Hard Rock Atlantic City’s partnership with online casino platform provider Gaming Innovation Group has yet to launch, but GiG is eyeing the future and its potential in the NJ online gambling market.
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Welcome to PlayPA‘s occasional Slack chat on topics in the online gambling world, with insight from Jessica Welman, Chris Grove, Dustin Gouker and Steve Ruddock.
This week we focus on all the news around regulation of online gambling in the state.
dustin: So, we’re now seeing the rubber meet the road for Pennsylvania online casinos. Current licensees can petition for an online gambling certificate now. Platform and game providers are on deck.
Here’s the problem: Pennsylvania is choosing to ignore just about all of the lessons from the extremely successful NJ online casino industry. What’s the biggest problem we’ve seen come out of regulations so far?
jess: I think the first issue about skins was one the average PA person could understand. How it works, why it is an issue. In layman’s terms, what is the major issue that is holding up skins now?
chris: Just a ton of ambiguity in the law itself and in the temporary regulations that have been issued (and sort-of-clarified) in the last few weeks. There are a number of ways you can read it all, so the end result is no one is totally clear on how skins are going to work.
What we do know is that there will be some ability for the key license holders to offer skins. We also know that there will need to be a closer connection between the skin and the license holder than we see in New Jersey. Otherwise, it feels like a lot is still up in the air.
jess: With that, I know some people don’t love the separated accounts. From a customer perspective though, doesn’t having a single account for multiple skins seem like a good thing on the surface?
chris: Customers would probably love just having one sign on for every online gambling site in the world (I would, anyhow). The issues come in when you start thinking about how to regulate that (Pennsylvania would be doing a lot of work from scratch).
Then you also have real questions about who “owns” the customer. If a skin feels like they’re just renting a customer from the license holder, there’s not going to be a lot of incentive to invest in marketing or product (or maybe even to operate a skin in the first place).
Finally, there are some legitimate questions about account security and privacy. If a player’s sensitive data has to keep getting bounced back and forth between the license holder and the skin, that’s a lot of additional exposure for the player.
jess: So the idea isn’t really the problem, it is in the execution?
chris: I think it’s both. There are definitely problems with execution, but the idea of a customer having a “master account” across other sites is one with its own inherent pitfalls.
steve: I think the commentary so far is pretty spot on. As Chris pointed out, the PGCB has taken two cracks at setting the requirements for skins (temporary regulations followed by an explanatory package), but it has yet to speak plainly and decisively on the matter. All we’ve gotten is two rounds of gobbledygook, creating something gaming companies avoid like the plague… uncertainty.
Unless skins have a great deal of autonomy when it comes to the promotions and rewards programs they can offer, there are scant few reasons for a customer to sign up and play at a skin instead of the main license holder, who just so happens get free advertising from every one of their skins thanks to the brand association requirements.
New Jersey and other markets around the globe have shown that you lose customers with each additional step in the registration process. The same rationale can likely be applied to skins in Pennsylvania. Why is a customer going to click through to a subpage to download the same software that they’re being prompted to download on the main page?
These regulations can be interpreted multiple ways. But a hardliner reading is the equivalent of someone walking into a pizza parlor that has a door to a nearly identical pizza parlor inside it. In fact, the second pizza parlor clearly states its pizza is made by the pizza parlor the customer is currently standing in. So why are they going to walk the additional 300 feet?
dustin: Now I want a pizza. What about the account stuff?
steve: The so-called “master account” is an even bigger head-scratcher.
If it works like we think it works (and who knows if that’s the case), who does own the customer that signs up at landbasedcasino.com but now plays almost exclusively on skinnumberone.com?
At the end of the day, I’d like to know why the PGCB has decided to create a radical new, untested skin model.
dustin: As Steve has written before and Chris has opined, we have a totally viable and successful market operating in New Jersey. Why Pennsylvania is trying to reinvent the wheel is a mystery. Well, it’s probably not a mystery, we know some casino operators (ahem Parx and Hollywood Penn National) have been trying to limit how skins can operate for a while.
