Portnoy raises prospect of Barstool departure
Portnoy raises prospect of Barstool departureBarstool founder talks potential exit, The week that was, XLMedia shares tumble, Analyst takes, Sector watch – AI +MoreGood morning. On the Weekender agenda:
Portnoy sagaBarstool founder’s latest comments follow Ben Mintz sacking storm. Exit interview: Talking on the Kirk Minihane Show earlier this week, Barstool’s Dave Portnoy suggested he might not take up a contract extension with owner Penn Entertainment. The comments come weeks after Portnoy made plain his frustrations at having to toe the corporate line on the sacking of Barstool influencer Ben Mintz.
Controversialist: Portnoy has effectively become the lightning rod for Barstool, at the center of various scandals and seemingly willing to use social media to air his grievances. The most recent furore saw him cite regulatory concerns for Penn as the reason behind the sacking of Mintz for using a racial epithet on air.
** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE** BettingJobs is the global leading recruitment solutions provider to the iGaming, Sports Betting and Lotteries sectors. Boasting a 20-year track record supporting the iGaming industry, and with a team of experts and world class knowledge, it’s no surprise BettingJobs is experiencing rapid growth with outstanding results. Does your company have plans to expand teams to cope with strong growth and demand? Contact BettingJobs.com today where their dedicated team members will help you find exactly what you are looking for. ICYMIIn Compliance+More this week, developments with iCasino in France was the top story yesterday where the ruling party has set out plans for a five-year moratorium that would exclude all but ‘national actors’. In Earnings+More on Wednesday, reports suggested Kindred’s strategic review process has come to the conclusion that a sale of the business is the best option.
In Sharpr this week, Australian authorities have rolled back the years to have a pop at skin gambling via the banning of the CSGORoll site. And on the Gambling Files podcast, in the week that the latest attempt at getting OSB legalized in Texas came to nothing, Jon talks to The Texas Tribune journo Patrick Svitek. Coming up: Next week will see the release of the debut issue of Los Ingresos+Mas, the new Spanish-language, Latin America-facing newsletter from the +More Media stable. Sign up here. Earnings in briefBet-at-home: The operator continued to struggle in Germany with revenue falling 5% YoY to €13.3m. However, it returned to EBITDA profitability of €1.8m after a loss of €1.4m last year, helped by restructuring programmes that have cut staff costs by over 40%. Marketing activity was also curtailed, down 22% YoY.
Opap: Revenue for the quarter came in at €527m, up 15%, while EBITDA rose 16% to €196m. Over the period, Opap released a revamped online sportsbook proposition as well as a new iLottery platform, which it said strengthened its online footprint. NorthStar Gaming: The Ontario-based operator saw sequential growth of 8% as GGR came in at C$4m. Earlier this month, the company completed its acquisition of Slapshot Media, the iGaming marketing and managed services provider, with the aim of opening up the rest of the Canadian market to NorthStar. XLMedia: The gaming affiliate provider has warned that revenues in H1 will “inevitably” come in below H122 levels, which had benefited from last year’s OSB launch in New York. The company noted that levels of operator acquisition spend in H1 was “not comparable” to last year, with less generous promotions available to attract new customers.
👀 XLMedia shares down nearly 17% in early trading Analyst takesRegional gaming outlook: The team at JMP have suggested that with GGR growth decelerating every month in 2023 so far, the likelihood is that growth will “remain muted” for the rest of this year.
Better Collective: Analysts at Redeye said the growth outlook remains positive for the affiliate giant, following its solid Q1. Despite the seasonally slower Q2, the period started strongly, with April up 40% YoY with revenues of €27m, the analysts noted.
Sector watch – AIArtificial Intelligence has gone mainstream – and the gaming sector is playing catch up. Boss of me: The International Gaming Standards Association (IGSA) isn’t waiting to find out who will set the rules on AI, and believes that self-regulation is healthier than legislation. The lobby group recently formed a non-technical committee to monitor ethical use of AI across the industry and ensure players are treated fairly by algorithms.
Chat me up: The measure comes as AI moves up the news agenda, with the developers warning that the technology needs guardrails. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently told Congress it’s “time to start setting limits on powerful AI systems”.
Everyone’s a winner: There appear few boundaries in what generative AI can achieve, particularly in gaming where every facet of the industry stands to benefit from LLM breakthroughs. Customer service chatbots, player behavior analytics, casino surveillance, to intelligent tools themselves used by punters to gain an edge, everyone stands to gain something.
** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** Tried, tested and proven over a decade in the highly-regulated US market, and continuing to expand across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. GeoComply harnesses the power of its market-leading geolocation technology to protect against fraud, including fake account creations, bonus abuse, account takeovers, stolen identities, money laundering, and more. Visit geocomply.com. What we’re readingCirca has a new sportsbook director but the same sharp model. NewslinesFanatics has launched an invitation-only, beta-testing mobile sportsbook app in Massachusetts. Conifer Management has emerged as a near-10% shareholder in Catena Media. Recall, rival Better Collective also owns a near-10% stake. The Dutch government says it is reviewing its options with regard to a potential sale of the state-owned Holland National Lottery. Calendar
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