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Kenya Finance Committee throws out government’s tax hike plan

The Finance and National Planning Committee of Kenya’s National Assembly published its updated version of the country’s Finance Bill, following a period of public input on the Treasury’s version of the bill.

In the committee’s version of the bill, the excise tax on betting stakes would remain at 7.5%, while no new tax would be brought in for gambling advertising.

Both of these were amendments from the Treasury’s version of the bill, which proposed a 20% excise tax on betting stakes, plus a 15% tax on gambling advertising spend.

The committee argued that this was not wise, however, as the current 7.5% rate has been in place for less than one year, so there has not been enough time to judge if it has been a success.

“The committee observed that excise duty on gaming activities had been increased in the Finance Act, 2021 and there is therefore need to give the sector time before taxes are increased,” the committee said. “The committee therefore recommends that the amendment be deleted..

May 27, 2022

Betsson named as AC Milan’s official regional partner for LatAm

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Online sportsbook and casino operator Betsson has been named as the official regional partner of AC Milan in Latin America.

The agreement will see Betsson gain exclusive rights to use AC Milan’s intellectual property across LatAm.

Andrea Rossi, commercial director for South America at Betsson Group, said: “The exclusive partnership with AC Milan in LatAm strengthens our expansion drive in the region and allows us to broaden our content offering and collaborate with an innovation-oriented club.

“Our shared goal is to offer a more modern and engaging storytelling of sports, creating high-quality entertainment for the Rossoneri (AC Milan) fans in South America.”

The operator has been expanding across LatAm for the past few years, creating a presence in Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Peru and Mexico.

The partnership also includes a full editorial calendar, which will engage directly with LatAm fans. It will also see Bettson gain exclusive brand visibility on the AC Milan stadium perimet..

May 26, 2022

888 launches Sports Illustrated sportsbook in Virginia

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888 has launched its Sports Illustrated online sportsbook in Virginia, following its initial roll-out in Colorado last year.

Consumers in Virginia will now be able to access the SI Sportsbook and place bets on a wide range of sports competitions including the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and NASCAR.

To support the launch, 888 partnered with Virtual Entertainment Partners (VEP), a Virginia-based small, woman-owned, and minority-owned (SWaM) certified company with 100% African American female ownership.

In collaboration with VEP, 888 committed to making contributions to communities across Virginia, specifically minority communities, to drive meaningful value, opportunity, and diversity for consumers in the state.

888 first launched the SI Sportsbook in Colorado in September last year and plans to roll out the platform in other states in the coming months.

This came after the operator entered a commercial p..

May 26, 2022

NH sports betting handle up 57.5% to $73.1m in April

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Consumers in New Hampshire wagered $73.1m (£58.2m/€68.4m) on sports during April, up 57.5% year-on-year, while revenue in the US state also edged up.

Player spending was comfortably ahead of the $46.4m that was bet in the same month last year, but 7.2% lower than the $78.8m wagered during March 2022.

DraftKings’ mobile app accounted for the majority of wagers, with a total of $60.5m bet in April, while the remaining $12.7m was spent at DraftKings-branded retail sportsbooks in Seabrook, Manchester and Dover.

In terms of revenue, this reached $3.4m for the month, which was marginally higher than $3.3m in April of 2021 but 37.7% below $5.3m in March this year.

Some $2.9m of all revenue generated in April came from mobile wagering, while $583,767 was attributed to retail betting.

The New Hampshire Lottery also revealed that the state was able to generate $1.5m in tax from sports betting during the month.

Looking at the financial year to date, player spending for the 10 months to the ..

May 24, 2022

Fanatics files trademark application for BetFanatics

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US sports apparel supplier Fanatics has filed a trademark application for the brand name BetFanatics.

In two trademarks filed to the US Patent and Trademark Office, BetFanatics is listed as a “downloadable mobile application for betting and gaming”, as well as for use in fantasy sports leagues and for providing previews, alerts, replays, video clips of sporting competitions, and webcam feeds of sports.

The trademark also applies to casino facilities and online gaming, including free-to-play gaming.

This follows prior filings for Fanatics Casino and Fanatics Sportsbook, both filed in October.

Fanatics Sportsbook was given the same description as BetFanatics.

Fanatics casino, meanwhile, is listed as “a website for online gambling” as well as “betting and gambling services and information services relating thereto”.

Logos were also provided for BetFanatics and Fanatics Casino, both simply made up of the brand name in a serif font.

The news follows reports – which were later quashed..

