We finish our Christmas list, and the 411 from the CGA's AGM in Vancouver
In our final edition of 2022, we offer some Yuletide gifts and wishes, and Paul Burns gives us a cross-country tour of a Canadian gambling industry that keeps growing.
In this issue:
Gaming News Canada Show 2022 finale
Our gifts and wishes for Christmas
Mr. Burns and Co. went to Vancouver
Putting forward the FIFA foot(y)
The Company Line - Konami
Gaming News Canada Show, 2022 finale
It’s a BYOEN (bring your own egg nog) to Twitter Spaces this afternoon (2 ET mic drop) when we bring the gang together for one last time this year to discuss and debate not only the latest news, but take a look back at the year that’s been. A Room 4-2-2 footy pundit will join us to rehash the World Cup semifinals over the past 50-plus hours, and tee up Sunday’s title match.
And in case you missed it last week, we had ourselves a time chatting with Will Hill, Kris Abbott, Dr. Cheri Bradish and Gavin Roth about the World Cup, women’s sports, Fred McGriff’s getting the green light to go to Cooperstown and a few other matters of note.
Some Christmas gifts, wishes, and good cheer
While we admittedly and shamefully fall short in matching the Yuletide prose from Entain executive Martin Lycka with his wish list, we’ve done our best to make Santa at least a little bit proud with a Gaming News Canada gift and/or wish list:
To Brent McCurdy, the deputy chief operating officer of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario who receives credit for doing the heavy lifting to put the wheels of a regulated gambling industry in motion, something for your stocking from every stakeholder and employee who today has a job in the province’s new economy.
To Mitchell Davidson, the deputy COO at iGaming Ontario, a gift card from the aforementioned collective group benefiting from the province’s new industry.
To Martha Otton, we’re giving her a trip to spend a week with the Dutton family of Yellowstone fame. . . only to see if we can get a rise out of the cool, calm and collected iGO executive director.
To the staff at both the AGCO and iGO, we’re delivering your present a little early so you can make plans to enjoy your two weeks’ paid vacation over the holiday season in recognition of going above and beyond to launch Ontario’s regulated industry in 2022. “Forget about going 0-60. These people went 0-70 over the past eight months,” Friend of the Parleh Will Hill told us this week.
To Paul Burns, we grant the gift of overseeing the travel points you racked up this year with the return of gaming conferences post-pandemic, and make sure they don’t disappear
For our media colleagues who deliver so much well-reported information and intelligent opinion on the industry, we wish for more frequent and detailed public reporting from iGaming Ontario in the new year.
To our homegrown Canadian companies and new friends from abroad, who have invested in people, etc., in the new Ontario market, we send you scented candles, potpourri and a few bottles of bubbly to once again celebrate your new digs.
To the communications, media relations and public relations folks who respond to our phone calls and emails, schedule interviews and show the utmost professionalism in dealing with yours truly and our aforementioned colleagues, we give you the gift of a request-free couple of weeks over the holidays.
To Rogers Sports & Media, Bell Media, CBC, Corus, Google, Meta and Twitter, we suggest taking some of the $100 million-plus of advertising dollars received from the gambling industry in 2022 and donating it to a worthy cause.
To our fantasy sports and poker friends in Ontari-ari-ari-o, we wish you all a solution to the liquidity dilemma so you can resume playing against Angela in Abbotsford. Ronnie in Red Deer and Stephanie in St. John’s.
To everyone advocating for safe, responsible gambling, we wish you the cooperation from all industry stakeholders to more than do their part in protecting their customers.
To the folks in charge of the majority of creative we’ve seen around sportsbook advertising this year, we’re giving you a drawing board and suggest you return to it (OK, that’s a tad grumpy but Mrs. Claus is giving me a hard time about the hard time I’m having getting into my suit these days. . . . ).
To Canadians across the provinces and territories in our home and native land who enjoy safe, responsible gambling, we’re sending a note from Santa to provincial and territorial governments with a request to follow Ontario’s lead and give their citizens an open and regulated sports betting and gaming market ASAP. Failure to take the necessary steps toward making that happen will result in stockings full of coal and eight-track cassette tapes next year.
To sports fans across our home and native land who had never heard of a same game parlay or moneyline before 2022, we’ll do our best to give you the gift of added patience as sportsbooks and media outlets continue to figure out the marriage of sports broadcasting/streaming and sports betting.
To sports bettors, we wish you landing at least one same game parlay between now and New Year’s Eve so you can treat yourself and your loved ones to a damn fine meal, or a night on the town.
