September 2024 – Page 4

September 16, 2024

Illinois regulator tightens wagering and casino advertising rules

Illinois regulators late last week became the latest to revamp advertising and marketing rules for sports betting and casinos. The move follows a trend in the US that regulators say aims to protect minors and those at-risk from potential harms.
The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) on Thursday (12 September) voted in more strict measures around wagering, casino advertising and video gaming. The new guidelines mirror those in Massachusetts and Ohio. Those two states are recognised to be the most stringent when it comes to advertising and marketing.

The IGB previously did not have such guidelines for casino and video gaming.

The board voted the same day that two US lawmakers introduced legislation that would, in part, create national gambling advertising guidelines.

The overall document now seeks to consider digital sports betting and advertising. But the rules apply to the physical and digital worlds.

IGB CEO Marcus Fruchter said the new rules were designed to “include additional safeg..

September 16, 2024

US betting revenue round-up: New Illinois tax structure, Indiana, Iowa, West Virginia

Analysing some of the latest monthly sports betting reports in the US, iGB looks at how Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia performed in July and August.
Starting in Illinois, July was the first month of new tax rules in Illinois. The previous 15% flat AGR rate was replaced by a sliding scale, ranging from 20% to 40%, depending on handle. Despite handle being down against June, operators paid $14.3m (£10.8m/€12.9m) in the state in taxes on $71.1m in adjusted gross revenue (AGR), as compared to $13.8m on $84.6m AGR.

Total player spending in July amounted to $774.1m. This is 8.7% lower than June but 26.7% ahead of July last year, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.

Online betting accounted for $753.6m of the total, with retail’s share at $20.5m for July.

Professional sports drew $769.6m of bets across online and retail during the month. Motor racing bets topped $1.4m, college sports $927,015 during the summer break and other events $1.8m.

Revenue-wise, for the entire state..

September 16, 2024

Weekend Report: Caesars launches retail betting in Maine; talk of Newfoundland casino

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we cover Caesars launching in-person betting in Maine, reports of a new casino in Newfoundland and the start of SkyCity’s temporary closure in Auckland.
Caesars first to launch retail sports betting in Maine
First off, Caesars has become the first to operator to roll out retail sports betting in the state of Maine. The Portland-based Oddfellahs sportsbook officially opened on 13 September and is operating in partnership with First Tracks Investments.

Portland mayor Mark Dion placed the first ceremonial first bet at the site, which features self-service betting kiosks and a ticket window on-site. Cash deposits and withdrawals for Caesars Sportsbook mobile accounts is also available.

Online sports wagering with Caesars has been available in Maine since November of 2023.

Local mayor proposes new casino in Newfoundland
North of the border, reports of a poten..

September 15, 2024

Caesars contributes $4m to campaign against legal Missouri sports betting

Caesars Entertainment made $4m (£3m/€3.6m) in contributions to a campaign that aims to convince voters to say no to the Missouri legal wagering initiative backed by the state's professional sports teams.
The ‘Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment’ political committee was formed on 10 September. And, according to records on the Missouri ethics commission (MEC) website, the casino giant funded the campaign on 13 September. The company made three separate contributions under the names of its casinos.

Tropicana St Louis, which is now the Horseshoe Casino, and the Isle of Capri Casino Booneville each donated $1.3m. Harrah’s North Kansas City contributed $1.4m.

Caesars so far is the only casino company in the state to take a clear stance on the issue of legal Missouri sports betting.

The initiative, which will be listed as Amendment 2 on the November ballot, survived a legal challenge last week. It would legalise statewide digital sports betting with platforms..

September 13, 2024

State of the Union: Fox’s FanDuel play, bettors want cash from athletes, questionable political donation

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.
Fox aiming to secure stake in FanDuel
The Fox Corporation this week confirmed plans to attempt to buy into FanDuel at a deeply discounted rate. How discounted? About $2.2bn below market value in the current conditions.

When Flutter Entertainment bought The Stars Group in 2020, it created a situation that would allow Fox Corp to buy up to an 18.6% stake in FanDuel. Earlier this week, at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch confirmed that his company is now moving forward with that option, reports Sportico.

According to Murdoch, analysts value FanDuel at $35bn. At that valuation, the 18.6% stake would be worth $6.5bn on the open market. Fox could buy it for about $4.3bn under the terms of the agreement. Fox, which previously had wagering platforms in several states,..

September 12, 2024

US lawmakers decry sports betting practices while introducing SAFE Bet Act

New York representative Paul Tonko and Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal lambasted the practices of US sports betting operators on Thursday (12 September) as they introduced the SAFE Bet Act, which would establish a rigorous federal framework around digital sports wagering.
Legal sports betting became a states’ rights issue in 2018, when the US Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). Since then, nearly 40 US states and jurisdictions have legalised some form of wagering.

Tonko and Blumenthal outlined the parameters of the bill, which was first announced in March, at a press conference in Washington on Thursday. They were joined by three other speakers.

Mark Gottlieb and Harry Levant, executive director and gambling policy adviser for the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at the Northeastern University School of Law, talked about the public health impacts of sports betting. Gordon Douglas gave an emotional account of his son And..

