Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. This week’s edition looks at some key deals at the CasinoBeats Summit, as well as an increase in Macau’s direct gaming tax and the completion of a key acquisition stateside.

Five

After previously announcing four agreements in the immediate aftermath of the inaugural CasinoBeats Summit, held in London last month, WeAreCasino have added a fifth to that ever growing list.

Confirming positive talks with Spinmatic, BeFee, 1X2Network and SpiffGaming at the event, the aggregator and platform provider has added Helio Gaming to its partner network, after announcing a deal that will see the Malta based supplier provide its full suite of lottery based titles.

Praising the Olympia London held Summit, which formed a part of the wider Betting on Sports Week, Christian Maglia, CCO at WeAreCasino, stated: “It was very important for us to have a strong presence at the Summit, especially Marko sharing a stage with speakers from a range of leading operators and suppliers including Royal Panda, LeoVegas, Jackpotjoy, Hard Rock, BetOlimp, GVC, Olympic, Letsbet, Twin, Alea and Betsson among others.”

Before casting early glances ahead to next year ““I’m sure that the Summit will grow exponentially, both in terms of panels and the exhibition space.

“We have seen this growth with both Betting on Football and Betting on Sports, I’m sure this can be replicated with the CasinoBeats Summit.”

Seventeen per cent

It has been reported by the Financial Services Bureau that for the first eight months of 2018, Macau’s direct gaming tax increased by 17 per cent compared to the corresponding period.

A total of $70.9bn was taken in tax money by the Macau government for the first eight months of the year, which means that the region is already nearing its targeted annual amount of $82.4bn, with four months remaining.

That being said, growth is likely to wane as the year culminates, given the region has felt the impact of Typhoon Mangkhu.

One million

Midlands based start-up Tipstrr.com has capitalised on the company’s unprecedented growth so far in 2018 to officially launch its new in-house affiliate program.

After undertaking a successful funding round in 2017, the program has been rebuilt from scratch to provide a ‘proving ground’ for professional and wannabe tipsters, complete with industry leading commissions and an automated platform that verifies every tip placed.

Having recently passed the 1 million mark for verified tips, Tipstrr affiliates are now able to promote tipsters from more than a dozen sports, including horse racing, football, multiple US sports, tennis and many more.

Damien Fearn, co-founder of Tipstrr Ltd, commented: “We’ve launched this affiliate program as another way to help continue our impressive growth through 2018.

“We’re working hard to increase the number of profitable sports bettors in the UK and around the world; this affiliate program is the perfect way to reach the people looking to profit from sports betting.

“Having already partnered with several affiliates in the sports betting industry during testing, we’ve seen very positive results – and the feedback from our affiliates has been excellent – so now we’re opening it up to anyone who thinks their traffic or users would benefit from what we offer.”

€18.9m

In a record breaking victory, an online player at Grand Mondial Casino scooped €18.9m on Microgaming’s Mega Moolah.

The life changing sum, which is a new record for the progressive slot, was won when a player hit the jackpot with a 75 cent bet from an Android smartphone.

David Reynolds, games publisher at Microgaming, reacted to the win: “We’ve been on the edge of our seats in anticipation of the Mega Moolah jackpot being hit these past few weeks.

“Watching the jackpot grow has been exciting for us at Microgaming and we are immensely proud to see it set a new record. Congratulations to Grand Mondial Casino and their lucky player on this amazing win.”

Emma Hall, promotions manager at Casino Rewards, added: “This is the moment we were hoping would come! And for the player to win the jackpot from a 75-cent bet in less than 50 spins is just incredible.

“For Grand Mondial Casino to land this gigantic jackpot, and be part of casino rewards group, which has had so many Mega Moolah winners in the past, we just couldn’t be prouder and more pleased. Casino rewards has seen five huge Mega Moolah winners in the past 12 months and now our sixth winner has absolutely smashed all records.”

$40m

Eldorado Resorts has elevated its expansion with the finalisation of its acquisition of Tropicana Entertainment.

It is anticipated to be immediately accretive to its free cash flow and diluted earnings per share, inclusive of identified expected cost synergies of approximately $40m to be found in Eldorado’s first year of operation of Tropicana.

The acquisition of Tropicana brings to Eldorado the operating assets of seven casinos in six states, including Nevada (the Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino and the MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa in South Lake Tahoe), Indiana (Tropicana Evansville), Louisiana (Belle of Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel), Mississippi (Trop Casino Greenville), Missouri(Lumière Place), and New Jersey (Tropicana Casino and Resort, Atlantic City).

These properties collectively include approximately 7,900 slot machines, 265 table games and approximately 5,400 hotel rooms, along with a number of dining, retail and entertainment amenities. As a result, Eldorado’s expanded property portfolio now features more than 27,500 slot machines and VLTs, more than 800 table games, over 12,500 hotel rooms and nearly 20,000 team members.

Gary Carano, chairman and CEO of Eldorado, spoke of the deal: “Our acquisition of Tropicana marks a continuation of Eldorado’s successful history of rapid growth through strategic, accretive acquisitions. Through this combination, we have significantly expanded the scale of our gaming operations, further diversified our geographic reach into new markets – some of which have already adopted sports wagering legislation — and minimized market-specific risk.

“We continue to focus on enhancing shareholder value through strategic transactions, return-focused property enhancements and opportunistic partnerships with third parties – including the Tropicana transaction, the Grand Victoria acquisition and our recent agreements with The Cordish Companies and William Hill PLC.

“We intend to reduce the initial purchase price multiple of the Tropicana transaction as we implement a range of operating disciplines, designed to enhance margins by further improving customer service and the customer experience, while focusing on promotion and other spending in all areas of the newly-acquired properties. We look forward to welcoming Tropicana’s team members to the Eldorado Resorts family.”