1 day ago Scientists who normally focus on fixing defective genes said on Friday that up to $2.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help them move their COVID-19 vaccine candidate toward 2021 human trials. Harvard University scientist Luk Vandenberghe and University of Pennsylvania gene therapy head James Wilson said primate safety and efficacy tests have proven promising for their. MBDA mine detection vehicles. Right after offering its demining solutions to the Sahel region armies (Africa Intelligence, 21/12/20), the European defence firm MBDA is ready to roll out its equipment in the Horn of Africa.It has been in contact with the Kenyan army to discuss its interest in acquiring MBDA's VDM route clearance and countermining vehicles to detect and remove improvised. Pick up 50 free spins, no deposit required when you create a new casino account at Real Time Gaming powered Slotastic Casino! This US friendly casino is home to over 300 games including Real Time Gaming's popular Real Series slots and progressive jackpots! Get 50 No Deposit Spins!.New players only.
DraftKings headquarters in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Foxwoods Resort Casino has signed a deal with DraftKings as the platform to host online sports betting pending any legalization in Connecticut. The deal also includes a collaboration in offering daily fantasy sports leagues that pay cash to winners with plans to launch Sunday, Dec. 13.
Boston-based DraftKings is one of two major outlets for daily fantasy sports betting along with FanDuel. Connecticut authorized daily fantasy sports in a 2017 budget bill, but has yet to set a clearly defined set of regulations for the sector after an opinion by the state's attorney general's office that daily fantasy sports could represent a violation of the state's revenue agreement with Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun casino.
Connecticut currently receives 25 cents of every dollar in slot revenue from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel also run sports books that allow people to bet against game point spreads and outcomes for individual athletes. DraftKings and Foxwoods are projecting $175 million in revenue for Connecticut from online gaming and sports betting in the first five years after legalization, if Gov. Ned Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly take steps to do so.
DraftKings members can bet on sports in a dozen states today including New York and New Jersey, with varying restrictions in place.
'We've proven our ability to shape the future of gaming time and time again, and now we're ready to drive sports wagering and online gaming for the state of Connecticut,' stated Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe which owns Foxwoods, in a written statement released Monday morning. 'Working through the tribal gaming compacts, we will help bolster our economy with much-needed revenue and virtual entertainment.'
The governor's office did not issue an immediate statement Monday morning, with Lamont having expressed support earlier this year for Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun being allowed to expand into sports betting.
Speaking with investment analysts last month, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made no mention of any deal in the works with Foxwoods, which is the second largest casino in the United States after Oklahoma's WinStar World Casino & Resort. The company announced a deal in September to be the daily fantasy sports engine for the Bristol-based ESPN subsidiary of Walt Disney.
'We think there's a great long-term relationship that we hope to build upon there,' Robins said in November in reference to the ESPN deal. 'We don't have at this time anything that we're publicly saying about timing of any sort of direct integration or other things — but [our] teams are working very hard on it, so we hopefully will start to see some of the things very soon.'
Includes prior reporting by Dan Haar, who contributed to this report.
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Announcing its trading statement, William Hill has revealed that it expects to lose £30 million over lockdown closures. However, the bookmaker also reported growth in its online operations, as more people chose to place bets at home.
William Hill's operations were badly affected by lockdown closures, although it did see a boost from online customers. ©Lukas/Pexels
Impact of Lockdown
British bookmaker William Hill has published its trading statement, at the close of the fourth quarter. It details how the company has weathered the coronavirus pandemic that affected business for the greater part of last year. Despite the lockdowns, William Hill says its total net revenue for the fourth quarter grew by 9% year on year.
The statement also reports that sportsbook staking saw an increase of 16%, thanks to expansion and boosted product offerings. Sports results were good for gross win margins, and the sportsbook net revenue went up 20% year on year.
William Hill was not entirely unscathed by COVID-19 though, as high-street retail was forced to close at a number of points during the year. Disruption to the sporting calendar also impacted the availability of betting odds. Consequently, the group's total net revenue for the year fell by 16%, to £1,324 million.
William Hill was able to act flexibly in response to retail closures during lockdown, which saw net revenue drop by 30%. This primarily impacted the first quarter of 2020, although a knock-on effect was felt throughout the year. The business was able to recover when retail reopened, and was almost set to break even at the end of the third quarter.
