Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – May 17-23

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week at the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

The good news is that the lock-down and social restrictions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic have been eased in many states. As a result, most of the industrial sectors are resuming their operations. Same in the case of the gambling sector too. Several gambling companies too have restarted their operations and some others are on way to resume.

We also report new partnership deals, publication of financial results, and COVID-19 relief efforts in this weekly round-up. Read on and get updated.

Partnership Deals

Evolution Gaming signed a strategic agreement with online casino operator Golden Nugget. The deal will see Golden Nugget’s existing online offering further enhanced in New Jersey, and potentially in other US states in the future, by the addition of Evolution’s US online Live Casino services. As per the deal, Golden Nugget’s online players will have access to unique Evolution game types such as Dream Catcher, Side Bet City, and Top Card, as well as other games from the Evolution portfolio.

Also, the leading sportsbook and casino platform provider BetConnections inked an agreement to obtain DS Virtual Gaming’s full list of games. The integration of the games will give players access to a selection of DS VG’s hit releases with HD video content and state-of-the-art graphics.

There was happy news about Konami Gaming too as its SYNKROS CMS has been selected by Jamul Casino to deliver comprehensive gaming enterprise management across the 200,000 square foot destination.

Konami’s SYNKROS will deliver its leading systems technology across Jamul Casino’s 39 live table games, 1600+ slot games, restaurants, bars, and more.

Financial Reports

The Delaware Lottery reported a 39% year on year increase in online gambling revenues for April 2020. While the state’s land-based venues have been forced to close due to COVID-19, players have turned to online sites instead.

Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and the Harrington Raceway generated total revenues of US$856,182, up from US$615,772 the previous year. This number was and also higher than the US$514,959 generated in March this year.

COVID-19 Relief Efforts

The Alabama Food Bank Association received support from Wind Creek Hospitality, a company owned by the Alabama-based Poarch Band of Creek Indians, to help provide 250,000 meals to Alabama families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The support comes at a critical time for food banks in Alabama as they respond to a greater need during this unprecedented crisis.

Announcements

Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO of William Hill, has revealed that the company is planning to launch online casinos in the US in the second half of 2020.

Despite taking a hit to its results in Q1 2020, William Hill is determined to power up quickly in the second half of the year.

Surveys

Fantasy sports site Monkey Knife Fight (MKF) found in a recent survey of its 1000 users that the popularity of golf will soar both on viewership and participation.

Of MKF’s users, 76% reported that they would participate in a fantasy golf prop contest once golf returns. This is in sharp contrast (181% increase) to the 27% that reported ever having played one MKF golf prop contest before the pandemic.

Compliance

The Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos published the live casino regulations. These regulations allow the country’s licensed gambling operators to offer live casino games from casinos or studios located within Colombia or overseas, subject to the certification of games by an approved testing house.