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Global Gaming Business Magazine GGB April 2024 •Vol. 23 •No. 4 •$10 Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers SPORTS BETTING CONSOLIDATION AIAND THE PERSONAL TOUCH SAHARA’S PAUL HOBSON IGT &EVERI Station Casinos’ new Durango exceeds expectations All Sorts of Sports Las Vegas becomes the center of a new universe SLOT Search Game studios and online gamingVol. 23 • No. 4 COLUMNS CONTENTS 10 Gaming’s Record Year 12 Little Giants 4 6 8 13 32 38 42 44 48 53 54 DEPARTMENTS ap ril 3 COVER STORY Global Gaming Business Magazine FEATURES 28 Sports Betting Boom 34 The AI Conundrum 46 Monumental Merger 51 Best of the Slots APRIL 2024 www.ggbmagazine.com 14 Online Success 24 Sporting Vegas 4 Vol. 23 • No. 4 • APRIL 2024 Roger Gros, Publisher | rgros@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @GlobalGamingBiz Frank Legato, Editor |flegato@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @FranklySpeakn Jess Marquez, Managing Editor jmarquez@ggbmagazine.com Monica Cooley, Art Director mcooley@ggbmagazine.com Terri Brady, Sales & Marketing Director tbrady@ggbmagazine.com Beck Kingman-Gros, Associate Publisher & COO bkingros@ggbmagazine.com Lisa Johnson, Communications Advisor lisa@lisajohnsoncommunications.com twitter: @LisaJohnsonPR Columnists Frank Fantini |Anton Severin Contributing Editors Brendan D. Bussmann | Jack Goodin Marjorie Preston | Bill Sokolic _______________ • • • • • • • • • • • • • Official Publication B y now, many of you will have heard the news that Clarion Gaming has purchased the assets of Casino Connection International, namely Global Gaming Business(GGB) Magazine and its three annual supplements—Casino Style, Tribal Government Gaming and Progressive Products Preview(P3)—as well as its online assets including GGB News. For me, it’s the end of a long journey. As I approached my 70th year on this planet—I turned 73 last month—I realized that I needed an exit strategy to ensure the company and the GGBbrand would survive and thrive beyond my day-to-day involvement. My health scare last year made it even more imperative. We talked to several potential suitors but I had three condi- tions that had to be fulfilled before I’d pull that trigger. First, I wanted to partner with a company that had the same level of integrity, transparency and commitment to the gaming industry as we did at GGB. Over the last 22 years, GGBbecame the voice of the industry, but not its mouthpiece. We try to focus on the health of the industry, and that sometimes gives us a different view- point than some other publishers. Responsible gaming has been a cornerstone of our business from the start. Before GGB, I covered that issue extensively with my previous publication. I attended the very first conference put on by the International (then National) Center for Responsible Gaming. We’re proud to have emphasized RG and the advancements that have been made in the field. In September, the American Gaming Association’s Responsible Gaming Month, we use our GGB News Daily Update to promote all the dif- ferent viewpoints of RG by the experts in the field. We’re also proud to have pointed out the hypocriti- cal stance of some in the industry when it comes to smoking bans. How can you say you have the best inter- ests of your employees and your guests in mind if you still advocate for smoking on the casino floor? So we wanted to partner with a company whose val- ues aligned with ours, and we got that with Clarion Gaming. Second, we have always taken the “Global” in Global Gaming Businessseriously. Our very first issue in 2002 was dedicated to gaming in the Caribbean, an often over- looked area of the industry. The second reviewed the state of gaming in Europe. And the following year, I attended the opening of the Venetian on my first of many trips to Macau to cover the burgeoning Asian gam- ing industry. But at our roots, we’re an American publication whose strength is our relationship with the operators and manufacturers in North America. So our relationship with Clarion Gaming and its flagship publication, iGaming Business, fulfills that goal of further interna- tionalization as well as a deeper dive into the iGaming industry, while augmenting Clarion’s U.S. presence. Third, I wanted to ensure that our staff remains intact. