The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has paid tribute to the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars with a special new update in the video game MLB The Show 22.
Working alongside Major League Baseball (MLB), OLG has helped to immortalize the first all-black team to win an Ontario Baseball Association Championship.
Players can search the video game’s Logo Vault and Player Vault to find the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars as one of the playable teams in the game.
As part of this addition look-a-like recreations have been made of the team’s players, home baseball field, uniform and artifacts from archival materials from Chatham Kent Black Historical Society.
“OLG is extremely proud to be part of this effort with our MLB partners, to shine a spotlight on historical figures in our province who broke barriers and contributed to the betterment of our communities,” said Duncan Hannay, OLG’s President and CEO.
“The Chatham Coloured All-Stars showed the world what it means to persevere in the face of adversity.
“It is an honour to help keep the team’s memory alive by introducing their story to as many people as possible including a new generation of baseball fans. It’s part of OLG’s commitment to giving back to Ontario.”
OLG is also showcasing the Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ legacy through a short film featuring the descendants of the legendary players, providing an overview of the team’s history and the players’ perseverance through racism and other challenges of that era.
Chatham-area residents will also get a front row seat at the Field of Honor Charity baseball game on September 24 at Fergie Jenkins Field in Chatham.
“The Field of Honour is such an important event that we hold in our hometown of Chatham,” added Dorothy Wallace, President of the Chatham Kent Black Historical Society.
“We honour the men who played throughout all the seasons with the Chatham Coloured All-Stars on that day and get their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. to come honour their ancestors on the baseball diamond.
“At the root of it, we are hoping to further share the story of the Chatham Coloured All-Stars and get the recognition they deserve.
“We are beyond thankful to all our supporters and so grateful to OLG and MLB for the project they will be sharing at this year’s game.”
Additionally, OLG has presented Chatham Kent Black Historical Society with a special cheque of $25,000.
Loto-Québec President and CEO Jean–François Bergeron has noted his pleasure with the lottery’s first quarter of trading, as total revenues and net income exceeded its pre-pandemic comparatives.
Publishing its Q1 trading report for FY2022/23, Loto-Québec noted that total revenues stood at $744.3m and reported a consolidated net income of $446.6m.
Representing an 85% and 128.1% increase year-over-year respectively, Bergeron was ‘pleased’ with the corporation’s total performance as sales and profitability vastly improved.
He commented: “We’re pleased with our first-quarter results. We’ve exceeded our pre-pandemic levels and are in an excellent position due to tight spending controls, which can be challenging in times of high inflation such as these. These achievements are a result of the remarkable work put in by all our teams.”
Despite this, Loto-Québec disclosed lottery revenues of $256.6m, down $19.2m or 7% from the first quarter of the previous year.
The lottery noted that this was primarily attributed to a decline in sales of Lotto Max. which had ‘exceptional’ comparatives with its run in Q1 of FY2021/22.
However, improvements made to the lottery’s online channels saw an increase in the proportion of sales made online, with 12.6% of lottery sales coming from online channels compared to just 3.1% in the previous year.
Moreover, sales from video lottery terminals returned to pre-pandemic comparatives.
Bergeron added: “With these strong financial results, we’re on track to meet our budget target, even though draw-based lottery ticket sales were suspended last week. That said, we’d like to thank the teams who worked so hard to resolve the issues we were experiencing.
“We launched a new phase of our 100% legal campaign to remind people that lotoquebec.com is the only legal casino and sports betting website in Québec. This campaign is part of our brand repositioning strategy and our effort to cement our place in the industry. It also highlights our integrity and our responsible gambling practices, which are a great source of pride for us.”
Mohegan Digital, the igaming division of Mohegan, has launched a new digital gaming platform called PlayFallsview for the Canadian province of Ontario.
In conjunction with its partners Kambi, Pala Interactive, and Intelitics, the new igaming offering has been developed for the Fallsview Casino Resort in Ontario, Canada, which is operated by Mohegan.
“We’re thrilled to be launching playfallsview.com with the help of some of the most powerful technology in the industry,” commented Todd Stender, Director of Product for Mohegan.
“Our partnerships with Pala Interactive and Kambi’s powerful sports betting platform has allowed us to deliver a full suite of the best casino content. We’re excited to be offering the top slot games our customers know and love, in addition to live dealer games via Evolution, and expanded sports wagering content powered by Kambi.”
Fallsview Casino Resort is the largest gaming resort facility in Canada. PlayFallsview, the resort’s online mobile sportsbook brand, is now live at play.playfallsview.com and on app stores.
Richard Taylor, President of Niagara Casinos, added: “This is the next iteration of gaming in Ontario and we are excited to be partners with Mohegan Digital to offer PlayFallsview to our customers.”
Odds On Compliance has expanded its regulatory expertise in the North American betting and gaming markets, widening its Playbook product to include Canada.
