Hard Rock International and Warner Gaming announced Tuesday plans to jointly bid for a license for the development of a casino resort in Pope County, Arkansas

State voters approved last November a ballot measure that authorized the addition of full-scale casino gambling at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs and Southland Casino Racing in West Memphis and the development of two new casinos up from the ground in Pope and Jefferson Counties.

Warner Gaming and Hard Rock said in a Tuesday statement that they envision a complex for Arkansas River Valley that would include a casino, “the best-in-class” hotel, multiple food and beverage options, conference and live entertainment venues, and other amenities.

The joint statement of the two companies further read that they “aim to deliver to Pope County a facility that will attract visitors throughout the region and beyond” and that the “truly global reach” of the Hard Rock brand would help them do that.

Warner Gaming and Hard Rock have a history of successful collaborations. In 2014, Warner Gaming cut the ribbon on Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa after the two major gaming and hospitality brands obtained a license in a highly competitive process.

Pope County Opposition

While Issue 4, the constitutional amendment that allotted four casino licenses, gained the necessary statewide support to pass, the majority of Pope County residents voted against the measure. County voters simultaneously passed a measure last fall which requires local approval of a county judge or a quorum court’s letters of support for operators interested to run a casino in the region.

Letters of support are among the documents that casino license applicants are required to submit to the Arkansas Racing Commission.

Pope County residents have shown firm determination to vote down any attempt for a casino to be brought to their county. Despite the clear opposition from county voters, Warner Gaming said Tuesday it was optimistic that it would present a proposal that would eventually appeal to River Valley locals. The company further pointed out that it would continue discussions with Pope County residents in the coming weeks so that the Warner Gaming and Hard Rock teams “get a feel for what the community would like to see in a project like this.”

Legal Challenge

Any attempts for the development of a casino in Pope County could be hampered by legal challenges of different nature. As mentioned above, under a measure approved by county residents, a majority of its registered voters must approve a letter of support for a casino by a county judge. Pope County Judge Ben Cross has said that the threshold imposed by the measure was close to impossible to reach.

Outgoing lawmakers and a county judge approved before stepping down a casino proposal for Pope County made by Mississippi-based Gulfside Casino Partnership. However, the Arkansas Racing Commission introduced later on rules that required casino proposals to be approved by officials in office when a license application is filed.

The state racing regulator is set to open the application process on May 1. Interested casino operators will have up to May 31 to submit their proposals with the commission.

Judge Cross said Tuesday that he expects the Gulfside Casino Partnership to sue after the approval of its casino bid was nixed and that this could result in a protracted legal battle that would prevent the opening of a casino in Pope County.

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The state’s licensed betting operators are expected to go live with digital betting within weeks; online casino gaming poised to commence by July 15

Residents of the Keystone State are just weeks away from being able to place online bets on sporting events, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Wednesday.

The state gaming regulator’s spokesperson, Doug Harbach, said yesterday that testing for online sports betting is expected to begin “within the next two to three weeks.” Mr. Harbach also pointed out that at least one of the operators authorized to provide digital wagering will be “in a position to offer testing” for their online sportsbooks.

The PGCB will release more details about how and when bettors will be able to register to participate in online sports gambling in the coming weeks.

News about Pennsylvania finally being ready to go live with regulated digital betting arrive on the heels of record financial results for the month of March.

The state gambling watchdog also said Wednesday that online casino gambling is scheduled to begin in the week of July 15. Pennsylvania legalized online and retail sports betting as well as online casino gambling in the fall of 2017 as part of a sweeping reform of the state’s gambling industry, seeking additional revenue for its coffers.

Mr. Harbach said Wednesday that at least three casino operators will be ready to start testing their gaming websites in the week of July 15. Most of Pennsylvania’s casino owners have paid the $10 million license fee to be authorized to provide online slots and table games.

Record Month for Regulated Sports Betting

The widespread popularity of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the launch of two new sportsbooks came as a major boost to sports betting activity in Pennsylvania in March. The local market set monthly records for both revenue and handle last month.

