Product & technology – Page 2

January 24, 2024

Home field advantage: Strive creates a PAM for North America

Three years on from entering a crowded, competitive field, Strive Gaming has built a foothold in the North American market. As its roster of clients expands, president Damian Xuereb aims to ride the market’s evolution through a new wave of growth.

Strive Gaming president Damian Xuereb is sure of one thing. “Strive was certainly not a first mover in the US,” he says. But the US market is approaching its sixth anniversary. Strive Gaming has been in play for just half of that.

Established by Xuereb and CEO Max Meltzer, both veterans of the post-PASPA gold rush, Strive knows the market. Coming in three years after the first bets were placed, it has watched what works and what doesn’t.

Strive’s experience of the post-PASPA Gold RUSH Sets up the business for success as the US market matures says president Damian Xuereb

“We had the advantage of understanding the state-by-state nuances in each market,” Xuereb continues. “We had the opportunity to do our research and ensure we built a pro..

December 13, 2023

Bill Hornbuckle on MGM Resorts’ global growth ambitions

MGM Resorts’ home town of Las Vegas evolved beyond all recognition during Bill Hornbuckle’s time in gaming, but it’s not the only show in town. He’s eyeing up expansion across a range of global markets and expanding into new channels.

Things are booming in MGM Resorts’ home town, but it’s much more than a Vegas-based business. Hornbuckle leads global development efforts and having taken MGM into Macau he’s still looking east.

MGM Resorts looks east

Japan’s ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism certified plans for a $10bn integrated resort in Osaka in April. After finalising agreements with Osaka Prefecture and City, construction can begin on the property.

Marginally closer, opportunities are emerging in the United Arab Emirates. First Wynn sealed an agreement for a resort in Ras al-Khaimah. Then a federal regulator, the General Commercial Gambling Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) emerged paving the way for resorts in other Emirates.

MGM is focused on Dubai, Hornbu..

December 8, 2023

Stats Perform pens 2030 extension to WTA rights data deal

Data provider Stats Perform has penned an exclusive agreement to continue as the rights partner of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) until 2030.

Stats Perform will continue to be the exclusive data rights partner of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) after signing an extended deal.

Under the agreement, Stats Perform will continue to serve as the official data supplier of the WTA. The deal will see the provider deliver an exclusive umpire-derived data feed for matches and an ultrafast data feed collected by the supplier’s Opta analysts.

Data collected by Opta analysts will include detailed match statistics, including rally and shot level. This, Stats Perform says, will increase the level of live insight available for WTA matches. It will also help power a new range of broadcast, second screen and betting experiences.

Extended until 2030

Stats Perform signed an initial six-year contract back in 2020 to become the WTA’s official data supplier. This fresh renewal, announced on..

November 28, 2023

PointsBet CEO: On course to deliver growth in FY25

PointsBet chief executive Sam Swanell has outlined a focus on technology to deliver growth in Australia and Canada following the group’s departure from the US.

Swanell told investors at the AGM that PointsBet remains on course to break even this year and deliver growth in FY25. The CEO reiterated the rationale behind the $225.0m sale of its US business to Fanatics. He also gave an update on growth targets in its remaining Australian and Canadian markets.

PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell

Central to its performance, Swanell said, will be the proprietary technology powering its own platforms as well as Fanatics. In total, PointsBet’s platform handled more than $7bn in wagers during the most recent financial year.

PointsBet also retains the rights to use and further develop the Banach “Oddsfactory” technology assets. This drives in-play, parlay products and cash-out features in Australia, Canada and the US.

“The strength of our technology has also been validated through our sale of the plat..

November 23, 2023

The art of harnessing artificial intelligence for sportsbooks

As we’ve seen this year, the groundbreaking and rapidly evolving technology powering artificial intelligence (AI) is sure to revolutionise the economy, including the world of sports betting. In the second part of this two-part series, Russell Karp, senior vice-president of DataArt, focuses on the many ways sportsbooks can benefit from harnessing the art of AI.

Today, one of the most promising uses of AI in sports betting is bettors’ ability to use the technology to place bets more strategically and attempt to minimise their losses.

Apps like BettorTakes and Juice Reel aim to boost users’ performance through comprehensive analytics of their past betting behaviours. As BettorTakes CEO Steve Rubenfaer described in an interview with DataArt this year, the app “show[s] you your patterns, biases and things you might not know about yourself”.

With these apps, AI can be used to assess bettors’ gambling history, in addition to player or team stats. AI can then present digestible, comprehensi..

November 15, 2023

ESPN Bet launches across 17 US states

ESPN Bet, the newly branded online sportsbook operated by Penn Entertainment, has now officially gone live across 17 states in the US.

Players can now place bets with the sportsbook on the ESPN Bet app and website in states including Arizona, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois and Ohio.

ESPN Bet is the product of Penn’s $1.5bn (£1.2bn/€1.4bn) partnership with Disney-owned ESPN, the largest sports media brand in the US.

As per the agreement, Penn will operate ESPN Bet while ESPN promotes the app across its online and broadcast platforms.

The launch details

ESPN Bet is a rebranding of existing sports betting app, Barstool Sportsbook. In August, Penn said it sold Barstool Sports back to its founder Dave Portnoy for $1.

“We are excited to announce that we plan to simultaneously launch ESPN Bet across the 17 states in which we operate online sports betting, subject to final approvals,” said Penn CEO Jay Snowden, commenting on Penn’s Q3 results.

“This strategic allia..

