Gaming America Sep/Oct 2021

GamingAmerica.com

Sep/Oct 2021

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS INSIDE PG 58

CEO SPECIAL

TODAY'S LEADERS AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME

Anna Sainsbury, Adam Greenblatt, Melonie Johnson, Dr Laila Mintas, Sara Slane

• ROUNDTABLE: CASHLESS GAMING

• FOOD FOR THOUGHT: F&B IN LAS VEGAS

• CYBER CASINOS, A CAUTIONARY TALE

• GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS PREVIEW

1 GAMINGAMERICA

COO, EDITOR IN CHIEF Julian Perry EDITOR Carl Friedmann editor@gamingamerica.com Tel: +44 (0) 207 739 9908

EDITOR’S LETTER

STAFF WRITERS Henry Moore Henry.Moore@gamingamerica.com Ezra Amacher Ezra.Amacher@gamingamerica.com Michael Bartlett Michael.Bartlett@gamingamerica.com LEAD DESIGNER Brendan Morrell DESIGNER Olesya Adamska DESIGN ASSISTANTS Radostina Mihaylova, Ana-Mariya Dimitrova, Inna Shtereva MARKETING & EVENTS MANAGER Mariya Savova FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Dalia Ambrazaite IT MANAGER Tom Powling COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Deepak Malkani Deepak.Malkani@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7729 6279 US BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Aaron Harvey Aaron.Harvey@playerspublishing.com Tel: +1 702 425 7818 ACCOUNT MANAGERS Michael Juqula Michael.Juqula@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 3487 0498 William Aderele William.Aderele@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 2062 Clive Waite Clive.Waite@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7729 0643 Martin Dilleigh Martin.Dilleigh@gamblinginsider.com Tel: +44 (0) 203 435 5628 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Sam Ford Samuel.Ford@GamblingInsider.com Tel: +44 (0) 207 739 9918 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Warren Wilkinson warren.wilkinson@gamblinginsider.com CREDIT MANAGER Rachel Voit

JULIAN PERRY, COO, Editor in Chief

CARL FRIEDMANN, Editor

Turning the corner doesn’t mean taking your foot off the gas. Pairing metaphors is just as bad as mixing them, I know, but with each success story told as we slowly dig our way out of the pandemic, there is an equivalent tale of caution to apply.

There’s been no shortage of positives to focus on, though, and in this bumper edition of Gaming America, we celebrate some of the best examples of land-based and digital leadership in the industry.

The CEO Special is always a big deal, and this one, timed with the return of G2E, showcases key influencers, but not in the TikTok sense. These are true innovators who have proven that an inclusive and diverse organization is the latticework on which great things grow. Their successes speak for themselves and the features begin on page 28, starting with Melonie Johnson, president and COO of the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa. Once you finish reading about her, BetMGM’s Adam Greenblatt, GeoComply’s Anna Sainsbury, The Slane Advisory’s Sara Slane and PlayUp’s Dr. Laila Mintas, you’ll have all the inspiration you need to flourish in your own way.

The other big section in this issue is our Sports Betting Focus, and just in time for the start of the NFL season. It’s no secret that sports betting itself is having a banner season as more states realize the win-win it enables, not just for state budgets and operators, but for the fans themselves who have always had an appetite for it anyway, and found ways, irrespective of jurisdiction, to make things “interesting.”

So taking certain markets as examples of success, like New Jersey, and extrapolating that model across the country is in full swing, and there’s no turning back now.

From Bill Pascrell’s piece on the need for fixed-odds wagering in horse racing and 888 Holdings aligning with legacy media brand Sports Illustrated, to the rapid rise of esports and tactics to leverage the most out of strategic partnerships with sports franchises, we cover it all starting on page 58.

We also dedicate some space on page 8 to July’s return of NIGA, which served (successfully I might add) as a test run for the return of in-person gaming shows.

And on that note, we hope you enjoy this issue as you explore the hallways of G2E. Welcome back. We’ve missed you.

CONTRIBUTING THIS ISSUE

WITH THANKS TO: Craig Libson, Joe Pappano, Christopher Justice, Scott Dowty, Anna Sainsbury, Dr. Laila Mintas, Melonie Johnson, Adam Greenblatt, Sara Slane, Chloe Paul, Oliver Lovat, Alfred Liggins, Rob Ziems, Chad Hoehne, Nick Nally, Jeff Silver, Peter Causley, Stephen Crystal Gaming America magazine ISSN 2632-766X Produced and published

by Players Publishing Ltd All material is strictly copyrighted and all rights reserved.

Reproduction without permission is forbidden. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of Gambling Insider but we assume no responsibility for the effects arising therefrom. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

ANNA SAINSBURY

Chairman and co-founder, GeoComply

ALFRED LIGGINS

Chief executive, Urban One

CHECK GAMINGAMERICA.COM FOR THE BEST IN BREAKING NEWS

CONTENTS 08

RETURN TO FORM

10

MAP STATS

12

EYES ON IGAMING

The NIGA expo ushered in the comeback for in-person events in the gaming industry.

Michael Bartlett reports from Caesars Forum.

A look at casino operating restrictions with data supplied by the American Gaming Association.

Chloe Paul, manager of data analytics at The Innovation Group explores how B&M must adapt to igaming trends.

16

NO REST FOR THE DREAM TEAM

18

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

22

THE RISE OF DINE

Stephen Crystal, CEO of SCCG Management, on strategies required to align with professional sports in order to engage better with consumers.

Dickinson Wright's Jeffrey Silver explores the modern-day incarnation of shills and how they’re adapting in the digital age.

Las Vegas is a global culinary destination, but it wasn’t always this way. The Denstone Group's Oliver Lovat on the city’s culinary evolution.

26

GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS

28

CEO SPECIAL

50

ONE FOR THE BOOKS

52

CASHING IN ON CASHLESS

58

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS

86

USER FRIENDLY

88

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES

90

NEW FACES

91

MAKING STRIDES

92

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

93

NATURAL PHENOMENON

94

A FOOT IN THE DOOR

96

BOX FRESH

In its eighth year, the GGA is back in person, and with more categories, this will be a year to remember.

30 Walking the walk: Resilience and empathy work hand in hand for Melonie Johnson, Borgata president and COO. 34 The halo effect: Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, speaks about how success is measured in degrees of empathy and transparency.

38 Casting a wide net: Sara Slane is understood to be “the face of legalized sports betting.” Here, we learn about how her dedication is always a work in progress.

42 Preventative, not reactive: GeoComply's chair and co-founder Anna Sainsbury on how maintaining perspective is vital to long-term growth.

46 On the up and up: Laila Mintas, CEO of PlayUp US, on the company's expansion in the US to deliver an all-in-one app.

6 GAMINGAMERICA

Urban One looks to become the first black-owned majority owner of a US casino. CEO Alfred Liggins speaks about the back story and what lies ahead.

The GA Roundtable discusses the need and benefits of digital money as it changes the gaming landscape.

Take a deep dive into our special supplement section on all things sports related.

CasinoTrac founder and CEO Chad Hoehne explains the importance of brand image and the future of casino management systems.

Mike Dreitzer, CEO at Gaming Arts, on US expansion, innovation and staying ahead of the competition.

Bluberi CEO Andrew Burke discusses rebranding, but emphasizes how the right leadership team needs to maintain company values.

Nick Nally at Continent 8 Technologies, talks about the technical and infrastructure advances that allow operators and suppliers to enter emerging markets.

How Pariplay is applying its foundation of success in Europe to the potential that's revealing itself in the US.

Lightning Box Games is making a big impact in the US. CEO Peter Causley speaks about the company’s success so far and the importance of tentpole games.

Robert Ziems, president of games developer Aruze, speaks with Henry Moore about automation, innovation and adapting to a new market.

We examine what's piqued the industry interest with some extraordinary new products on the market.

NIGA

RETURN TO FORM The National Indian Gaming Association expo ushered in the comeback for in-person events in the gaming industry, and Michael Bartlett was there to get a sense of what happened and what we can expect as the calendar fills up again.

Anticipation for NIGA this year built for a long time once it was cleared to be held in-person again. It’s been a long, hard road for the events sector, one that the industry heavily relies on.

We adapted where we could, but meeting face to face, albeit sometimes masked, was always going to be the preferred way of engaging and conducting business.

The opening day of the show featured a series of deep dives on the rise of tribal sports betting. Included were panels of representatives from tribes in Arizona, Washington and California. The first two of which are trying to get all the regulatory details resolved in time to go live with sports wagering in September to capture the start of football season, while the third is gearing up for the November 2022 election, when at least one ballot initiative, and possibly several, will be offered to voters.

Tribal officials from Arizona, with 23 tribes in the state, noted the state has instituted a bifurcated licensing system, with 10 licenses to be awarded to sports teams or leagues, and 10 to tribes.

Robert Miguel, chairman of the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s Tribal Council, said, “The details are being negotiated as we speak. Some tribes might have to partner with other tribes.

It will be challenging. We will see what happens.”

Rebecca George, executive director of the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA), said Governor Jay Inslee signed 8 GAMINGAMERICA

legislation legalizing sports betting in the Evergreen State in March 2020, but implementation was derailed by the pandemic.

“Everything we have done is preparing us to be ready by September,” George explained. “September is still the goal, but there might be some issues that delay it. At NIGA several people told me there are supply chain issues with the equipment manufacturers.”

Scott Crowell, attorney with the Crowell Law Office in Sedona, Arizona, has represented a number of tribes in negotiating compacts. He said a statewide ballot measure that would amend the California constitution has been approved by the Secretary of State for the November 2022 ballot. The initiative, which is supported by the state’s tribes, would allow sports betting at all tribal facilities and the four racetracks in the Golden State.

“What’s important to know is it does not include a mobile component,” Crowell said. “The ballot measure was originally circulated with the intent of getting on the 2020 ballot, but then the pandemic hit. What we anticipate, but do not yet know, is if there will be competing measures and what they will look like.”

Crowell expects commercial cardrooms in California will attempt to get a measure on the ballot, and he anticipates some committees in the legislature might propose a measure.

“I expect there is a strong likelihood of at least one, if not competing mobile wagering measures on the November 2022 ballot,” he said.

AGA: CASINO OPERATING RESTRICTIONS

CASINO OPERATING RESTRICTIONS IN THE US Colorado

WA

Black Hawk and Central City casinos may operate at 50% of capacity with no further person cap or limitation. Cripple Creek casinos can operate at full capacity.

MT OR ID WY

New Mexico Casinos in counties at the turquoise level can operate at 33% of maximum occupancy, while casinos in counties at the green level are limited to 25%.

NV

UT

CA

TIER 1 Open, no mandated business limitations (does not cover mask mandates) TIER 2 Full casino occupancy; some limitations on amenities, games or other operations

AZ

CO

NM

TIER 3 75-99% of max casino occupancy; some limitations on amenities, games or other operations TIER 4 50-74% of max casino occupancy; some limitations on amenities, games or other operations TIER 5 25-49% of max casino occupancy; some limitations on amenities, games or other operations TIER 6 24% or less of max casino occupancy; some limitations on amenities, games or other operations TIER 7 Mandated casino closure

10 GAMINGAMERICA

HI

Legal landscape as of July 2021 (American Gaming Association)

AGA: CASINO OPERATING RESTRICTIONS

Here we look at state-mandated operating restrictions for commercial casino properties in light of the lingering spread of Covid-19. Yet some local governments and individual properties may impose additional restrictions and more stringent policies. Tribal casinos are also subject to operating restrictions set by the respective tribal government.

Michigan Casinos can operate at full capacity after Michigan rescinded most Covid-19 restrictions on June 22.

ME

ND MN

NY

WI

SD

PA

NE IL

RI

OH

IN

WV

MO

NC

AR

SC MS

TX

VA

KY TN

OK

MA

MI

IA

KS

VT NH

CT

MD

AL

GA

NJ DE DC

LA

FL

Mississippi Casinos can operate at full capacity without state mandated restriction, but are free to set their own Covid-19 safety guidelines.

All casinos must continue to follow other state and local rules that aim to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

GAMINGAMERICA 11

THE INNOVATION GROUP

BUILD IT FIRST With all eyes on igaming, Chloe Paul, manager of data analytics at The Innovation Group, speaks about opportunities for all parties to cash in.

19 - June 2021

In 2020, igaming was a bright spot in an otherwise dark year for our industry. While brick-and-mortar casinos closed as part of coronavirus mitigation measures, igaming revenues set records in mature markets like New Jersey and Delaware, as well as in new markets like Pennsylvania and Michigan, which exploded onto the scene. Despite its rapid growth $1.0M in the last year, igaming is still a nascent legal gambling form in the United States. Only six states allow legal, regulated $0.8M online casino gaming, though that number is expected to grow. As it expands, brick-and-mortar operators must decide on their online strategy, find ways to integrate $0.6M their online and brick-and-mortar experiences, and set realistic future growth expectations. $0.4M

SIMULATED, REAL-MONEY OR BOTH?

Sep-20

Dec-20

One relevant lesson learned from the rollout of sports $0.2Mbetting in the US is how quickly a new form of gaming can spread.

As the chart below shows, in four years we went from single-event sports wagering Mar-21 Jun-21 in Nevada to more than half the country legalizing Mar-19 sports betting.

It took an external stimulus, namely the Supreme Court repeal of PAPSA, to spark rapid expansion of sports betting, and the coronavirus pandemic may prove to serve as a similar catalyst for igaming expansion. States are looking to fill budget deficits caused by economic slowdowns, brick-and-mortar operators are warming up to igaming as a means of diversifying revenue after seeing in-person businesses shuttered, and many tribes are actively renegotiating gaming compacts to allow for new forms of gaming.

To prepare for the legalization of igaming, operators in non-legal markets can launch simulated gaming. These free-to-play products supply users with a limited bankroll of virtual currency to play casino games and allow players to purchase additional virtual currency through real-money transactions. These real-money purchases of virtual items can add up to a substantial income source. For example, social casino publisher Playtika generated upwards of $2 billion of revenue in 2020.

In addition to building a real-money revenue stream, simulated gaming can be a learning tool. Igaming platform providers build their simulated and real money products on the same technology stack, so operations teams can learn the platform, market dynamics and customer all before 12 GAMINGAMERICA

real-money wagering formally launches. Marcus Yoder, senior VP of sales at GAN, notes the importance of simulated gaming as a customer database builder. “You can start building Delaware iGaming GGR: January 2019 - June 2021 a relationship with players and cement their brand loyalty long before real-money gaming launches.”

Once a market allows online casinos, the question becomes what to do with your social gaming offering. Yoder’s advice: keep it. “Many of our clients have found success offering real-money and social gaming products side-by-side in the same market.”

INTEGRATED MARKETING A successful igaming implementation, whether real-money or simulated, not only provides an additional revenue stream to an operator but also integrates with their existing marketing program. All the traditional marketing Casinos elements present in a brick-and-mortar environmentClosed have a place in an internet casino, from branded table felts and casino chips to VIP lounges and loyalty program earnings.

It's important note integration June-19 Sep-19 Dec-19 Mar-20 Jun-20 to Sep-20 Dec-20 Mar-21 is not a one-way street, and marketers should seek out ways to bring online experiences to the brick-and-mortar environment.

Achieving this level of integration requires action across all participants of our industry. Gaming suppliers must create online gaming content that makes a player feel like they’re in a casino (think live dealer games), technology suppliers Number of States with Sports Betting by Year 50 40 30

30 20

20 14

10 0

1

2017

2018

2019

2020(1)

[1] Includes 8 states that have legalized sports betting but not yet launched operations

Jun-21

THE INNOVATION GROUP

must support loyalty program point earnings regardless of gaming medium, and marketers must dream up ways to bridge the divide between brick-and-mortar and online experiences. To justify this level of action, we need to know if the recent igaming gains are simply a pandemic-related blip or a permanent shift in player behavior. Unfortunately, this is a complicated issue. Looking at state-level revenue numbers, evidence supporting the sustainability of recent igaming gains exists alongside counter examples.

GGR mark. For context, New Jersey’s statewide brick-and-mortar GGR was $2.7 billion in 2019. As the monthly igaming revenue graphs for New Jersey and Delaware found below illustrate, both states experienced a rise in igaming volumes during the months brick-and-mortar casinos were closed. However, New Jersey revenues continued growing despite casinos reopening, while Delaware revenues saw an immediate decline with the return of in-person gaming.

Shifting our focus to new markets, three states recently launched igaming: Pennsylvania in July 2019, West Virginia in July 2020 and Michigan in January 2021. Both the Pennsylvania and Michigan markets have ramped up at breakneck speeds, while the West Virginia market has grown at a slower rate. In its first full year of igaming operations, Pennsylvania generated

FUTURE OUTLOOK In 2020, the most mature igaming markets in the country, New Jersey and Delaware, both doubled in size, and New Jersey finished the year just $30 million short of hitting the $1 billion

Delaware iGaming GGR: January 2019 - June GGR: 2021 January 2019 - June 2021 Delaware iGaming

New Jersey iGaming GGR: New January 2019 - June GGR: 2021 January 2019 - June 2021 Jersey iGaming

$100M

$80M

$80M

$60M

$60M

$40M

$40M

June-19

Sep-19

Dec-19 Mar-19

Casinos Closed

Mar-20 June-19 Jun-20 Sep-19 Sep-20 Dec-19 Dec-20 Mar-20 Mar-21 Jun-20 Jun-21 Sep-20

Dec-20

Mar-21

Jun-21

$1.0M

$0.8M

$0.8M

$0.6M

$0.6M

$0.4M

$0.4M

$0.2M

$0.2M

Mar-19

June-19

CHLOE PAUL

14 GAMINGAMERICA

Sep-19

Casinos Closed Dec-19 Mar-19

Casinos Closed

Mar-20 June-19 Jun-20 Sep-19 Sep-20 Dec-19 Dec-20 Mar-20 Mar-21 Jun-20 Jun-21 Sep-20

Dec-20

a half-billion dollars in GGR, a milestone that took New Jersey six full years of operations to reach, and Michigan already is [1] Includes 8 states that have [1] legalized Includes 8sports states that have legalized sports betting but not yet launched operations nearing the half-billion-dollar GGR milestone after first six betting but not yetits launched operations months. In contrast, West Virginia’s market size is a fraction of 50 50 Pennsylvania’s or Michigan’s.

40 Lower average spend among West40Virginia residents could 30 be a byproduct of 30a rocky mobile sports betting deployment: 30 30 supplier issues left the state without a mobile sports betting 20 20 20 20 14 and may have permanently 14 option just months after launch 10 weakened West Virginians’ confidence10across all forms of online 1 1 wagering. Regardless, West Virginia0 serves as a cautionary 0 tale that not all igaming benefiting the 2020(1) 2017 markets 2018 are 2019 2017 2020(1) 2018from2019 pandemic-related rise in popularity.

Brick-and-mortar casino closures during the coronavirus pandemic sparked rapid growth in igaming revenue. But only a handful of states benefited from this growth as online casino gaming isn’t widely legal. While not conclusive, there's strong evidence to suggest the recent igaming revenue gains are sustainable.

The stage is set for potentially rapid igaming legalization nationwide, and operators can start preparing by building a digital player database and experimenting with integrating online and brick-and-mortar marketing strategy through simulated gaming platforms.

Number of States with Sports Betting by Year

Mar-19

Casinos Closed

$1.0M

Number of States with Sports Betting by Year

$100M

Mar-21

Jun-21

SCCG

NO REST FOR THE DREAM TEAM Stephen Crystal, CEO and founder of Las Vegas-based SCCG Management, a consultancy specializing in sports betting, igaming, intellectual property protection and casino management among other sectors, goes into the priorities and investment required to align more effectively with professional sports in order to engage better with consumers.

Despite the challenges faced by professional sports over the last 18 months, partnerships with the gaming industry, specifically in the sports betting and igaming categories, have never been more active.

16 GAMINGAMERICA

The first NFL team to partner with a gaming operator was the Dallas Cowboys, with Oklahoma’s WinStar Casino.

MGM was the first gaming operator to partner with pro sports at the league level with their NBA partnership in 2018.

SCCG

These were the first drops in the torrent of industry sponsorship dollars to professional sports leagues to follow.

Today, the NFL has league partnerships with DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and Genius Sports. The NHL signed up with PointsBet and Bally’s. The NBA and MLB have deals with Fubo and Bally’s. The PGA Tour has DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, BetMGM and theScore as official betting partners. Furthermore, in the world of soccer, half of the 20 clubs from the Premier League wore sports wagering company logos on their jerseys.

From UFC to NASCAR, everyone in professional sports has staked out relationships with sports betting and sports media groups.

In the US, sports betting sponsorships have been worth around $400 million to leagues and teams of the NFL, MBA, MLB, NHL and MLS alone. These new revenue channels were beneficial to the institutions that saw significant hits to their revenues because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These are massive investments by the sports wagering industry. So what is driving this competition? These investments benefit both parties tremendously. An average Premier League game draws around one million viewers alone. This is a massive number of impressions made for the sports wagering companies and their over $2 billion market in the UK alone.

The power and impact of professional sports sponsorships are driving participation across all sectors of business. Recently, financial services, IT, telecommunications and the auto industry have been stepping up their pro sports sponsorship spend, actually squeezing out investments from igaming entities, reducing their footprint within the space by as much as 50% in some markets.

Competing market forces aren’t the only thing that could edge out gaming industry investments in professional sports sponsorships. Since January 2020, the UK government began considering a blanket gambling sponsorship ban, similar to their earlier tobacco ban. Right now, the industry argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused massive losses in revenue streams. If not for these new investments from sports wagering firms, a considerable number of clubs would fold. Over time, however, they argue that they can reduce their dependence on gaming company revenues as the economy improves in a post-Covid world. For now, it seems like this argument has prevented action by the UK government.

