Online sports betting – Page 79

November 18, 2022

The view from Latvia

More than two years on from the country shutting down all legal gambling for two months, what is the current state of the Latvian market? iGB talks to TonyBet Latvia and Estonia country manager Valters Rozmanis to find out more.

It’s one of those thought experiments that naturally comes up from time to time in this industry – what would happen if a country just abolished gambling overnight?

How would consumers adjust? Would they abstain entirely or move in droves to the unregulated black market, outside the remit of both the taxman and a socially responsible regulator?

Latvia provides something of a natural experiment in this regard. In April 2020, as the first wave of Covid-19 lockdown measures were announced, fearing for the wellbeing of their citizens, the 40th government of Latvia announced a complete ban on all forms of online and land-based gambling.

The shutdown, which ran from 6 April to 9 June, pitted a modern, digital-savvy European country against the mawing forces of th..

November 18, 2022

Michigan reports record igaming revenue in October

Online gaming revenue in Michigan reached a record $141.0m in October, while the state also reported a 34.7% year-on-year increase in total internet gambling revenue.

Overall online commercial and tribal revenue for the month amounted to $190.2m (£159.9m/€183.7m), up from $134.0m in the same month in 2021 and also 7.7% higher than $176.5m in September this year, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).

Of this total, $141.0m came from online gaming gross receipts, a 25.0% rise from $109.7m and a new record, surpassing the previous monthly high of $132.4m set in April this year.

Internet sports betting gross receipts also increased 67.8% year-on-year to $49.2m, while the state’s handle climbed 3.6% from $463.3m to $480.8m.

Combined total adjusted gross receipts, which also account for promotional spending, were $158.5m, including $126.7m from igaming activity and $31.8m from sports betting.

Operators paid $28.2m in taxes and payments to the state of Michigan during Oc..

November 18, 2022

Pennsylvania online slots revenue hits record high in October

Gambling revenue in Pennsylvania increased 5.7% year-on-year during October, helped by a record performance by the state’s online slots market.

Total revenue for the month amounted to $450.2m (£378.0m/€434.2m), up from $425.9m in October 2021 and also 0.4% more than $448.5m in September this year.

Retail slots were again the primary source of revenue at $199.0m, though this was 2.1% lower than last year. Retail table games revenue was also down 10.4% to $79.3m.

Online slots overtook retail table games to become the second-highest gambling revenue source in the state, generating a record $86.3m, up 22.1% year-on-year. Online tables revenue was also 21.8% higher at $35.7m, though internet poker revenue slipped 12.7% to $2.5m.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National retained top spot in the state’s igaming market by some margin, posting $52.7m in online gambling revenue. Rivers Casino Philadelphia was second with $29.3m, then Valley Forge Casino Resort on $23.4m.

Turning to sports wagering..

November 18, 2022

New Jersey betting revenue down as challengers struggle in October

Sports betting revenue in New Jersey declined by 7.4% year-on-year to $77.9m, as revenue for its leading brands increased but challengers in the market struggled.

This figure came as players bet $1.06bn on sports, down by 18.1% from October 2021’s record-high $1.30bn. Of this total, $987.6m was placed online, with the remaining $72.6m placed in person.

The Meadowlands, with a FanDuel betting skin, continued to easily lead the market with $45.4m in sports betting revenue, up 3.0%. In second place was Resorts Digital, which has partnered with DraftKings and brought in $17.2m, up 8.0%

BetMGM partner the Borgata was the only other operator to crack even a 3% market share, bringing in $9.5m, up by 18.7%.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 18, 2022

What will it take to create a US challenger that’s actually viable?

iGB op-ed: Following MaximBet’s exit from the US sports betting market, Daniel O’Boyle asks what it will take for a lower-tier US brand to succeed.

This week’s column comes to you as I prepare to board a flight for a week off in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, so what better to focus on than the idea of retreating from costly US battles?

Maximbet became the latest US operation to shut down, hot on the heels of the Fubo Sportsbook. If it wasn’t clear already, it’s fair to say now that it’s tough for second-tier and below operators to make much money, and other exits are likely coming soon.

In August, I wrote that the podium of top US sports betting operators had effectively been set, with no path for challengers to compete with the likes of FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.

The chances of anyone coming close to FanDuel’s market share disappeared a long time ago

Recent events have only reinforced that there simply isn’t a path into the top tier for the also-rans. So the question..

November 17, 2022

KSA to investigate illegal affiliate sites targeting self-excluded players

The Dutch Gambling Authority (KSA) has announced that it has initiated an investigation into affiliate marketing sites that target vulnerable consumers.

The KSA said that its attention had been drawn to a number of affiliate sites that had been created with the seeming intent of circumventing regulated offerings and directing consumers to gambling sites that do not abide by Dutch gaming law.

