Betting News

DraftKings agrees to buy in-play betting company Simplebet

DraftKings on Wednesday (28 August) announced that it has come to terms to buy Simplebet in an effort to punch up its in-play betting capabilities and boost its AI game.
The acquisition will be DraftKings’ second major purchase this year, after it completed the purchase of digital lottery company Jackpocket in May. DraftKings earlier this year also acquired SportsIQ Analytics and sold VSiN back to its original owners.

DraftKings, founded in 2012 in Boston, is the second-biggest US sports betting company by market share.

Details of the deal were not released and are pending regulatory approval. The boards of directors for both companies have approved the acquisition, according to a DraftKings press release.

The Simplebet deal would allow DraftKings to integrate Simplebet’s machine learning models into its platform and offer customers “highly accurate betting opportunities during every moment of a game”. By adding Simplebet’s technology, according to the press release, DraftKings ..

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Yield Sec report: Illegal US gross gaming revenue continues to significantly outpace legal GGR

A new Yield Sec report shared exclusively with iGB shows that the US gambling market reached $39.9bn (£30bn/€35.7bn) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the first half of 2024. The company said $29.1bn of that GGR came from illegal platforms between January and June 2024.
Yield Sec uses predictive analytics in its report. The report is for sports betting and online gambling only and reveals $10.8bn in GGR on legal platforms. According to the report, there were 892 illegal operators working in the US in the first half of 2024. In addition, 651 affiliates were promoting illegal platforms.

In 2023, Yield Sec predicted that the US market was $40.9bn in GGR for the year. It appears the 2024 numbers will easily eclipse that. Two new US states entered the live US market in 2024 – North Carolina and Vermont. No US jurisdictions legalised wagering in 2024. North Carolina is the ninth-biggest US state by population and the sixth-biggest legal betting state by population.

Through its first five ..

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Survey estimates 10% of Brazil population has suffered gambling-related financial issues

A survey by market research specialist Hibou has revealed 10% of the population in Brazil has endured financial problems from gambling ahead of regulation coming into force.
The survey, which included 2,839 respondents in Brazil from all social classes, studied the prevalence of gambling in the population.

The study found 68% of Brazilians gamble, with around 16% of respondents stating they had suffered from financial issues due to their gambling.

Is pre-regulation gambling causing social issues?
That equates to around 10% of the Brazilian population. While this may cause concern it is important to note it covers a period before the legal online market launches. The first legal bets will be placed on 1 January 2025, with 113 operators applying for a licence during the initial 90-day window of preference.

Of those who had endured financial problems from gambling, 32% stated they had sold assets to make up for their losses. Additionally, 29% borrowed from friends or family, while 25% ..

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LiveScore CEO on overregulation and users’ “endless” demand for sports content

LiveScore Group chief executive Sam Sadi says the business may turn to generative AI to satisfy sports fans’ insatiable demand for content and admits the operator would not have entered the Dutch igaming market today.
“Betting has moved towards the recreational, socially acceptable way to consume sports,” Sadi tells iGB. “Maybe 10 years ago, people would be betting on one or two types of markets, the winner market or number of goals.

“Now we see a wider distribution of bets into more entertainment-like products [such as] bet builders and SGPs (same game parlays), as [users consume] different types of statistics. People follow the sports in a much deeper way than they used to.”

With this evolution of betting behaviours, users have developed an almost insatiable demand for content Sadi explains. “Producing this, almost to individual needs, is expensive to be able to deliver at scale.”

Like others, LiveScore sees generative AI as a solution to satisfying that consumer demand.

Can g..

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Rumblings begin anew for legal wagering in South Carolina

South Carolina lawmakers have barely seriously considered legalalising sports betting but, in 2025, the discussion could get more serious.
South Carolina is the opposite of a gambling mecca. The deep red southern state has no land-based casinos, no horse racing and it has some of the strictest gambling laws in the US. Despite those issues, at least one person who studies gambling expects a push toward wagering legalisation in 2025.

“The success in terms of the tax revenue generated already in North Carolina will be enticing,” Stephen Shapiro of the University of South Carolina Department of Sport and Entertainment Management told Statehouse Report earlier this month. “I would imagine that we’re going to see more of those types of [sports betting] bills and that there’s a good chance it would be legalised in the next couple years.”

South Carolina is among the last group of US states to consider legal wagering. To date, there has not been a serious push for it. During the 2024 legisla..

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With NFL kickoff approaching, US sportsbooks gear up for ‘No 1 acquisition” opportunity

Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel are the first major US sportsbooks to announce marketing offers ahead of the NFL season. Both are revisiting past successful campaigns in an effort to land new customers.
The lead-up to NFL kickoff is the biggest customer acquisition opportunity of the year for US sportsbooks.

“Football is always the most competitive season,” FanDuel CEO Amy Howe told Yahoo Finance ahead of the 2022 NFL season. “It is the number one acquisition moment for, candidly, all sports betting operators.”