As long as legislation and market-based competition for pro sports sponsorships permit the gaming industry to forge these partnership relationships with professional sports leagues, we are sure to see greater depth of investment, as well as a broadening of investment into emerging and niche sports entertainment.

The ability to build marketing campaigns that target avid fans and generate powerfully engaging activity with consumers makes these massive investments pay off. That said, these partnerships haven’t been painless.

STEPHEN CRYSTAL

For example, in April, 2021, Genius Sports became the official distributor of NFL data in a deal worth around $120 million over a six-year agreement. Genius will recover the cost of this deal by increasing the fees they charge to operators for access to their data.

One year of this pass-through cost represents $20 million in increased operating expenses to US sportsbooks. This represents around 8% of their NFL betting revenues. It’s not trivial. It’s going to be around a 400% increase in operating expense for that data in previous years. It’s unclear whether there’s any practical alternative for sportsbooks other than to pay up. This is because these partnerships continue to make sense, especially for the gaming industry.

Fans want more: more content, and more ways to engage with their players and teams. Gaming companies are much better equipped to feed this synergistic cycle than traditional non-wagering industries. We can bring fantasy sports to the table. We can implement virtual sports, creative proposition bets, and in-play wagers to enhance and extend the existing sports content, even beyond the league’s event calendar.

The pinnacle of this synergistic expression would be the active cooperation of the pro sports leagues, sports wagering, fantasy sports, virtual sports categories, as well as the media companies. Together, they can create an unbeatably robust ecosystem of fan engagement. It is hard to see a future where this convergence doesn’t happen in a significant way.

GAMINGAMERICA 17

CYBER CASINOS

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT Jeffrey Silver, Of Counsel at Dickinson Wright, PLLC, explores the modern-day incarnation of shills and how they’re adapting in the digital age.

I recently saw an ad seeking players for their cyber casino.

While I was aware that with the latest interpretation regarding the Wire Act’s applicability to sports only, which had not been appealed by the US Department of Justice before the deadline in June, the decision was limited to a single Circuit Court of Appeals, making enforcement of the ban on interstate transmission of any type of wagering information still a very gray area for most operators.

Of course there is intranet wagering on casino games permitted by some states on a wholly in-state basis (Delaware, 18 GAMINGAMERICA

Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia). The idea that casino games being available across state lines or international borders still has to contend with both the Wire Act and other Federal laws, such as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), which makes it illegal to operate an online gambling website in the US. UIGEA prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the

CYBER CASINOS

internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.

The rule requires participants in the payment system process to establish policies and procedures to identify and block restricted financial transactions. While there are exceptions for certain card systems and third-party processors, there’s enough uncertainty and pitfalls to restrict the growth of this market segment. In other words, UIGEA compliance is still a risk-focused endeavor.

Notwithstanding, UIGEA does not make it illegal for individuals to place wagers on an online gambling website. This is grist for the mill of the casino operator licensed in some offshore location.

Thus, we find advertisements for cyber casinos with numerous so-called experts weighing in on which cyber operators are more likely to give the customer an honest random number generator on their slots and actually pay out on a winning wager on other games.

Like everything else in this world, the name of the game is about advertising and hype. Several years ago in the esports arena, a scandal broke out when it became known that some well-known YouTubers were steering viewers to a gambling site based on the popular CS:Go game, misleading viewers, many of whom were teenagers, by encouraging them to make real money wagers using skins they had earned from their play or purchased online. Apparently, the YouTubers were shills to promote a website that they secretly owned.

The Federal Trade Commission let them off with a slap on the wrist and the game producers received a black eye for not adequately policing the use of their intellectual property.

That got me thinking about the use of shills in gaming.

I recall that the practice used to be widespread in Nevada, so much so that there is still a regulation in place governing such activity. Although the definition of shills, who are casino employees staked by the house, no longer exists after the section discussing them was repealed in 1979 (an oversight, perhaps), Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 23.065 still uses the term by explaining that, “shills may not check and raise or play in any manner between themselves or in

collusion with others to the disadvantage of other players within the game.” Moreover, each establishment employing shills or proposition players shall identify such persons upon request and shall display a sign clearly legible from each table so stating.

Many of you who have been to a bricks-and-mortar casino may have noticed after sitting down at a poker table with others already playing, or at other table game, only to have those original players quietly excuse themselves after other patrons started to play. No, they were not being polite in giving up their seats, but instead were shills moving on to the next “dead” game.

Comes now the cyber casino where creating activity to induce real customers to play is not so transparent. In fact, in a recent article by Cecilia D’Anastasio, an award-winning video game journalist and staff writer for Wired, she wrote about shady and possibly illegal activities by prominent Twitch Streamers who were shown playing at an online crypto casino before live audiences of 25,000 viewers and “winning big, sometimes as much as $400,000 in crypto in one fell swoop, and never seemed to go broke.”

The problem was that the digital casinos were paying these streamers to play the casino games on their channels, and according to D’Anastasio, paying them tens of thousands of dollars an hour.

Her investigative report revealed that one casino had offered a top gambling streamer over $1.5 million per month to stream on their site. This was better than the Howard Hughes story about his checkbook that never had a balance, because normal people would never be able to exceed what he might want to spend.

Today’s marketing of crypto casino products makes the Nevada definition of a shill, or lack of it, appear amateurish and awkward. The new generation of shills is no longer merely game starters, but are highly paid performers playing with the house’s money in exchange for appearance fees that make a sport’s celebrity endorsement pale into insignificance.

The old adage stands about if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

“THE NEW GENERATION OF SHILLS IS NO LONGER MERELY GAME STARTERS, BUT ARE HIGHLY PAID PERFORMERS PLAYING WITH THE HOUSE’S MONEY IN EXCHANGE FOR APPEARANCE FEES THAT MAKE A SPORT’S CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT PALE INTO INSIGNIFICANCE.”

20 GAMINGAMERICA

DENSTONE GROUP

BELUGA, BURGER KING AND BRANDED DINING Las Vegas is a culinary destination of global repute. Nowhere else can you encounter such dining diversity in such a concentrated space.

Not Paris, London or New York. But it wasn’t always this way.

Oliver Lovat, CEO and MD of Las Vegas-based consultancy the Denstone Group, works up an appetite detailing the city’s culinary evolution.

In the early days of Las Vegas, restaurants were considered an operational function to feed gambling customers, with the emphasis on low prices and high quantity. The customer could dine at the 24-hour café, the deli, the steakhouse, potentially a Chinese or Italian restaurant (if it were an upscale joint) and the ubiquitous Las Vegas buffet. The marketing benefits of fine dining appeared in the early 1960s, with the advent of the gourmet room, a 30 to 50 cover restaurant that was full of gamblers eating comped meals, and used as the hors d’oeuvres to the entertainment offering that was the real attraction of the evening.

Notable gourmet rooms included The Sultan’s Table at The Dunes and The Candlelight Room at The Flamingo. Some properties grew to have multiple gourmet rooms, however it was the experiential dining centerpiece, The Bacchanal at Caesars Palace, led by acclaimed Las Vegas executive Nat Hart, that ushered in a new era. As part of the highly themed property, toga wearing servers dropped grapes and poured wine as diners enjoyed dishes, such as Beach Port Lobster Tail, 22 GAMINGAMERICA

Armoricaine , Broiled Prime Filet Mignon Caesar Augustus and Prime Colossus Sirloin Steak Pompeii. Although a minimum spend of $12.50 per person was required, over half of the tabs were picked up by the casino on behalf of their customers.

The Bacchanal closed in 2000, 34 years after opening.

Nat Hart personally opened over 30 restaurants in Vegas, LA, Atlantic City and other global markets. He is created as the creator of corporate food and beverage (F&B) within the casino context, creating a structured program for Caesars World, where he led F&B for over 20 years, personally writing the training and operating manuals, which formed the template across the industry. He died in 1995 and his influential works can be found at The UNLV as the Nat Hart Professional Papers.

Other than Hart’s standardizing and formulating the gourmet platform, the next great innovation in casino dining came in 1984 in what gaming historian David Schwartz called, “The Burger King Revolution.”

Jeff Silver, noted gaming attorney at Dickinson Wright and regular contributor to Gaming America, was the lead executive

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at The Riviera during the 1980s. “At that time, The Riviera had neither the bankroll, nor the facilities to compete for the high-end customers. What it did have was the cache of old Vegas and the reputation for offering a quality product at a fair price. Many of its customers were older, loyal repeat guests. To entice a younger crowd, I added a hip musical revue, Solid Gold, and began to examine our restaurant offerings. I saw there was a corporate-owned McDonalds flagship store across the street next to CircusCircus.

It always had lines of customers. This was despite the invitation on the CircusCircus marquee offering their Plate of Plenty buffet for $1.99, all you can eat. Then it struck me that visitors really wanted familiarity, consistency and price. What better way to entice them than for the two preeminent US burger chains to go head-to-head on the Las Vegas Strip. The food court concept in a casino was born, anchored by the most successful Burger King outlet in the history of that chain.”

Silver’s move to bring in external brands directly into casinos was both controversial and popular, as fast-food outlets and national restaurants began to find homes inside casinos.

ENTER THE CHEFS Although in decline, the traditional template for restaurants set out by Hart was still in place as the megaresort age began with The Mirage in 1989. The property had a portfolio of uniquely branded restaurants, all operated by the resort, including the much-missed Kokomo’s. The dining revolution was to occur next door in December 1992, as Wolfgang Puck opened a satellite to his famous LA hotspot, Spago in The Forum Shops.

John Curtas, the Las Vegas based food critic, author of eatinglv. com and local celebrity in his own right, observed the period.

The common historical narrative credits Puck with being the ripple that started the celebrity chef tsunami. But in reality, it was Gamal Aziz, F&B VP at MGM, who made the biggest splash.

His 1994 “murderers row” of Charlie Trotter, Mark Miller, and Emeril Lagasse (at The MGM Grand) brought immediate culinary credibility to Las Vegas, and the international press they garnered got every other casino’s attention.

Keep in mind, all of this paralleled the rise of the Food Network, which reflected the revolution, started in the 1980s, of the way America was starting to think about better food and restaurants.

Good restaurants were worth aspiring to, and Baby Boomers, aspirational by nature and in their prime earning years, were demanding better dining options.

Thus Las Vegas became the perfect Petri dish for the celebrity chef phenomenon: hordes of Boomers with cash to spend at branded restaurants, opened by newly minted culinary gods, courtesy of the Food Network’s star making machine. Steve Wynn grasped this first, bringing Todd English, Le Cirque, and others on board at The Bellagio, and then Hubert Keller, Charlie Palmer, et al at Mandalay Bay, and Thomas Keller and Mario Batali at the Venetian weren’t far behind.” The trailblazers’ successes led to every famed chef and restauranter to believe that the

JAY SARNO, CO-FOUNDER OF CAESARS, SEATED. CREDIT: UNLV SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

boulevard was paved with edible gold leaf, as Ogden, Savoy, Robuchon and Ducasse were joined by Ramsey, Giada and Flay, and Carmine’s, Joe’s and Rao’s either with new concepts or Vegas sized offerings of their flagship outlets.

This celebrity chef pattern continued as the dominant strategy. But as younger, metropolitan, urban customers, rather than boomers, were making their way to Las Vegas, the offering began to follow. Tao, Hakkasan, Lavo, Nobu and STK, all F&B/nightlife brands, identified Las Vegas as a potential outpost for the new wave of cool, each opening to great success.

The immediate impact of the cool crowd, exemplified by the opening of the The Cosmopolitan in 2010, was evident, as resorts again repurposed their offering with experiential eateries such as Carbone, Sushi Samba, Catch, Best Friend, Momofuku and Zuma making their way to town.

Like highly prized performers, hosts and DJs, restaurants began to move properties as their leases expired: Puck’s Spago went to The Bellagio and Milo’s to The Venetian, moves unimaginable a generation earlier.

As the second decade of the new century closed, The Las Vegas Strip was clearly established as one of the leading dining destinations in the world.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT In 1973, Bill Friedman published a book based on his then revolutionary class taught at the new UNLV. Casino Management remains a bible for all those who wish to study the industry, but an omission remains as relevant as the remaining content. There is virtually no mention of food and beverage, other than as a note within marketing and a guide to comping.

In this respect, Friedman was correct, F&B is a vital marketing component both for existing and potential customers and as a clear differentiator, but he had not envisioned how GAMINGAMERICA 23

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important it would grow to be.

In 2018 research, we observed that only 30% of Las Vegas visitors definitely spend most of their F&B budget in the property that they were staying in, with 49% spending the majority in another property and 21% were unsure.

It’s important to track the evolution of F&B in the operational context. In 1995 F&B on the Strip actually lost casino operators $35m, such was the level of discounting and comping. Gross F&B revenues on The Strip in 2019 were over $4bn and assuming a market margin, this would see total restaurant profits at over $800m.

F&B revenues accounted for 24% of all customer spend in Las Vegas in 2019, compared to 19% in 2005. Looking at individual spend per trip across Las Vegas, between 2005-2019 gaming spend per visitor rose from $139.41 to $152.76, a 9.6% increase. F&B spend grew from $66.46 to $104.44, a 57.1% over the same period.

No doubt the diverse and improved F&B offering contributed to the changed perceptions of the city, added to the total revenue mix, and assisted to the change in visitor demographic.

spending more than they would do in a home environment.

With such high transition, successful restaurants have significantly increased longevity for their business. For a third-party operator, this is a better location than any major city has to offer.

The first two models are the simple binary options.

However, as gaming operators trend toward Opco/REIT structures, a variety of novel deal and lease structures are being created. This is potentially beneficial for all parties, as in some of these deals, casinos are potentially leasing space out at or below market rates, thus reducing the exposure for restauranters, but with the casino operators claiming a higher share of the revenue and profits, capitalizing on the increased spend on F&B and customer REVPAR. In some cases, particularly in more progressive properties, the restaurants are actually joint ventures or partnerships between property and restaurateur, where capital costs are shared and profits mutually distributed.

In more sophisticated properties, restaurants are implementing dynamic pricing, or where pricing varies dependent on time, date and demand.

SOUP TO NUTS?

LEFTOVERS

In post-Covid Las Vegas, the evolution of restaurant operations is moving into another interesting phase.

In the days of Nat Hart, the casino resort operated everything as they provided their customers with the 360-degree experience under one roof, where servicing the gaming customer’s needs with the incentive to stay and play as the main deliverable.

Restaurants were unique brands and everything from chefs to servers provided was internal. Efficiencies could be made by central kitchens, put under the floors of the restaurant in many of the newer properties, and throughout multiple outlets with common staffing and training operations. When a celebrity chef was attached to the project, they would typically license their name and brand, create the menu and suggest key hires, but all the staff would be employees of the casinos. The economics would be that the casino provides the capital, and the third party would receive a varying percentage of the top line and bottom line, depending on performance.

A second, non-traditional model, employed by Puck and exploited by the Venetian in 1999, saw restaurants take leases within casinos, with the casino playing the role of landlord, generating revenue without the operating liability. This allowed specialist restaurant operators to come to market and deliver a range of product that would align with the property, satisfy the customer and benefit the casino with lower levels of investment and risk. The capital contribution would typically be split by the casino (by way of a traditional tenant allowance seen in many leasing deals) with remaining capital paid by the restaurant operator, who received the profit.

In the case of the Venetian and Palazzo, on any given day, 12,000 individual customers are staying on property for an average of four nights. Diners are a mix of leisure and business customers,

An interesting byproduct of the past 30 years and the emergence of culinary culture in Las Vegas is that many talented chefs and restaurateurs who have grown up in this exciting marketplace have been left frustrated with the corporatization of the deals, high barriers to entry and decline in opportunity for innovators and chefs to exercise their flair and imagination within Las Vegas casinos’ narrow strategies.

As a consequence, some executives now export their expertise to other markets and clients, such as former Wynn and MGM executive Sean Christie’s new Carver Hospitality and former Wynn and Cosmopolitan executive Olivier Zardoni’s 34th Floor, and many have opened their own places outside the casino corridor, in The Arts District, Chinatown or in suburban neighborhoods.

Locals, fed up of car parking charges and traffic bottlenecks on The Strip, are flocking to former Mirage, Bellagio and Caesars Palace chef, James Trees’ Esther’s Kitchen and Al Solito Posto, and the assorted Strip alumni that operate the acclaimed Sparrow+Wolf, Honey Salt, Partage, The Black Sheep, Forte Tapas and many others, all of which would more than hold their own in a resort setting.

And the tourists are noticing, leaving the Strip to explore previously unheralded parts of the city to sample innovative experiences.

As Vegas has rightly developed a global reputation for excellence in hospitality, gaming, entertainment, conventions, sport, events and nightlife, the culinary aspect is sometimes overlooked. It shouldn’t be. At a time when restaurants around the world are closing, Las Vegas has new places opening weekly, bringing the best brands, cooking and chefs on the planet, all in an accessible environment, as well as curating and supporting local talent. Who else can say that? Not Paris, not London, and certainly not New York.

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GLOBAL GAMING AWARDS 2021

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE As G2E returns to the Sands Expo Convention Center from October 4 to 7, there is a palpable sense of excitement as we all properly reunite.

The Global Gaming Awards Las Vegas, now in its 8th year, will once again be a highlight to kick off the festivities.

Without self promotion, we’re here just to state the facts that the Global Gaming Awards, the most prestigious Awards in the gaming industry, are back, this time for the eighth year.

Last year, we had to improvise with a virtual version as the pandemic raged on. That alone was a success in its own right, but the personal touch was certainly missing.

So we’re back at the Sands Expo Convention Center to host the GGA Las Vegas, this year with two additional categories, which is a sign that the industry is only expanding. Property: LATAM acknowledges the property, new or old, that pushes the boundaries of customer experience in the land-based sector.

This means there will be two Property of the Year categories, with one being dedicated specifically to North America, a massive region with potential to match. Also, there’s Payment Solution of the Year, which recognizes the safe, fast and efficient payment processors, wallets and the rapid change in this sector.

“These two new categories show the diversity of the industry and the growing presence of two key areas,” said Julian Perry, editor-in-chief of Gambling Insider and Gaming America.

“Latin America is growing into such an important region within gaming that soon it’ll no longer even be considered an emerging market. So choosing a LatAm Property of the Year makes perfect sense to everyone at Gaming America. Secondly, the Payments Solution of the Year category is an absolute must-have, and I think we’ve seen that in the vast amount of nominees we could have had. Payments are just so important now, especially with the growth of cashless and digital payments within North America.”

These are also the most recognized, prestigious and trusted Awards in gaming, with lead partner BetConstruct and being independently adjudicated by KPMG in the Crown Dependencies, and they’ve certainly gained respect among industry heavyweights over the years. And because of the fair and rigorous voting process, which ensures all winners are truly deserving, this is the must-attend event that kicks off G2E. These Awards are also understood across the industry as the 26 GAMINGAMERICA

ultimate reward for gaming’s strongest performers over the last year, with a focus on the Americas. Winners are chosen by a panel of 100 C-level industry executives, and every company or individual is shortlisted for a specific reason, which is then publicly announced in the official Global Gaming Awards Shortlist magazine. The final Awards Shortlist was decided after a long and rigorous process, taking into account thousands of self-nominations from organizations across the sector, as well as the recommendations of the Awards’ independent Nomination Panel, and all the winners will be revealed on the Monday of G2E, October 4.

“Our industry faced a lot of difficulties as a result of the pandemic but in the end we persevered and came out of it much stronger,” added Perry. “The main reason for that is because of the many fantastic leaders that work tirelessly to drive their companies and the entire gaming industry forward.”

CEO

SPECIAL

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TODAY'S LEADERS AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME

Anna Sainsbury, GeoComply Chariman & Co-founder Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM CEO Melonie Johnson, Borgata President & COO Dr. Laila Mintas, PlayUp US CEO Sara Slane, Slane Advisory Founder

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CEO SPECIAL: MELONIE JOHNSON

WALKING THE WALK Resilience and empathy work hand in hand for Melonie Johnson, Borgata president and COO. From her response to the pandemic to a minor power outage at the property, how she manages challenges of every shape and description is steeped in her career and upbringing in the Gulf Coast.

During a recent power outage at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Melonie Johnson was reminded of the importance of being surrounded by a supportive team. The Borgata president and COO sat at her desk, made one call to check on surveillance and a few more strategic calls to get the power up and running. Without even having to leave her place, the Borgata team got power back on in 33 minutes.

“You could hear the guests do a round of applause,” Johnson says proudly.

Compared to what else Johnson has dealt with over the last year as president of one of Atlantic City’s largest casinos, a half-hour power outage doesn’t chart very high on the scale of emergencies. It was, however, a chance for her to reflect on her leadership skills, which have been put to the test

by Covid-19 and the ongoing transition to an eventual post-pandemic world.

“On the gaming floor, it’s managing by allowing your leaders to do what they do best versus wreaking havoc,” she says. “It’s staying calm, setting the pace, and allowing them to know that I trust in their ability to execute.”

Johnson’s first days managing Borgata were anything but ordinary. She joined the casino in August 2020 after nearly four years at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. When she arrived to her new home, Borgata was just a month removed from being the last Atlantic City casino to reopen from the pandemic.

Johnson says the casino’s fourth-month closure between March and July of last year was “very eerie.” More than a year later, Johnson is feeling more comfortable as Borgata returns to full operations.

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“Having all of our restaurants open, having all of our table games open, having all of our slot machines open, not having to have polycarbonate barriers to protect guests and employees, it feels good; it feels liberating,” she says. “It’s a sense of normalcy that I think all Americans have been waiting for.”