The KSA provided examples of such sites with domain names including phrases such as casinozondercruks (“casino without cruks,”) and casinozondervergunning (“casino without licence”). The Centraal Register Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks) is the Dutch self-exclusion platform that allows players who have experienced harm from games of chance the opportunity to put themselves on a blacklist preventing them from accessing certain sites for a pre-designed time period set by the user.

The KSA has cracked down on affiliates before, taking action against 15 sites in December 2021.

Cruks integration

Und..

November 17, 2022

Codere Online losses widen despite revenue growth

Online gaming operator Codere Online has announced that losses increased 73% quarter-on-quarter from €6.7m (£5.8m/ $7.0m) to €11.6m in Q3 despite revenue growth on both a sequential and annual basis.

Much of the increased losses can be explained by increased marketing spend. Codere spent €5m more on marketing in Q3 than it did in Q2, with an increase from €19.3m to €24.3m. Other costs remained largely static quarter-on-quarter.

Total revenue increased to €28.9m in Q3 2022, a 51% year-on-year increase, while net gaming revenue increased 54% to €30.6m. This compares with the €27.4m in total revenue and €29.2m in net revenue the company received in the preceding quarter. The increased losses can be explained by revenue not increasing at the same speed as marketing spend.

Moshe Edree, CEO of Codere Online, said this growth was driven primarily by the company’s continued expansion in its critical markets of Mexico and Spain, which make up the majority of the business’ total revenue.

November 17, 2022

MaximBet ceases operations amid “challenging” macroeconomic conditions

Online gambling operator MaximBet has ceased all operations with immediate effect citing “challenging macroeconomic conditions” and an “increasingly cost prohibitive marketplace”.

MaximBet announced the decision in a message to customers, saying they will have until 15 December to withdraw any funds in their accounts. After this date, any remaining balances will be refunded via cheque sent to the address on the account.

Players are no longer able to deposit more funds or place net bets, but MaximBet said that it would settle any existing bets in line with its MaximBet House Rules until 15 December. At this point, MaximBet said bets will be cashed out at “current fair value market pricing” and player balances will be returned via cheque.

MaximBet was founded in April of 2021 through a collaboration between sports betting operator Carousel Group and media brand Maxim, supported by a $50m investment from the xSigma subsidiary of Chinese engineering business ZK International.

At the ti..

November 16, 2022

Entain and Sportsbet respond to Australian gambling harm inquiry

Online gaming operators Entain and Flutter-owned Sportsbet have issued responses to an ongoing Australian inquiry into online gambling and its impact on those experiencing harm.

On 15 September, an Australian parliamentary committee, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs began an inquiry into online gambling and its effects on those who experience harm from the activity.

The committee sought out written submissions from both individuals and organisations providing recommendations on this topic. Entain and Sportsbet responded to the call to action, and wrote separate documents outlining their recommendations for policy in this area.

Appropriate levels of regulation

In the document that Entain provided, it argued that it believed that current levels of regulation in the sector were “appropriate”.

“Regulation that is not proportionate risks undermining the customer experience and driving growth in the use of black market illegal offshore..

November 16, 2022

Sportradar raises guidance after US segment turns Q3 profit

Sportradar raised its full-year guidance after it reported a 30.7% revenue increase to €178.8m and said its US segment turned a profit in Q3.

Sportradar reported that revenue from the United States was up by 61.2% to €31.6m.

“This growth was driven by a strong increase of US betting services, driven by cross-selling non-data products to betting operators as well as benefiting from our customers’ growth as a result of a development in the underlying market and new states legalising betting,” the group said.

Rest-of-world betting services was the largest segment of the business, with revenue up 28.4% from Q3 of 2021.

This, Sportradar said, was mostly due to clients using more products in which Sportradar receives a higher revenue share, such as as managed betting services.

“This growth was driven primarily by increased sales of our higher value-add offerings including managed betting services, which increased 84% to €38.2 million, and live odds services, which increased 12% to €27..

November 16, 2022

Codere Q3 revenue hits pre-pandemic levels thanks to strong LatAm growth

Spain, Italy and Latin America-facing gaming business Nueva Codere’s Q3 revenue increased 47.2% year-on-year to €343.4m (£300.7m/$357.8m), recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

The robust revenue growth is mainly due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in venues, ensuring a rebound for Codere in almost all markets.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 74.8% to €57.4m from €24.6m in the same period the previous year. Codere’s potent performance in Argentina and other Latin American countries is one important factor in this result.

The company’s adjusted EBITDA margin also rose 2.6% to 16.7% in the three months leading to 30 September compared to the same period of 2021.

Codere country totals

Revenue jumped for Codere in all Latin American markets – most dramatically in Argentina where it increased 146% year-on-year to €98.6m, 122% of the pre-pandemic total. One important factor is that average player spend per visit has incre..