Veikkaus Oy, the Finnish betting agency owned by the government has revealed a brand new responsible gambling campaign designed to reduce the number and traffic on the slot machines in this Scandinavian country. The operator’s officials have announced that they would reduce their number of slot machines by twice as many as was previously planned. An official press release was sent out to the media regarding the new campaign.

In this official press release, it was revealed that the company has over 18,500 slot machines at sites across the Scandinavian nation. Initially, the plan was to reduce its slot machine estate for around forty percent or to 11,000 by the end of this year. This campaign was actually launched back in December of 2019 after the company came under fire for lack of responsible gaming protocols and for not doing enough to prevent gaming and gambling-related harms.

The company was also under fire for not doing enough to help vulnerable players from developing harmful gaming habits. To spread awareness about the importance of responsible gaming campaigns, the company’s new slot machine estate reduction plan includes further cuts which will leave Veikkaus Oy with some 10,500 slot machines in the following years.

Veikkaus Oy Since 2017

As previously mentioned, Veikkaus Oy is the government-operated and owned betting agency that currently holds a monopoly over gambling and gambling activities in Finland. The betting agency emerged on the stage in 2017 and it was established through a merger of three other betting agencies including Finland’s Slot Machine Association, Fintoto, and Veikkaus.

Back in January of last year, Veikkaus Oy announced its plan to reduce its current workforce by around four hundred positions. At the same time, the company also announced overhauls of its gaming locations as well as its responsible gaming campaign which will see the company reduce its massive slot machine estate. When it comes to the company’s profit distribution, it is determined by the law and according to the law, fifty-three percent of its profits go to the Ministry of Education and Culture, forty-three percent go to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and four percent go to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Post-Coronavirus Revival

According to the company’s officials, the company is stepping up its game when it comes to responsible gaming policies and protocols. Moreover, the company’s plan is to hit its long-term goals of its envisioned slot machine estate reduction by the end of this year by which the company hopes to have at least eight thousand fewer slot machines across the nation.

The betting agency also revealed that its envisioned reduction and accelerated exercise will be conducted in several stages throughout this year in hopes of delivering a secure and safe business experience for those who are at risk of developing any kind of gambling-related addiction. Jari Heino who works for Jari Heino used one of the company’s latest press releases to proclaim that his company’s network of Feel Vegas and Pelaamot gaming clubs in addition to Casino Helsinki will soon emerge from lockdowns triggered by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic from the 26^th of June. While the venues will open their doors to the public, they will start by welcoming only a limited number of visitors.

Needless to say, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected every single industry globally and the Macau casino industry is not an exception. The coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 which is caused by SARS-CoV-2 or severe acute respiratory syndrome. The coronavirus outbreak was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan back in December last year. The coronavirus pandemic was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization back on the 11^th of March.

As estimated on the 21^st of April, there are more than 2.4 million cases of infections with COVID-19 in over one hundred and eighty-five countries. As estimated on the 21^st of April, the coronavirus disease caused over 170,000 deaths globally while more than 651,000 individuals have recovered. As with other respiratory viruses, the virus strain which causes coronavirus disease spreads among individuals during close contact usually via small droplets produced when sneezing and couching. Individuals may also get infected by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes.

Macau’s Local Government to Research the Feasibility of Betting and Social Gaming Operations

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all of Macau’s casino facilities shut down their operations temporarily in March and they have been closed for over a month now. As of recently, in Macau, a rather prominent local academic has suggested that the former Portuguese enclave could mitigate some of the devastating coronavirus pandemic consequences by legalizing some sorts of online betting and gambling activities.

According to one report released by Inside Asian Gaming, this prominent local academic who suggested Macau’s government to legalize iGaming activities is Zhonglu Zeng who is currently professors at the Polytechnic Institute’s Gaming Teaching and Research Centre in Macau. He revealed that it may be the right time for the government of Macau to start research regarding the feasibility of licensing small-scale betting and social gaming operations.

He told several local news outlets that legalizing some forms of online betting and gambling activities in Macau will allow this area to bring in much-desired tax revenues while at the same time the former Portuguese enclave will permit its local casino operators to diversify their gaming offering and businesses. The professor’s revelation came just in the time as Macau is preparing the fundamental work for its public tender which will determine who is allowed to operate casino facilities after 2022 when those current licenses expire.

Macau Exploring Online Gaming Opportunities

Zeng said to local news outlets that the biggest concern related to legalizing online gambling and betting activities in Macau is that such activities are forbidden in the rest of China including mainland China. However, in mainland China, all other gambling-related activities are banned while the former Portuguese enclave is special as it allows gambling. In his words, Macau is rather special as it has the necessary space and means to explore growing online gambling-related opportunities that other Chinese enclaves do not have.

