MGM Resorts saw its revenue collapse by 91% during Q2 2020, as the COVID-19 crisis hit hard. 

Revenue obliterated by Las Vegas shutdown

Revenue for the three months ending 30 June 2020 was just $289.8m, compared to $3.2bn for the same period in 2019. 

Consolidated operating loss for the period was $1bn, compared to a $371m operating income for the same period a year earlier. Net loss for the second quarter came in at $857m, compared to a net income of $43m in 2019. 

COVID-19 lockdowns forced land-based casinos to shut for much of the period, which led to casino revenue for MGM’s Las Vegas Strip resorts plummeting by 80%.

MGM’s H1 revenue for 2020 has been massively impacted by the crisis, coming in at $2.5bn, down 70% compared to 2019’s $6.4bn. 

Macau sees 80% drop in visitors

The pandemic also hammered MGM China, as visitor numbers to Macau fell 80%. The  group’s total revenue for H1 2020 amounted to HKD2.4bn ($309.6m), with adjusted EBITDA a negative HKD1bn. 

Gross gaming revenue in Macau fell by 77%, with MGM Macau generating HKD1.3bn in revenue, resulting in a negative adjusted EBITDA of around HKD356.9m. 

Despite the challenges, MGM China’s liquidity is said to be healthy at HKD11.4bn, “comprised of cash and cash equivalent and undrawn revolver.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite hopes of getting back to normal, COVID-19 just won’t seem to go away, and many countries are reporting record infections and reintroducing lockdown measures. Given this, it looks unlikely that MGM’s core Las Vegas and Macau venues will be generating significant revenue for the foreseeable future. 

In response to this, MGM Resorts is starting to pay much more attention to an online future. Illustrating this, earlier this month, MGM and GVC announced a second round of investment in US sports betting and online gaming platform BetMGM. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Global unified payments group Trust Payments has acquired UK-based engagement and loyalty platform Mobilize Systems. 

Mobilize Systems provides seamless, data-rich services to merchants looking to capture and expand customer engagement and loyalty programmes, primarily in the mobile space. 

According to the company, the acquisition will enable Trust Payments to combine behavioral analytics with transactional data to offer enhanced product journeys for customers, improved payment options, and better insight for businesses. 

Commenting on the acquisition Chief Executive Officer of Trust Payments, Daniel Holden, said:

“Trust Payments’ vision is to help businesses optimise their sales and customer experience. To do this, merchants need real-time transactional data analysis combined with proper insight and help with understanding how customers engage and pay for products and services. That means a single source of truth, and simplified data visualisation.

“The acquisition of Mobilize means Trust Payments can gain a 360-degree picture of customer interaction on our platform, leading to much deeper insights for our merchants. The acquisition fast tracks our product strategy and allows us to differentiate our overall product offering by providing the building blocks we’ll need for a unique and competitive product portfolio including options such as an integrated SmartPOS and loyalty solution.”

Trust Payments has a presence in Malta, and also operates in the US with money transmission services and gaming vendor licenses in key regulated markets. 

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Game studio and aggregator Pariplay has entered the Swiss market through a partnership with Grand Casino Baden. 

Earlier this month Aspire Global-owned Pariplay received ISO/EIS 27001certifcation, a key requirement for the Swiss Federal Gaming Board (ESBK). Now, almost 40 of Pariplay’s Swiss-certified slots including Dragons of the North, Wolf Riches, and Mystic Manor, will be available to Jackpots.ch players. 

Commenting on the partnership COO iGaming at Grand Casino Baden, Marcel Tobler, said:

“We are thrilled to be one of the first online casino operators in Switzerland to offer Pariplay’s world-class casino games. We see their engaging content as an excellent addition to our existing portfolio at Jackpots.ch and believe they will be very well received by our players. We look forward to continuing to add Pariplay titles for our customers to return to, again and again, as our content partnership evolves.”

While Managing Director at Pariplay, Adrian Bailey, added:

“We are very pleased to already be moving into a new market so soon after obtaining our ISO certification, and to be working with a local industry pioneer like Grand Casino Baden and its Jackpots.ch online brand. The newly regulated Swiss online casino space has already proven to be a great success, so we see this as just a first step in a market with a significant future.”

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SBC has finalised its autumn 2020 conference & exhibition calendar, with two new regional showpieces focusing on Africa and the CIS added to its highly popular Digital Summit series.

Meanwhile SBC’s two successful sports betting events Betting on Sports Europe and Betting on Sports America will also be transferred to the virtual environment as a response to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. 

This means the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital on 8-11 September will be followed up by SBC Digital Summit Africa (6-7 October), Betting on Sports Europe – Digital (21-22 October), SBC Digital Summit CIS (4-5 November) and Betting on Sports America – Digital (1-3 December).

Due to the continuing uncertainty around international travel and the potential risk associated with large-scale events, SBC has embraced the industry’s desire to focus on virtual rather than physical events this year. The market-leading virtual conference and exhibition series has continued to evolve since its launch in April, engaging more than 15,000 executives to date. 

As key industry shows such as G2E and ICE have been cancelled or postponed, virtual events offer our industry the opportunity to continue to learn, connect and do business.

The new events for Africa and the CIS will focus on the many emerging opportunities and unique challenges of doing business in two regions currently attracting strong interest from the international betting and gaming industry. 

The new events will use the same advanced online platform and mix of high-level content, interactive exhibition and networking roundtables that proved so successful at the global SBC Digital Summit in April, and at subsequent editions dedicated to Latin America and North America, and at CasinoBeats Malta Digital. 

