Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB updates you with the stories you may have missed over the last few days.
Suspected MGM hacker arrested in Spain
In 2022, MGM confirmed that its loyalty programme had been hacked. On 14 June, the Spanish national police arrested a man they believe to be involved in the hack at Palma Airport. He was boarding a flight to Italy, reported Murcia Today.
The FBI’s Los Angeles field office issued the arrest warrant for the 22-year-old UK national, per CyberNews.
The group responsible for the cyberattack, Scattered Spider, allegedly hacked multiple major corporations. The man arrested is accused of hacking corporate accounts and allegedly controlled $27m worth of BitCoin. Caesars Entertainment was also hacked last autumn.
Colorado tribes still shut out of digital wagering
Nearly five years after Coloradans legalised digital sports betting and four-plus years after launch, the state’s tribes still aren’t live. Per the Colorado Sun, the state has been unable to reach an agreement with the tribes about how they would operate.
At issue is funding for Colorado’s water projects. State sports betting revenue goes to fund such projects, but tribal gaming has different rules and it’s possible that the Mountain Ute and Southern Ute would not have to pay the state like commercial operators do. The state’s concern with allowing the tribes to have digital sports betting and sports betting via kiosk is that overall tax revenue may decline.
In November, Colorado voters will have a chance to change how much money the state can collect from wagering. There is currently a $29m annual cap, but operators are expected to generate more than $32m in tax revenue in the coming fiscal year.
US sports betting, online casino going up, up, up
According to the latest report from Jefferies Capital, online sports betting handle is up 44% over last May, and gross gaming revenue (GGR) is up 30%. Eighteen states had reported revenue data as of 21 June.
The numbers for online gambling are equally as positive – with five states reporting, GGR is up 27% over last year. Jefferies analysts say FanDuel is still the market leader in both categories. May is the eighth month that FanDuel is the number one gaming brand, according to Jefferies and the fourth month that it is the number one operator.
Want to stay The Mirage? It won’t cost much
Truist Securities reported with the closure of the Tropicana and impending shutdown of The Mirage on 14 July, there will be 4,500 fewer hotel rooms on Strip.
While that would seem to mean that hotel prices are spiking, CDC Gaming Reports wrote that Truist analyst Barry Jonas said Mirage room rates for June and July are down 44%-46% year over year. Jonas expects third-quarter room rates to be flat year over year.
Another name added to election betting inquiry
An additional potential insider bettor on the election date before its announcement has been reported in the national news, prompting the UK Gambling Commission to expand its investigation to include third party bettors that may have placed bets for politically exposed persons (PEPs).
Sky News reported Conservative chief data officer Nick Mason was the fourth party candidate to be added to the inquiry, this weekend. Mason is reported to have taken a leave of absence and denies any wrongdoing.
Navajo Nation appoints new gaming CEO
The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise (Navajo Gaming) has appointed John James as its new CEO. James has a lengthy career history leading tribal casinos, most recently as CEO for River Rock Entertainment Authority in Geyserville, California.
James will oversees operations for multiple sites, including the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, Fire Rock Navajo Casino, Northern Edge Navajo Casino, Flowing Water Navajo Casino and the Navajo Blue Travel Plaza.
