Canada
Pace-O-Matic Secures Another Legal Victory in Pennsylvania
Pace-O-Matic announced the company won a return of property motion in Dauphin County. This property – gaming machines, related equipment, and cash – was wrongfully seized during raids conducted by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control and Enforcement (BLCE) in 2019.
“First and foremost, this ruling again reaffirms our status as legal games of skill. This is another tremendous victory for Pennsylvania Skill games, powered by Pace-O-Matic, and our Pennsylvania small business and fraternal partners,” said Pace-O-Matic spokesman Mike Barley.
The ruling also castigates the Commonwealth and BLCE for their biased conduct in the matter.
Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Andrew H. Dowling wrote: “All three of the Commonwealth witnesses opined that the games were predominantly games of chance. However, we do not find these opinions to be persuasive for a number of reasons. Initially, it is this Court’s belief that the Commonwealth’s investigation shows case bias. The Commonwealth is seeking to make all machines like the POM Machines into illegal gambling devices, and their whole approach and intent is to shut down games regardless of the actual gameplay. The fact that Officer Wentsler never played the Follow Me feature while undercover is indicative of this. Thus, the Commonwealth as a whole is biased against the games, and their approach lacks case credibility.”
This is the second court in as many months to rule the games were legal games of skill and allege misconduct in the investigation and prosecution of legal skill games.
Last month, Monroe County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Harlacher Sibum wrote: “The court finds that the Commonwealth improperly withheld and misrepresented material evidence relative to the issuance of the search warrant in this matter, and that such conduct warrants the suppression of the seized property.”
Barley said: “We applaud the most recent court’s decision, especially for highlighting the extreme level of bias shown by the Commonwealth against a legal product. The behavior of the BLCE agents and prosecutors, in this case, has been egregious, and we are deeply concerned about the motivation to disregard, bend and violate the law and our constitutional rights in a coordinated effort to harm our company and the small businesses, clubs, fire halls and veterans groups that benefit from skill game revenue and support.
“Every time the legality of our skill games has been called into question, the legal status of our games has been upheld by the judiciary. Pace-O-Matic stands out among our competitors as the active driving force seeking additional regulation and taxation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to working with the state General Assembly and asking for legislation providing additional regulation and increased tax money for the state.”
Pennsylvania Skill has pumped new life into the commonwealth’s small businesses, fraternal and social clubs, and veterans’ organizations by providing them with an entertainment product that the public enjoys. Meanwhile, research data proves skill games do not impact the revenue of casinos and the lottery, both of which are achieving record profits year after year.
Pennsylvania Skill games are manufactured in the commonwealth, and over 90% of the profits stay inside the state. That is unheard of in gaming and many other industries.
Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill products are manufactured by Miele Manufacturing in Williamsport, which has created nearly 200 direct jobs. Many of the materials used to make up the gaming machines come from companies in the Commonwealth. Additionally, Pennsylvania Skill game revenue has become a lifeline to fraternal clubs and organizations across the commonwealth, including American Legions, VFWs, and local fire companies.
As part of ongoing efforts to ensure compliance, Pace-O-Matic employs a team of former state police officers to enforce all terms of contracts and codes of conduct. These contracted terms limit the number of machines, where they are placed in a location and have protections in place to prevent anyone underage from playing the devices.
In 2014, the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas ruled that Pace-O-Matic’s Pennsylvania Skill games are legal as games of predominant skill.
In addition, last year, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General and the Clearfield County District Attorney’s office negotiated a settlement to return wrongfully seized Pennsylvania Skill games, related equipment, and cash.
The Mill Adventure has announced that it has secured a gaming-related supplier license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
The Mill Adventure can now provide its full-service player account management (PAM) platform to licensed operators in Ontario. This achievement demonstrates the provider’s proactive approach to capturing opportunities in fast-evolving, regulated markets.
As one of North America’s most dynamic iGaming markets, Ontario offers substantial growth potential for innovative companies, providing unique avenues for exploring cutting-edge technologies, diverse player engagement strategies, and partnerships with leading operators.