November 13, 2023

ESPN BET launch: everything you need to know

Like any Disney fairytale, we’re ready for the hero to dash in and save the day. So, what kind of fairytale do we have concocted for tomorrow’s (14 November) ESPN BET launch?

First up, let’s do some background.

ESPN BET launch: has Penn Met its sports betting match?

We all know Penn Entertainment was billed as one of the pandemic success stories. At the time, few investors thought it had a big part to play in our Disney fairytale with its acquisition of Barstool Sports.

However, unlike our Disney tale of true love, Barstool and Penn was just never meant to be.

At the start of 2023, Penn sold Barstool back to Dave Portnoy for a single paltry dollar. This was mere months after completing the $500 million purchase. A poisoned apple, some might say.

Instead, enter the prince of our tale – Disney-owned ESPN.

This where our tale of true love begins and the story of ESPN BET.

A match made in heaven for ESPN and Penn

Following ESPN’s $1.5bn licensing partnership with Penn Entertainme..

November 7, 2023

EveryMatrix winning streak continues as casino record broken again in Q3

EveryMatrix generated record net revenue in its latest trading period with huge gains across both its casino and sports verticals.

EveryMatrix saw revenue up 79% year-on-year to €60m ($64.2m/£52.1m) during the three months to 30 September. Net revenue reached a record €27.2m, which was up 62%, and with a three-year CAGR of 47%.

The technology supplier’s success was driven by strong growth across business segments. It was yet another record quarter for casino, with operator clients generating €463m in gross gaming revenue (GGR), up 77%. Sports turnover surged by 85% to €810m, and GGR increased by 26%. This is despite headwind from exchange rate effects, sports results and increased odds promotion from its large clients.

This is the third consecutive quarter with organic net revenue growth above 50%.

EveryMatrix sees strong growth across verticals

Casino set a successive quarterly record with net revenue of €13.3m, up 74% and, on a quarter-by-quarter basis, 6%. EveryMatrix introduce..

November 1, 2023

How Adam Greenblatt is sharpening BetMGM’s competitive edge

Adam Greenblatt set BetMGM on a path to profitability and the business will be self-sustaining in the second half of 2023. How will he make sure the operator stays ahead in the US sports betting market as new competitors emerge?

July’s update on BetMGM’s first half performance confirmed the operator was on the path to profitability outlined by CEO Adam Greenblatt in June.

The business will be self-sustaining in the second half of the year. There will be no additional equity investment from joint venture partners MGM Resorts and Entain, beyond the $150m committed for 2023.

BetMGM CEO Greenblatt believes a new phase of competition could be imminent in the US

Greenblatt believes that BetMGM could operate as a separate business and stand on its own two feet if necessary.

“It could be a permanent state, absolutely,” he says of BetMGM as a self-sustaining entity. “[But] I think whether or not that is indeed a permanent state depends on how we want to ramp up and how quickly we want t..

October 25, 2023

A force to be reckoned with

There’s an element of fun to the niche sports Pro League Network (PLN) presented to regulators. But don’t doubt its impact, or PLN’s ability to harvest player attention, writes Cole Rush.

“It’s okay to laugh.”

That’s what Bill Yucatonis, co-founder of PLN tells regulators when he presents niche sports for potential wagering.

“We’re going to talk about mini golf today,” Yucatonis tells them. “It’s okay to laugh.”

With PLN, it’s all fun and games. There’s a serious side, sure – we’re talking about carefully constructed alternative sporting leagues, after all. But Yucatonis and his team don’t shy away from the lightheartedness that permeates PLN sports.

Yucatonis and his partner and co-founder Mike Salvaris concocted PLN almost two years ago. With backgrounds in the gaming and sports industry, they set out to bring “alternative sports” into the mainstream.

“We’ve got 16 leagues in our network and we’re growing,” says Yucatonis. “We look for sports that have some viral components and..

October 25, 2023

LiveScore Group’s Sam Sadi builds his media empire

LiveScore Group aims to become the world's leading sports media operator, and sports betting is just the start. Chief executive Sam Sadi explains the masterplan.

“I remember the days when we used to press F5 to refresh the LiveScore.com website. That’s how long back it was,” says LiveScore Group chief executive Sam Sadi.

LiveScore launched in 1998, offering visitors football scores. Gamesys acquired the business in 2017 and, following that operator’s £490m sale to Jackpotjoy Group and then the £2.0bn merger with Bally’s Corporation, LiveScore Group stands alone as an independent business led by Sadi.

LiveScore turns 25 today, starting out providing live match data to players in 1998

The LiveScore Bet sportsbook launched in 2020, complementing the affiliate arm, not to mention its second brand, Virgin Bet. But Sadi isn’t only interested in building a sports betting business.

“We have a plan we’re implementing,” he explains. “You could call it a ten-to twenty-year plan. We i..

October 11, 2023

Sportradar and Genius slapped with patent suit

Panda Interactive has filed two separate lawsuits in the Texas Eastern District Court accusing Genius Sports and Sportradar of patent infringement.

The suits claim Sportradar and Genius, which are both Panda competitors, implemented the company’s video streaming technology patents without authorisation.

Panda said it had developed several patents in the live data and content streaming verticals. These include technology that allows viewers to see live odds and place a bet while watching sports.

The company say competitors have “widely copied” its patents in the streaming market generally, and even more so in the online sports betting market.

“We have made substantial investments in the development of our technology and cannot tolerate having our patented technology used unfairly by others and against us,” said Panda chairman Donald Schupak.

“No one wants to see their own arsenal used against them in battle.”

Sportradar and Genius accused of patent infringement

The filings also..

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Tag: Product & technology