October 2024 – Page 6

October 8, 2024

G2E: California betting initiative could be as soon as 2026, but “probably” 2028

Two years after a pair of California legal sports betting initiatives lost in spectacular fashion, a key tribal leader teases what's coming next and when.
On Tuesday (8 October) James Siva, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said that Indian Country is restarting discussions about what a tribal legal sports betting initiative would look like. As for timing, he said “maaaaaybe 2026, but probably 2028,” at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas.

Siva was on a panel titled ‘Tribal Sovereignty and Sports Betting: A Delicate Balance’. He was joined by Washington Indian Gaming Association chair Rebecca George, Minnesota Indian Gaming Association executive director Andy Platto and Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association board chairman Matt Morgan. Indian Gaming Association convention chair Victor Rocha moderated the panel.

California would be the biggest online gaming market in the US and the fight to legalise sports betting has been fierce and protracted. It ..

October 8, 2024

G2E: When it comes to integrity, industry should “celebrate its wins”

In 2023, 10 NFL players were suspended for violating league gambling rules and a college baseball scandal involving insider information was uncovered. An outcry questioning the legal industry followed. But those who specialise in integrity monitoring say that instead, the industry – and others – should celebrate.
“Let’s not fool ourselves – matching fixing and integrity issues aren’t new,” Jim Brown, head of integrity services & harm prevention in North America for Sportradar, said. “This brings better protections.”

The NFL and NCAA examples were among many in 2023 and 2024 that involved the gambling industry policing itself and uncovering banned or illegal activity.

Brown was speaking as part of the ‘Tackling Match Fixing: Gaming and Global Sports Cooperation’ panel at G2E in Las Vegas on Monday (7 October). Jess Feil, OpenBet VP of regulatory affairs and compliance and Matt Fowler, head of global operations for the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), joined Brown a..

October 8, 2024

Online casino drives Denmark gambling revenue to DKK571m in August

Gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Denmark reached DKK571m (£64.2m/€76.6m/$84.1m) in August as online casino growth offset declines elsewhere in the market.
The August total was 4.3% ahead of last year, according to data from Denmark regulator Spillemyndigheden. It was also 3.1% more than DKK554m in July of this year.

Growth was driven by a 20.8% year-on-year increase in online casino revenue to DKK299m in August.

This was also ahead of July by 5.3% and not far off the all-time monthly revenue record for the vertical. Spillemyndigheden reported DKK309m in online casino GGR in March of this year.

However, all other segments of the Danish market reported declines in August. The largest drop came in the sports betting sector, where revenue was 14% lower at DKK147m during the month. This was also 1.3% lower than in July.

Land-based woes continue in Denmark
As for the land-based sector, declines noted in recent months continued in August. Physical slot machine GGR was down 0.2% to DKK96m dur..

October 8, 2024

Asian Football Confederation partners IBIA to tackle match-fixing

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has entered into a partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) strengthening its efforts to combat match-fixing across the sport.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the parties committed to jointly detect irregular betting patterns and suspicious activities in football. The partnership between the AFC and IBIA will run for a period of four years.

The IBIA will deploy its Monitoring and Alert Platform to share real-time data on suspicious betting activity with the AFC. This will strengthen the AFC’s abilities to investigate potential match manipulation.

Both parties also said that the partnership will support the AFC’s goal of creating a secure environment for the sport.

AFC committed to keeping football “clean”
Speaking about the deal, AFC general counsel and director of legal affairs, Andrew Mercer, says the organisation is committed to maintaining high ethical and sporting standards within football.

The ..

October 7, 2024

Weekend Report: Betfred to exit AZ and VA, Canada betting ad bill framework advances, Sorare pleads not guilty

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: Betfred confirms closure dates in Arizona and Virginia; Canada sports betting advertising bill framework advances and Sorare pleads not guilty over unlicensed gambling charges.
Betfred stepping back from sports betting in several states
First, Betfred has confirmed it is exiting two more US states by announcing closure dates for its sports betting services in both Arizona and Virginia.

Betfred will cease online operations in Virginia first, with a date of 21 October confirmed by the bookmaker. This will be followed by a shutdown in Arizona a couple of weeks later on 4 November. Customers in both states will have until 10pm local time in each state to access their account and make withdrawal requests.

This confirmation follows Betfred’s exit from several other US states during recent months. It ceased online and retail operations in Colorado on 31 August, ..

October 4, 2024

Missouri sports betting initiative won’t be most expensive in history, but the numbers are already stunning

Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel continue to dump dollars into campaigns for and against legal sports betting in Missouri.
The Missouri campaigns won’t be the priciest in history, or even for a sports betting initiative. But the totals are striking for a state that ranks 18th in population, with 6.2 million residents.

As of Friday (4 October), proponents and opponents had staked campaigns with more than $35m (£26.6m/€31.9m), according to the Missouri Ethics Commission website. Advertisements are flooding airwaves and mailboxes ahead of the 5 November election. To put that figure in perspective, a total of $32.7m was spent on eight proposed amendments or propositions in 2018, according to Ballotpedia.

The title for the most expensive initiative belongs to California, the biggest US state. In 2022, proponents and opponents spent more than $450m on two sports betting proposals. The ultimate result was that both failed spectacularly.

