Of personalization, a quality Q4 for Playmaker Capital, and RGB has some messages for young bettors
Some recent statements from leaders at Genius Sports, Sportradar, Epoxy.ai and Playengine were centred on giving customers exactly what they want when they watch and bet on sports.
In this issue:
A renewed push for personalization
What’s on tap for the Gaming News Canada Show
Playmaker Capital is riding a wave
RGC Lunch & Learn targets young adults and wagering
A new push for personalization?
The P word has come up in several settings lately.
Perhaps it’s the cavalcade of conferences and subsequent conversations in the opening quarter of 2023 that have allowed your cabin-fevered correspondent to leave the Gaming News Canada basement office on the shores of Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario. Perhaps it’s logging onto one of our sportsbook accounts yesterday to see one offer on a Warriors-Mavericks game, and another one on an Andy Murray-Dusan Lajovic match at the Miami Open.
Then we were perusing LinkedIn yesterday morning and came across this sound byte from a conversation between our old friend Abe Madkour of Sports Business Journal and Genius Sports chief commercial officer Mike D’Auria at the SBJ Tech Week conference earlier this month.
“I want to sit down and watch a Patriots game, I want to have my personal fantasy numbers overlaid onto the screen so I don’t have to pull up my iPad, or my app, or have my laptop out. And maybe I want to have a Twitter poll on the game. . . .You and I can watch a Patriots game and we can have totally different experiences, but they can each be the right one for us.”
Yep, personalization.
“It’s key,” Luka Pataky, who’s leading Sportradar’s emerging artificial intelligence-driven Computer Vision product that is speeding up streaming and the distribution of data, told us at ICE London last month:“Young fans are focused on following their favourite athletes. They’re following (Novak) Djokovic. They don’t care about the other players. (Dallas Mavericks super stud) Luka Doncic, you follow him and you follow the Mavericks. You don’t care about the other teams.”
We had a similar conversation at ICE with Dr. Laila Mintas and Rafayel Mkrtchyan, the CEO and chief product officer respectively for PlayEngine.
“If you only like the NFL, why is my sportsbook showing me tennis?,” asked Mintas, who co-founded the sports betting software provider startup with Mkrtchyan. “There’s a new generation of players, and they want personalization and gamification.”
Added Mkrtchyan: “We want to provide added value to sportsbooks. That includes risk management, marketing automation, and personalization.”
Mkrtchyan, and Epoxy.ai co-founder CEO Chris Reynolds - in a recent op-ed for Sportico - see AI as playing a part in providing personalization for sports bettors. Bottom line: the day isn’t too far away (put on your dreaming cap) when you’ll log onto your sportsbook of choice and if you’re an aficionado of all Toronto sports teams, you’ll have a live stream going of a Leafs’ Stanley Cup final game followed by the lines for the Raptors’ NBA Finals game and the Argos-Als clash, along with the best bets for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lorenzo Insigne.
What’s on tap for Gaming News Canada Show
There’s an open invitation to our faithful following on Substack to slide over to LinkedIn Audio between 2-3 ET this afternoon for the latest Gaming News Canada Show. Long-time journalist Rege Behe of CDC Gaming Reports and Beyond Blackjack content creator Kelly Koffler will join regulars Amanda Brewer, Will Hill and Kris Abbott as we peruse aloud the latest from the world of sports betting, igaming, and more.
On the latest GNC Show podcast, Abbott, Brewer and Hill addressed Coolbet’s decision to leave the regulated Ontario market, and Tom Mungham’s departure this fall as the registrar and CEO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission. Mark Silver from Parleh Media Group also hopped on to summarize the panels, discussions and other conversations taking place during his recent stops at three conferences in New York City.
A quality Q4 for Canadian company Playmaker Capital
If Jordan Gnat, Jake Cassaday and Michael Cooke had a toonie for every “congratulations” they heard on a conference call Tuesday morning, they could have treated themselves to some caviar and champagne for lunch.