Finally, to everyone who touches this weekly destination through their work, their voice, their time, and/or their subscription, Parleh Media Group wishes each and everyone of you a very, very enjoyable holiday season and a successful, safe and healthy 2023.
Mr. Burns and CGA colleagues went to Vancouver
During a conversation Tuesday morning with Paul Burns about the Canadian Gaming Association’s inaugural Gaming Leaders Forum AGM in Vancouver last week, the CGA baron was asked if there was anything significant about gathering the membership in British Columbia. You know. . . nudge nudge. . . a chance to extol the virtues of Ontario’s wide, wide-open gambling industry and plant the seed (and add some fertilizer and water) for decision makers in B.C. to one day follow suit.
Gratefully, Burns didn’t go Sherman T. Potter on us:
“No, we wanted to showcase what’s going on out there and for our members to understand the environment,” said the head of the CGA from his Toronto office. “We have a strong membership base in B.C. and it’s a good overview of what’s going on in other parts of the country.
“There’s been a lot of attention paid to Ontario, and we want to show there’s lots going on in other parts of the country.”
In a year of legalized single-event sports betting shining a brighter light on the business of gambling across the country - including two conferences at the beginning of June in Toronto - Burns and Co. have been able to spread the gospel about what the industry offers beyond sportsbook apps, slot machines and baccarat tables.
“Atlantic Canada has quietly become a strong centre for gaming,” Burns said (and that includes Halifax, where affiliate business Covers moved into its new 9,000-square-foot headquarters in the summer of 2021). “Moncton is home to IGT Canada, gaming suppliers and tech companies.
“We’ve been able to build a strong gaming infrastructure from Vancouver to Moncton, and places in between (Toronto, Waterloo and Montreal have become tech hubs for the gaming business in Canada and internationally), and we’re going to talk about that in the year ahead. This is an industry that’s growing and we want to make sure it continues.”
The CGA expanded its board of directors while in Vancouver, adding expertise on the sports betting side with Dale Hooper (FanDuel), Scott Vanderwel (PointsBet Canada) and Bruce Caughill (Rush Street Interactive), Playtech regulatory affairs executive Charmaine Hogan, Aristocrat Gaming marketing chief Niaz Nejad along with NS Sports general manager Mark Harper. They join existing board members Scott Burton (FansUnite Entertainment), Danielle Bush (McCarthy-Tetrault), Neil Erlick (Nuvei), Jeffrey Haas (AtomicHub.io), Ilkim Hincer (Hard Rock International), Chuck Keeling (Great Canadian Entertainment), Carrie Kormos (Gateway Casinos & Entertainment), Adriane McGrath (Konami Gaming), Rob Scarpelli (HLT Advisory Inc.), Richard Taylor (Niagara Casinos), and Shelley White (Responsible Gambling Council). CGA board members are elected for three-year terms, for our governance-gazing readers.
“We’ve expanded the board to better represent the membership of the association,” Burns explained.
Putting the best FIFA foot(y) forward
We’ve been talking for more than a decade now about soccer flying under the radar with mainstream media and other businesses in the U.S. The latest Sports Betting Market Monitor from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming tends to agree, citing this current FIFA Copa del Mundo.
The UK Gambling Commission issued a mea culpa for including the photo of a child in a tweet to promote safer gambling during the World Cup.
Rege Behe of CDC Gaming Reports wrote about the new relationship between OPTX and Rush Street Gaming’s bricks-and-mortar casino biz.
Kindred Group reported this week that there are a few reasons for pre-match wagering on Qatar 2022 rising above 50 per cent.
Forty-six people have been arrested in Malaysia on suspicion of working as bookmaking agents during the World Cup.
Better Collective had a hand in the production of a new documentary on the life of Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.
The Company Line
This week, we shine the menorah and outdoor Christmas lights on Konami Gaming, a member of the Canadian Gaming Association.
Birthdate: 1997
Home Base: Las Vegas
Founder: Kagemasa Kozuki
Raison D’Etre: Konami Gaming, a subsidiary of Konami Group Corporation, is a designer and manufacturer of slot machines and casino management systems.
If you’d like to have your business featured in the TCL section of the Thursday edition of GNC, please drop us an email (steve@theparleh.com).
On the Home Front
From the Division of The (Latest) Invitation Got Lost in the Mail: One week after Entain boss Jette Nygaard-Andersen dropped into The Six, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe crossed the border last week to meet with the company’s Team Canada gang, and also appeared at a Women Leaders in Sport event hosted by MLSE.