He also added that thanks to network security technologies, residents of mainland China could be easily blocked from accessing online gaming sites operating in Macau, so no laws are broken. He also said that even though the re-tendering of gaming licenses scheduled will not explore the possibility of legalizing online gambling opportunities, he believes that the government in Macau should take the first steps towards exploring such opportunities by starting their research and discussion.

The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment have finally received clearance regarding their merger from the United Kingdom regulators. After being granted necessary licenses by the regulator, the two business ventures can continue with their already proposed $12.2 billion-worth merger which once completed will create the largest online gambling and betting business globally. This combined group is expected to have net revenues worth around $4 billion in normal working environments.

Before being granted necessary licenses to proceed with the merger talks, the companies involved wondered whether the Competition and Markets Authority would demand that some The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment brands be sold before the CMA approved the business deal. Fortunately for the companies involved, the CMA concluded that fans of online betting activities residing in the United Kingdom would have enough choice after the merger deal is completed. Furthermore, the Competition and Markets Authority also concluded that the merger will not worsen the overall offering to gamers who bet online.

Findings of the Competition and Markets Authority

In its latest research regarding the proposed merger between The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment, the Competition and Markets Authority has found that online gambling firms compete strongly for their customers while the United Kingdom betting market is packed with a number of small and large online sports betting operators that offer their services here. The CMA has also found out that there the merging companies would leave space for those smaller operators to proceed with their activities which finally prompted the regulator to allow the two companies to complete the merger.

It should be noted that this was the last fundamental regulatory hurdle for the proposed merger deal as The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment have been already granted necessary permissions by antitrust regulatory authorities in Canada, Austria, Germany and the United States where The Stars Group is based as well as in Australia where both sports betting operators enjoy a great reputation and have a great share of the entire betting market.

Being granted necessary licenses in the United Kingdom was definitely the toughest obstacle to come across. Speaking of the online betting market in the United Kingdom, The Stars Group and Flutter Entertainment-owned brands together account for over forty percent of the United Kingdom’s online sports betting market as well as around twenty-six percent of the overall online gaming market in the country. Before being granted necessary licenses, some experts believed that Flutter Entertainment may have to sell some of its brands to appease the Competition and Markets Authority.

Several Smaller Regulators Still to Approve the Merger Deal

However, the companies’ merger deal has been approved while the two have managed to keep all of their brands. According to Flutter Entertainment officials, there are still several smaller regulatory bodies that need to approve the company’s merger deal. They also added that this could be postponed due to the global coronavirus crisis. However, the company’s officials also added that the crisis will not jeopardize the merger deal.

In one of the company’s press releases, the officials said that the deal will not be sabotaged despite the massive economic shock related to the cancellation and postponement of sports events across the globe. All in all, Flutter Entertainment will be more affected by the coronavirus crisis as the majority of its revenues come from online sports betting while The Stars Group makes the majority of its gaming revenues from online casino and poker games.

The latest survey conducted by the government of New South Wales indicates a massive twelve percent decline in overall gambling rates for this area. As the results of this survey suggest, the proportion of individuals who regularly turn to some kind of gambling entertainment has drastically dropped since 2011.

According to one European Gaming Media and Events release, the government of New South Wales which is Australia’s most populous state shared that just fifty-three percent of the ten thousand individuals that the survey included had invested in some kind of gambling activities over the previous year. This is a big decline considering the fact that this particular ratio had stood at around sixty-five percent in 2011.

Gambling in Australia

Gambling is among the most popular entertainment activities which are undertaken by many residents of Australia. In fact, over eighty percent of Australian residents engage in some kind of gambling activity. This eighty percent is among the highest rates of gambling activities in the world. The number actually includes around four percent of the population who engages in playing poker at least once per week while around sixty-two percent accounts for individuals’ yearly gambling spend.

When it comes to the most populous Australian state, New South Wales it has a rich and long history of such activities. The very first Australia-based horse racing event occurred back in 1810 in Sidney. Then, the very first lottery also occurred in this area back in 1881. Australia was also home to the very first official lottery which opened back in 1956. As estimated recently, almost 100,000 pokies are located in New South Wales which is only beaten by the state of Nevada that as of 2014 operated around 181,000 machines.

Between the 1^st of December 2017 and the 31^st of May last year, New South Wales made a massive profit of almost $2 billion from just poker players. The biggest poker revenue was generated by Fairfield back in 2013 when the area itself generated around $93 million in local pubs and around $298 million on local clubs. This figure is for $123 bigger than the combined gross poker machine revenues generated in Sydney for the same period.

Lotteries as the Most Popular Gambling Form

As revealed by the latest New South Wales survey on gambling activities in this area, lotteries of different kinds had remained the most popular kind of gambling. As commissioned by the state-powered Responsible Gambling Fund, around thirty-seven of the survey’s respondents have bought at least one lottery ticket in the previous, twelve-month prior. The same investigation has also shown that different kinds of gambling machines in the area had been enjoyed by around sixteen percent of the surveyed individuals.

