gaming UK
FANDUEL WITHDRAWS FROM THE MARKET Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operator FanDuel has closed its operations in the UK market, almost exactly one year after its launching. The company informed players of its decision via email and also confirmed its exit via a posting on its official Twitter account. Just before the start of the soccer English Premier League season, FanDuel said that it hoped to return to the UK “in the future”, but did not officially disclose the reasons behind the move. Players who have funds left in their account will have their balance credited to their most recent bank card and will also receive an email confirming payment. The company, which is planning to focus on the core US market, added: “Almost £1m was won by fantasy football enthusiasts in the UK. Thank you for your support. Unfortunately, we will not be offering contests this season. We hope to be back in the future”. Rival DFS brand DraftKings, which last month scrapped a merger with FanDuel, remains active in the UK, along with Yahoo DFS and PlayON.
AUSTRALIA
BET365 PROFITABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME Global bookmaker Bet365 has made a profit in Australia for the first time, after accumulating $128 million in losses over five years. Accounts for its Australian operations lodged with the corporate regulator show Bet365 made a $1.2 million profit in the year to March 31st, five years after the British giant moved into the competitive but lucrative Australian market. More than $2.5 billion was wagered with the firm by Australian punters in its 2017 financial year, from which Bet365 received revenue of $101.4 million. The firm’s profit compared with a loss of $10.9 million in 2016 and $31 million the previous year. The online-only bookmaker has market share of at least 17% in an online wagering sector now worth more than $20 billion annually. Bet365’s positive result was possible despite several Australian Government announced measures that will hit profits hard, including a mooted ban on television advertising during live sport, a point of consumption tax in South Australia and an end to credit betting.
US
PROPOSAL TO ATTRACT GLOBAL ONLINE BETS TO NEW JERSEY State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, with 30 years of service to the New Jersey Senate in the US, and main sponsor of the bill that, in 2013, legalized and regulated online gambling in that State, wants to let other countries and States get in on New Jersey’s growing Internet gambling market. His bill would let people in other jurisdictions where online gambling is already legal make online bets in New Jersey. State law currently restricts Internet gambling to persons physically in New Jersey. “I’ve changed my mission from making New Jersey the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming to the Mecca of Internet gaming. Online gaming has helped Atlantic City to revive its casino sector with a success that we can expand in ways that will generate more revenue, create jobs and fuel technological innovation in gaming”, explained Lesniak. New Jersey began offering Internet gambling in November 2013. Since then, online bets have steadily grown and have become a crucial part of Atlantic City casinos’ business models, with nearly US$600 million won from gamblers playing online. Last year, the casinos took in US$196.7 million from Internet gambling, up more than 32% from 2015. Recently, New Jersey’s online casinos continued their winning streak by taking in US$20.2 million in June, up 23.4% year-over-year.
BRAZIL
PROJECT TO CONTROL ONLINE GAMBLING Ciro Nogueira, a Brazilian PP-PI senator, has a project, inspired by the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Act, which prohibits transactions with credit or debit cards and also in electronic money for gambling on sites hosted outside the country. That plan, currently on the Committee on Economic Affairs, proposes that it will be up to the Central Bank to establish the control rules prohibiting companies from authorizing payments for this purpose, as well as any transfer of values between bettors and suppliers. According to Nogueira, about US$945 million per year are being spent by Brazilians in online gaming. “There is a legislative grey in our territory that doesn’t prevent bettors from spending resources on Internet gaming from companies based in other countries, such as Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Curacao and Isle of Man”, stated the senator. GAMES MAGAZINE 39