Category: News

The Gleaner – May 9, 2018
 
Following a recent shake-up at the promoting company, Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited’s (SVREL), Chairman Michael Bernard is confident that the new team they have put together will move the horse racing industry forward.
Main members of this team are recently employed Director of Marketing, Peter Green; Director of Racing Chris Armond; and General Manager of Racetrack Operations, Anthony Shoucair.
Bernard, who made his comments at yesterday’s launch of the 22nd running of the Lotto Classic for the Governor’s Cup at Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston said the recent shake-up of personnel was necessary if they wanted to achieve the results desired by stakeholders and the racing public.
“We are still in the process of transforming the product and with transformation comes change. We have a vision of the future, and to get there we have to put strategies in place and make changes to the organisation. We have looked at the product and we are in the process of revamping, remodelling and redesigning to make it even better,” Bernard said.
He said that to plan, execute and implement a programme for development and transformation, they needed a good team, and he is confident that Armond, Green and Shoucair can take the sport in the direction they are aiming.
“I am very confident … this year there will be significant improvement to ensure we move along the path of the kind of change our stakeholders and the public are expecting,” he stated.
 
High-Profile Departures
There were two high-profile departures from SVREL recently. Chief Operating Officer Brando Hayden resigned, while the post of racing secretary, which was occupied by Denzil Miller Jr, was made redundant.
Meanwhile, the 22nd running of the annual Lotto Classic will take place on Saturday, May 26 at Caymanas Park. The raceday will feature three top class races. There will be the Lotto Juvenile Stakes, a maiden special-weight race for native-bred two-year-olds over 600 metres for a purse of $1 million. The secondary feature will be the Lotto Sprint trophy, a grade one handicap race for native-bred and imported three-year-olds and upward over 1100 metres for a purse of $1.75 million.
While the feature event, the Lotto Classic for the Governors Cup, in will feature native-bred three-year-olds over 2000 metres for a $3-million prize money.
The likely starters for the Lotto Classic include Oaks heroine FAYROUZ, MARQUESAS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, EL PROFESOR, LIGHTNING MCQUEEN, DRUMMER BOY, OUTRAGEOUS TAJ, PEKING CRUZ and CONTRACTOR.
 
 
Article Link: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20180509/bernard-believes-supreme-team

THE Supreme Ventures Group on Monday matched donations already made to the Walker’s Place of Safety, in the amount of $10 million, to assist with rebuilding the institution after it was destroyed by fire in January.
Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) assistant vice-president, group corporate communication Simone Clarke-Cooper, made the cheque handover to state minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Floyd Green.
“We’re proud to stand with every single Jamaican who has given to this cause. Usually in April, we do an annual Easter event for children in State care. This year we thought about the fact that the funds we usually allocate for that Easter treat could be put towards the Walker’s rebuild.
“We, therefore, did our Easter Egg Hunt on a smaller scale, so that we could still spread some cheer to children of other homes, and help Walker’s as well,” Clarke-Cooper is quoted as saying in a release.
She continued: “We don’t want this to be a one-time thing where we donate this money and then walk away. Being at the location was a surreal and moving experience. The need is great. We have made it clear to the minister and to Walker’s that we’re committed to this project. We want to be there along the journey, involving our staff by putting in the work and the sweat where we can, making sure that we are there at the end when the children have their new home.”
For his part, the minister expressed his gratitude to SVL, noting that with a tally of now over $20 million in cash donations, there is still more to be raised based on what will be needed to complete the rebuilding of the home. He noted that he should have an estimate of the total costs for the rebuilding of Walker’s Place of Safety in two weeks, and will announce the figure at that time.
Two children perished in the fire at Walker’s Place of Safety, while 34 others were displaced. The displaced children are being temporarily housed at three homes in the Corporate Area.
In April, SVL said it pulled together 100 children from these homes for an Easter treat at family entertainment centre, Coco Jam, on East King’s House Road in Kingston.
 