Borgata has brought back live entertainment including music and comedy shows as well. The casino is back to booking headliners for its event center, and the return of Borgata’s staple Gypsy Bar has guests feeling like it’s old times even as the property debuts new venues and amenities.

The biggest change in the Borgata guest experience over the last year is the arrival of mobile check-in and cashless gaming transactions.

“Mobile check-in gives the customer the option to check in and get their room key via their cell phone and not have to go to the front desk or touch anything, and it’s something very new, it’s exciting,” Johnson says. “We just had a major floor conversion with our slot machines and the rest of our casino management system, and we’re building our platform for cashless transactions

CEO SPECIAL: MELONIE JOHNSON

" MOBILE CHECK-IN GIVES THE OPTION TO CHECK IN VIA CELL PHONE. IT’S SOMETHING VERY EXCITING." in the future.”

Still, Borgata continues having hand washing stations throughout the casino, and restaurants also use digital codes on menus. Recently the property began testing a new digital ordering system from the pool area where a customer can place a drink or food order on their cell phone and the order is delivered directly to the guest.

As a result of the difficulties of last year, the Borgata has been forced to depend more on digital business since the pandemic, and nowhere is that exemplified more than the property’s initiative for online sports betting, casino and poker.

As the first Atlantic City casino to launch sports betting in June 2018, Borgata and sportsbook partner BetMGM have built one of the region’s most trusted brands.

Borgata’s online casino, meanwhile, consistently brings in

more than $30m in revenue per month. Since March 2021, Borgata has knocked off rival Golden Nugget as the top igaming provider in the state. The casino’s online poker platform has seen tremendous success too, so much so that BetMGM recently expanded Borgata Poker to neighboring Pennsylvania.

The growth in sports betting and online casino play helped Borgata turn a first quarter 2021 operating profit of more than $29m, a 28% improvement from the same period in 2020.

“It’s a combination of online gaming and sports betting that’s truly helping,” Johnson says. “What has it done for us?

It’s allowed us to open our database to a broader group of individuals who may not have been brick-and-mortar casino players, so right now it’s an acquisition for us. This is what we’re looking forward to. We’re having new people involved in GAMINGAMERICA 31

CEO SPECIAL: MELONIE JOHNSON number of employees that we have, so we’re making sure that we only sell what we can take care of.”

Johnson understands that employees have suffered a tumultuous last 18 months. Borgata had to lay off more than 2,000 last September as casino capacity restrictions held down revenue. Now that the casino is rehiring for some of those same positions that were eliminated, Johnson empathizes with workers who are trying to get back on their feet.

“I believe in walking in shoes and understanding the employee journey, understanding the guest journey and listening,” Johnson says. “Listening is first and foremost for me. I want to hear what you’ve got to say, I want to understand what you have to say, and we make decisions based upon that. I don’t believe in coming in, and it has to be my way. It’s a team effort and it’s a collective. When you get individuals to buy in, you have much more success.”

Johnson’s empathy-driven leadership style is grounded in her experiences growing up and working in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When Hurricane Katrina struck the region in 2005, she experienced how quickly normalcy can be turned on its head. Johnson has come to rely on the lessons learned in that period of her life as she guides Borgata out of the pandemic.

“LISTENING IS FIRST AND FOREMOST FOR ME. I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU’VE GOT TO SAY, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, AND WE MAKE DECISIONS BASED UPON THAT. I DON’T BELIEVE IN COMING IN, AND IT HAS TO BE MY WAY. IT’S A TEAM EFFORT AND IT’S A COLLECTIVE. WHEN YOU GET INDIVIDUALS TO BUY IN, YOU HAVE MUCH MORE SUCCESS.” gaming and wanting to come and visit our establishments.

If it’s not just Borgata, it’s one of the other MGM properties.”

Amid the excitement of bringing back entertainment and popular venues, plus adding new enhancements, Borgata is one of several Atlantic City casinos dealing with worker shortage.

“We’re having the same problem that the rest of America is having about getting team members back to work,” Johnson says. “We’re doing everything humanly possible to offer employment to our employees to get them back on board, but in Atlantic City every gaming establishment is having the same problems that we’re having. We’re having to write down our business in order to take care of the customers with the 32 GAMINGAMERICA

“With Hurricane Katrina, you were in this closed pocket whereas the rest of the United States was open, you could travel, and you could do whatever you wanted; you still had that freedom,” Johnson says. “But with Covid-19, it pretty much shut the world down. That was a very humbling experience for me. Where I thought Hurricane Katrina was devastating, we maneuvered and worked our way through that and recovered, but going through Covid-19, everyone was on the same platform. So that just made me think very differently about how I manage myself, how I manage the property, how to manage customers, how to manage employees, and have more empathy.”

CEO SPECIAL: ADAM GREENBLATT

THE HALO EFFECT Adam Greenblatt, CEO of BetMGM, speaks to Carl Friedmann about how success is measured in degrees of empathy and transparency.

The humanity always has to shine through first, and once a collaborative culture and a foundation of trust are set, the bottom line will take care of itself.

It’s going to take a lot more than some food poisoning to sideline Adam Greenblatt. A business dinner didn’t go down well, but over the course of a 45-minute Zoom call the following morning, he didn’t sit down to rest once. He was ebullient, hydrated, looked fresh and glowed with the enthusiasm and unbridled excitement of a CEO in charge of a company with meteoric results and ambitions. In fact, during parent company MGM Resorts International’s Q2 2021 earnings call in early August, CEO and president Bill Hornbuckle said that JV BetMGM reached a 30% market share in the sports betting and igaming space nationwide in Q2 due in large part to increased customer acquisition and strong retention. Net revenues associated with BetMGM operations also grew 19% sequentially from the first quarter to $194 million in the second.

The BetMGM betting app is integral to that success, of course, which is building momentum after recent launches in Virginia and its latest deployment within Nationals Park in Washington DC. The acute graph of growth is staggering considering that it was only September 2019 where the BetMGM brand was launched in one state and now, with Nats Park, can count 13 jurisdictions.

“We’re delighted with the progress we’re making,” Greenblatt says. “Hundreds of thousands of active players, first-half revenues of $350 million, which is massive sequential 34 GAMINGAMERICA

growth, and we’re competing for leadership in many of our sports states alongside our number-one position by some margin in gaming so I’m really pleased.”

Of course, a main catalyst for this has been enabled by an overriding acceptance of sports betting becoming part of the mainstream entertainment experience. Betting and

CEO SPECIAL: ADAM GREENBLATT sports are no longer mutually exclusive and now a broad range of stakeholders has adopted the reality that it can be harnessed with regulation since it’s going on anyway.

Most importantly, the major leagues are behind it now.

“What we’ll see this football season is TV advertising during NFL games,” he continues. “This is a first, so how will it change the fan experience? There’s more of a connection between the sports betting and the sports that most Americans have the most affinity for. They’re being connected in a much more visible way. So what does that actually do? It puts a fully-featured sports book in your pocket, millions of betting opportunities covering the widest range of sports you can imagine.”

At the heart of that range is obviously the big four, but it also includes a massive range of international sports made available to an American audience, which not only piques interest but impacts legacy behavior.

“Table tennis won much acclaim during Covid, and what we found interesting is that in some of our states, table tennis is our number-five sport,” Greenblatt explains. “So this sample exposure is being borne out and is demonstrable as it’s bringing fandom to some of the more esoteric activities.”

What Greenblatt also understands is that the greater the possibilities for the consumer, the greater the emotional investment. This is where in-play betting is a great leap forward, taking a relatively passive experience and making it what he calls a much more interactive, responsive and real-time engagement. “Suddenly it makes a difference,” he says.

“You can have your opinion at stake. Who scores the first points. Is the first half closely contested. All of this enriches the fan experience and since it’s available in a physical retail environment, it makes the viewing experience even more interactive. That creates an exciting, new and real-time dynamic that we’re really leaning into.”

Even though BetMGM is relatively new, and Greenblatt himself has only been in the US for a couple of years from his career journey through his native South Africa and 20 years in London, his ability to balance bottom-line pressures with a flat corporate structure that promotes compassion, empathy and interaction has earned him leadership qualities that were recognized by Glassdoor recently, earning him a top-10 spot in their Employees’

Choice Awards in the SMB category.

“This is one of the most rewarding professional moments of my career,” he admits. “It was beyond what I thought was possible. So for our business to get this kind of recognition, it’s just terrific. We started with no leadership team, no process, no people, no cultural identity, no values framework, but I saw this as more of an opportunity from a blank sheet of paper to distil what I believed to be the most aspirational personal values in a corporate setting. And what we’ve seen now is the synthesis of those things.”

It’s certainly a sign of the times. Greenblatt believes the staff base needs to have a voice and to know there’s a symbiotic relationship, and even co-dependence, with management. Diversity is also a crucial component to not only employ but celebrate so people can be different and accepted.

“And of course you overlay that with the values of competition and excellence that are both personal and corporate, and I think that’s what is manifesting now at BetMGM,” Greenblatt affirms. “That’s what this Glassdoor recognition is.

It’s a downstream effect of that synthesis.” But the work is just beginning despite getting off to a storied start.

He acknowledges that the award is a catalyst, but at the same time, it’s a reality check to see how much better the brand can become.

“It’s both second-guessing if we’re ready for this kind of recognition alongside, ‘Come on guys, we’ve got so much ahead of us. I think we have an opportunity to get better in every department.’ Building on our omni-channel strategy, and with innovation in the app, we have loads of runway ahead of us and so many ideas.” One example he details is the inherited framework of predictive models through one of their shareholders, Entain, that says what a player is going to do next and how to help them achieve the best experience. “Those predictive models become ever more powerful,” he says. “The more information you have, the more data you have to train the model. And we only really have since September 2019 a base of meaningful data. So the degree to which we can continue to improve and refine these predictive models and operationalize those models has enormous value potential for BetMGM.” And on the other side, away from product operations, embedding and supporting employee resource groups, and refining internal communication processes and transitioning into a hybrid model GAMINGAMERICA 35

CEO SPECIAL: ADAM GREENBLATT where everyone feels included, are other key priorities. Those structures are formed, but really bringing them to life and supercharging them is essential. “These remain the core challenges and opportunities for us to get better,” he adds. “And it goes without saying that we have another 30 states to roll out into.” But a reliance on transparency, empathy and agility as core values makes for a healthy bedrock, especially considering where’s it’s gotten Greenblatt and his team so far.

“Today’s younger people have different expectations and desires,” he says. “They seek different meaning from their work and how they apply their time. And I think there’s a need for leadership authenticity and diversity. So by exhibiting empathy and communicating in a transparent way, you know where you

“I’VE SEEN THE IMPACT OF SILOED, TOP-DOWN COMMUNICATION, WHICH OVER TIME IS VERY DIVISIVE TO A MANAGEMENT TEAM. WE HAVE TO TAKE CALCULATED, DATA-DRIVEN RISKS IN ORDER TO MOVE FORWARD, BREAK GROUND AND INNOVATE.” stand. And as we invest discretionary effort into each other, we build a foundation of trust, which creates a halo effect that is very powerful. How we show up for the people we share our lives with speaks of who we are, individually and as a business, and I think this has been critical to the diffusion of culture given that we’ve grown our headcount during Covid 400%.”

Getting that headcount is a process of finding out more about what kind of person you are rather than direct experience in the industry, or hitting a certain number. There has to be a common understanding of purpose. For Greenblatt, it’s also a process of recognizing what you don’t want in the organization. “I had a clear idea coming into this leadership role of what to avoid in a professional context that I didn’t want to replicate,” he explains.

“I’ve seen the impact of siloed, top-down communication, which over time is very divisive to a management team. And to have multiple and separate conversations is also very inefficient.

I’ve seen the impact of internal politics resulting in a low trust environment, which reduces the willingness to take healthy risks at every level in the business. We have to take calculated, data-driven risks in order to move forward, break ground and innovate. I feel like I’ve been led by the values I was brought up with: respect for individuals at every level. Coming from South Africa where there’s a big income disparity, the model that was set for me was to always be respectful and fair, and that a person isn’t judged by their station.”

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He also references a pivotal time when he was working on a forensic investigation in Brunei for accounting firm Arthur Andersen, and was part of what he calls the highest performing team he was ever a part of. It was a small group but high talent, low ego and high trust, and the outcome was tremendously successful. “It was these qualities of that team that I look back on and offer as features of team and culture that create high performing results,” he says. So during the interview process for new talent, he’ll also ask about long-lasting relationships: can you maintain a relationship over a long period?

“Because to maintain a long relationship, you need to show up when you say you are, and you need to be honest and trustworthy,” he says. “If those two things can come together, there is at least the recipe for greatness and longevity.”

This is where all the concepts meld for Greenblatt. “In order for the business to be in lockstep with corporate values, there’s no alternative for the leadership team but walk the walk,” he says. “Here, the leadership team spends time together every day and that’s very helpful in making sure we don’t fracture and that we keep together so the energy we have as a team and a business is maintained. We’re high-touch all the way through the business and we think it’s good for the business, and the results that are being driven by the halo effect of this positive sentiment toward the business are self evident.” So in short, Greenblatt’s Glassdoor is always open.

CEO SPECIAL: SARA SLANE

CASTING A WIDE NET As a leading industry advocate during her time at MGM Resorts International, and one of the principal voices at the American Gaming Association that led to PASPA being overturned, Sara Slane is understood to be “the face of legalized sports betting” and one of the most influential voices in gaming. For the last two years, and building on that success, she has cultivated the Slane Advisory, which services stakeholders from gaming, media and sports. Here, we learn about how Slane’s dedication to the continued pursuit of gaming growth in the US is always a work in progress.

Considering your time as VP of regional government affairs with MGM Resorts International, which led to licensure for MGM National Harbor and a $1.4 billion gaming resort on the Potomac River, how do you assess the role the pandemic has played in forcing law makers to explore or consider difficult regulatory options to help stimulate the economy and state budgets?

The pandemic has transformed technological adoptions that have been readily available for many industries, including gambling and sports betting. The moves that legislators and regulators have made to embrace more common-sense innovations, including mobile account registration and cashless payments, allow for the industry to remain competitive with other forms of entertainment, and as we’ve all seen, effectively stimulate local economies and deliver much-needed revenues to state coffers.

Are you encouraged with the momentum building, and the appetite increasing, for sports betting in the US? The momentum that’s building and the increased appetite from a tremendous number of jurisdictions in the US is very encouraging for continued growth. It’s been most exciting to see the wide variety of non-gaming entities increased involvement and interest in sports betting, especially professional sports teams, leagues and media groups.

How do you think tribal gaming interests will advance with Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior?

Deb Haaland, as the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary will be someone who intimately understands tribal gaming interests. Further, as a single mother like me, Secretary Haaland understands the importance of hard work, 38 GAMINGAMERICA

which she will undoubtedly bring to her role for advancing the Interior’s priorities, vision and broad mission.

You’ve recently been honored as distinguished fellow of 2021 from UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation. What does this kind of recognition mean and how does it enable you to advance what the Center calls “the gaming ecosystem”?

It’s a tremendous honor to serve as a fellow for the UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation. The work that the Center does is so important for focusing on and sharing best practices among global gaming regulators. Joe Bertolone is a great leader for spurring increased engagement among the public legislators and regulators and the industry, having spent so many years in leadership roles in industry and cultivating those important collaborative relationships with the many others in the gaming ecosystem. I’m excited to help advance further dialogue and innovation in sports betting through the UNLV fellowship.

Can you tell us about a pivotal experience in your career you can draw a direct line from where you are today?

My experience at the American Gaming Association (AGA), advancing the legalization of sports betting before the federal ban was overturned was the most pivotal for the work that I do today and identifying the relatively niche capabilities that I provide.

It became clear that in order for sports betting to be successful, I had to expand my mindset from exclusively serving AGA members to understanding the needs and opportunities for other, at times non-gaming, partners such as professional sports leagues, teams, media and broadcast companies, as well

CEO SPECIAL: SARA SLANE all entities. My foundational gaming relationships with operators, suppliers and regulators continue to be integral as well, as does my foundational gaming experience.

Prior to my tenure at the AGA, I worked for MGM Resorts International (MGM), initially in Las Vegas then in Maryland, where I spearheaded the largest gaming ballot initiative in the country and ultimately won, which led to the MGM National Harbor licensure, and the resort outside Washington, DC. This was a major feat, and expanding the US sports betting industry is a similar approach albeit at a different scale.

Moreover, the gaming industry is incredibly complex. It still surprises me how few people outside of the gaming industry understand how complex it is. Educating new entrants on the legislative and regulatory processes as well as the business opportunities, particularly given how quickly everything is evolving with the rapid rollout of sports betting, is one of my primary functions.

Can you give us an example?

"IT STILL SURPRISES ME HOW FEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE GAMING INDUSTRY UNDERSTAND HOW COMPLEX IT IS." as non-member global gaming operators and suppliers.

Like so many aspects of all industries, these formative relationships continue to serve me today as I consult and advise on sports betting’s continued growth and expansion for

I worked with the Drone Racing League and the Premiere Lacrosse League to include betting on their contests. Initially, the leagues didn’t have a gambling policy, something that shows their commitment to ensure the integrity of their sport and to reinforce responsible gambling practices. Because the leagues didn’t live through some of the historical issues between their sport and gambling like Pete Rose and MLB, it took some sharing of and inquiry regarding potential scenarios to consider the regulatory implications, but in an easily understood way to make the complex simpler. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to present “what if” questions for consideration should the league embark upon betting. Whenever there were questions outside of my knowledge base, I’d rely on relationships with past and current regulators to serve as a sounding board for best practices and expectations of the league versus the operator, or other parties like the regulatory or another enforcement body.

And that continues to this day?

Absolutely. When it comes to leveraging my past experience from a legislative standpoint, both my time at MGM and the AGA help inform my advice to clients. Getting involved in legislative matters and government relations is intimidating to many, but through a thoughtful approach and again, the right relationships, it can actually be quite easy and instrumental for ensuring that an interest has a seat at the table when it comes to policymaking. For instance, many sports teams don’t immediately consider themselves worthy of a sports betting license, at least not in the same way as a land-based casino operator.

However, when you look at the investments made by teams, the economic impact of a stadium or arena on providing jobs, spurring spending and generating tax revenues, it is significant.

I help clients understand and quantify that value to harness the impact that they often don’t even realize they have to ensure a GAMINGAMERICA 39

CEO SPECIAL: SARA SLANE seat at the table when it comes to the discussion of sports betting. Just like you can’t have sports betting without betting, you can’t have sports betting without sports. Given I’ve been on the operator side, I understand the value and opportunity for partnerships and cooperation between these and other entities to ensure a new market is successful.

Apart from the professional world, what or who else gave you direction?

When it comes to the influences that have most shaped my ambition, I’d credit much to my parents. It was instilled in me from childhood that if someone says or thinks you can’t do something, you should do whatever you can to prove them wrong. That mentality fuels a lot of my ambition. As a woman in business, not just gaming, I find many women, particularly mothers are underestimated. As a single mom, I’m fueled by debunking that stereotype. I’d also encourage anyone who feels this way, regardless of sex, age, race, any other factor to prove the critics wrong. I’m heartened by the social conversations that are occurring today and hope that my kids experience more than the conversation, but truly the social change.

What was the impetus to establish the Slane Advisory?

It was also the environment and leadership during my early years at AGA that fueled my appetite to be an entrepreneur.

In publicly held companies, which many of the gaming companies that I had worked with are, risk tolerance is low, and rightfully so. Pun intended, making a bad bet has big consequences. Taking a risk that doesn’t pan out can negatively

"GETTING INVOLVED IN LEGISLATIVE MATTERS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS IS INTIMIDATING TO MANY, BUT THROUGH A THOUGHTFUL APPROACH AND THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS, IT CAN ACTUALLY BE QUITE EASY AND INSTRUMENTAL FOR ENSURING THAT AN INTEREST HAS A SEAT AT THE TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO POLICYMAKING." impact stock prices, which is then echoed by mainstream, national media and increases pressure from shareholders.

Pressure is quarterly. At AGA, adopting an entrepreneurial mindset was encouraged, taking risks was encouraged and it was okay to fail. It was viewed as a long-term learning 40 GAMINGAMERICA

opportunity when it happened. I became more resilient to failure, more ambitious to think creatively and try things I may have previously been apprehensive to try before. Starting my own advisory firm is following that ambition and embracing those principles of adventure and high tolerance for risk.

CEO SPECIAL: ANNA SAINSBURY

PREVENTATIVE, NOT REACTIVE Anna Sainsbury, chairman and co-founder of fraud prevention and cybersecurity company GeoComply, explains to Carl Friedmann how maintaining a healthy sense of perspective amid potential, risk and reward is vital to long-term growth.

How is the threat landscape evolving, especially with sports betting gaining steam in many states, and how are you able to keep pace with it?

We’re so fortunate to have so much tremendous growth in our industry across all markets and within new ones opening up as well. But what we’ve seen when we look at location data is that the more states considering a bill, or looking into the possibilities of holding our industry accountable to different compliance requirements, there’s still a lot of consideration around location compliance and ensuring that bets aren’t placed beyond state borders. So we spend a lot of time looking at new ways that users are mitigating different geolocation barriers as the industry, and general people on the internet, gain more of an understanding of how to manipulate their location data because they’re streaming a lot of television content, which is the primary educator for the general population on how to get around geolocation. We spend a lot of time looking at that and make sure we’re well ahead of trends and fraudsters with a compliance-grade solution. But then we also sink our teeth into other areas of fraud where we can see collusion, account sharing, stolen credit cards, stolen identity or anything that goes into money laundering. So we examine all the data and transactions, what we can expect and how we can work more with different platform providers and operators to make sure we’re identifying fraud before it becomes a problem.