OK, that’s perhaps some Trump family-level exaggerating there. Still, it’s been a good week for the CEO, COO and CFO respectively at Playmaker Capital, which announced some damn decent financials for Q4 2022 on said call (which you can listen to here). Some highlights of Canadian interest in the news release from the Toronto-based digital sports media company, which also more than dabbles in the sports betting business:
Playmaker expanded its video production expertise in 2022. Canada-based media business, The Nation Network, launched an audio-video podcast portfolio of more than 25 shows that now contribute more than 820,000 monthly streams.
For the month of December 2022, Playmaker maintained its position as a leading digital sports media company ranked by Comscore. Playmaker ranks #7 across the Americas by web visits, including #1 in Latin America. Playmaker currently ranks #18 in the US and #12 in Canada, up from #23 and #15, respectively, for the same period 2021.
Playmaker now has active affiliate relationships with more than 20 sports betting and streaming partners in 17 U.S. States and in the Province of Ontario. Playmaker acquired leading iGaming affiliate operator, Wedge Traffic (“Wedge”), further diversifying Playmaker’s revenue-generating capabilities and adding to its existing affiliate business with streaming partners as well as the ongoing partnership with Oddschecker.
As Gnat said during the conference call, and reflected in the below graphic from the Playmaker Capital investor overview, the fervour around live sports is anything but disappearing:
Which is why Gnat said that the company continues to seek M&A opportunities.
“(M&A), it’s in the DNA of the business. We’re always looking for opportunities, but the difference now is that it allows us to be laser focused on gaps to be filled. In Canada, we don’t have a core property in Quebec (providing French language content). If we could find something there, it would round out our Canadian portfolio. (And) there’s no such thing as too much U.S. audience, (so) if we could find another Yarbarker to acquire at the same level of discipline as to date. . . .”
The acquisition of Wedge in October lifted Playmaker Capital into the affiliate marketing sector of the sports betting and igaming business. Gnat agreed the best opportunity for exploiting and growing the affiliate business is south of the border, for now.
“For the pure affiliate business, (Ontario) is not yet a major opportunity because of the inability to provide the types of offers that would be more traditional in other markets,” he said. “If we can come up with a set of parameters around it that would allow for the right kind of offers, we’re positioned to be a strong player in the market.”
A follow-up phone call with both Gnat and Cassaday later Tuesday allowed us to ask the Playmaker pair about the revenue potential around the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand. The company’s robust investment in soccer and the Latin American sports market (subsidiary Futbol Sites was introduced yesterday as the official digital agency and commercial partner of the Argentine Football Association) paid off handsomely during last fall’s FIFA Men’s World Cup. While Cassaday said Playmaker has been busy looking for ways to “leverage the playbook from the (men’s) World Cup”, Gnat chimed in to say there are a couple of factors that pose an obstacle to mirroring that success.”
“The biggest challenge is time zone. . . the women’s World Cup won’t be broadcast friendly. And, I know I’m going to get into trouble here but it’s true, women’s soccer is not as popular as the men.”
RGC targeted gambling and young adults in L&L
As a career-long member of the Eating Lunch at Your Desk Club, we’re advocates for Lunch and Learn rendezvous. So, we sipped on our spinach, berries and banana smoothie (always remember the peanut butter powder and chia seeds) yesterday while Lisa Couperus and Dr. Melissa Salmon from the Responsible Gambling Council delivered a virtual Guide to Safer Gambling by Young Adults 101 over the Zoom thing. The introductory session attracted representatives from colleges and universities, the health-care community, and the gaming industry.
The webinar coincided with the eve of the second weekend of March Madness, and also reporting from Meghan Gunn of Newsweek this week about the rise in problem gambling among young adults. From Gunn’s article:
Especially troubling to experts: The fastest-growing group of sports bettors—and the ones who seem to be getting into the most trouble—are typically people in their twenties, spurred by easy access on their phones and ubiquitous advertising. Young men, who are the main target audience for sports betting companies, are the most vulnerable. "We believe that the risks for gambling addiction overall have grown 30 percent from 2018 to 2021, with the risk concentrated among young males 18 to 24 who are sports bettors," said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, in an interview with Pew Research last year.