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more loyal and dedicated group of employees. They proved during my absence last year that they were quite capable, and essentially ran the business without me when I was out of commission for several months. They are some of the most respected journalists, individuals and artists in the industry. Frank Legato is a slot legend and knows more about the technology side of the business than any other journalist. Our young managing editor Jess Marquez has blazed a trail and become very knowledge- able about everything gaming. Art Director Monica Cooley is responsible for the attractive and easy-to-read way the magazines are laid out. Sales and Marketing Director Terri Brady is beloved by her clients. Her experience on the supplier side before joining GGBgives her credibility that is hard to match. And of course, my wife, COO Beck Kingman-Gros, ties all the pieces together financially and operationally, and without her guiding us through the rough waters of the pandemic—and my illness—we may have followed several of our former competitors who didn’t make it. When combined with Clarion Gaming’s amazing team led by Alex Pratt, Sophie Webster, Richard (Dickie) Linn and Robin Harrison, there will be no company that can surpass the expertise and level of pro- fessionalism that is the new Clarion Gaming group. I’d be remiss to not mention some of the journal- ists who contributed along the way. The late Dave Palermo was a legend in Indian Country. Marjorie Preston has been part of our team for most of our his- tory and always steps in with her elegant prose. And our late webmaster, Rob Rossiello, is sorely missed. As for myself, I’m not going anywhere for a while. I’ll be guiding the company for the next year and then consulting for Clarion Gaming to ensure that we con- tinue to raise the profile of GGBand iGBas we move forward. So thanks to everyone who made this possible— including our original investors who put their faith in me—and join us for the next chapter of GGB. Now Clarion Gaming and GGBare one. And the sky’s the limit. Power Trio BY ROGER GROS, PUBLISHER Global Gaming Business APRIL 2024 GGB THEAGENDA Fee Fi Fo Fum. You know all the stories. Giants are notoriously hungry. We get it. Our agency may have the deepest bench of talent in the industry, but we’re never satisfied. Hungry to learn more. Hungry to compete. Hungry to create the next big thing. Hungry to find an edge. And this is why our clients win. Join us at goodgiant.com6 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2024 The Highest Stakes for the Biggest Game T he outcome of this year’s Super Bowl—a hard-fought 25-22 victory for the now three-time champion Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers—was of great interest for many mil- lions of people, including general football fans, hardcore bettors and, perhaps most of all, the bookmakers whose year-end performance was tied largely to the pay- outs of various lines. In addition to their own data, how- ever, those around the industry were also shocked to see recent research released by black market cognoscenti Yield Sec, whose analysis asserted that the total value of ille- gal bets placed on the game was $4 bil- lion, as compared to just $1.4 billion for the legal, regulated market. According to the study, which was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, there were approximately 350 million total bets placed on the contest, with 122 million going to the legal market and 228 million going to its illegal counterpart. These figures, Yield Sec BYTHENUMBERS said, were a significant increase from last year’s game (also a Chiefs victory), which reportedly tallied 286 million total bets (186 million illegal versus 100 million legal) at a total value of $4.5 billion ($3.4 billion illegal versus $1.1 billion). T his year’s editions of Clarion Gaming’s ICE and iGB Affiliate shows were the last to take place in London, and the newly released data confirmed what many expected to be a record- breaking sendoff before things pack up and head to Barcelona starting next January. Overall, both shows garnered a total of 52,345 attendees— ICE’s total of 45,050 visitors and iGB Affilitate’s mark of 7,295 both set new records, and represented year-over-year increases of 12 percent and 27 percent, respectively. According to Portfolio Director Naomi Barton, iGB Affiliate had an especially strong showing in relation to previous years— the number of exhibitors and sponsors came in at 250, an 11 per- cent year-over-year increase, and the total occupancy was 13,647 square meters, a 16 percent bump from last year. In terms of attendance diversity, the shows attracted visitors from a total of 164 nations. Aside from host country U.K., the next largest international demographics were, in order: Malta (3,364 visitors), United States (1,913), Bulgaria (1,659), Cyprus (1,658), Spain (1,483), Germany (1,235) and Brazil (1,134). SUPERBOWL 2024 ICE ATTENDANCE 2024©2024 PlayAGS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All ® notices signify marks registered in the United States. All ™ and ℠ notices signify unregistered trademarks. PlayAGS.com8 Global Gaming Business APRIL 2024 CALENDAR “TheyIt” 5QUESTIONS May 7-9: SBC Summit North America , Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey. Produced by SBC Events. For more information, visit sbcevents.com. May 21-23: CasinoBeats Summit 2024, InterContinental Malta, St. Julian’s, Malta. Produced by SBC Events. For more information, visit sbcevents.com. June 3-5: SiGMA Asia , SMX Convention Center, Manila, Philippines. Produced by SiGMA Group. For more information, visit sigma.world. June 4-6: G2E Asia 2024 , The Venetian Macao, Macau, SAR. Produced