Caesars contribution totals $10.9m so..

October 4, 2024

State of the Union: MA sends cease-and-desist to Bovada, NCAA not sure betting bans work

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.
Massachusetts wants Bovada gone
The state of Massachusetts became the latest this week to send a cease-and-desist letter to offshore operator Bovada. The company is not licensed, but is offering online casino, pari-mutuel wagering and sports betting in the Bay State. The attorney-general’s office on Thursday (3 October) sent a letter that reads in part:

It is illegal in Massachusetts to engage in commercial gambling except where expressly
authorized by the Commonwealth. Mass. G.L. c. 4, sec. 7 (definition of “illegal gaming”); G.L.
c. 23K. Bovada offers an online casino that includes among its games slots, blackjack, roulette,
baccarat, and poker, without any license issued by the Commission under Mass. G.L. c. 23K.

Moreover, Mass. G.L. c. 23N, § 5(a) prohibits engagement in “any activity in connection with
..

October 4, 2024

Kentucky sports betting handle tops $2.39bn in first year

Players in Kentucky spent $2.39bn (£1.81bn/€2.17bn) betting on sports during the state's first year of regulation, while adjusted gross revenue in the Bluegrass State reached $272m.
Kentucky launched legal retail sports betting on 7 September 2023, with online wagering going live three weeks later. State regulator, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has now published figures for the 12 months to the end of August.

Players in Kentucky favoured online betting, with total spend over the internet at $2.3bn in year one. In contrast, retail sportsbook attracted $87.1m in wagers during the 12-month period.

Revenue-wise, online betting generated $264.3m and retail wagering $7.8m. Figures related to adjusted gross revenue, which is revenue after player winnings and federal excise tax.

On the subject of tax, Kentucky collected $37.7m from online sports wagering and $756,517 retail betting. As for hold, the state’s total in year one was 9.28%, with online at 11.5% and retail 8.91%.

Fa..

October 4, 2024

DraftKings exits UK daily fantasy market

DraftKings has closed its UK daily fantasy offering as of today (4 October), in an effort to “optimise its business”. Users of the app this morning received emails notifying them the product was being pulled from the market with immediate effective.
DraftKings’ users were told they can withdraw funds after the closing date and in-game currencies like Crowns and DK Dollars would be converted into US dollars.

“Since DraftKings’ launch in Great Britain, we have been proud to be a part of the country’s passionate sports and daily fantasy sports fanbases,” the email read.

Responding to questions from iGB a DraftKings spokesperson said:”This decision was made as part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our business.

“We are grateful to all our customers across Great Britain and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on growth and delivering value in other key markets, including US sports betting.”

It launched in the UK on 5 February 201..

October 3, 2024

Jontay Porter co-conspirator pleads guilty

Former professional poker player Long Phi Pham, who conspired with ex-NBA player Jontay Porter and two others in a sports betting scam, on Wednesday (2 October) agreed to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Pham appeared in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was released on a bond of $750,000 (£571,450/ €680,062) and will be sentenced 25 April 2025. Pham, Jontay Porter and two others were set to win more than $1m total after the Toronto Raptors player agreed to remove himself early from two games earlier this year. But DraftKings flagged the outsized player-prop bets, and an investigation ensued.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver in April banned Porter for life. Three months later, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July and is awaiting sentencing. Federal prosecutors recommended a sentence of 41-51 months in jail. Porter was released on $250,000 bond and his sentencing is set for 18 December.

Porter’s brother, ..

October 3, 2024

FanDuel holds off DraftKings challenge to lead Ohio betting market in August

Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel remained the frontrunner in the Ohio sports betting market in August – a month in which the Buckeye State saw revenue drop to a calendar year-low
According to the Ohio Casino Control Commission report that dropped on Tuesday (1 October), total player spend in Ohio for August was $547.9m (£417.6m/€496.2m). This is 44.6% ahead of last year and 14.9% more than July of this year.

Consumers wagered $539.9m on sports online during the month, while a further $13.0m was bet at retail sportsbooks.

In terms of taxable revenue, this amounted to $48.8m, the lowest monthly total so far for 2024. The August figure was 19.6% more than the same month last year but 8.8% behind July’s $55.3m haul.

Online sports betting generated $46.6m in revenue, while retail sportsbooks contributed $2.0m to the monthly total. Total taxable revenue for the year-to-date in Ohio stands at $541.5m.

As for hold, this hit 8.91% for the state as a whole in August. Online hold was 8.63%..

October 3, 2024

Gambling advertising laws tightened in New York

The bill ensures all forms of wagering, including online, will carry responsible gambling messaging.
In a move aimed at addressing the growing concerns over gambling addiction, New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, signed into law new legislation that mandates stronger warnings in gambling and sports betting advertisements. The legislation, S1550/A1118, requires all gambling-related advertisements, including those for mobile sports wagering, to include clear warnings about the potentially harmful and addictive effects of gambling.

This move expands on previous regulations. New York previously required only the display of a problem gambling hotline number and didn’t cover online gambling.

The legislation also mandates that the New York State Gaming Commission collaborate with the Commissioner of Addiction Services and Supports to ensure that all gaming-related advertisements prominently display a hotline for problem-gambling assistance.

“I want New Yorkers to be able to safely enjoy the..

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