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UK gaming tax intake rises in H1 of 2022-23, but remote duty down

UK gaming tax intake rises in H1 of 2022-23, but remote duty down

UK provisional betting and gaming tax intake for the six months to 30 September has risen 11.0% from £1.46bn to £1.62bn ($1.85bn/ €1.88bn) compared to the same period the previous year.

The largest contributors to this figure is the Lottery Duty, which represents 30% of the total, and the Remote Gaming Duty which contributes 28% of the total. However, both the duties declined both in absolute terms and percentage of the total from same period the previous year.

The 2022 figures had a high degree of variability month to month, demonstrating both seasonal variation and a decreased month-to-month stability in the figures post-pandemic – as commented on by HRMC.

“Since the 2020-21 financial year, monthly receipts have been more unpredictable and, instead, receipts across each quarter are now more representative,” it said.

As a result, the figures had a large range. At the high end, almost £500m of the total was gathered in April alone – while in September, just £93m was received by th..

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888’s Howard Mittman on Betting 2.0

888’s Howard Mittman on Betting 2.0

Sports betting 1.0 was all about acquisition and, as it moves into sports betting 2.0, product is the key differentiator for sportsbook operators, according to 888 Holdings’ US president Howard Mittman. Robin Harrison hears how Mittman is developing a media-led, content-driven offering that leverages the power of the Sports Illustrated brand.

888 Holdings’ Howard Mittman sees sports betting as a “cultural phenomenon” in the US, sitting at the centre of sports, media technology and betting.

For Mittman, this makes his role at the operator, where he has served as president of US operations since April, a perfect fit.

“Throughout my career, the experiences I have enjoyed the most are ones where I found myself at interesting cross-sections,” he says. “Whether it was technology and culture, fashion and culture, or sports and culture.

Howard Mittman has served as president, US for 888 Holdings since April 2022

“This creates an interesting opportunity to have a perch and a purview tha..

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DC sports betting handle continues to climb in September

DC sports betting handle continues to climb in September

Sports wagering handle in Washington DC increased for the second consecutive month in September but fell 26.2% year-on-year.

Handle for the month amounted to $19.4m (£16.8m/€19.5m), which was 48.1% higher than $13.1m in August of this year, but down 26.2% from $26.3m in September 2021.

Gross gaming revenue was $3.6m, double the $1.8m generated in August and also 125.0% higher than $1.6m in September last year.

Looking at individual operator performances, Caesars retained its grip on top spot in DC with $1.4m in revenue from $7.3m in total bets during September.

Gambet, operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, placed second with $1.1m in revenue from $6.0m in player spending. BetMGM, which is partnered with MLB team the Washington Nationals in DC, was next with revenue of $678,061 from a $4.0m handle.

Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel, which runs a FanDuel-branded retail sportsbook at Major League Soccer team DC United’s Audi Field, generated $250,932 in revenue from $1.6m..

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Caesars launches online sportsbook in Ohio ahead of market opening

Caesars launches online sportsbook in Ohio ahead of market opening

Caesars Entertainment has announced the launch of its online sportsbook in Ohio ahead of the US state opening its regulated sports betting market in January 2023.

Ohio is due to commence legal sports wagering on 1 January and players in the state are now able to register and deposit funds with Caesars in preparation for this launch.

Consumers that sign up with Caesars ahead of January can take advantage of a special early registration offer, whereby if they deposit $20, they will receive an additional $100 worth of bet credits.

Read the full story on iGB North America

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World Cup could be make-or-break for industry marketing

World Cup could be make-or-break for industry marketing

iGB op-ed: Many will be paying close attention to how the industry markets its products during the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Daniel O’Boyle writes that the industry’s actions during the tournament may be the difference between fuel for a further crackdown or a chance to change the tide of the debate on gambling.

Yesterday, France announced a series of new rules and recommendations on bonuses. The contents of the regulations published by regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ) are interesting for sure, but there may be more to think about beyond that.

The new rules on transparency are good, and other markets would largely benefit from requiring operators to make the terms surrounding bonuses as clear as possible.

Other rules, particularly the ban on sending bonuses to “excessive” gamblers, are clearly well-meaning but likely too vague to be implemented in the way that is hoped.

The non-binding “recommendations”, meanwhile, are hard to judge without knowing how motivated operators..

