September 2022 - Bookiecity

There’s no shortage of businesses in the free-to-play space, but Tally’s focus on data – perhaps influenced by its top executives’ time spent outside of gambling – makes it stand out. Fresh off a $4m funding round led by Acies Investments, Daniel O'Boyle speaks to CEO Brad Vettesse and COO Rupert Huelsey about the business.

There are some tried-and-tested business models for free-to-play betting-related games to bring in money without taking any real bets.

Some products offer paid unlockables, such as features or extra credits, which players can use real money to access.

Brad vettesse

Others exist as as entertainment in itself, usually used as a way to keep players coming back to betting sites, acting more as a piece of acquisition or retention software for operators.

But perhaps not enough attention has been given to the typical business model of most free-to-use products and services these days: gathering customer data.

So, is this type of data still a mostly untapped reso..

September 30, 2022

Light & Wonder completes $800m OpenBet sale

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Light & Wonder has completed the sale of its OpenBet sports betting platform to Endeavor, three months after the initial planned closing date and for $400m less than was first agreed.

Endeavor – a sports media business that owns IMG Arena – will pay $750m in cash for OpenBet, plus 2.3 million Class A shares, worth $50m.

The sale forms part of a general streamlining of the Light & Wonder business, formerly known as Scientific Games. It also sold its lottery arm – which retained the Scientific Games name – in October of last year to private equity group Brookfield Business Partners.

The sale also follows the exit of Barry Cottle as Light & Wonder chief executive, with Matt Wilson serving in the role on a temporary basis until a full-time replacement is found.

Wilson said the new business can now focus on growth, now that it has a more clear focus on gaming, whether land-based, online or social.

“With the completion of the OpenBet divestiture and our now streamlined organisation, Li..

September 29, 2022

Road to World Cup: Preparing your sportsbook product

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

With the World Cup kicking off in November, punters will be presented with a wealth of big games to bet on. With just four months to go, the period for preparation is getting shorter and shorter.

Operators need to ensure they are prepared for handling an influx of traffic, while maintaining the highest possible standards of customer experience. To succeed when competition for players is at its fiercest, sportsbooks need to ensure they have a stable, robust, scalable and flexible solution that performs under pressure.

In this webinar, sportsbook platform specialist BtoBet and a panel of experts explore how to make sure you’re match-fit for the tournament.

We discussed:

How a quality sportsbook is key for an operator to increase its growthThe relevance of machine learning-driven tools and the part they play in player engagementThe importance of market localisationCustomising front-end UXTailoring your content offering ahead of the World Cup

Check out other on demand videos here.

September 29, 2022

GAN debuts sports betting in US with Island View Casino launch

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

GAN has launched sports betting with Island View Casino in Mississippi, marking the first US deployment of GAN Sports since its acquisition of Coolbet in January 2021.

Consumers at the casino will be able to place sports bets at 20 internet-connected kiosks, while GAN will also roll out a “Bet the V” branded mobile sportsbook to complement the retail offering.

The mobile solution will be enabled by GAN’s GameSTACK Player Account Management (PAM) system for omnichannel sports betting via retail kiosks or mobile devices while on location at the casino.

GAN will also provide supporting marketing and customer services, while the deal will allow for the state-wide roll out of mobile sports betting, should Mississippi pass the relevant laws to expand wagering in the future. At present, consumers are only permitted to place mobile bets while on-site at a licensed casino.

The launch was made possible after GAN acquired Vincent Group, the parent company of operator Coolbet, for $175.9m in J..

September 28, 2022

Elys granted approval for DC nightclub sportsbook

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Gaming technology provider Elys Game Technology has been granted approval by Washington DC local government for a white-label joint venture with the Ozio Lounge, a Mediterranean-themed nightclub.

The business formerly known as Newgioco has agreed to launch a joint venture with District Hospitality, the club’s operator, and will trade under the BetDupont LLC name. The agreement has an initial term of three years from the date the licence is issued – with inbuilt provisions for two anticipated extensions of two years each.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval from the DC Office of Lottery and Gaming (DCOLG) – and would be the third white label retail sportsbook opened by the business in the city, having engaged in similar deals with the Grand Central Restaurant and Sportsbook, which has been completed and the Cloakroom Gentlemen’s Club, which is awaiting regulatory confirmation.