by RX and the American Gaming Association. For more information, visit g2easia.com. June 18-20: Canadian Gaming Summit , Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada. Produced by SBC Events. For more information, visit sbcevents.com. July 16-19: iGB L!VE 2024 , RAI Amsterdam, Netherlands. Produced by Clarion Gaming. For more information, visit igblive.com. August 12-14: Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) Conference and Tradeshow , Oklahoma City Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Produced by OIGA. For more information, visit oiga.org. October 7-10: Global Gaming Expo (G2E), The Venetian Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada. Produced by RX and the American Gaming Association. For more information, visit globalgamingexpo.com. T he Great Britain Gambling Commission controls every aspect of the gaming business in the U.K (Ireland has a separate commission). Tim Miller, it’s executive director of research, spoke about the complex process of overseeing such a diverse industry when he spoke with GGBPublisher Roger Gros at the ICE trade show and conference in London in February. For a full video and audio version of the interview, visit GGBMagazine.com. GGB: Can you give us a scope of what the UK Gambling Commission regulates and how you oversee it? Miller: We have a really broad jurisdiction, so we are the single regulator for all gambling in Britain. That’s online, land-based, lottery, and racetracks. We obviously have a really broad, diverse industry. You just released details on the gross gambling yield, which is also called gross gaming revenue in some other jurisdictions. Explain what happened with this year’s gross gam- bling yield and how it compares to previous years. The most recent set of figures was ₤ 15.1 billion in the second quarter, which, for a country the size of the U.K., is quite significant, and is indeed a record level of GY. So I think it shows that actually the gambling industry here is pretty resilient, despite the challenges that came from the pandemic. We have seen good ex- amples of recovery, though we’re not blind to the fact that there are parts of the industry that still struggle. We noticed that when you looked at the actual premises where people gamble that’s still down over 18 percent from pre-pandemic levels. What do you think the reason for that is? I think there are a couple of reasons. One is that during the pandemic, we saw generally consumer behaviors change—not just in gambling, but if you look across the board, online shopping, for example, fewer people go to supermarkets than they used to. The pandemic just changed the way we all act as consumers. And I think you’ve seen some of that in gambling—a bit of channel shift going to online gambling. I think it’s indicative as well that in the U.K., we have a healthy, vibrant gambling market where you can choose different products, dif- ferent channels to gamble. So consumers had lots of different choices, and they have been exercising that choice. You also just recently released a report on the gambling funds raised for good causes. Can you explain what good causes are? The two areas this comes through: One is in terms of the National Lottery. A lot of good causes are sup- ported by our National Lottery. It was the reason the government set up the lottery in the early ’90s—to generate funds for good causes. We see a whole range of good causes benefiting from local community products to things like our Olympic athletes. The reason Britain has had some real success in the Olympics over recent years has been in large part due to good-cause money from lotteries. Similarly, we expect gambling companies to provide a voluntary contribution to support research, edu- cation, and treatment services. That’s something that’s undergoing a period of reform at the moment. The government is bringing in a statutory levy to fund those services in the future. But it’s just another example of where a range of different good causes do receive money from the gambling industry. How do you do research into problem gambling in the U.K., and how does it compare with other countries? We have a wide range of ways we do it. One of the important roles that we have in terms of being a regula- tor is we are the official statistics body on behalf of the British government. So we carry out surveys to meas- ure participation rates and the rate of problem gambling. And actually, it’s a really important time for us in this. We are in the process of rolling out a brand-new approach to doing that which will shortly be going live, known as the Gambling Survey of Great Britain. It will be the biggest survey of its kind anywhere in the world. When it’s fully operational, we’ll be surveying around 20,000 consumers a year, and that gives us a really comprehensive picture of what people are gambling on, what levels of harm and what types of harm that we’re seeing. And that gives us a really strong evidence base to inform our regulation. 1 2 3 4 5 Tim MillerNext >