The gambling machines in question here include scratch cards which were enjoyed by around thirteen percent of the surveyed individuals while around nine percent of participants had enjoyed keno games. The state’s government explained that its latest examination had shown that sportsbetting activities were among the fastest-growing gambling types with around six percent of participants in the survey enjoying these activities in the previous period.

All in all, the survey conducted by the government of New South Wales will give the government a better understanding of the state’s overall gambling environment, common changes in behaviors of gamblers as well as other crucial information on problem gambling and how different areas across the state are affected.

Both land-based and online sportsbooks active in the state of New Jersey enjoyed a massive increase of around 142% in combined gross gaming revenues from the beginning of 2019 until September. This is a massive success for this entire sector which hit around $445 million while the combines gross gaming revenues for the thirty days-period rose almost 60% to hit the $37 million mark.

The state of New Jersey was among the very first states to legalize sports betting activities within its borders back in June of 2018. This was possible after the US Supreme Court struck down the biggest obstacle to legalized sports betting back in May of 2018. The latest figures related to this sector within the state’s borders show that this eastern state has recorded a total handle of around $4.2 billion in addition to its historical gross revenues of $284 million and around $33 million in taxes.

The dominance of Online Sportsbooks

There are several different factors that helped these rising figures. According to several press releases related to this news, the increasing sports betting figures for the New Jersey gambling market in September were also helped by the start of the hundredth edition of the NFL. With the start of the National Football League, the industry’s monthly aggregated gross gaming revenues broke the previous record of around $31 million which was set in March this year.

Moreover, the beginning of the NFL season also injected around $4.5 million into the state’s budget. Taking into account all of the latest trends, more than 84% of all sports wagers placed in the New Jersey sports betting market were placed online which clearly shows a massive dominance of online sportsbooks over land-based sportsbooks. It should be noted that online sports betting activities within the state’s borders showed a decrease of 1% on a monthly basis.

The latest reports on the topic also reveal that the two locally-licensed and regulated sportsbooks, FanDuel.com, and PointsBet.com as the market leaders generated combined gross gaming revenue of an astonishing $13 million. These increasing figures were followed with aggregated revenues of around $10 million generated by the DraftKings.com platform alongside the FoxBet.com service. The WillimHill.com alongside the PlaySugarHouse.com services which are partnered with Monmouth Park Racetrack generated a combined figure of $2.4 million.

When it comes to the state’s land-based sports betting activities, the bookie located at Meadowlands Racetrack led the pile as its gross gaming revenue for September hit $3.6 million which is a massive 38% rise on a monthly basis. This bookie was closely followed by the Ocean Casino Resorts facility whose monthly takings reached $1.8 million. Moreover, the bookie at Monmouth Park Racetrack was also extremely successful previous month as it generated around $996K in gross gaming revenues in September.

Remaining Highly Optimistic

Considering the constant rise of the online sports betting and land-based sports betting industry in the state of New Jersey, both online and land-based operators that offer their services to US bettors are highly optimistic. It as reported that away from sports betting venues, the state’s online casino and poker sites also saw their gross gaming revenues for the previous month exceed $41 million which represents a great increase of 59%.

These figures significantly surpassed the figures for August which equal around $41 million. In other words, this sector has generated around $339 million since January. With only three months remaining until 2020, aggregated gross gaming revenues from casino and poker sites active in New Jersey are expected to significantly outpace the previous year’s total of $450 million and reach around $675 million which is highly possible considering the consistently rising figures.

As reported on the 5^th of September, the leading industry’s supplier of live dealer casino games Evolution Gaming has finally obtained its online gaming license to provide its full suite of live casino games in the state of Pennsylvania. This Interactive Gaming Manufacturer license was granted by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board or for short the PGCB.

Thanks to being granted this license, the Sweden-based online casino content supplier can offer its live casino games and service on behalf of online gaming operators via its live studio in the state of Pennsylvania whose planned construction is already underway. It should be noted that Evolution Gaming is the very first live dealer games provider to be awarded an online gaming license in two US states. Before being granted a gaming license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the company has already gained its license by the New Jersey’s regulator.

Premier Supplier of Live Dealer Casino Games

As previously mentioned, Evolution Gaming is doubtlessly one of the leading live casino games providers in the industry. The company was established back in 2006 and ever since its beginnings, it has made a greatly reputable name for itself especially thanks to its constant innovation and creativity brought to the live casino gaming sector. In fact, Evolution Gaming made this sector evolve in many ways thanks to its fearless approach to exploring new things which eventually made the company one of the rising stars.

