Tag: UK

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) has revealed its payments to racecourses have returned to pre-Covid levels, with £110m forecast to be paid to its shareholders for 2021.

The payments, earned through racecourses’ media and data rights, are expected to exceed 2019’s pre-Covid payments of £107m, and have been a contributory factor to many racecourses being able to return prize money to its pre-pandemic levels.

RMG is 100% owned by its racecourse shareholders and pays 100% of operating profit back to racecourses. This collective and collaborative ethos has seen RMG’s businesses become the biggest single funder of British horseracing. The 2021 results follow a hugely challenging year in 2020 when, due to the pandemic, RMG payments to racecourses fell by 25.9% on the previous year.

Chairman Roger Lewis said: “I thank and congratulate everyone involved in racing for their herculean efforts in 2021. The RMG racecourses ensured that horseracing continued for a second year in the most demanding of circumstances, which allowed RMG to deliver as great a return as possible for racing. The RMG model was again tested in 2021 and again proved to be resilient and reliable.

“The investment in, and development of, our media assets and new innovative products – such as the Watch & Bet service, ultra-low latency, on-screen timing data, the exploration of in-play opportunities, and enhancements on Racing TV, headlined by the stunning Virtual Studio – aided our recovery.

“These initiatives all contribute to the RMG strategy of attracting more eyes on to our racing which, in turn, drives betting turnover, subscriptions, and sponsorship opportunities in the sport. And this all feeds into the RMG vision of increasing returns to our racecourses for the benefit of the industry.

“The 2021 performance will mean that RMG will have delivered £1bn to racecourses since the start of the business in 2004. This is a testament to our racecourses’ dedication and commitment to working together for the greater good of racing.”

Lewis steps down from his role at the end of 2022 and the search for a new Chairman is underway.

He joined the Board of RMG in 2012 and was appointed Non-Executive Chairman on January 1, 2019. Over a 40-year career in sport, media and business, Lewis has held senior positions at the BBC, ITV, Classic FM, EMI and Decca, and was GCEO of the Welsh Rugby Union for nine years.

Lewis continues as Chair of the Churchill Lines Foundation, a military charity, a Director of Festival UK 2022 and President of the National Museums of Wales. He also sits on The Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours Panel.

He added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my decade at RMG and have been humbled by the boundless enthusiasm and support that we receive from our shareholder racecourses.

“I am particularly pleased RMG was able to announce last July that our British racecourses agreed a media rights renewal extension until December 31, 2028.

“This was a pivotal moment for British racing. The RMG racecourses have created business clarity and confidence for years to come. The certainty which this landmark, long-term agreement provides is very special for everyone involved in British racing.

“I pay particular tribute to the outstanding leadership of the RMG CEO, Martin Stevenson, who together with his great team of RMG executives navigated this complex and detailed process with rigour, patience and clear focus and who continue to lead the business with dynamism.

“I have been very fortunate to have worked alongside an outstanding Board of Directors and I sincerely thank them for their friendship, help and support and their incredible insight into the business.”

The business is aiming to exceed 2021’s forecast payments of £110m for the year ahead.

Lewis continued: “RMG can now look forward to serving its shareholder racecourses, which, in turn, benefits the sport of racing for the foreseeable future.

“The unity of purpose which the RMG racecourses have created over the past 18 years, to build an evolving yet sustainable and secure financial business, is a rare and precious thing. It has been a privilege and an honour to have served racing for the past ten years. It’s been one hell of a ride!”

Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG, paid tribute to Lewis, saying: “I would like to pay tribute to Roger, who during his tenure as first Board member and then Chairman, has been instrumental in the development and success of RMG and its businesses over the last decade.

“In particular, Roger has helped steer RMG through the pandemic, and all the huge challenges it presented, to the point where the business is now producing results, which were on a par with pre-covid payments to racecourses. That is a terrific outcome.

“I thank Roger for his leadership and friendship and for all that he has done for horseracing. We wish him all the best for the future once his tenure comes to its conclusion at the end of the year.”

