As part of the company’s growth, its latest offerings, Kladionica.com, WettanbieterBonus.de, and, JapaneseBetting.com, will target the Balkan, German, and Japanese markets respectively. 

Adam Grunwerg, CEO at Finixio, stated: “2021 was a breakthrough year for us as we successfully diversified into the igaming vertical. This year we aim to expand into new markets where we see great potential. 

“The balkan markets of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia will give us access to more than 15 million users, while Japan is one of the most untapped markets with over 125 million people and a $60bn online sports betting industry.

“Japan is also quite unique when it comes to its domestic sports schedule with a focus on baseball, sumo and horseracing fixtures. We look forward to analysing the opportunities of these markets in more detail.” 

Finixio says that its products and services allow users to compare sportsbook services and offers to various sites. 

“I’m very proud of what the entire Finixio team has achieved in such a short time frame,” stated Finixio Co-founder, Samuel Miranda.

“It’s a tremendous effort to come this far. The majority of the igaming industry has been consolidated by big Scandinavian companies on highly leveraged buyouts. 

“We’re now competing with them on the same level but with a much lower operating budget, lower timeframe and launching a number of our sites from scratch.”

Already this year, Finixio has launched its own suite of horse racing tools and services including live results, race cards and odds comparison on its flagship website Sportslens.com. 

Setting its sights towards the future, Grunwerg concluded: “Our goals for 2022 are to continue our growth, expand into new markets and revamp our websites to make them industry leaders. 

“This includes an increased focus on personalisation, user ratings, tools and high quality news. We also aim to keep on top of upcoming or newly regulated betting regions such as Brazil, Chile, Ukraine and Canada.”

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Targeting the Asian market, representing FunFair’s first foray into the region and utilising its blockchain platform, with a series of bespoke gaming content, Sydney based Big Wave will be charged with providing engaging games for the almost 4.5 billion strong population.

Ivan Rungkat, MD at Big Wave Gaming, said: “FunFair has led the market in bringing a viable, quality blockchain casino platform to the market for some time and we’re excited to provide bespoke content for it.

“Our knowledge of the Asian market and FunFair’s blockchain expertise will allow for a collaboration that will bring a quality product to the region, which has already shown a strong propensity to use the technology.”

The first entry set to kick off the partnership will be version of popular Japanese dice game Chō-han, which sees players place bets on whether two random dice will equal an even or odd number.

All games will be added to FunFair’s existing suite of blockchain-powered casino titles, including proprietary slots, table and instant win games.

David Greyling, COO at FunFair Technologies, commented: “We’re delighted to have signed with Big Wave Gaming as we continue to expand our suite of next generation blockchain games built both in-house, and in collaboration with other industry leaders.

“Their experience and expertise in the Asian market, will enable us to continue to give players the high-quality gaming experience that they’ve come to expect from us, utilising our proprietary Fate Channels technology, as we continue on our roadmap which is set to revolutionise the online casino sector.”

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$2.6bn

Wynn Resorts is to forego an appeal regarding a recent Massachusetts Gaming Commission investigation into how it the company handled sexual-misconduct allegations against Steve Wynn, its founder and former chief executive.

Issuing the response to ensure that its $2.6bn Encore Boston Harbor development meets its opening date of Sunday 23 June, the company did voice objections to findings concerning its CEO Matt Maddox.

In it’s report published last month the MGC said that a vote on Maddox’s suitability was split, stressing a concern that he failed to exercise the proper diligence, express the requisite level of concern and understand the magnitude of the risk.

Paying its $35.5m fine alongside the $500,000 levied against its CEO, which has been confirmed by a spokesperson on behalf of the regulator, Wynn pointed to a year-long investigation within Nevada as to why he would have come on top of any potential appeal.

1.3

Should the Japanese city of Yokohama triumph in the race to secure one of three integrated resort approvals up for grabs, it will come at a huge cost for operators, reports GGRAsia.

A request for information conducted by Yokohama City reveals that capital investment could reach JPY 1.3tn (US$11.9bn), however it hasn’t deterred interested parties, with six firms, four of which have interests in Macau, still holding an interest in a potential construction.

