Sports betting – Page 41

April 25, 2024

iGB releases inaugural LatAm gambling market report

Produced in partnership with Sportingtech, our new LatAm Gambling report examines the biggest opportunities in the industry’s latest growth market.

Our goal with our new iGB LatAm report is to offer the industry the most comprehensive source of information for one of the world’s hottest emerging regions.

Home to some 650 million people, and with a total gambling market projected to reach $30bn annually by 2028, all eyes are on LatAm in what will no doubt be this decade’s biggest growth opportunity.

As regular readers of iGB will know, a long and occasionally fraught process to regulate gambling in Brazil came to a close in December 2023. With the signing of Bill 3,626/2023 into law, we’re about to see one of the most hotly anticipated markets come online after more than a decade of parliamentary process.

What’s in the iGB LatAm gambling report?

Of course, Brazil is the big opportunity in the region, but we’re covering far more in our first LatAm report.

BRAZIL, ARGENTINA AND..

April 25, 2024

Time running short for Alabama gambling expansion

Alabama lawmakers told the media earlier this week that a conference committee brokering a deal for an expansion of gambling would meet on Wednesday (24 April) at 2pm local time. But as early as Wednesday morning, the meeting had fallen off the legislative calendar for the day.

A call to the Alabama house of representatives confirmed that the meeting was off for Wednesday (24 April) with no reschedule date. The legislature is now scheduled to close on 5 May. This will leave lawmakers a little more than a week to reach a deal for an Alabama gambling expansion. It will then require approval from the house and senate.

If approved, the decision to approve any gambling expansion would go to the voters. The house version of the bill would put the issue on the November ballot. The senate version would create a special election in September.

Historically with gambling, precious few bills that don’t have consensus relatively early in a session make it to a governor’s desk. Just this year, ..

April 24, 2024

Penn opens first ESPN Bet retail sportsbook in Detroit, ahead of NFL draft

As the NFL prepares to descend on Detroit for its premiere off-season event, on Wednesday (24 April) Penn Entertainment opened its first brick-and-mortar ESPN Bet sportsbook.

The new location at the Hollywood Casino at Greektown is less than a mile from the site of the draft and will host a variety of ESPN programming through the week, according to a press release.

ESPN Bet went live with its first digital platforms in November 2023 after Penn Entertainment cut ties with its previous partner, Barstool Sportsbook. The new platform is live in 18 US states. When Penn launched ESPN Bet, it did not reveal how or when it would rebrand its retail sportsbooks.

“This is an exciting week to debut Penn’s first physical ESPN Bet sportsbook as the city of Detroit hosts the NFL draft and its festivities,” Hollywood Casino at Greektown general manager John Drake said via press release. “Bringing ESPN Bet to Hollywood Greektown combines Penn’s premier sports media and sports betting offerings to ..

April 24, 2024

Skores Media secures Stags Participations and MI3 as shareholders

European digital sports media publisher Skores Media has announced investment holding companies Stags Participations and MI3 and minority shareholders in the business.

The transaction forms part of a primary leveraged buyout (LBO), with the aim of accelerating the company’s development. Stags and MI3 become minority shareholders alongside the founders of Skores Media.

Using this new financial backing, coupled with structured debt from banks Société Générale, BNP Paribas and BPI, Skores Media will work to further develop its offering. This includes pursuing the international expansion of its flagship brands, with the business counting SportyTrader and Skores among its products.

Founded in 2009, Skores Media is a website and mobile application publisher, focused on sports fans. It has over five million monthly unique visitors, 60 million visits per month and four million fans across social networks.

Based in Europe, Skores Media recently launched specific versions tailored for the Af..

April 15, 2024

New Hampshire sports betting handle halts decline in March

New Hampshire’s sports betting handle reached $72.6m (£58.2m/€68.2m) in March, ending a run of three straight months of decline.

In March, New Hampshire reported a 16.5% month-on-month increase in sports betting handle, likely boosted by the March Madness NCAA tournament.

New Hampshire had previously seen its handle drop for three consecutive months, even with the Super Bowl in early February.

New Hampshire’s March figures were aided by its mobile sector, with online accounting for $65.0m in bets taken, or 89.5% of the monthly total, having recorded a handle of $55.9m in February.

Retail handle also increased, jumping 18.8% to $7.6m from February’s figure of $6.4m.

New Hampshire revenue down despite handle rise

Although New Hampshire’s handle ended its slide, revenue continues to falter in the Granite State.

March’s gross gaming revenue stood at $5.6m, the third-lowest in its FY2024 and the lowest since August 2023, prior to the NFL season getting underway.

Consequently, the se..

April 15, 2024

FanDuel likely has two-year head start on competition in Washington, DC

Buried in the minutiae of a 10 April budget meeting, Washington DC's Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) revealed that it is preparing to ask the DC City Council to approve a two-year extension to its deal with lottery and sports betting operator Intralot.

To recap, the OLG in March alerted the DC Council that it would be unwinding its chronically underperforming sports betting platform, GambetDC. The platform is run by lottery vendor Intralot.

Under its existing contract, the agreement will expire on 14 July. In March, OLG approved Intralot’s request to subcontract online sports betting to FanDuel.

Now the agency will request a two-year extension for the soon-to-expire deal. If approved, the deal could mean that FanDuel would have a two-year head start on digital sports betting in the District.