“The dedication and ingenuity of our team, coupled with our stringent compliance standards, have propelled us to this significant milestone. We are eager to introduce our platform to local operators and revolutionize gaming experiences in this thriving region,” Bjørnar Heggernes, Commercial Director at The Mill Adventure, said.
The Mill Adventure platform, acclaimed for its operational efficiency and unique player engagement capabilities, merges sophisticated technology with inventive functionality — from SmartLobbies, its AI-powered casino management solution to Betpool, a feature designed to reimagine casino and sportsbook as social hubs. The platform features state-of-the-art tools, including a fully automated casino management system, in-house promotional tools, in-depth analytics, and robust security features for fraud and risk management, automated withdrawals, and Responsible Gaming — all designed to ensure relevance and excellence in a competitive market while being fully compliant.
Honored with the “Platform Innovation of the Year” title at SBC’s recent CasinoBeats Awards, the company continues to lead the way in ensuring seamless and secure gaming experiences and is poised to meet the high standards and expectations of Ontario’s operators and players.
In addition to Ontario, The Mill Adventure holds licenses in Germany, Sweden, Romania, and Malta, as well as platform certifications in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Georgia — regulatory recognitions that underscore the company’s reputation for exceptional compliance proficiency in the global iGaming industry.
Andrew Cochrane Chief Business Officer at GiG
GiG signs iGaming platform agreement to expand Ontario market footprint
Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has announced the signing of a Head of Terms with Ventures Lab, for the provision of its award winning iGaming platform, and AI tools DataX and LogicX, marking the fourth partner for GiG in the Canadian province and supporting GiG’s global strategy for regulated market growth.
The agreement with Ventures Lab in Ontario will fully utilise the capability of the platform and the ability to support speed to market. GiG’s experience in Ontario and in global regulated markets, and as exclusive regulated markets provider for the brand, the deal includes scope to leverage the possibility to expand into a multi-jurisdictional partnership in the future.
GiG has focused its suite of pioneering solutions on driving exponential growth in revenue for operators with its highly scalable iGaming platform, offering localised third party content and leading suppliers for the Ontarian market. GiGs peerless gamification layer creates an optimised and immersive casino experience tailored to regional preferences, powering increases in both client retention and player engagement.
As part of the deal, Ventures Lab will benefit from the full power of dynamic AI tools DataX and LogicX. With a growing emphasis on cutting-edge artificial intelligence and automation, the incorporation of the advanced machine learning models into it’s toolkit, with enhancing decision-making processes and rule building will help deliver significant increases in player acquisition and customer retention.
With the reporting year starting April 1st, iGaming in Ontario has published that the 2023-24 year ended with online gaming revenue topping at €3.8 billion, an 88% increase over the previous year, representing the opportunity for significant growth throughout the province.
Andrew Cochrane, Chief Business Officer at GiG, commented, “GiG is continuing to attract experienced partners who trust in our ability as the technology partner to drive efficiency and profitability in their operations. This agreement further underpins our powerful strategy to capitalise on the overwhelming potential within our market leading solutions, forming strong new partnerships in core regulated markets, with the intention of reaching and exceeding our ambitious growth targets for the business.”
Carlos Strazzer, Chief Executive Officer at Ventures Lab added: “This collaboration will enable us to drive substantial growth and expansion leveraging GiGs vast experience in regulated markets and their leading technology. We’re very much looking forward to delivering an unparalleled betting experience for the Ontarian market and seizing the opportunities this region holds.”
SUZOHAPP has become a sponsor of this year’s Canadian Gaming Summit.
“We are thrilled to participate in and support the Canadian Gaming Summit, as Canada presents immense opportunities in the retail sector and the industry is rapidly expanding in this region. Ontario was the first territory to allow retail sports betting and our installation of sports betting terminals in premier locations such as Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara has set the stage for further expansion in that market,” Sim Bielak, President of SUZOHAPP, said.
Sim Bielak will be a speaker on one of the panels, sharing his industry insight on capturing the attention of the next generation of Canadian gamblers. The panel, titled “Next-Gen gamification: engaging Millennials and Gen Z”, is scheduled for Thursday 20 from 11.45 am – 12.30 pm.
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