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Massachusetts Governor signs sports betting bill into law

Massachusetts Governor signs sports betting bill into law

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed into law a bill legalising and regulating sports betting in the US state.

House Bill 5164 will permit any operator of a land-based casino or racetrack in the state to apply for a licence, while an additional seven online-only licences will be made available. Every licence comes with a $5m fee.

Online betting will be taxed at 20% and retail at 15%, while consumers will be able to bet on a wide range of events including college sports, with the exception of matches involving in-state teams.

In addition, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) will be designated as regulator of the state’s new sports wagering market.

“On behalf of my fellow commissioners and the staff of the MGC, we appreciate the confidence the Legislature and the Governor have in naming us as regulator of this new industry,” MGC chair Cathy Judd-Stein said.

“For the past several years, we have been monitoring sports wagering legislation and taking appropriate steps ..

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Better Collective scores sports betting content deal with Sport1

Better Collective scores sports betting content deal with Sport1

Affiliate giant Better Collective has entered into a sports betting content partnership with German multi-channel sports platform Sport1.

The partnership will launch this month and be co-branded with Wettbasis, a Better Collective brand and part of the group that will provide all content to the Sport1.de website.

Better Collective said that the new deal gives the group an additional marketing channel to operate, market and manage customer contacts to betting operators in the German market.

“We look forward to getting started and I know that my colleagues at Wettbasis.com are working hard to be ready with appealing and engaging content for the Bundesliga season and in good time for the World Cup in football that is coming up in November,” Better Collective co-founder and chief executive Jesper Søgaard said.

Sport1 managing director Matthias Kirschenhofer added: “We are thrilled to partner with Better Collective as the premier international sports betting media group for a completely..

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Predictions, exchanges and the rise of political betting

Predictions, exchanges and the rise of political betting

Operators have long dismissed political betting as at most PR loss-leader – but is the calculus changing? iGB spoke to Smarkets head of political markets Matthew Shaddick to hear about the shifting landscape.

When political betting goes wrong, it really goes wrong. In the 2020 US presidential election, with conspiracies spreading from the White House to the message board, protests began assembling outside state houses and ballots counting venues throughout the critical states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, where the race was agonisingly close. It was the first stirrings of what was to become the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement – the last ditch organisational effort to save the Trump presidency.

It was also the beginning of what is often known as the “shenanigans,” the weaponisation of an array of legal and legislative tools to muddy the water and frustrate democratic majorities; a catalogue of failed dirty tricks that culminated with the insurrection at the United Stat..

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Kambi to launch in up to seven provinces of Argentina

Kambi to launch in up to seven provinces of Argentina

Online sports betting provider Kambi has penned an agreement with Ondiss to exclusively provide its sports betting technology services to an Argentinian group of three operators.

The deal will see Kambi grow its Latin American footprint with launches in up to seven new Argentinian provinces with the BetWarrior, Casino Magic and Casino Club brands.

Kambi will grow from providing its sportsbook technology services from three today to as many as ten Argentinian provinces in the coming months.

Kambi CEO and co-founder Kristian Nylén argued to the potential that the Latin America has for the supplier.

“The Latin American market continues to hold great promise for Kambi, so I am delighted to sign this exclusive agreement with Ondiss to support these visionary operators across Argentina,” he said.

“BetWarrior and Casino Magic have proven fantastic partners for Kambi since going live and we look forward to working with the two brands, as well as Casino Club, even more closely as they loo..

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BetMGM becomes official partner of NFL in Canada

BetMGM becomes official partner of NFL in Canada

Entain-MGM joint venture BetMGM has agreed a deal that will make it an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League (NFL) in Canada.

The deal comes ahead of the first NFL season since the Canadian province of Ontario opened its regulated betting and igaming markets. BetMGM was one of the first operators to launch, receiving its licence when the market opened on 4 April.

