Betting News – Page 9

October 18, 2024

State of the Union: Industry, CFG fight over cannibalisation, Bally Bet launches in TN

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.
iDEA report refutes previous NJ economic impact study
The iDevelopment and Economic Association (iDEA Growth) this week released a report that refutes a 2023 study about the economic impact of online gambling in New Jersey. The previous report, by the NERA Consulting Group, itself questioned findings from a 2019 report on the same topic. At issue is just how much of an impact online gambling has had on the economy in New Jersey. The studies also explore the level of cannibalisation caused by online markets.

The iDEA study raised questions about the methodology NERA used.

The 2019 report by Meister Economic Consulting and Victor Strategies found that online gambling contributed $2bn (£1.5bn/€1.84bn) to the Garden State’s economy between 2013 and 2018. The 2023 NERA report, commissioned by the Campaign for F..

October 18, 2024

Pennsylvania: sports betting and igaming growth offset land-based decline in September

Growth across sports betting and igaming helped offset a decline in the land-based market in Pennsylvania during September, allowing the Keystone State to post a 6.2% year-on-year increase in overall monthly gambling revenue.
Revenue for September was $505.9m (£387.9m/€466.5m), according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). This surpasses last year’s total but falls 3.7% short of August this year.

Sports betting was the segment of most growth for Pennsylvania, with adjusted gross revenue rising 46.1% year-on-year to $53.5m. Of this, $47.2m came from online betting and $6.3m wagering via retail sportsbooks across the state.

In terms of player spending, monthly handle reached $811.3m, some 11.7% more than in the same month last year. This resulted in a state-wide hold on taxable revenue of 6.59% for September.

Focusing on operators, FanDuel and partner Valley Forge Casino Resort remain the runaway leaders in Pennsylvania. Revenue for the month reached $27.4m off $320.5m i..

October 18, 2024

New Jersey smashes igaming revenue record again in September

Online gambling revenue in New Jersey reached a new record high for the second straight month in September, while the Garden State also saw year-on-year growth in the sports betting market.
Total gambling revenue across online and retail in New Jersey hit $558.3m (£428.2m/€515.2m) in September. This is 7.1% ahead of last year and 0.6% more than August this year, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Once again, the highlight for New Jersey in September was igaming, with revenue here up 27.1% year-on-year to $208.1m. This surpassed the existing record of €198.4m, which was set in August.

Revenue from content classed as ‘other authorised games’, including online slots and table games, jumped 27.6% to $205.9m. However, online poker revenue slipped 6.9% to $2.2m.

DraftKings remains the leading igaming operator with $45.8m in revenue for September. It was closely followed by long-time rival FanDuel on $45.3m. BetMGM also had a successful month with $26m.

As for mas..

October 18, 2024

Digital growth pushes year-to-date revenue to €2.10bn at FDJ

La Française des Jeux (FDJ) has reported an 11.9% year-on-year increase in revenue for its financial year-to-date, driven by growth within its digital business, while the group has set out full-year expectations after completing its acquisition of Kindred.
Publishing figures for the nine months to September, FDJ said revenue amounted to €2.01bn (£1.67bn/$2.18bn). This includes lottery, sports betting and igaming operations, as well as international and payment services.

The French monopoly operator reported growth across all areas of the business, although it saw the largest rise within its sports betting and igaming segments.

“FDJ continues to deliver a solid financial and non-financial performance,” FDJ chairwoman and CEO Stéphane Pallez said.

“This performance was driven both by the lottery and by sports betting and online gaming open to competition and by all our distribution channels, with a network of points of sale in progression and strong momentum from digital games.”

Grou..

October 17, 2024

AGCO fines NorthStar Gaming CA$30,000 for geolocation fail

NorthStar Gaming's NorthStarbets.ca is available to consumers outside of Ontario, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) discovered. In a Wednesday (16 October) press release, the agency announced that it is fining NorthStar CA$30,000 (US$21,741/£16,712/€20,082)) for the violation.
Wagering and igaming platforms in Ontario are required to use geolocation services to ensure customers are located within the province. In August 2021 the Canadian government announced it was decriminalising single-event wagering. Ontario so far is the only province in which commercial online gambling is available.