Elys executive chairman Michele Ciavarella placed the deal in the context of the business’ wider US s..

September 28, 2022

DAZN eyes betting expansion with Eleven deal

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Worldwide sports platform DAZN Group has entered an agreement to acquire the global sports media businesses of Eleven Group to support its betting expansion plans.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but DAZN said the purchase would expand its live sports streaming capabilities in markets around the world and add approximately $300.0m (£281.5m/$314.1m) in revenue per year to its business.

DAZN said that should the acquisition go ahead, the addition of Eleven to its business would support its wider plans to grow its betting operations.

In recent months, DAZN has made a series of announcements supporting its betting business. Last month, the company soft launched the beta product of the DAZN Bet sports betting venture in the UK.

First revealed in April, DAZN Bet is powered by technology from Pragmatic Play, and is being led by Mark Kemp, formerly chief executive of BoyleSports.

The move into the world of betting came after DAZN last year hired Shay Segev – formerly chief..

September 27, 2022

Dutch minister defends sponsorship transition timeline

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Dutch minister for legal protection, Franc Weerwind, has defended the timeline of the country’s sponsorship ban, amid further questioning on the subject from MPs.

In July, the Dutch government announced a number of measures to curb gambling advertising, following severe pressure from MPs. Many forms of ads will be banned from the start of next year, while gambling sponsorships in football will be banned from 2025.

When asked about the upcoming sponsorship ban, Weerwind said that the two-year adjustment period set out for the ban is a “reasonable” length of time.

“That is why a period of two years has been provided for the entry into force of a ban on sports sponsorship,” he said.

“In view of the serious importance of addiction prevention and the special importance of sport, I consider this a short, but reasonable period of time.”

He was questioned in parliament last week (23 September) by Mirjam Bikker, a member of political party ChristenUnie.

The questions mostly dealt with foo..

September 27, 2022

Best perspective: emerging sports and integrity

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Integrity has long been a major issue in sports betting. While this is a problem for even the most established of sports, emerging sports can be blindsided by the scale of the problem. Marese O’Hagan speaks to Steve Hall, commissioner of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), about how emerging sports are approaching the issue of integrity.

In its second quarter 2022 report, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) received a total of 88 suspicious alerts pertaining to sports betting worldwide. Football was the subject of 32 of these, while tennis and horseracing followed at 27 and 12 respectively.

But virtually every sport has been touched by match-fixing and betting corruption. Routinely, headlines appear that detail a variety of penalties across a number of sports for engaging in the practice.

For sports in their infancy, the issue of betting corruption can be difficult to grapple with. Time and resources are needed to tackle the problem, both of which some emerg..

September 26, 2022

World Series of Politics: The NFL, the Wire Act and Brazil

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

It's a busy episode this week, with Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden looking at the NFL, the Wire Act and Brazil's election.

The dynamic duo kick off by discussing sports betting activity around the National Football League’s kickoff on 8 September. This season is set to be the biggest ever for sports betting; 46.6 million Americans plan to place a bet during the season.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

However, there are some issues emerging on where bets can be placed – the league is trying to prevent betting on match days.

There’s also some intrigue around the Wire Act, in the wake of a Rhode Island District Court judge ruling that the Department of Justice must formally state that it only applies to sports betting. Could this provide much-needed clarity after an attempt to enforce the act across all forms of gambling?

Does this mean the issue is dead and buried? Brandt is confident, but Brendan is not so sure.

Further afield, Brazil is preparing to go to the polls in a ..

September 23, 2022

Sweden to open applications for B2B licences on 1 March

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sweden will open its application process for B2B supplier licences on 1 March 2023, regulator Spelinspektionen has announced, despite the fact the bill to implement these licences has not yet passed the legislature.

Currently, the bill to implement gambling software licences has not yet become law. The measure was proposed by the government in an effort to increase the level of channelisation in the Swedish market, but has not yet gone to a vote in the Riksdag.

While the results of Sweden’s recent election mean that the government that introduced the bill no longer holds a majority, Spelinspektionen said it was still working to ensure the bill could come into effect as planned if it is passed. The text of the bill says that the new licence regime will come into force on 1 July 2023.

In order to do this, it has now said that it will open applications for licences from 1 March 2023 and encouraged suppliers to prepare applications to be submitted from this date.

The regulator said the..

Month: September 2022