This seems pretty self-defeating for them, and for the regulators trying to create both a safe and successful market. Anyway, with everything we’ve seen, in a worst case, how much impact do we think all of this could have on PA online casinos’ ceiling from a potential revenue standpoint?
steve: I have little doubt it will negatively impact the market. How much really depends on the official policy that is hopefully coming in short order. Even if the PGCB softens on some of the requirements, companies that would have shown interest in PA will stay out of the state. More worrisome, if PA does take a hardline approach, we may not see any skins at all, and that would be bad for land-based operators, consumers and the state.
chris: I think the tax rate is going to have a bigger impact. But the one-two of the high tax rate and no skins has an impact that is greater than the sum of its parts. Skins are a way for license holders to distribute some of the risk that the high tax rate brings. In the absence of that hedge, license holders may well end up being more cautious with their own product and marketing investments, which is a clear negative for the state.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that Pennsylvania is setting itself up to perform below New Jersey on a per capita basis.
jess: Chris mentioned the tax rates. We all observed how high and problematic they were in October when the bill passed, but I know several people held out hope that the state would come around on tax rates. Given what is going on with skins, is a change in tax rates just a pipe dream at this point?
dustin: Seems pretty unlikely we’re gonna see the legislature go into the tax rates until they see some sort of evidence that they are holding back the market. It took years to even get an online gambling law on the books, so expecting them to lower the tax rate before the industry even starts is pretty unlikely.
And even in the near term, they would have to be presented with overwhelming evidence that the tax rate is holding things back. Might that evidence manifest itself quickly? Sure. But counting on a lower tax rate any time soon is difficult to see.
jess: Thinking ahead though, at what point do all of these decisions negatively impact the industry to the point it is considered a failure? Are we still really far out from that?
dustin: Until the rubber actually meets the road and we have casinos saying they are offering online gambling/poker, and then the market actually rolls out, it’s going to be a bit hard to say. I don’t know if all of this will lead to it being called a “failure” but it’s certainly not going to reach its potential.
jess: And correct me if I am wrong, but there are two issues we are talking about here that could negatively impact PA participation. The first is the tax rate, which might be considered too high for some properties to enter the market.
The second is that these convoluted skins laws are going to potentially deter outside participants from getting into PA as a skin?
steve: The tax rate won’t be touched in the near-term. The most obvious reason is that PA is starting from $0 in online gaming revenue, so any revenue is going to be welcome. Second, it took NJ online operators a year to really gets their feet under them, so I doubt the PA legislature will look at the revenue coming in 12 months from now and hit the panic button.
And we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that PA was told the same thing 15 years ago when it imposed a 54 percent tax on land-based slots. Despite the high rate, in the ensuing years, it’s become the second largest gaming market in terms of revenue.
The post What The Heck Is Pennsylvania Doing When It Comes To Online Casino Regulation? appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.
First quarter revenues were down at one of Southern Nevada’s Big Six casino companies and the rebuilding and re-branding of one of its Las Vegas Strip properties may be to blame. MGM Resorts International reported net revenues of $2.1 billion on its first quarter earnings call last week. A number that was down one percent from the same period last year.
In fact, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren said the companies Las Vegas Strip revenues were actually down two percent compared to the first quarter of 2017.
MGM did manage to do better than the three to five percent drop it projected in its fourth-quarter earnings call. However, Murren said matching 2017’s numbers was impossible because of issues surrounding the ongoing rebuilding and re-branding of MGM’s Monte Carlo property into Park MGM.
Murren said the project has been unlike anything MGM has done before and the organization completely underestimated the financial impact it would cause:
“It’s worth noting we’ve never undertaken anything like this before, and when it’s all said and done we will have literally changed every square inch of the property while keeping it open.”
