Sports wagering revenue in Iowa rocketed by 189.4% year-on-year in October despite the state’s handle falling 15.0%.
Revenue for the month amounted to $19.1m (£16.0m/€18.3m), up from $6.6m in the same month last year, but 24.8% lower than $25.4m in September of this year.
Of this total, $16.4m was attributed to online sports betting, while the remaining $2.7m came from wagering at retail sportsbook facilities across the state.
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Former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Yasiel Puig has pled guilty to charges for lying to federal agents who were investigating an illegal gambling operation.
Federal law enforcement agents interviewed Puig regarding bets he placed on sporting events with an illegal gambling operation run by an individual named Wayne Nix. The Cuban-born baseball star has agreed to plead guilty to one count of making false statements – an offense for which he could face up to five years in federal prison.
Puig, who currently is a right fielder for the Kiwoom Heroes in South Korea, has agreed to pay a fine of at least $55,000 and to make an initial appearance in US District Court.
“Under our system of justice, no one is above the law,” said United States attorney Martin Estrada. “The integrity of our nation’s criminal justice system depends on people telling the truth, and those who fail to abide by this simple principle must face consequences.”
“When given the opportunity to be truthful about ..
Esports Entertainment Group (EEG)-owned brands SportNation and RedZone will cease trading in the UK from 30 November 2022.
SportNation and RedZone both said the sites were “closing for a variety of reasons including the economics of operating a small igaming business in the UK market”.
Users will be able to place bets and use their accounts will normal functionality until 30 November – after which they will be able to login to withdraw funds from 7 December, when the final closure is due to take effect.
Following this, there will be another seven-day period where the operator will process requests to withdraw funds of any amount over £1. From 14 December, SportNation and RedZone stated that “should any customer balances remain, we will continue to comply with requests for refunds of such balances to the extent required by law and in accordance with our terms and conditions”.
The operator has said that it intends to keep possession of customer data for five years following the clos..
A survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association (AGA) has found that 8.0% of American adults – equating to 20.5 million people – plan on betting a total of $1.8bn (£1.51bn/€1.57bn) on this year’s Fifa World Cup.
The World Cup is set to take place in Qatar and will begin on 20 November.
The survey was conducted by market research company Morning Consult between 3-5 November. A national sample of 2,213 adults took part.
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Peru will ban free bets and demos, as well as mandating registration for suppliers, as part of its effort to regulate online gambling.
The detail comes as part of Peru’s efforts to regulate online betting and igaming. The country’s Congress unanimously voted for a bill to regulate the sectors in July, which was then signed into law in August, coming into effect 60 days later.
The law names the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (Mincetur) as the country’s official gambling regulator.
As regulator, the body established a number of rules that will apply to operators in the market, including a ban on free bets and supplier registration requirements.
These rules are subject to a consultation, with stakeholders able to submit their opinions until 2 December.
Free bet ban
The regulations state that operators may not offer any type of remote betting or gaming for free, whether this is for promotional purposes or for education such as through a demo of a game.
If an operator ..
New York set a new online sports betting revenue record for the second consecutive month in October, while the state’s handle reached its highest total since March.
Gross gaming revenue from online wagering amounted to $145.7m in October, up 1.67% from the existing record of $143.3m set in September.
Player spending also increased by 22.2% month-on-month to $1.54bn, the highest amount in seven months and the third-highest monthly total since the state launched its legal market at the start of the year.
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The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in an effort to protect sports integrity.
Under the arrangement, the DSWV and IBIA will work in partnership and coordinate their activities on betting and related integrity issues in Germany.
The two associations will bring together their expertise on activities aimed at promoting a viable regulated sports betting market in the country that has high consumer channelling and related consumer, sports and operator integrity protection measures.
“The partnership between the DSWV and IBIA is another welcome step forward for the German sports betting industry,” DSWV president Mathias Dahms said. “With its many years of international experience and expertise in the field of sports integrity, the IBIA will support us in strengthening the regulated market and protecting it from manipulation.
“We therefore look forward to many joint projects..
The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has said that recent preliminary investigations into mafia associations with Malta-based gambling have found no links between the MGA and suspected individuals.
Reports in the media said the Italian authorities had contacted the MGA regarding how the mafia had been using websites owned by Maltese operators to offer unlicensed and illegal gambling.
A report published in the Times of Malta last November said individuals illegally collected money for bets in Italy using sites belonging to Maltese companies operating without a licence issued by the Italian authorities. This, it claimed, helped them to launder money from other illegal activities.
A follow-up then said that preliminary investigations had concluded last week and that a total of 34 individuals had been identified.
However, the MGA said that it had been established that there were no links between itself and those that had carried out the reported illegal activity.
“The MGA refers to repor..
This year’s US midterm elections have plenty riding on them for the industry.
iGB has put together a panel of experts to discuss the fallout for US sports betting, online casino and land-based gaming.
California dreaming
A clash of the titans in California looks set to end in disappointment for both sides. There’s still much to discuss, namely whether an immovable force and an unstoppable object can reconcile after a bruising campaign. And more importantly, when will legal betting actually come to the Golden State?
State elections to watch
Developments in several state legislatures could also have a game-changing impact for US gaming regulation. Sports betting and casino hangs in the balance in Georgia, while Minnesota candidate Scott Jensen has voiced support for legal wagering.
Then in Oklahoma, governor Kevin Stitt may have his second term denied by disputes over tribal gaming.
That’s not even mentioning potential developments in Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia. In a number o..