DAZN and LFP face off in court
More Ligue 1 woes for streaming giant, PMU 2024, Friday focus: crash games, MGM, DraftKings &Co
Good morning, on Gaming&Co today:
LFP takes DAZN to court over €35m withheld payment, PMU holds on in 2024
Friday feature: Crash games - battle for Aviator heats up
Results: MGM’s digital expansion; Super Bowl relief for DraftKings and US books
Stake to leave UK, Google updates social casino guidelines
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DAZN-Ligue 1 legal row intensifies
Ligue de Football Professionnel initiates proceedings over €35m withheld payment
Dazed and confused: The ongoing dispute around Ligue 1 broadcast rights took a new twist this week when France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) initiated legal proceedings against DAZN over a withheld payment. A hearing is scheduled today, which also coincides with the deadline for DAZN's payment, and a decision is expected next week.
Piracy concerns: The streaming giant, which has a deal to broadcast eight out of nine Ligue 1 matches per week worth an annual €400m, has held back €35m of the €70m payment due in February citing concerns over “rampant piracy” and insufficient support from the LFP and clubs in addressing the issue.
DAZN said it proposed a “comprehensive action plan” to the LFP in December but received no response, leading to the partial payment and placing the remaining amount in escrow to prompt action. Co-rights owner BeIN Sport has also withheld payments at various times this season.
DAZN doesn’t comment on subscriber numbers, but estimates range from as low as 150,000 to around 400,000 - well short of the 1.5 million target that it says it needs to be profitable.
As reported by Gaming&Co, betting executives are clear that Ligue 1’s lack of TV appeal in its home market is having an impact on betting volumes.
Despite widely reported challenges in France, DAZN has signalled its commitment to the market by pushing ahead with plans to launch DAZN Bet in France with BetConstruct as its sportsbook partner.
For French football, the story is another highly negative chapter in its dealings with broadcasters, starting with the deal it stuck with Mediapro in 2018 which lasted barely four months.
PMU to press on with digital reset
Hanging in there: PMU is “holding the line” in 2024, CEO Emmanuelle Malecaze-Doublet has told Les Echos. Although the group recorded a 2% YoY fall in stakes to €9.8bn in France due to pressures on French people’s purchasing power, net results increased by €2m to €837m and it recruited 200,00 new players.
Digital focus: Malecaze-Doublet said that PMU had gained “2 points of online market share” in 2024 and would be making a “strategic shift” to focus on its digital activities, which have been neglected in recent years.
The group also intends to launch betting on past races, but Française des Jeux is likely to contest the move since it has a monopoly on the segment.
Recall, French horseracing stakeholders are deeply unhappy with PMU.
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Friday feature: Crash, bang, wallop
In the space of barely five years, crash games have revolutionised online casino and generate millions in revenue. The dispute between Spribe and Aviator LLC reveals what is at stake.
Spribe and Aviator LLC are facing off in a Georgian court today over which company has the rights to exploit the ‘Aviator’ brand of crash games.
The story is long and winding, but as G&C’s analysis shows, billions of euros worth of revenues are at play for a game format that has completely upended the iCasino vertical.
Read the full feature on SBC News
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MGM targets digital expansion
Multinational’s online revenues jump as it expands into Europe and LATAM
Digital growth: MGM Resorts said it expects to record significant growth from its international online operations as FY24 net revenues at its MGM Digital division grew +28% YoY to $552m thanks mainly to entry into new markets, although adj. EBITDAR losses more than doubled to -$77m.
The group’s digital unit includes LeoVegas and Push Gaming and is set to expand the BetMGM brand via LeoVegas in European markets (separately from its US joint venture with Entain), while its Grupo Global JV brand will launch in Brazil next week.
MGM said it expects similar EBITDAR losses for the unit in 2025 and identified $200m in EBITDA opportunities during Q4, of which it believes it can capture $150m this year.
China growth: MGM’s Macau activities had an excellent year as MGM China’s revenues jumped nearly 28% to $4bn with net revenues coming in at $1bn. Its Las Vegas resorts generated $8.8bn, with net revenues down 10% at $2.2bn due to the Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.
With MGM’s US JV partner Entain’s CEO Gavin Isaacs leaving the company after just five months because of strategic disagreements such as selling its 50% stake in BetMGM in the US, speculation over the future of the project seems bound to reappear in the coming months.
DraftKings saved by Super Bowl
DraftKings is set to hold its FY24 analyst call this afternoon and with Q4 sporting results hitting US books hard, same game parlays during the Super Bowl “prevented a disaster” for the US #2, according to industry sources.
This point was echoed by analysts, and while DKNG’s Q4 revenues exceeded expectations at $1.4bn (+13% YoY), JMP noted that the Q4 sporting results led to a QoQ EBITDA drop of $103m to +$89m.
Stake exits UK
Premier League sponsor leaving UK following Gambling Commission action
Final straw: Crypto-gambling giant Stake is set to leave the UK market on 11 March after the Gambling Commission revoked its licence following the release of a promotional video featuring an adult film actress. Stake’s white label provider TGP Europe said it would stop operating the Stake.uk.com website.
Stake is the shirt sponsor of Everton FC and UKGC said it had warned the club and two other Premier League sides with unlicensed sponsors about the risks of promoting unregulated gambling websites. The move however is not stopping Stake from heading for regulated markets.
VPN workaround: The Commission said it wants assurances that the clubs have carried out due diligence on their white label partners and they will have to demonstrate that geo-blocking measures are effective, “recognising that some blocking can be easily bypassed by tools such as a Virtual Private Network”.
Premier League porridge: UKGC warned that “club officers may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain”.
Google updates advertising guidelines
Search giant Google will implement new gambling advertising rules from 14 April that will require advertisers to display responsible gambling messages on dedicated landing pages, while affiliates will have to be registered with Google to promote gambling services.
The new policy will also mean that affiliates and aggregators will not be allowed to promote social casino games. Social casino sites will be registered with Google as separate entities but any violation of the games policy “will be treated harshly”.
Calendar
Results: 25 Feb: Light & Wonder, Caesars | 27 Feb: PENN Entertainment | 6 March: Banijay-Betclic, FDJ, Entain
Events: 23-25 Feb: SIGMA Eurasia Summit, Dubai | 25-27 Feb: SBC Summit, Rio de Janeiro | 12-13 Mar: NEXT NYC 2025, New York
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