October 2022 - Page 3 of 4

Indiana sports betting handle continues to climb in September

Consumer spending on sports betting in Indiana increased month-on-month for the second month in a row in September, while the state also experienced year-on-year growth across handle and revenue.

Total handle for the month was $382.5m (£342.8m/€393.4m), up 60.7% from $238.0m in August of this year and 7.6% higher than $355.4m in September 2021.

Football overtook baseball to become the most popular sport to wager on in Indiana, with the start of the new NFL season helping draw $148.6m in bets. Baseball ranked second with $52.9m in wagers, then basketball on $5.2m, while $92.0m was bet on parlay betting and a further $52.2m on other sports.

Turning to taxable adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for the month and this reached $51.2m, which was more than double the $25.4m posted in August and also 51.0% higher than $33.9m in September last year.

Blue Chip Casino and partner FanDuel once again claimed top spot for the month in terms of revenue, posting $16.7m in AGR from $108.5m in bets.

Amer..

October 13, 2022

Nygaard-Andersen: Interest rates won’t stop Entain from acquiring

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Entain chief executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen has said high interest rates will not stop the business from making new acquisitions, and may even “open up new doors”.

Nygaard-Andersen spoke on an earnings call after Entain published a third-quarter earnings update. Revenue was up 2% year-on-year for the group, thanks to both record customer numbers and a favourable impact from currency movements.

When asked whether the new macroeconomic environment and high interest rates would make acquisitions difficult due to the costs of borrowing money, Nygaard-Andersen said that this was not necessarily the case.

“We of course remain vigilant and very prudent,” she said. “But the health of the business remains good. We still have a strong pipeline on M&A and we have opportunities that we will continue to pursue.”

The results came after a busy period of acquiring for the business, with Nygaard-Anderson noting the business agreed nine acquisitions in the past 18 months, including those of Unikrn..

October 12, 2022

Sportradar to provide data for XLMedia affiliate sites

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sportradar has entered into a multi-year sports betting data partnership with affiliate giant XLMedia.

Under the deal, Sportradar will serve as the official sports data provider to XLMedia through the delivery of a range of digital products and services.

XLMedia will leverage Sportradar’s real-time sports data products for North American and international sports properties across its owned and operated digital properties including SportsBettingDime, SaturdayTradition, SaturdayDownSouth, CrossingBroad, EliteSportsNY and Canadian Sports Betting.

Sportradar will also provide a selection of visualisation tools such as widgets and live match trackers to help enhance XLMedia’s editorial content.

In addition, Sportradar will supply betting odds and insights to support XLMedia with a rising demand for sports betting across its network of websites.

“This partnership highlights Sportradar’s ability to be a one-stop shop for exclusive betting data and sports content for XLMedia’s high quali..

October 11, 2022

Metric Gaming to launch B2C sportsbook Bhet

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sports betting supplier Metric Gaming has announced it will launch a B2C sportsbook offering through its wholly owned Bhet subsidiary.

The sportsbook will build on Metric’s previously announced partnership with Lacerta Sports. Lacerta was founded by a team from London-based data betting syndicate and consultancy Starlizard, whose data solution will power the sportsbook’s pricing, risk management and player profiling.

“The pricing will be among the most player-friendly in the industry, and the scope and availability of live in-game wagering will be significantly more innovative and engaging than competitor brands,” said Metric CEO Keith Hayes.

The new venture will be funded through Metric’s latest debt financing round, during which it had raised $15m. Metric said it has received strong “indication of interest” from an unnamed “high-net worth” strategic investor who is seeking to increase the size of the round to $30m and close it out entirely.

“Metric has made significant progress ..

October 11, 2022

BetMGM becomes Cincinnati Reds’ official sports betting partner

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

BetMGM has become an official sports betting sponsor of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.

The sponsorship precedes the launch of legalised sports betting in Ohio, which will take place on 1 January 2023.

The bills that introduced sports betting in the state – Senate Bill 176 and House Bill 29 – were introduced in May 2021. Eventually, an evolved version of House Bill 29 made it to Ohio’s state House and Senate, where it was passed.

Read the full story on iGB North America

October 10, 2022

Sportradar granted sublicence, must stop scouting in Genius-FDC settlement

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sportradar’s legal dispute against Genius Sports and the Fooball DataCo (FDC) has reached a resolution, with the parties agreeing out of court that Sportradar will receive a sublicence for English football data, but must stop unofficial scouting.