Article link: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/supreme-ventures-contributes-10m-to-walker-8217-s-place-of-safety_132345

By Avia Collinder – The Gleaner – May 4, 2018
Douglas Halsall, the CEO of Advanced Integrated Systems Limited, disclosed that Supreme Ventures Limited has chosen his company as the technology partner for its mobile betting app, using its Quisk platform.
The lottery and gaming company confirmed that it had made progress on the project, but said it would await the results of tests that are now under way before going public with the details.
Supreme Ventures offers lottery games, sports betting and, more recently, horse racing as new owner of the Caymanas Park track. The current tests of the betting app is being done with its sports betting product, JustBet, the lottery and gaming company said on Wednesday.
Halsall said that through Quisk his company had developed a methodology for online mobile betting or gaming, for which the patent was pending, with SVL as its first subscriber.
“SVL is about to launch their mobile betting app using Quisk. This is expected to disrupt the market and encourage other players to follow. All the major gaming lounges have shown keen interest in our methodology …,” he said.
The technology, however, appears to be running ahead of the authorities, who are yet to promulgate legislation to deal with online gaming.
However, Vitus Evans, executive director of the Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission, the BGLC, now says that regulations related to online/ interactive gaming will be included in the legislation to merge Jamaica’s three gaming regulators – the BGLC, Jamaica Racing Commission and the Casino Gaming Commission.
“The drafting instructions for this legislation are currently being prepared by the merger committee,” Evans told the Financial Gleaner via email.
In the interim, he noted, “current regulations allow for bookmakers to apply for a licence to offer online/interactive gaming within specific guidelines. Up to this time, the BGLC has approved two bookmakers to offer interactive gaming”. He did not name the bookmakers.
Evans also told the Financial Gleaner that while the Bank of Jamaica, BOJ, is responsible for regulating mobile money and epayment systems, the central bank’s oversight did not extend to online gaming in the mobile space.
“This is the remit of the BGLC. However, the commission will accept any payment method approved by BOJ,” he said.
Jamaica’s gaming and betting market is a multibillion sector. SVL, as the largest operator, took in $56 billion in annual revenue in 2017. At last report, industry revenue topped $135 billion in fiscal 2016, while $5.7 billion flowed to the Government.
Halsall sees an opportunity to grow those numbers, by essentially making it easier for persons to place multiple bets.
“The Quisk account will provide an easier and safer payment stream for betting and payout. Since the Quisk method will credit winnings immediately to the punters account, this churn will be accessible for further betting in the course of the day. This, in and of itself, will facilitate increased betting,” he said.
Halsall is anxious for movement on regulations for online gaming, saying it would create more certainty and more peace of mind for the banking sector, which is nervous about money-laundering risk and needs to adhere to ‘know your customer’, or KYC, rules.
He said Supreme Ventures took those issues into account for its betting service.
“SVL has adopted mobile money, which provides an automatic audit trail for each bet and returns the role of KYC and source of funds monitoring to the banks,” the technology provider said.
 
 
Article link: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20180504/svl-testing-mobile-betting-app-bglc-tackles-online-gaming-regulations

Loop News – April 27, 2018
 
Supreme Ventures Limited increased its first quarter bottom line by nearly 50 per cent, as it posted $618 million in net profit for the three-month period ending March 2018.
 
With revenues for the quarter increasing by 14 per cent over the prior year to $15.3 billion, SVL President and CEO, Ann-Dawn Young Sang, reported that the group experienced the best performing financial quarter in its history.
 
Gross profits increased by $491 million, a 40 per cent increase over prior year, attributable mainly to higher sales in Cash Pot, Pick 4, Money Time, Super Lotto, Horse Racing and Sports Betting, the company said.
 
The Group’s record performance, Young Sang said, was due to continued focus on its strategic priorities, which include revenue growth, optimising cost efficiencies and other gains.
 
The Sports Betting segment recorded a 59 per cent increase, with revenue from the lottery and PIN codes segments growing by five per cent and two per cent respectively.
 
While the Horse Racing segment recorded a loss for the quarter, revenues continue to improve due to operational improvements, the company explained.
 
Young Sang also referred to the improved operational efficiencies across the Group, as well as the sale of the company’s regional office property in May Pen as contributors to the Group’s record results.
 
Stimulated by the successful deployment of marketing and retail initiatives, the growth trend in SVL’s lottery games portfolio has continued. As a result, Cash Pot, Money Time and Pick 4 games in particular, have increased in both popularity and sales.
 
Notably, the Sports Betting segment’s revenues have grown significantly for the period, benefitting from the execution of key initiatives and product offerings, which contributed to a 61 per cent increase over the prior year period. While the VLT business incurred a negative return in gross profit, which came through increased play, coupled with improved and increased customer activity, the VLT route experienced significant growth gains and increased profitability in this area.
 