However, during the fourth quarter, more restrictions were put in place, as virus rates peaked and the new variant emerged. Betting shops were forced to close again, and the year ended with an estimated loss of £30 million. William Hill confirmed that it has repaid the £24.5 million of furlough funds that it received, and that its staff received full pay throughout the year.
The trading statement points out that there were a number of highlights for William Hill during 2020, one of which was the successful integration of Mr Green, which was launched in two regions. As a result, online international net revenue went up by 12%. William Hill was able to overcome regulatory changes and the cancellation of sporting events by implementing a multi-brand strategy in combination with product improvements. This saw gaming grow by 18%.
1 day ago Scientists who normally focus on fixing defective genes said on Friday that up to $2.1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help them move their COVID-19 vaccine candidate toward 2021 human trials. Harvard University scientist Luk Vandenberghe and University of Pennsylvania gene therapy head James Wilson said primate safety and efficacy tests have proven promising for their. MBDA mine detection vehicles. Right after offering its demining solutions to the Sahel region armies (Africa Intelligence, 21/12/20), the European defence firm MBDA is ready to roll out its equipment in the Horn of Africa.It has been in contact with the Kenyan army to discuss its interest in acquiring MBDA's VDM route clearance and countermining vehicles to detect and remove improvised. Pick up 50 free spins, no deposit required when you create a new casino account at Real Time Gaming powered Slotastic Casino! This US friendly casino is home to over 300 games including Real Time Gaming's popular Real Series slots and progressive jackpots! Get 50 No Deposit Spins!.New players only.
© Provided by Connecticut PostDraftKings headquarters in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Foxwoods Resort Casino has signed a deal with DraftKings as the platform to host online sports betting pending any legalization in Connecticut. The deal also includes a collaboration in offering daily fantasy sports leagues that pay cash to winners with plans to launch Sunday, Dec. 13.
Boston-based DraftKings is one of two major outlets for daily fantasy sports betting along with FanDuel. Connecticut authorized daily fantasy sports in a 2017 budget bill, but has yet to set a clearly defined set of regulations for the sector after an opinion by the state's attorney general's office that daily fantasy sports could represent a violation of the state's revenue agreement with Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun casino.
Connecticut currently receives 25 cents of every dollar in slot revenue from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel also run sports books that allow people to bet against game point spreads and outcomes for individual athletes. DraftKings and Foxwoods are projecting $175 million in revenue for Connecticut from online gaming and sports betting in the first five years after legalization, if Gov. Ned Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly take steps to do so.
DraftKings members can bet on sports in a dozen states today including New York and New Jersey, with varying restrictions in place.
'We've proven our ability to shape the future of gaming time and time again, and now we're ready to drive sports wagering and online gaming for the state of Connecticut,' stated Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe which owns Foxwoods, in a written statement released Monday morning. 'Working through the tribal gaming compacts, we will help bolster our economy with much-needed revenue and virtual entertainment.'
The governor's office did not issue an immediate statement Monday morning, with Lamont having expressed support earlier this year for Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun being allowed to expand into sports betting.
Speaking with investment analysts last month, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made no mention of any deal in the works with Foxwoods, which is the second largest casino in the United States after Oklahoma's WinStar World Casino & Resort. The company announced a deal in September to be the daily fantasy sports engine for the Bristol-based ESPN subsidiary of Walt Disney.
'We think there's a great long-term relationship that we hope to build upon there,' Robins said in November in reference to the ESPN deal. 'We don't have at this time anything that we're publicly saying about timing of any sort of direct integration or other things — but [our] teams are working very hard on it, so we hopefully will start to see some of the things very soon.'
Includes prior reporting by Dan Haar, who contributed to this report.
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Announcing its trading statement, William Hill has revealed that it expects to lose £30 million over lockdown closures. However, the bookmaker also reported growth in its online operations, as more people chose to place bets at home.
William Hill's operations were badly affected by lockdown closures, although it did see a boost from online customers. ©Lukas/Pexels
Impact of Lockdown
British bookmaker William Hill has published its trading statement, at the close of the fourth quarter. It details how the company has weathered the coronavirus pandemic that affected business for the greater part of last year. Despite the lockdowns, William Hill says its total net revenue for the fourth quarter grew by 9% year on year.