Traditionally, the NFL season accounts for 35% of US sportsbook revenue, according to multiple sources. It is then, by definition, the time of year with the highest customer-acquisition spend. For the period of 1 September 2023-26 December 2023, the Public Gaming Research Institute reported that US sportsbooks spent $237.8m on television advertising. For the same time period, Pennsylvania’s wagering operators claimed about $117m in promotional credits.

Fanatics Sportsbook ..

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Weekend Report: Addabbo sounds off about NYC casino process, DraftKings stymied in court, Aristocrat’s new UK deal

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.
Frustration continues over NYC casino bid process
New York Senator Joe Addabbo continues to push for and vent his frustration about the status of three downstate NYC casino licences. Per Action Network, Addabbo was vocal during the Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga, NY earlier this month.

“Why not codify the timelines? Why not give definitive answers to why we’re not doing this on a timely basis when we did three licences upstate in a fraction of time?” Addabbo asked during a conference panel. “Because we’ll have this same panel here five years from now.”

At issue is the timing of awarding three casino licences. Eleven entities are bidding for the licences, which are currently scheduled to be awarded in the middle of 2025. Casinos would be able to op..

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Don’t hold your breath on legal wagering in Texas next year

The heightened opposition to gambling in general – fueled by the casino debate – is now spilling over into the discussion around sports betting
The future of legalised sports betting in Texas has become entangled in a web of lobbying efforts and political manoeuvring centred around the more contentious issue of casino legalisation. The Lone Star State is the second largest in the US after California to not have legal sports betting. And it is facing increasingly complex challenges that could derail the prospects for legalisation in the near future.

According to a recent report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG), a Southern California-based advisory firm specialising in the gaming industry, Texas has been removed from the list of states likely to legalise sports betting in 2025. The report highlights the growing influence of anti-gaming advocates and the intensified lobbying for casino legalisation as significant obstacles to the advancement of sports betting legislation. As a result, ..

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State of the Union: CFB injury reporting, bye-bye Bovada (again), banned bets in Colorado

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.
MAC to require football injury reports
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) earlier this week became the second US college football conference to require injury reporting, the Associated Press reported on Thursday (22 August). The Big Ten was the first in 2023 and the SEC is considering the mandate.

BREAKING 🚨
The SEC continues to advance its player injury/availability reporting policy, but it has not yet been finalized, an SEC spokesperson says.
“The policy has been updated and is subject to further review. We will announce a final decision when it is complete.”
This… pic.twitter.com/y4aDvgPClj
— College Football Headlines (@CFBHeadlines) August 21, 2024

MAC teams will be required to provide an injury report three hours before kickoff. Reports will be available via the conference’s website and X social-media p..

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Missouri digital betting initiative faces legal challenge

Missouri's sports betting initiative is now facing a legal challenge, meaning there is a possibility that voters won't get a chance to weigh in on an issue that has been tied up in the legislature for more than five years.
On Thursday (22 August), the Missouri Independent reported that a lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit Court contests how the secretary of state certified the initiative. The lawsuit came just over a week after the secretary of state announced that proponents had collected enough verified signatures to get on the ballot. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday (21 August)

At issue is the voting districts used by the secretary of state to certify the initiative. In Missouri, a proposal needs verified signatures from 8% of voters in six of the state’s eight voting districts. Lawmakers redrew the congressional districts in 2020.

The Independent reported that according to the lawsuit, the secretary of state’s office used the old districts to determine if enough ..

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Ladbrokes becomes official betting partner of Liverpool in UK&I

Entain-owned Ladbrokes has been named the new official betting partner of Premier League club Liverpool.
The multi-year betting partnership announced today (23 August) sees Ladbrokes branding on featured LED screens at the club’s Anfield stadium, as well as at Liverpool Women’s St Helen’s Stadium.

Ladbrokes will provide “exclusive content opportunities” and a number of betting activations aiming to “reward and entertain” Liverpool fans.

Additionally, the agreement aims to support local communities with Entain’s grassroot sports investment programme. This aims to grow grassroots football in Liverpool and the surrounding area.

Notably, the partnership will adhere to the Premier League’s Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football. The code was introduced prior this season and focuses on ensuring partnerships between clubs and gambling companies adhere to the four principles of protection, social responsibility, reinvestment and integrity.

For Entain chief commercial o..

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NFLPA sues DraftKings over NFTs

On Wednesday (20 August) the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) filed a lawsuit against DraftKings and its parent company DK Crown Holdings, Inc in US District Court for the Southern District of New York stemming from DraftKings' July shutdown of the Reignmaker NFT.
The NFLPA is seeking damages for an “anticipated breach of contract”, claiming that it provided DraftKings with intellectual property rights licensing for NFL players. The product allows consumers to buy NFTs for use in fantasy sports contests.

Most documents around the lawsuit are under seal and the docket does not indicate when the seal may be lifted. The NFLPA’s attorney filed a court order asking to file redacted documents. David Greenspan, an antitrust, sports and complex-commercial litigator with the New York City firm Winston & Strawn LLP, is listed as the NFLPA counsel.

Greenspan has previously worked with athletes and has won multiple anti-trust class-action lawsuits against the NCAA. Those cases centred arou..

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