Partnering with Canadian law firm Osler, Hosking & Harcourt, Odds On Compliance can now offer subscribers access to Canadian gaming regulations via its comprehensive overview, with up-to-date information.
Coming off the back of Ontario’s legalization of sports betting and online gaming earlier this year, the company has moved to keep companies interested in moving north of the border up-to-date with the regulatory framework.
“I’m proud to announce the continued expansion of Playbook. This is another step forward in the evolution of our technology,” commented Eric Frank, CEO and Co-Founder of Odds On Compliance. “I am looking forward to working closely with the Osler team to provide Playbook users with even more gaming regulations that now includes the Canadian market.”
Playbook officially launched in May following a successful beta period, with Playbook+ also launching at a similar time.
The product offers subscribers a comprehensive overview of North American sports betting, igaming, daily fantasy sports, and ilottery regulatory landscapes.
Moreover, Odds On Compliance launched Playbook AI, bringing AI-powered natural language to Playbook, in order to ‘enhance search capabilities’ from user queries.
The 2022 Global Gaming Expo (G2E) presented by the American Gaming Association (AGA) will welcome Wynn Resorts’ Craig Billings, FanDuel’s Amy Howe, Bally’s Corporation Soo Kim, DraftKings’ Jason Robins, Circa Resort and Casino’s Derek Stevens, and PENN Entertainment’s Jay Snowden to the G2E 2022 keynote stage.
With decades of combined experience leading gaming operations and business across national, regional, and online markets, the group will provide insights into the current landscape and direction of the industry when G2E 2022 returns to Las Vegas from October 10-13 at The Venetian Expo.
“We are excited to bring these innovative leaders to the keynote stage at G2E 2022,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “This all-star panel will provide invaluable perspective on the future of gaming as we embrace new opportunities to continue our strong recovery from the pandemic-caused disruptions over the past two years.”
The Tuesday keynote, sponsored by Everi, will kick off G2E 2022 as Miller takes the stage on Tuesday, October 11 at 8:30 a.m. PT with a welcome address on the state of the industry. Following his remarks, CNBC’s Contessa Brewer will host “Executive Outlook: Leaders Shaping the Future” for three distinct conversations:
G2E’s full education line-up opens on October 10 at 9 a.m. PT and will welcome the global gaming community for collaborative conversations on the future of gaming, including sports betting, digital payments and cryptocurrency, tribal gaming, and international markets.
“We look forward to once again leading important discussions at this year’s show that will drive innovation and propel our industry well after G2E concludes,” said Miller.
Additional keynote sessions will be announced in the coming weeks.
Another industry giant appears close to entering the regulated Ontario online betting market as Pinnacle has now received its license to operate from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The AGCO website lists pinnacle.ca as a licensed betting site in the province as of September 7. The license covers a two-year period until September 6, 2024.
Pinnacle has been noticeably absent from the market for the first five months since the April 4 launch date. The Curacao-headquartered company does not operate in the ever-expanding US market and so will be pitting itself against US industry giants and Ontario-licensed operators such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and theScore Bet for the first time in a regulated North American market.
Ontario joins Malta and Curacao as just the third country where Pinnacle is regulated, and the province is the first new jurisdiction to license the company since it received Maltese approval in 2015. It used to operate in both the British and American markets before pulling out over regulatory concerns.
Covers assesses that the addition of Pinnacle could be a big boon for the Ontario market. The company has been around for 20 years and has a significant customer base acquired over decades of grey-market operation.
Pinnacle’s license is the latest issued to a major grey-market operator after the likes of Betway and Sports Interaction went live in the market in recent weeks at Bet99 received licensing in recent days.
All of those operators plus more grey-market brands and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s PROLINE offerings were absent from iGaming Ontario’s first official revenue report, which covered only the period from April 4 until June 30.
Online sports betting provider Kambi Group has acquired front-end technology specialist Shape Games for an initial €38.5 million (C$50 million). The inclusion of a performance-related earnout could potentially bring the total consideration to €78.1 million (C$102.3 million), all of which will be paid in cash.
Headquartered in Denmark, Shape Games’ front-end technology supports customers by driving customer engagement and retention, with the provider counting Danske Spil, Norsk Tipping, BetWarrior, and JACK Entertainment among its clients.
The acquisition builds on an established partnership between the two businesses, with Kambi and Shape Games having worked together on tender processes to secure turnkey contracts. Kambi said Shape Games’ fully native front-end technology will complement its sportsbook and existing front-end capabilities, strengthening its capabilities in the mobile sports betting space.
Shape Games will continue to provide its services on a standalone basis to all operators.
“I’ve always been clear on our intention to acquire technology and talent that will complement and enhance our sportsbook proposition, and I have no doubt Shape Games will do just that,” Kambi co-founder and chief executive Kristian Nylen said. “While Shape Games will continue to grow and offer services on a standalone basis in line with our plans to offer a suite of modularised products, it is the ability to offer a combination of Kambi’s and Shape Games’ technology to our partners which really excites us and solidifies our position as the clear leader within the sports betting ecosystem.”
