For years, a battle has been raging over the legality of skill games in Pennsylvania. While supporters of such form of entertainment said that it provides a different experience than gambling and helps local businesses, opponents warned about the impact of skill games on the brick-and-mortar casino sector. Currently, skill games operate within a grey area across Pennsylvania, but that may soon change with the state’s newly proposed budget.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently released his proposed budget for FY 2024/2025, which included estimates for proceeds from skill games tax. Per the proposed budget, the tax rate for such games would be 42% on gross gaming revenue. The Governor’s budget reveals that the regulation of skill games would be in the hands of the state’s gambling regulator, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).

The collected tax on gross gaming revenue from such machines would be deposited into an administrative account. Subsequently, the collected taxes from skill games would be relocated to the state’s General Fund, under the proposed budget.

Assuming that the required legislation and rules would be in place with the budget’s effective date, July 1, 2024, an estimated $150.4 million in proceeds from skill games taxes are expected to be generated for FY 2024/2025. Gov. Shapiro’s proposed budget estimated the proceeds from skill games taxes to increase to $313.4 million for FY 2025/2026 and remain in a similar ballpark through FY 2028/2029.

“This budget proposes a tax to be levied on the daily gross gaming revenue from electronic gaming machines that involve an element of skill and are regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Estimates assume an effective date of July 1, 2024. This budget deposits tax revenues into a restricted account for administration, transferring the balance to the General Fund,“

reads Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed FY 2024/2025 budget

A Major Milestone for Skill Games

Undoubtedly, including tax revenue from skill games within the proposed budget marks an important milestone after years of dispute over the legality of such games. Yet, it is important to mention that the proposed budget may undergo changes. Still, the Governor’s intention to include skill games in the budget marks a clear signal for lawmakers about the future of skill games in Pennsylvania.

The recent development follows a court decision from late last year. At the time, skill games were designated as not illegal, a move that paved the way for the regulation of such games. The judgment came from the Commonwealth Court, approving a lower court’s decision that recognized winnings from skill games as legal.

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Super Group (SGHC), the gambling company behind the online gambling and sports betting operator Betway, and Spin, a multi-brand online casino, announced that it has been added to the Russell 2000 Index. This is an important milestone for the company that will improve its profile, its leadership believes.

The Russell 2000 Index is a stock market index that comprises the smallest 2,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index, a capitalization-weighted stock market index that seeks to define the US stock market.

The addition of Super Group to the index comes as part of the annual reconstitution of the entire family of Russell indexes, the company announced. The reconstitution took place after trading closed on Friday, June 23 and became effective starting Monday, June 26.

As part of the Russell 2000 Index, Super Group was automatically included in the Russell 3000 Index as well, the company added.

Super Group Praised the Milestone

Neal Menashe, Super Group’s chief executive officer, shared his company’s excitement to join the Russell 2000 Index. He lauded this development as a milestone for the public company, saying that it will enhance its profile with investors.

We believe that this milestone as a public company will enhance our profile with investors as we work towards optimizing our global footprint in the online sports betting and gaming industries while maintaining our profitability.

Neal Menashe, CEO, Super Group

As noted by Super Group, FTSE Russell performs a reconstitution process for its indexes each year. As a result, it ranks the market capitalization of the 4,000 largest US stocks.

The Russell indexes are used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds. In addition, they serve as benchmarks for active investment strategies.

Super Group concluded that readers can find more information about the Russell indexes in the Russell Reconstitution section on the FTSE Russell official website.

A month ago, Super Group posted its financial results for the first quarter of the year, demonstrating a stable performance. The company’s losses plummeted as it enjoyed steady revenues thanks to its prior investments. At the time, CEO Menashe said that his company will continue to build on another strong quarter.

At the beginning of the year, Super Group finalized the acquisition of the iGaming and online sports betting company DGC. Meanwhile, a Super Group shareholder sued Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp, which allegedly withheld information about its merger with Super Group.

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Online casino operator Rootz announced today that a mutually-beneficial agreement with Air Dice would see the addition of new game titles to further expand the choice to players.

Fellow Nordic Partners

The new content distribution deal between Rootz and Air Dice will allow the games lobbies at Wildz, Wheelz, Caxino, Spinz and Chipz to feature some of the most popular titles of the Finnish games provider, including Neon Shifter and Wandering Devourer.

Commenting on the content distribution partnership, Lasse Rantala, chief executive officer of Rootz, pointed to the shared values between Rootz and Air Dice companies, acknowledging growth at the fellow Nordic partner.

“I can appreciate a fellow Nordic company’s growth, as is the case with Air Dice: we have many shared values that include tech development and application and the use of business intelligence and reporting tools,” he said.

Emphasizing “the integration of AI-driven gaming models that provide a seamless and player-centric user experience” as being of key interest and offering great value in the deal, Lantala concluded that the operator anticipates the new games to be welcomed by its players.

Founded in 2002, Air Dice is a privately-owned online casino software developer with a lengthy history in the iGaming sector that has established itself as a specialist in developing slots and strategy influence money games.

Continuous Product Expansion

On behalf of Air Dice, Victor Borg Barthet, director and chief executive officer at Air Dice Services Malta, expressed the provider’s contentment that it would be able to provide Rootz with its games portfolio, outlining the progress achieved by its new partner in the past few years.

“In a short space of 5 years, Rootz and its consumer-facing casino brands have leveraged a state-of-the-art platform focusing on using technology to deliver a superior player experience,” Borg Barthet said, expressing confidence that Rootz casino players will enjoy Air Dice’s games.

The content distribution deal with Air Dice is the latest for the iGaming operator that is constantly looking to grow its library of games for slot enthusiasts and fans of Live Casino experiences, partnering with games providers offering slick and innovative products that align with Rootz’s strategy for success.

At the end of last year, Rootz signed a content distribution agreement with Apparat Gaming to add the German provider’s games portfolio to the product offering of Rootz’s online casino brands. The deal followed shortly after Rootz had received its operating license in Germany.

In February this year, Rootz received authorization to offer its casino games in Ontario, marking the second regulated jurisdiction to allow operation and the beginning of Rootz’s expansion globally.

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