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Penn exercises options to acquire remainder of Barstool

Penn Entertainment – the business formerly known as Penn National Gaming – has exercised its option to acquire all remaining shares of media brand Barstool Sports.

Penn acquired a 36% stake in Barstool for $161.2m in 2020, after which it rebranded its sportsbook product to bear the Barstool brand name.

The operator would then increase its stake in Barstool beyond 50% – paying $62.0m for a further 14% stake – within three years. Penn was also granted immediately exercisable call rights that would allow it to acquire the remainder of the media business, “based on a fair market value calculation”.

In February of this year, Penn then revealed that it planned to exercise these options and control the entire Barstool business by early 2023.

Read the full story on iGB North America

August 17, 2022

Why MaximBet is more than a sum of its parts

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When PASPA was repealed, Daniel Graetzer saw the biggest opportunity of his career. Having gone all-in on the market, he is now running a nationally recognised brand in MaximBet.

When it comes to partnerships between US media giants and sportsbooks, it tends to be the market leaders that get mentioned. It could be 888 using the Sports Illustrated brand for its US push. Or Penn National acquiring Barstool Sports and theScore to drive its growth.

The rampant speculation around ESPN moving into betting operations tends to cite DraftKings or Caesars as being its most likely partner. In short, the companies involved tend to be large, and listed.

But MaximBet, a challenger launched in 2021, has successfully pivoted from a Europe-focused, multibrand business into a US-focused, media brand-driven competitor.

And chief executive Daniel Graetzer is keen to stress that MaximBet is not just a gimmick – he’s building a new proposition for the US sportsbook industry.

Building betting into a..

August 17, 2022

Sportradar shares up 15% after raising full-year revenue guidance

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Data provider Sportradar’s share price rocketed after it raised its full-year revenue guidance for 2022.

The announcement came as part of its second-quarter financial report, in which the provider also revealed that its revenue for the three months to 30 June was €177.2m, up 23.0% year-on-year.

In total, €29.1m of Sportradar’s revenue came from the US, up by 66.3% as the US market continued to expand. Rest-of-world betting services brought in €95.5m, up by 20.6% This, the business said, was mostly due to more focus on “higher-value-add” services such as managed betting services.

Rest-of-world audiovisual services to betting operators came to €39.7m, up by just short of 10% thanks mostly to new customers.

Other operations brought in a further €12.9m.

The business then paid €43.4m for purchased services and data licences, up 33.1%, plus €64.4m in personnel expenses, up 37.6%, €21.2m in other operating income, a slight increase, and €49.2m in depreciation and amortisation, up by 75.9..

August 16, 2022

DC sports betting handle continues downward trend in July

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Washington DC’s sports betting handle declined for the second consecutive month in July, while both revenue and player spending in the market fell year-on-year.

Consumers bet a total of $11.3m (£9.4m/€11.2m) on sports during the month, down 11.7% from $11.3m in July 2021, while the monthly total was also 18.1% lower than $13.8m in June this year.

Gross gaming revenue from sports wagering stood at $1.2m, which was 33.3% lower than $1.8m in July last year, but 20.0% up on June 2022’s total of $1.0m.

Looking at individual operator performances, Caesars again processed the largest amount of bets during the month, posting a handle of $4.3m and $378,662 in revenue.

Gambet, which is operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, claimed top spot in terms of revenue, as after paying out $2.8m in winnings from $3.3m in bets, this suggested revenue for July was $457,616.

BetMGM, which operates in DC in partnership with Major League Baseball franchise the Washington Nationals, ranked th..

August 16, 2022

New Corp venture adjusts wagering plans with TexBet acquisition

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News Corp Australia and Tekkorp’s new NTD Pty wagering venture will acquire assets from local operator TexBet, as part of a change to its agreement with betting supplier BetMakers.

NTD agreed to purchase certain assets owned by O’Shea Bookmaking Pty, which trades as TexBet, with support from BetMakers. TexBet is a long-standing SaaS platform customer of BetMakers.

Effective from completion of the sale of TexBet, BetMakers shall receive ownership and IP rights for the betting platform technology currently owned by TexBet, while BetMakers will also support the migration of TexBet users to the NTD platform.

This follows an initial deal, agreed in April when the NTD venture was first announced, which stated that News Corp will run the venture with backing from gambling executives Matt Davey of Tekkorp and Matt Tripp, while BetMakers’ technology will drive NTD.

The deal said that BetMakers’ OM Apps subsidiary would provide B2B platform technology and wagering solutions to NTD, which wi..