Evolution Gaming is mainly focused on developing live casino games which are today available across hundreds of online casino operators. Their games are broadcasted from the company’s full-fledged studios. They employ all sorts of user-friendly features complete with extremely friendly, professional and knowledgeable dealers.

Some of the most popular Evolution Games-powered titles includes varieties of roulette, blackjack and baccarat including Immersive Roulette, European Roulette, French Roulette, Speed Roulette, Double Ball Roulette, Lightning Roulette, Dual Play Roulette, Auto Roulette, American Roulette, Bet Behind Blackjack, Perfect Paris, Blackjack Party, Pre-Decision Blackjack, Baccarat Squeeze, Baccarat Control Squeeze, Speed Baccarat, and Multi-Camera Baccarat.

Loads of Live Dealer Games at One Place

Besides these live casino games mentioned above, Evolution Gaming has also crafted a variety of other live casino games including Live Dream Catcher, Lightning Dice, Monopoly Live, Infinite Blackjack, Free Bet Blackjack, Deal Or No Deal, Super Sic Bo, Dragon Tiger, Casino Hold’em, Live Football Studio, 2 Hand Casino Hold’em, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, Side Bet City Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Three Card Poker, as well as several First Person games including First Person Dream Catcher, First Person Roulette, First Person Lightning Roulette and First Person Blackjack.

Commenting on the news about expanding in the newly regulated Pennsylvania’s iGaming market, the Evolution Gaming’s official James Stern said that demand for the company’s live dealer casino products in the United States has been increasingly growing, so the company is extremely delighted to finally expand its already phenomenal United States operations by opening its Pennsylvania-based independent studio which will sever both land-based and online gaming venues in the state.

He also added that his company plans on maximizing these emerging opportunities in terms of entering this new market the right way. Besides working on the construction of the new studio, Evolution Gaming is also working on doubling the size of its Atlantic City-based studio in order to accommodate more players as new dedicated tables will be incorporated.

As it was released in its official statement, one of the most innovative online casino content developers Red Rake Gaming is enriching its already impressive gaming library with two new exciting titles, Roulette and Frenzy Discs. With these two new games offered by the Valencia-based company, players will get to enjoy more innovative options alongside super-interesting features and unique gaming layouts just as expected from Red Rake Gaming.

The company was established back in 2011 and since those times, Red Rake Gaming has grown to become of the leading names in the marketing and development of casino games. The company’s main focus is the development of slot games, while its gaming portfolio also includes loads of other exciting games of different kinds. The company’s gaming software is available in many different languages which demonstrates the company’s global availability.

A Number of Mobile-Friendly Games

In addition to crafting slot games, Red Rake Gaming has also released video poker games, video bingo games, and classic table games. Some of its most popular slot games include Bonnie and Clyde, 3 Butterflies, Heidi at Oktoberfest, Judges Rule the Show, Eastern Goddesses, Mega Stellar, Mysteries of Egypt, Ragin’ Buffalo, Siberian Wolf, Speed Heroes, The Adventures of Ali Baba, The Asp of Cleopatra, Speed Heroes, Viva Las Vegas, Wildcano, The Secret of the Opera and Tiger and Dragon.

It is worth mentioning that many of these exciting slot games are accessible via mobile devices so that fans of mobile gaming can enjoy them any time and any place. Before being focused on developing real money casino games, the company emerged on the scene as a social games content developer which changed back in 2015. This year Red Rake Gaming made the switch in its business and started offering real money games.

When it comes to its licensing, Red Rake Gaming has done an excellent job to become fully licensed and regulated across many different jurisdictions that sanction online gambling. The company holds licenses in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, and many other European countries. It is worth mentioning that all of its games are regularly tested for randomness and fairness by the BMM Spain Testlabs company.

New Roulette Release and Frenzy Discs

As mentioned at the beginning, Red Rake Gaming has prepared two new, exciting releases. The first release named Frenzy Discs Twin Numbers is a brand-new game with a design and style of exciting roulette games. The game is quite simple, yet very rewarding and engaging. Here, players have the opportunity to scoop remarkable prizes for guessing which numbers of the two active balls fall into the two discs.

Besides its awesome payouts, Frenzy Discs Twin Numbers is also beautifully rendered packed with super-realistic physics and high-quality graphics which definitely add more to the overall excitement provided by the game. According to the company’s official press release, the Frenzy Discs Twin Numbers is the very first version of this unique game while more exciting versions will hit the industry in some time. In fact, the company is already working on Frenzy Discs 16 Balls which can be played via DEMO mode.

In addition to its Frenzy Discs Twin Numbers game, Red Rake Gaming has also crafted a brand-new roulette game that comes packed with four different modes including VIP, French, American and European modes. The games are rich in amazing 3D graphics, they offer truly realistic experiences and grab players’ attention from the very first moment of playing.