Regal, part of the Merkur UK portfolio of sector-leading gaming brands, has nuanced its corporate identity in order to better reflect its status as a progressive, data-led machine operator. The company has transitioned from the traditional Regal Gaming and Leisure to its new title – Regal Gaming Technologies.

Explaining the rationale for the name change, Joint-Managing Director, Matt Bicknell said: “Company names should reflect core competencies, credentials and characteristics and certainly over the last five-years our business has changed significantly. While the core objective of putting the very best and most entertaining games on the market for people to play across a raft of hospitality venues remains constant, the process by which we maximise income for our customers has been transformed and that’s due in no small part to our on-going investment in technology.”

He added: “Over the last 24-months we have harnessed the power of new technologies in order to deploy data and support our customers with facts and not opinion to help drive their machine income.

“Regal’s expertise, which also draws on the experience of the wider Merkur Group, means that we are uniquely placed to support customers with an unparalleled level of insight and business intelligence that’s extremely detailed and granular. For example, we can identify dips and increases in income of any of our sited machines at any time of the day, we can identify the denomination of notes used by site and we can generate service calls pre-empting issues that will impact the machine income. The level of detail that’s available means that we can provide licensees with all of the data they require in order to make informed cost/benefit decisions. Essentially, by using technology we are able to provide the information and intelligence that enables us to fulfil the fundamentals of operating which is to maximise income.”

Sascha Blodau, General Manager, Merkur UK, believes the on-going investment made by the company has changed the Regal business and the relationship it has with its growing customer base which he believes is now more partnership based and collaborative in nature. He said: “Connecting all of our digital AWPs to our MARS system has been a game-changer. It means that data can be collated, summarised and analysed in real time, with content and Firmware updates processed at the push of a button. The combination of having a strategic vision alongside the investment and commitment to deliver that vision has accelerated the transformation of Regal from what might have been described as a traditional business to one that’s empowered by technology, hence our new trading name. On a broader level the depth of business critical data that we are able to share with our customers means that we have a closer and more consultative relationship with them which in turn has helped underline the importance of the machine sector in generating income.”

Innovative Technology, who provide a range of biometric solutions designed to estimate age, have been approved as a participant in a UK Government programme piloting age verification technology for the retail sale of alcohol. The Home Office invited organisations to propose digital methods of checking customers’ ages while purchasing alcohol. The regulatory ‘Sandbox’ trial which will run between January and May 2022, will still require humans to check customers ages, but the technology will be used to help retailers abide by the law currently in place to prevent alcohol being mis-sold to anyone underage.

Dr. Andrew O’Brien, ICU Product Manager said, “We are delighted to be accepted into the UK Government Sandbox scheme and see all our hard work undertaken over the past few months come to fruition. Our team have liaised with local licensing authorities, local police officers and local councils to ensure our solution (ICU) is both safe, legal and meets the criteria of the scheme. ICU age verification technology will now be piloted in several convenience stores in the Northwest of England, and we will closely monitor our test sites to ensure we support the retailers’ and collate the relevant data throughout the trial.”

“ICU performs anonymous age estimation completely offline, so no images or data are stored, maintaining privacy. We design and train our own algorithms to check age and the accuracy of our solution has been independently tested by the Age Check Certification Service (ACCS) who found that it underestimates age by only 0.19 years, which establishes ICU as the most accurate independently tested system worldwide.”

Tony Allen, Founder and Chief Executive of ACCS said, “Facial analysis software essentially uses different features of a customer’s face to evaluate and establish their age. The technology behind the ICU age verification device earned independent recognition from the ACCS during a series of accuracy tests which took place in April 2021, concluding that their solution is fit for deployment in a Challenge 25 policy area.”

The Sandbox trial provides an opportunity for industry standards approved by the ACCS to be tested in a small, controlled environment. It will test the practical use of age verification technology in real world situations to gain a better understanding of the implications.

Andrew continued, “A core objective for us during this trial is to understand the impact such technology can have in helping to reduce any potential abuse and aggression directed at staff who refuse underage customers attempting to buy alcohol. We believe this simple tool will have a significant impact to support retailers in adhering to the 2003 Licensing Act. From large supermarket chains to corner shops, we have ensured our product is accessible for all with simple deployment and minimal resources required. Plus, ICU has no recurring transaction fees, we do not charge per age estimation making it a cost-effective solution.”

Last year, the British Retail Consortium wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, highlighting a 76% rise in abuse to staff during the pandemic, and citing identity checks as a trigger point.

OKTO, the award-winning fintech specialist, has strengthened further its relationship with the UK market by joining the domestic trade association bacta. The announcement follows the appointment of experienced gaming industry senior executive Rob Peché to the position of UK Country Manager.

Simon Dorsen, CCO of OKTO, believes joining bacta reflects OKTO’s commitment to the UK industry and is indicative of the brand’s strategy moving forward. He explained: “Rather than being an arms-length technology provider OKTO’s approach is to immerse itself in the markets where it is active. The UK is one of the most important jurisdictions internationally and one in which the brand has rapidly achieved considerable success partnering with leading brands.

“Being a member of bacta places OKTO where we want to be, which is at the centre of all of the key discussions and debates surrounding payments in the UK gaming industry, across AGC, Bingo, Casino, LBO, Pub and Bar sectors.”

Simon added: “This is another example of our company showcasing its ongoing commitment to work with the local industry in order to provide safe, secure, and responsible payment solutions in the gaming, leisure and entertainment sectors.”

UK B2B betting software supplier 20SHOTS have signed an agreement with operator BoyleSports to offer their flagship free-to-play football jackpot game, Fantasy5, to customers under a while label agreement.

The deal marks 20SHOTS first agreement with a tier one operator and will see Fantasy5 directly marketed under BoyleSports’ branding to customers, as the bookmaker looks to use the technology to boost acquisition, retention and engagement during the Premier League season.

Fantasy5 will be marketed directly by BoyleSports to their customers and is based on an integration which is managed by a single sign on mobile, desktop and app through players’ existing accounts.

The partnership comes as Fantasy5’s growth continues, surpassing 100,000 active users to become the fastest growing free-to-play football jackpot game in the industry.

Fantasy5’s growth this season has also been driven by 74% week on week retention rates, with active users logging in 3 times a week and spending in excess of 3 minutes on site per session when playing.

BoyleSports’ customers will enter a separate Fantasy5 game, running alongside the global Fantasy5 game, with entrants in both able to land a £10,000 jackpot from a free entry should they successfully pick players to surpass their fantasy football points target in a gameweek.

Commenting on the partnership and integration, Mark Kemp, CEO BoyleSports said: “We’re excited to launch Fantasy5 under our branding in order to boost our free-to-play offering for new and existing customers. Free-to-play is a key part of our customer acquisition and retention strategy and by bolstering our product offering with Fantasy5, we’re giving customers even more reason to log in each gameweek to spend time on site.

“As the first UK & Irish operator to offer Fantasy5, we’re hopeful that a BoyleSports customer wins the £10,000 jackpot from a free entry sooner rather than later.”

20SHOTS co-founder Jacob Kalms said: “Our landmark agreement with BoyleSports is complete meaning their sportsbook customers can soon join the global pool of players, now in excess of 100,000, competing for our jackpots, free of charge, every game week and directly from their existing BoyleSports accounts.

“Our retention statistics prove that free-to-play product represents the next player recruitment and retention battleground for the industry and by being able to offer the jackpot directly to their customers, BoyleSports’ offering to a valuable football betting audience is increased.”

“This landmark partnership and launch represents the next stage of our strategic growth which will see Fantasy5 offered to customers across the world via partnerships with operators and we are thrilled to see the competition open directly via a leading Uk & Irish sportsbook brand for the first time.”