Leading sportsbook and iGaming software provider Altenar has unveiled a range of new tools and features designed to bolster its offerings within the highly competitive Italian market. These updated solutions will enhance the company’s existing regional partnerships and enable further growth, advancing its ambitious expansion ambitions.

The Updates Answer the Region’s Unique Challenges

Italy, recognized as one of the most sought-after European jurisdictions in the online gambling industry, has been a significant market for Altenar for the past four years. However, strict regulations mean operators and suppliers face significant compliance challenges, limiting the scope of potential partnerships. Altenar’s recent updates seek to resolve this issue and deliver enduring success.

One of the standout developments is the latest version of Altenar’s front-end solution. This new iteration promises to deliver a faster and fully customizable platform, enabling operators to add features based on their specific needs. This level of flexibility empowers partners to craft sportsbooks that align precisely with local regulations while preserving their brand identity.

Other milestone developments include adding Partial Cashout options after the Italian government’s groundbreaking 2022 reforms. Altenar’s new Promotional Bonus tool should attract significant operator interest, allowing partners to bolster player satisfaction and retention rates via many customizable options. These developments will help the supplier stand out amidst the competition and retain its leadership position.

Altenar Remains Adaptable and Competitive

The enhanced solutions underscore Altena’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements in the industry, empowering partners to reach new heights. Gambling operator Diecimilauno has already adopted the supplier’s Partial Cashout feature, giving its players unparalleled freedom. CEO Fabrizio Frenna lauded Altena’s solution, noting its rising popularity.

Altenar is always attentive to the needs of the market and collaborates with Diecimilauno to offer an increasingly high-performance service.

Fabrizio Frenna, Diecimilauno CEO

Altenar’s strategic approach to catering to the Italian market’s needs showcases its dedication to understanding the intricacies of different jurisdictions and providing tailored solutions. The supplier aims to empower its partners and provide a more personalized and enjoyable gaming experience. As the company evolves its offerings, it will continue to thrive in the competitive Italian gambling landscape.

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The leading global gaming company, International Game Technology (IGT), announced that it secured validation for its near and long-term science-based commitments to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The validation came from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), effectively recognizing IGT’s commitment toward reaching net-zero GHG emissions by the year 2050. The SBTi is a global collaboration between the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), DCP, World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Resources Institute.

Ultimately, the SBTi provides strategic guidance and promotes best practices when it comes to science-based target setting. Besides guidance for the commitments by different companies around the globe, the SBTi independently assesses and validates science-based targets.

The recent validation represents an important milestone for IGT on its way to reducing further GHG emissions. In fact, since 2017, the company has been a member of the UNGC. Reaffirming its commitment to sustainable growth and eliminating GHG emissions, the company adopted nine out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by the UN. Those rules were aligned by IGT with its sustainability strategy.

Recently, IGT confirmed its plans to showcase products at the upcoming Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE). At the event, set between August 15 and August 17, 2023, the company confirmed it plans to display its popular Peak cabinets and present other solutions and technologies.

IGT Reaffirms Near and Long-Term Sustainability Commitments

One of IGT’s near-term targets is to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 50% until the year 2030, from 2019. Additionally, the company plans to decrease Scope 3 GHG emissions by 30% while following the same timeframe.

On the other hand, the company has established long-term science-based commitments as well which involve reducing absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 90% by the year 2050 from 2019. Within the same timeframe, IGT anticipates a reduction of absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 90% as well.

According to the company, it “would then offset the residual 10% of emissions by 2050.” A priority for the IGT would be the reduction of direct emissions, while the residual emissions would be neutralized while following preset criteria by SBTi before the company hits net-zero emissions.

“Receiving this validation from the SBTi represents a milestone achievement for IGT as it reassures our stakeholders that we are committed to reaching net-zero GHG emissions.“

Wendy Montgomery, SVP of marketing, communications and sustainability at IGT

Wendy Montgomery, IGT’s SVP of marketing, communications and sustainability, acknowledged that SBTi’s validation marked a significant achievement that reaffirms the company’s commitment toward reaching net-zero emissions. Finally, she said that the established science-based targets enable IGT to grow sustainably while reducing GHG emissions.

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PAGCOR, the country’s regulator, has conducted a series of operations that have focused on clamping down on such activities, with the latest taking place in Las Piñas City in Metro Manila where the Philippine National Police raided a business and ordered an offshore gaming service provider to stop business with immediate activity.

Clamping Down on the POGO Sector Harder

According to a statement issued by authorities and cited by local media outlets, the business in question has to do with Xinchuang Network Technology, Inc. The business is allegedly involved with what the regulator and police suspect is both human trafficking and cryptocurrency scams.

The latter usually takes place in the form of “pig-butchering scams.” In those cases, a victim is approached by a pretend romantic partner. The fake partner continues to ask the victim for money until they cannot pay any longer. PAGCOR said that it had been tipped about the potential offenses and had surveilled the company’s offices for a month before conducting an operation last week.