The state’s sports betting facilities processed a total of $44.5 million in wagers in March. The record handle was the largest recorded last month outside the nation’s two largest gambling markets – Nevada and New Jersey. Bearing in mind the latest data reported by the PGCB, it can be said that Pennsylvania is on track to cement itself the third largest sports betting market in the United States.

The state’s sportsbooks generated record revenue of $5.5 million in March, up from $1.9 million in February and from $2.6 million in January. Pennsylvania received tax revenue of just under $2 million as a result from the increased betting activity, up from $700,854 in February.

Commenting on the latest developments in the state’s nascent betting industry, PlayPennsylvania.com analyst Jessica Welman said that the local market “has seemingly limitless potential and March was a significant step forward.”

The state is anticipated to receive a major boost once digital betting goes live. In neighboring New Jersey, online sports gambling quickly became a major driver of growth and a leading vertical in the sports betting market, with 80% of all bets being placed digitally.

Lead PlayPennsylvania.com analyst Dustin Gouker believes that “the growth of Pennsylvania’s market is stunted without sports betting” and that when digital betting finally goes live in the state “the industry will be poised to challenge larger markets for supremacy.”

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Helio Gaming has selected the industry-leading risk-management and insurance specialist RISQ, as their insurance supplier for their betting on lottery solutions and Hero Games suite of products.

The RISQ iGaming insurance Platform iGiP, will enable Helio Gaming to offer high-value jackpots up to €150m as part of their Hero Games, Custom branded lottery games and Betting on international lottery games.

Julian Borg-Barthet, RISQ’s Director of Business Development commented on the deal. “We are very pleased, that Helio Gaming has decided to use the RISQ iGaming Insurance Platform iGiP to back the HERO products and their Betting on Lottery Suite. We are looking forward to a mutually beneficial and prosperous partnership. The new deal reflects a shift in the industry towards proprietary lottery games and giving more players access to international lotteries”.

Richard Mifsud, CEO of Helio Gaming, said: “Working with RISQ will give Helio Gaming the flexibility to deliver even more attractive lottery solutions to our clients. Partnering with RISQ will set new standards in delivering high frequency and high-value jackpots in the gaming industry”.

RISQ the iGaming Insurance Platform

RISQ is the leading iGaming insurance platform iGiP, helping the gaming industry to create new levels in player acquisition and retention via scalable jackpots of up to £150m. These flexible solutions enable operators and platform providers to run games and promotions boosted by jackpots that deliver the highest payouts in the industry. RISQ backed life-changing jackpot prizes can be used within a F2P and P2P scenario, with the goal of boosting player engagement and cross-sell.

Helio Gaming

Helio Gaming, a fully scalable lottery engine system that offers multiple API functionalities with which to integrate existing gaming platforms, customer relationship management, campaign management, affiliate management, and other marketing automation tools. Its portfolio includes custom-made lottery games to fulfil any operator’s lottery needs, including its flagship brand Lotto Hero. Such games can vary from operator-branded RNG lottery games, where the operator can tailor the game to their needs, lottery games based on the outcome of international lotteries, and much more. Helio Gaming’s products offer its partners a new vertical through which to grow and strengthen their player base and drive cross-sell between their other game verticals. These products give them the edge in what is a fiercely competitive sector and can be integrated easily and seamlessly into any platform.

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Delta Corp, one of the most successful gaming operators in India, has started 2019 strong. According to its recent financial report, it saw an increase in income of 18.7% year-on-year, reaching $32.4 million across the quarter. This was propelled by a strong performance in its casino operations, which was up by 21.1% to about $27 million.

While the numbers were slightly lower than what had been reported for the fourth quarter of last year, they were still a solid indication of forward movement. Online operations increased by 11% year-on-year to $5.6 million and the company’s revenue from hospitality and other operations increased 7.9% to $3.5 million.

Net revenue at Delta Corp. increased 19.1% for the period, closing at about $29.5 million. This helped propel first-quarter profit to $8.22 million compared to the $6.56 million from a year earlier.