August 15, 2022

NeoGames’ BtoBet enters Ethiopia with UtopBet

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BtoBet, the sports betting supplier subsidiary of online lottery platform provider NeoGames, has expanded into Ethiopia after entering into a partnership with UtopBet.

Under the deal, BtoBet will provide its proprietary sportsbook platform and other sports betting services, including risk management, to UtopBet in the East African country.

The Ethiopian online and retail sports betting operator will offer betting on both local and international sports events, while it will also add esports betting to its offering for the first time.

BtoBet’s deal with the UtopBet brand means the supplier has a presence in 28 different jurisdictions around the world.

“We are pleased to further strengthen our presence in Africa, by going live in the highly competitive Ethiopian market,” NeoGames’ chief executive Moti Malul said. “UtopBet is one of the more well-known brands in the local market and I am pleased that the choice to power their retail and online channels fell on our flexible solutions an..

August 15, 2022

Indiana sports betting handle decline continues in July

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Indiana’s sports betting handle fell for the fourth consecutive month during July, with the $206.6m (£170.9m/€202.5m) wagered by players the lowest monthly total of the calendar year.

July’s total was 19.4% lower than the $256.3m spent by consumers in June, but 6.2% higher than the $194.5m bet during July of last year.

Of this total, $76.1m was spent on baseball betting, with $16.1m on basketball and $2.9m on football. A further $53.5m worth of parlay bets were place in the month, while $56.8m was bet on other sports.

In terms of taxable adjusted gross revenue from sports betting, this amounted to $20.9m, which was 32.3% higher than $15.8m in June this year and also 19.4% up from $17.5m in July 2021

Blue Chip Casino and partner FanDuel retained top spot with $7.4m in revenue off $61.7m in bets ahead of the Ameristar Casino and partner DraftKings with $5.0m in revenue and a $61.3m handle.

Belterra Casino and its FanDuel-operated sportsbook placed third with $3.1m in revenue off a h..

August 12, 2022

Disney continues to work on “important” ESPN betting venture, says CEO

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Disney chief executive Bob Chapek said that the business remains in talks with a number of platforms in regard to the potential launch of a new sports betting offering involving the ESPN brand.

The conglomerate has been linked with a move into the sports wagering market for some time now, with Chapek in November last year saying its sports broadcasting arm ESPN is the “perfect” channel to achieve this.

Speaking in an earnings call after the group announced its second-quarter results, Chapek said talks with potential partners have been ongoing and that sports betting remains a realistic option for Disney.

“We have been in conversations for quite a long time now with a number of different platforms to add some utility to sports betting and take away some friction for that for our guests,” Chapek said.

“We have found that basically our sports fans that are under 30 absolutely require this type of utility in the overall portfolio of what ESPN offers, so we think it’s important.

“We’re..

August 12, 2022

Flutter CEO: we are well-placed to “capitalise” on UK reforms

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Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said that he expects his business to ultimately be a winner from the results of the UK Gambling Act review, as Flutter’s scale will help it navigate changes while smaller businesses may exit the market.

The comments came during Flutter’s earnings call for the first half of 2022, following results in which the business revealed that its FanDuel brand had turned a profit during Q2.

Jackson (pictured) argued that in both the UK and Australia, Flutter’s businesses had “outgrown regulations”.

He discussed the introduction of point-of-consumption taxes in these markets as an example of a regulatory challenge that had a short-term negative impact, but made Flutter brands stronger in the long term.

“Our scale and operating leverage have allowed us to mitigate the impacts, both through operational efficiencies, and also through market share gains as smaller operators were required to exit from the market.”

In the presentation, Flutter also noted that ..

August 11, 2022

BetVictor and TalkSport team up to launch TalkSport Bet

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sports betting operator BetVictor and radio broadcaster TalkSport have partnered to launch a new sports betting brand, TalkSport Bet.

TalkSport Bet will integrate BetVictor’s sports betting software and TalkSport editorial branding.

The new brand will also be featured on TalkSport show sponsorships, advertising and affiliate partnerships.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with such a well-respected sports brand, ” said Brent Almeida, CCO of BetVictor. “TalkSport Bet will take the great things about TalkSport radio and add a betting experience to offer players more ways to enjoy sport and engage with their favourite sporting events.”

“We are fully committed to creating a safe and entertaining gambling experience with everything a sports fan could want in a betting brand.”

This is BetVictor’s most recent white label deal, following on from partnerships with Parimatch, Heart Bingo, and BildBet- its venture with newspaper Bild in Germany.

“TalkSport is the world’s biggest sports radi..

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