You may recall back in October that your then-under-the-weather correspondent did a tally of the advertisements during a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast. Well, Matthew Lomon went a couple of steps further for PlayCanada.com, spending a weekend in front of his screen and tracking/grading the ads of sportsbook and icasino operators.
Sports Handle’s Eric Raskin asked if regulators in Ontario and Alberta were being too harsh in shutting down betting on all mixed martial arts events.
And then the AGLC reversed its ban, so it’s back to business as usual.
The AGCO, however, as Mark Keast wrote for CDC Gaming Reports, is standing firm with its ban.
Cole Rush caught up with theScore’s COO Benjie Levy to talk about the year that’s been.
Dave Briggs took the Part 1 and Part 2 approach last week to address the connection - and disconnect - between Ontario’s horse racing industry and the province’s business of regulated gambling.
Speaking of the ponies, there was news of the very good variety from Woodbine Entertainment on Tuesday that its 2022 thoroughbred season delivered an unprecedented handle.
The announcement last week that TonyBet was up and running in Ontario slipped through the proverbial cracks.
Finally, we provided an opportunity last week to register for a discussion on Antisemitism Through the Eyes of Sports with a panel including Elliotte Friedman, Zach Hyman and Shawn Green presented by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. We have the full conversation today:
Let’s Get Together
Sportradar Integrity Services has a deal in place to support the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
Asian gambling operator M88 Mansion is bringing on board Seville FC’s Ivan Rakitic as a brand ambassador.
Xpoint has been anointed the official geolocation partner of Underdog Fantasy.
Pariplay’s latest partner is games supplier Fazi to bolster its Fusion platform.
Malta-based sports betting supplier Altenar is getting together with L&L Europe to expand its presence in the UK.
VSiN is the latest member of the American Gaming Association’s Have a Game Plan. Bet Responsibly campaign.
Matters of M&A
News of the breaking type this morning with an announcement by Global Innovation Group that it is buying the AskGamblers website from Catena Media for $75.2 million.
There was news to start the week that VIXIO Regulatory Intelligence is being acquired by European private equity investor Perwyn.
States Side Stories
Steve Ruddock wrote about the American Gaming Association’s shifting stance on online casino, and included this graphic from VIXIO.
Since launching three years ago, legal online sports wagering in Indiana has surpassed $10 billion, including another $452 million in November.
And the recipient of the first mobile sports betting licence in Massachusetts is. . . . WynnBET.
WynnBET and Bally Bet have received mobile betting licences in Maryland.
Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports are in the bad books of Ohio’s gambling regulators. And it appears to be the same story for PlayUp in the Buckeye State.
A downtown casino in Chicago with the Bally name on it is one step closer to happening.
Sports Handle’s Jill Dorson spilled cold soda on the rumblings that legal sports betting will open in Ohio before Jan. 1.
Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi believes that Penn Entertainment, and its relationship with Dave Portnoy, isn’t the right fit for the Codfish State.
Steve Ruddock at Gambling.com grabbed the good, bad and ugly from mobile sports betting in regulated states.
American Gaming Association grand poobah Bill Miller is calling for criminal charges to be brought against illegal sportsbook and casino operators.
Maryland Lottery & Gaming reported the state’s new mobile retail sports betting business brought in just over $700,000 in tax revenue for November. Sam McQuillan at Legal Sports Report that the overwhelming number of free bets cut into the actual tax money paid by operators.
From the Department of Don’t Slap the Messenger, DraftKings is now taking action on slap fighting in certain states.
PlayUSA surveyed 600 Americans on how the current difficult economic situation has affected their gambling habits.
Not surprisingly, the New York Times’ recent series on regulated gambling continues to spark reaction.
It’s unlikely to be a lengthy process for the Cleveland Cavaliers to find a sports betting partner to replace Fubo.
Jeff Edelstein suggested this week that the sportsbooks operating in the land of the free need to get their act together.
Mark Saxon of Sports Handle revisited the conversation around MLB being a beneficiary of in-play betting.
The Chief Business Officer at DraftKings appeared on VSiN to talk about the sportsbook’s recent announcement to be on site at TPC Scottsdale in 2023.
A global symposium on horse racing at the University of Arizona last week included a discussion on the relationship between the sports betting and racing industries.
Grant Lucas of PlayNY.com raised the curtain on the expected dip in sports betting across the Empire State next year.
Speaking of New York, Jared Hochman of Covers has the deets on another record month in November.
The decision by the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health to advertise free slots play was met with more than raised eyebrows.
Mattress Mack kicked the down pillows. . . or something like that. . . . out of two sportsbooks in Iowa with his bets on the Astros to win the World Series.
