Tag: DraftKings

Missouri sports betting initiative won’t be most expensive in history, but the numbers are already stunning

Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel continue to dump dollars into campaigns for and against legal sports betting in Missouri.
The Missouri campaigns won’t be the priciest in history, or even for a sports betting initiative. But the totals are striking for a state that ranks 18th in population, with 6.2 million residents.

As of Friday (4 October), proponents and opponents had staked campaigns with more than $35m (£26.6m/€31.9m), according to the Missouri Ethics Commission website. Advertisements are flooding airwaves and mailboxes ahead of the 5 November election. To put that figure in perspective, a total of $32.7m was spent on eight proposed amendments or propositions in 2018, according to Ballotpedia.

The title for the most expensive initiative belongs to California, the biggest US state. In 2022, proponents and opponents spent more than $450m on two sports betting proposals. The ultimate result was that both failed spectacularly.

Caesars contribution totals $10.9m so..

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DraftKings exits UK daily fantasy market  

DraftKings has closed its UK daily fantasy offering as of today (4 October), in an effort to “optimise its business”. Users of the app this morning received emails notifying them the product was being pulled from the market with immediate effective.
DraftKings’ users were told they can withdraw funds after the closing date and in-game currencies like Crowns and DK Dollars would be converted into US dollars.

“Since DraftKings’ launch in Great Britain, we have been proud to be a part of the country’s passionate sports and daily fantasy sports fanbases,” the email read.

Responding to questions from iGB a DraftKings spokesperson said:”This decision was made as part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our business.

“We are grateful to all our customers across Great Britain and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on growth and delivering value in other key markets, including US sports betting.”

It launched in the UK on 5 February 201..

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A look at all DraftKings regulatory penalties this year

The online gambling giant has now been hit with over $300,000 in penalties across four states
DraftKings keeps rolling the dice with various authorities, from state regulators to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The result? The online gambling operator is repeatedly crapping out.

Casino Reports counts four instances in this year alone in which DraftKings has been hit with fines by regulators. Included is a pair of six-figure wallops.

Here they are, in order from largest to smallest:

X’d out
Last week, the SEC hit DraftKings with a $200,000 (£149,251/€178,756) fine over the company’s public relations team’s posts on the X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn accounts of founder and CEO Jason Robins on 2 July.

The posts in question stated that DraftKings was experiencing “really strong growth” in states where it was operating.

The problem? According to the SEC, those posts violated Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Regulation FD. In short, the company was telling tale..

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MLBPI slaps four US operators with name, image and likeness suit for using players in apps, social media

MLB Players Inc (MLBPI), the corporate arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) has filed lawsuits against DraftKings, Bet365, FanDuel and Underdog Fantasy for unlawfully using the name, image and likeness of several players on their apps and social media accounts.
The suits were filed on Monday (16 September). The DraftKings-Bet365 suit was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FanDuel-Underdog suit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Both allege that the bookmakers have used “hundreds” of MLB players’ names and images without proper consent.

The alleged violations apply to bets and promotions on the bookmakers’ apps and posts from their social media accounts. The union described the two companies’ conduct as “outrageous, malicious, and in wilful violation of MLBPI’s rights”.

As a result, the union is seeking an injunction to stop the use of player images as well as compensatory and punitive dam..

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FanDuel dominated Washington, DC wagering in August

In the first full month of an open competitive market in Washington, DC, FanDuel was the clear choice for bettors, taking $21.7m in bets. Four operators were live online.
Washington, DC also has four in-person only sportsbooks and the eight combined to take $40.6m in bets, the highest in history according to the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) report. The group had a combined $4.5m in gross gaming revenue (GGR).

In June, the DC Council voted to open the market, which during its first three years, only had one digital option available throughout the District and that for just 11 months. GambetDC, a white-label platform provided by lottery provider Intralot, was live.

But issue after issue arose and, in March, the OLG announced that Intralot was preparing to take the platform down and replace it with FanDuel. The wagering giant subcontracted with Intralot, but its run as a monopoly was short-lived. FanDuel went live in April, but on 15 July the market opened and the OLG declined t..

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Mass Gaming Commission to set hearing about DraftKings’ bungled email

People on the self-exclusion list in Massachusetts received the email about a ‘bonus bet'.
A widespread notification from DraftKings in mid-August about settlement of PGA Tour golf bets mostly was met with harmless bemusement and confusion from those receiving the email.

The recipients consisted of those who have made wagers on golf using the online sportsbook – just not this particular bet. It also included some who don’t even have a DraftKings account.

But it is another group of recipients that may land the Boston-based sports betting giant in hot water with regulators.

DraftKings message was intended for 13 bettors
That’s because during a Massachusetts Gaming Commission hearing on Thursday (12 September), it was revealed that the email was intended to be sent to only 13 bettors whose wagers were relevant to the settlement. But it actually went out to more than a million users. The potential hot water comes from the fact that the commission found that 184 residents on the vol..

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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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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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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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Michigan online gambling, sports betting AGR up YoY and month over month

Michigan's online gambling industry continues to grow, as July igaming and digital sports betting adjusted gross receipts (AGR) grew a combined 3.2% over June.
In addition, compared to July 2023, online gambling AGR was up 24.7% and sports betting was up 5.2%, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB), which released results on Tuesday (20 August).

But the big news was wagering hold. Digital sports betting operators recorded an 11.3% win rate in July, the fourth consecutive month of double-digit hold, according to the Sports Handle revenue database. That’s the second-highest hold since digital operators went live in January 2021.

The operators’ most successful month for hold was September 2022 – the second football season during which digital betting was live. That month, operators kept 13.15% of handle.

Overall, Michigan online gambling commercial and tribal operators reported a combined $220.9m (£169.4m/€198.4m) in gross receipts. Michigan has three land-based ..

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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..

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Massachusetts operators hold 10.3% as Bally Bet makes debut

Massachusetts sportsbook operators were the winners in July, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission revenue report released on Thursday (15 August).
The state’s seven mobile operators and three retail operators combined for a 10.3% hold and handle was up significantly over July 2024.

Bally Bet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook and FanDuel took a combined $405.3m (£315.3/€369.3m) in wagers compared to $294.9m in July 2023. Massachusetts’ handle was down against June’s $509.3m. Four digital operators recorded hold of over 10%.

Massachusetts operators paid more than $8m to the state in taxes.

Boston-based DraftKings retained its spot as the market-share leader, taking $202m in wagers, holding 10.3% and recording adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of $20.9m. FanDuel was second with $119.9m in handle and a hold of 10.97%.

Bally Bet had lowest hold of all operators
Massachusetts was back up to seven operators for July, after Bally Bet launched o..

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