CONTENTS
LEADER Q1 REVIEW
4 Snapshot
Top stories, top quotes, top deals and deal of the quarter
6 Gaming Intelligence at ICE 2020
The Gaming Intelligence team was at ExCeL London to hand out the Gaming Intelligence Awards
12 Thought leadership
Scientific Games and Sportradar
14 Covid-19: How the industry responded
Share prices took a battering but, for the most part, the response was positive
23 People
Exclusive interview with BGC CEO Michael Dugher. Plus, new appointments at DraftKings, MGM, William Hill and more
28 Games
A guide to aggregation platforms. Plus, a look at the quarter’s best new games from Big Time Gaming, Blueprint, Relax and more
41 Technology
Data and ethics. Plus, new tech launches from BetMGM, Hard Rock, Scientific Games and more
46 Marketing
Affiliates target the US. Plus, listed affiliates’ 2019 financial results
53 Lottery
IWG makes an impact. Plus, the latest lottery news from around the world
56 Legal
Can iGaming mitigate lockdown losses? Plus, all the latest legal developments from around the world
62 Bingo360: Bingo bounces back Bingo was in the eye of the regulatory storm, and after massive consolidation it is emerging with a fresh face
68 Finance
The GIQ20 FY2019
78 And another thing…. Exposing political hypocrisy
EDITOR IN CHIEF Bobby Mamudi bmm@gamingintelligence.com EDITOR Steve Hoare sah@gamingintelligence.com SUB-EDITOR Camilla Cary-Elwes info@thecopyeditor.co.uk ART EDITOR Alan Bingle alan@forty6design.com DEPUTY EDITOR Kio Dawson k.dawson@gamingintelligence.com CONTRIBUTORS Mark Chillingworth, Jon Harwood, Christopher Tooley ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Omer Uziely omer@gamingintelligence.com www.GamingIntelligence.com
GIQ Q1 REVIEW
Published by Gaming Intelligence Services Ltd Studio 15, Riverside Building 55 Trinity Buoy Wharf London E14 0FP support@gamingintelligence.com T. +44 (0)845 052 3816 GamingIntelligence, Gaming Intelligence Quarterly and GIQ are trademarks of Gaming Intelligence Services Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission. Application for permission must be made in writing to the publisher. Gaming Intelligence Quarterly (Print): ISSN 2633-6219 Gaming Intelligence Quarterly (Online): ISSN 2633-6227 Copyright © 2020 Gaming Intelligence. All rights reserved.
Steve Hoare
E D I TO R
Creating opportunity, avoiding exploitation N THE WHOLE, the betting and gaming industry has reacted positively to the Covid-19 crisis. The regulated UK industry has responded by cutting marketing and increasing safer gambling measures (see back page). US casino bosses are forgoing their salaries and all but the most cutthroat of companies have resisted layoffs and looked to protect their employees. Station Casinos went as far as moving several hundred part-time employees to full-time status so that they can receive full benefits. But what are the long-term consequences for our industry? It is difficult to predict what wil l happen a fter Covid-19. Nobody knows how long lockdowns will last or what the economic repercussions will be. But some themes are emerging. There has been a huge shift in governmental policy away from market-driven neoliberalism and towards something resembling socialism. The preservation of life has taken precedence over the generation of money. Governments have spent trillions protecting companies and incomes. These are supposed to be temporary measures but history teaches us that these sort of changes are hard to undo. People’s expectations change. A decade of austerity left healthcare and social care systems ill-equipped to deal with Covid-19. If a functioning healthcare system becomes a political and economic priority then taxes are sure to rise. More obviously, the crisis has affected the way we work. Again, this could be a temporary blip, or
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companies might find that remote working, in fact, dramatically increases productivity – reducing all the unproductive time and cost associated with airports, planes, hotels and taxis. Furthermore, telecommuting allows you to hire a geographically diverse group of employees without worrying about where to house them or relocate them. Sure, there are challenges with working from home. It will not be for everybody but will the savings in commuting time mean a four-day week becomes possible? There are multiple benefits. Costs are slashed and companies can lower their carbon footprint. Flying across the world for conferences could soon be seen as not just costly, but irresponsible and unnecessary. In addition to working from home, people have been forced to shop from home. It is likely that many of those aged 60+ are shopping on the internet for the first time. The more internet savvy this generation gets, the better for online gaming companies. Some US casinos are lobbying for more states to pass iGaming legislation (see page 58) and the others would be wise to support them. Online bingo operators might also benefit from core customers becoming more comfortable online (see page 62). Innovation should flow from this mass uptake of Zoom, Skype and the rest. Betting and gaming companies have an opportunity to grow, too. Forced into the unusual position of valuing customers’ entertainment and welfare above maximising profit, they might even cease to be public enemy number one. sah@gamingintelligence.com 3