and the Caribbean. The new relationship brings together Cage’s experience in the region with FanDuel’s premier brand and industry-leading sports betting platform.
Las Vegas-based gambling firm GameCo has entered into a partnership with sports betting solutions company USBookmaking. The partnership will launch the first-ever dedicated esports sportsbook in the US and will be available digitally at Sky Ute Casino Resort for all players in Colorado.
New Acquisition
Genius Sports Group Limited has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sportzcast, a leading manufacturer of sports scoreboard data distribution systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
New Appointment
Lia Nower, JD, PhD, Rutgers University Professor and Director of its Centre for Gambling Studies, has joined the Board of Directors of the National Council on Problem Gambling. Nower is currently Chair of the NCPG Research Committee and has served on several other committees. She is also Director of the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Programme in the Rutgers School of Social Work and a research affiliate with the Gambling Treatment Unit at the University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre.
Gambling in the USA
Zula Casino Kicks Off its Spectacular 1-Year “Zula-versary” with a Month of Events and Promotions
Zula Casino launched its online social casino in the US exactly a year ago delivering more. More games. More rewards. More free-to-play entertainment through a personalized experience. Zula Casino marked its one-year launch by crossing the 1000 casino-game threshold – a milestone that positions it among the top platforms nationwide.
The month-long birthday bash intends to go over the top to give back to its amazing player community that helped make this first year so incredible. With its advent calendar format, players can unlock a special surprise each day ranging from a “Win-a-Vacation” event, a carnival event, free spins and new exclusive games, and a prize pool of over 25 billion Gold Coins (GC) plus 150,000 Sweeps Coins (SC) to be given out throughout the month. Over this period, Zula Casino will run other special events, including surprise happy hours with special coupons, various social media contests, and special giveaways.
“We’re incredibly proud of the player experience we’ve built over the last 12 months. The platform has garnered a substantial and loyal pool of players, and it’s not just because we offer one of the largest game selections from leading global providers, but also the exclusive experiences we’re providing, and the platform’s continued evolution with enhanced promotions, personalization, and seamless user experience,” said Tamar Laypan, Program Manager of Zula Casino.
Zula Casino has added over 1000 games across all categories over the past 12 months, including slots, jackpots, fish, table, plinko, megaways, crash, hold and win, tumble games, and more. These additions include top games like Big Bass Vegas and Fire Stampede, as well as branded exclusives like Gold Gold Gold 5000, supplied by Booming Games, and Sweet Bonanza 1000 by Pragmatic Play. With recent additions, Zula Casino now boasts 25 game providers, including Relax Gaming, Habanero, Evoplay, Pragmatic Play, RubyPlay, Gamzix, Let Us Entertain You Inc., to name a few.
Zula Casino flourished in a tough and highly competitive market, launching its proprietary-integrated platform in September of last year. With an average TrustPilot score of 4.6 and almost 9K reviews, the online social casino is among the highest-rated free-to-play sites in the market.
Zula Casino was also previously shortlisted for the prestigious Global SBC Awards in the category of “Rising Star in Casino”.
Diana Goode
NCPG Welcomes Diana Goode to the Board of Directors
NCPG has announced the appointment of Diana Goode to the National Council on Problem Gambling’s Board of Directors. Diana, who has served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) since May 2018, brings over 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience to this role.
In her time with CCPG, Diana has championed initiatives that address problem gambling and promote responsible gaming across Connecticut. Additionally, she has played an active role on the NCPG Affiliates Committee, contributing valuable insights from her years of experience.
Before joining CCPG, Diana held executive roles in nonprofits focusing on poverty alleviation and financial literacy in Connecticut. Her academic credentials include a degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Connecticut. She resides in the Greater Hartford area, where she remains deeply engaged in her community.
Diana will serve an interim appointment in the Affiliates seat on the NCPG Board of Directors until Spring 2025.
Gambling in the USA
Gaming Executives Positive on Current Business Conditions, Cautious on Future Growth Expectations
Overall Balance Sheet Health, Access to Credit Continue to Improve
In the face of slowing revenue expansion, gaming industry leaders continue to hold an overall positive view of the current business situation, with a notable improvement in credit conditions, according to the latest American Gaming Association (AGA) Gaming Industry Outlook.
The majority of respondents (88%) view the current state of the gaming industry as either good or satisfactory. Meanwhile, executives have a more conservative outlook on future business conditions, with respondents split on whether they expect conditions to improve over the next three-to-six months (3% net positive) and many expecting a decrease in customer activity (28% net negative).
“After years of very strong consumer gaming spending growth, expectations around customer activity over the next three to six months have cooled considerably,” said AGA Vice President of Research David Forman. “Still, gaming businesses remain well positioned, with executives touting strong balance sheets and more viewing access to credit as easy than restrictive for the first time in two years.”
Gaming Executive Panel
Since Q1, gaming executives’ sentiment has shifted, with a greater number of respondents now expecting a decline in customer activity over the next three to six months (28% net negative, up from 4% net negative in Q1). Despite this, panelists foresee improvements in overall balance sheet health (34% net positive).
Additionally, more executives reported access to credit as easy (19%) rather than restrictive (3%) for the first time in two years, and fewer cite interest rates as a major limiting factor than in the spring.
Hotel (56%) and food and beverage facilities (56%) continue to be the main and growing focus of capital investment among operators, followed by live entertainment (28%) and casino floor slots (22%).
Meanwhile, gaming equipment suppliers now believe their pace of capital investment and game sales will decelerate (13% net negative).
These expectations are impacted by evolving macroeconomic challenges, with uncertainty of the economic environment vaulting to the top of executive concerns (56%, up from 34% in Q1), followed by state regulatory concerns (31%), and inflationary or interest rate concerns and geopolitical risk (both 34%).
The Current Conditions Index
The Current Conditions Index for Q3 2024 was 97.3, which is consistent with real annualized contraction of 2.7 percent. The Current Conditions Index measures real economic activity in the industry, as measured by gaming revenue, employment and employee wages and salaries.
The Future Conditions Index
The Future Conditions Index, a leading indicator of changes in industry conditions, measured 98.9 in Q3. This indicates an environment in which real economic activity in the gaming sector, after controlling for underlying inflation, is expected to moderately decrease over the next six months (1.1% annualized rate).
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