A survey conducted by the not-for-profit Responsible Gambling Council before last month’s Super Bowl found that more than half of respondents in the 18-34 planned to place in-game bets during the NFL title game. During yesterday’s webinar, Dr. Salmon pointed out that a combination of increased technology, the wave of advertising and marketing, easier access to payments, and the now and forever “deep cultural value tied to sports” have led to a spike in sports betting among young adults.
“They are being exposed to more gambling and more sports betting at a younger age,” said Dr. Salmon, RGC’’s senior researcher. “A survey that we did during the first year of the (COVID-19) pandemic showed that young adults are more likely to gamble online under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, and that’s becoming an increasing concern.”
Couperus called on all parties involved - including employers, schools and community groups - to do the collaboration thing to provide as much information as possible to young adults who may be gambling. We’re also going to do the public service announcement thing here, and steer you to the Young Adults & Gambling section of the RGC website to better educate yourselves.
On the Home Front
FanDuel Canada brought together its employees, contractors and others this week ahead of the April 4th one-year anniversary of Ontario’s regulated sports betting and igaming market. The Make Every Year More Summit included a panel discussion with Martha Otton from iGaming Ontario, the Canadian Gaming Association’s Paul Burns, Brent McCurdy from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and moderator Jeff Harris from Deloitte Canada.
Speaking of FanDuel, the operator passed along to GNC that it will include next month’s IIHF Women’s World Championship - being held in Brampton, ON - in its offerings. The in-house markets will include anytime goal scorer for games featuring Canada and Team USA, the outright tournament winner, and tournament MVP outright market. "We’re very excited to be offering markets for the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championship,” said FanDuel Canada grand poobah Dale Hooper. “Our team at FanDuel is very proud of the progress being made in women’s sports, and are continuously working with our traders and partners to expand our offerings and create innovative ways to champion and support this growth."The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is taking its leave from the Irish National Lottery.
Rivalry’s Casino.exe product, which was launched in other jurisdictions last summer, has arrived in Ontario.
The announcement came the day after the Toronto company learned it was an Esports Solutions finalist for the Asian Gaming Awards.
Mark Keast reports on the 10th anniversary of PlayNow in Manitoba and the province seemingly has no plans to expand its online sportsbook and gaming industry.
We have more on the Concordia University study that examined gambling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can add city officials in Niagara Falls to the list of the concerned and chagrined people pertaining to the opening of Great Canadian Entertainment’s $1 billion casino near Woodbine Racetrack this summer.
Industry expert Troy Ross did the Q and A thing with Kevin Dennis from The Innovation Group for Gaming America on the Canadian igaming scene.
Now live in Ontario, games from NeoGames subsidiary Pariplay through its partnership with Caesars.
Ryan McCarthy, the BCLC’s Director, Player Health and recent guest on the Gaming News Canada Show, did some columnizing on the attempts to keep pace with changes in player wellbeing.
iGT’s Powerbucks product has made a millionaire out of a player from Ontari-ari-ari-o.
Courtesy of Play Canada’s editor-in-chief Dave Briggs:
Let’s Get Together
Pariplay is getting together with Urgent Games to expand its Fusion platform.
U.S. Integrity and SeventySix Capital are doing the partnership thing with the Professional Darts Corporation.
EQL Games has extended its lottery partnership with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties.
SkillOnNet is expanding its partnership with StakeLogic in the UK, Mexico and .com countries to start.
Matters of M&A
According to Canadian Gaming Business, Calgary-based HeadsUp Entertainment is a participant in a reverse triangular merger. Chiropractor, please. . . .
Quarter(s) Pole
Sonja Lindenberg of iGaming Next got into the rising share price of Bragg Gaming.