A panel discussion in Atlantic City last week focused on the need for the community to expand its gambling business beyond casino.
More than $185 million were wagered through online sportsbooks in Maryland’s new market last month.
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry wanted to set the record straight about his views on sports betting.
The Times’ reporting has also prompted Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal to ask Caesars to put an end to its partnership deals with U.S. colleges.
Paul Costanzo wrote for PlayMichigan.com that sports betting in the Wolverine State has reached its zenith and will hold there in 2023.
Yogonet did the Q and A thing with Fifth Street Gaming CEO Seth Schorr about its JefeBet brand targeting the very significant Latino and Hispanic community in los Estados Unidos.
Illinois enjoyed its first billion-dollar month of sports betting handle in October.
Across the Pond
The Italian government may be pulling out a VAR of sorts when it comes to the ban of betting sponsorships with the country’s soccer teams and leagues.
A change to the corporate tax structure within the European Union has resulted in a share-price dip for Evolution.
Germany’s recently established regulating body for the country’s online gambling industry says it’s ready to take the reins.
Rush Street Interactive continues its Latin American expansion by opening offices in Colombia.
Here’s a story to make you feel a little better; it’s about a gaming business in Malta that’s helping out pet shelters.
FOTP Jake Pollard wrote for iGB on the rise, with some Spockian eyebrows, of Sorare - the NFL-based fantasy football league operator.
It’s back to the old drawing board for legal sports betting in Brasilia.
A UK court has upheld the recent action taken by the Gambling Commission against operator Daub Alderney.
The Belgium Gaming Commission is prepared to place a ban on phone-in TV game shows.
Regulators in the land of Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri are going after operators targeting Finnish (igaming) players.
There’s a new proposal from the Swedish government to protect players from problem gambling.
Bill Barber of the Racing Post has launched a three-part series on affordability checks in the UK.
Australia corporate regulator is taking legal action against former members of Star Entertainment’s leadership group.
Esports Reports
Entain’s managing director of esports did the Q and A thing with Heather Fletcher at Bonus.com about the relaunch of the Unikrn brand in parts known, including Ontario and the rest of our home and native land.
Glytch has plans to build an esports stadium and broadcast studio in Columbus, Ohio.
The International Esports Federation is getting together with Indian company Big Bang Media for the Asian Open Esports Championship.
Alexander Lee at Digiday spoke with Steven Salz and Cody Luongo at Rivalry, among others, about the benefits of creating esports content in-house.
The firing of CEO Grant Johnson last week sent Esports Entertainment Group’s stocks into a tailspin.
The aforementioned Johnson was taken aback at being shown the door.
French politician Laurence Farrenger spoke with Victor Frascarelli at Esports Insider about leading the charge on the recognition of esports by the European Union.
GameSquare Esports is getting together with Engine Gaming & Media in an M&A matter.
The co-founder of gaming and lifestyle business XSET has launched his own esports organization.
An explainer from the fine folks Rivalry about how the rooster ruled the . . . er. . . roost at a Counter-Strike event in Rio de Janeiro.
More than a few bon mots on building a fan base to sustain esports today, and tomorrow.
Media Musings
VSiN executive Ben Fawkes came up with his top sports betting stories of the year.
Quick Hits
The All-In Diversity Project’s All-Index Report for 2021/22 is now available for your reading and learning pleasure. And you can also participate in the 2023 survey.
Boyd Gaming’s Cassie Stafford leads the list of iGB’s Most Influential Women in 2022.
As FOTP Chris Grove told Bloomberg’s Gerry Smith, the pretenders and contenders are starting to be sorted out in a crowded sports betting operators house.
Dana White says he’s not worried about UFC being investigated for suspicious betting activity. Karim Zidan of the Irish Times, however, writes that White’s enterprise is taking a kick to the athletic supporter.
Two French tennis players have received a lifetime ban for multiple incidents of match-fixing. How do you say “disgraceful” en francais?
Scott Longley and Jake Pollard, the Earnings + More Deal Talk newsletter, dug into the state of SPACs in the gambling business.
The CMO of Betswap.gg wrote for iGaming Next on the future of crypto betting in the aftermath of the FTX collapse.
Real Luck Group announced some financial results of the unprecedented kind for the company in November.
Really lousy news that social gaming company Playtika has let go 600 of its 4,000 employees.
SimWin Sports CEO David Ortiz appeared on Bram Weinstein’s Futr Sprt podcast.
A panel at last week’s Global Symposium on Racing came up with a list of recommendations, including better odds and prices for the bettors.