SBC Digital Summit Africa takes place on 6-7 October 2020 and includes a two-day conference focusing on the future of sports betting and gaming in a region that continues to grow and develop rapidly. It will feature 75 senior executive speakers from both local and international operators already established in African markets, who will share their insight. 

This will be accompanied by a 25-booth interactive exhibition that will allow operators to view the latest industry innovations and talk business with leading suppliers in Africa, along with networking roundtables and workshops for delegates to connect with fellow attendees and build new relationships.

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder and CEO of SBC, said:

“We’re excited about the prospect of staging our first ever event dedicated specifically to the betting and gaming industry in Africa, and bringing our popular virtual conference and exhibition format to a new audience. 

“The event will provide a valuable forum for operators, affiliates and suppliers in the region to connect, share their knowledge of established and emerging markets across the continent, and identify the many business opportunities it offers.”  

SBC Digital Summit CIS, delivered in association with Sports Media Holding, is scheduled for 4 – 5 November 2020. 

In addition to a line-up of 75 senior executive speakers sharing their experiences and ideas for the CIS sports betting and gaming industry, the event will include an interactive exhibition and multiple networking opportunities.

Sojmark continued:

“At our previous events, conference sessions about opportunities in the CIS have always proved popular, so we’re delighted to be staging our first event fully dedicated to the region.  

“The CIS is a major opportunity for the international industry, with existing markets such as Georgia booming and attracting leading operators such as Paddy Power Betfair, GVC Holdings and Betsson, while major new markets are soon to open up in Ukraine and Uzbekistan. 

“However, knowledge about these markets is hard to come by and the industry network is developing quickly. We are very happy to partner with Sports Media Holding for this event, a key player in this region.”

Lasha Machavariani, Founder of the Sports Media Holding and Setanta Sports Media said:

“SBC Digital Summit CIS will be an important opportunity for senior executives from operators and suppliers with an interest in the region to connect, learn more about local markets and talk business with key players.”

SBC’s previously announced trade shows this autumn will convert into virtual events:

Betting on Sports Europe – Digital will take place on 21-22 October, with the eight-track conference attracting more than 100 speakers to debate the key topics on the European betting industry’s agenda. A range of networking sessions, roundtables and workshops will enable delegates to engage in active discussion and build new connections, while the 30-exhibitor expo floor will allow delegates to keep abreast of the latest product innovations.

The second edition of the world’s largest dedicated sports betting event, Betting on Sports America – Digital, is planned as before on 1-3 December. It features a top-notch roster of leading executives from major operators, regulators and sports organisations sharing knowledge and ideas that will shape the future of the US sports betting industry. Along with the content, there will be a wide range of opportunities to connect and talk business, including an interactive expo hall showcasing the latest innovations from leading suppliers, themed networking roundtables and workshops. 

For updated information on the new and revised events please visit our website www.sbcevents.com. For enquiries about sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, please contact sales@sbcgaming.com.

Online gaming and sports betting platform BetConstruct has partnered with igaming aggregator and content supplier Relax Gaming. 

The collaboration will see a selection of Malta-based Relax Gaming’s proprietary and third-party games, including Temple Tumble, Money Train, and Snake Arena, made available to BetConstruct’s operator network. 

Relax’s network of third-party studios includes ReelPlay, Kalamba Games, and Fantasma. 

Commenting on the deal Relax Gaming CCO, Daniel Eskola, said:

“The past few months have seen Relax continue to gain momentum and form high-value partnerships such as this deal with BetConstruct.

“We look forward to providing the company’s network of operators with an extensive portfolio of casino games that have proven to engage varied audiences and deliver results for our partners.”

While CPO of BetConstruct, Edgar Mkrtchyan, added:

“Relax Gaming’s platform not only offers an impressive selection of games but also a quick and simple integration that will undoubtedly see us rapidly enhance our online portfolio.

“We always go above and beyond to offer our customers the best online casino experience, and with this partnership we will be able to bring new and exciting content to players that will help us deliver on this commitment.”

This year Relax Gaming is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and now offers its partners a portfolio of more than 1,000 proprietary and third-party studio games through a single integration process. 

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Eastern European betting operator SuperBet Group has secured a 60% stake in online casino operator Lucky7 Ventures. 

Lucky7 was founded by Olof Örn, Magnus Petersson, and Karl Ahlberg, and launched in early 2019 – using start-up capital provided by SuperBet. The company is planning to launch a portfolio of challenger online casino brands across Europe in the coming months, and has longer term American ambitions.

SuperBet’s investment in Lucky7 comes as the company, which already has a major presence in Romania and recently entered the regulated Polish market, plans further international expansion. 

Commenting on the news Lucky7 co-founder, Olof Örn, said:

“SuperBet Group is known as the best multichannel sports betting operator in the Central and Eastern European region. We are already a strong company in terms of absolute numbers, but also product, player experience, online casino and digital marketing expertise.”

While SuperBet Group CEO, Johnny Hartnett, added:

“Lucky 7 is an acquisition that complements our current expertise well and further diversifies the SB Group across multiple geographies. It significantly boosts our online gaming revenue and brings product and marketing expertise the group will benefit from for years to come.”

Hartnett, a former Paddy Power Betfair executive, was appointed CEO of SuperBet Group in August 2019. In the same year the group also received a significant €175 million  investment from the US-based Blackstone Group hedge fund.

SuperBet reported a turnover of €2.8 billion in 2019, and was valued at approximately €700 million.

AYO.NEWS says:

With homegrown gaming behemoths already rising in the North and South American markets, European operators who want in on the action are realising they need to muster serious resources, so we expect to see plenty more merger and acquisition activity over the coming months. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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