Under the terms of the settlement, Sportradar will be granted a sublicence that will grant access to a delayed secondary feed until 2024. In exchange for this, Sportradar will cease its unauthorised in-stadium data collection activities.

The case, which dates back to February 2020, challenged the English and Scottish football data licensing regime. The framework was established in May 2019 when Genius signed a landmark agreement with FDC that granted the data business exclusive rights to collect, license and distribute live data from the Premier League, the Football League and the Scottish Professional Football League. The case was heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Sportradar claimed that the system that had been built through this..

October 10, 2022

World Series of Politics: Brazil, Indiana and Ontario

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Just in time for G2E, iGB brings you episode five of the World Series of Politics, this week featuring Brazilian elections, Indiana online casino and Ontario's offshore issue.

We kick off by looking at Brazil, where the competing presidential candidates go into a run-off at the end of October.

This is likely to impact gambling across multiple channels. Not only sports betting may be on the line, but a reshuffling of the country’s lottery sector and even integrated resorts are being held back.

Indiana online casino is also up for discussion in this week’s episode, as US states look for new ways of finding revenue. Could this lead to a wave of igaming legislation in the remainder of 2022 and into early 2023, especially after commentators were disappointed by a lack of action in 2021?

It’s a question of tax, Brendan says. If they set the rate too high, states risk stifling the market before it can get going.

Remember, The World of Series of Politics is available on Apple Podcas..

October 7, 2022

Lotteritilsynet halts daily fines as Kindred stops targeting Norway

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Norwegian regulator Lotteritilsynet has paused issuing daily fines to Kindred Group after the operator confirmed its Trannel subsidiary would no longer target consumers in the country.

However, the operator added that it had done so only as a show of goodwill and that it was confident that its legal position was still correct.

Earlier this month, Lotteritilsynet warned Kindred that it would impose a fine of NOK1.198m (£100,106/€114,549/$112,184) for every day that Trannel did not withdraw from Norway.

The daily fine was due to come into effect three weeks after the day that Lotteritilsynet decided to implement the fine. That decision came on 14 September, after it previously warned the operator it would issue fines if it did not exit the market.

The regulator said these fines would only stop when the amount owed reaches Trannel’s annual gross profit, which the regulator estimated to be approximately NOK437m, or when the operator withdraws from the country.

Trannel does not hold a ..

October 7, 2022

DraftKings shares rocket after reported “large new partnership” with ESPN

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

US-based sports betting operator DraftKings’ shares rose 14% to $18.26 in after-hours trading following report of “large new partnership” with Disney’s sports broadcasting arm ESPN.

Business news agency Bloomberg broke the story overnight, reporting that “people familiar with the matter” had indicated the existence of such a partnership.

In the wake of the story, DraftKings’ shares briefly jumped 14% to $18.26 per share in after-hours trading, up from $16.04 before the news broke. Since the after-hours peak, the share price has settled down to $17.45 per share, 8.79% above close.

ESPN speculation

The deal would be Disney’s most significant foray into the rapidly growing US sports betting market, after years of speculation, which have only increased in recent months.

In November 2021, CEO Bob Chapek hinted at the business’ interest during its fourth quarter earnings call. On that occasion Chapek called ESPN the “perfect platform” for sports betting.

“We have done substantial res..

October 6, 2022

Entain to promote online betting brands at NSW hotels in new deal

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Global gambling giant Entain has agreed a new deal with the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), allowing it to promote its online betting brands Neds and Ladbrokes at New South Wales hotels.

The agreement comes despite hotels in the state having an existing exclusivity deal with Tabcorp, the national totalisator board.

As a result, the deal will not involve any Entain wagering terminals, or hotel staff accepting or taking commission for bets. Instead, Ladbrokes and Neds will simply be advertised at these venues.

“For decades now, many NSW hotels have operated PubTABs for Tabcorp at a significant loss – primarily due to high Sky Channel and EBT (betting terminal) fees,” AHA NSW CEO John Whelan said. “In-country NSW it’s even worse, with the majority of country pubs currently running their PubTAB at a loss.

“Today’s partnership with a world leader in Entain will finally give NSW hotels competition and choice.”

An evolution?

Entertain Australia chief executive Dean Shannon said th..

Month: October 2022