August 2024 – Page 4

August 19, 2024

Colombia government credits online gambling for supporting GDP growth in Q2

Colombia’s igaming market revenue reached COP10bn (£1.9bn/€2.2bn/$2.5bn) in Q2, with the sector credited as a key component of the nation’s economic growth over the quarter.
National gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1% over Q2 and the country’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) pointed to Colombian online gambling as one of the activities that most helped that growth.

DANE director Piedad Urdinola highlighted the impact of recent sporting activities in particular as driving a rise in online betting. In this summer’s Copa América tournament the Colombia national team reached the final.

Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos, revealed that sports betting was indeed the largest contributor to the online betting sector, accounting for 47% of total gross gaming revenue (GGR) nationally.

Localised games such as bingo and casino were second with 33% of GGR, while lottery games AstroSport and Baloto generated 13% and 7% respect..

August 19, 2024

New Jersey: Sports betting and igaming growth offset land-based decline in July

Year-on-year growth across sports wagering and igaming in New Jersey offset a 6.1% decline in revenue from the Garden State’s land-based market during July.
Total market revenue in July amounted to $547.8m (£423.4m/€496.7m) according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement figures. This is 8.2% more than $506.2m in New Jersey last year and also 11.6% more than June this year.

Despite the year-on-year decline, land-based gambling remains the main source of revenue. In July, land-based revenue topped $272.3m, down from $290.0m last year. Of this, $207.3m came from slots, a drop of 4.8%, while table games revenue also fell 10.0% to $65.0m.

How far is igaming from overtaking land-based in New Jersey?
The decline in land-based revenue begs the question: could it be surpassed by igaming? For July, igaming revenue hit $195.4m, a 25.9% increase from the same month last year.

Of all igaming revenue, $192.8m was attributed to slots and table games, an increase of 26.4%. The remaining $2…

August 19, 2024

Weekend Report: FBI takes action in DC and the “Drake Curse” strikes again

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at an FBI arrest in DC, as well as a California bill that would allow tribes to sue cardrooms.
FBI takes DC Councilman Trayon White into custody
DC Councilman Trayon White was arrested by the FBI on Sunday (18 August) afternoon, according to the City Paper. White will be charged on Monday (19 August), although what the charges are have not yet been disclosed.

In 2019, the DC Council approved legal sports betting and gave lottery operator Intralot the sole-source contract. White was absent on the day of the 2019 vote. He voted to approve the FY2025 budget that opened the market earlier this year.

Bill that would allow tribes to sue CA cardrooms moves
A bill that would allow California’s tribes to directly sue cardrooms moved forward late last week. The assembly’s appropriations committee voted, 14-0, to send the bill to the floor for a full vote. It’..

August 19, 2024

Brazil committee endorses harsher penalties for match-fixing

Brazil's constitution and justice committee (CCJ) of the chamber of deputies has passed a bill that seeks to make the penalties for those found to have manipulated matches harsher.
The bill is looking to amend Brazil’s General Sports Law. It was originally authored by representative Bandeira de Mello before representative Orlando Silva drafted a revised version.

Current penalties for those guilty of match-fixing are a prison term of between two and six years as well as a fine. The substitute bill would increase that penalty from a third to a half should the person involved serve as a referee, player, coach, bettor or agent as well as a manager, director or representative of a sports club.

Additionally, the amended bill includes a prison sentence of between two and six years for those who solicit or recruit people such as referees, athletes, coaches or directors to commit manipulation.

The sports committee had already approved the bill. The chamber of deputies’ plenary will now ..

August 19, 2024

Portugal online gambling revenue hits record high in Q2, land-based declines

Online gambling revenue in Portugal reached €261.8m (£223.1m/$289.2m) in Q2, a record figure and the eighth consecutive quarter in which revenue has hit an all-time high. However a decline in table games revenue hit the country's land-based industry.
The Q2 total is marginally higher than the previous record of €260.8m, which was set in Q1 this year. Revenue for the three months to 30 June is also 27.2% higher than Q2 2023, according to Portugal regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ).

However while online gambling in Portugal is thriving, local operators are warning of a growing threat from the illegal market.

Online casinos still king in Portugal
Breaking down the quarterly performance, online casino games accounted for €158.5m of all revenue in Q2. This represents an increase of 29.9% from €122.0m in 2023 but a slight drop from €160.3m in Q1.

In terms of spending, players wagered a total of €4.37bn across online casino games during Q2. This is 34.7% higher ..

August 16, 2024

State of the Union: DraftKings’ missteps, Missouri ballot measure

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.
DraftKings has “no excuse” to consider surcharge “cash grab”
Less than an hour after Flutter’s second-quarter earnings call ended on Tuesday, DraftKings announced that, after hearing customer feedback, it will back off plans to impose a winners’ surcharge. The company announced the idea in early August, only to get swift and negative feedback.

Wall Street reacted positively on Wednesday. DraftKings’ shares were up as high as $33.50 per share before they settled at $32.06, up nearly 2%. While Rush Street Interactive and Penn Entertainment previously said they would not follow DraftKings’ lead, the company was clearly waiting to see how FanDuel would react.

