Each week, CasinoBeats breaks down the numbers behind some of the industry’s most interesting stories. In our latest entrant we look both the UK and Irish lotteries, as well as further Pennsylvania construction and a charity pledge following an Auckland fire.
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A Dublin City University Business School research report has found that Irish charities and good causes are losing up to €43m a year, due to the country’s National Lottery license terms and commercial practices.
It is said that the losses are a result of the business approach being pursued by Premier Lotteries Ireland, who inked a 20-year €405m deal to operate the National Lottery five years ago.
Undertaken by DCU economist Tony Foley and commissioned by the European Lotto Betting Association, ‘An Analysis of Good Causes Funding Associated with the National Lottery and Factors Impacting its Long-Term Sustainability’ has identified four key factors that it says are affecting funding.
The first of these highlighted is an unprecedented level of unclaimed prizes returned to the operator, which in 2018 alone stood at approximately €19m.
Furthermore, Foley’s report also stipulates a fall in good causes funding contribution relative to National Lottery sales, increasing prizes as a share of sales and an ongoing under performance of the lottery on a digital basis.
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Auckland headquartered gaming and entertainment firm SkyCity Entertainment Group has thanked firefighters and emergency services for all efforts in combating a fire within its home city.
A blaze erupted last month at the company’s under construction NZ$703m (US$445m) New Zealand International Convention Centre, the opening of which was initially pencilled in for 2020 but has subsequently been delayed.
Quickly sending thick black smoke across the city skyline, it is believed that the culprit was an unattended blow torch left by a construction worker which subsequently ignited flammable material on the roof.
As a result SkyCity was forced to evacuate its wider precinct area, including the company’s casino, SkyTower, hotels, car park, restaurants and corporate offices
To acknowledge the efforts of emergency services teams that assisted with the fire after it broke out on Tuesday 22 October, all revenue generated from Sky Tower admissions on Sunday 17 November is being donated to Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
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Camelot UK Lotteries has reported a significant boost to digital sales for the first six months of the 2019/20 financial year, as the National Lottery celebrates 25-years of operation.
Lauding a “digital innovation” as it sets its best-ever first half sales figures, total National Lottery ticket sales during the period came to £3.9bn, an increase of 13.5 per cent.
Contributions from “record online sales” broke the £1bn barrier for the first time, with a £322.7m increase seeing total figures finish at £1.16bn, with over seven million players registered.
As part of the performance Camelot’s mobile sales also hit an all-time high of £749m, rising from £431.6m, with sales from smartphones and tablets now accounting for almost 65 per cent of all digital sales.
Sales of draw-based games also increased by £300.3m to £2.2bn, driven concerted efforts to offer a more balanced and appealing range of games.
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The Cordish Companies affiliate Stadium Casino Westmoreland has broken ground on a new $150m Live! Casino project, a short time after holding a topping off ceremony at its $700m Philadelphia development.
Set to be a part of the 1.3-million-square-foot Westmoreland Mall development, located in Hempfield Township, approximately 30 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, a number of Corish executives were present along with regional business, community and tourism leaders, to begin construction on the 100,000-square-foot gaming, dining and entertainment destination.
Set to be included as part of the new Live! Casino establishment are 750 slots and approximately 30 live action table games, alongside a sportsbook and a number of restaurants and live entertainment venues.
The project is expected to generate $188m in annual economic impact, with an additional $148m from construction. This includes in the region of 960 direct and indirect construction jobs, plus around 500 permanent new jobs for local and regional residents.
