Finance – Bookielink

State of the Union: MA sends cease-and-desist to Bovada, NCAA not sure betting bans work

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.
Massachusetts wants Bovada gone
The state of Massachusetts became the latest this week to send a cease-and-desist letter to offshore operator Bovada. The company is not licensed, but is offering online casino, pari-mutuel wagering and sports betting in the Bay State. The attorney-general’s office on Thursday (3 October) sent a letter that reads in part:

It is illegal in Massachusetts to engage in commercial gambling except where expressly
authorized by the Commonwealth. Mass. G.L. c. 4, sec. 7 (definition of “illegal gaming”); G.L.
c. 23K. Bovada offers an online casino that includes among its games slots, blackjack, roulette,
baccarat, and poker, without any license issued by the Commission under Mass. G.L. c. 23K.

Moreover, Mass. G.L. c. 23N, § 5(a) prohibits engagement in “any activity in connection with
..

September 27, 2024

Nevada August betting revenue jumps 39.7% while slots hit total GGR

Rounding up some of the latest monthly state results in the US, iGB takes a closer look at how a drop in slots activity saw overall gambling revenue fall in Nevada in August, while Mississippi reported growth within its retail sports betting market.
Mobile sports betting in Nevada was up 13% on 2023 to $14.8m, data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board shows.

Baseball reaped the highest revenue of all sports during the month, making up $9.7m of the vertical’s revenue in August, while American football betting hit $8.7m. However, hockey and basketball betting activity both generated losses for operators.

Betting across other sports generated $7.6m in additional revenue, with the Control Board noting that $14.8m of all wagering revenue came from mobile.

Meanwhile revenue from sports betting pools, which is counted under table games, jumped 38.9% year-on-year to $25m in August.

The Control Board does not disclose handle details for sports betting.

Nevada revenue down again in August
..

September 27, 2024

Brazil’s IBJR members agree to expedite credit card ban to October

The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) and the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR) have both advised their members to bring forward their ban on gambling with credit cards. All of the IBJR's members have agreed to expedite the ban.
Published in April, Normative Ordinance No 615 banned the use of credit cards, crypto, cash, payment slips or cheques for betting when the legal Brazil online betting market goes live on 1 January 2025.

However only companies already active in Brazil that have applied for a betting licence will be able to continue operating from 1 October.

Both the ANJL and IBJR have urged their respective members to voluntarily bring forward the prohibition of credit cards after discussions with the ministry of finance. For the IBJR, which claims its members account for around 70% of the betting market in Brazil, the move is aligned with its wider objective to secure a safe betting market in the country.

Notably, the ANJL said almost a..

September 26, 2024

Flutter touts global success and future growth at annual investor conference

Wednesday (25 September) was a tour de force for global wagering giant Flutter, as the company's executives touted its worldwide success to investors and detailed plans for future growth.
The company held its annual investor day presentation in New York on Wednesday. Several executives presented details in an extensive breakdown about Flutter’s tentacles around the globe. Investors heard from group CEO Peter Jackson, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe, Flutter’s UK & Ireland and international CEOs Ian Brown and Dan Taylor and more.

Overall, the executives heralded the “Flutter Edge”. This, they said, is the formula that has vaulted the company into “gold-medal positions” in several large markets, such as the US, UK, Italy and Australia. It consists of four main tenets: product, technology, expertise and scale.

This quartet was referenced ubiquitously as the key driver for the company’s success. Throughout the presentation, the company’s widespread dominance of odds pricing and parlay produ..

September 23, 2024

Spain online gambling revenue up 11% in Q2

Online gross gambling revenue (GGR) in Spain amounted to €346.3m (£290.1m/$386.4m) in Q2, an increase on the previous year but slightly lower than the opening quarter of this year, despite the opening of UEFA's Euro 2024 in June.
The Q2 total is 10.8% higher than €312.6m in Q2 of last year, according to Spain’s regulator Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ). However, the figure – covering the April-June period, is 1.2% behind the $350.7m revenue reported in Q1 this year.

Casino was again the main source of online GGR in Spain, generating €171.7m, or 49.6%, of all Q2 revenue. This is 14.6% more than last year and also a 2.3% increase from Q1’s total.

Within online casino, slots GGR increased by 19.5% from last year, while live roulette revenue was also up 9.6%. Slots and blackjack revenue also improved quarter-on-quarter but both conventional and live roulette revenue were down.

Mixed results for sports betting in Q2
Looking elsewhere in the market, sports bettin..

September 18, 2024

Michigan: Igaming growth drives online gambling revenue increase in August

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) reported a year-on-year and month-on-month increase in online gambling revenue in August, driven by growth within the igaming sector.
Igaming gross receipts and gross online sports betting receipts from commercial and tribal operators in August amounted to $224.0m (£170.2m/€201.5m). This is 27.7% more than last year in Michigan and 1.4% higher than in July this year.

Data, published by the MGCB on Tuesday (17 September) shows igaming accounted for $196.7m of all revenue during August, up 29.2% year-on-year. Gross sports betting receipts were also 18.1% higher for the month at $27.4m.