Guest host Ewa Bakun interviewed Bo Grey of Wager Score on the latest episode of The Betting Startups Podcast. Jesse Learmonth, a member of the Friends of The Parleh (FOTP) family, is seeking your constructive criticism about the podcast.
TrafficGuard executive Richard Metcalf lent his voice to an array of topics on the sports betting industry.
G3 Magazine’s Lewis Pek had a sit down with Global Laboratories International managing director EMEA Martin Britton.
Good reading from the keyboard of Sports Pro Media’s Minal Modha about the impact of the current economic woes globally on the world of sports.
Redgol, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Playmaker Capital, recently hosted the Chilean women’s soccer awards for the second year in a row.
Ladies and germs, please welcome your New York Rangers, No. 8 in the NHL Eastern Conference standings and No. 1 on the Forbes Team Values list.Finally, because this is our final dispatch of 2022, we present our favourite Christmas video:
People on the Move
Marcel Elfersy, who’s had previous stops at 888 and Entain, is the new Chief Commercial Officer for platform and sportsbook at Global Innovation Group (GiG).
After 14 years as the Chief Regulatory Officer for the UK Rugby Football League, Karen Moorhouse will join the International Tennis Integrity Association in February as the organization’s new CEO.
Sareh Baca has departed Warner Brothers Discovery to join FanDuel as Director of Product.
PointsBet has promoted Marcus Ap to Deputy Legal Counsel - Corporate.
Freddie Bowring has departed IMG Arena and accepted the role as VP of Sales at BtoBet.
Paysafe has hired Alisa Barber as its new Senior VP, Lead Generation.
Laura Bird has been brought on board by Future Anthem as its first-ever Chief Financial Officer.
George Harborne, formerly of Yellow Sports Marketing, is SBC’s new Director of Sponsorship.
Lana Lagow has departed Xpoint to accept a new job as Channel Manager - igaming and Gambling - at Sightline Payments.
Paul Johnson, the former PGA Tour and Electronics Art executive, is now a member of the advisory board at SimWin Sports.
Allan Stone, the co-founder and CEO of Intelitics, now has a seat at the board of directors table of Chalkine.
Megan Hilman, formerly of Moody’s Analytics, has joined theScore as an Analytics Engineer.
Jack Reacher. . . .er. . . . Reader. . . joins Enthusiast Gaming as a Senior Account Manager.
Jackie Buckingham, whose eight-year tenure as CEO included rebranding Synchronized Swimming Canada at Artistic Swimming Canada, is stepping down next month.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Parleh Media Group, also known as proprietors of this august newsletter, are in the market for a Digital Host & Content Producer.
Rivalry is seeking a Senior Product Manager, Games.
TheScore is on the lookout for a Dev Ops Engineer.
Among the openings at GeoComply are Onboarding Project Specialists in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
PointsBet Canada is on the hunt for a Marketing Operations Specialist.
Woodbine Entertainment has an opportunity for an IT Project Manager, and is also looking for a Data Engineer.
Among the openings at Sportradar these days is one for an Sport Trader Analyst in Las Vegas.
Playmaker Capital is on the lookout for a Senior Financial Analyst.
Davis Catlin and his fledgling Discerning Capital business is hiring a Head of Capital Formation (note to fellow hockey pucks: this posting has nothing to do with the Washington hockey team’s defensive zone structure. . . . )
The NBA has an opening in its Global Business Development, International team.
Sportlogiq is seeking a DevOps Engineer.
Fortis Games is hiring a Head of Player Community who’s willing and able to work remotely.
McLaren Racing in the UK is seeking a People Analyst. No word on if the gig is a BYOC (bring your own chesterfield).
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is searching for a Corporate Communications Coordinator.
Coming soon to a screen/town near you
ICYMI, the BCLC is already accepting registrations for the New Horizons in Responsible Gambling to take place in early March 2023.
Registration is now open for the Alberta Gambling Research Institute Conference 2023 in Banff.
About the Numbers
Alas, we are down to the final two teams at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Sunday’s Final will be a clash of two titans: Lionel Messi’s Argentina against Kylian Mbappe’s France.
In what could be his final FIFA World Cup match, Messi, 35, is hoping to cap off a spectacular tournament by adding his first World Cup to his illustrious trophy case. Argentina last hoisted the ultimate prize back in 1986 – a team led by Argentine legend Diego Maradona.
A World Cup victory for France, meanwhile, would see them become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil accomplished the feat in 1958 and 1962.
So, which of these footballing giants have the edge? Michael Singh of Room 4-4-2 believes Argentina has the momentum heading into what’s shaping up to be a Sunday spectacle.
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