Shape Games co-founder and chief executive Christian Risom added: “Shape Games and Kambi have been working closely side by side for years now and it is exciting to take this partnership to new levels. Kambi’s modular approach to the market allows us to form a profound and tight-knit integration with their sportsbook all the while pursuing opportunities with other sportsbook partners. From our perspective, this represents the best of both worlds for any customer out there.”
Vancouver-based games developer Playgon has partnered with NeoGames subsidiary Pariplay in a deal that will see Playgon’s online gaming suite integrated into Pariplay’s Fusion aggregation program.
Playgon is a developer of mobile live dealer casino games streamed live from Las Vegas, with mobile-first games featuring blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, in addition to tables. It says that as a result of the integration, its content will be featured prominently in the libraries of “major operators” in numerous jurisdictions.
Darcy Krogh, President and CEO at Playgon, said that the integration “enables us to reach new customers and new jurisdictions globally, so it’s a major deal for us with a provider that has in place a series of partnerships with major operators in high-profile markets. We believe our games are modern, innovative and designed with a mobile mindset in order to stand apart from the competition. This agreement with Pariplay will certainly help us accelerate our growth.”
Pariplay reinforced that the move will “significantly boost” the Vancouver developer’s global reach, with the titles to add to more than 14,000 games from over 80 suppliers as well as a suite of conversion and retention tools that have been designed to enhance player value.
“Playgon has successfully developed a unique live dealer product with well-designed gameplay features that use cutting-edge technology to deliver a unique playing experience that particularly appeals to a different demographic,” said Callum Harris, Director of Partnerships at Pariplay. “It is great to welcome Playgon to the Fusion platform, where its blend of live dealer casino and etable games will entertain players all over the world.”
The AGEM Index continued to yo-yo in August, falling 32.33 points to 831.50 for a 3.7 per cent decline from the prior month.
In July, it had risen more than six per cent over June, during which it had fallen eight per cent.
Compared to one year ago, the index is down 181.38 points, or 17.9 per cent.
During the latest month, seven of the 12 AGEM Index companies reported stock price decreases, which resulted in eight negative contributions to the AGEM Index and four positive contributions.
The largest negative contributor to the monthly index was Konami, whose 9.7 per cent decrease in stock price led to a 19.75-point loss to the index. Crane Co., which had been the largest positive contributor in July thanks to a 13 per cent increase in stock price, was down 4.6 per cent in August.
The largest positive contribution to the index was PlayAGS Inc., whose 55.3 per cent increase in stock price equated to a 3.22-point gain for the AGEM Index. This represents very strong growth for PlayAGS, which was the largest negative contributor last month with an 8.1 per cent decline in stock price.
All three major U.S. stock indices saw month-over-month decreases in August 2022, marking the second time this has occurred in the past three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 4.1 per cent from July, while the S&P 500 declined by 4.2 per cent. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ fell 4.6 per cent over the latest period.
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers is an international trade association representing manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, lotteries, and components for the gaming industry.
AGEM produces the monthly AGEM Index that comprises 12 global gaming suppliers throughout the world. The index is computed based on the month-end stock price (adjusted for dividends and splits) of each company and weighted based on an approximation of market capitalization.
Online games provider Kalamba Games has entered the Ontario market through a partnership with Bragg Gaming Group that will see its content distributed to operators licensed in the Canadian province through a dual deployment of Bragg’s remote games server (RGS) technology via its Oryx Gaming and Spin Games divisions.
Bragg has been supplying proprietary and third-party games to licensed operators in Ontario such as Rush Street Interactive ever since the regulated market opened in April. Earlier this summer, it and Kalamba extended their working partnership to incorporate North American markets.
Kalamba and Bragg’s Oryx Gaming originally partnered in 2017 through an agreement that resulted in Kalamba launching its content on the Oryx RGS in multiple global markets.
Kalamba has become one of the few content development studios with which Toronto-headquartered Bragg has extended its strategic content licensing deal for distribution in North America, covering a selection of games already distributed exclusively via its Oryx Hub delivery platform in Europe.
“We are excited to be furthering our existing relationship with the Bragg Gaming Group and seeing our unique and innovative range of slots introduced to another new market,” chief commercial officer Andrew Crosby said. “Its established position within the Ontario market will see us deliver our titles to a number of operators in this newly regulated region for the first time and we’re eager to see players’ reception to our games.”
Bragg’s group director of content Doug Fallon added that Kalamba Games has developed “a fantastic reputation for innovative game mechanics”.
Meanwhile, Bragg has expanded its player engagement and gamification product Fuze, previously only available for its online casino customers, to its sportsbook product. The supplier said its highly-configurable Fuze sports betting promotions can open up a range of options to help operators promote specific sporting events, allowing punters to compete with each other and boosting wagers. The technology can also be used to set up and operate loyalty programs for bettors.