That’s been really interesting since there’s a lot of new markets out there and people who are potentially making sports wagers outside the US with operators based in the Caribbean or elsewhere in the world. And we’re also seeing so many amazing bonuses being marketed, and that obviously attracts a group 42 GAMINGAMERICA

that might be more interested in bonus abuse, so we work with our clients, regulators and platforms to ensure that’s not going to be a problem in our industry. It’s been a really interesting time for our fraud and analytics team.

I can imagine there’s never a dull moment. Are you encouraged with the momentum building, and the appetite increasing, for sports betting in the US? The US is this amazing platform for us all to look at. Even though we have mature markets, the expectations of what we can do are at the highest of what we’ve seen so far here in the US.

CEO SPECIAL: ANNA SAINSBURY The regulators are really interested in the weeds and they’re looking at the data and working with us to see what we can do better to create that robustness that this market needs because there’s been a lot of scrutiny in the past, so I think that everyone is working together where they can to see what we

that we’re not just turning the pages of a book in the hopes of getting to the end one day.

Just building on that, it’s clear that it’s also important to have a team around you that’s grounded in order to navigate unprecedented disruption and uncertainty, as well as to recognize opportunity.

Grounded is definitely required, but the other thing we really look for is someone who’s looking ahead. There are so many opportunities for technology but if you’re able to recognize a success and certain numbers are achieved in the industry, and all these brands want to get in and we’re marketing and hitting targets, you have to know what the positive and negative consequences of that are going to be and what can be done to mitigate that now. Anyone who has developed technology today knows you have to plan for it. You can’t just come out and realize there’s a problem and presume a solution is there. It takes thought, time, testing and development, and in our industry, where there is that level of compliance and accuracy, we can’t just push out releases all the time. We aim to be thoughtful and forward thinking, and that’s what we really look for in our team. We want to be steps ahead and work out problems that might surface.

can do better and not just maintain the status quo, even if other industries do; there’s a lot of fraud in airline ticket sales and in some markets, it’s just seen as a cost of doing business. But in our market, we’re saying we can do better, we can take accountability for this and come back with something better and I think what we already see in the geolocation space is that other industries are taking the improvements that the gaming industry has brought and are looking to transfer those data insights and improvements in fraud into their sector. So I think that’s a great thing to see.

Leading by example as an industry is certainly beneficial in that regard. But can you describe how important it is with you and your team, especially considering the year of extremes we’ve just gone through?

I think that’s everything in every year. Being true to your word is really important especially for your team and your clients and customers. There has to be an authenticity these days and I feel that if you’re doing something for the wrong reasons, it’s not going to be successful in the long term. You might get some momentum at the beginning but you’re not really going to arrive anywhere. So for us, it’s the most important thing, especially as we look to recruit; someone who has that drive and that activist within them who wants something better,

Speaking also of leading by example, GeoComply is a serial winner for Responsible Business at the GGA Awards.

Can you describe your holistic approach to management and leadership that has enabled the company to be recognized as not only a groundbreaker in CSR year after year, but a model for others to emulate?

It means so much for us to be even known for this. It’s really a driver not just for myself but for the entire team. People want to work at a company not just for a paycheck but to see how we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves. So if we can do that and get paid and develop interesting technology, then I feel that’s a homerun. We’ve really focused on where can we do better and areas that are underfunded or maybe don’t get the attention, especially in growth markets, which is really where we spend our time. So it’s been really wonderful to get involved into responsible gaming, for instance, because we want to give back to the people who participate in our industry; those players that are attracted to what we have to offer but to also give that support and helping hand to those who might have had some detrimental effects from the industry. That’s been really interesting to work on and I think there’s so much more that technology can do these days to help not only support people who are already downstream GAMINGAMERICA 43

CEO SPECIAL: ANNA SAINSBURY

"WITH ANYTHING POSITIVE, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING OR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT NOT RECEIVE ALL THE BENEFITS WE HOPED. SO THAT HAS DRAWN ME TO THE PLACE WHERE I AM NOW." I have struggled, especially in my youth, with depression and have felt that lack of support, but I ultimately know that it’s the community around you that gives you something to lean on when you need it. So I know that in myself. I didn’t have anything very terrible happen to me, which I’m grateful for, but I’m aware of how much everybody needs support and that we have to look out for someone who might suffer negative effects from something.

And with anything positive or experiencing growth, there’s always something or someone who might not receive all the benefits we hoped. So that has drawn me to the place where I am now. Once you start and meet other people who find these other problems that are underfunded, it’s so fulfilling and I feel that it grows. There’s an abundance of issues and wonderful things in our world and it keeps us busy and keeps us thinking.

How would you summarize GeoComply’s place in what the UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation calls “the gaming ecosystem”? of having some effects, but to actually help people before because now we have this bigger player pool that we really want to nurture.

After all, they’re players, clients and people we need in order to be successful. So as we hone our skills as an industry, I think a lot of operators, forward-thinking platform providers and regulators are saying we need to focus on this, so we really want to bring to that conversation what technology can do and how can we facilitate ease of responsible gaming and make it less of a hurdle for the person looking to potentially self exclude.

But we also want to support the operators too. So it’s been really fulfilling for our team and we’ve had the pleasure of getting exposure into other sectors where our technology can be insightful, which keeps us all engaged.

Can you tell us about a pivotal experience in your career you can draw a direct line from where you are today?

I feel like an activist inside. I spend a lot of time working on the conversation of human trafficking and child exploitation and what can regulations do to mitigate that negative consequence of the internet, which is a positive thing for so many in our daily lives. I’ve always been attracted to that underdog and what makes someone or something an underdog, and what we can do to better support them. I have been that myself.

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We’re very thankful that we have thought leadership at UNLV and I think International Gaming Institute executive director Bo Bernhard especially has been a great contributor sending out the message, especially in the US market, to what gaming provides, especially to the city of Las Vegas.

For us to even have our name considered as a contributor to the ecosystem and to be there not only enables a comfort level within the regulators but also gives that protection to operators and platform providers. It’s an honor for us and something we take very seriously within our company.

We really work to make sure we don’t let anyone down and that we can fulfil those needs as they come up. Hopefully, we’ll also be thinking 10 steps ahead with them and planning for the future.

This market is obviously very exciting and there’s a lot of talk about our growth and how many new markets will come up, but as we think about that as an industry, it’s important to look at how we can scale all of our solutions, as well as our teams and technologies to meet these market demands. Not only how can we do that, but improve on what we’re already doing.

It’s a big ask and I think there’s a lot of interesting people in the space right now who are providing thought leadership and making sure we not just meet but exceed demands of what regulators and players are looking for from our industry.

CEO SPECIAL: DR. LAILA MINTAS

ON THE UP AND UP Dr. Laila Mintas is the brains behind PlayUp’s expansion into the US market, where the Australian-based technology company plans to use its Down Under experience and product innovation to deliver an all-in-one app.

PlayUp US CEO Dr. Laila Mintas likes to joke that she made a mistake by writing her legal PhD on internet gambling with a focus on fixed odds sports betting. As a grad student at the University of Berlin in the mid-2000s, her decision to expend intellectual energy on an emerging form of gambling probably didn’t endear her to the ivory tower types. It did, however, garner plenty of popularity outside the campus halls.

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Mintas’ German language thesis was turned into a book soon being read by the European gaming elite, including members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). After a few years working as an attorney and law professor, Mintas joined FIFA in 2012 to run their sports integrity unit, and later took on a similar position for soccer association CONCACAF. Looking back, her decision to write the book on online sports betting and fixed odds ultimately “brought me here today” to PlayUp, the Australian-based technology company entering the US sports betting space. Along the way, Mintas picked up valuable experience investing into betting platform Bet.Works and served as deputy president at Sportradar US, where she developed key relationships with regulators.

Mintas moved to PlayUp during July 2020 right as global sports were beginning to return from a months-long pause caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and quickly came to appreciate the company’s tech-driven focus. Within two weeks of the stoppage of traditional sports, PlayUp’s team had developed horse racing fantasy sports and esports to provide content to customers.

“The team in Australia did a very good job in turning around very quickly and getting some products out into the market, and since then, our revenues have been increasing,” Mintas says.

“We’ve had the best results ever since Covid. It’s kind of ironic to say that, but we really benefit from that online business and the shift to online rather than retail.”

Since 2015, PlayUp has been Australia’s leading daily fantasy sports provider. The company also offers esports betting and fixed-odds horse racing. For years PlayUp had ambitions to expand to the US market. As business picked up in Australia, PlayUp was better equipped to secure capital

CEO SPECIAL: DR. LAILA MINTAS for its expansion, and by November 2020, the company had raised approximately $25m and gained market access for sports betting in Colorado and New Jersey. Mintas’ experience dealing with the wide variance of US regulations by state made her a natural fit to lead the company’s American expansion.

Australia, Mintas says, is itself a highly regulated market, which lends valuable expertise for the PlayUp staff.

“We cannot copy and paste what we have done in Australia,” Mintas says, “But we use the learnings and experiences of having worked in a very regulated market just like the US for a long time, having our own risk and trading team in house that does US sports to a big percentage. So what I always find very exciting and very interesting is that Australians love US sports.”

PlayUp launched its mobile sports betting app in Colorado in March through a 10-year contract with Bull Durham in Black Hawk. In June, the company announced a trio of market

other states where they live. They’re just using the same app.

They don’t have to put their bank information again in the app and all of that hassle. So it’s really making that a more seamless and user friendly experience.”

Fixed-odds horse racing is still a mostly foreign concept in the US, where wagering on horses is traditionally parimutuel.

Under fixed-odds, a bettor can place a wager on a horse at 10-1 and be assured they’ll receive those odds upon the start of the race. Parimutuel, on the other hand, allows for last minute odds changes that can drop a 10-1 horse to 3-1, leaving bettors feeling short-changed when they go to cash in their ticket.

In June, New Jersey lawmakers approved a bill that legalized fixed-odds horse racing and they were implemented at some New Jersey locations this summer.

“There are a lot of conversations that we are involved in because we have that Australian experience where fixed-odds on horse

“WE CANNOT COPY AND PASTE WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN AUSTRALIA, BUT WE USE THE LEARNINGS AND EXPERIENCES OF HAVING WORKED IN A VERY REGULATED MARKET JUST LIKE THE US FOR A LONG TIME, HAVING OUR OWN RISK AND TRADING TEAM IN HOUSE THAT DOES US SPORTS TO A BIG PERCENTAGE. SO WHAT I ALWAYS FIND VERY EXCITING AND VERY INTERESTING IS THAT AUSTRALIANS LOVE US SPORTS.”

access partnerships with Caesars Entertainment that will lead to sports betting in Indiana and Iowa, and igaming in New Jersey. PlayUp also obtained New Jersey online sports betting licensure via a separate deal with Freehold Racetrack.

So Mintas bills PlayUp’s online platform as a one-stop shop.

“What we want to offer for example in New Jersey, where we’ll have sports betting soon as well as igaming and fixed-odds horse racing, is we want to come into the market with one single app that has also one wallet,” Mintas says. “So the user doesn’t have to re-download apps when they’re traveling into

racing is a big percentage of our revenues and of our business,” Mintas says. “And now, seeing that become legalized in the US, step by step, is a great movement.”

Fixed-odds is just one ingredient for PlayUp to use to its advantage as it looks to carve a name in the ever-competitive New Jersey market. Mintas calls user experience the “secret sauce” behind PlayUp’s platform.

“Our biggest advantage is that we’re focusing on technology, so we see ourselves as a technology company that’s in the sports betting and entertainment space,” she says.

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CEO SPECIAL: DR. LAILA MINTAS

“User experience is still very fragmented if you look at the other operators that are out there. I think the tech will be a great differentiator apart from obviously having a great product out there.”

“WE WANT TO COME INTO THE MARKET WITH ONE SINGLE APP THAT HAS ALSO ONE WALLET." Another differentiator is PlayUp’s in-house risk and trading team. Though the group is based in Australia, they’re used to providing US sports odds because of the popularity of basketball and football back home.

Additionally, PlayUp’s Australian-based leadership team is well respected for creating the country’s first fantasy platform where customers have to pay to play. Mintas is confident in the team’s product development innovation as PlayUp enters its next chapter.

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“I’m always saying that a leader alone cannot win a war,” she says. “You need a team behind you, and I’m very proud of my US team that I’ve been able to put together step by step over the last year. We have a lot of experienced and hungry employees who want to be on the forefront, and want to achieve something. We don’t want to copy what’s out there.

We want to improve what you see from a user experience, but there’s a lot of improvement that still needs to happen in the US.” Amid all the excitement surrounding the US launch, Mintas takes a grounded approach when thinking about PlayUp’s future in the American sports betting and igaming space. She’s seen too many companies fall prey to short-sighted goals and impatient ambitions, only to miss out on the long-term gains. For PlayUp to reach its full potential in the US, Mintas knows it will take plenty of patience and persistence.

“I know people say we’re three years in and they feel like everything is set in stone. I see it totally different,” Mintas says.

“Think of the Blackberries and Nokias and where they all are today. It’s still a very early journey and early market in the US, so we want to play an important role over time and I’m sure we’ll get there.”

URBAN ONE

ONE FOR THE BOOKS Urban One looks to become the first black-owned majority owner of a US casino, and in the process, revitalize the Richmond, Virginia, community. Ezra Amacher speaks with CEO Alfred Liggins to get the back story and what lies ahead.

Alfred Liggins was barely 20 years old when he made a decision that would influence the direction of black entertainment for decades to come. Having struck out applying for a job with Motown Records, he packed up his car and headed back home to Washington, DC, where his mother, Cathy Hughes, was independently managing a fledgling radio station. Liggins initially worked in the sales department at AM station WOL by day and attended the University of District Columbia by night.

This was the 1980s, an era when black Americans began to see their culture increasingly represented on television, film and radio even when ownership of those airwaves was hard to come by. Liggins’ mother was the exception, having acquired WOL in the early 1980s. “She wanted to provide a platform for blacks to speak and be heard,” Liggins says.

By the mid-1990s, mother and son had made the station profitable and soon began buying FM stations in the DC – Baltimore region. WOL rebranded to Radio One and in 1999 the company went public, making it the first ever female black owned company on the NASDAQ. Over the last two decades, Liggins has expanded the business, now named Urban One, into a multimedia behemoth that reaches 80% of black Americans.

The next chapter in Urban One’s groundbreaking journey: casinos. The Silver Spring, Maryland-based company gained gaming and entertainment experience as a minority interest stakeholder in MGM National Harbor. When neighboring Virginia announced the development of five casinos as part of a 2020 gaming expansion bill, Urban One wasted no time drafting a proposal to build a resort in the state’s capital, Richmond. Despite lacking casino management, Liggins was confident that the brand he and his mom developed would resonate in Richmond, a city where blacks make up a slight majority of the population.

In early 2020 Urban One submitted a $560m casino project that would include a 12-story luxury hotel, a theater, more than a dozen bars and restaurants and approximately 100,000 square feet of gaming space. Known as ONE Casino Resort, the property would be built in South Richmond at Commerce Road and 50 GAMINGAMERICA

Walmsley Boulevard. Urban One partnered with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, owner of Colonial Downs racetrack and Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums, to head gaming operations.

Urban One’s proposal ultimately beat out more experienced operators like Golden Nugget, The Cordish Companies and Bally’s Corp., which Liggins says is a testament to his company’s ability to relate to Richmond’s population.

“For more than 35 years, Urban One has been the leading voice speaking to black America,” Liggins says. “First, as the largest local urban radio network. Then, as the largest syndicator of urban programming. One has been a member of the Richmond community for over 20 years with multiple radio properties in the market, so we know Richmond. We are always looking for ways to elevate the communities where we operate, economically, politically and socially so a project where we can create jobs, build generational wealth, and improve the overall landscape of Richmond is our kind of project.”

In late July, the Richmond City Council officially approved the contract for ONE. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney was among the vocal supporters for the project, which city officials believe will generate 1,300 jobs and $5.7bn in economic activity over the casino’s first 10 years. The casino project now faces a referendum from Richmond voters in November.

“We will appeal to voters citywide in the general election the same way we have been by spreading our positive message that this is an economic development opportunity Richmond wants – investing hundreds of millions in the city, our profit-sharing with employees who will have good-paying jobs, our 55 acres of green space open to all, our partnership with local restaurants and breweries, and our 3,000 person capacity live music venue hosting 200 shows annually with partner Live Nation.”

If approved, Urban One would become the only present-day black-owned majority owner of a casino in the US. Liggins follows in the footsteps of the late Don Barden, a black entrepreneur who acquired Fitzgeralds Hotel and Casino (now The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel) in 2001. Barden became the first black American to reach the top of an industry that relies on a diverse workforce. A 2017 study by the American Gaming Association found that 45% of casino gaming

URBAN ONE

employees are minority, well above the 33% national average.

“We still have a long way to go, but we’ve also come a long way,” says Liggins. “What we see playing out in the country today is just a reminder that the work that we do each and every day is still important and necessary. But we stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us, and we’ll continue to do our part until it’s no longer needed.”

One way Urban One is doing its part is by committing to paying workers a minimum of $15 per hour compared to the Virginia minimum wage of $9.50. The average annual compensation package for employees will be $55,000. Urban One said it will set a 40% participation goal for small and minority-owned businesses for construction and operation of the facility. The casino will also fund $30,000 annual payments to Richmond Public Schools over a five-year period.

"WHAT WE SEE PLAYING OUT IN THE COUNTRY IS A REMINDER THAT THE WORK WE DO EVERY DAY IS STILL IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY." “The ONE project is a critical part of our efforts to keep moving forward and create new opportunities to build wealth for people of color,” adds Liggins. “The only way we can make real progress is by reducing the economic divide between black and white and creating environments where everyone is at the same table with the same opportunities.”

Liggins expects ONE to rejuvenate the South Richmond community with space for community gardens, miles of fitness and bike trails, dog parks, and a walk-through arboretum.

The project’s main pull will be, of course, gaming.

ONE plans to differentiate itself from competing Virginia casinos with a poker room and state-of-the-art sportsbook.

ONE could be one of the first and only properties to offer retail sports betting in Virginia, which currently operates an exclusively online market. First, Urban One must receive licensing from the Virginia Lottery, which won’t occur until 2022.

So the wait for licensing has led Urban One to consider delaying its opening date from 2023 to 2024.

“Changes in target dates in the community agreement between the City of Richmond and ONE are to provide some flexibility given the Virginia Lottery will have up to 12 months to issue a license once ONE has submitted its final application,”

ALFRED LIGGINS

Liggins explains. “We plan to submit our application no later than December 15, 2021, assuming the referendum passes on November 2. This is a big project and there will be many moving parts along the way.”

Richmond would like to see ONE open early, so much so that the city is incentivizing Urban One with a reduced annual gambling-related revenue payout for one year if it opens no later than the end of 2023.

Liggins, too, would like to see the project finish as soon as possible.

“The City of Richmond is facing one of its greatest opportunities,” says Liggins. “It is a moment in the city’s evolution to create something incredible and exciting that will put Richmond on the regional and national map and be an economic engine for the city – lifting up many in the process.”

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ROUNDTABLE

ROUNDTABLE: CASHING IN ON CASHLESS Cash was always king, but is its reign on the wane? Experts in the field of cashless gaming discuss the need, demand and benefits of digital money as it changes the gaming landscape.

SCOTT DOWTY, CEO, Passport Technology

Scott Dowty has 25 years in payments and gaming experience and has had a strong presence in the expanding casino cash services industry. He co-founded Passport Technology in 2016 by introducing industry-first technology to targeted markets across the globe. Passport focuses on high barrier to entry markets as well as regulatory compliance, omni-commerce solutions and business performance. He also spent 10 years as director of CIBC Card Products, and CRO and EVP at CardConnect Inc.

CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE, President, GlobalPayments

Christopher Justice is a veteran leader in the world’s payment and commerce industry.

He recently joined Global Payments to lead the company’s Gaming Solutions division, and his 25-plus-year career spans executive leadership roles at organizations such as CenPOS, Century Payments, Ingenico, Merchant Link and First Data.

CRAIG LIBSON, CEO, Flexia

Craig Libson has more than 20 years experience in digital payments and creating transformational, technology-driven products and services. He has a track record of driving next-gen product and market strategy, platform design and development, and creating strategic relationships most recently for Flexia’s multi-account, open/closed loop card/digital wallet products distributed through the gaming industry and other specialty platforms. He's led the creation and growth of several enterprises, including P2P and B2C payment platforms at Planet Payment and founding Cash2Go Inc., an international fintech and digital payments company.

JOE PAPPANO, CEO, Sightline Payments

Joe Pappano joined Sightline Payments as President of Americas after a nearly 30-year career at WorldPay, Inc. He also previously served on Sightline’s board of directors, while in his role of SVP and MD of WorldPay Gaming Solutions. He has deep knowledge of the payments industry, ranging from merchant acquiring, card-issuing & servicing, prepaid and rewards, mobile and alternative payments, agent bank and third-party processing with a focus on sports betting, casinos, lottery and igaming.

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ROUNDTABLE

SCOTT DOWTY:

The pandemic has accelerated the chatter, not so much consumer demand for digital payment solutions. The term cashless is a misnomer, and the digital touchpoint will become increasingly important as online and brick-and-mortar experiences converge. The digital movement within casino payments began many years ago, and Passport continues to be the leader in omni-commerce points of interaction (POI), with the pandemic fueling new discussions. This acceleration is an opportunity to innovate, collaborate with customers, and further differentiate our position within the casino payments space.

CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE:

Today’s patrons live in a digitally driven world where all matters of personal importance, both business and entertainment, are happening via mobile and online channels. Before the pandemic, operators were slowly adopting solutions to ensure their guests’ gaming experiences mirrored those happening in other areas of their lives. However, the global health crisis has revealed just how quickly the industry and its stakeholders must be able to evolve alongside the ever-changing gaming environment to meet consumer demands.

The pandemic resulted in a steep decline in cash usage, exacerbating the need for cashless, contactless payment options to keep patrons and casino operators safe while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

CASHLESS OPTIONS HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE, BUT CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE OF HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS ACCELERATED DEMAND?

CRAIG LIBSON:

We launched our program in 2019 in Mexico, and at the time the focus was on cash management and security concerns of large amounts of cash in casinos. Since Covid, casinos began calling us to implement our program with a sense of urgency, citing the virus transmission issues of cash and the sanitary changes they needed to make at their cashier stations and back office. With our entry in the US this year, we’ve seen this to be a major concern of casinos, both from avoiding tactile transmission of the virus on the cash, to concerns about crowded cashier lines and social distancing practices.

JOE PAPPANO: The pandemic accelerated consumers’ transition to digital payments options as a whole. In-store mobile payments grew nearly 30% last year, with half of US smartphone users expected to use contactless payments options by 2025. Over 80% of consumers say they now view contactless as the cleaner way to pay. More than half of new contactless shoppers say they’ll continue to use contactless options once the pandemic is over. In the gaming industry, nearly 60% of casino visitors are less likely to use cash in their everyday lives due to the pandemic. Over 50% of gamblers indicate they’d be very likely to utilize a digital or contactless payment option when they gamble. These statistics show that cashless options are more important to casino visitors than ever.

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ROUNDTABLE

SCOTT DOWTY:

Digital optionality on its own is not overly exciting, especially in today’s form.

When seamless and efficient digital options reach full capacity and are fluidly available, land-based operators will realize increased efficiencies, improved regulatory compliance opportunities, and enhanced guest experiences.

We’re taking a more expansive and dynamic path on digital, and the movement of funds will be muted by the importance and effectiveness of real-time loyalty offers and analytic levers.

This is where land-based casinos will unlock the true value as cash slowly disappears from the casino floor.

CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE: Covid-19 has accelerated the demand for contactless payments as patrons gravitate toward safer, mobile-driven options that meet their needs and expectations.

We fully expect these behaviors to remain after the pandemic subsides. As such, land-based operators will need to continue to provide and enhance these services. With digital payment options increasing in popularity, casino operators must successfully incorporate cashless payments that are system agnostic and don’t require an overhaul on casinos’ existing infrastructure to provide patrons with a truly seamless funding experience. Updating legacy technology with the latest gaming advancements is critical for casinos, especially as land-based and igaming operators develop omni-channel customer engagement strategies.

HOW CAN CASHLESS OPTIONS HELP FUTURE-PROOF LAND-BASED OPERATORS AS THEY GET USED TO FULL CAPACITY AGAIN? SCOTT DOWTY

CEO, Passport Technology

CRAIG LIBSON CEO, Flexia

CRAIG LIBSON:

Cashless is a term with many facets. Eliminating cash in gaming machines is the most basic, but it also encompasses the payouts to customers, and enables electronic deposits into the casino environment. All of these come with increased visibility into customer activity, and the ability to mine that data for both marketing and AML/KYC and other compliance needs. Going cashless positions the gaming operator to best prepare for the fintech expansion of what’s possible, which is our focus, and the increasing regulatory oversight from various agencies and jurisdictions like financial and gaming.

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JOE PAPPANO: Digital payments powered by mobile devices empower consumers to do just about anything they need to. With payments modernization spanning every aspect of their lives, casino patrons will expect a modern gaming experience to include seamlessly linked slots, table games, cage operations and loyalty. And since the pandemic accelerated society’s shift to digital payments overall, more than half of new contactless shoppers say they’ll continue to use cashless options once this pandemic is over. And even looking toward the future, younger consumers are acclimated to digital payments being a part of their day-to-day lives. Casinos are one of the last cash-based industries in the world, and payments modernization is critical for the industry’s continued growth.

ROUNDTABLE

SCOTT DOWTY:

This is a complex and challenging task and only complicated by the fact that gaming is governed by much more than technology.

Jurisdictional regimes, gaming regulations, responsible gambling, cultural beliefs and individual superstitions all play a part in adoption and interest in moving away from cash. People will be assured by reputable providers such as Passport, who lean on security and compliance as core tenants and will adopt solutions where the experience is fluid, familiar and timely. People will be influenced and persuaded to adopt through loyalty, a fully connected experience, convenience and ease of use.

CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE: Consumers increasingly prefer to pay with cards and electronic-based forms of payment, both in physical and digital environments. In fact, only four out of 10 consumers carry cash regularly, making cash access at the casino an increasingly frustrating point of friction. As consumers shift to a cashless society, alternatives to traditional forms of payment help operators conveniently meet the demands, regardless of their payment method. Cashless solutions have the potential to deliver hardened bank-grade security to casinos’ complex gaming environments while equipping guests with a seamless payment experience from funding through cash-out. Plus, cashless solutions reinforce the latest responsible gaming initiatives to ensure the player experience remains safe, without creating issues for operators or guests.

INNOVATION IS ONLY AS SUCCESSFUL AS ITS UPTAKE WITH CONSUMERS. WHAT IS THE ADOPTION RATE AMONG THOSE USED TO CASH, UNSURE OF ADEQUATE SECURITY, AND UNTRUSTING OF NEW TECHNOLOGY? HOW DO YOU ASSURE PEOPLE THAT CASHLESS IS A BETTER WAY FORWARD? CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE

president, GlobalPayments

JOE PAPPANO

CEO, Sightline Payments

CRAIG LIBSON:

We promote adoption through the non-transactional benefits of the program, such as our tie-in to casino loyalty programs for spend on our card’s Mastercard account outside of the casino, and special rewards provided in-casino only to Flexia cardholders. Covid has provided an unexpected boon to adoption, as customers increasingly migrate their day-to-day consumer transactions to plastic (voluntarily or by merchant mandate), so cashless in the casino seems more natural. Plus, the underbanked population is recognizing the need to be part of the electronic payment world, which we facilitate by enabling a customer to obtain a multi-account Flexia card in minutes at the casino counter.

JOE PAPPANO: Cash is still an option for those who prefer it, but cashless options are becoming increasingly common. Cash is expensive for casinos to count, store, acquire and transport, and cashless ecosystems significantly reduce this overhead. Mobile wallets allow patrons to skip lines at ATMs and cages, saving them valuable time. Digital payments also equip customers with robust tools to govern their own gaming behavior and give casinos increased visibility to ensure that guests are gaming responsibly.

They enable casinos to revolutionize and personalize loyalty rewards by better understanding consumer behavior. Digital payments also create a paper trail, giving law enforcement new abilities to trace and prevent financial crimes like money laundering.

The benefits of digital payments to all parties involved will help head transition to them.

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ROUNDTABLE

SCOTT DOWTY:

Digital payments have certainly promoted collaboration between players in the space and will continue as viable, performancedriven solutions take shape. The casino payments space is highly regulated, complex and quickly evolving, and behavior-driven solutions will win the day, which will only be found through collaboration. We understand strategic partners will play an important role in our ability to execute and provide our casino customers and their patrons a digital experience that ticks all the boxes. A fully integrated digital experience through the resort, land-based casinos, online and within asset portfolios is the holy grail, and it will take an industry working together to achieve such a monumental solution effectively.

HOW HAS CASHLESS HELPED BRIDGE THE DIVIDE BETWEEN LAND-BASED AND DIGITAL OPERATORS? IS THERE A GREATER SENSE OF COLLABORATION WITHIN THE INDUSTRY?

CHRISTOPHER JUSTICE:

Igaming experienced rapid growth since the Covid-19 outbreak, and operators are increasingly understanding the need to have hybrid approaches to gaming in a post-pandemic world. Similar to cashless gaming on the casino floor, the pandemic increased the demand for online and mobile gaming methods. Operators can leverage this demand to their advantage by implementing igaming solutions that utilize a multi-channel approach to connect online and brick-and-mortar experiences. The blending of digital and physical elements enhances the gaming experience, making it a viable area for operators to explore in states where it’s legal. Brick-and-mortar gaming revenues have been shown to grow alongside igaming revenues when it is introduced, so creating a multi-channel experience represents a great way to grow loyalty across both and increase wallet share.

CRAIG LIBSON:

Probably the most A-hah! moments we see are when gaming operators recognize what we can accomplish for them. Not only are the land-based and online platforms different, but we've seen a great divide internally with operators between the casino and online divisions, and the issues they prioritize. By sharing creative solutions enabled by cashless, they see that the benefits go beyond funding and payout to include onboarding efficiencies, cross-pollination of platform data, coordinated marketing and benefit programs, and customer communications.

We recently had one global gaming company executive tell us that we are providing the key to getting the online and land-based divisions of the company to speak to each other.

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JOE PAPPANO: Cashless has given operators

new opportunities to integrate their online offerings with their brick-and-mortar business.

As online casino becomes an increasingly important part of operators’ business, it’s essential they tie in consumers’ online gaming activities with their in-person gaming experience. Payments are key to doing that. In the ideal scenario, consumers will be able to use the same digital wallet for online casino, slots, table games and sports betting, and then use some of their winnings to buy a round of drinks for friends, pay for dinner or purchase something special at a retail outlet. This lends itself to increased collaboration between different gaming verticals, from casino management systems to retail to hospitality.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS 62 STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME

888 Holdings' Yaniv Sherman explains the stretaegy to align with Sports Illustrated.

64 SPECIAL TEAMWORK

How the NFL has come to embrace casino and sports betting operator partnerships.

68 STAY IN THE GAME

Kambi’s Evan Schaffner on how in-game betting is a key battleground for US sportsbooks.

72 GET YOUR FIX

William Pascrell, III, global gaming adviser and principal with Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc. on the power of fixed odds horse racing in America

76 THE HARD MILES

Gregory Gemignani, who focuses on gaming law at Dickinson Wright, chronicles the long march toward near national sports wagering.

78 SPORTSBOOK SMART

With its one-year anniversary soon, there’s a lot to celebrate at Circa. Property sports director Matt Metcalf speaks about the success of its renowned sportsbook.

80 NEW WORLD BORDER

Head of Amelco USA, Brandon Walker on tech to spur expansion from state to state.

81 WAGGING THE LONG TAIL

Spotlight Sportsgroup's Justin Geiger on what Americans really want from their sports betting market.

82 COURT AWARENESS

Adi Dhandhania, at Bally’s Corporation discusses tactics in order to leverage the most out of strategic partnerships.

83 JOINING FORCES

Robert Rippee, ED of UNLV's research institution Black Fire Innovation Hub, collates data to explain the rapid rise of esports.

84 FINAL WORD: DIGITAIN Zohrab Karapetyan, sportsbook product manager, on in-play betting and the growth of sports betting in the US.

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | 888 Holdings

Staying ahead of the game 888 Holdings SVP and head of US Yaniv Sherman discusses why the online gaming provider turned to legacy media brand Sports Illustrated to fuel its sports betting ambitions.

The September launch of Sports Illustrated Sportsbook in Colorado marks the completion of a longtime goal for 888 Holdings’ senior vice president and head of US, Yaniv Sherman.

Ever since he moved from his native home of Israel to the United States to work for 888, he held onto a vision of partnering the online gaming provider with SI, one of America’s iconic sports media brands. That ambition came to fruition this summer, when 888 inked a licensing deal with SI owner Authentic Brands Group (ABG). The partnership allows 888 to develop its US sportsbook platform under the SI brand and gives 888 access to the sports magazine’s print and digital readership.

Based in the British Overseas Territory Gibraltar, 888 is a well-known brand in the United Kingdom and Europe. In the US, however, few customers would immediately recognize the 888 name except for its popular poker platform. After the US Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, 888’s leaders recognized they needed to find a brand or media partner to compete in the American sports betting market.

“It’s a very effective global brand, but it’s not a local American brand,” says Sherman. “With some challenges in getting it to where it needs to be, we made a very cold, economical calculation, and we came to a realization we need to invest a lot more to get to where brands like Sports Illustrated are already in terms of brand mission and awareness.”

Three years passed between the repeal of PASPA and 888’s deal with SI. During that time, Sherman says 888 at some point had a seat at the table in every closed deal between an operator and an American brand. 888 kept its sights on SI even as negotiations were tested when ABG acquired the magazine in May 2019. But ABG’s acquisition of SI ultimately aligned with 888’s plans. The New York City-based company collects licensing fees from the hundreds of brands it owns, and positioning SI into the sports betting and online gaming space continued the magazine’s transition from a 20th-century print publication to a 21st-century digital behemoth.

“The things we were excited to see with Sports Illustrated 62 GAMINGAMERICA

YANIV SHERMAN

is that ABG has done a great job with its partners like Maven [operator of SI’s print and digital assets] to digitize the brand, which means it’s driving beyond awareness; it’s driving a lot of traffic,” says Sherman. “It has a very loyal and active user and reader base, which is important to us. It served as sort of a one-stop shop of brand media distribution channel.”

The partnership gives 888 exclusive integration into SI digital and social channels. According to 888’s investor presentation, SI attracts 30 million monthly unique visitors and garners 4.05 billion annual impressions. SI readers also have a higher propensity to wager than the average consumer.

Sherman says SI Sportsbook will be intelligent with how it integrates wagering content onto the magazine’s digital assets.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | 888 Holdings “We want to make it where if you land on SI.com and you’re looking to bet, we would be your natural choice because we’re integrated into the product flow,” says Sherman. “The SI readers consume content in a large degree to bet, and they’re just betting with competitors. We want to keep that in the family.”

By partnering with SI, 888 is tapping into an older demographic than many of its competitors. Approximately two thirds of SI readers are 35 or older, and more than a quarter are 55 or older. Many SI readers are also people who grew up with the magazine, which was first printed in 1954.

“The editorial, content and betting experience will reflect the integrity and ethos that SI has maintained for more than six decades,” said Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Maven.

college sports teams. SI Sportsbook also has market access in New Jersey, Iowa and Indiana.

“To start with, we have a regional strategy in mind in terms of market access so we’re going to follow and execute against that,” says Sherman. “A market has to have certain commercial terms because we’re focused on return. In the near term, it’s going to be a growth market generally, but in the longer term we need to chart a course toward profitability, something I think is missing from a lot of operators’ state of mind at this point.”

From a product perspective, SI Sportsbook plans to separate itself from competitors by introducing igaming, including online poker in states where 888Poker is already live and running.

Leading up to or after the event, there’s a significant window

“SI Sportsbook hopes to tap into the nostalgia associated with SI by offering throwback bets and incorporating gambling content into the print publication, which had a 1.7 million reader subscription in 2020.”

SI Sportsbook hopes to tap into the nostalgia associated with SI by offering throwback bets and incorporating gambling content into the print publication, which had a 1.7 million reader subscription in 2020. Sherman himself was an avid reader of the magazine while growing up in Israel. He was just as captivated by the images as the language. With SI Sportsbook, he wants to recapture the magazine’s iconic visuals by using high-quality videos.

“To be able read about the story behind the teams, behind the athletes, it basically to me was a form of literature,” says Sherman.

“The visuals Sports Illustrated produced immediately trigger that reaction from my generation. We’re just trying to reenact that and also appeal to a younger demographic that knows there is such a thing as Sports Illustrated but doesn’t really know what it stands for. We’re trying to capture all these touch points with potential customers and really get the name out there leading up to our launch.”

SI is putting out a gambling-focused print magazine issue in September, the same month when SI Sportsbook will begin accepting mobile wagers in Colorado. The Centennial State was the ideal initial market for SI Sportsbook because of good GDP per capita and the presence of multiple professional and

to draw customers to other games, Sherman says. One way SI Sportsbook might do this is by offering a poker tournament ticket to the tournament that starts a half hour after a football game ends, or by promoting online casino tables at halftime.

“We develop all our products in-house and we also have a very successful gaming proposition,” he says. “Gaming is highly complimenting for sports betting.”

888 is also establishing avenues for how it can turn SI Sportsbook from a primarily digital brand to one that incorporates retail experiences. The borders between retail and digital are “very blurry,” says Sherman, and it’s easier to move from digital to retail than the other way around. SI Sportsbook will likely take advantage of ABG’s existing brand assets, such as a party line and celebrity access.

During high-profile events like the NCAA Tournament or Super Bowl weekend, SI Sportsbook could host physical experiences.

Whichever path SI Sportsbook chooses to follow, its successes or failures will come back to 888’s decision to fully invest its gaming platform in an established American media brand.

“We were willing to rebrand,” says Sherman. “A lot of the operators out there are looking at media deals but they want to use the brand that they came into market with, and we were really willing to rebrand 888 into SI Sportsbook.”

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | NFL & Betting Partnerships

Special teamwork As the NFL prepares to kick off the 2021-2022 season, Ezra Amacher investigates how the league and its teams have come to embrace casino and sports betting operator partnerships.

In September, the Las Vegas Raiders will play their first regular season games at a packed Allegiant Stadium, a momentous occasion for the city and for Raiders fans, who were shut out from attending games in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When fans stream in, they’ll be met with a sight unthinkable even a few years ago: signage in every direction promoting gaming corporations that for decades were shut out by the National Football League.

The MGM Club sponsored by MGM Resorts will offer fans a full-service bar and luxury lounge. A Caesars-branded Owners Suite at the 50-yard line will give VIP guests an unparalleled 64 GAMINGAMERICA

view of the action. The Wynn Field Club will let a lucky few watch games from the north end zone while taking in a premium nightlife experience. Outdoors, the MGM Resorts Stadium Walk will connect Allegiant and Luxor Hotel & Casino with an ultimate tailgate experience that physically embodies the bridge being built between the NFL and gaming.

This is the brave new world of professional football. The once highly constructed barriers separating casinos and gaming operators from the NFL have been demolished.

The NFL began to change its tone on sports betting after the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | NFL & Betting Partnerships Protection Act in May 2018. PASPA’s repeal didn’t come without significant risks for the NFL and other pro and college sports leagues, who now had to worry about the spread of legalized sports betting interfering with the integrity of their games.

Ever since the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, during which eight players of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, American sports have successfully stamped out athletes and coaches wagering on games, save for a few notorious examples like MLB player Pete Rose and NBA official Tim Donaghy.

League commissioners, nonetheless, used the PASPA repeal to demand greater regulations.

Immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell asked Congress to enact uniform standards to protect the league’s integrity. Congress has mostly balked at treading into those waters, leaving the NFL to rely on its own policies. In the three plus years since the repeal of PASPA, the NFL has only dealt with one public incident of a player gambling on an NFL game. In 2019, the league suspended Arizona Cardinals player Josh Shaw nearly 16 months for betting on games on multiple occasions.

“The continued success of the NFL depends directly on each of us doing everything necessary to safeguard the integrity of the game and the reputations of all who participate in the league,” Goodell said in November 2019. “At the core of this responsibility is the longstanding principle that betting on NFL games, or on any element of a game, puts at risk the integrity of the game, damages public confidence in the NFL, and is forbidden under all circumstances. If you work in the NFL in any capacity, you may not bet on NFL football.”

As the NFL put the hammer down on employees wagering on games, the league was also nailing down casino and sports betting operator partnerships. The league’s first casino deal was with Caesars Entertainment ahead of the 2019 NFL playoffs.

As part of the agreement, Caesars Palace will get to host part of the 2022 NFL Draft held in Las Vegas.

The NFL upped its ante in April 2021 with the announcement of its first-ever US sports partners: DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars. The agreement gives the three operators the right to integrate relevant sports betting content directly into NFL media properties. The operators agreed to adhere to the NFL’s core integrity policies including intelligence sharing, advocacy efforts and responsible gaming education.

“The way fans consume sports years from now will look drastically different, and it will be due in part to forward-thinking collaborations like our expanded relationship with the NFL,” said Jason Robins, CEO, chairman and co-founder, DraftKings.

“We share the same vision as the NFL on fan engagement and believe this agreement will lead to new innovations that will ultimately enhance both the product on the field and on the screen.”

The velocity at which America’s most popular sports league has come to not only accept but embrace the gaming

industry leaves some NFL teams gasping to keep up with latest developments.

“It’s created a lot of confusion,” said Scott Erdmann, Raiders senior director, corporate partnership sales, during a National Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention panel on sports betting. “We just found out of this [sports betting] app and new technology we weren’t even aware of, so you think you have a grasp on it and the next minute it’s completely different and you’re now having to understand a whole other landscape.”

The last few years have been a whirlwind for the Raiders organization, which in 2017 received official approval to move from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Raiders’ move to the desert hit full speed until the spring of 2020, by which time individual NFL teams were beginning to look for partners in the sports betting and casino space.

"The velocity at which the NFL has come to not only accept but embrace the gaming industry leaves some teams gasping to keep up with latest developments."

“The NFL relaxed their rules in 2018 which gave us a little more rights to integrate casinos within the games,” said Erdmann.

“The sports betting thing is really intriguing. We get calls all the time of companies and brands trying to get involved.

The way we have it structured right now is we have four casino partnerships in Las Vegas, and then we have four sports betting partnerships.”

Erdmann said the Raiders have two open sports betting partnerships. The franchise also has a tribal partnership with San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino. In a demonstration of the NFL’s influence on the limits of casino and franchise partnership, the Raiders are not able to advertise with San Manuel in Southern California, where the LA Rams and LA Charges have exclusivity. Though Raiders have only played one full season in Las Vegas, casino and particularly sports betting partners are already seeing a return on investment.

