Both the Roland-Garros eSeries and the real-world Roland-Garros Championship tennis tournament have been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

The real-world tennis championship is now planned to be played from 20 September to 4 October 2020, while new dates for the eSeries have not yet been confirmed.

In an official statement the organisers said:

“Though nobody is able to predict what the situation will be on May 18th, the current confinement measures have made it impossible for us to continue with our preparations and, as a result, we are unable to hold the tournament on the dates originally planned. 

“In order to act responsibly and protect the health of its employees, service providers and suppliers during the organization period, the FFT has chosen the only option that will allow them to maintain the 2020 edition of the tournament while joining the fight against COVID-19.

“This decision was made in the interest of both the community of professional tennis players, whose 2020 season has already been compromised and of the many fans of tennis and Roland-Garros.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Yet another blow for bookies, but surely not the last in this pandemic crisis. We’re sure organisers will re-arrange the eSeries as an online remote tournament if the logistics are doable. Just yesterday we reported that both NASCAR in the US and Supercar Championship in Australia have shifted to a totally virtual format for the next few months.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Bill Miller, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, has released a statement regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

The statement is as follows:

“An estimated 616,000 casino gaming employees are prevented from working because of the important health and safety decisions made by state governments. Nearly all (95%) of the country’s 465 commercial casinos, and three-in-four (76%) of the country’s 524 tribal casinos, have shuttered their doors.

“The impact on our employees, their families, and communities is staggering, and the implications extend far beyond the casino floor. Leading technology companies that supply the industry, and the nearly 350,000 small business employees that rely on gaming for their livelihood, are also feeling the devastating blow of this unprecedented public health crisis.

“The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees, and the small businesses that support them, back to work. Gaming employees, their families, and communities are bearing the brunt of this economic standstill and will continue to suffer if Congress and the administration don’t take immediate action.

“In total, these mass closures will rob the U.S. economy of $43.5 billion in economic activity if American casinos remain closed for the next eight weeks.

“Gaming is an economic engine, employing millions of local residents, generating community investment through vital tax revenue, and supporting small businesses in communities all across the country.”

Background

• Casino closures risk nearly $74 billion in total wages annually for workers and their families.
• Casino gaming supports $41 billion in annual tax revenue and tribal revenue sharing nationwide – essential support for local hospitals, first responders, and vital public services.
• Half the jobs our industry supports are at non-gaming businesses such as restaurants and local shops – all will be dramatically affected by a local casino’s closure.
• Casino gaming is vital to local small businesses, delivering $52 billion annually in small business revenue, including construction, manufacturing, retail, and wholesale firms.

More information on COVID-19’s impact on U.S. casino industry workers and local communities is available here.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though Miller’s statement focuses mainly on land-based casinos, its important to remember that in the emerging US markets sports betting is closely tied to casinos, and in many states a full online offering is still not available, or is again tied to physical land-based casinos through various obscure rules.

Given this, unlike their European counterparts, US operators can’t rely on online esports betting, virtual sports, and casino to see them through the crisis. And, if this crisis ends up lasting for more than a few months, we could see irreparable damage to many companies.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Isle of Man-based gaming supplier Playtech has said it is working to protect its cash flow as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic worsens.

Limited impact so far, but bracing for significant disruption

Though the company says it has only seen “limited impact” on its B2B business so far, and that its poker and bingo businesses have actually seen activity increase as more people are stuck in lockdown.

However, it has warned that it does expect the live casino vertical to be impacted going forward, due to employees being unable to work from studios.

It also warned that it is bracing for its B2B sport business, which is focused on the UK and Greece, to generate a loss of €4m in adjusted EBITDA.

Major issues in Italy but Asia remains steady

In Italy, Snaitech’s retail betting shops have been forced to close, impacting Playtech’s B2C operations. Though Snaitech is still generating some revenue from its online business, it has also been severely affected by the widespread postponement and cancellation of major sporting events.

Playtech says it expects Snaitech to generate a loss of €3m in adjusted EBITDA per month as the crisis continues.