The lowest figure mentioned was in the JPY 620bn (US$5.66bn) region, with it also determined that revenue gleaned from such a facility could be in the JPY 350bn (US$3.2bn) to JPY 880bn (US$8bn) ballpark, with annual earnings before EBITDA potentially reaching JPY 80bn (US$730m) to JPY 210bn (US$ 1.9bn).

Nine of the responds to the request for information by Japan’s second most populous city were willing to be named, and are Caesars Entertainment, Capital and Innovation, Galaxy Entertainment, Genting Singapore, Melco Resorts, MGM Resorts, Sega Sammy, Sotoku and Wynn Resorts.

2.9

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has published its latest statistics on each sector that it regulates, revealing that online continues to go from strength to strength within the region.

Bringing in a gross gambling yield of £14.5bn for the October 2017 to September 2018 period, representing a slight 0.4 per cent dip, the online industry made up £5.6bn of the headline figure, increasing 2.9 per cent for the period, and holding a 39 per cent market share, also up 1.2 per cent.

Other headline findings saw a series of decreases across employee numbers (falling 1.4 per cent to 106,670), as well as the amount of both betting shops and bingo premises, which declined 1.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively to 8,423 and 650, with 152 casinos in existence across Great Britain, an increase of one.

The number of gaming machines across the region was boosted by 2.4 per cent to 183,813, as the National Lottery contributed £1.5bn to good causes, a 0.3 per cent rise.

$1.3bn

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has approved the $1.3bn sale of the state’s Sands Bethlehem property, confirmed the PCI Gaming Authority which does business as Wind Creek Hospitality, an instrumentality of the Poarch Creek Band of Creek Indians.

Securing the sale from Las Vegas Sands, the closing of the transaction follows approximately 14 months of regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Lauded as a “landmark transaction” for the tribe, Jay Dorris, Wind Creek’s president and CEO, commented: “We are pleased with the decision of PGCB and anticipate moving quickly to close the transaction. I look forward to welcoming all the Sands Bethlehem employees to the Wind Creek family.”

The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, which sits roughly 80 miles from New York City, is to be renamed Wind Creek Bethlehem upon integration into the WCH portfolio.

The post Wynn acceptance, expensive Yokohama and Sands sale: The week in numbers appeared first on CasinoBeats.

9 

Following a recent meeting at the city of Iki, it has been confirmed by the Kyushu Governor’s Association that the city of Nagasaki is to lead all efforts to develop an integrated resort on the island.

Confirming the passage of a “unique” special resolution, consisting of a petition to the central government, all nine prefectures within the Greater Kyushu region have agreed to support the efforts of Nagasaki in the development of an IR in the region.

This encompasses the seven prefectures on Japan’s Kyushu island, namely Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki and Kagoshima, as well as Yamaguchi prefecture on the largest Japanese island, Honshu, and Okinawa, the largest of Japan’s most southerly islands.

Now to be known as the Kyushu Regional Strategy Conference group as a result of the issuance of support for a Nagasaki situated IR, work is to now commence to establish a project team whose chief role will be to assist in all efforts related to the push.

2021

Dutch gaming authority, the Kansspelautoriteit, has unveiled its long term aims regarding the Remote Gambling Act that is set to come in to force, after a vote to accept implementation earlier this year came in excess of two and a half years after the bill was originally passed in its lower house.

The regulator has set an initial target of the act coming into effect on Wednesday July 1, 2020, with permit applications able to be processed from that date, and the market for online games of chance then able to be officially open from Friday January 1, 2021.

That is according to René Jansen, chairman of the Ksa, who revealed the latest update at a recent conference in the Netherlands, and emphasised that managing the licensing process in the context of the Remote Gambling Act will be a priority over the next two years.

Under current legislation it is not possible to apply for a license to offer online games of chance, with the new act, which was adopted by the first chamber on February 19, 2019, set to legalise online gambling under a series of strict conditions.

2

AG Communications and Genesis Global have again fallen foul of the Spelinspektionen, as the Swedish regulator issues more bonus related punishments.

Each licence holder has been found to have violated Swedish gambling legislation by informing players of the possibility of receiving recurring bonuses on their websites.

As a result AG Communications has been issued with a SEK 500,00 (£41,757) penalty, with Genesis Global’s punishment standing at SEK 1.7m (£141,975).

Earlier this year AG Communications were found to have violated self- exclusion rules, including a failure to implement its national register Spelpaus.se, for which the Spelinspektionen issued a penalty fee of SEK 3m (£247,000) as well as a warning into future conduct.

This followed Genesis and Paf Consulting being found to have committed similar offences, receiving penalty fees of SEK 4m (£329,427) and SEK 100,000 (£8,235) respectively.

690

Illinois is to become the latest US state to throw its hat into the sports wagering ring, thanks to a vote in favour of such a move taking place over the weekend.

Casinos, racetracks and sports venues with a capacity in excess of 17,000, such as Wrigley Field and Soldier Field, will now be able to offer legal land based and mobile sports betting, with such operators getting an 18 month head start on mobile only counterparts.

Furthermore, bill SB 690, passing 46-10 and concurring with house approval, is to also see the construction of six new casinos to add to its existing 10, one of which will be located in Chicago which currently has no such facility.

Additionally the city’s O’Hare and Midway airports will now be able to offer slots, with it said that the majority of the state’s gambling revenue will be used to fund a $45bn, six-year ‘Rebuild Illinois’ plan that includes roads, bridges, transit and education among other projects.

The post Integrated resorts, Kansspelautoriteit and Illinois: <br> The week in numbers appeared first on CasinoBeats.

With Osaka holding aspirations to have its complex in operation by the time the city hosts the World Expo in 2025, two senior officials have been installed to lead the construction of the casino administration committee, following delays imposed earlier in the year.

The pair are said to have been appointed earlier this month, with no information coming forth until recently, and will report directly to Japan’s cabinet office during the process of establishing the oversight authority, which is to ultimately spearhead regulation, safety and ethical guidelines of the market.

Five senior permanent officials are to be recruited by the duo, the appointments of which are to be subject to necessary approvals by the country’s parliament, which could potentially take place during an extraordinary legislative session in autumn.

During recent times there has been a hive of activity surrounding Japan’s potential IR’s, with the casino administration committee to initially comprise a 100-strong roster of staff and serve as an independent body separate from the cabinet office. 

Earlier this month Japan announced the establishment of its first new department in 11 years, when the Tourism Agency became the ‘International Tourism Department’.

Reporting to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, it’s to be charged with selecting candidate cities to become hosts as well as overseeing the design of regulations for operators.

It is hoped that through passing the integrated resorts implementation bill, a greater number of international tourists will be attracted to Japan, helping to achieve the government’s objective of attracting 60 million inbound visitors by 2030.

Set to be built in up to three locations during the first batch of licenses being awarded, Japanese nationals will be charged a 6,000 yen ($55) entrance fee for casinos and face limits on the number of visits, while foreign visitors will be able to enter free of charge.

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However, following Galaxy Entertainment Group speaking of IR misconceptions and opposition emerging to proposals that Yokohama could be one of the selected hosts, former Wynn Resorts executive vice president of corporate security James Stern has voiced concern that resorts across the country could be a prime target for criminal gangs, chiefly the Yakuza.

Stern was removed as Wynn’s security lead earlier in the year after testifying before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, where he revealed he’d surveilled company co-founder Elaine Wynn and three employees.

Now heading up his own company, Global Gaming and Resort Security, Stern has drawn on further past experience with the Japan Times, to explain that upon launch, which is pencilled in for 2024/25, Japan IR’s could well fall on the radar of criminal enterprises. 

Stern, born in a Japanese neighbourhood before moving to California where he subsequently joined the FBI and was charged with infiltrating the Yakuza to stop a drug smuggling operation, commented: “The Yakuza have changed over the years, but one thing won’t change: They’re all about the money. Tradition comes second.”

Adding: “Imagine if a gangster was able to get control over a VIP host, they could do a significant amount of damage. There are many ways to skim money from a casino and criminals will easily figure out how to do it.”

