Tag: Sports betting

Underdog raises $35m to pursue sports betting

Paid fantasy sports operator Underdog has raised $35.0m (£29.0m/$34.5m) during a Series B funding round to support its plans to expand into sports betting.

The round included funds and accounts managed by BlackRock as well as Acies Investments and valued the business at $485.0m.

BlackRock and Acies join existing investors including billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, professional basketball player Kevin Durant, American football star Odell Beckham Jr, and former Paddy Power Betfair chief executive Breon Corcoran.

Underdog said the funds would go towards its plans to begin building licensed sports betting products, while it also intends to hire more than 100 new employees as part of its wider expansion plans.

“Since the start of Underdog, we’ve believed that building quality products and putting customers first is a winning recipe,” Underdog president and chairman Jeremy Levine said.

“We’re excited to continue to innovate and build new experiences from the ground up in fantasy, sp..

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Kambi pivots to modularisation as DraftKings exit continues to hit Q2 revenue

Betting supplier Kambi will increase its focus on modularised products rather than its full sportsbook solution – and may seek to make acquisitions – after key client DraftKings’ migration away from Kambi’s sportsbook continued to affect its earnings in Q2.

Revenue for the supplier for the quarter ended 30 June was down by 18.8% from Q2 of 2022 to €34.7m (£29.2m/$35.2m), a change the business said was due to the migration of US betting giant DraftKings away from Kambi’s platform and onto the SBTech product it acquired in 2020.

While DraftKings has already completed its migration, two other key clients are also taking steps to move away from its platform in favour of in-house options. Unibet operator Kindred has been building its own platform, set to launch when its partnership with Kambi ends in 2024.

If DraftKings – which produced 25% of Kambi’s revenue the prior year – is excluded, revenue was up 16% from Q2 of 2021.

Penn National gaming, meanwhile, acquired theScore last year, ..

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Norwich City director: club will “never again” have betting shirt sponsor

Norwich FC's commercial director, Sam Jeffrey, has said that the club will “never again” sign a betting shirt sponsorship deal, adding that the club must “almost self-regulate” when it comes to deals of that nature.

Instead, the club is set to sign a one-year sponsorship contract with Norfolk-based car manufacturer Lotus Cars.

The club’s latest home kit, which features Lotus, was released at the end of last month.

While Jeffery emphasised that the club must “assess all opportunities” for sponsorship, he stringently ruled out future betting deals.

“There were some [sponsorship] opportunities specifically in the betting space,” said Jeffrey. “These opportunities derived a higher partnership fee as is the case in industries such as betting.”

“However, we believe this is the time, as a board and club-wide decision, to almost self-regulate when it comes to betting on the front of our shirts,”

“So, certainly with the club in its current structure we will never again have a betting..

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Norwich City director: club will “never again” have betting shirt sponsor

Norwich FC's commercial director, Sam Jeffrey, has said that the club will “never again” sign a betting shirt sponsorship deal, adding that the club must “almost self-regulate” when it comes to deals of that nature.

Instead, the club is set to sign a one-year sponsorship contract with Norfolk-based car manufacturer Lotus Cars.

The club’s latest home kit, which features Lotus, was released at the end of last month.

While Jeffery emphasised that the club must “assess all opportunities” for sponsorship, he stringently ruled out future betting deals.

“There were some [sponsorship] opportunities specifically in the betting space,” said Jeffrey. “These opportunities derived a higher partnership fee as is the case in industries such as betting.

“However, we believe this is the time, as a board and club-wide decision, to almost self-regulate when it comes to betting on the front of our shirts.

“So, certainly with the club in its current structure we will never again have a betting b..

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Comtrade pens platform supplier deal with Stanleybet Romania

Gaming software supplier Comtrade Gaming has announced a new platform deal with online sports betting and gaming operator Stanleybet Romania.

Under the terms of the agreement Comrade will supply its iCore igaming platform to the Bucharest-based business.

Comtrade chief commercial officer Steven Valentine explained that the iCore platform integrates a number of features, including “real-time bonusing, dynamic segmentation, real-time push messaging, and many more player engagement tools.”

“When someone decides to migrate their platform, they put a lot of trust of their existing business on you,” said Valentine.

“We have shown on many occasions that we are the smart choice for a growing operator. Having done many tier 1 migrations in the past, we have now made our igaming platform more accessible to small and mid-size operators who have outgrown their current solution.”

“With our flexible approach to individual client needs, we are a very reliable choice for operators looking to impr..

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Comtrade pens platform supplier deal with Stanleybet Romania

Gaming software supplier Comtrade Gaming has announced a new platform deal with online sports betting and gaming operator Stanleybet Romania.

Under the terms of the agreement Comtrade will supply its iCore igaming platform to the Bucharest-based business.

Comtrade chief commercial officer Steven Valentine explained that the iCore platform integrates a number of features, including “real-time bonusing, dynamic segmentation, real-time push messaging, and many more player engagement tools.

“When someone decides to migrate their platform, they put a lot of trust of their existing business on you,” said Valentine.

“We have shown on many occasions that we are the smart choice for a growing operator. Having done many tier 1 migrations in the past, we have now made our igaming platform more accessible to small and mid-size operators who have outgrown their current solution.

“With our flexible approach to individual client needs, we are a very reliable choice for operators looking to impro..

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Arizona sports betting handle reaches $461.5m in May

Consumers in Arizona spent a total of $461.5m (£385.1m/€452.6m) on sports betting during May, while gross revenue for the month amounted to $55.2m.

