October 2024 – Page 3

October 23, 2024

What could the future hold for Kambi and OpenBet as platform consolidation slows?

In September a rumour that Genius Sports was eyeing a takeover of Kambi Group surfaced, resulting in both parties publicly dismissing the suggestion of ongoing talks. The chatter caused both share prices to dip briefly as the market considered what such a deal might look like.

One source at the time told iGB it wasn’t a good time for Kambi to get caught up in a buyout as it was navigating a transition period and ushering in new CEO Werner Becher. But analysts at Swedish investment bank ABG Sundal Collier have suggested that Kambi has been up for sale for a while.

When MGM announced on 24 June that it was acquiring Tipico’s US betting platform to help it move into Brazil and bring its LeoVegas European betting offering onto an in-house tech stack, ABG Sundal Coll..

October 23, 2024

What could the future hold for Kambi and OpenBet as platform consolidation slows?

Betting platform consolidation has slowed and as operators are turning to smaller, specialist technologies to bolster their sportsbooks, what does the M&A opportunity for incumbents like Kambi and OpenBet look like today?
In September a rumour that Genius Sports was eyeing a takeover of Kambi Group surfaced, resulting in both parties publicly dismissing the suggestion of ongoing talks. The chatter caused both share prices to dip briefly as the market considered what such a deal might look like.

October 22, 2024

US fantasy operators sued in Massachusetts

A lawsuit filed in Massachusetts calls out fantasy sports operators and the blurred lines between sports betting and fantasy sports.

Joseph Curran of Gloucester, a suburb of Boston, is suing PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports. He claims that the companies “intentionally refrained from registering with Massachusetts” to offer the kinds of wagers he placed. Curran is asking that all his bets be refunded.

The lawsuit was filed on 17 October in Essex Superior Court.

Digital and retail sports betting are legal in Massachusetts after the state legislature approved it in August 2022. In-person sports betting went live in January 2023, and digital betting launched in March of that year. With sports betting, consumers can bet on game results or proposition bets. The operators are regulated and taxed by the state.

Nuance of sports betting, traditional fantasy, pick’em

In Massachusetts, traditional fantasy sports games are legal. In these games, players build a team of ..

October 22, 2024

As sports teams, DraftKings and FanDuel up Missouri initiative game, Caesars goes to the people

Just as proponents of the Missouri legal sports betting initiative are beefing up television airtime, opponents are pulling back to focus on “grassroots” efforts and calling proponents' promise of $100m for education “dishonest”.

The initiative, Amendment 2, will go before the voters on the US presidential election ballot on 5 November. Proponents DraftKings and FanDuel have funded the richest campaign in Missouri history, according to the Missouri Independent. The two companies have funded ‘Winning for Missouri Education’ with more than $35m (£27m/€32.4m). DraftKings contributed another $4.6m on 17 October.

Caesars, the only operator to fund the opposition campaign ‘Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment’, has contributed more than $14m. Combined, both sides have contributed a record sum of nearly $50m. And that’s for an initiative that is on the same ballot as an abortion initiative.

Brooke Foster, spokesperson for the opposition campaign, told ‘Politica..

October 22, 2024

US betting round-up: Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming in September

Rounding up some of the latest US monthly sports betting results, iGB takes a closer look at how Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi and Wyoming betting operators performed in September.

Betting records tumble in Connecticut

Looking now to Connecticut, the state set new monthly records across sports betting handle and gross gaming revenue (GGR) during September.

Monthly spend on betting hit $214.4m (£164.9m/€198.1m), narrowly beating the previous record of $212.2m in December 2023. This is also up 18.5% from September 2023 and 65.9% above August, according to the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

Of this total, $204.9m was attributed to online betting and $9.5m retail sportsbooks.

As for revenue, GGR from sports betting during September was $26.6m, another new monthly record. This surpasses the $24.9m previous all-time high reported in January, while also beating last year by 41.5% and August by 94.2%.

Online betting drew $25.3m of all revenue in Connecticut, with re..

October 22, 2024

How are personalisation and technology driving NBA in-play betting?

The NBA regular season tips off on Tuesday (22 October) with the reigning champion Boston Celtics hosting the New York Knicks. There’s sure to be fast-paced excitement on the court and operators will look to tap into that with their in-play offerings, which have surged in popularity of late.

In June the provider Simplebet, which specialises in micromarket pricing, revealed it had enjoyed a third straight NBA season of growth (up 75% year-on-year), with nearly 13 million in-play bets placed during the 2023-24 season.

Around $325m was wagered with operators using Simplebet’s microbetting products, with the company offering 86 unique in-play markets during the NBA post-season.

Following Simplebet’s third season of consecutive growth, DraftKings announced it had reached an agreement to acquire the microbetting specialist.

The landscape of sports betting in the US since the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was repealed in 2018 has been one of constant evolutio..