The MGCB also sets out adjusted gross receipts (AGR), which account for promotional spending in Michigan. For August, the total for the state’s online gambling market was $193.2m, a rise of 26.2% on last year’s total.

Of this, $176.9m came from igaming, a year-on-year rise of 30.9%. In terms of sports betting, AGR reached $16.3m, up 2.5% from the previous year.

September 17, 2024

New Jersey: Record igaming revenue drives growth in August

Gambling revenue in New Jersey increased 4.4% year-on-year in August, helped by a record performance by the Garden State’s igaming market.
Total revenue for August reached $555.1m (£420.0m/€498.7m). This is ahead of $531.6m in New Jersey last August and also 1.3% more than $547.8m in July this year.

Without doubt, the stand-out figure for New Jersey in August was igaming revenue. Here, revenue jumped 27.8% year-on-year to $198.4m – a new monthly record for the state.

This includes $196.0m in internet slots revenue, an increase of 28.2%. On the other hand, online peer-to-peer remained level at $2.4m for the month.

Golden Nugget was again the leading master licensee in the igaming market. Skins operating via its licence, which in addition to Golden Nugget are FanDuel, Betway and BetRivers, generated $55.0m in revenue.

However, as was the case in July, DraftKings was the leading igaming operator. It posted $43.2m in online casino revenue, ahead of FanDuel on $41.3m. Another brand of n..

September 9, 2024

Brazil government preparing heavy crackdown on illegal betting payments

Pay4Fun director Ari Celia tells iGB Brazil's ministry of finance has established a new department to target black market operators. He expects Pix blocking efforts to be successful.
Brazil’s government is implementing hefty measures to prevent illegal operators from processing payments ahead of the legal betting market’s launch on 1 January 2025.

The government’s ministry of finance is setting up a team of eight civil servants who will specifically work on preventing illegal sites from taking and receiving payments, according to Celia.

The team will process complaints from the sector and seek to punish unlicensed payment providers and illegal sites.

Blocking Pix payments will be successful
One measure the government has publicly announced is blocking payments involving illegal operators made via Pix, an instant payment service controlled by the Central Bank of Brazil which the majority of the betting market uses.

Regulators in other markets like Germany and across Europe..

August 30, 2024

Virginia sportsbooks were big winners in July, extending double-digit hold streak

Virginia sports betting operators recorded their fourth consecutive month of double-digit hold in July, the Virginia Lottery reported on Friday (30 August). Bettors laid down $377.6m in wagers, up 28.6% over last July.
Virginia handle was down from $415.4 in June. The state’s 14 digital and three retail sportsbooks have recorded hold of 10% or more five times in 2024.

According to the report, adjusted gross revenue (AGR) was $40.3m, up compared to last July’s $28.2m, but slightly down from $40.5m in June, when hold was 10.95%. The regulator calculates AGR by subtracting player winnings, bonuses and promotions and certain other deductions from total monthly player wagers. Bettors won a total of $331.3m.

Virginia taxes operators at 15% and the state does not release individual sportsbook or sport data. The regulator did report that 10 operators had positive AGR for the month. All of the major operators, including BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatic Sportsbook an..

August 30, 2024

International markets helping to drive growth for BetMakers in FY2024

BetMakers recorded revenue of AU$95.2m (£49.1m/€58.4m/$64.7m) for its 2024 financial year, with its international presence credited as driving growth.
The figure marked a minor increase of AU$200,000 for BetMakers compared to 2023, while a focus on costs helped slash the supplier’s adjusted EBITDA loss for the 12 months ended 30 June 2024.

Its Global Tote division, which has a presence in more than 35 countries, drew in the majority of the revenue. It delivered AU$54.8m, representing 58% of total revenue – a 3% year-on-year increase.

In FY2024, BetMakers entered into or renewed contracts with 29 operators around the world. International customers are a growth focus while its domestic platforms and the loss of its contract with Betr held it back, it explained.

During the year it signed a two-year market access and content agreement with Bet365 to distribute horseracing content to customers in New Jersey and Colorado in the United States. Caesars Entertainment has launched BetMakers’ ..

August 21, 2024

Sports betting and igaming continue to offset Pennsylvania retail decline in July

Pennsylvania posted further year-on-year declines in land-based gambling revenue in July, although the state saw total market revenue increase on the back of ongoing growth across igaming and sports betting.
Revenue from gambling in Pennsylvania in July hit $500.8m (£384.2m/€450.2m), according to the state’s Gaming Control Board. This is 7.2% higher than last year and also 6.1% more than $472.0m in June this year.

Despite revenue from retail slots declining 4.8% year-on-year to $204.3m, this remains the biggest source of gambling revenue in Pennsylvania. Land-based table revenue also fell 4.8% to $79.4m but still ranked third in terms of total revenue generated.

Igaming revenue tops $174.3m in July
Turning to online gambling, there is seemingly no stopping growth within the igaming sector in Pennsylvania. For July, total revenue from igaming was $174.3m, a rise of 31.2% from last year.

Of this total, $125.4m came from online slots, up 32.2%. Internet table games revenue was also up ..

August 21, 2024

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 ..

October 2024
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Tag: Finance