According to Murren, the major issues at the new Park MGM have been a lack of vehicle access to the main entrance and direct pedestrian access from the Las Vegas Strip during the rebuild:
“It’s kind of a tough thing when you go to a resort and can’t drive up to the front door.”
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Murren added that MGM has also lowered expectations for the second quarter of the year.
This, as the Park MGM project continues and the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin boxing match scheduled for next month at T-Mobile Arena has been canceled. Plus, Las Vegas tourism continues to recover slowly following the mass shootings outside Mandalay Bay on October 1, 2017.
Southern Nevada’s Big Six casino companies also include:
Earnings have been down at most of the companies’ Las Vegas properties for a variety of reasons, including the slow rebound in tourism after the mass shootings.
However, Murren said the decrease in revenue at MGM is isolated to the factors he described. As a result, they should start turning around by the end of the year.
In fact, he said the switch from Monte Carlo to Park MGM should be completed in December 2018. In turn, that will improve the outlook for 2019 substantially:
“It’s looking now like its more intended final product. We are finally coming to the completion on that at the end of this year.”
According to Murren, 90 percent of the rooms are already finished at Park MGM. Plus, amenities including restaurants and the sports book are already performing well:
“When we do release things to the public, we are seeing very high returns. It’s just been brutal in this process.”
The post MGM Resorts Revenue Hurting Thanks To Casino With No Front Door appeared first on Play Nevada.
During an earnings call this week, Caesars Entertainment said it expects Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino (both opening this summer) to cost them $40 million over the final six months of the year.
The post Caesars: Two New Casinos In Atlantic City Will Take A Big Bite Of Our Revenue appeared first on Play NJ.
Pennsylvania’s gaming industry is marching ambitiously into a new era. About six months after the state approved a sweeping expansion package, the first regulated platforms are beginning to come to market.
The PA Lottery launched Keno this week, making the electronic game available in hundreds of bars and retail outlets. It’s also prepared to add virtual sports betting and an online lottery app in the coming months. Online casino games will follow shortly thereafter, and sports betting might even be available soon.
Daily fantasy sports is newly regulated in Pennsylvania, as well. Sites like DraftKings and FanDuel have been serving the state for years, but operations are now under the oversight of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
Last week, the PGCB published temporary DFS regulations to establish an early framework for oversight. Though not final, they are comprehensive.
Some of the specifics include:
The regulations define a “highly experienced player” as one who has entered more than 1,000 contests or won $1,000 or more at least three times.
Applicants pay $50,000 for a five-year license, and renewal costs $10,000. Unless otherwise prohibited, operators with pending applications are permitted to offer their products in the meantime. Revenue generated by PA players will be taxed at a rate of 15 percent.
The minimum age for Pennsylvania DFS players is 18 for online play and 21 for brick-and-mortar contests.
So far there are eight DFS outfits that have applied for PA licenses:
Some of these applications are already on file, and some are included based on confirmation from industry sources.
Yahoo DFS is not on the list yet, but it’d be a surprise if that remains the case for long. The same can be said for EagleStrike, which operates a large network of DFS kiosks in the region. While some states have prohibited these kiosks, PA will welcome EagleStrike if it decides to swoop in.
FastPick is on the list, and it’s an interesting inclusion. The in-house product of Resorts Atlantic City is set to cross state lines to serve the PA market.
DRAFT is now a division of Paddy Power Betfair, which has a presence in nearly every gaming market and vertical. The group already offers DFS in Pennsylvania, and it intends to explore online gambling and sports betting in due time. Both DRAFT and NY-based Boom Fantasy offer newer, non-traditional variants of DFS.
Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) and Sports Hub are the wildcards, both relatively unknown in the space. FFPC is a paid, season-long product that offers contests across a tall range of stakes. It’s actually been around since 2008, based on an idea formulated several years earlier. Sports Hub is brand new, apparently close to debuting its proprietary platform.