October 22, 2024

Report: Swedish gambling regulator “not effective enough”, government should clarify black market law

Sweden gambling regulator Spelinspektionen is not doing enough to monitor licensed operators, according to a new report from the National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen). It also calls for the government to improve the law surrounding what is considered an illegal operator.
The report considers the current activities of Spelinspektionen and its performance since Sweden opened its regulated market in 2019. The 97-page publication raises some concerns about the gambling regulator, saying that, at present, it is “not effective enough”.

Primary issues relate to Spelinspektionen’s supervision of the market. According to the report, these efforts are not effective enough to meet the expectations of the government, as it set out when the market was launched in January 2019.

Law on black market is unclear – give regulator more powers
However, the report does not limit its concerns solely to Spelinspektionen. It also raises some criticism over how the government has acted in the period since r..

October 21, 2024

Michigan falls just short of online betting and igaming records in September

Michigan narrowly missed out on new online sports betting and igaming revenue records in September, with the month proving to be the second-best in the Wolverine State’s history.
Figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) show combined online betting and igaming revenue in September hit $261.0m (£200.2m/€240.4m). Reported as ‘gross receipts’, this is 24.1% higher than last year and 16.5% ahead of August.

Adjusted gross receipts, which account for promotional spending in Michigan, was $209.9m. This beat last year’s total by 24.6% and was also 2.5% more than August.

Michigan igaming revenue surpasses $200m in September
Igaming accounted for $202.6m of all online gambling revenue in September. The amount is 21.8% more than last year and only the second-highest monthly amount on record behind $215.5m in March.

It was only the second time in the market’s history that monthly revenue surpassed the $200.0m milestone. Adjusted gross receipts from igaming were also 21.7% higher ye..

October 21, 2024

Illinois sports betting handle up in August, but hold declines sharply against July

Sports betting revenue in Illinois increased year-on-year in August despite the impact of new tax laws in the state. Monthly handle was also higher than in 2023.
For August, total ‘completed events’ adjusted gross revenue hit $59.2m (£45.5m/€54.6m) in Illinois. This is 26.2% more than last year but 17.0% lower than July. State-wide hold was 6.74%, down from 9.22% in July.

Figures from the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) show some $57.8m of all revenue came from online betting. The remaining $1.3m was attributed to wagering through retail sportsbooks across the state.

As for spending, total handle for the month amounted to $877.8m. This surpasses last year by 29.8% and also beats July this year by 13.5%.

August is widely regarded as one of the quieter of the summer months due to fewer major league events, although this year benefited from the Olympic Games in Paris, France. College football also starts in late August, as do NFL pre-season games. Players bet $852.9m online during August ..

October 21, 2024

Weekend Report: US sportsbooks switch up prop bet rules for NBA, row erupts over Betfred shop signage

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: US bettors face new rules on NBA player prop bets, new betting shop signage comes under fire and Conor McGregor loses big-money bet.
US sportsbooks to halt prop betting on lower-paid NBA players
First up, major sportsbooks in the US will no longer allow players to place a prop-style bet on the lowest-earning NBA players, sources have told The Athletic.

Quoting the article, the New York Times reported that the decision comes after months of talks between the NBA and its gambling partners. These include both FanDuel and DraftKings. From now on, no “under” bets will be offered on players on a two-way or 10-day contract.

While NBA players make several million dollars a year, players on shorter contracts earn far less. As such, they potentially face greater threats over match and betting manipulation.

The New York Times highlights one case last year when the ..

October 21, 2024

Fliff CEO: Our customers “not of high value to a sports betting operator”

The social/sweepstakes sports-focused site is proving popular, but potentially polarising.
GK (who is 20 years old), resides in the Los Angeles area. On a recent Sunday, the college student clicked on an app where he maintains an account. He claims to have risked $250 on two NFL games, the same amount on a pair from Major League Baseball and smaller sums on props.

His activity is legal even though California prohibits sports betting. Of states that allow regulated betting, all but four have set the minimum age at 21.

Under current law, what GK does between classes and homework is not considered wagering.

“As a sports management major, I enjoy betting on sports but am not old enough to have accounts with official sportsbooks,” said GK, who asked that his full name not be disclosed. “Fliff is then my best option.”

Fliff company name pulled from short film
In 2019, the founders of the website Fliff, based in Philadelphia and patronised by GK latched on to the hype generated by widespr..

October 18, 2024

Ute tribes’ Colorado lawsuit could set a precedent that goes beyond West Flagler

A pair of Colorado tribes are suing the state over the right to offer digital sports betting off reservation. The Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes argue that the West Flagler decision in Florida makes it so they have the right to offer statewide mobile betting under federal law. But does it?
The Southern Utes filed their lawsuit in July, about a week after the US Supreme Court declined to hear West Flagler vs Haaland. That case, decided in the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, made it legal for the Florida Seminoles to offer statewide mobile betting.

The Ute Mountain Utes joined the Colorado lawsuit in September. The case is filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado. And on Wednesday (16 October) the governor, Jared Polis, filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed.

It’s clear from the text of the complaint that the relationship between the tribes and the state has become strained. For a tribe to to offer digital wagering thro..

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