In Asia, the company expects revenue to remain steady from February, at around €7m per month.

AYO.NEWS says:

Over the last week we’ve seen a slew of gambling operators and supplies issue warnings about the effect of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic on business. Yesterday we reported that Denmark-based sports betting affiliate firm Better Collective has said it is well positioned to weather the storm, and gaming supplier Aspire Global said it is preparing to ride out the storm.

While earlier in the week, William Hill, GVC Holdings, The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment issued warnings about the effect of the crisis, particularly the cancellation of sporting events, on their businesses.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Copenhagen-based sports betting affiliate firm Better Collective has provided an extraordinary business update in response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The company has said that, up until mid-March, its business has “shown strong performance and not been notably affected by postponements of sports events caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.”

However, it added that, in in the last few days, due to the cancellation of major sports events, sports betting activity has dropped to around half normal levels, thought the esports and casino business has not been affected.

Better Collective says its financial targets for 2020 remain unchanged until this point, but are dependent on certain assumptions. The company also stressed its strong balance sheet gives it a high degree of flexibility in the current situation.

Performance until now

Better Collective says its performance had not been affected by COVID-19 until mid-March, despite some sports events being cancelled and other going ahead behind closed doors.

February 2020 revenue ended in-line with expectations, with revenue of €6.9M, corresponding to a growth of 27% (of which 13% was organic). Combined revenue for January and February came in at . revenue shared accounts, February delivered record player activity.

Postponement of major sporting events

But, from mid-March, virtually all major sporting events have been postponed or cancelled, including EURO 2020. This has resulted in a major drop in sports betting activity, though esports and casino remain unchanged.

Better Collective says its expects some of the revenue that would have materialised in the first half of 2020 to be postponed, instead materialising later in 2020 or in 2021, depending on when events finally go-ahead.

Based on the current activity level, Better Collective says it expects the postponement of EURO 2020 to result in an isolated revenue postponement of €2-4M from 2020-2021, with other postponements having a similar effect, especially in the US where it is mostly exposed to the major sports leagues.

Well positioned to weather the coming storm

Though the company says its financial targets for 2020 remain unchanged at this point, it has said that it will continue to evaluate the development of the business in relation to ongoing events, and potentially take measures to protect the business and cash flow.

It also pointed out that its online business model allows for a high degree of flexibility, with a highly scalable operation that can take place almost anywhere. This is allowing the company to maintain operations without risking the health and safety of its employees.

The company’s business model is also, to a high degree, based on revenue share from a large database of players, suggesting that even if major sporting events are cancelled or postponed, betting activity will continue on lower profiled sports events, virtual games, esports and casino.

Furthermore, the company has stressed it has a very strong balance sheer and financing position, with a net cash position of almost neutral at the end of February 2020, and a net bank debt (cash minus bank debt) of minus €13.9M after including upfront payment of approx. €24M in connection with the acquisition of HLTV.org ApS (esports) at the end of February. Cash and un-utilised committed bank credit facilities stood at €70M end of February 2020.

Reflecting on the COVID-19 situation, CEO of Better Collective, Jesper Søgaard, said:

“The COVID-19 has in many instances created an unprecedented situation for societies across the world. Just as many other companies, Better Collective will expectedly also be affected by the COVID-19, especially following the postponement of major sports events such as the EURO 2020.

“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of people and we look forward to the return of the sports we all enjoy, including a safe and exciting EURO 2021. Though visibility is currently limited, we stay optimistic that normal sports betting activity levels will be restored why our guidance remains unchanged.”

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

With the unprecedented COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic decimating the sporting calendar for the foreseeable future, will esports betting, virtual sports and online casino games attract new fans?

As we’ve been reporting here at AYO.NEWS, the worsening COVID-19 crisis has led to the cancelling or postponement of virtually all major sporting events, from the English Premier League and Euro 2020, to the Grand National, F1, NASCAR, the NBA, and pretty much everything in-between.

Despite doing their best to remain upbeat, this has obviously left bookies with a major problem; even though a large proportion of bets placed are made online, if there’s nothing to bet on, then business grinds to a halt.

