Bally’s has partnered with EPIC Global Solutions to promote responsible gaming practices and raise awareness of gaming’s potential impacts.
The three-year partnership will see EPIC’s lived experience team educate Bally’s partners across the UK and the US as part of their “shared commitment to creating safer and more enjoyable gaming environments”.
The two organisations aim to “set new standards for responsible gaming and create a safer and more enjoyable gaming environment for all”.
Robeson Reeves, CEO of Bally’s Corporation, commented: “Bally’s and EPIC Global Solutions are committed to setting new standards for responsible gaming with a three-year commitment.
“Together, we are creating safer and more enjoyable gaming environments through educating multiple partners in the gaming ecosystem, harnessing the power of EPIC’s lived experience approach in both the UK and US.”
Through the partnership, Bally’s and EPIC aim to emphasise the importance of responsible gaming to “minimise the negative impact of gaming and ensure a more responsible approach within the industry”.
In the US, Bally’s employees will receive training from EPIC’s lived experience team, benefiting those who work on the casino floor or in customer service roles to help them make informed decisions and improve customer engagement “with their wellbeing and enjoyment in mind”.
EPIC and Bally’s will also produce social media and digital campaigns to provide responsible gaming best practice advice and highlight gaming’s potential consequences.
“We are excited to partner with Bally’s to drive positive change in the gaming industry,” added Paul Buck, Founder and CEO of EPIC Global Solutions.
“By leveraging EPIC’s lived experience approach, we can make a significant impact on responsible gaming practices globally.”
Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling has reported an increase in market gross gambling revenue in its second quarter of 2024 financials in comparison to the same period last year, but a decrease when compared to the previous quarter.
Casino operations in the country underwent GGR growth year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, with slots GGR rising in both comparison periods as well.
For Q2, the Spanish gambling authority reported a GGR of €346.34m, up 10.79% YoY, but down 1.24% in comparison to Q1’s figure of €350.69m.
Deposits and withdrawals grew by 17.87% and 17.76% respectively when compared to the previous year, but deposits declined by 0.3% QoQ, while withdrawals increased by 0.97%.
In comparison to the previous quarter, marketing expenditure increased by 6.59%, while new accounts rose by 1.77%.
Breaking down the €346.34m GGR by game segments, casino accounted for 49.57% of the total revenue with €171.69m, followed by betting at 42% with €145.48m, poker at 7.38% with €25.56m, bingo at 1.04% with €3.61m and contests rounding out with approximately €2,000.
During the quarter, the Spanish market had 78 licensed operators – casino: 50, betting: 42, poker: nine, bingo: four and contests: two.
Casino’s GGR of €171.69m was up on a YoY and QoQ basis by 14.57% and 2.34% respectively. In comparison to the same period the previous year, slots GGR rose by 19.52% while live roulette GGR increased by 9.57%.
Against the previous quarter, slots GGR increased by 13.71% and blackjack grew by 12.04%, but conventional and live roulette fell by 21.10% and 12.05% respectively.
Betting’s GGR of €145.48m was down 3.19% QoQ, but up 9.13% in comparison to the same period the previous year. In-play sportsbook GGR and other betting rose by 5.75% and 36.62% respectively QoQ, but pre-match and horse betting fell by 10.34% and 12.25% respectively.
Poker’s GGR of €25.56m dropped by 10.15% QoQ and 0.76% YoY, but poker tournament GGR rose by 1.24% QoQ and 6.24% YoY. Meanwhile, poker cash fell by 37.02% QoQ and 20.63% YoY.
Bingo’s GGR of €3.61m was down by 13.94% QoQ but increased by 1.87% YoY, while contests had no activity.
The authority noted that marketing expenses in Q2 were €120.21m, up 6.59% QoQ and 22.46% YoY.
Breaking this down, affiliation expenses stood at €12.78m (down 11.06% QoQ, up 0.88% YoY), sponsorship was €1.20m (up 24.64% QoQ, down 1.32% YoY), promotions was €62.26m (up 11.85% QoQ, 27.15% YoY) and advertising was €43.97m (up 5.24% QoQ, 24.52% YoY).
Promotions are broken down into the cost of bonus included in prizes (€21.59m) and the cost of bonus not included in prizes (€40.67m).
The monthly average of active game accounts rose by 5.47% QoQ and 23.65% YoY to 1,401,634, while the monthly average of the new game accounts increased by 1.77% QoQ and 46.57% YoY to 150,677.
