Betting News – Page 25

August 19, 2024

DC councilmember Trayon White charged with bribery

On Monday (19 August) DC Councilmember Trayon White was charged with bribery after the FBI arrested him on Sunday (18 August). White is accused of taking $156,000 in “kickbacks and cash payment” according to a federal affidavit.
White was a member of the DC Council in 2019 when it agreed to leglalise single-source digital sports betting. DC Lottery partner Intralot got the wagering contract without a bid process. White was absent the day of that vote, but in June 2024 voted to pass a budget that opened the market.

Throughout the 2024 process, however, stakeholders were unsure how White, who was often absent from meetings, would vote. In the end, he lined up in favour and the budget unanimously passed.

According to a federal affidavit filed Friday and unsealed Monday, White took cash and other bribes to convince city government employees to extend contracts for vendors that would benefit at-risk youth. White, from Ward 8, an impoverished part of the District, has been a champion fo..

August 19, 2024

US July round-up: sports betting growth in Louisiana, Kansas and Vermont

Rounding up some of the latest state monthly sports betting reports in the US, iGB looks at year-on-year revenue growth in Louisiana and Kansas and month-on-month improvement in Vermont during July.
Summer lull hits Louisiana sports betting in July
Starting in Louisiana, total handle in the state hit $184.5m, up 37.0% from last year but 13.0% less than June. Online accounted for $172.3m of all wagers, a rise of 40.6%, with retail bets level at $12.3m.

Thanks to a 13% hold, revenue climbed 36.4% year-on-year to $24m (£18.5m/€21.8m). However this is 8.4% lower than June’s total, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

Of all revenue, $22.5m came from online betting, a 43.1% increase from last year. However, retail wagering revenue slipped 17.9% year-on-year to $1.6m, a 12.7% hold.

Parlay betting was the main source of revenue for Louisiana sportsbooks. For June, revenue from online parlay bets hit $14.7m and $737,540 from retail wagers. In terms of individual sports, basebal..

August 19, 2024

Colombia government credits online gambling for supporting GDP growth in Q2

Colombia’s igaming market revenue reached COP10bn (£1.9bn/€2.2bn/$2.5bn) in Q2, with the sector credited as a key component of the nation’s economic growth over the quarter.
National gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.1% over Q2 and the country’s National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) pointed to Colombian online gambling as one of the activities that most helped that growth.

DANE director Piedad Urdinola highlighted the impact of recent sporting activities in particular as driving a rise in online betting. In this summer’s Copa América tournament the Colombia national team reached the final.

Marco Emilio Hincapié, president of Colombian gambling regulator Coljuegos, revealed that sports betting was indeed the largest contributor to the online betting sector, accounting for 47% of total gross gaming revenue (GGR) nationally.

Localised games such as bingo and casino were second with 33% of GGR, while lottery games AstroSport and Baloto generated 13% and 7% respect..

August 19, 2024

New Jersey: Sports betting and igaming growth offset land-based decline in July

Year-on-year growth across sports wagering and igaming in New Jersey offset a 6.1% decline in revenue from the Garden State’s land-based market during July.
Total market revenue in July amounted to $547.8m (£423.4m/€496.7m) according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement figures. This is 8.2% more than $506.2m in New Jersey last year and also 11.6% more than June this year.

Despite the year-on-year decline, land-based gambling remains the main source of revenue. In July, land-based revenue topped $272.3m, down from $290.0m last year. Of this, $207.3m came from slots, a drop of 4.8%, while table games revenue also fell 10.0% to $65.0m.

How far is igaming from overtaking land-based in New Jersey?
The decline in land-based revenue begs the question: could it be surpassed by igaming? For July, igaming revenue hit $195.4m, a 25.9% increase from the same month last year.

Of all igaming revenue, $192.8m was attributed to slots and table games, an increase of 26.4%. The remaining $2…

August 19, 2024

Weekend Report: FBI takes action in DC and the “Drake Curse” strikes again

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB covers the news that you may have missed over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week, we look at an FBI arrest in DC, as well as a California bill that would allow tribes to sue cardrooms.
FBI takes DC Councilman Trayon White into custody
DC Councilman Trayon White was arrested by the FBI on Sunday (18 August) afternoon, according to the City Paper. White will be charged on Monday (19 August), although what the charges are have not yet been disclosed.