According to Grant Govertsen with Union Gaming, the company will continue to strengthen its position. He asserts that the company’s stock remains a “buy,” but clarifies, “We have trimmed our forward estimates to reflect some near-term disruption (one of the Goa boats going into drydock soon), as well as the effect of tough comps. Our estimates remain modestly above consensus.”

Govertsen adds, “Beyond strong tourism growth to Goa (management noted footfalls up 40% year-on-year in March), the gaming operations segment will see incremental revenue commencing later this month with the launch of a traditional cruise line (Delta is a 25% shareholder) on which Delta will manage the casino and capture virtually all of the economics. This is likely to grow to management of up to four cruise ships over the next two years.

“While initial results are likely to be modest relative to the company’s Goa riverboats, this represents a new customer base as the cruises will sail out of Mumbai. During the quarter the company injected its Daily Fantasy Sports business into India’s #2 DFS provider, HalaPlay, of which Delta now owns 20%. Delta retains its existing rummy and poker online segments, which should continue to grow ~30% y/y. Finally, the company’s Kathmandu casino [management] contract should kick in within the next few months.”

Delta Corp. is behind three offshore casinos in India, as well as a hotel-casino in Goa. It also operates the Casino Deltin Denzong in Sikkim and the Delton, an integrated resort located in Daman.

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EGBA calls for a flat tax rate based on gross gambling revenue as the popularity of the unregulated market grows among Portuguese gamblers

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has urged the government of Portugal to review the nation’s gambling tax regime as the “discriminatory” tax on online gambling has affected player channelization.

EGBA’s call comes shortly after news emerged that the government of the southern European country has assembled a special working group that was tasked with analyzing Portugal’s regulated online gambling market and assessing whether the current tax rules needed revision.

The working group had a month to present lawmakers with their findings, but there has not been much information about the results of the group’s review more than a month after its initiation, and it seems the review is yet to be completed.

Under Portugal’s gambling law from 2015, online sports betting services are taxed at between 8% and 16% on betting turnover, while online casino games are taxed at between 15% and 30% on gross gaming revenue.

In a Monday statement, EGBA’s Secretary General, Maarten Haijer, said that Portugal’s online gambling tax regime is “discriminatory because it applies a more favourable tax for some operators, whilst others have to pay a much higher tax based on a broader tax base.” Mr. Haijer went on to explain that the current tax rules have made the nation a less attractive destination for international online gaming and betting companies.

Portugal’s gambling regulator, Serviço de Regulação Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ), issued the first license under the nation’s new regulatory regime in May 2016. The agency has granted 15 more licenses since then.

EGBA noted that only one of its members – French gambling group Betclic – holds a license in Portugal, but that more would be interested to enter the local market if the country moves to introduce a “non-discriminatory and better suited” tax regime.

Portugal’s Discriminatory Tax Affects Player Channelization

According to a recent study by Universidade NOVA de Lisboa and Qdata, 75% of Portugal’s gamblers opted for the products offered on the country’s unregulated market in 2018, up 10% from the previous year.

The President of the Portuguese Online Gambling and Betting Association – Associação Portuguesa de Apostas e Jogos Online (APAJO) – Gabino Oliveira, has told local news outlet Dinheiro Vivo that the lack of proper tools for the prevention of the growth of the unregulated market and of restrictions preventing unlicensed operators from easily advertising their products across social media, different websites, or even in taxi cabs is one of the pressing issues that require urgent addressing.

EGBA has added that the player channelization has also been affected by the high taxes and the use of turnover as a base for taxing online sports betting services. The association advised that Portugal should consider the use of revenue as a tax base, similarly to most regulated EU jurisdictions, and introduce a flat rate for all regulated services.

Portuguese legislators proposed late last year the introduction of a flat 25% online gambling tax on gross gambling revenue. However, the proposal did not gain enough momentum to take effect and replace the current regime.

A review of the country’s gambling rules is long overdue as the government has originally promised that such a review of the law would be initiated precisely two years after the issuance of the first license. As mentioned above, SRIJ awarded the first permission for the provision of regulated services to local gamblers in May 2016.

It is to be seen whether the Portuguese government would succumb to growing pressure for changes.

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