May 23, 2022

Córdoba opens tender process for 10 online gambling licences

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Córdoba, Argentina’s second most-populous province, has opened its tender process for 10 online gambling licences.

Participants will bid for one of 10 online gambling licences on offer, with each lasting 15 years.

All bidders must provide their “legal documentation, legal capacity [and] history of technical and economic/financial capacity” to operate online gaming, as well as their offer for a licence fee.

Operators will have until 5 July to submit bids, with plans for licences to come into effect from 14 September.

The licence will allow an operator to offer online casino games and betting on sports, horse racing and certain non-sporting events. Each vertical will be subject to a 10% gross gaming revenue tax rate.

Córdoba – which is home to 3.3 million people – passed a bill to legalise online gambling in January, after it was introduced at the end of 2021. The original version of the bill only allowed for five licences, before this was expanded to 10.

Argentina allows for gamb..

May 23, 2022

Crypto wagering: The forces driving growth

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iGB brings readers a new column, from Tom Waterhouse of WaterhouseVC. In this first instalment, he analyses the businesses that will drive growth and adoption in cryptocurrency wagering.

The growth of crypto wagering and Web 3.0 are turning traditional wagering on its head.

The entire real-world wagering ecosystem is being rebuilt in virtual worlds like Decentraland, presenting opportunities and risks to established operators.

In Decentraland, players must first purchase or transfer cryptocurrency (MANA or DAI) tokens to their Decentral Games wallet, which they can stake on certain games.

Online crypto operators, which have a similar UX to online fiat operators like FanDuel and DraftKings, are already recording extraordinary turnover.

Source: SoftSwiss

In Q3 2021, the total number of bets placed using cryptocurrency increased by 181% yoy, while the share of bets in crypto (43.3%) is fast approaching par with fiat (source: Softswiss).

Source: Softswiss

For example, crypto-fo..

May 20, 2022

Smarkets’ SBK secures market access in Iowa with Affinity Interactive

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Betting exchange Smarkets has entered into a market access agreement with omni-channel gaming business Affinity Interactive in Iowa for its SBK product.

Under the agreement, Smarkets will launch its SBK sportsbook app in the US state, offering betting exchange services across a range of sports.

Smarkets said it expects to go live with SBK in Iowa later this year following an earlier launch in Colorado in June 2020 via a partnership with Full House Resorts. A further launch is also planned for Indiana with Smarkets having secured a licence in the state.

“I’m incredibly excited about this deal; the potential for SBK is huge in America, so adding our third licensed state is key as we move to our next stage of growth,” Smarkets founder and chief executive Jason Trost said.

“It is particularly meaningful for me as my family is from Iowa, and so I have always wanted the opportunity to launch there. I can’t wait for bettors in Iowa to enjoy SBK’s market-leading odds.”

Affinity Interactiv..

May 20, 2022

Playmaker acquires The Props Network

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Playmaker has acquired creator agency and podcast network TPN Media Group, which owns sports betting information site PropsHQ.com, known as The Props Network.

The Props Network was founded in January 2020 and publishes bookmaker reviews, sports and betting information from across the US. It also broadcasts creator content from its podcast network.

The acquisition sees the appointment of Kyle Piasecki, co-founder of The Props Network, to the role of vice president of partnerships.

Previously Piasecki worked for Caesars Entertainment, where he managed VIP departments and customer relationships for land-based and online operations.

“Kyle and his team have developed a unique approach to what today’s media networks should be by providing value to creators, consumers, and gambling industry partners alike,” said David Woodley, president and chief revenue officer at Playmaker.

“The acquisition of The Props Network and bringing Kyle on board to our team gives Playmaker additional digital c..

May 19, 2022

Sportradar launches in-play virtual cricket

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Sportradar has launched its virtual cricket in-play solution, a virtual betting product that aims to create a real-match cricket experience.

The solution is based on the T20 cricket game format and features a 3D animation engine.

It features 20 overs per team, along with super overs.

The solution is made up of data points from real cricket matches collated by cricket experts and data engineers from Sportradar.

This is the most recent of Sportradar’s cricket offerings, which utilises proprietary data collection tool Cricket Live Score Plus and data and audio-visual content from the International Cricket Council.

“The exponential growth of cricket worldwide has created unprecedented demand for associated content,” said Frank Wenzig, managing director, gaming at Sportradar.

“As cricket fans, and fans of sport more broadly, engage more deeply with data driven content, we are deploying the full extent our technological capabilities to deliver a unique fan experience that empowers our ..

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