September 12, 2024

Fanatics Sportsbook goes live in Washington, DC

Washington, DC bettors now have a fifth choice for digital wagering, as Fanatics Sportsbook has launched in the nation's capital.
The Fanatics Sportsbook announcement on Thursday (12 September) was the second major one in the US capital this week. On Tuesday, Caesars Sportsbook shared that it will take over the GambetDC kiosks at 53 small-business locations in the District.

Since the DC Council in June decided to open the betting market, Caesars and BetMGM were able to effectively take off the geofences that limited their platforms to special zones and DraftKings and FanDuel have both gone live.

During hearings as the council considered creating a competitive market, Fanatics testified that it was interested in entering the market. The platform is live in neighbouring Maryland and Virginia and Fanatics now has a retail sportsbook at Commanders Field, home of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

Fanatics’ first deal with a women’s pro team
Fanatics Sportsbook got market access t..

September 12, 2024

Mass Gaming Commission to set hearing about DraftKings’ bungled email

People on the self-exclusion list in Massachusetts received the email about a ‘bonus bet'.
A widespread notification from DraftKings in mid-August about settlement of PGA Tour golf bets mostly was met with harmless bemusement and confusion from those receiving the email.

The recipients consisted of those who have made wagers on golf using the online sportsbook – just not this particular bet. It also included some who don’t even have a DraftKings account.

But it is another group of recipients that may land the Boston-based sports betting giant in hot water with regulators.

DraftKings message was intended for 13 bettors
That’s because during a Massachusetts Gaming Commission hearing on Thursday (12 September), it was revealed that the email was intended to be sent to only 13 bettors whose wagers were relevant to the settlement. But it actually went out to more than a million users. The potential hot water comes from the fact that the commission found that 184 residents on the vol..

September 12, 2024

GSGB H1: UK gambling participation flat as nearly a third of customers play non-lottery verticals

The UK Gambling Commission today published its latest iteration of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), looking at gambling participation across the UK between 15 January and 28 April. Participation remained flat on 2023, as majority of participants gambled to win “big money”.
The data follows the annual GSGB survey published for the first time in July and looks at how much UK adults are gambling.

Participation for the actual survey sample increased 8% as the sample size grew from 4,801 in the GC’s equivalent report last year (January to April), to 5,191 this year.

Gambling participation remains flat across the board
Overall gambling participation between January and April was the same as last year at 48% across the entire sample. This dropped to 27% when excluding lottery.

When taking a deeper look at online gambling rates, 16% of participants had gambled via desktop or mobile apps in the last four weeks (excluding lottery). Broken down by sex, slightly more men (20%) p..

September 12, 2024

Apuesta Total CEO warns against reintroduction of consumption tax on Peru gambling

Apuesta Total CEO Gonzalo Perez has warned the Peru government against the introduction of a consumption tax on gambling operators.
Law no 31557, which looked to regulate online gaming and sports betting in Peru, came into effect on 9 February. This sets out a tax of 12% on gross gaming revenue (GGR), although legislation originally included a 1% tax on the value of every bet, or consumption tax.

That 1% consumption tax was removed from legislation in July 2021. However the Peru congress is now discussing its reintroduction, with the potential rate not yet confirmed.

Perez fears this could be hugely detrimental to the licensed gambling industry and is urging the government to reconsider. “The consumption tax is, depending of course on the percentage they will apply and depending on the base fee, very harmful for us,” Perez tells iGB. “We are trying to reach the government to talk, to explain the possible impact.

“The proposed 1% consumption tax discussed in congress was crazy beca..

September 12, 2024

Flutter’s Olympics betting handle increased threefold at Paris 2024

Flutter Entertainment has revealed its global handle for the Paris 2024 summer Olympic Games more than tripled from the last edition of the Games.
The group did not disclose exactly how much its customers around the world bet on Paris 2024 in its report.

The increase in handle, Flutter said, was due to growth within new markets. It highlighted the US, with 23 states now offering legal sports betting, compared to 10 at the Tokyo Games. However, it also noted the value of bets placed through its FanDuel brand in those 10 states more than doubled.

Flutter said Paris 2024 also benefit from more favourable viewing times for its customers in both Europe and the US. In addition, it noted an “abundance” of dramatic storylines that captured the attention of bettors.

“Many people who aren’t typical sports fans are Olympics fans,” FanDuel sports trader Eric Gerson said. “It’s a unique chance to branch out to new audiences we wouldn’t normally reach.”

Popularity of parlay bets rockets for Flu..

September 12, 2024

Chinese Football Association bans 43 players, officials for match-fixing

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has imposed lifetime bans on 38 soccer players and five club bosses accused of gambling and match-fixing. A two-year probe found that 120 matches were compromised.
In comments on Tuesday (10 September), Zhang Xiaopeng of the Chinese ministry for public security said the investigation “uncovered a series of online gambling, match-fixing and bribery cases”. They involved 128 suspects and 41 clubs.

Who’s involved?

Among those banned for life are midfielder Jin Jingdao, forward Guo Tianyu and goalkeeper Gu Chao, all of China. They can no longer take part in football or football-related activities. Seventeen others received five-year bans.

In a press conference on Wednesday, South Korea’s Son Jun-Ho protested his innocence. A tearful Son said he was “dumbfounded” by the “ridiculous charges”.

“They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested,” he declared. “I said I hadn’t done anything like that.”

China targets spor..

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Monthly Archives: September 2024