States Side Stories
The very, very intelligent people at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming on Wednesday released its Total U.S. Gambling Spend by Category - 2022 report (as always, we strongly recommend ponying up to receive the E&K reports). We offer a sliver of the report:
The Betr co-founder whose best jabs are of the verbal variety did the Q and A thing with Ryan Butler of iGaming Next.
iGN’s Jake Evans wrote off an on-stage interview last week with DraftKings co-founder Jason Robins at a Las Vegas event sponsored by JP Morgan.
Smart reading from the flying fingers of Scott Longley and Jake Pollard in Earnings+More on struggling MVB, the bank of choice for several operators in the American gambling business.
From the Division of What in the Name of Lew Alcindor is Going On?. . . Jeff Edelstein spoke with former SuperBook personality Lindsay Mathis, who strangely found herself fired after speaking to her sister’s Grade 2 class about March Madness.
Also from Edelstein’s keyboard: A different approach on the angst around sports betting advertising.
And John Holden also wrote on the consternation around the ads for Legal Sports Report.
ESPN Chalk chronicler David Purdum has the story on the Las Vegas bettor who put down a lot of money to make a little on the Purdue-Farleigh Dickinson game in March Madness. Hmmm. . . .
Conor Mulheir has a sometimes-tongue-in-cheek read on casino-less New York City.
Edelstein also did some keyboarding on what’s happening at the top of the food chain when it comes to sports betting in America.
SBC’s Jessica Welman broke bread with National Council of Problem Gambling head honcho Keith Whyte to speak about the organization’s agility grants.
Speaking of the NCPG and agility grants, FanDuel stepped up this week with a $100k contribution.
Dustin Gouker, on his new Closing Line blog, wrote about the similarity between daily fantasy and sports betting apps.
Steve Ruddock provides a heaping helping of food for thought on Gambling.com about the gold rush that’s been regulated sports betting in the U.S. of A.
Jack Meserve of Vox had his own go at the rapid rise of legal wagering south of the border.
Matt Rybaltowski reports that the American Gaming Association is taking the “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” approach when it comes to eliminating illegal gambling.
While sports fans/bettors in Ohio are wagering at will on March Madness, their Kentucky neighbours have been frozen out (unless they’re betting illegally, of course):
Sports betting and casino revenue in New Jersey experienced a double-digit jump in February.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the Garden State are taking steps against gambling addiction.
In Georgia, the ties that bind sports betting and a soap box derby. And, there’s hope anew for legal sports betting to come to The Peach State.
There’s a move afoot once again to eliminate the sports betting tax at the federal level.
The case for legal gambling in The Lone Star State, with a caveat.
A Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with identity theft after creating fraudulent accounts on DraftKings.
And also from The Volunteer State, lawmakers there have a rather odd proposal to tax handle instead of revenue.
A crackdown on terms like “free bets” and “risk-free bets” has reached the Quaker State.
Speaking of Pennsylvania, bettors across the state - as they say in football parlance - got sacked last month.
FOTP Lloyd Danzig and Fanatics founder Michael Rubin are among the investors in a SlamBall revival.
We have moving pictures from DraftKings’ opening day of legal mobile sports betting in Massachusetts.
There’s been some movement towards legal sports betting in M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.
Missouri’s sports betting legislation is going back to the Senate.
North Carolina’s mobile sports betting bill, which includes a proposal for pop-up sportsbooks at major golf events, has cleared the first hurdle.
Speaking of DraftKings, it’s facing a lawsuit with regards to its NFT business.
The Nevada Gaming Control is looking for ways to speed up the process for approving new gaming products.
The wait continues for legal online sports betting in the state of Delaware.
Lawmakers in Alabama are preparing to take the sports wagering bill proposal plunge.
Returning to Las Vegas in June, the BetMGM Poker Championship at ARIA.
The end of the U.S. college football season has been a bit of a kick in the helmet to operators in West Virginia.
Across the Ponds
Kindred Group faces a fine of almost $12 million from the UK Gambling Commission for falling short of its obligations around social responsibility and anti-money laundering.
Sonja Lindenberg reported that Entain continues to chip away at the gap in gender pay, although CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen says the heavy lifting isn’t done yet.