Acknowledging the capability of national forces in somewhat controlling the potential of criminal activities within casinos, Stern believes that those chosen to operate each of the three licences up for grabs shouldn’t give them sole responsibility.

One particular word of warning came regarding on-property surveillance cameras, the content of which, if accessed, could be used for the purpose of blackmail or extortion. 

Stern stated: “Japan is a nation of laws and I’m sure that the police will be prepared. But the casinos can’t trust the police to do everything. That won’t work well.”

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With the region in the midst of embracing up to three IR’s, Ted Chan, GEG’s chief operating officer of Japan development, has been addressing a number of issues that have chiefly cropped up due to the little knowledge of, and experience in, modern day IR’s.

Speaking at an open forum on IR global leadership development in Tokyo, and quoted on Inside Asian Gaming, Chan stressed the importance of detailing the benefits that could be brought across the country as a result of IR developments: “Whilst we are happy to be industry disruptors, we also believe in the importance of balancing social harmony as the route to success … and we are now going through a similar process here in Japan.

“Through carefully listening to the community, we have learned that there are many misperceptions about IRs in Japan. This does not surprise us. But if IRs are to be truly accepted in Japan it is important that we the industry and you the community work together harmoniously toward a common goal.”

Furthermore, Chan also discussed what he believes are six common misinterpretations across Japan, those being that an IR is just a casino, it places a sole focus on gaming consumers, an increase in gambling addiction will be felt, the wider community will not gain any benefits, they are playgrounds for adults only and entertainment contained is not cultured.  

With a heavy reliance on information garnered from the media, movies and television, Chan emphasised that responsibility falls on operators to fully educate the Japanese public: “A truly integrated resort is a complex array of facilities and attractions, developed for the enjoyment of a wide and diverse group of customers, employees and stakeholders. And a truly responsible IR operator goes far beyond simply developing and managing a world class facility.

“At Galaxy we believe in listening, collaborating and sharing our success with the community. By striking a balance between business excellence and social responsibility, misperceptions about IRs can be reduced and the business will perform with greater harmony in the community. Should we be given the opportunity, we look forward to doing the same here in Japan.”

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The region, which earlier this year saw Hard Rock International detail its own IR proposition via a full scale model unveiling, is striving to be one of three locations selected by the country’s government to host a resort.

As the race among local governments heats up, amid a delay at national level, Connecticut headquartered Mohegan has stated its intention to invest between $3.5m and $4.5m in its IR, which would contain a casino and hire between approximately 5,000 and 7,000 individuals.

The prospective development in Tomakomai, where it’s also believed Rush Street Gaming have a large interest, would include a museum dedicated to the Mohegan Tribe, recognised in its home state, as well as the Ainu people, an indigenous Japanese tribe.

As a recent press conference it was also confirmed that Mohegan’s construction would feature three hotel towers, convention space and an entertainment arena, as well as further areas to permit horse riding and cross-country skiing among other activities.

Mohegan’s CEO Mario Kontomerkos stressed a belief that due to prior experience of operating IRs in a similar environment to Hokkaido, the firm is primed for success and would welcome the opportunity to further expand its base of operations.

Asia has long since been a target for the organisation, with the $5bn development of Project Inspire in South Korea ongoing with its first phase, set to open 2020/21 with multiple more phases planned beyond.

Previously speaking to CasinoBeats, Kontomerkos stated that the development is to feature 1,200 five-star guest rooms, over 63,000-square-meters of dining, retail and entertainment options, a 15,000-seat arena, a foreigner-only casino, a climate-controlled indoor pool and water park, 19,000-square-meters of conference and convention space, and a global studio IP-themed park.

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Following recent 100 Club findings that online casino professionals were far from convinced about blockchain’s future role in the sector, CasinoBeats spoke to Juliet Adelstein, chief operating officer of GanaEight Coin, a project that is developing a blockchain-based online casino platform, and forms part of Japanese igaming firm Ganapati Group.