“From a fan perspective, we saw that 33% of our fans last year bet on mobile devices,” said Erdmann. “The propensity to bet last year was up 21%. I think the fans are very intrigued GAMINGAMERICA 65

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | NFL & Betting Partnerships and it definitely brings new fans to the table that may have not watched sports, and who are now a little more invested.”

Entering the upcoming season, nearly every NFL franchise now has a casino, sports betting or daily fantasy sports partnership of some sort. The deals usually include on-site signage, social media promotions, and a space inside the stadium branded under the gaming corporation. Teams that play in states where sports betting is already legal are certain to have a sportsbook partner.

The Detroit Lions, for example, recently announced WynnBet as an official sportsbook and gaming partner, which gives WynnBet access to digital and traditional media assets and includes a WynnBet Sports Bar at Ford Field.

In Louisiana, the New Orleans Saints announced a Superdome naming rights deal with Caesars and the Las Vegas-based casino company will shell out $7m a year for the next 20 years.

The long-term deal coincides with a $325m investment into Caesars New Orleans (formerly Harrah’s), the lone land-based casino in the city and occurs on the eve of Louisiana legalizing sports betting in 55 of 64 parishes.

“All of us at Caesars are proud to be part of New Orleans’ vibrant culture,” said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment.

“We understand that the Caesars Superdome is more than an iconic venue, it’s the symbol of a resilient and innovative community. We’ve had a strong relationship with the New Orleans Saints for nearly two decades and we're thrilled with the opportunity to strengthen it and celebrate our commitment to the city, the state and the entire Gulf Coast region.”

BetMGM, a joint venture between Roar Digital / MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings, has been among the most aggressive operators at signing partnerships with NFL teams. BetMGM’s team partners include the Raiders, Lions, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The operator also recently snagged a brand ambassador deal with Marshawn Lynch, one of the most marketable retired NFL players of his generation. Lynch, whose career spanned from the Raiders to the Seattle Seahawks, will feature in BetMGM marketing campaigns, promotions and fan events.

Matt Prevost, chief revenue officer at BetMGM, said: “Lynch is both an incredible athlete and larger-than-life personality.

The impact he has made on the game of football, coupled with his status as an electric superstar, makes him a tremendous addition to the BetMGM team.”

Increasingly, partnerships with NFL teams carry more significance than promotional events and stadium signage.

A slew of states have granted teams coveted access to online and retail sports betting skins. In Virginia, FanDuel was quick to agree to a market access deal with the Washington Football Team. Not only did FanDuel gain entry to Virginia’s online-only sports betting market, the operator’s partnership with WFT meant it received a three-day head start to launch before any other operator.

Out west, a similar dynamic is playing out with the Arizona 66 GAMINGAMERICA

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Cardinals, who are one of 10 professional sports organizations to receive a sports betting license. The Cardinals, who play at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, home of the 2023 Super Bowl, can offer both a retail sportsbook and mobile sports betting presence in the Grand Canyon State. The NFL team was the only pro sports franchise in Arizona yet to announce a sports betting partner entering August.

Not surprisingly, it’s the NFL season that is dictating the launch schedule for sports betting in Arizona as well as South Dakota, Louisiana, Connecticut, Nebraska, Washington and Maryland. States where sports betting is legalized but not yet operational can’t afford to miss out on weeks of NFL games, lest operators lose tens of millions of handle.

An estimated 33m Americans wagered on the 2020 NFL season, according to the American Gaming Association.

That number is sure to be higher in 2021 now that more than half of all states plus the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting.

Once considered a pariah in the eyes of the NFL, casinos and sports betting companies are amassing influence by the day.

Come kickoff this fall, it will be near impossible to attend or stream a game and avoid advertising for sports wagering.

This is the NFL of the future, a league dependent on gaming.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Kambi

Stay in the game

Evan Schaffner, Kambi’s US general manager and head of partner success, Americas, speaks about how in-game and instant betting comprise the key battleground for US sportsbooks.

The quality of a sportsbook’s in-game offering is increasingly the key differentiator between an excellent sports betting experience and merely a good one.

Providing this requires a supply chain capable of delivering on all levels, beginning with the integration of official data partners and proven algorithms that process the data, followed by excellence in trading and risk, which must all be supplied through a fast and intuitive front end. Only when these elements are working in perfect harmony can an operator begin to deliver a best-in-class in-play service.

Looking to the burgeoning US betting market, the ratio of in-game wagering is steadily rising as bettors become more familiar with regulated sports wagering. The appetite was there from the onset following the repeal of PASPA, with Kambi finding that over half of US bettors placed an in-play wager 68 GAMINGAMERICA

within their first five bets of joining in April 2019, and overall engagement levels with our live offering continue to rise steadily in 2021.

A key contributing factor to growing in-game engagement is the regulation of mobile betting. In states that have introduced mobile betting, as opposed to solely on-property, the rate of engagement with the in-play offering is understandably larger – with mobile being more conducive to in-play betting – and the split between pre-match and live is much closer on mobile than on-property. That being said, Kambi’s on-property kiosks narrow this gap more than one would suspect, providing the in-game experience with a more natural platform on-property than was previously possible.

A crucial part of providing sports bettors a compelling live experience is prioritizing innovation and development in the

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Kambi

EVAN SCHAFFNER

offering, and ensuring that we are providing the most up to the minute and relevant betting options possible.

Kambi has consistently focused on the roll-out of instant markets. These are markets where bets are placed and settled swiftly, such as whether the next shot in basketball will be a two or three-pointer.

Illustrating Kambi’s strong heritage in this field, we were the first sportsbook to pioneer the now ubiquitous ‘next point’ market in tennis, in addition to offering cutting edge instant markets on sports including soccer and golf. We also worked extensively to ensure our range of instant markets for US sports was market-leading prior to the repeal of PASPA. US sports evidently lend themselves to offering a compelling instant betting experience. If we take MLB and the NFL as examples, the frequent breaks in play provide ample opportunities for our partners’ customers to assess their options and place in-game bets that will be settled by the time the next pause comes around. We also offer an extensive range of markets and low delays in more fast-paced sports such as basketball, which demonstrate the highest level of in-play engagement of the four major US sports.

More broadly, US sports have multiple discrete units, which can be broken down, providing the data and quantifiable outcomes through which bets can be settled. They can be segmented by halves and quarters, all the way down to more granular outcomes such as next drive or next field goal.

INSTANT BETTING’S UNSTOPPABLE RISE During the 2021 NFL season, handle generated by instant markets in the US rose by 400% year-on-year. Building on another first for Kambi, our ‘result of current drive market,’ we added new markets in the form of ‘to gain first down’ and 70 GAMINGAMERICA

‘next play’ – relating to whether the next play will be a pass or a rush. Instant markets now account for 20% of all NFL turnover, underlining the potential they hold to drive player engagement.

Plus, Kambi was the only sportsbook to offer instant markets on the MLB World Series in 2020.

Our unique ‘result of pitch’ market accounted for close to a quarter of Kambi’s live turnover throughout the length of the competition, further demonstrating the importance of a sophisticated instant betting offer when it comes to driving consistent engagement with the sportsbook.

The power and complexity under the hood required to present a comprehensive range of instant markets in a seamless manner to the bettor, with low delays, cannot be overstated, nor can the expertise this requires in proprietary pricing.

The growing popularity of instant betting clearly illustrates the need for a best-in-class sportsbook, underpinned by proven, high-performance technology to meet demand.

Also, instant markets can provide a real point of differentiation for sportsbooks by appealing to a variety of player types and extending the lifetime of a sporting event where the result may have been decided early in the game. The markets tend to generate a greater proportion of engagement as the final result becomes more apparent, which illustrates how an effectively deployed instant betting offer helps deliver a more engaging sports betting product, and drive greater share of wallet and meaningful enhancements to the bottom line for our partners.

"The power and complexity required to present a range of instant markets in a seamless manner cannot be overstated."

Crucially, Kambi has found that US players who engage with instant betting place more wagers overall during a game, illustrating the impact a high-quality instant offering can have in not only attracting players, but having those players demonstrate higher levels of engagement with the sportsbook.

In-game betting will continue to be a key battleground where business is won and lost in the US. We are still far from the end of the journey, and as we are able to access ever-more granular and rapid authoritative data, we’ll be able to innovate and introduce even more markets for our partners’ customers to engage with. When it comes to building market share in the US sports betting space, having a quality instant offering is fast becoming an ever-more important component.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Princeton Public Affairs Group

Get your fix William Pascrell, III, global gaming adviser and principal with Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc., details the power of, and the need for, fixed odds horse racing in America.

Horse Racing in America dates back to 1665 where the first organized track, The Newmark Course, was established on Long Island in Salisbury, New York. The first American meet was supervised there by colonial governor, Richard Nicolis.

Horse racing has had a storied past in the US with many ups and downs. By the late 1800s the US had over 315 race tracks.

Originally established in the United Kingdom in the 12th century, horse racing was the sport of royalty and aristocrats, and horse racing in the United States developed into a significant and vibrant industry that attracted fans across the 72 GAMINGAMERICA

socio-economic spectrum. After developing and flourishing throughout the country, American horse racing took a significant blow that almost brought it to its knees in the early 1900s because of moralistic suppression created by the growing anti-gambling sentiment at that time.

In 1908, with the introduction of the parimutuel betting system, US horse racing began to turn around and grow in popularity. This boom continued until World War II, which created a new set of challenges for the industry.

The introduction of the Triple Crown Trophy in thoroughbred racing

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Princeton Public Affairs Group

in 1950 gave the industry another boost.

Today, there are only 112 operational thoroughbred and standard-bred (harness) horse race tracks in 40 states with defined racing jurisdictions. In 2018 legal betting on US horses approached $11 billion, but it has seen a continued drop for the past decade due to a range of factors including the legalization of sports betting nationwide after the repeal of PASPA by the United States Supreme Court in May 2018. The current US horse racing model of predominantly parimutuel wagering has become antiquated, less interesting to younger potential punters and not consumer friendly. So US horse racing must innovate in order to thrive and flourish with so many competing interests. Fixed odds wagering on horses is a significant way to do that.

The introduction of fixed odds betting will revolutionize the US horse racing industry, starting with the leadership, once

WILLIAM PASCRELL, III

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Princeton Public Affairs Group

"The US has more than 10 times the population of Australia, but numbers can’t compete with the antiquated parimutuel tote system, which only sees approximately $11 billion per year and less than $300,000 handle per race." again, in New Jersey, as it has for online gaming and sports betting. New Jersey is now the third largest online gaming jurisdiction in the world with the UK and Germany being one and two, respectively. The vision to introduce this into the United States and to launch it in New Jersey was crafted by me and the Australian sports betting and data service provider, BetMakers.

Fixed-odds betting differs from parimutuel wagering because it allows the consumer to lock into prices prior to the start of the race. It’s very similar to sports betting, where the book-maker establishes and posts a line and consumers then decide whether to place the bet. With the more antiquated parimutuel wagering system, all wagering is pooled and odds are then determined by all the action taken on each horse. The odds are totally in flux with parimutuel wagering until the race jumps and even several seconds into the race.

Fixed odds horse racing also provides far more consumer friendly protections by not favoring the large whales in betting of horses.

American consumers will definitely have to be educated on this new fixed odds system. BetMakers is investing significant resources into education, advocacy and marketing because of the enormous potential that this new offering would bring. BetMakers has the data, experience and knowledge to help make this conversion to fixed odds. It has also doubled down by buying one of the world’s largest tote systems, Sportech. That deal closed earlier this year providing proof of BetMakers’ support to the industry and confidence in fixed odds benefiting the industry.

The most interesting facts that have provided tremendous enthusiasm for all stake holders in horse racing, as well as the bookmakers, is the Australian Experience. Fixed odds horse racing re-ignited the Australian horse racing industry 12 years ago when Australia launched it after years of battles in the courts. The current betting handle on horses in Australia, with a population of 24.6 million, is $25 billion. This is produced by the 20,000 annual racing events in the country, where the average handle per race is $950,000.

The United States has more than 10 times the population of Australia, with over 330 million citizens, and has double the number of racing events at 40,000 plus per year. However, the US numbers can’t compete with the antiquated 74 GAMINGAMERICA

parimutuel tote system, which only sees approximately $11 billion per year and less than $300,000 handle per race.

The most compelling reason for the power of fixed odds horse racing in the US is that it’s extremely attractive to the majority of 21 to 45 year old consumers who are not racing fans and prefer their traditional sports betting fixed odds offering. Introducing fixed odds to this audience will provide over 40,000 new events per year for them to consider in addition to all the current sporting events. Plus, it will introduce them to more significant world-wide content for fixed odds horse bets.

Horse racing in the US has a very compelling past, but in order for it to survive, it must innovate and take advantage of new opportunities like fixed odds. The current parimutuel only tote system is currently reducing handle year over year by about 5%. Without something to stop this, US horse racing will end relatively soon. Fixed odds will stabilize the decline of the parimutuel tote system and provide new opportunities to increase the handle and purse accounts, which will be a big boost for US horse racing.

Many pedestrian observers have attempted to claim ignorantly that fixed odds will cannibalize the parimutuel betting system. There is no evidence of that claim anywhere where fixed odds have been introduced like Australia, Britain and most of Europe.

According to Dallas Baker, VP of international operations for BetMakers, “Fixed odds has doubled the prize money in Australia. It brings a beautiful new bunch of money into the industry.”

And BetMakers recently executed its first fixed odds deal in the US with Monmouth Park Race Track, owned and operated

by Dennis Drazin and Darby Development. Drazin is also the head of the NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen and a nationally recognized expert on horse racing, viewed as a trailblazer and visionary with his decade long campaign to legalize sports betting in the US. With the power, force, experience, community engagement and commitment of BetMakers CEO Todd Buckingham, Dallas Baker and the entire BetMakers team along with Dennis Drazin and myself, happy days are ahead and the sky is the limit for US horse racing with the introduction of fixed odds.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Dickinson Wright

The hard miles Gregory Gemignani, who focuses primarily on intellectual property, gaming and technology law at Dickinson Wright, chronicles the long march toward near national sports wagering.

In the wake of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, most states that didn’t expressly prohibit bookmaking and sports wagering without exception quickly did so. Only Nevada and Montana had statutory exceptions to their general gaming prohibitions to permit forms of sports wagering and bookmaking.

Montana’s exemptions were for limited forms of sports wagering activities, and Nevada’s exemptions allowed for broad-based commercial sports wagering and bookmaking for those with appropriate Nevada gaming licenses.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the federal government enacted laws such as the Wire Act to prohibit interstate sports wagering. Delaware experimented with a state run lottery based on NFL scores, but quickly abandoned it when it lost money. In 1989, Oregon also introduced sports wagering through its state-run lottery, but later abandoned it in 2007.

But the Oregon move to adopt a sports wagering product caught the eye of Senators Dennis DeConcini and Bill Bradley, who were concerned with a perceived threat of state sponsored or endorsed sports wagering. In response, the Senators drafted, and in 1992 ultimately enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibited states and tribes from authorizing, conducting or regulating wagering on sports contests or athletic performances. PASPA also prohibited anyone from relying on such laws enacted in violation of PASPA. To gain support for the bill and avoid opposition from Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana, PASPA had exemptions for activities permitted within these states, and allowed New Jersey to enact laws to regulate sports wagering in regulated casinos provided such laws were enacted within one year of the enactment of PASPA. New Jersey never enacted such laws within the timeframe and thus its exemption under the statute was lost.

PASPA endured with little opposition or enforcement until 2009, when Delaware sought to bring back its sports lottery, but with expanded betting offerings. Delaware was challenged by sports leagues opposed to Delaware’s plan and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the exemption under PASPA applicable to Delaware only permitted Delaware to conduct the same three-game NFL parlay product it had in the '70s.

In 2011, New Jersey held a referendum on regulated sports betting, which voters approved by a near 2-1 margin. Based on the referendum outcome, the New Jersey legislature enacted laws 76 GAMINGAMERICA

to regulate sports betting in New Jersey. That was challenged by sports leagues, and in 2013, the Federal District Court in New Jersey enjoined New Jersey from engaging in such activities as it would violate PASPA. The case and related matters moved up and down the courts until it reached the US Supreme Court in 2017. In its opinion issued on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court held PASPA to be unconstitutional because it commandeered state governments to execute a policy that the federal government hadn't adopted.

In the wake of its opinion, 22 states have some form of legal and regulated sports wagering available, and 10 states have approved legislation or compact amendments to authorize some form of legal sports wagering imminently. In just three years, we've gone from one state with broad-based regulated sports wagering, to 32 in which some form of legal and regulated sports wagering is authorized (commercial, tribal or state lottery) and is, or soon will be, available.

This leaves 18 states in which all forms of bookmaking and sports wagering remain prohibited without exemption.

States like Utah and Hawaii, with no exemptions to its gambling prohibitions, are unlikely to change. But most others have some form of regulated or exempted wagering, yet haven't been able to enact laws or reach compact amendments to permit it.

Some states have constitutional prohibitions on the expansion or authorization of gaming by the legislature.

In such states, the process for amending the constitution is often difficult and may require referendums, popular votes

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Dickinson Wright and multiple election cycles. For example, the California Constitution, Article 4 Section 19 prohibits the legislature from authorizing any gambling other than charitable bingo and horse racing. It also prohibits the authorization of casino gaming as is conducted in Nevada and New Jersey. There is an exemption for tribal gaming compacts to allow tribes to offer slot machines, lottery games and percentage card games, however. This apparently leaves sports wagering authorization beyond the power of the California legislature to authorize and is outside permitted tribal compacts.

Amending the California constitution requires either a citizen initiative and a popular vote, a legislatively referred amendment subject to a popular vote, or a constitutional convention subject to a popular vote. Each is time consuming and difficult to bring to a successful conclusion. But there's an initiative that will likely be on the ballot in November 2022 to allow federally recognized tribes with tribal-state compacts to offer sports wagering subject to compact amendments, and to allow race tracks in certain counties to offer on-site sports wagering. While the measure has popular support, many licensed card rooms in California are opposed to it as are some tribes, and thus enactment is far from certain. As anyone seeking legislative change knows, there are few ways to get legislation enacted, and thousands of ways to kill it.

Earlier this year, a legislative bill to enact a sports wagering lottery product failed in the Georgia legislature. As such legislation would also include a constitutional amendment; a two-thirds affirmative vote was required by the legislature.

Staunch liberal democrats refused to back the bill unless bills limiting voting rights were abandoned and funds from the sports lottery were in part used for needs-based scholarships. Conservative republicans also opposed the bill on social and moral grounds.

Rep. Randy Nix stated: “I don’t think we have to put our official stamp on it and say this is great stuff to do. We’re going to sugarcoat it and fund all these things. I just don’t think it is a great idea.”

In addition to state constitution issues, California provides a good example of how competing stakeholders can influence, stall and kill legislation. In California, there are Indian casinos, commercial card rooms and pari-mutuel race tracks that all have an interest whether and how sports wagering becomes legal for regulated operators. As sports wagering in the US is traditionally a business with margins of 4.5 to 6% before taxes, it represents a form of wagering with substantially lower margins and higher risks than others. So some operators are opposed to any legalization and regulation as it represents competitive, operational and revenue risks for comparatively modest returns. Even those in favor aren't in total agreement on who should be allowed to operate sports wagering and in what manner. Many Indian gaming operators are concerned that permitting retail-only sports wagering that allows card rooms to participate will create significant competitive disadvantages because many tribes have land far from large population centers while card

rooms operate within population centers. Likewise, many operators with gaming facilities near population centers are opposed to legal and regulated mobile sports wagering as it would allow rural operators to compete in population centers without the costs and overhead associated with operating in high-cost population centers. So in jurisdictions with competing stakeholders, obtaining a consensus is difficult and may prove impossible. Despite the obstacles, 32 states have enacted legislation or entered into compacts to permit regulated sports wagering. In these jurisdictions several drivers led to the success of such efforts.

Whether state regulated, state run or tribal, the key driver for regulation of any form of gaming is revenue. For commercial gaming, it flows as taxable GGR. For state run gaming, revenue flows from traditional lottery sources with increased wagering options. For Indian gaming, sports wagering represents another form of gaming that provides revenues to Indian tribes for nation building. Ultimately, the drive to find new sources of revenue for funding governments and commercial profits is a strong motivator for the continued expansion of legalized regulated sports wagering.

Even though states uniformly prohibited sports wagering after the Black Sox Scandal, sports wagering continued to flourish with illegal bookmakers. Sports betting infiltrated bars, barbershops, pool halls and other locations and today, the pay-per-head industry offers illegal bookies the ability to provide sports betting apps, web sites and research tools to their players.

The corner bar bookie now has access to systems that are every bit as sophisticated as many regulated sports wagering operators. But illegal bookmakers create social costs and present risks to the integrity of sporting events. Despite these costs and risks, enforcement is sporadic and infrequent at best.

Legal and regulated gaming offers the ability to provide legitimate competition to illegal operators. As regulated entities, legal bookmakers are subject to audits, investigations, and suitability reviews. In the event a regulated bookmaker would cheat customers or influence sporting events, this would be quickly caught in well regulated environments, and the bookmaker would face regulatory and possible criminal consequences. Additionally, regulated bookmakers are subject to laws that ensure fairness to bettors and legitimate avenues to redress actual or perceived wrongs.

The march toward near national regulated and legal sports wagering continues. But it’s likely that legalization of regulated bookmaking will slow down. The states where obstacles are relatively easy to overcome already have legalized regulated sports wagering. In the remaining states, those obstacles have stymied efforts and are likely to continue to slow the pace of adoption.