The US state’s monthly handle, covering online, retail and limited event wagering operator licensees, was down 10.0% from $512.9m in April and some way off the record $691.0m set in March.

Of this total handle, $456.7m was bet online, while just $4.6m was spent wagering at retail sportsbooks across Arizona.

Players won $405.3m during the month, which left $55.2m in revenue, up 48.4% month-on-month from $37.2m in April.

After including $13.8m in free bets and promotional credits, taxable revenue for the month was $41.4m, a 151.5% improvement from $16.5m in the previous month.

FanDuel claimed top spot in terms of handle, processing a total of $152.4m in wagers, split $148.7m online and $3.6m for retail wagering. DraftKings placed second with $141.1m in online bets, then BetMGM with $84.2m worth of online wagers.

Turning to gross revenue..

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Arizona sports betting handle reaches $461.5m in May

Consumers in Arizona spent a total of $461.5m (£385.1m/€452.6m) on sports betting during May, while gross revenue for the month amounted to $55.2m.

The US state’s monthly handle, covering online, retail and limited event wagering operator licensees, was down 10.0% from $512.9m in April and some way off the record $691.0m set in March.

Of this total handle, $456.7m was bet online, while just $4.6m was spent wagering at retail sportsbooks across Arizona.

Players won $405.3m during the month, which left $55.2m in revenue, up 48.4% month-on-month from $37.2m in April.

After including $13.8m in free bets and promotional credits, taxable revenue for the month was $41.4m, a 151.5% improvement from $16.5m in the previous month.

FanDuel claimed top spot in terms of handle, processing a total of $152.4m in wagers, split $148.7m online and $3.6m for retail wagering. DraftKings placed second with $141.1m in online bets, then BetMGM with $84.2m worth of online wagers.

Turning to gross revenue..

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DIY or third-party: the sportsbook technology debate

The debate over whether operators should build their own technology or use a third-party solution has raged for decades, but it appears to have grown more intense as the US market opens. However, as Daniel O’Boyle reports, it may not be a question with a clear answer

It’s said that if you want something done well, you should do it yourself.

That appears to be an adage many sports betting operators have taken to heart.

Hop on any earnings call for a US operator, and there will no doubt be plenty of mentions of “proprietary sportsbook technology”.

The demand among operators for in-house solutions is backed up by their money. In 2020, DraftKings merged with SBTech, valuing the supplier at $634.1m. Last year, Caesars acquired William Hill for $3.7bn, mostly for its proprietary technology.

Meanwhile, theScore announced a long process to build its own sportsbook technology, which surely played a major part in Penn National Gaming acquiring it for $2bn.

“I don’t want to get distracted b..

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DIY or third-party: the sportsbook technology debate

The debate over whether operators should build their own technology or use a third-party solution has raged for decades, but it appears to have grown more intense as the US market opens. However, as Daniel O’Boyle reports, it may not be a question with a clear answer

It’s said that if you want something done well, you should do it yourself.

That appears to be an adage many sports betting operators have taken to heart.

Hop on any earnings call for a US operator, and there will no doubt be plenty of mentions of “proprietary sportsbook technology”.

The demand among operators for in-house solutions is backed up by their money. In 2020, DraftKings merged with SBTech, valuing the supplier at $634.1m. Last year, Caesars acquired William Hill for $3.7bn, mostly for its proprietary technology.

Meanwhile, theScore announced a long process to build its own sportsbook technology, which surely played a major part in Penn National Gaming acquiring it for $2bn.

“I don’t want to get distracted b..

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Mississippi betting handle declines for third consecutive month in June

Consumers in Mississippi wagered a total of $25.1m (£21.0m/€24.6m) on sports betting during June, a drop on last year and also the third consecutive month of decline in the US state.

Handle for the month was 41.8% lower than $43.1m in June 2021, while the total was also down 14.0% from $29.2m in May of this year.

Revenue for the month reached $2.1m, a 34.4% drop from $3.2m in June of last year and down 47.5% from $4.0m in May 2022, marking the second straight month of decline.

Coastal casinos remained by far the venues of choice for players in the state, with bettors wagering a total of $17.3m on sports during the month, while the casinos were able to generate $1.3m in revenue.

Player spending at central casinos reached $4.5m in June, with revenue at these venues hitting $464,667, while northern casino handle was $3.3m and revenue $339,142.

Baseball was the most popular sport to bet on across all venues in the month, with coastal casino customers wagering $8.8m, central casino pla..

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LatAm now Betsson’s largest market amid European decline in Q2

Betsson disclosed revenue of €186.3m (£158.9m/$189.5m) from its second quarter results, which saw Latin America become its largest market – while revenue in western Europe fell by almost 40%..

Pontus Lindwall, CEO at Betsson [pictured above] said the business saw progress in most areas throughout the quarter, and spoke highly of its sportsbook progress.

“Betsson’s second quarter featured continued good growth with all-time high revenue and further investments to support our expansion,” said Lindwall. “The group’s organic growth was 13%, mainly driven by Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where we see long-term growth potential as these markets still have a low share of online gaming.”

“The sportsbook business showed a strong development in the quarter – gross turnover increased by 20% and the margin was 8.3% (8.5%) – leading to all-time high revenue.”

Latin America is now Betsson’s largest market. In Q2, it accumulated revenue of €45.7m, up significantly by..

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