Regarding the sceptical outlook from some quarters regarding the potential of blockchain in online casino: “I don’t think it’s just those in the online casino sector that are sceptical of blockchain – or any new technology for that matter – people are often wary of change. For our industry a lot of it comes down to the fact that the gambling world is naturally set in its ways, and therefore slow to embrace new trends. 

“Many are suspicious of blockchain and scared to be one of the first to embrace it. That’s why it’s mainly startups and mid-sized businesses that are the ones looking to adopt blockchain in this industry.

“It’s surely only a matter of time before big names in the industry catch on”

“If you look at other industries in the past, they were no different when it came to new tech. Take banking for example, many were sceptical at first about online banking and card only payments – fast forward to 2019 and card payments have now overtaken cash and app-based banks are booming. 

“That’s what we believe blockchain will be like for online casinos – it’s surely only a matter of time before big names in the industry catch on and start to take an interest in blockchain”.

Continuing the theme, Adelstein moves on to address what evolution could be felt within igaming should blockchain’s embrace by the industry stretch further still: “At present there are a number of issues in igaming, that largely come down to trust, or lack thereof. The lack of transparency in online casinos creates concerns amongst players. Blockchain can alleviate this issue and really evolve the industry.

“Blockchain based casino platforms have a decentralised system which means third party data is not needed, making it impossible for casinos to manipulate games. Players can see that they are winning or losing according to a game’s predetermined RTPs. All this makes for a transparent way of operating between users and providers.”

GanaEight Coin, an online casino that’s building its own blockchain platform, token and wallet, is labelled an ‘anti-ICO’ because of it’s a stablecoin status, but why is this so crucial: “The G8C token is an “anti-ICO” which we’ve created to fix a worldwide problem. There are so many failed and scam ICOs out there that we’ve decided enough is enough.

“Being a stablecoin further strengthens the trust between players and online casinos”

“Our G8C token is a stablecoin, which means its value won’t fluctuate – G8C’s value is to be pegged to online casino players’ bets, a genuine market first for the industry. Being a stablecoin further strengthens the trust between players and online casinos as the token exists for a purpose, unlike many others.” 

Before adding why the decision was made to build  its own blockchain platform, token and wallet: “To truly embody transparency, we decided to build our own blockchain platform, token and wallet. That way we could ensure that we could adhere to regulations across the whole scope of G8C. 

“It’s important for us to see an industry well-regulated and operated and that’s what we’ve set out to achieve with G8C. Our CEO is a lawyer, and our entire blockchain suite is there to be a shining light in what can be a murky industry. We’re here to make positive changes and with our platform, token and wallet under our control, it means we can see our goals through”.

The post Many are suspicious of blockchain and <br> scared to be one of the first to embrace it appeared first on CasinoBeats.

In a recent interview with US news channel CNBC, the firm’s CEO Matt Maddox stressed that Wynn is not yet in a position to target one specific area as the company embarks upon a multi-city strategy.

Furthermore, Maddox also revealed that Wynn, which has debuted its $2.6bn Encore Boston Harbor property, has also entered into a consortium with local partners in pursuit of a Japan casino license, without offering any information on specific companies.

“We’ve been working on this for eight years and we typically like to play a little more low profile,” Maddox stated when pressed upon the company’s development strategy in Japan. “What I love about our strategy in Japan is that we are known as the high-quality operator. What we deliver is excellence.”

While fellow US operators Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts International have made no secret of their desire to target Osaka, Maddox said that Wynn is “looking at multiple cities. We are not just saying we are only going after one city.

“It’s the same thing that happened in Massachusetts – no-one targeted the Boston area because they thought it wouldn’t happen. We did and we won it.”

LVS broke its previous reluctance to narrow in on one specific region last week, when the organisation stated that it wishes to focus its attention regarding the potential construction of an integrated resort on the city of Osaka.

Following the lead of MGM in backing the region, George Tanasijevich, LVS managing director of global development, commented: “Public opinion polls don’t indicate support for IRs and Tokyo seems preoccupied with preparations for the Olympics. We think the possibilities are very low for both cities at this point.”

Adding: “the [Osaka] government has made it very clear what kind of IR they are looking for.”

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