“We have no plans to introduce a surcharge to winners,” CEO Peter Jackson said during the Q&A portion of the call. He then declined to entertain the issue..

August 16, 2024

Casino expansions lift US Q2 GGR

US gross gaming revenue (GGR) increased by 8.9% year-on-year to $17.63bn (£13.66bn/€16.04bn) in the second quarter of 2024.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) stated that casino expansions in states such as Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia drove the increase. This led to traditional casino GGR improving by 1.8% to $12.49bn.

However, there were also sharp rises in sports betting and igaming GGR.

Sports betting GGR rocketed by 35.3% year-on-year to $3.16bn in Q2, while igaming GGR increased by 25.2% to $1.97bn.

Q2 record
In total, it was the 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth and the highest-grossing Q2 revenue performance on record. However, the total figure was slightly below the quarterly commercial gaming revenue record of $17.7bn registered in Q1.

Over the first six months of the year, total GGR was up 7.7% to $35.48bn. Traditional casino GGR was up 1.1% to $24.83bn, while sports betting GGR improved by 28.7% to $6.67bn and igaming GGR rose by 25.6% to $3.95bn.

Q..

August 16, 2024

Casino expansions lift US Q2 GGR

However, there were also sharp rises in sports betting and igaming GGR.

Sports betting GGR rocketed by 35.3% year-on-year to $3.16bn in Q2, while igaming GGR increased by 25.2% to $1.97bn.

Q..

August 16, 2024

Notre Dame suspends men’s swim programme, citing gambling violations

The University of Notre Dame announced on Thursday (15 August) that it is suspending its men's swimming programme for at least one year due to widespread conduct violations, including gambling.
In a statement, the Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said an independent investigation was launched after officials heard reports of potential misconduct. The investigation uncovered “deeply embedded” cultural issues. This included “numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions”.

As a result, Notre Dame will suspend the entire programme for “at least” one academic year. There have been multiple college betting scandals, including one in Iowa, in recent years but none involving an entire team.

No individual athletes were named in the announcement. Rather, Bevacqua asserted that the “overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension”. The team’s coaching staff is believed to be uninvolve..

August 16, 2024

Massachusetts operators hold 10.3% as Bally Bet makes debut

Massachusetts sportsbook operators were the winners in July, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission revenue report released on Thursday (15 August).
The state’s seven mobile operators and three retail operators combined for a 10.3% hold and handle was up significantly over July 2024.

Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel took a combined $405.3m (£315.3/€369.3m) in wagers compared to $294.9m in July 2023. Massachusetts’ handle was down against June’s $509.3m. Four digital operators recorded hold of over 10%.

Massachusetts operators paid more than $8m to the state in taxes.

Boston-based DraftKings retained its spot as the market-share leader, taking $202m in wagers, holding 10.3% and recording adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $20.9m. FanDuel was second with $119.9m in handle and a hold of 10.97%.

Bally Bet had lowest hold of all operators
Massachusetts was back up to seven operators for July, after Bally Bet launched o..

August 15, 2024

MGM enters joint venture with Grupo Globo to launch BetMGM in Brazil

MGM has established a joint venture with media giant Grupo Globo to enter the licensed betting market in Brazil. The offering will use BetMGM’s branding and LeoVegas’ betting and gaming technology.
The venture will leverage Grupo Globo’s consumer network of approximately 70 million daily users across tv, digital, radio and print media. It is the largest media group in Latin America.

Once its licence is approved, the JV will launch in 2025 with its headquarters in Sao Paulo.

In a statement, BetMGM said the venture would maintain exclusive rights to all of MGM Resorts’ iconic brands and will count on the customer bases of both companies to establish a widely known betting offering.

MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the JV was a key milestone in the operator’s growth strategy.

“Brazil is one of the most exciting and vibrant emerging gaming markets in the world, and no one has more exposure and expertise in this market than Grupo Globo.

“This historic alliance allows us to quickly enter t..

August 14, 2024

KTO pulls out of Chile, Peru to narrow focus on Brazil betting market

KTO Group has pulled its sports betting brand from Peru and Chile to focus on the licensed Brazil market once it launches in January 2025.
KTO founder and CEO Andreas Bardun told iGB its LatAm presence had been reduced to just Brazil as the company prioritises growing its market share in the region.

KTO is one of 17 operators to have already applied for a betting licence within the initial 90-day window of preference. This means KTO will be granted a licence within the first wave, in time for the 1 January launch date.

First mover advantage will be crucial in brazil says kto ceo andreas bardun
KTO Brazil was launched in 2018 and Bardun believes the company will benefit from a first-mover advantage in the licensed betting market.

“We entered Brazil maybe four or five years ago now when there wasn’t so much attraction, people couldn’t really see the potential,” Bardun told iGB. “And we realised there wasn’t any kind of localisation of the product.

“We thought this is a good oppor..

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