Canada
Indiana Sports Betting Revenue Down 20.1% in June
Sportsbooks in Indiana have seen a decrease in revenue last month as most major sports continued on hiatus. The state saw $29.8 million in sports wagers in June, which was down 20.1% from $37.3 million in May.
June’s $29.8 million handle was shy by $145 million of what would have been expected with a full menu of summer sports, according to PlayIndiana estimates. But with an uptick in futures betting, major sports on the near horizon, and the reopening of retail casinos and sportsbooks, the industry still inched closer to normal.
“June historically is a slow month for sports betting, but the return of major sports are huge for Indiana’s sportsbooks, obviously, and we already see the momentum with a boost in futures betting. A surge in betting should come as major sports move closer. In fact, with pent-up demand and truncated seasons that shorten the wait for a potential payout, futures betting could prove particularly enticing,” Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com, said.
June’s handle was down 20.1% from $37.3 million in May, but up 13.3% from $26.3 million in April. The month produced $2.9 million in adjusted gross revenue, down 8.1% from $3.2 million in May, and yielded $277,601 in tax revenue for the state.
Bets on the PGA Tour, auto racing, European soccer, hockey futures, and others — classified by Indiana simply as “other” than football, basketball, and baseball — produced $20.4 million in June, down from $30.5 million in May. But bets on the three major American team sports were up significantly — to $3.3 million in June from $1.4 million in May — fueled mostly by bets on baseball, which drew more than $2 million alone.
“Sportsbooks have done an excellent job over the last few months in keeping bettors engaged with unconventional betting sports, but those sports can’t replace the loss of basketball and baseball. But the return of baseball and basketball, and local interest with the return of the Indiana Pacers and Chicago-area teams, July should bring a big step toward recovery,” Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIndiana.com, said.
With casinos reopening, June marked the return of retail sports betting. But that produced a relatively tiny $558,970 handle from in-person wagers, the first since March. A tepid reopening of in-person betting was expected with the sports world still trying to restart, but it is still an important milestone. Hollywood Lawrenceburg led the market with $323,968 in handle.
“The reopening of the retail market is important not only because it means significant new revenue for operators, but it also signals that the gaming industry is on the mend. Many challenges lie ahead for the industry, and the revenue lost can’t instantly be replaced. But things are headed in the right direction,” Gouker said.
The online market accounted for 98%, or $29.1 million, of June’s handle. DraftKings/Ameristar Casino led its online competitors with $18.2 million in bets, down from $20.1 million in May. That handle yielded $1.6 million in gross receipts, down from $1.8 million. FanDuel/Blue Chip Casino remained second with its $7.9 million handle in June, down from $12.3 million, resulting in an $839,056 win, down from $1.1 million.
“The Illinois launch of BetRivers could keep some Chicagoans at home, cutting off what has been a profitable market for Indiana. Indiana’s operators knew that day would come eventually, but it could slow down the near-term recovery for the state’s sports betting industry,” Welman said.
Scientific Games, in partnership with Loto-Québec, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec, won the 2024 Gutenberg Award for sustainability at the 42nd Gala Gutenberg. The Gutenberg Awards are the Québec printing industry’s premier event, highlighting the talent, creativity and expertise of printing artisans.
The partnership’s winning entry was the Le Billet Vert (The Green Ticket) lottery instant scratch game launched by Loto-Québec in April 2024. The game was printed on 100% recycled board provided by Sustana Papers, with 100% water-based inks. Scientific Games enhanced the sustainability of the production process by packing completed games in boxes containing 60% recycled fiber and delivering them on reused European Pallet Association pallets.
The game promotes the recycling of lottery tickets, inviting players to download Recyc-Québec’s Ça va où? (Where Does It Go?) mobile app. The app teaches users to correctly sort recyclables and shows them drop-off locations for various types of household waste.
Isabelle Jean, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Lottery Games for Loto-Québec, said, “Since our first scratch game printed on 100% recycled paper stock debuted in 2021, our sustainability efforts have only increased. Congratulations to our team members from Loto-Québec, Scientific Games, Sustana Papers and Recyc-Québec for their vision. Together, we are reducing the environmental footprint of our games.”
The sustainable materials and game production techniques used for Le Billet Vert saved 110 mature trees, the equivalent of 326 10-minute showers, and the electrical power of 882,587 60-watt lightbulbs in one hour (Sustana Solutions eco calculator).
Marc-Andre Doyon, Vice President Canada for Scientific Games, said, “Through this collaboration, Scientific Games and our partners lead the global lottery industry in instant game sustainability. It’s truly an honor to win the Gutenberg Award for our efforts.”
Le Billet Vert is the thirteenth 100% recyclable game created for Loto-Québec since 2021 when Scientific Games and the Lottery began collaborating on a project to bring sustainable instant games to the lottery industry. Another game from this collection, Folie des plantes (Plant Madness), won the Gutenberg Award for sustainability in 2022. Other 100% recyclable Loto-Québec games produced by Scientific Games include Evasion (Escape), Code secret (Secret Code), SLINGO 10X and C’est quoi ton signe? (What’s Your Sign?).
Scientific Games is Loto-Québec’s primary instant game partner, producing the Lottery’s first instant game more than 50 years ago. The company has employed generations of Québécois professionals from their Montréal production facility, which produces instant games for Canadian and European lotteries.
With products that generate more than 70% of global instant game retail sales, Scientific Games is the world’s largest instant games creator, producer and services provider, and the primary provider to nine of the Top 10 performing instant game lotteries in the world (La Fleur’s 2024 World Lottery Almanac).
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)
Soft2Bet strengthens integrity monitoring with IBIA membership in Ontario
Soft2Bet, a leading casino and sportsbook platform provider, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and activated its membership in Ontario, Canada, following its licensing in the Canadian province.
Soft2bet obtained its Certificate of Registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at the end of March, where the company’s Ontario-focused brand Tooniebet.com will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading sports betting integrity monitoring platform before worldwide implementation in the coming months.
IBIA includes over 50 of the world’s leading sports betting and gaming companies, who operate over 125 sports betting brands. Soft2Bet’s decision to join the association further strengthens its own internal betting integrity protocols and IBIA’s position as the world’s leading sports betting integrity monitoring body.
David Yatom Hay, General Counsel at Soft2Bet, commented: “Soft2Bet is delighted to be joining the IBIA as we strengthen our own betting integrity monitoring processes and play our part in furthering the IBIA’s long-standing work on this key issue. Ontario is a world class iGaming jurisdiction; it will be the first market where we will implement our IBIA membership and we look forward to deploying the monitoring infrastructure worldwide in all the other markets in which we operate.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Soft2Bet is a very welcome addition to IBIA, further strengthening our position in the Ontario market. The operator’s decision to join IBIA demonstrates its desire to utilise the best integrity protection available for its sportsbook product. The association is delighted to be able to integrate Tooniebet within our integrity monitoring system and looks forward to working closely with Soft2Bet to maintain the high integrity of its sportsbook.”
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators and for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.
Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone.
IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which highlighted Ontario as a leading regulated gambling jurisdiction, with an expected onshore channelisation for sports betting of 92% in 2024 forecast to rise to 97% in2028. IBIA currently represents over 60% of the private sports betting operators licensed in the province. All online sportsbetting operators licensed in Ontario are required to be part of a betting integrity monitoring body.
IBIA’s Q1 2024 report detailed 56 alerts during the quarter. IBIA alerts contributed to the investigations and subsequent successful sanctioning of 21 clubs, players and officials in 2023, an increase on the 15 sanctioned in 2022.
British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management Signs Contract with British Columbia Lottery Corporation
SCCG Management has signed a contract with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), the B.C. Crown corporation which conducts and manages commercial gambling in the province, including lotteries, casinos, and online gaming. This partnership aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment and strategic enhancement of BCLC’s diverse operations.
The work between SCCG and BCLC will involve a thorough review of technological infrastructures, strategic market positioning, and the integration of various gaming modalities. SCCG’s extensive expertise will be pivotal in harmonizing BCLC’s online and physical gaming experiences.
Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO of SCCG Management, said: “Our collaboration with BCLC represents a remarkable opportunity to push the boundaries of innovation within the gaming industry. We are committed to deploying our resources and expertise to enhance BCLC’s operational efficiencies and customer engagement strategies. It’s an honor to partner with an organization that has a robust impact on the community through its support of public initiatives.”
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