In 2019, the DC Council approved legal sports betting and gave lottery operator Intralot the sole-source contract. White was absent on the day of the 2019 vote. He voted to approve the FY2025 budget that opened the market earlier this year.

Bill that would allow tribes to sue CA cardrooms moves
A bill that would allow California’s tribes to directly sue cardrooms moved forward late last week. The assembly’s appropriations committee voted, 14-0, to send the bill to the floor for a full vote. It’..

August 19, 2024

Brazil committee endorses harsher penalties for match-fixing

Brazil's constitution and justice committee (CCJ) of the chamber of deputies has passed a bill that seeks to make the penalties for those found to have manipulated matches harsher.
The bill is looking to amend Brazil’s General Sports Law. It was originally authored by representative Bandeira de Mello before representative Orlando Silva drafted a revised version.

Current penalties for those guilty of match-fixing are a prison term of between two and six years as well as a fine. The substitute bill would increase that penalty from a third to a half should the person involved serve as a referee, player, coach, bettor or agent as well as a manager, director or representative of a sports club.

Additionally, the amended bill includes a prison sentence of between two and six years for those who solicit or recruit people such as referees, athletes, coaches or directors to commit manipulation.

The sports committee had already approved the bill. The chamber of deputies’ plenary will now ..

August 19, 2024

Portugal online gambling revenue hits record high in Q2, land-based declines

Online gambling revenue in Portugal reached €261.8m (£223.1m/$289.2m) in Q2, a record figure and the eighth consecutive quarter in which revenue has hit an all-time high. However a decline in table games revenue hit the country's land-based industry.
The Q2 total is marginally higher than the previous record of €260.8m, which was set in Q1 this year. Revenue for the three months to 30 June is also 27.2% higher than Q2 2023, according to Portugal regulator Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ).

However while online gambling in Portugal is thriving, local operators are warning of a growing threat from the illegal market.

Online casinos still king in Portugal
Breaking down the quarterly performance, online casino games accounted for €158.5m of all revenue in Q2. This represents an increase of 29.9% from €122.0m in 2023 but a slight drop from €160.3m in Q1.

In terms of spending, players wagered a total of €4.37bn across online casino games during Q2. This is 34.7% higher ..

August 16, 2024

State of the Union: DraftKings’ missteps, Missouri ballot measure

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.
DraftKings has “no excuse” to consider surcharge “cash grab”
Less than an hour after Flutter’s second-quarter earnings call ended on Tuesday, DraftKings announced that, after hearing customer feedback, it will back off plans to impose a winners’ surcharge. The company announced the idea in early August, only to get swift and negative feedback.

Wall Street reacted positively on Wednesday. DraftKings’ shares were up as high as $33.50 per share before they settled at $32.06, up nearly 2%. While Rush Street Interactive and Penn Entertainment previously said they would not follow DraftKings’ lead, the company was clearly waiting to see how FanDuel would react.

“We have no plans to introduce a surcharge to winners,” CEO Peter Jackson said during the Q&A portion of the call. He then declined to entertain the issue..

August 16, 2024

Casino expansions lift US Q2 GGR

US gross gaming revenue (GGR) increased by 8.9% year-on-year to $17.63bn (£13.66bn/€16.04bn) in the second quarter of 2024.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) stated that casino expansions in states such as Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia drove the increase. This led to traditional casino GGR improving by 1.8% to $12.49bn.

However, there were also sharp rises in sports betting and igaming GGR.

Sports betting GGR rocketed by 35.3% year-on-year to $3.16bn in Q2, while igaming GGR increased by 25.2% to $1.97bn.

Q2 record
In total, it was the 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth and the highest-grossing Q2 revenue performance on record. However, the total figure was slightly below the quarterly commercial gaming revenue record of $17.7bn registered in Q1.

Over the first six months of the year, total GGR was up 7.7% to $35.48bn. Traditional casino GGR was up 1.1% to $24.83bn, while sports betting GGR improved by 28.7% to $6.67bn and igaming GGR rose by 25.6% to $3.95bn.

Q..