And, of course, it’s no surprise to see industry leaders DraftKings and FanDuel at the front of the line.
From the players’ standpoint, not much will change in the DFS landscape. The major sites already serve the state, customers already play the games, and both of those things will continue as before. Now, though, there are additional safeguards in place to protect customers and their funds.
Operators have a long list of new rules they must adhere to, but that won’t really change much, either. Proposed regulations fall in line with those in many other states, and sites have been complying with those for years. They will, however, have to file tax returns with the state of Pennsylvania going forward.
That’s really the only change. The state will now receive a direct share of the revenue generated from paid-entry fantasy sports contests. Some analysts estimate that about 65,000 Pennsylvanians will participate, projecting $7.5 million in annual revenue for the state.
It’s not a ton of money, mind you, but it is essentially free money found between the couch cushions.
The post Eight Platforms Apply For New PA DFS Licenses, Including FanDuel And DraftKings appeared first on Play Pennsylvania.
Atlantic City is all sunshine and roses as it heads into the summer with Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino opening, but the two new NJ casinos are not the sole reason for AC’s economic recovery.
The post Atlantic City’s Optimistic Outlook Is Based On More Than Two New Casinos appeared first on .
For the first time in what seems like a long time, big-time poker players had a big-time choice when it came to where to play this week.
For the most part, major poker tours around the world have steered clear of one another in what has been a decade of unprecedented growth. Each clearly saw the benefits of scheduling events around, rather than against, each other. Each knew they were ultimately trying to attract the same group of players.
They knew forcing those players to choose between them would only hurt them all. They knew competing for space on the calendar would only result in smaller fields and smaller prize pools. The kind of things that can have a major effect on an event and tour’s overall marketability.
The smaller, more intimate poker tournament is a tough sell in a community where everyone is trying to maximize personal earning potential.
As they grew into the powerful entities they are today, the World Poker Tour and PokerStars’ European Poker Tour always left the end of May to the middle of July to the World Series of Poker. With much of the poker world descending upon Las Vegas, Nevada for the six-week duration of the series, it’s a move that made sense for all sorts of reasons. Not the least of which was the fact any event running at the same time as the WSOP outside of Vegas is bound to be an epic failure.
However, the cease-fire in the war for poker tour supremacy extended to the rest of the year as well. The WPT, EPT, and smaller upstart tours looking to compete with them often visit the same locations around the world. Obviously, they do so on different dates. Most also make stops in places that appear to be their exclusive domain. However, they always seemed to make sure to schedule these events in weeks where the other tours were dark. It was an effort to maximize potential attendance at each and it worked.
Tour and event organizers may not have sat down and figured it all out on the calendar together. It was always more of an informal thing. However, they always seemed to respect one another enough to play nice and figure out a way to split up the poker pie in a fair an equitable manner for all involved.
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Visit WSOP NJPlayers certainly benefited from this understanding between them. The calendar was filled with high-stakes poker action around the globe. The tours didn’t seem to be competing with one another on that calendar very often. So, players could be assured events were maximizing attendance. In turn, this maximized each players’ earning potential no matter where they went.
Players had choices. However, the choice was to go or not to go, rather than to play here or there.
Unfortunately, all that went out the window this week.
As the calendar turned from April to May, the WPT kicked off its $10,000 Bellagio Elite Poker Championship event at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the EPT was in the middle of its 2018 PokerStars and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT €5,300 Main Event in Monaco.
Plus, the 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS North America $5,300 Main Event was going on at the Playground Poker Club in Montreal, Canada.
Running these events against one another had to hurt them all. The partypoker event in Montreal drew 1,954 entries, the most of all three tournaments. However, it wasn’t enough to cover the event’s ambitious $10 million guarantee without dipping into the fees.