But, there are three types of betting that actually stand to benefit from the crisis: esports, virtual sports, and online casino. Already we’re seeing betting operators quickly shift promotions towards all three, and the specialist esports operators are looking forward to attracting a new crowd of bettors.

Esports

Despite COVID-19 causing extensive disruption in the esports world, including the cancellation or postponement of many events (for example, the Call of Duty League Home Series, NBA 2K League, Overwatch League Homestand events, League of Legends 2020 MSI etc), unlike traditional sports, organisers are able to make arrangements for many competitions to migrate to a totally online, remote format. Hence, after the initial disruption, we could well see the esports calendar get back up to full speed.

Of course, this gives a golden opportunity for both traditional bookmakers and specialist esports betting sites to attract many new customers, and we expect to see a lot of special offers and promotions aimed at attracting traditional sports punters to make the jump to esports.

Indeed, CEO of esports betting operator Luckbox, Quentin Martin, has said:

“While the esports calendar has also been affected, it’s much more resilient in this situation because matches can be played online, without players needing to be in the same place. And, while having fans live in an arena generates a great atmosphere, it doesn’t make too much difference to the hundreds of thousands of fans watching via live stream.

“So far, the early indications are that esports betting volumes will increase – we’ve seen a 54 per cent increase in new player registrations in the past week – since it was announced the English Premier League would be postponed.

“It figures that players who enjoy sports betting are more inclined to give esports a try, with little else to bet on. Many sports fans are self-isolating or in lockdown and esports is pretty much the only show in town at the moment.”

Virtual Sports

Another product bookies are trying to push is virtual sports, like those offered by Leap Gaming, Global Bet, Inspired Entertainment, and Kiron Interactive. Most online bookies, and many online casinos, already offer a smattering of virtual sports, like football, tennis, horse racing, and greyhounds, but until now they have very much been in the shadow of real sports, with operators seemingly unsure of how to position or market them.

However, with no real sports available to bet on, could we see punters convert to virtual? We doubt it. Sure, there will be an uptick as customers check them out, but the lack of any human input will be a big turn-off for traditional sports fans. True, virtual sports boast incredible graphics and convenience, but unlike both traditional sports and esports, they are totally automated and, despite their looks, have more in common with slots than anything else.

Casino

Out of all online gambling, the most shielded from the COVID-19 pandemic is, of course, online casino (with the possible exception of live dealer casino games, which can’t be run remotely, as they require staff to be present in studios). But, as all European operators know, it is notoriously difficult to cross sell casino and sports betting. In Europe at least, the past decade has taught us that while sports bettors might have the odd spin on a slot, casino games just don’t float their boats.

The US is, however, a different story. Due to the history of regulation in the US, where sports betting was prohibited in most states until very recently, sports betting has long been intimately linked to casinos, for example in Las Vegas. This has created a very different culture among bettors than in Europe, and it may well be easier to interest US sports bettors in casino games. Unfortunately for operators, the online/mobile casino offering in the US is still limited to just a handful of states.

The bigger picture

Though esports, virtual betting and online casino clearly stand to benefit from the COVID-19 crisis in the short-term, just as Netflix, Amazon and Xbox Live stand to, things don’t look so good in the long-term.

During the first few weeks of being locked down or off work, people will obviously be bored and looking for entertainment. However, if the situation persists and large numbers of people lose their sources of income, not to mention if civil disorder becomes a big issue or basic infrastructure starts to fail, then online gambling is going to be the last thing on people’s minds.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

In yet another kick in the teeth for bookies, UEFA has postponed Euro 2020 until summer 2021.

After holding conference calls with all 55 member football associations, UEFA took the decision to postpone Euro 2020 until 2021 to allow European leagues more time to complete their seasons amid the worsening COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The news will confirm the worse fears sports betting operators, who are seeing business collapse as major sporting events and leagues worldwide are cancelled or postponed.

Earlier today the UK’s Betting and Gaming Council called for urgent government support for the gambling industry, while across Europe and beyond, operators are facing a months of business disruption and difficult decisions.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.