Jurisdictional expansion of sports wagering may slow, but expansion within existing jurisdictions is likely to grow as the national market matures and adapts to changes in social norms, technology and player preferences.

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Circa Sportsbook

Sportsbook smart With its one-year anniversary coming up in October, there’s a lot to celebrate at Circa in Downtown Las Vegas, especially its renowned sportsbook. Property sports director Matt Metcalf sits with Ezra Amacher about successes so far and opportunities to keep learning and building on its reputation.

The sportsbook at Circa Resort & Casino is approaching its one-year anniversary in October, but for the thousands of guests who will visit the three-story structure for the first time this fall, it might as well be brand new.

Every day, Circa Sports director Matt Metcalf watches people walk up to the sportsbook’s 78-million-pixel high-definition screen and stand in awe of what’s front of them.

“Many customers take to Twitter in the form of pictures to share with their followers what a spectacle this place truly is,” Metcalf says.

Most of the customers who spread the Circa Sports gospel on Twitter are minnows in the sports betting space, but occasionally a well-pocketed shark can’t help but share their Circa experience on social media, too, leading to a feeding frenzy of attention for the sportsbook.

On a UFC weekend in July, that shark just so happened to be the greatest prizefighter of his generation, Floyd Mayweather.

“Pretty Boy” Floyd hit big on a Dustin Poirier wager and couldn’t help but share his winning Circa ticket to his 27m Instagram and 8m Twitter followers. Whatever Circa Sports spends on its marketing budget can hardly compete with an organic endorsement like what Mayweather provided.

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“I would imagine Floyd visits us for the same reasons most of our customers do: great service, an amazing casino product, and our ability to accept large wagers that other casinos may not be able to,” Metcalf says.

In its first year of business since launching the Downtown Las Vegas sportsbook, Circa Sports has developed into a trusted brand for both tourists and serious sports bettors because of its customer service and ability to accept the same limits on its mobile app as at the counter. And those limits are generously high for Vegas standards. Whereas Strip sportsbooks often cater to the casual bettor who might only be in town for a weekend, Circa Sports attracts the ‘sharps,’ the guys and gals who study lines religiously.

Many of those customers tend to be local, which explains why Circa Sports has been so aggressive expanding its brand across the Las Vegas region. Since last fall, Circa CEO and owner Derek Stevens has opened sportsbooks at off-Strip Tuscany Suites & Casino and The Pass Casino in Henderson, along with Stevens-owned Golden Gate and The D in Downtown.

“We are looking to make doing business at Circa Sports as convenient as possible for all residents of Southern Nevada, no matter what part of the valley they live,” Metcalf says.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Circa Sportsbook “Not everyone has the time in their busy schedule to make it Downtown so we are excited to be adding new locations for residents to visit no matter where they live.”

Circa Sports isn’t stopping with Nevada either. Last July the operator entered Colorado through a 15-year market access deal with Century Casinos. Colorado is in many ways an ideal market for Circa Sports’ mobile app. The Centennial State consistently generates 98 to 99% of its handle via mobile wagers and includes a good variety of professional and college sports teams.

“Colorado was a great first step for Circa Sports in terms of US expansion,” Metcalf says. “Colorado has done everything they can to create a thriving competitive landscape for the sports betting industry, which benefits companies such as ourselves with a slightly different business model from our competitors.

The people of Colorado have embraced sports betting, and their enthusiasm for their hometown teams has led to a perfect environment for the growth of sports wagering.”

Colorado also provides an ideal model market ahead of the operator’s planned launch in Iowa ahead of football season. While Circa Sports will certainly capitalize on football’s popularity in regional markets, the real money is to be had in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are expected to play in front of a full-capacity crowd at Allegiant Stadium this fall. The sportsbook at Circa Resort stands to significantly benefit from home games, as does the rest of the rest of the property.

“Having an NFL team in Las Vegas is great for all business not just the sports betting and casino businesses,” Metcalf says.

“Obviously, we have seen a major uptick in our business when these teams play, and we’re excited to give fans a great place to watch the games whether it’s at our bars, sportsbook or at the one-of-a-kind Stadium Swim.”

Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Circa Resort became one of the places to be in Las Vegas in 2020 for NFL weekends, a credit to the fun house environment designed by Stevens.

It helps that Stevens himself is a gregarious individual who seems to relish a forward-facing position, rather than stand in the background as is common among contemporary casino owners. For Metcalf and the Circa Sports staff, working with a hands-on owner like Stevens makes all the difference when building a brand.

“Derek being the face of the Circa Sports brand has been incredible,” Metcalf says.“His ability to relate to and understand his customers is phenomenal. We have taken Derek’s vision of customer service and run with it here at Circa Sports and I think it’s been our key to success. When he speaks about the brand, his passion and overall love for the business comes through and I really can’t think of any better advertisement you could have for a company than that.”

Stevens’ joyful approach to managing Circa Sports is particularly important during the pandemic, when “everyone is under stress no matter who you are in these times,” as Metcalf puts it.

Covid has made us have to think harder, be more nimble as operators, and has forced us to cut down on excuses, adds Metcalf. “But we have a duty as a sportsbook to provide an amazing wagering experience that can help take peoples’ minds off things when they log on to our app or walk into our sportsbook,” he says. “Whether you’re a professional sports bettor or a tourist here to make a couple bets on your hometown team, we take pride in having created a product that can meet your expectations every time you interact with the Circa Sports brand.”

As with any operator, Circa Sports does have its hiccups, like a highly publicized mess-up in July when Metcalf mistakenly set a high over/under for a WNBA All-Star matchup with Team USA. Metcalf didn’t realize the WNBA All-Star team’s opponent when

setting the total, leading him to think far more points would be scored than what occurred. The total plummeted 53 points in a matter of hours, in what Metcalf told ESPN was a horrific error. Like the athletes he analyzes, Metcalf had to learn from his mistake on the fly and then quickly move on.

“We make mistakes every day. Whether it’s the occasional mis-post of a final score, double booking a reservation in the sportsbook, or writing the wrong ticket, mistakes are going to happen,” he says.“The thing I tell our team is that we must treat these mistakes as opportunities. Every time we make a mistake, it’s an excuse to interact a little more authentically with the guest and show them a little more of who we are and what makes us different. In the end I can guarantee that we are all in on making this the most enjoyable and best sportsbook product to interact with.”

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Amelco

Taking it all into account Brandon Walker, head of Amelco USA, speaks about the necessity of player account management in order to scale up.

As the unstoppable momentum of the US’s rollout continues, the ability to rapidly scale up operations will be the key difference.

But empires need solid foundations. That means delivering a full-service gaming ecosystem combining all verticals and offering multiple, flexible components to fully accompany the customer.

The ability to offer this is especially important in a rapidly expanding market like the US, where a full player account management (PAM) system is essential to deliver a 360-degree offering in what is, in effect, only recently online territory.

We know a 360 offering can be the real difference, and not all major US sportsbook suppliers have this. Indeed, those lacking such a comprehensive offer have felt the effects.

The wallet element of the PAM system is the real differentiator, and the more dynamic your customer journey is, the more your offering will resonate with the modern American player.

Putting it in perspective, a multi-state roll-out necessitates the ability to use single logins across multiple territories. For customers of many traditional US operators, this means downloading a new mobile app each time they cross a state line. Removing this obstacle to customer loyalty is essential, especially when it comes to scaling up and becoming a multi-state operator.

We’ve seen this happen a lot in our multi-state rollouts since 2018. It’s all about conceiving and building solutions that are unique to the needs of the growing US market. Those solutions must be then tailormade for the new dynamic of the American opportunity – and a full-service PAM system is key to that.

With a sharpened focus on the player journey, these KYC-based features make it easier than ever for customers to get involved in the action, and as quickly as possible. Each additional second lost during the sign-up process can translate into a loss of initial retention.

Of course, customers are looking for more than merely a simple sign-up. A solid bonus engine is also a cornerstone of the PAM offering, and with it, igaming specifically. Leading suppliers like Red Tiger, NetEnt and Evolution are making the most of the igaming gold rush in the US, and with good reason.

Until now, igaming has lagged in development, as despite being regulated in a few states going back to 2013, momentum and political will had been lacking. That all changed in 2018, when the re-interpretated PASPA made regulated sportsbook offerings possible in a majority of states. This overnight sea-change led to multi-state roll-outs, meaning operators need to be able to quickly scale across multiple states. So hub-and-spoke architecture 80 GAMINGAMERICA

BRANDON WALKER

is feasible via just one app. This is not yet a mainstream offering in the US, but is what operators need to start doing if they want to lay claim to a coherent, truly multi-state presence.

With the right platform, operators are able to deliver a completely new online experience for players, unrecognizable from the fractured player journey that early adopters saw.

Suppliers that are able offer that kind of smooth UX across multiple states will have those strong foundations in place, and the basis for potentially spectacular future growth.

The design, look and feel of such an app is also essential to delivering a smooth user journey. After all, this is one of the world’s most discerning markets for customer UX when it comes to entertainment. This means the ability to offer differentiators is critical. Bonus campaigns with interchangeable widgets – all embedded with igaming – will eliminate the need for a separate app to enter the casino lobby, boosting retention rates.

Perhaps the greatest opportunity that PAM can create in the US is to introduce the user to the next generation of online entertainment. In many ways, the American mobile UX has been behind what players expect in European markets. For suppliers that can match and even exceed the European customer experience, the US truly is the land of opportunity.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Spotlight Sports Group

WAGGING THE LONG TAIL Spotlight Sports Group VP of sales Justin Geiger discusses what Americans want from their sports betting market, where it's heading and what goes into providing data on the smallest events.

How does the American sports betting market differ from other regions? Are there specifics that Americans ask for?

The American market has behaved differently to others.

First, we have prop betting, which is something European operators were not necessarily expecting when they entered the US market. Prop betting is what US bettors gravitate to because of its origins within fantasy football and fantasy sports.

This has pushed the American bettor toward the mentality of individual play. Because of this, there's tremendous appetite for these prop bets. Second, American players are attracted to parlays. We've been watching the handle come in from different jurisdictions and it's always amazing to see the numbers parlays provide. This is unique specifically to a US audience because we come from a background of lottery players, and for the longest time, the most prevalent game in the country was the lottery. Parlays give the same feeling as the lottery and are unique in terms of its popularity to the US market.

Separately, the US sports betting market is very focused on states and states rights, so while the government may look to find profit from this growing field, I think control of the market will remain in the hands of states for the foreseeable future.

Your superfeed aims to provide sports betting data for any sport. How do you develop a system that can provide full coverage for even smaller sports?

This is central focus for us. We aim to cover the "longer tail" of sports. A lot of our clients from a media perspective struggle with this and we aim to help. So we focus on constantly expanding our editorial base. We have around 400 journalists to cover sports in different jurisdictions as well as a team of data scientists and analysts that work with AI to provide data driven insights.

What are some innovations you could see become key components of sports betting in the next few years?

Some will be the general maturing of the market, in terms of betting education, as well as how users become accustomed to using betting apps. With this, bettors will become more sophisticated, meaning we'll see a lot more in-play betting, which is very popular in the UK, and will continue to grow in the US. This is also a great way for the more sophisticated bettor to hedge bets, so we may start to see this analytical thinking

JUSTIN GEIGER

advance. Another thing that will change in the next few years is the current promotion trend. Eventually, it will have to end and savvy operators are thinking of ways to keep their users engaged on their platform. Some companies are offering loyalty style rewards to do this, something previously seen at land-based and mobile casinos. Content will also change. We want content to be served at the moment of decision. This gives users confidence to bet or not. This sharing of data creates trust within the user and allows for a longer term relationship with betting platforms.

Have the events of the last year changed the way the industry looks at sports betting in the US? If so how?

The one thing the gambling industry realized when Covid hit was that the more sports in your portfolio, the better position you're in. Bettors migrated to lesser known sports that could continue to run during the pandemic, and operators that covered these sports made gains. I think sports betting hasn’t necessarily changed how it's perceived but mobile sports betting and the ability to meet your audience at the moment they want to place a bet has become vital. This has gained the attention of state lawmakers and ultimately, the pandemic shifted the thinking of operators in regard to meeting the needs of audiences.

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Bally's

Court awareness Adi Dhandhania, senior vice president for strategy and interactive at Bally’s Corporation sits with Gaming America to discuss tactics in order to leverage the most out of strategic partnerships.

Why is diversifying so important now for growth?

Diversification has never been more important for growth in our industry than it is today. Sports fans and gaming enthusiasts are clamoring for unique opportunities to have deeper and more interactive engagement with their favorite teams, and they’re relying on gaming companies to provide them with the content they desire on a multitude of platforms and channels. As a result, to respond to this demand, gaming companies must pivot and get more creative about how they provide content to its current and potential customers.

It’s all about the fan experience, and as fan preferences continue to evolve, the need to focus on delivering a diversified portfolio of gaming and betting content has never been greater.

We’re constantly evaluating how we can expand our offering.

We recognize that we need to meet fans where they are, and we will accomplish this by continuing to grow our interactive business portfolio, and engage and retain customers within the Bally’s ecosystem.

sports betting market continues to grow, partner expectations will continue to evolve, which will require gaming companies to further differentiate themselves among competitors. This is why building a diversified portfolio is so important right now.

We’re focused on cultivating partnerships that align with our long-term growth strategy. More specifically, we’re looking to invest in and partner with organizations that complement our rapidly expanding US sports betting vision and omni-channel growth. We will continue to use our resources to provide sports fans with engaging and creative sports betting experiences and I believe that uniquely positions us as a valued partner amid an increasingly competitive betting market.

Why is aligning with sports franchises a key component for continued success?

We see significant value in developing relationships with sports franchises. That value is rooted in the ability to leverage each other’s strengths as well as expanding sports betting access.

That is one of the reasons why Bally’s recently entered into its groundbreaking partnership with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which is the largest official team sponsorship and first gaming access deal in the history of women’s sports.

Bally’s maintains the infrastructure necessary to gamify sports, which, in turn, will enhance and expand interest in sports. With sports franchise partnerships comes the opportunity to share a whole new world of new and exciting content with fans nationwide. These partnerships are critical for the future success of all involved: the sport, the gaming company, the athletes and the fans.

How competitive is the partnership market now?

As more states legalize sports betting, it’s certainly becoming more competitive, which is why it's so important for companies like Bally’s to anticipate customers’ evolving needs and develop more sophisticated content offerings. Additionally, as the legalized 82 GAMINGAMERICA

ADI DHANDHANIA

In which markets are you seeing the greatest potential?

We see the greatest potential in larger states that maintain a good regulatory framework, allow online sports betting and igaming, and where we can expand our media presence by leveraging our Sinclair partnership. With states such as Arizona, Illinois and Ohio embracing online gaming, we are encouraged by these markets’ growth potential.

SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | UNLV

Joining forces Robert Rippee, executive director of UNLV’s research institution Black Fire Innovation Hub and former SVP of marketing for Las Vegas Sands Corporation, collates key points of data to explain the rapid rise of esports.

As scientists, we are trained in research methods. In this case, one of the most relevant is to try to triangulate or figure out what data may be telling us about the rapid rise in esports.

What ties datapoints together and is there some practical insight for gaming hidden in them?

First, what is clear is that the pandemic has driven a trend in online activity unprecedented in any era with virtually any technology. Consumers are demanding entertainment, activity, shopping and engagement online first. This behavior was present prior to the pandemic, of course, but the pandemic served to both amplify and accelerate it.

Second, making assumptions about who is entertained with online games and esports is a low probability bet. Everyone plays games online, every demographic group is represented and to most people’s surprise, the typical player is someone you know in their mid to late 30s. It is not the stereotypical teen in the basement.

Third, the convergence of these phenomena with casino gaming is already happening. What I mean is that psychological factors that drive our desire to play, watch, or engage with esports and video gaming relate to what drives the desire to play casino games. Just consider the growth in the audience of spectators for online video games. It’s not a stretch to assume that the NFL sees some potential cross-over in the spectator growth of people watching esports with a very traditional sporting event.

Convergence is the name of the game. Two seemingly unrelated factors are pointing at something, and for the NFL, that could mean a new or different type of fan.

Fourth, earlier this summer, I taught an introduction to casino management to a group of 60 hospitality graduate students

in Europe. For the most part, the students had limited to no familiarity with casinos although all were of legal age to do so.

As gaming professionals, you already know what they learned, concepts like random outcome games, calculating theo, loyalty cards, and so on. What did I learn? In these students, I saw the very insights I’m describing in this article. I saw students whose final project submissions were heavily influenced by online entertainment and esports. These students saw a gaming experience, quite different from what we can see today. I saw convergence in real-time.

So, what do you do with this? We operate in an industry accustomed to stability and regulation. And while innovation is a term often used, it is most often in the form of what the late Dr. Clayton Christensen called incremental innovation.

Innovation that is the continuous evolution of a product for its best customers. Perhaps the greatest implication for the rapid rise of esports is that we need to consider a more disruptive type of innovation driven by the unmet desire for this new entertainment paradigm among consumers. Maybe we need to watch the NFL, not literally in this case but figuratively speaking with intent to triangulate what they see in the rapid rise of esports. “As with many things, the pandemic had an accelerator effect on esports, not only from a gaming and betting perspective, but as investment dollars flow into this segment,” says Joe Bertolone, executive director of UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation. “From a gambling perspective, the enthusiasm is only tempered by the ability to ensure integrity. Once this is thoroughly addressed, most likely with technology already available, the growth trajectory is expected to continue.”

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SPORTS BETTING FOCUS | Zohrab Karapetyan

Final Word Zohrab Karapetyan, sportsbook product manager for igaming and sport betting platform Digitain, gives his thoughts on the NFL, in-play betting and how sports betting will continue to grow throughout the nation.

ZOHRAB KARAPETYAN

The upcoming NFL season means more exciting stories and of course more betting opportunities. Can the Kansas City Chiefs go one better and win the Superbowl after last year’s disappointing final? (They are around 6.0 favourites to do so.)

Can Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay repeat their stunning success and give Brady his 8th Superbowl ring? Back-to-back wins hasn’t happened since 2003 but it’s Super Tom, so you can’t rule it out. You can get around 8.0 for this to happen.

In terms of betting trends on the NFL, pre-match betting remains popular with our partners, with money-line accumulators probably the players’ favorite. These small-stake, big-win bets are appealing to recreational customers’ who enjoy watching games and tracking the success of their selections.

Live betting remains a “hero” product for our most popular sports, but NFL is growing in popularity with around 65% of industry handle in Europe reportedly taken during the games. Popular in-play NFL bet options for Digitain include points spread, alternative spreads, money line bets and total points.

84 GAMINGAMERICA

In the US, live betting is growing too. In 2017, William Hill reported that, in Nevada, live betting accounted for around 27% of total handle. Oobviously there has been the rise of mobile betting so no doubt that percentage will grow.

It seems the launch of online and mobile betting in the growing list of US states is changing the customer profile mix, which in turn would seem to be having an impact on the amount of live betting been taken, as well as on the amount of more recreational bets being processed. For example, the margins now being generated in some states from recreational bets, such as multi-selection accumulators, or parlays, could be surprising but this must be good news for the operators, and probably reflects some success in attracting a new type of bettor to their business.

Also, the growth of customer-driven, same event multiples.

Pre-match, but also now for live betting, must be a positive for NFL betting going forward. Bet builder types of bets, where customers create their own accas from one match, now account for around 40% of stakes in some European operators with about 20% of their match revenues being generated. These bet types will surely continue to be developed for NFL and other sports, with live betting bet-builder bets already available and popular with some operators.

The range of options for live betting on NFL, and other sports, continues to develop, as does the amount and quality of supporting data and video content. Provision of in-play player stats, live scores and real-time video are continually developing as operators look to differentiate their offering to customers.

The demand for more creative in-play bet types or propositions will continue to grow. At Digitain, we have listened to our partners’ feedback and recently introduced some new live betting markets, which we’re excited about. Players can now bet on our Fast and Furious markets on what will happen in the next five minutes of a game, or even more exciting, on what will happen in the next minute of the game. Options include a card being given, the ball going out of play, or even a penalty being awarded. Thhis will definitely will make a so-so game more exciting, and an exciting game, even more so.

Overall, with football returning and sports betting growing throughout the country, it's an exciting time for the industry.

CASINO TRAC

USER FRIENDLY CasinoTrac founder and CEO Chad Hoehne explains the importance of brand image and the future of casino management systems with intuition as a key motivator. casinos. An intuitive process is also important for a CMS; the operation system must look and feel like something familiar to the user. On the top level, functionality and reliability are, of course, key factors. In this aspect, the standard across the industry is very high. Ultimately, a CMS must sit and run quietly and must be easy to use. Preparation is also important and technology changes quickly in this industry. During the last

CHAD HOEHNE

Increasing brand awareness is something we find very important. This is because we are so confident in our product and the value that we offer that we appreciate when someone takes the time to focus on us. Ultimately, we are confident that when someone looks our way that the product will convince them on its own. In relation to our distribution deal with Jim Marsh Enterprise, this is especially important as it marks our first venture into the southern Nevada region.

We have had success in the northern areas of the state, as well as markets outside of Nevada, but we have long wanted to gain a foothold in the south. So an agreement like the one I previously mentioned is a breakthrough moment for the company. In that regard, we absolutely expect more in this vein to occur as we continue to make people aware of our product.

ON THE IDEAL CASINO MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND THE FUTURE OF THE TECHNOLOGY One of the most important things that a casino management system can provide to its owner is the ease of operation. We develop our platform to focus on these aspects of management.

