Product & technology – Page 4

July 17, 2023

Entain to acquire Angstrom Sports in £200m deal

Entain will acquire sports modelling, forecasting and analytics specialist Angstrom Sports in a deal worth up to £203m.

Under the deal, Entain will pay an initial £81.0m, as well as £122.0m in additional payments over a three-year period, totaling £203.0m.

Angstrom utilises simulation-based predictive modelling to offer a range of pricing and forecasting capabilities to sportsbook clients.

Primarily serving the US market, Angstrom’s offering covers the most popular competitions and leagues in the country.

The acquisition will allow Entain to offer a full suite of end-to-end analytics, risk and pricing capabilities for its US operations, namely BetMGM, which it runs as a joint venture with MGM Resorts International.

This will improve customers’ US sports betting experience including more betting opportunities, optimised parlay and in-play products, it added.

The acquisition is expected to complete during Q3 2023.

Unlocking new US opportunities

“We’re delighted Angstrom will b..

July 14, 2023

Penn migrates Barstool Sportsbook to proprietary platform

All Penn Entertainment’s brands are powered by proprietary technology after Barstool Sportsbook and Casino was migrated to its in-house platform.

The migration took place simultaneously across 16 states where Barstool operates during Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star Break, the largest-scale technology migration in North American gaming to date.

Penn describes the migration as a major development which completes its long-term strategic goal to be technologically independent, bringing all gaming operations in-house.

Penn’s acquisition of theScore, which was in the process of building the platform when it was bought, and the launch of Penn Games Studios also formed part of this plan. TheScore, now Penn’s brand in Ontario, was the first to move to the new tech stack.

‘Milestone achievement’

The updated version of Barstool Sportsbook and Casino contains several new elements, including streamlined navigation, more personalisation capabilities and faster deposits and withdrawals.

June 28, 2023

BetMakers concludes 10% share buy-back

Racing data and analytics provider BetMakers Technology Group said that it has now concluded its buy-back of 10% of the business' shares.

The buy-back – which began on 12 July 2022 – saw BetMakers repurchase 30,626,884 shares using the business’ cash reserves. Following the announcement, the provider’s shares rose 13%.

The news comes in the aftermath of BetMakers making a number of changes to its senior management team.

In January, the business announced a restructuring which saw CEO Todd Buckingham step down to take on the newly created position of chief growth officer.

BetMakers North American CEO Christian Stuart also announced his exit from the business in April as part of the organisational restructure.

The news came as BetMakers warned that it was facing negative growth in Q2 due to its outstanding investment commitments.

This trend continued in the company’s Q3 report. In the financial quarter the business saw continued cost pressures keeping the business at a loss, ..

June 23, 2023

Genius extends Premier League data rights deal

Sports data and technology provider Genius Sports has extended its exclusive partnership with Football DataCo, the business that manages data rights for the English Premier League.

Under the terms of the new deal, Genius extends its official partnership with the data rights organisation to 2025. It also expands the agreement to cover new areas such as Genius’ data tracking product.

Genius’ 2019 deal with Football DataCo

The previous partnership – first established in 2019 – granted Genius the exclusive rights to collect, license and distribute official live betting data from the EPL to its sportsbook clients. The deal also covers the English Football League (EFL) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).

The new deal, which is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, will see the business distribute data from over 4,000 UK football fixtures per season.

As the official tracking data and analytics partner to the EPL, Genius Sports also expanded its partnershi..

June 12, 2023

Sports betting apps: Why change is long overdue

Over the last several years, online sports betting has continued to grow in popularity. Russell Karp, senior vice-president at DataArt, explores what sportsbooks need to do to stay at the top of their game.

Following a wave of deregulation in the US, which has led to the legalisation of sports betting in more than 30 states, millions of users are increasingly able to place bets on sports through operator websites and mobile apps.

Major operators like FanDuel and DraftKings have claimed a significant share of the US sports betting market. But I would argue that the entire industry is overlooking some critical technological developments that could change the playing field for everyone.

Studying the playbook of extremely successful apps like Spotify, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, no sports betting app – including those offered by DraftKings and FanDuel – has effectively utilised tools like in-app personalisation, performance analytics, AI, high-quality video streaming or a loyal commun..

June 7, 2023

Adam Greenblatt outlines BetMGM’s path to profitability

The US sports betting and igaming market is maturing and at BetMGM Adam Greenblatt believes product is the battleground where the leaders will be decided for the market’s next phase.

Adam Greenblatt has led BetMGM, the joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts since its formation in 2018. It is on track to achieve profitability in the second half of the year.

BetMGM is live in 20 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico and Ontario in Canada. Since 2018, it could be seen as the only business to consistently keep pace with DraftKings and FanDuel.

It didn’t have the database of the legacy daily fantasy giants. But thanks to the MGM Resorts connection (and without M&A along the way), it’s established as a top tier brand in the US.

Other brands with designs on a top tier position such as Caesars, Bally’s, Penn National and 888, have undergone significant change. They’ve acquired to grow, onboarded new tech or sought out new partners.