The statement also reports that sportsbook staking saw an increase of 16%, thanks to expansion and boosted product offerings. Sports results were good for gross win margins, and the sportsbook net revenue went up 20% year on year.
William Hill was not entirely unscathed by COVID-19 though, as high-street retail was forced to close at a number of points during the year. Disruption to the sporting calendar also impacted the availability of betting odds. Consequently, the group's total net revenue for the year fell by 16%, to £1,324 million.
William Hill was able to act flexibly in response to retail closures during lockdown, which saw net revenue drop by 30%. This primarily impacted the first quarter of 2020, although a knock-on effect was felt throughout the year. The business was able to recover when retail reopened, and was almost set to break even at the end of the third quarter.
However, during the fourth quarter, more restrictions were put in place, as virus rates peaked and the new variant emerged. Betting shops were forced to close again, and the year ended with an estimated loss of £30 million. William Hill confirmed that it has repaid the £24.5 million of furlough funds that it received, and that its staff received full pay throughout the year.
The trading statement points out that there were a number of highlights for William Hill during 2020, one of which was the successful integration of Mr Green, which was launched in two regions. As a result, online international net revenue went up by 12%. William Hill was able to overcome regulatory changes and the cancellation of sporting events by implementing a multi-brand strategy in combination with product improvements. This saw gaming grow by 18%.
In fact, during 2020, William Hill's UK online net revenue grew 5%, thanks in part to platform and product improvements. As sports schedules returned to some kind of normality towards the end of the year, gaming net revenue grew by 20% in the final quarter.
The statement also notes the company's commitment to protecting customers from gambling harms during the pandemic. It put in place special safety measures in response to concerns that the financial insecurity, stress and boredom of lockdown could contribute to a rise in problem gambling. The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents the UK's casinos, bookmakers and online operators, led its members in a pause on TV and radio gambling adverts during the first lockdown of 2020.
William Hill's CEO, Ulrik Bengtsson, has a positive outlook on how the company tackled the difficulties of 2020. It was a year of highs and lows, not only for its business in the UK, but its expansion into the US sports betting market too. Bengtsson said:
'2020 was a year like no other. It tested our agility and flexibility and we delivered, keeping our customers and team safe, whilst materially improving our competitive position through product enhancements and geographical expansion. The offer received for the Group recognises the substantial progress we have made as well as the opportunities and challenges ahead of us.'
US Expansion
William Hill has also been making headway in the US, where state by state the sports betting market is opening up. Last year it experienced a surge in its online growth there, pushing net growth up by 32%. However, lockdown restrictions kept casinos closed for long periods, and American sports events were disrupted too. As part of a pre-existing agreement with Caesars, William Hill took over its sportsbooks.
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Despite the pressures of the pandemic, William Hill was able to expand its US operations into five new states. It also launched its mobile platform in five states, causing net revenue to grow 121% during the final quarter. Both CBS Sports and ESPN, two us the US's most popular sports media groups, now feature William Hill's odds and betting apps.
Without a doubt, the biggest news for William Hill in 2020 was its acquisition by Caesars Entertainment. The boards of both companies announced that they had reached an agreement on September 30th, which would see Caesars buy out all of William Hills' assets for a price of 272p per share. On November 19th, shareholders agreed to the terms of the acquisition.
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All Caesars needs to do now is obtain approvals from gaming authorities in the US. Once that has been done, it could be set to complete the acquisition as soon as March 2021. Caesars' interest lies mainly in the value of William Hill's wealth of experience in sports betting, something that most gambling operators in the US are lacking. Bengtsson added:
'I remain immensely proud of the William Hill team which has been relentless in its focus on delivering a great product and service to our customers, with player safety at its heart. Customer, Team, Execution have been our guiding lights through this unusual year, and they will remain so as we look forward through 2021.'
Despite the unprecedented pressures of the pandemic in 2020, the future looks bright for William Hill. Overall, its revenues did drop, but online interactions rose in response to a targeted strategy. It is making leaps and bounds in the US, although the future of William Hill's UK operations remains uncertain, especially with the government's review of the 2005 Gambling Act underway. William Hill will publish its financial results for 2020 soon. An announcement is to be made on February 24th.