The operation was a success with police authorities retrieving a staggering number of people – some 1,534 nationals hailing from the Philippines and 1,000 nationals from the region, including countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The country has had more than 41,000 illegal arrests in 2023 so far.

During the raid, authorities seized a number of electronic devices and documentation owned by the company and potentially used in the purported scams. PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco welcomed the efforts of law enforcement and his own colleagues.

“As we have always said before, PAGCOR will not hesitate to impose sanctions on erring licensees and accredited service providers,” H. Tengco said.  The official said that PAGCOR will continue to work actively with authorities and police to ensure that its businesses are protected.

POGOs, an Ongoing Apple of Discord in the Region

The series of recent regulatory moves have to do with a toughening on the overall stance into Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations or POGOs which have been coming under a lot of heat from the regulator, but also regional countries’ governments, most prominent amongst which has been that of China.

The Philippines was recently associated with an illegal gambling website which has opportunistically stolen the domain name that was originally intended to celebrate American history in the United States but was hijacked and used to promote dangerous gambling operations instead.

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The tribal gaming regulator has said that has flagged what it considers to be multiple offenses committed by the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma dating back to 2013 and that have to do with the annual audits of gaming operations and the Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

The infringements flagged by the regulator, are serious and they criticize the lack of timely and compliant financial statements by the company. The two properties that are tied to the infringements are the Golden Eagle Casino and the Silver Buffalo Casino, a now-closed property.

Apache Tribe in Hot Water with NIGC

NIGC outlined specific breaches had to do with three areas, including the submission of annual audits, the hiring of an independent CPA to conduct independent audits of each casino for each fiscal year, and independent audit and financial statements sent to the regulator within 120 days of the end of a property’s fiscal year.

According to the regulator, which went back and looked all the way back to 2013, some of the audits had been carried out by an unlicensed CPA and were therefore unacceptable. The situation was further outlined by an official press release with a statement from NIGC chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer:

NIGC’s technical assistance provided to the Tribe over the past several years to correct these violations and to improve its internal controls and record keeping has not resulted in voluntary compliance. Submitting timely and accurate annual independent audit reports and AUPs is critical to NIGC’s mission to protect the integrity of Indian gaming, and we do not take this enforcement action lightly.

NIGC chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer

Massive Fines Are Possible But Not Very Likely

AUPs refer to agreed-upon procedures, or in this case, the obligations that tribal operators and their properties have towards the regulator. NIGC has noted that a normal course of action would be to issue a fine to a property of $57,527 per day for each day of missing reports and audits.

The tribe now has 15 days to respond to the regulator. The regulator logged the case on April 19, which is the date from when the grace period is counted. It’s unlikely however that NIGC will particularly seek to enforce a stiff penalty on the tribe’s properties, and rather seek a course to remedy the records.

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Apollo Global, an American global private equity firm, has confirmed its IPO plans for the Lottomatica division, saying that it plans to have it go public on the Euronext Milan exchange by the end of April. The IPO is expected to help Lottomatica reduce its debt.

According to the announcement, the IPO will consist of both new and existing shares, although the exact number to be sold is still undetermined. Gross proceeds from the new shares, the Italian operator hopes, will reach $467 million.

Lottomatica’s initial public offering was reportedly approved by shareholders in February, following earlier rumors that the company is set to go public. In January, rumors claimed that the company will be looking to raise at least $1 billion through its initial public offering.

However, at that time, the Italian company was still evaluating the market conditions. As a result, the IPO plan was not officialized until later.

Lottomatica is a sports betting operator that offers retail and online betting in Italy. The company has been continuously growing its local presence, improving profitability across the board.

It reported adjusted core profits of around $170 million in Q1, which translates into a year-on-year increase of 15-16%. Meanwhile, Lottomatica’s revenue rose by 21% YOY to $308 million.

The company hopes to deliver mid-point core profits of $615 million. Lottomatica’s guidance for 2023, on the other hand, expects the Italian operator to earn $1.73 million and $1.83 billion.

The IPO Might Be Coming at the Perfect Time

Experts say that the IPO may be coming at just the right time, considering the IPO drought in Europe. In 2022, high interest rates and increased inflation discouraged investors from taking daring actions. However, this pent-up demand for listings might work to Lottomatica’s benefit, helping it achieve and surpass its IPO targets.

Although it is yet to be seen if this projection will come true, the current conditions are something that Lottomatica’s leadership has certainly considered.

Last year, the Italian operator strengthened its business through key deals with notable B2B companies. For example, the company was able to secure an exclusive payment deal with the innovative payment provider Nuvei and an iPoker deal with Playtech.

In November 2022, the company also finalized the acquisition of Betflag, an Italian gaming company.

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