This may help each business close the..

June 6, 2023

Sorare: From pressure point to new regulations

Sorare has updated its operating model in France, and gambling regulator ANJ is yet to confirm whether it meets its regulatory criteria, writes Jake Pollard. However, news that the French government is working to pass new regulations for Web3 “pioneers” shows how important the sector is to the French authorities.

In a statement posted on Medium, Sorare said it had updated its product roadmap as a “temporary solution”.

This decision was taken in accordance with “the French National Gaming Authority [l’Autorité National des Jeux (ANJ)] that creates an optional alternative method of entry for users based in France only”.

Essentially, Sorare has increased free-play access to its fantasy sports leagues for players in France. Even if the French language version of the company’s statement, unlike the English text, mentioned that the new method of entry would be available to players “without blockchain cards”.

A marker of regulatory pressure

Overall, the move by Sorare is a marker of t..

May 24, 2023

Fanatics’ Matt King brings new thinking to US sports betting

As CEO of FanDuel, Matt King took a daily fantasy sports brand to the top of the US sports betting industry, and in the top job at Fanatics Betting and Gaming he’s looking to do it all over again. Not that he’s looking to emulate his former employers in leading the ecommerce giant; it’s Spotify that inspires him.

For Fanatics Betting and Gaming chief executive Matt King, the challenge he is taking on isn’t building a market leader. He’s already done that during his tenure at FanDuel, which is currently sitting with a seemingly unassailable market share across the US. Revenue there grew from $200m to over $1bn on his watch.

And his core goal isn’t to build an entity capable of taking on a behemoth he created. Instead the billion-dollar question is: how do you create something capable of providing a genuine alternative to consumers?

In a market dominated by iTunes, he’s looking to build Spotify.

Fanatics: Officially licensed everything

What separates Fanatics Betting and Gaming f..

May 24, 2023

Bet365’s Hillside rolls out new Platform Innovation Hub

The Hillside Technology business of Bet365 has announced the launch of a new Platform Innovation Hub to develop new technologies.

The department will explore new technologies and identify whether they can contribute to the Bet365 platform. The hub will collaborate with technology teams to establish ways in which processes can be integrated across its departments.

Platform Innovation will provide insight, guidance, tools and benchmarks. It will also connect people across the organisation and provide a space to experiment with new technologies and approaches.

The new hub will launch with a team of technology specialists recruited from both inside and outside of the Bet365 business.

“The strength of our product and the creativity of the people who engineer it, has ensured we’ve continued to lead the market,” head of Platform Innovation, Alan Reed, said.

“Looking forward, we want to take the next quantum leap. Doing so will require looking outward and exploring the new technologies an..

May 10, 2023

Kindred launches new platform in New Jersey

Kindred has announced that its proprietary tech platform is now live in New Jersey, which the business said provides it with a “richer” set of analytics and data.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) gave final approval for the platform’s launch earlier in the year. Kindred is currently active in the New Jersey gaming market through its flagship Unibet brand.

The company described the new platform as an “important” step in rolling out the enhanced offering throughout all its gambling services in the US.

Kindred said the platform improves the customer experience through customisable and personalised content and products and gives Kindred access to better analytics and flexibility. The company added that this will allow the operator to create a safer environment for its consumers.

Kindred enhanced platform live in New Jersey

Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström said he was “proud and grateful” of the product the business’ team had created.

“However, the true winners are o..

May 5, 2023

PointsBet launches horse racing product

Australian-based operator PointsBet has announced the launch of its horse racing product PointsBet Racing.

PointsBet Racing – which is now live in 25 states – was created in partnership with 1/ST Technology, a subsidiary of thoroughbred racing company The Stronach Group.

The app will feature many famous tracks around the world, including content from each branch of the Triple Crown American horse racing championship.

The operator said that over 180 tracks total would be included on the app, from venues in the US, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

The platform will have in-built live streaming and replay capabilities, single user account sign-on and “deep link” integration across the business’ digital products. Also included will be statistical and factor compilation, new user education tools as well “seamless” deposit and withdrawal services.

PointsBet Racing

The product is a result of an October 2022 agreement between 1/ST Technology and the business, who then announc..

May 4, 2023

Buying and selling the future of US sports betting

WagerWire is taking the simple concept of buying and selling bets and aiming to disrupt the US sports betting industry. As it looks to do away with transactional sportsbook experiences, and operators buy into the vision, chief experience officer Travis Geiger tells iGB there’s a new breed of executives ready to take charge.

“From the bettor’s point of view, it’s like StockX or Coinbase,” chief experience officer Travis Geiger says of WagerWire’s core proposition. “We want to be your central hub for all things sports betting. We’re not just trying to sign you up; we’re trying to be a part of your betting journey.”

It’s a big claim, but WagerWire is entirely different from any other US sportsbook. It holds affiliate vendor licences in 16 US states as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and Ontario. Not to mention affiliate partnerships with some of the biggest names in the industry – but the core product feels unique to that sector as well.

Want to understand WagerWire? Think StockX, ..

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Tag: Product & technology