The EPT in Monte Carlo drew 777 entries, creating a €3,768,450 prize pool. That was a bit more than the 727 entries and €3,525,950 prize pool the 2017 PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo event posted last year. However, it pales in comparison to the 1,098 entries and €5,325,300 prize pool put together the last time the EPT was in Monaco in 2016.
Finally, the WPT drew just 126 entries to it’s Las Vegas event, creating a $1,222,200 prize pool. In comparison, the last time the WPT held a $10,000 buy-in event in Las Vegas was its WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December 2017. It was held at a time when there was little else going on in the world of high-stakes tournament poker and drew 812 players, creating a $7,876,400 prize pool.
A new era has been ushered in for poker tours around the globe. EPT founder John Duthie is now running the show at partypoker. He criticizes PokerStars every chance he gets. Plus, he seems hell-bent on ending that organization’s dominance of the live tournament circuit. Even if that means going heads-up with them on the tournament calendar.
In the meantime, it seems PokerStars and the WPT have spent the past couple of seasons throwing every marketing idea they’ve ever had at the wall to see what sticks. It smacks of a desperate effort to hold on to market share. Unfortunately, several of these ideas haven’t worked out as planned. Particularly the ones that have involved competing on the calendar with other tours.
Clearly, the cease-fire in the war for poker tour supremacy has ended. The tours are going up against each other in a way they rarely have before. Now, players have new choices. The battle is back is on. And it will ultimately be up to those same players to decide who wins it.
The post The Poker Tour War For Superiority Is Hurting, Not Helping appeared first on Play USA.
It is that time of year when poker players around the world start planning for their yearly pilgrimage to the Las Vegas, Nevada desert.
This year the World Series of Poker is bigger and better than ever.
It has more events (78), bigger buy-ins (the $1 million One Drop is back), and it has more online opportunities for gold (four).
With so much poker scheduled, players are looking for ways to make their bankroll go farther.
USPoker.com and WSOP.com are here to help.
USPoker.com has teamed up with the WSOP to offer a $2 buy-in satellite tournament that can end with a player sporting a new bracelet.
The winner will earn a tournament ticket to WSOP Event #10: $365 Online No-Limit Hold’em.
Event #10 is just one of four online events scheduled throughout the summer. This year, players in Nevada and New Jersey can battle each other on the virtual felt for a place in the WSOP record books.
The $2 satellite tournament is open only to players in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. This password-protected event kicks off on May 26, 2018, at 3:30 p.m. (PST). Enter the password USP365 to join the fun.
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On May 1, regulated online poker in the U.S. took a huge step forward. Online poker players from Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware are now part of a unified player pool.
Six online poker rooms make up the combined network of WSOP and 888poker sites across the three sites. Players in Nevada and Delaware will need to download the new software and create a new account for access to the combined player pool. Players can access current accounts through July 31.
To encourage players to sign-up and login, WSOP.com is promoting the following:
Thanks to a combined player pool, for the first time in WSOP history New Jersey players will be able to participate in one of four online bracelet events from the comfort of their own home.
The WSOP.com online bracelet event schedule:
*All times are PT
WSOP online bracelet events last one day and can be played simultaneously while playing live on site at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, the home of the WSOP.
May 29 is the happiest day of the year for many poker players. It’s the day the WSOP opens its doors.
Nothing compares to walking through the doors into the massive Pavilion room to sounds of chips shuffling for the first time.
It will be an even more exciting summer now that players in New Jersey will have the opportunity to play for gold – even if they can’t make it to Las Vegas.
Knowing that money is tight, WSOP is making it easier for online poker players to play their way to gold. Beginning May 1, depositing or re-depositing on WSOP.com can provide a significant boost to a player’s bankroll.
Make an initial deposit or reload your account up to $1,000 using the code MAY1000 and WSOP.com will match it. You can find the fine print and all the details at WSOP.com.
Before you head over there, mark your calendar for May 26 at 3:30 p.m. Buy in for $2 and enter the password USP365 to put a gold bracelet within your reach!
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