The Horse Racing segment recorded an increase in revenue. However, the segment incurred a loss for the quarter, attributable mainly to increased expenditure on repairs and maintenance. SVL’s Management is reiterating its focus on the consistent delivery of an improved non-core revenue package to maintain the momentum achieved, despite the legacy challenges being faced.
 
“The Group will continue to maintain the positive momentum in the first quarter through the implementation of key strategic initiatives for the remainder of the year. The performance of the Horse Racing segment, in particular, is being closely monitored, in order to reverse the losses experienced in the first quarter,” noted Young Sang.
 
She mentioned that there are several key initiatives being deployed within the year to positively impact the business, chief among them a mobile solution to further enhance the Group’s product offerings and customer experience.
 
With reference to steps towards regional expansion announced by the Group recently, Young Sang disclosed, “We have made significant strides with the approval of the licence to enter the market in Guyana. The necessary due diligence and evaluation are currently being executed, with the objective for rollout before the end of 2018.”
 
The SVL Group also announced, through its Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, a Q1 contribution of some $400 million to provide strong national and community support, in the areas of health, education and sport.
 
“I express thanks to all stakeholders for the commitment and confidence they continue to show in the Supreme Ventures Group.  In particular, sincere gratitude to our shareholders, Board of Directors, valued customers, agents, management and staff for their continued support,” Young Sang said.
 
Article Link: http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/strong-q1-performance-supreme-ventures

By Ruddy Allen – Jamaica Observer – April 18, 2018
The region’s most lucrative and glamorous horse-racing event, the ultra-rich Diamond Mile, sponsored by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) in partnership with Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) and its subsidiary Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), is set for Saturday, December 1.
The announcement for the fourth staging of the event was made by the organisers at a press conference held at the offices of the BGLC on Hagley Park Road yesterday.
The Diamond Mile for 2018 carries a total purse of US$115,000 (over J$14 million) and the remaining races on the card will have purses of $1 million and over, making the race day the richest in the English-speaking Caribbean. The Diamond Mile is competed over eight furlongs or 1,600 metres.
The first two Diamond Mile races were won by the Derrick Smith-owned, Wayne DaCosta-trained and Omar Walker-ridden Seeking My Dream with She’s A Maneater, also from the DaCosta barn, taking last year’s event with an electrifying run. She’s A Maneater is bred and owned by Winston Kong and was ridden to victory by Dane Nelson.
While this year’s Diamond Mile promises to be bigger and better, Vitus Evans, executive director at BGLC, said that his company will again invest $20 million to the purses on Diamond Mile Race Day.
“We will again invest $20 million towards the purses so that the race day remains the richest in the English-speaking Caribbean with US$115,000 for the Diamond Mile championship.
“The commission’s team is already collaborating with the SVL team to deliver another spectacular day at the races for the 2018 Diamond Mile. We will again provide an unparalleled experience for horse-racing fans which brings together the excitement of the races with the best in food, fashion and entertainment,” Evans said.
Evans further stated that it would be another sign of success if corporate Jamaica capitalised on the opportunity to connect with the racing fans and come on board for the Diamond Mile in making the event an extra-special day.
“When you look at the list of industries represented by the companies that have come on board to support the Diamond Mile over the past three years, there have been sponsors representing the food and beverage industry, construction, transportation, media, entertainment, hospitality and tourism.
“We are very grateful to these companies who have recognised the opportunity to align their brands with the Diamond Mile. For 2018, we will build on this by renewing the existing partnerships and we will forge new ones with other corporate entities,” said Evans.
Brando Hayden, chief operating officer (COO) at SVREL, gave his company’s commitment to the Diamond Mile and thanked BGLC for the platform set in helping to develop the racing product.
“The Diamond Mile is now the marquee event on the racing calendar and the social calendar as well. Its creation and subsistence growth brought great purpose and promise to the industry.
“The SVL group remains a very proud partner to the richest race in the English-speaking Caribbean, the ultimate platform for showcasing our best talent on and off the track. I would like to thank the BGLC for delivering on its vision to support the growth and development of the horse-racing industry,” Hayden said.
 
 
Article Link: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/ultra-rich-diamond-mile-set-for-december-1_130823