Other provinces offer digital gambling through their lotteries, but do not yet have open, competitive markets. The expectation is that the next province to launch digital gambling will be Alberta.

According to the AGCO, it discovered the violation during a “third-party assessment” earlier this year. “Tests were conducted from physical locations in Quebec and New York state t..

October 17, 2024

Bovada may feel hit of exiting US markets more for igaming than wagering

Analysing the financial blow to the offshore operator now that it is blocked in 15 jurisdictions.
Bovada could see a significant financial impact from 15 US markets – and counting – sending it cease-and-desist letters.

But maybe not in the way you would expect, according to one gambling expert.

Massachusetts recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bovada, the offshore betting megasite, joining Kansas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana as recent additions to its list of restricted markets. Anyone can find that list on its website under the “Which Countries are Restricted?” section – which only includes US markets and no other locations around the world.

These are the markets on that list (Massachusetts isn’t on there yet, but it should be soon):

Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Nevada
New York
New Jersey
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Washington, DC
West Virginia

68% of regulated US sports betting market
The American Gaming Association estimated that Americans bet $6..

October 16, 2024

Tribes: Sweepstakes the latest threat to sovereignty, exclusivity

Angry and concerned that sweepstakes operators are another existential threat to sovereignty and gaming exclusivity, Indian Country is gearing up for a fight.
“This falls squarely on the tribes again,” Victor Rocha, editor of Pechanga.net, said during his weekly webinar on Wednesday (16 October). “If they don’t react, no one will. We thought it was over, but here we go again. We’re not saying you can’t come into California, we’re just saying that you have to do it through the tribes.

“We will take on that fight anytime, anywhere, anyhow. It’s brand new, it’s right on our platter and we’ll address it.”

Rocha, who hosts the ‘New Normal’, was joined by California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva and National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) executive director Jason Giles. A week removed from the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) where sweepstakes were the talk of the industry, Rocha opened by sharing his anger and frustration that another group of “unlicensed” and “..

October 16, 2024

Massachusetts sets betting handle and revenue records in September

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) reported record sports betting handle and revenue during September, with the Bay State posting year-on-year growth across both its online and retail segments.
During September, handle in Massachusetts hit $678.7m (£519.1m/€623.1m). This is a new monthly high for the state, surpassing the existing record of $658.7m set in December last year.

The September number is up from $512.2m in September last year, according to the MGC, and ahead of the August handle of $447.3m. Online spend amounted to $667.7m, with retail sportsbooks processing $11.1m.

As for revenue, this amounted to $73.5m, surpassing January’s previous $71.1m record. It also beat last September by 47.6% and August by 120.7%.

Online betting contributed $72.2m to the revenue total, while $1.3m came from the retail sector.

In terms of hold, the state-wide figure for Massachusetts during September was 10.83%, based off taxable revenue. The state collected $14.6m in tax, with almost ..

October 16, 2024

Arizona sports betting market up YoY, but down against June

Arizona endured a somewhat mixed month in July as both handle and revenue were higher year-on-year in the Grand Canyon State, but the market shrank month-on-month.
Players wagered $410.1m (£313.7m/€376.6m). This is up against $323.2m July last year but down against $454.1m June this year. Of the July handle, $404.8m was spent betting online and $5.4m at retail sportsbooks.

The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADoG) also reported $41.5m in adjusted gross revenue prior to free bets. After deducting $12.5m in promotional wagers, this left $29.0m in adjusted gross revenue.

Monthly revenue beat July last year by 8.2% but, coincidentally, also fell 8.2% short of June’s total. This amount includes $28.7m in online betting revenue and $283,928 from the retail sector. Sportsbooks paid the state a total of $2.9m in taxes. Digital revenue is taxed at 10% and retail revenue is taxed at 8%.

This meant Arizona had a state-wide hold of 7.07% for the month.

DraftKings retains the lead in Arizona
Brea..