News and Analysis
WynnBet Bows Out
Wynn Resorts has this week announced that it will be closing its online casino and sportsbooks in states where it doesn’t have a physical presence (Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.). WynnBet will continue to operate in Nevada and Massachusetts. While the company has no physical presence in New York, it will continue to operate under review, and in Michigan, the sportsbook will be closed, with WynnBet online casino remaining.
In the press release, Chief Financial Officer for Wynn Resorts, Julie Cameron-Doe, stated the following reasons for the closures: “In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders.”
“While we believe in the long-term prospects of igaming, the dearth of igaming legislation and the presence of numerous other investment opportunities available to us around the globe have led us to the decision to curtail our capital investment in WynnBET to focus primarily on those states where we maintain a physical presence.”
WynnBet players have until October 11th to withdraw any remaining funds.
Rush Street Gaming Makes Moves on Delaware
Big changes are abroad for online casinos and players in Delaware as Rush Street Interactive has been left the only bidder for the state gaming tender after 888 withdrew.
888 has held the contract since online casinos in Delaware launched in 2013. The tender should have ended in 2020, but it was extended for two years due to the launch of multi-state poker in the jurisdiction.
The date of 888’s withdrawal and RSI’s launch is not yet clear, but the Delaware Lottery has requested it should be before November 1st, but it’s unclear if RSI will be ready at that point as they need to develop an online poker product to replace 888’s.
AGA: US Commercial Gambling Revenue Hits New Q2 Record
US gambling markets have long been called the new gold rush, and the figures would certainly suggest it to be accurate as the AGA announces Q2 revenue figures that’ve broken records for the second-highest quarter on record (the first was Q1 2023).
Moreover, this is the 10th consecutive month of growth for the USA, with gross gambling revenue up to $16.07bn. The most significant gains of the year, compared with 2022, have been Sports Betting and iGaming, rising 66.5% and 22.6%, respectively.
Play’n GO Live at BetRivers MI and NJ
Swedish games developer and industry titan Play’n GO has formed a new deal with Rush Street Interactive to see the provider’s games go live at BetRivers Casinos in NJ and Michigan. As part of the agreement, Play’n GO will at first provide a smaller part of its portfolio, like Fire Joker and Rise of Merlin, before launching more hit titles, including Book of Dead, over the coming months.
Caesars Launches New Online Casino App
Rounding off the news on a high, Caesars Online Casino has a brand new app that puts casino players first. The app is Caesars Palace Online Casino and is already available to NJ, PA, MI, WV, and Ontario players.
Rather than replacing the brand’s pre-existing mobile apps, it complements them, aiming to end the frustrations players experienced with the current app, which provides casino access through the sportsbook and makes it more difficult for casino players to collect Caesars’ rewards points. The new iOS and Android app streamlines this and focuses wholly on casino gaming, with no sports betting (this product is still offered via the original Caesars Sports app).
The app offers hundreds of games, the iconic rewards club, and other exciting bonuses. Plus, as it’s new, it features all the mod cons and is a tech step up. According to Senior Vice President of iGaming, Matt Sunderland, “Players in North America deserve an online casino-first experience that treats them like royalty, and that’s what we’ve brought to market with Caesars Palace Online Casino.”
Slot Game of the Week
10000 BC DoubleMax: 4ThePlayer, RTP: 96%
Today we’re bringing you a new slot game from one of our favorite state-side licensed producers, 4ThePlayer. This studio wows the experts and players with every single release - they’ve got a magic touch, honed and crafted through dedication to creating games stacked with new features, engaging graphics, and epic gameplay. Without further ado, let’s dive and see what 10000 BC DoubleMax delivers.
Set on 5x5 reels with 50 pay lines, this colorful and bright slot features a mind-blowing combo of epic features, including Gigablox, progressive multipliers, wilds, cascading wins, a bonus buy, golden bets, nudging and exploding reels, and free spins! In fact, this is the first slot to combine Yggdrasil’s Gigablox and Double Max mechanics.
As with most slot games, you want to land 3-5 matching symbols from left to right on any of the 50 pay lines to win. The reels are cascading, which means once you’ve made a win, those symbols are removed, and new ones fall in their place, giving you another shot to win.
With each consecutive cascade, there’s a progressive multiplier that doubles (this is the Double Max feature) and is applied to spin should you win, plus a wild is added to the reels. You’ll also see giant Gigablox rolling around; these are giant symbols that make it easier to win.
Let’s look at the bonus features:
- Mammoth Explode: Spin and lose rather than win, don’t worry; you’re still in with a chance as the Mammoth Explode feature may randomly trigger, bringing the beast on to the reels to create havoc and destroy symbols, creating a free cascade with a guaranteed win.
- Mammoth Shuffle: Also randomly triggering on losing spins when a Gigablox is on the last reel, this feature sees the Mammoth push the Gigablox reel across the grid to the leftmost position. For there, it will move one space to the right with each consecutive spin.
- Free Spins: Land 3 scatter symbols to trigger between 7-15 free spins, where the multiplier is not reset between cascades.
- Golden Bets and Bonus Buy: Lastly, the Golden Bet feature doubles your chances of hitting free spins for the cost of 25% of your bet, and the Bonus Buy lets you buy your way straight in.
Are you ready to take this awesome slot for a spin and discover what you can win? There’s up to 10,000x your bet available, and wagers start from $0.10-10.00. Check it out at these 4ThePlayer online casinos.