Betting News – Page 174

November 18, 2022

Global regulators release joint World Cup statement

Regulators from France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Great Britain have released a joint statement before the World Cup begins on 20 November, reminding operators to keep responsible gambling and player protection in mind as the tournament runs.

The regulators met in Paris, France on 15 November. L’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the gambling regulator for France, said that the meeting saw a number of key issues being discussed that would affect betting during the World Cup.

“This meeting was an opportunity to address several topics, including the fight against illegal offers and the protection of players and advertising during the World Cup,” read the statement.

“On the latter topic, regulators agreed to commit to working together to closely monitor gambling operators’ compliance with advertising, betting integrity and consumer protection regulations during the World Cup.”

Earlier this month, a number of operators and advertisers signed four charters in France, which committed ..

November 18, 2022

The view from Latvia

More than two years on from the country shutting down all legal gambling for two months, what is the current state of the Latvian market? iGB talks to TonyBet Latvia and Estonia country manager Valters Rozmanis to find out more.

It’s one of those thought experiments that naturally comes up from time to time in this industry – what would happen if a country just abolished gambling overnight?

How would consumers adjust? Would they abstain entirely or move in droves to the unregulated black market, outside the remit of both the taxman and a socially responsible regulator?

Latvia provides something of a natural experiment in this regard. In April 2020, as the first wave of Covid-19 lockdown measures were announced, fearing for the wellbeing of their citizens, the 40th government of Latvia announced a complete ban on all forms of online and land-based gambling.

The shutdown, which ran from 6 April to 9 June, pitted a modern, digital-savvy European country against the mawing forces of th..

November 18, 2022

Michigan reports record igaming revenue in October

Online gaming revenue in Michigan reached a record $141.0m in October, while the state also reported a 34.7% year-on-year increase in total internet gambling revenue.

Overall online commercial and tribal revenue for the month amounted to $190.2m (£159.9m/€183.7m), up from $134.0m in the same month in 2021 and also 7.7% higher than $176.5m in September this year, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).

Of this total, $141.0m came from online gaming gross receipts, a 25.0% rise from $109.7m and a new record, surpassing the previous monthly high of $132.4m set in April this year.

Internet sports betting gross receipts also increased 67.8% year-on-year to $49.2m, while the state’s handle climbed 3.6% from $463.3m to $480.8m.

Combined total adjusted gross receipts, which also account for promotional spending, were $158.5m, including $126.7m from igaming activity and $31.8m from sports betting.

Operators paid $28.2m in taxes and payments to the state of Michigan during Oc..

November 18, 2022

DC sports betting revenue up in October despite year-on-year handle decline

Revenue from sports wagering in Washington DC jumped 93.8% year-on-year in October despite a fall in player spending.

Gross gaming revenue was $3.1m (£2.6m/€3.0m), comfortably higher than $1.6m in the same month last year but 13.9% down from $3.6m in September of this year.

However, in terms of handle, the $24.8m bet by players in October was down from $26.3m in the corresponding month in 2021 but 27.8% higher than the $19.4m that was wagered in September this year.

Caesars again claimed top spot in DC with $1.3m in revenue from $8.2m in total player bets during the month, ahead of Gambet, operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, with revenue of $838,108 and a $7.5m handle.

BetMGM, which operates in DC via a partnership with MLB team the Washington Nationals, was next with $461,357 in revenue off $6.9m in wagers.

Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel, which runs a FanDuel-branded retail sportsbook at Major League Soccer team DC United’s Audi Field, followed with $433,817 in r..

November 18, 2022

Pennsylvania online slots revenue hits record high in October

Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania increased 5.7% year-on-year during October, helped by a record performance by the state’s online slots market.

Total revenue for the month amounted to $450.2m (£378.0m/€434.2m), up from $425.9m in October 2021 and also 0.4% more than $448.5m in September this year.

Retail slots were again the primary source of revenue at $199.0m, though this was 2.1% lower than last year. Retail table games revenue was also down 10.4% to $79.3m.

Online slots overtook retail table games to become the second-highest gambling revenue source in the state, generating a record $86.3m, up 22.1% year-on-year. Online tables revenue was also 21.8% higher at $35.7m, though internet poker revenue slipped 12.7% to $2.5m.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National retained top spot in the state’s igaming market by some margin, posting $52.7m in online gambling revenue. Rivers Casino Philadelphia was second with $29.3m, then Valley Forge Casino Resort on $23.4m.

Turning to sports wagering..

November 18, 2022

New Jersey betting revenue down as challengers struggle in October

Sports betting revenue in New Jersey declined by 7.4% year-on-year to $77.9m, as revenue for its leading brands increased but challengers in the market struggled.

This figure came as players bet $1.06bn on sports, down by 18.1% from October 2021’s record-high $1.30bn. Of this total, $987.6m was placed online, with the remaining $72.6m placed in person.

The Meadowlands, with a FanDuel betting skin, continued to easily lead the market with $45.4m in sports betting revenue, up 3.0%. In second place was Resorts Digital, which has partnered with DraftKings and brought in $17.2m, up 8.0%

BetMGM partner the Borgata was the only other operator to crack even a 3% market share, bringing in $9.5m, up by 18.7%.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 18, 2022

Bwin renews sponsorship agreement with Euroleague Basketball

Bwin and Euroleague Basketball have renewed their multi-year sponsorship agreement, which will now continue until 2026.

The four-year extension, which covers Bwin’s Greek territory, is the third renewal of the partnership.

As part of the renewal, Bwin’s branding will continue to be shown at Turkish Airlines Euroleague and 7Days EuroCup games.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with the EuroLeague, the biggest European basketball organisation,” said Ionna Beriou, director of corporate affairs at Bwin. “We share the same values and our goal is to contribute to further promoting and developing basketball throughout Europe.”

“Our extensive experience with sponsorships will hopefully be an invaluable contribution to both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup. Our aspiration is to create the needed conditions so that through this cooperation greater goals are continuously achieved.”

The renewed deal will also see Bwin contribute fan experiences for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final ..

November 18, 2022

What will it take to create a US challenger that’s actually viable?

iGB op-ed: Following MaximBet’s exit from the US sports betting market, Daniel O’Boyle asks what it will take for a lower-tier US brand to succeed.

This week’s column comes to you as I prepare to board a flight for a week off in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, so what better to focus on than the idea of retreating from costly US battles?

Maximbet became the latest US operation to shut down, hot on the heels of the Fubo Sportsbook. If it wasn’t clear already, it’s fair to say now that it’s tough for second-tier and below operators to make much money, and other exits are likely coming soon.

In August, I wrote that the podium of top US sports betting operators had effectively been set, with no path for challengers to compete with the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.

The chances of anyone coming close to FanDuel’s market share disappeared a long time ago

Recent events have only reinforced that there simply isn’t a path into the top tier for the also-rans. So the question..

November 17, 2022

KSA to investigate illegal affiliate sites targeting self-excluded players

The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has announced that it has initiated an investigation into affiliate marketing sites that target vulnerable consumers.

The KSA said that its attention had been drawn to a number of affiliate sites that had been created with the seeming intent of circumventing regulated offerings and directing consumers to gambling sites that do not abide by Dutch gaming law.

The KSA provided examples of such sites with domain names including phrases such as casinozondercruks (“casino without cruks,”) and casinozondervergunning (“casino without licence”). The Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks) is the Dutch self-exclusion platform that allows players who have experienced harm from games of chance the opportunity to put themselves on a blacklist preventing them from accessing certain sites for a pre-designed time period set by the user.

The KSA has cracked down on affiliates before, taking action against 15 sites in December 2021.

Cruks integration

Und..