That two years, lottery chief Frank Suarez told the DC Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development, would allow it enough time to issue an RFP (request for proposal). This ..

April 15, 2024

Tennessee market bounces back in March as gross wagers hit $473.6m

Gross mobile sports betting wagers in Tennessee increased 20.6% year-on-year to $473.6m (£379.7m/€444.4m) in March, halting three consecutive months of decline.

The monthly total was some way ahead of the $392.7m wagered in Tennessee in March last year. It was also 25.2% more than the $378.2m spent by players in February of this year.

However, the March total was some way short of the record in Tennessee. Players wagered an all-time monthly high in November 2023.

After taking into account $1.6m in adjustments, cross handle for Tennessee in March was $472.0m.

In terms of privilege tax from sports betting, the state collected a total of $8.7m. This was up 24.8% from February’s $7.0m but 0.5% down on the previous year, despite the handle rise.

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council does not publish data regarding monthly revenue, nor any information on individual operator performances.

Who is active in Tennessee?

While data on Tennessee is limited, the Volunteer State does feature s..

April 15, 2024

Indiana betting handle falls just short of monthly record in March

Players in Indiana spent $500.8m (£401.9m/€470.1m) betting on sports during March, an improvement on last year and only narrowly lower than the state’s monthly record.

Handle was 15.7% higher than $433.0m in Indiana in March last year and 22.5% more than $408.7m in February. The total was also just 2.5% behind the all-time monthly high of $513.7m posted in November 2023.

Basketball again proved the most popular sport to wager on, drawing a total of $167.9m in total bets in March. The state is home to National Basketball Association team the Indiana Pacers.

In contrast, $9.9m was wagered on baseball and just $1.7m American football. A further $173.0m was bet on other sports and $148.1m parlay bets.

Indiana revenue dips to $39.4m

While handle was higher year-on-year, the same could not be said for revenue. In total for March, taxable adjusted gross revenue amounted to $39.4m.

The monthly revenue total was 7.9% lower than $42.8m in March 2023 and only 3.7% more than $39.0m in Februa..

April 12, 2024

Ex-Ohtani interpreter Mizuhara out on bond in illegal wagering case

Ippei Mizuhara, the Japanese-language interpreter who formerly worked closely with Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and is accused of stealing $16m to cover gambling debt, appeared in federal court on Friday (12 April) and was released on $25,000 bond.

According to a tweet from The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Mizuhara was shackled entering court.

The interpreter is being charged with federal bank fraud, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison. His arraignment in the illegal wagering case is scheduled for 9 May.

Late on Thursday (11 April) Mizuhara turned himself into federal authorities, according to the US Attorney’s office. According to an affidavit filed on Thursday, Mizuhara stole from Ohtani to pay off debts he incurred betting with an illegal bookmaker in Orange County, California. Sports betting is illegal in California.

During the two-year ordeal, Mizuhara bet hundreds of millions of dollars. He also systematically transferred access to Ohtani’s acc..

April 12, 2024

State of the Union: A look at the week that was in North America

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.

Bally Bet aiming for June Massachusetts launch

Saying “our commitment is strong here”, on Thursday (11 April) representatives from Bally Bet told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that it is aiming for a late June launch in the Bay State. Bally’s had previously promised a “late Q2” launch, but hadn’t put a date on it. The company has had a temporary sports betting licence in the state since early 2023. When Bally Bet launches it will bring the total number of digital platforms available in Massachusetts to seven after Betr and WynnBet exited the state earlier this year.

“Having someone that we’ve started with the licensing process, a group come in and actually get going, is exciting to us,” interim MGC chair Jordan Maynard said during the meeting.

SCOTUS grants extension in Florida sports betting case

T..

April 12, 2024

ASA reiterates ad guidelines ahead of Euro 2024 and warns against targeting minors

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned operators against targeting minors with advertising ahead of the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament.

Euro 2024 gets underway on 14 June, with sports betting activity likely to skyrocket during the tournament in Germany. Ahead of the event, the ASA has reiterated to operators their guidelines on what will be prohibited in their advertising.

The ASA highlighted the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code). The CAP Code stipulates that gambling operators must not feature anybody under the age of 25 in their advertising, including footballers. However, there is an exception for websites where bets can be placed directly.

The ASA also warned that ads mustn’t involve any player deemed to have a strong appeal to those under 18.

ASA reiterates other guidelines

The ASA has cautioned that operators shouldn’t mislead audiences by implying official endorsement from players and teams. The ASA did also sta..

April 12, 2024

Charting Nigeria’s online gambling growth amid regulatory battles

One of the most exciting emerging global online gambling markets is Nigeria, boasting a youthful population that H2 Gambling Capital forecasts to lead it to gross gaming revenue (GGR) of €675.1m (£576.8m/$717.2m) by 2025. With a legal battle over regulation ongoing, though, how exactly is it achieving its success?

Firstly, it’s imperative to note the demographics of Nigeria, which is the most populous country in Africa with well over 200 million inhabitants. According to a report from The Economist, that population is predicted to grow to 400 million by 2050, surpassing the US as the third most-populous country on the planet.

Looking closer at Nigeria’s data reveals a hugely youthful population, with figures from the World Factbook outlining that approximately 41% of people in the country are aged between 14 and under, with the average age of a person in Nigeria just 19 years old.

Taking those demographics aspects into account it’s clear to see why there is excitement over how Niger..

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Tag: Sports betting