In the latest installment of a five-part series, SBC’s Erin-Marie Gallagher spoke with Ukraine-based gaming businesses about why investors should stick with them.
Premier League side Chelsea is revisiting its partnership with Parimatch, which finds itself in hot water with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Gross gaming revenue by legal operators in Spain almost reached one billion euros last year:
Light & Wonder is taking a gander at having its shares listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Conor Mulheir captured the highlights of the Dutch gambling authority’s 2022 annual report.
A consortium of sports betting companies have banded together to create the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gambling.
Count a Labour Party member in Ireland as the latest loud voice for cracking down on gambling advertising.
The gambling regulator in Germany says legal operators owned 95 per cent of the market last year.
Esports Reports
In his Sharpr newsletter last week, Cody Luongo put some meat on the proverbial bone from a report that Riot Games is looking at betting partnerships on behalf of Valorant.
There were layoffs this week affecting employees at GAMURS Group.
Meanwhile, Twitch laid off 400 employees as part of massive job cuts by parent company Amazon.
Guild Esports is getting together with Gerford AI to do some research.
ESL Gaming subsidiary DreamHack will stage a $750,000 Fortnite series.
Coming soon to a screen/town near you
There are still spots remaining for next week’s Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention in beautiful San Diego.
A gentle reminder that April 1 is the deadline to submit your application for the Kaizen Gaming/Global Innovation in Sport’s GameTech Innovation Challenge, which is seeking companies focused on social interaction, live sport visualization and igaming gamification.
On the off chance you’ve been spending time with Wilson on a deserted island for the past month or so, early-bird tickets are now available for the June 13-15 Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto.
And speaking of SBC, don’t forget its North America summit in Secaucus, NJ, May 9-11.
iGamingFuture.com is hosting a Multijurisdictional Success: The Best Routes to Growth in the U.S. and Canada webinar on April 4th.
Applications are now open to attend the April 27th EGR North America Spring Briefing in New York, New York.
Media Musings
It hasn’t been a great week for The Worldwide Leader, which is reported to be soon announcing significant layoffs while also firing executive VP Rob King amidst allegations of harassment.
Long-time Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy puts sports betting ads right up there with listening to Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots sing Disco Duck ad nauseum, and consuming cartons of milk that are past their due date.
Charlie Van Buskirk of MassLive says the state’s lawmakers agree the avalanche of ads is annoying but within First Amendment rights.
Josh Kosman of the New York Post reported yesterday that MLB will stream games from all 120 of its minor-league teams on the Bally’s casino app this season.
Julie Stewart-Binks, host of the Drinks With Binks podcast, has inked a multi-year deal with BetRivers.
Quick Hits
Sportradar released yesterday its Betting Corruption and Match-Fixing 2022 annual report. We’ll dig deeper into the report for Tuesday’s newsletter.
Better Collective put out this morning its 2022 annual report, and the digital sports media company also released its financial projections for the next five years.
Rege Behe at CDC Gaming Reports has a tres cool feature on social media influencers who are both having success in - and gaining the respect of - the gaming industry.
Fanatics, the company’s non-betting and gaming division, is replacing Adidas as the official uniform partner of the National Hockey League.
A recap here from Chalkline’s latest webinar, this one tackling the building of permission-based databases at a time when the privacy rules they are a changing.
The aforementioned Behe spoke with the folks at Sightline Payments about the growing cashless payments game.
The head of U.S. gaming for TransUnion offered some thoughts on the move from player acquisition to player retention.
Earnings+More, in its Due Diligence edition, did a deep dive into the growing popularity of same game parlays on the U.S. wagering scene.
Finally, a post of interest from Sportradar on its streaming deal with MLB:
People on the Move
News of the lousy type this week that Pat Eichner is no longer with PointsBet Canada after a year as its Senior Director, Communications, and almost four years with PointsBet. Pat is one of the prominent people in helping your almost-always humble correspondent learning the ropes around the business of sports betting and gaming when we started this endeavour a little over two years ago. We wish Pat very, very well with his next chapter.