“Expanding our partnership with the NFL into Canada sets the stage for amazing opportunities as we begin the upcoming football season,” said BetMGM chief executive Adam Greenblatt. “We’re already seeing great interest from our Ontario customers and this collaboration truly elevates the BetMGM experience.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

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Simplebet and influencer Jake Paul raise $50m, launch micro-betting site

Simplebet and influencer Jake Paul raise $50m, launch micro-betting site

Simplebet co-founder Joey Levy and social media personality Jake Paul have launched Betr, a new micro-betting company, with $50m in funding.

Levy will act as the company’s CEO while Paul takes the role of president. They are both named as co-founders.

Betr will allow customers to bet on smaller aspects of a game – including pitches and at-bats during baseball games, and plays and drives during football games. A Betr app is to be released in the coming weeks, which will be free-to-play initially, as the operator does not yet have any licences.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

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Novibet makes progress towards launches in NJ, Mexico and Ontario

Novibet makes progress towards launches in NJ, Mexico and Ontario

Novibet has announced three major milestones in North America, securing market access in New Jersey and Mexico, while also submitting a licence application in Ontario.

In New Jersey, the operator has secured market access through a partnership with Caesars Entertainment – which, as a land-based operator, can offer three online betting “skins”.

Under the agreement, Novibet will be able to offer its services via Caesars’ licence for ten years.

Novibet already has market access in the state of Pennsylvania, also for 10 years, and plans to launch in both sites next year.

Elsewhere, the operator also secured market access in Mexico through a partnership with Big Bola Casinos, a major land-based operator in the country. It plans to launch in the country in before the end of this year.

Finally, the operator has submitted its licence application in the Canadian province of Ontario. If approved, it plans to launch in Ontario in the fourth quarter of this year.

“The expansion of our icasi..

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RSI still on track for long-term earnings goals despite higher Q2 losses

RSI still on track for long-term earnings goals despite higher Q2 losses

Rush Street Interactive (RSI) said it still expects to achieve its longer-term earnings targets despite posting an increased net loss and negative adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) during the second quarter and first half.

Speaking after the business published its results for the two operating periods, RSI’s chief executive Richard Schwartz said that the operator continues to move towards becoming profitable.

Schwartz said RSI experienced profit across six of its markets during the second quarter of its 2022 financial year, with the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan, along with Colombia in South America, being profitable in the quarter. In addition, West Virginia also turned profitable after only four full quarters of operation in the state.

“We are continuing to build a global business,” Schwartz said “With the recent launches in Ontario in Canada and Mexico, we are now live in a total of four countries. This give..

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FuboTV gaming business under strategic review with negative revenue

FuboTV gaming business under strategic review with negative revenue

Streaming provider FuboTV will implement a strategic review of its betting arm, after determining that it could not operate the business alone in the current economic environment.

Fubo chief executive David Gandler said that the business was determined to ensure that its betting product – created when it acquired Vigtory – would be fully integrated with its streaming service. However, he said it could not achieve this by building its own technology.

As a result, it has initiated a strategic review of the wagering business.

“We continue to believe that an integrated wagering platform, offering both live video and a sportsbook, will result in the best viewing and gaming experience for consumers,” Gandler said. “However, as we have evaluated how best to scale these capabilities in today’s market, we have concluded that we will no longer pursue this opportunity on our own.

“Accordingly, our interactive wagering business is under strategic review. We are in internal and external discu..

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DC sports betting revenue and handle down in June

DC sports betting revenue and handle down in June

Washington DC’s sports betting gross revenue and handle both declined year-on-year in June despite an increase in the number of operators active in the market.

Player spending during the month amounted to $13.8m, down 29.3% from $19.5m in June of last year and also 19.8% lower than $17.2m in May 2022.

Gross gaming revenue from sports betting reached $1.0m, less than half the $2.2m posted in the same month in 2021 and also down from $2.0m in May this year.

The year-on-year declines came despite the DC market now having five active operators, whereas in June 2021, there were just three brands taking sports bets.

Caesars processed the largest number of bets during the month, reporting a total handle of $6.0m and posting $409,057 in revenue.

Gambet, which is operated by the DC Lottery and powered by Intralot, placed second after paying out $3.3m in winnings from $53.8m in wagers, resulting in $444,635 in revenue.

BetMGM, which operates in DC in partnership with Major League Baseball ..

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