Gambling in the USA
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – October 3-9
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
Major League Baseball has announced a new partnership with the American Gaming Association’s “Have A Game Plan. Bet Responsibly.” public service campaign to educate fans and broaden the league’s responsible gaming efforts.
Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company has entered into an exchange agreement with Diverted River Technology, pursuant to which Simplicity Esports agreed to acquire 100% of the membership interests of Diverted River in exchange for 80% of the issued and outstanding shares of Simplicity Esports’ common stock.
26 Capital Acquisition Corp and UE Resorts International have extended their merger agreement end date. Both parties have agreed to extend the date from 1 October 2022 until 1 October 2023.
Pragmatic Play has further expanded its footprint in Argentina after taking its slots live with bplay in Buenos Aires Province.
MaximBet has announced the launch of its sportsbook in Indiana, the second live U.S. state for the emerging sports betting brand.
GAN Limited has announced the successful launch of GAN Sports for Island View Casino in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Partnerships
Stride has partnered with esports tournament platform provider Practice Server to deliver a new season of tournament play for young competitors across the US.
International Game Technology has announced that it has signed a multi-site technology agreement with Qullqi to deploy IGT’s award-winning Floor Manager systems technology at Qullqi’s seven casinos across Peru.
ExteNet Systems announced a groundbreaking partnership with MGM Resorts International to design, build and operate ExteNet’s advanced in-building signal and connectivity solutions across all MGM properties throughout the US.
Elys Game Technology has announced that it has entered into an agreement to expand its current partnership with the Grand Central Restaurant and Sportsbook, by establishing a new joint venture to open a second sportsbook location in Washington.
Manchester City has announced a new regional partnership with Sportium. The agreement will see Sportium become the Club’s Official Betting Partner in Latin America.
PropSwap has announced a new partnership agreement with the sports betting platform provider SB22. The agreement will allow SB22 operator partners to offer their customers a seamless integration with the PropSwap marketplace and enable them to sell their digital sports bets.
Appointments
Underdog has announced that Brianne Doura-Schawohl has joined the company as a consultant to bolster efforts to provide users with a safe, fair and reliable platform with the highest level of integrity.
Well-known gaming industry leaders Brian Lessman and Kristian Milne have joined Gaming Laboratories International as Account Executives on the supplier-focused North American Client Services team.
Nevada Gaming Control Board has announced the appointment of Kristi Torgerson as chief of its Enforcement Division.
Acquisitions
Endeavor Group has completed its previously announced acquisition of OpenBet from Light & Wonder for approximately $800 million paid through a combination of cash and shares of Endeavor’s Class A common stock.
Fandom has announced that it has acquired a portfolio of entertainment and gaming brands from Red Ventures – GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News and Comic Vine.
Everi Holdings has announced that it has agreed to buy certain strategic assets of Venuetize.
Dr. Jennifer Shatley
New Trade Association Launches Unprecedented Effort to Strengthen Responsible Online Gaming, Promote Best Practices
The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA), an independent trade association launched by seven of the largest U.S. legal mobile gaming companies, will actively promote a new industry-wide best practices charter, overseen by one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of responsible gaming (RG).
This unprecedented effort will be led by Dr. Jennifer Shatley, a deeply respected responsible gaming executive with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. She will serve as ROGA’s full-time Executive Director, and her role will be to facilitate widespread education to all relevant parties on the subject of responsible gaming.
ROGA will embark on a series of initiatives under Dr. Shatley’s direction. These include research, consumer and industry responsible gaming education and awareness, promoting responsible gaming best practices, an independent data clearinghouse, and an independent certification program.
Demonstrating their commitment to this endeavor, initial member companies – who together represent more than 85% of the legalized online sports betting and iGaming industry – have pledged more than $20 million in support of ROGA’s mission in year one. ROGA’s member companies include BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, Fanatics Betting and Gaming, FanDuel, Hard Rock Digital, and PENN Entertainment.
“I am humbled, honored, and excited to be selected to lead ROGA during this important period of growth in legalized mobile gaming. Many of America’s largest legal mobile gaming operators will be establishing a framework that helps to aid in responsible gaming education and awareness. Together, our members will work alongside researchers, experts, regulators and stakeholders to promote responsible online gaming and maximize our efforts to support additional responsible gaming education and awareness. By coming together with a clear set of objectives, ROGA and our members will work to enhance consumer protections and help provide easier and more efficient access to responsible gaming tools for consumers to enjoy the entertainment of online gaming,” said Dr. Shatley.
Compliance Updates
Play’n GO awarded Pennsylvania license
Play’n GO has continued on its upward trajectory in North America by landing its latest US iGaming licenses and will soon supply its award-winning content portfolio to operators and players in Pennsylvania and Delaware
These licenses are the fifth and sixth obtained by the Swedish gaming giants in the USA, following New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut.
Play’n GO have taken a dual-pronged approach to its strategy in North America, with these US licenses being complimented by the company’s success north of the border in Canada, where Play’n GO was one of the first suppliers to be licensed to supply slot games in the province of Ontario.
Although early in its American journey, Play’n GO games such as Piggy Blitz, make regular appearances in the top 15 most popular titles in all of North America*.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer for Play’n GO, said: “Play’n GO content is the most conducive to player retention across the industry. With player acquisition costs sky high in the US, we’re pleased to be able to offer operators in Pennsylvania access to our content which will keep players coming back for more.
“We are determined to be the number one casino gaming supplier in every regulated market in the world, and given that we are thriving in more than 25 jurisdictions around the world where we have a license, we fully expect a similar success story in Pennsylvania in the coming years.”
Play’n GO is set to release more than 50 online slot titles in 2024 and is active in more than 25 regulated jurisdictions worldwide, including Ontario, New Jersey, Michigan and West Virginia in North America.
Experi-MENTAL
Lightning Box concocts scientific experiment with new release Experi-MENTAL
Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ and ASX: LNW) (together with its subsidiaries, “Light & Wonder” or “L&W”) announced the launch of its new game, Experi-MENTAL, stacked with features, modifiers and a clash with the mad scientist.
Experi-MENTAL has two in-game features to enhance the overall player experience.
This 3×5 title, exhibits the distinctive Expanding Wild Feature, which can award huge prizes for players should the Wild Brain symbol expand and replicate by five times during the Free Games round.
When players enter the mad scientist’s lab, they will stumble across the Upgrading Feature, which zaps the 9, 10, J, Q, K or A symbols into high-paying icons, including Test Tubes, Power Switch, Cat, Pug or Man. The wins are then accumulated and paid out once the reels have stopped spinning.
The Barrel Pick Feature can radio-activate the feature by awarding an extra 15 Free Games, as players are presented with highly dangerous barrels with an unknown material.
A meter appears when players select a barrel, with a red area and a green area in view. Landing on the meter’s green area ensures the Free Games round is triggered and additional games are awarded but landing in the red zone activates only the round itself.
The classic Free Games mode is unlocked when Scatter symbols appear, with five Scatters granting the maximum of 10 Free Games and the Barrel Pick Feature. During the round, Free Games can be retriggered at any time.
Experi-MENTAL is set to go live with Caesars in New Jersey, Michigan and Ontario initially, and will be available at a later date to customers of Light & Wonder’s industry-leading OPENGAMING platform.
Michael Maokhamphiou, Studio Director at Lightning Box, said: “Experi-MENTAL is one Wacky slot game, and we believe it can propel our slots onto the next level.
“During this game, players can unlock some new features, which add a dramatic element to this slot and classic round that are a cornerstone of Lightning Box’s portfolio. We are in no doubt will love taking on the mad scientist in this epic title.”
Rob Procter, VP of Game Development at Light & Wonder, said: “2024 is going to be a big year for Lightning Box and the launch of Experi-MENTAL gives players the opportunity to showcase this thrilling game.
“With a variety of different features exhibited on this captivating title, it sets Lightning Box apart from its competitors, ensuring the player experience is unrivalled.”
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