Dale Tang has a new business card at FanDuel Canada as Commercial Senior Director.
Joe Asher, the President, Sports Betting for IGT, has been named by U.S. President Joe Biden to chair the board of trustees for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Ari Borod, the Chief Business Officer at Fanatics Betting & Gaming, is joining the board of directors at Betsperts.
Hardeep Bhatti, formerly Senior Manager, Product Marketing at Paramount Commerce, has joined Betano Canada to lead Growth & Acquisition Marketing.
Lottery industry veteran Richard Bateson is the new Chief Commercial Officer at Intralot SPA.
Vangelis Dedoulis has a new gig with Kaizen Gaming: Head of Product, Gaming.
There’s been a trio of promotions at Scientific Games: Amy Bergette to Senior Vice President of Digital Solutions, Kira Summers to VP of Operations and Planning for Digital, and Merv Huber to VP of Digital Growth.
Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear announced last week that he was stepping down as CEO and will be replaced by current President Dan Clancy.
From the Dept. of Better Late Than Never, Francesco Postiglione joined Casumo as Group CEO at the beginning of the year.
One-time CFL executive Michael Shewchenko is the new Vice President, Digital Operations at Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Ben Mulligan is on board at theScore as an Engineering Manager, iOS Platform, and both Zack Underhill and Andrew Bartlett have been promoted to Senior Producer roles.
Joaquin Alcantara has joined Rivalry as a Customer Support Hero.
Business and finance journalist Tobias Seck has departed Sports Business Journal and is joining forces with James Fudge at The Esports Advocate.
Former ESL Gaming Product Manager Samuel Fry has come on board with Riot Games as Manager, Playtest Operations.
Julia Shanovich has joined SOFTSWISS as an Account Manager.
Former CP24 Senior Producer Reeshma Sud has climbed on board TSN as a Supervising Producer.
Rebeka Mizzi has been promoted by the iGaming Academy to Commercial Director.
Gwendolan Hornaday has been promoted by The Action Network to Senior Product Designer.
Irfan Chaudhry has joined Hockey Canada as the Vice-President, Diversity & Inclusion as the much-maligned national sports body continues its major makeover.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Up for grabs at theScore: a Senior Technical Product Manager position.
The BCLC is hiring a Product Owner, Casino Games & Solutions Delivery.
Kaizen Gaming is seeking a Customer Service Agent for its Toronto offices.
Rivalry’s Vancouver operation has a remote opportunity for a Product Manager, Payments. The company has another remote opening for a Technical Payments Specialist.
Enthusiast Gaming is on the prowl for a Sales Director.
Bally’s Interactive has an opening in Toronto for a Japanese-speaking Customer Service Agent. And the company is seeking a Growth Marketing Manager in London.
Riot Games is teed up for a hiring spree.
Our friends and partners at SBC are in the market for a Digital Event Producer.
Betting Hero is holding a careers night with a unique twist in Detroit this evening.
EPIC Risk Management, which we featured in The Company Line a fortnight or so ago, is looking for an Internal Communications Officer.
Great Canadian Entertainment is on the lookout for a Coordinator, Legal & Governance in Vancouver.
EBET is seeking a Technical SEO Executive.
The National Lacrosse League is in hiring mode for a Director, Business Development.
The National Hockey League is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Stats Bureau, Developer and Data Analyst.
Rogers Sports & Media has an opening for a Manager, Inclusive News Coverage.
Betstamp is hiring a part-time Sports Betting Ambassador in Toronto.
There’s a (job) hunt for Casino Games content providers.
The Blue Jays of Toronto have an opening for a Content Producer/Editor.
About the Numbers
Stephen Psihogios of NorthStar Bets appeared on The Homestand Show this week and explained to Albert Vartanian and Justin Pooni why it’s not the worst thing you’ll ever do by taking a flyer on Connor McDavid and Co. to carry Lord Stanley’s goblet sometime in June: