News and Analysis
Bally’s Donates Whopping $600k to ICRG
Bally’s Corporation has this week donated $600,000 to the International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) to support ongoing research into gambling addiction among young adults and effective, responsible gambling management tools. While the ICRG will not conduct the research first-hand, they will open a call for academics and scientists to apply for funding and conduct studies. The donated money will also help fund projects that educate gambling treatment providers.
It’s always great to see gambling operators actively supporting responsible gambling R&D, especially with sizable donations - good job Bally’s.
US Commercial Gaming Hit Record Revenue in Q2
US commercial gaming revenue has hit record highs for Q2, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA), with total revenue amounting to $14.81bn during the period (up 8.8% YoY). Land-based slots remained the biggest revenue generator accounting for $8.70bn.
Kansas to Debut Sports Betting on September 1st
Kansas casinos will officially begin accepting online and in-person sports bets from September 1st. The new sports betting legislation (Bill 84) was only signed into force by Governor Kelly in May 2022, so this is an incredibly fast turnaround for the state and great news for players. Thus far, FanDuel, BetMGM, Barstool, Caesar, Barstool, DraftKings, FoxBet, PointsBet, and Bally’s are confirmed to launch in the state.
Borgata Casino Leads NJ Market in July
NJ gambling revenue figures are in for July, showing a 6.7% growth rate, with Borgata Casino leading the market, followed by Golden Nugget Online in second place and Resorts Digital in third.
PariPlay Get PA License
PariPlay extends its USA footprint further this week as its new Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board License is confirmed, with games set to go live immediately. PariPlay Managing Director Adrian Bailey said of the deal;
“We continually strive to expand in key markets, and Pennsylvania is one of the major emerging territories in the United States… Receiving our fourth license in the US is an important landmark for us and we’re eager to expand commercially in our newest market. It is one that has great potential both for Pariplay and also our future partners.”
PariPlay already supplies games to West Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan online casinos.
Penn Entertainment Increases Barstool Sports Shares
This week Penn Entertainment announced it will purchase the remaining shares in Barstool Sportsbook, with the acquisition set to be completed in February 2023. Penn Entertainment previously had 36% shares of the company, which they later increased to 50%. Once the acquisition is complete, Barstool will become a wholly owned subsidy of Penn Entertainment.
Slot Game of the Week
Carnival Cow Coin Combo: Light & Wonder, RTP: 89.96 - 95.97%
This week we’ve got a brand new Light & Wonder title to tell you about, and it’s one of the studio’s first releases since rebranding from Scientific Games. Carnival Cow Coin Combo is a fixed jackpot slot set to rock with huge max payouts of up to 30,000x.
Played on 5x3 reels, it has 243 ways to win and an RTP that ranges. It’s a very complex game with multiple bonus rounds, so we recommend taking it for a spin in demo mode before loading up the reels and staking cash, but when you’re ready to play for real money, it’s worth the spin.
There are wild symbols that can appear on reels 2-4 and element coins that you’ll collect in the corresponding colored pots (red, blue, green) sitting on top of the reels. The coin pots can trigger bonus features; the red bowl is the click-and-pick jackpot round, while the blue and green can trigger up to 6 different cow features, which take place on another playing screen and includes a hold and win feature.
There’s an additional bonus feature; the red mystery envelope, which is randomly triggered and provides extra coin wins when active. Plus, if you’re feeling impatient, you can use the buy pass to head straight to the bonus rounds.
Ready to spin? Then load up the reels from $0.22 to $60.88 and enjoy Carnival Cow Coin Combo at these top-rated Light & Wonder Casinos.