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Sportradar scores long-term NBA data deal with FanDuel

Sportradar scores long-term NBA data deal with FanDuel

Sportradar has agreed a long-term deal to supply official data from the National Basketball Association to Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel Group.

The agreement will run through to the end of the 2030-31 season and cover a wide range of NBA data and supplementary betting services for FanDuel’s sportsbook platform.

FanDuel also agreed to extend its original August 2021 main data deal with Sportradar to September 2031, with Sportradar to remain as the preferred data and odds supplier to the operator.

Sportradar and FanDuel will work together to deliver improved sports betting experiences to customers, including, for the first time, using certain player tracking data to create props and support the growth of same game parlays.

FanDuel will also become the first North American operator to utilise Sportradar’s official NBA data, following the operator’s landmark partnership with the NBAannounced in November 2021, under which both FanDuel and DraftKings became official betting partner..

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Kindred set for strong Q4 as Netherlands “exceeds expectations” in Q3

Kindred set for strong Q4 as Netherlands “exceeds expectations” in Q3

Kindred said it is “exceeding expectations” in the Netherlands and expects rapid revenue growth in the final months of the year, after reporting its first quarter of revenue since reentering the market.

In Q3 of 2021, Kindred reported revenue of £277.8m, which was down by 6.9% year-on-year. Almost all of this revenue came from B2C operations, at £271.9m, while B2B revenue – from Relax Gaming – was £5.9m.

The decline in revenue continued to be down to the operator withdrawing from the Netherlands at the start of Q4 2021. While the operator returned to the country during the quarter, generating revenue again, the amount Kindred took in was less than before the country regulated, as was expected.

Kindred said it was “exceeding expectations” with 137,000 active Dutch customers, and brought in around £400,000 per day since launching on 11 July. Chief executive Henrik Tjärnström added that the business had around a 15% market share in the country.

“Thanks to our strong brand awareness, u..

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Ontario report

Ontario report

iGB’s new report on Ontario offers exclusive insight into Canada’s most populous province – and the first to regulate betting and igaming.

When the Ontario market opened in April this year, it wasn’t quite brand new ground.

Anyone in the industry could tell you that the grey market in Canada’s largest province had been thriving for quite some time.

Still, bringing the province from grey to white offers certainty and new opportunities for many.

Six months on, we have a sense of the spoils available. Operators – excluding the lottery – brought in a combined CA$267m in the three months ended 30 September.

The biggest challenge in the province, however, may be marketing rules. Operators can offer bonuses, but may not promote them. As Marese O’Hagan writes in our progress report, that’s been difficult, but it hasn’t seriously dampened excitement about the jurisdiction.

And for now, those complying with the rules still need to compete with some unlicensed brands, which continue to do b..

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Saskatchewan to launch legal online gambling on 3 November

Saskatchewan to launch legal online gambling on 3 November

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) will launch its new online gambling and sports betting website on November 3, marking the launch of legal igaming in the Canadian province.

PlayNow.com will be operated by the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (SaskGaming) as the only legal igaming website in Saskatchewan, offering licensed gambling to players on an exclusive basis.

This is in line with an arrangement announced last September, which was agreed by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the provincial government.

The PlayNow.com platform will be delivered by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and based on a website of the same name that is operated by the BCLC in British Columbia.

Saskatchewan will become only the third province in which PlayNow.com is active, after its initial launch in British Columbia and also in Manitoba.

To support the launch, PlayNow.com has agreed a sponsorship deal with local Canadian Football League team the Saska..

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Bet365 to launch new products through expanded Genius deal

Bet365 to launch new products through expanded Genius deal

Genius Sports has signed a long-term extension to its official data partnership with online gambling operator Bet365, allowing the operator to launch new products powered by data from Genius-owned Second Spectrum.

Under the deal, Genius Sports will provide Bet365 with its exclusive portfolio of official data rights to a range of leading sporting events such as football’s English Premier League, the National Football League (NFL) and Nascar.

In addition, as the official data partner to the Mid-American Conference, Genius will provide Bet365 with the only official data feed for betting on National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports.

The deal will also cover a new range of betting products powered by AI-driven tracking technology from Second Spectrum.

“Expanding our partnership with Bet365, the largest sports betting brand in the world, demonstrates our commitment to delivering the most innovative and compelling products for our customers,” Genius Sports chief executive Ma..

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