Spin Cycle: Online Casino Numbers In RI And CT, An Integrity Team-Up Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Rhode Island’s first iCasino revenue report is in

From when legal online casino gaming launched in Rhode Island on March 5 through the end of the month — 27 days of play — the state’s lone operator, Bally Casino, generated $1.2 million net gaming revenue, regulators reported this week.

Is that a strong number? The only regulated iGaming state that acts as a reasonable point of comparison is Delaware, as the two states are basically the same size, ranking 44th (Rhode Island) and 45th (Delaware) in population, each just a shade over a million people. In both jurisdictions, the state levies a pretty substantial tax of about 60% for online slots.

In 2023, Delaware averaged $1.17 million in revenue per month — before switching to new provider Rush Street Gaming to kick off 2024 and quickly tripling its monthly numbers. So Rhode Island started off ahead of the pace of pre-RSI Delaware, at least.

And the Rhode Island Lottery, which regulates iCasino in the state, expressed the belief that the numbers will only get bigger. One week in April saw revenue of nearly $570,000, lottery officials said, suggesting the next full-month total could roughly double March’s revenue.

A closer look at the March numbers reveals that slots accounted for about $1 million of revenue, with the other approximately $200,000 coming from online table games play.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Connecticut …

Whereas Rhode Island is a total iCasino newbie, fellow New England state Connecticut is a relatively mature (or at least maturing) market with 2½ years of experience. And just like the biggest online casino states — Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as covered in last week’s Spin Cycle — Connecticut reported records in March, hauling in $44.3 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR), some $50,000 ahead of the previous state high.

The adjusted gaming revenue (after promotional deductions) was not quite a record, however, coming out to $37.7 million. The state collected $6.8 million in taxes off of online casino play.

FanDuel Casino led the way with $21.4 million in GGR, a single-month record for any operator in Connecticut, with DraftKings Casino a close second.

1 + 1 = 360

Integrity and compliance go hand in hand in a regulated gambling world. On Tuesday, two leading companies brought those two words together, quite literally.

U.S. Integrity and Odds On Compliance have merged to form Integrity Compliance 360, they jointly announced from their respective headquarters in Las Vegas and Miami. Could they have come up with a better portmanteau? “Integriance,” perhaps? “Compligrity,” maybe? Oh well, they played it safe. But the new name shortens nicely to “IC360.”

“The coming together of U.S. Integrity and Odds On Compliance represents a strategic alignment of values and a shared commitment to excellence,” IC360 CEO Matt Holt, previously the CEO of U.S. Integrity, said in a press release. “As IC360, we are dedicated to providing our clients with 360-degree solutions that address their unique compliance challenges, ensuring they can operate with integrity and confidence in today’s complex regulatory environment.”

Added IC360 President Eric Frank, who was previously the CEO of Odds On Compliance: “Our vision is clear: to help lead our industry forward on compliance and integrity standards, empowering our partners to raise the bar. We believe the IC360 brand represents just that. This is only the beginning of an exciting chapter for Integrity Compliance 360.”

With a particularly bright spotlight shining on sports betting scandals of late, watchdogs with the technological know-how to monitor and catch irregularities are more essential than ever. Suffice to say this merger comes at a pivotal time in the U.S. gaming industry.

The Shuffle: Other news and views

UNDER THE INFLUENCE: ‘Influencers’ provide some of the most effective marketing casinos could ask for

CLICK THE MOUSE: PENN Entertainment taps Disney/ESPN exec as chief technology officer

UNITED WE STAND: Atlantic City casino operators vow to work together in face of coming New York threat

SHOW ME THE MONEY: How to (and why you need to) enable instant withdrawals

RG AT DK: DraftKings adds first-ever responsible gaming officer

WHEEL SUSPICIOUS: Two men accused of cheating, winning thousands of dollars at roulette inside of Pittsburgh casino

NAMES REDACTED: Longtime lottery directors oppose anonymity option for winners, but they’re losing that fight

MARCH MEDIOCRITY: Nevada, Las Vegas Strip gaming wins dip in March

PULP FRICTION: The ideas to police sports betting are well-intentioned but out of control

TIME TO BUY?: Analyst: Market too bearish on ESPN BET

LOTTERY LOCK: Deep dive on Lotto Texas jackpot win reveals calculated strategy, raises questions

SOUR ON LEMON: Lemon suspended indefinitely for betting on CFL games

INTERESTING END-AROUND: Arkansas enters online casino legalization conversation — without requiring a whole new law

IFS, ANDS, BUTTS: Could this activist shareholder proposal finally clear the air inside Bally’s casinos?

HOOK TO THE BOOK: Boxer Ryan Garcia claims he won $10M betting on himself, opening massive can of worms if true

TRY, TRY AGAIN: A casino in the Meadowlands? The idea, once rejected by voters, is floated again

POINTING UPWARD: PointsBet iGaming net win fuels capital return for investors

SLOT OR NOT?: Gray market slot-style games a contentious issue among regulated casino crowd

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE: Online casino scam reaches Ontario, as police warn of fraudulent gaming ads

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Aristocrat wraps up NeoGames acquisition, deal valued at approximately $1.2 billion

STRIP POACHER: Fontainebleau opposes injunction sought by Wynn in poaching case

BLAME IT ON THE SNOW: Harsh winter weather contributes to ‘challenging’ Q1 for Boyd Gaming

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week:

• Every week in the gambling industry brings headlines of someone, somewhere scoring life-changing money on the spin of a reel. The past week featured more someones and somewheres than usual. There was a $1.7 million jackpot win on a Dragon Link machine at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. There was a player who went on a crazy $1.4 million run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. But my favorite is the almost-$1.4 million hit at Harry Reid International Airport. We’ve all rolled our eyes at the Vegas airport slots players — thinking either, “Jeez, you can’t even wait until you get to the casino?” or “You’ve almost made it out of town, don’t blow your last 20 bucks.” And then someone comes along and smashes for seven figures in between takeoffs, departures, and tram rides. Must be nice.

• How did you spend your Earth Day? We know how lots of Bally’s employees spent theirs, as representatives from various properties planted trees, cleaned up parks, highways, and beaches, and even created a bee garden. “These 2024 Earth Day initiatives demonstrated the commitment of the Ballyverse to environmental stewardship and community engagement,” the casino company shared in a press release.

• It was a promising week for athletes seeking second chances after violating league gambling rules. First, former Indianapolis Colts cornerback (now with the Philadelphia Eagles) Isaiah Rodgers Sr. got reinstated after a one-year suspension. Then Pete Rose found out he has a friend in the Ohio Statehouse who introduced a resolution to get the hit king off the Baseball Hall of Fame ineligible list. We’re not exactly holding our breath for ol’ “Charlie Hustle,” but, hey, better to be a +10000 underdog than to have no odds posted at all.