It’s important that the frontline employee who uses a CMS finds it easy to operate despite their level of experience working in 86 GAMINGAMERICA

“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS A CMS CAN PROVIDE TO ITS OWNER IS THE EASE OF OPERATION.” year to combat the pandemic, we developed the dynamic auto social distancing product, which will be deployed on our sites to automatically place adjacent machines out of service to ensure social distancing. We did this to ensure businesses can open up safely; having it there for any situation in the future is important.

I also see cashless and mobile apps as important progressions that will soon become integral to any CMS since many customers now want a cashless experience. I think these two things will be adopted across the industry perhaps faster than we think.

ON THE LAST YEAR AND BEING BACK AT IN-PERSON SHOWS As a company, we were fortunate over the last year during the worst of the pandemic. Our technical team remained at full capacity and we continued to develop new products. We spent a lot of time making sure our customers’ systems remained fully functional despite their properties being closed. We were able to use the last year to make sure our systems had been fully updated with new technology for when things finally opened again. Naturally at NIGA in July, we were able to show the general features of our CMS and the functionalities of our mobile app in how it transfers credits. We were also happy to demonstrate our analytics module, DataTrac, which helps visualize player data.

GAMING ARTS

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES Mike Dreitzer, CEO at Gaming Arts, speaks about US expansion, innovation during a pandemic and staying ahead of the competition.

Asia. However, right now our focus lies with the United States and Canada. The pandemic really made us refocus our efforts on these markets. We still have room to grow in these areas and we have just launched the Vertex Grand, so we are confident in our success.

You’ve said the pandemic gave your company the opportunity to focus on the R&D aspect of your business.

Can you elaborate on this?

MIKE DREITZER

You recently announced that Gaming Arts has reached the milestone of more than 650 units across the United States in record time. Can you explain your process in reaching this goal?

We now have in excess of 650 units across the region.

The process began in April 2019 when we placed our first slot machine at a casino in San Diego. Since then, we have been going about our goal of putting games out all across the United States. We do this both in commercial casinos and tribal casinos and we will begin expanding in Canada also. When I joined in 2018, we had no slot machines in place throughout the US, so this is a brand new vertical for us and we have worked hard building as a group since then.

With that in mind, how do you plan to further expand?

While we have around 130 gaming licenses in North America, Gaming Arts is still a company with room to grow. We look at that as a massive opportunity, both within tribal gaming and commercial gaming, so we’ll continue to utilize our business plan across North America. As Covid continues to recede into next year, we will look at opportunities in Mexico, Europe and 88 GAMINGAMERICA

At the height of the pandemic, we made what I consider to be two very important bets. First, we never stopped research and development; we never stopped creating new games.

We saw this as important because we wanted to be ready as soon as restrictions eased. The other bet we made was to keep our sales team at full capacity. It was important for us to retain our visibility in the gaming industry, so we used the tools at our disposal in this regard. For us the most important thing was to keep our library growing despite the difficulties.

Now that things are opening again and life is returning to some form of normality, what are Gaming Arts’ aims for the rest of the year?

We are going to continue implementing our business plan.

We understand that Gaming Arts is a newer player but we have products that we feel are unique to the market. We will continue to expand our slot machine products and we'll also begin to produce historic horse racing machines. Ultimately we want to focus on our land-based business plan. We’ve also long been in the bingo business and plan to relaunch those products as things open up again.

Your slot machine Heroes and Villains has gained a lot of popularity. What do you think makes a slot machine stand out from the competition?

The slot market is a very mature and crowded field. A lot of our competitors have hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D to spend. So we must focus on being unique and different in everything we do. The game you referenced is a dice seeker game that is supported by a unique game play mechanic.

This is the most important thing, mechanics that haven’t been seen before. While from a mathematics profile our games are gambling based, we want to offer graphics and mechanics that keep the player entertained also.

BLUBERI

NEW FACES Andrew Burke, CEO of Bluberi, discusses the company’s rebrand, but emphasizes how the right leadership team needs to maintain company values despite changes. new ideas. When you change and restructure a leadership team the dynamic changes a lot. One of the biggest things I’ve found with the change is working with people I want to work with. For us, the most important thing is fitting the culture of the company. We want our company to be full of people who like to move fast and are dynamic. Another important factor in building a leadership team is prioritizing getting as many different viewpoints and perspectives as possible. To do this, we brought people in from a lot of different companies across the industry.

"TO REBRAND WAS INDICATIVE OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND WHAT WE WANT TO BE: ENERGETIC AND FUN." ANDREW BURKE

WHY REBRAND Over the last two years a lot of things have changed within Bluberi. While the company has been creating games in the industry for thirty years, I started as CEO in January of 2020. As we restructured the company, we brought in some new people and created a renewed energy and excitement throughout the organization. It made sense that this is the right time to reposition our brand in the market, to create a brand that is more reflective of who we are as a company.

The new look is energetic, youthful, and fun. Our logo is actually derived from hand-drawn design, which is indicative of the people-first culture we are cultivating here.

With the restructure came a lot of new faces and with them 90 GAMINGAMERICA

Ultimately, we think that if you look around the gaming industry, there is a lot of corporate brands, which is not a bad thing, but we wanted our branding to set us apart from that.

Our brand marks us as more entrepreneurial, more creative and willing to take risks and try new things. It is also important that these ideas are reflected in Bluberi’s products. We, as a company, want to bring fresh energy to the gaming industry.

A FOCUS ON THE CULTURE OF ENTERTAINMENT AND ENERGY The brand of a company has to speak to many different audiences – customers, investors, the press, and, perhaps most importantly, the people who work here now, as well aspotential employees. For us, having a fun and energetic brand allows us to send the message to anyone that would be interested in working with us that this is a place people want to be, where we hope to do something special and maybe different from elsewhere in the industry. Of course, the new logo is important, but it is more about how Bluberi as a company wants to be viewed in the marketplace.

CONTINENT 8 TECHNOLOGIES

MAKING STRIDES Nick Nally, MD for the Americas at Continent 8 Technologies, talks about the technical and infrastructure advances made recently that allow operators and suppliers to enter emerging markets like US sports betting.

NICK NALLY

While the opening of new markets, the announcement of mergers and acquisitions, and the launching of the latest games are the stories that most often make the headlines, the technological and infrastructure advancements made in recent months and years are just as crucial to driving growth across the sector.

In order to enter these new markets and offer players the latest games or betting opportunities, operators require an ever-more advanced technical set-up and one that is compliant with what can be complex regulation.

This is certainly the case for those entering the US for the first time due to the state-by-state nature of the market.

During our Leaders & Legends webinar in February, Shimon Akad of Playtech described the US market as the biggest opportunity for igaming. The US is a significant emerging market for us and our customers, which is why we’ve gone to great lengths to ensure we’re operational in states where required as soon as they go live. We are already established in 22 states with further sites to launch this year.

Our investment in the US began in 2014 and resulted in the opening of a tier 3 data centre in the Atlantic City Convention Center in 2019. In New Jersey, dubbed the sports betting capital of the world, we offer partners a regulatory approved public cloud, enabling compute, network and storage as a service on a shared platform with dedicated connectivity for regulatory monitoring, as well as in-state and out-of-state public internet and private MPLS services. We also have private cloud capability in the states where we’re live and support AWS outpost deployment, having recently become an AWS select consulting partner.

But it's not just the US where we see huge potential for growth. Increasingly, our partners are making plays in LatAm. We can support LatAm-based operators as well as those looking to target players in the region from Europe, for instance, with a low latency network.

To support this, we’ve built out an experienced team focused solely on the region that’s based locally.

While markets such as the US and Latin America are capturing a lot of the attention, the European market is critical.

For example, earlier this year, we launched our public cloud in Gibraltar, responding to changing market conditions and the demand for innovation in infrastructure.

Our global footprint continues to expand with a network spanning over 70 connected locations. And our security solutions defend critical infrastructure against an ever-increasing number of threats. Cyber attacks are rising at an unprecedented rate, and it’s predicted that cyber crime will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. We believe in offering a layered approach to security, and that’s why we’ve enhanced our secure solutions with comprehensive threat detection and response capabilities via our 24/7 security operations center (SOC). This is in addition to our Cloud WAF protection and enterprise DDoS solutions.

Ultimately, operators and suppliers require best in class technologies and infrastructure to enter and grow in these markets, as well as a partner who understands the igaming regulatory landscape, so we remain dedicated to, and passionate about, providing this to the highest possible standards.

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PARIPLAY

DO YOUR HOMEWORK We learn from Pariplay sales director Andrew Maclean about how the supplier is applying its foundation of success in Europe, as well as its ability to be agile, to the potential that's revealing itself in the US. The US market is currently the focus of much of the industry and rightly so. With more states regulating online sports betting and gaming after the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018, the market offers an unprecedented opportunity for both local and global suppliers and operators.

Like many other suppliers, Pariplay decided to explore opportunities across the Pond. As with any new market entry, it’s vital to first do your due diligence and research customer demographics and player preferences to hit the ground running.

As a supplier with experience from mostly European markets, this was more important than ever so we could adapt our content to better suit local audiences and swiftly carve out market share.

We prepared and closely followed developments in states such as New Jersey that have seen solid growth since opening in 2018. We're currently implementing our business strategy for the region and have applied for licences in several states and established fruitful relationships with local partners.

Our hard work has paid off and we’ve announced several deals with operators and platform providers and have taken our content live in New Jersey with more states to follow.

Localisation is increasingly becoming more important for the industry as it can't be taken for granted that games that have been successful in one jurisdiction will appeal to audiences in another. So we’re working closely with local partners to tailor our game concepts and features to better suit specific preferences and needs. We’ve also expanded our proprietary portfolio with a suit of games specifically created for US audiences and will continue to focus on localising our content.

As a fully data-driven supplier, we research every game we launch via our data and business intelligence system to understand how it performs and what we can learn to improve in the future.

From our experience in the Garden State, we've already seen some trends and preferences we’ll use to further perfect our US offering.

By the end of the year, we project to have 60 titles available to US operators. Our comprehensive portfolio offers a great mix of classic fruit slots and innovative titles suitable for all player types.

We’ve also built a solution that allows our games to be embedded seamlessly into iOS native applications, complying with Apple’s guidelines on HTML5 games.

In addition to our games library, we offer our Fusion aggregation platform to operators that hosts content from over 60 of 92 GAMINGAMERICA

ANDREW MACLEAN

the world’s most sought-after studios, as well as unique and exclusive games from up-and-coming suppliers.

Fusion also comes with powerful marketing retention tools like bonuses, tournaments, free spins, jackpots and more.

These kinds of tools have been proven to boost acquisition, retention and engagement rates, and have become invaluable for any operator wanting to stand out from the crowd.

Integrations into the Fusion platform require minimum effort from customers and partners, and with each US state implementing its own rules and regulations, we're prepared to be flexible to ensure our product complies with local obligations and adapts to regulator, operator and game provider requirements.

We’re also taking our expertise as a European supplier to support US land-based suppliers and operators in launching online for the first time. So we have ambitious plans for the US market and will soon enter West Virginia, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and closely follow devlopments in key emerging states such as New York, Florida and California.

We expect the US market to continue to grow and we’re excited as an early mover in the market. And as the market matures, we’ll be agile and quick to respond to market trends to ensure we provide maximum value to our partners.

LIGHTNING BOX GAMES

NATURAL PHENOMENON Having been aqcuired by Scientific Games, Lightning Box Games is making a big impact in the US with an emphasis on keeping things fresh.

Here, CEO Peter Causley speaks about the company’s success so far.

US expansion has long been a part of our strategy.

The difference between the European and United States market, however, is that the US has a very unified land-based market. Alternatively in Europe, it's very fragmented; one game is unlikely to perform well in Germany, the UK and Italy, but across the US, we can see a game succeed in New Jersey and know it will be a hit elsewhere. Even Canada is seeing this unified content market has emerged where audiences across the country prefer the same games. For us then, the US is a known market; we’ve had land-based products in the region for over 15 years now, our slot Silver Pride, which through our partnership with Everi and Incredibe Technologies is an example of that. Once a game has launched in land-based, it then becomes a natural progression to launch these products online through partnerships like the one we have with SG Digital. However, online consists of 14% of total global gambling at the moment so it’s not yet in the position to overtake land-based. At Lightning Box, we see the two as complementary rather than competing.

ON THEIR DESIGN PROCESS When it comes to designing a new slot machine, we use a number of key touch points like cultural references, and media that is currently popular with audiences, be that film, television or streaming. We focus on what the current trends are; if there are two popular styles of games, we may look to merge those things. As a company we are fortunate in that we are in three verticals: online, land-based and social casinos, so we see different and complimentary trends in all of these. Perhaps if we see a strong trend in one vertical, we may begin to implement it in all three. This also applies to different geographies. Online really took off in Europe, for instance. We have learned a lot from that and the same can be said for our US land-based and social verticals. Ultimately we pick from different trends in media, gaming verticals and geography, with the hope that we can produce around 12 games a year that excite our players.

ON TENTPOLE GAMES It’s more important to have products you are recognized for in the industry. When we began producing for online, a new game was a big press release, whereas now some suppliers can

PETER CAUSLEY

release four or five games a month. Our tentpole or franchise games give the company something to rely on; players know of them. Some examples include our Stellar Jackpots, of which we have six, and our two Chicken Fox games. These games allow players to have some knowledge of our brand upon entry; they know which elements of our games they already like.

It’s similar to the film industry. Sequels to successful films are bankable products since they already have an audience, and likewise our tentpole games are equally important, allowing us to cut through all the noise of the dozens of games released a month.

ON WORKING DURING A PANDEMIC During this time you begin to realise how important the ad hoc meetings around the office are and how tough it is to replace them. It’s also a challenge to miss gatherings like the recent NIGA show in Las Vegas, where we can show off our latest ideas and products.

But platforms like Zoom have been so important in allowing us to continue to develop. We set up innovation meetings over video calls to allow our staff to really get working on their ideas. The pandemic has also accelerated online adoption, especially in our industry.

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ARUZE GAMING

A FOOT IN THE DOOR Robert Ziems, president of games developer Aruze, speaks with Henry Moore about automation, innovation and adapting to a new market. popular, with Resorts World Las Vegas subscribing to a high level of cashless payments. However, it’s important that the element of player interaction persists. For the most part, players want to be engaged, that’s why sound and graphics are so vital.

One of the ways we can keep players engaged is through adding more interaction. We’ve done this in our new product, Go-Go Claw, which looks and behaves like a traditional arcade claw machine. We’ve installed this at two properties so far and will show it off at G2E.

ROBERT ZIEMS

Late last year, you launched some of your products in Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and agreed partnerships with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Can you describe the process of making these inroads into the growing US market?

Aruze is in a significant number of jurisdictions already, meaning the process is fairly simple for us in that we have very good relationships with our existing customers throughout the country. Our product is well known, and despite us being a niche player, our products do well and are sought after. This means it’s a relatively smooth process for us.

The product you launched with the Seminole Tribe of Florida was a new fully automated dealerless version of Roll to Win craps. Do you see automation as something that will continue to have a greater place in the gaming industry?

What do you think some of its main uses will be?

Yes and no in regards to automation. We use the tag phrase ‘active play’ for some of our products, and one of the things that Aruze focuses on is making sure our automated products, like our Shoot to Win craps, which is an electronic gaming table game, still have engagement by the player. On our Shoot to Win craps for example, players engage by actively initiating the dice roll.

I think automation is happening for sure and it will continue to happen, no doubt. But one of the things I think is important is engaging the player while automating the product. Automated cash transactions at machines are becoming increasingly 94 GAMINGAMERICA

With that in mind, how do you think gaming companies can remain ahead of their competition when technology is evolving so rapidly?

I think one of the challenges we have in gaming is innovating while remaining mindful of the regulations that exist. Because of this, in some ways, gaming innovates at a slower rate than other industries. I think the way we’ll continue to innovate is, first, by working with regulators in a way that allows them to be comfortable with new technology and understand that appropriate player protections can still be in place. Second, online gaming in regions such as Europe is pushing innovation.

Online gaming creates a different level of innovation that players will want to see replicated on casino floors. Ultimately, innovation comes from entertainment and we think that is the most important thing, providing value for a player’s entertainment dollars.

A lot changed for everyone over the last year. How do you think your company has had to adapt in order to continue its growth in the US market?

The last year has created an environment that made us want to adapt. In order to stay relevant, everyone in this industry had to change in order to continue growing. The pandemic also created renewed interest in some of our products like Shoot to Win craps because it has so few touch points on it.. Because on the pandemic as well, other manufacturers have become focused on creating products and platforms that have lower touch points in regard to machines, systems and cash. Ultimately, the last year has seen us develop a different mindset, thus allowing the company to innovate in different ways.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

ALL BASES COVERED Gaming America seeks out the newest and most exhilarating products on the market as land-based and digital suppliers up their game.

ARISTOCRAT GAMING: BUFFALO INSTANT HIT! The fun of Buffalo combines with a new and exclusive instant hit feature in the all-new Buffalo Instant Hit! from Aristocrat Gaming.

This Class III stepper game is available now and is only on the new RELM 5-Reel cabinet.

Buffalo Instant Hit! has four exciting features that Buffalo fans and stepper players alike will enjoy.

The new instant hit feature awards either cash-on-reel credits or wheel bonuses. In the wheel feature, wheel spin awards credits or progressive jackpots. Wild multipliers give random multipliers, and the free games

feature is true to Classic Buffalo, with free spins and unlimited retriggers.

An SSP/SAP grand jackpot resets at $5,000, and an SAP major jackpot reset at $500, both based on 1c denomination play.

Player-selectable denomination ranges are 1, 2, 5 and 10 cents. There is also a 60-credit entry bet, and a 300-credit max bet.

Building on the success of the original RELM cabinet, the new RELM 5-Reel is carefully executed blend of nostalgic flare and next generation game play. RELM 5-Reel was intricately designed with features that both attract and entertain, including a mechanical bell, high-def top glass and meter display, feature-driven edge lighting, protruding reel glass, retro chrome handle, denomination touch capability and a mechanical button deck.

SCIENTIFIC GAMES: INVADERS MEGAWAYS Scientific Games Corporation recently released its flagship 2021 igaming release, Invaders Megaways, a space-themed title with a feature on every spin and a Uni-Cow experience.

The product launched exclusively with 888 Casino and went on general release through Scientific Games’ OpenGaming platform during the summer.

Inspired by the retro style of Scientific Games’ Invaders from the Planet Moolah slot, the new game incorporates a Megaways mechanic.

The six-reel slot features a UFO landing on each spin to select a random symbol to turn when landing on reels two to five. When a player hits four or more scatter symbols to win free spins, a random picture symbol is selected to act as a wild for the entire round. Each has its own modifier, ranging from expanding wilds to increased Megaways.

In some instances, a Uni-Cow can appear in the base game.

This results in all reels showing between seven and 10 symbols, resulting in up to 1,000,000 Megaways.

Scientific Games has highlighted the product’s design and 96 GAMINGAMERICA

mechanics as key selling points, and also commented on the game’s use of responsible gaming tools to ensure a safe and immersive experience.

The release of Invaders Megaways adds to the company’s portfolio of games incorporating the mechanic, with Jin Ji Bao Xi the next title to receive the Megaways treatment.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

KONAMI GAMING: DIMENSION 49 Konami Gaming, Inc.’s latest addition to the Dimension series of video slot cabinets has quickly become a popular for-sale performer. With a tall 49-inch 4K Ultra-high high definition (UHD) display and 27-inch topper, Dimension 49 has ranked the industry’s number one Top Indexing Cabinet – Portrait for three consecutive months, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming and Fantini Research.

It shares nearly all the same key elements of the Dimension 49J curved screen machine including its sleek design, sheen silver finish, generous slant top, dual spin buttons, USB charging port and wireless charging pad, but with a flat-screen format and its own pipeline of for-sale content.

Dimension 49 delivers brilliant game options laser-focused on core players.

It has all the right ingredients for a thrilling player experience, combined with the array of original progressive slot series, to drive long-term entertainment variety and asset value to gaming venues. Its towering portrait display showcases new-all series such as Fortune Mint, Guardians, Triple Sparkle, Xiang Long Ju Bao, Myth of the Pyramids, Boosted Great Stacks, Jackpot Orbs and much more.

Fortune Mint in particular has appeared in the Eilers-Fantini Central Game Performance Database as the industry’s 5th highest indexing game in the core (low denom, video reel) category.

It also holds the number-two spot in the Eilers-Fantini Top Indexing NEW Games – Core, Video Reel category. A high-excitement, 3-level linked progressive series, Fortune Mint showcases random multipliers for Coin symbols that land in the center 3 reels, for wins up to 1,000x.

This amped-up “for sale” cabinet offers custom end caps, pod fillers, infills and animated LED overhead sign options to accommodate a broad variety of floor configurations. Konami’s Dimension 49 machine is arriving now across North America, and expanding into markets abroad.

98 GAMINGAMERICA

GAMING ARTS: LET’S SPIN GAMES

Gaming Arts has launched its new Let’s Spin games, including Let’s Spin Vegas and Let’s Spin. These games, along with many new 2021 releases, have been designed for the new Gaming Arts 49” portrait platform, the VertX Grand. The Let’s Spin Series consists of fast-paced innovative new games that will bring out the true gambler in any player. Players are in for a thrilling ride coupled with exceptional entertainment and exciting wheel animations along with a four-level linked progressive. These VertX Grand games feature an exciting four-wheel feature that contains both progressives and multipliers where a player can win up to 9,600 times their bet. Free games contain a hold and re-spin feature, allowing players to collect extra multiplier wheels once the wheel feature has been triggered. Let’s Spin features beautiful 4k artwork, theater quality sound and truly innovative new game mechanics where the player’s win can be multiplied, repeatedly, via the multi-step wheel feature. It’s sure to be a player favorite from coast to coast.