Product & technology Archives

Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn Entertainment, confirmed that ESPN Bet will go live in November this year.

Penn and sports broadcaster ESPN’s transformative $1.5bn deal will consist of Penn relaunching its existing Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet.

Off the back of the deal Penn is divesting its Barstool Sports sportsbook brand and selling it back to Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool.

Snowden confirmed the month for launch on Penn’s earnings call today, following the publication of its second quarter results.

When the deal was announced yesterday, Penn said the launch had been set for “the fall”, with no specific details as to when.

On the earnings call, Snowden skipped around the month with “sometime this fall” and “certainly before Thanksgiving” before landing on November.

Snowden defended the timing of the launch amid claims it would come too late in the NFL season.

“I think our launch in November is good, because it won’t get lost at the beginning of football season,”..

June 6, 2023

Sorare: From pressure point to new regulations

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sorare has updated its operating model in France, and gambling regulator ANJ is yet to confirm whether it meets its regulatory criteria, writes Jake Pollard. However, news that the French government is working to pass new regulations for Web3 ‘pioneers’ shows how important the sector is to the French authorities.

In a statement posted on Medium, Sorare said it had updated its product roadmap as a “temporary solution”.

This decision was taken in accordance with “the French National Gaming Authority [Autorité National des Jeux (ANJ)] that creates an optional alternative method of entry for users based in France only”.

Essentially, Sorare has increased free-play access to its fantasy sports leagues for players in France. Even if the French language version of the company’s statement, unlike the English text, mentioned that the new method of entry would be available to players “without blockchain cards”.

A marker of regulatory pressure

Overall, the move by Sorare is a marker of the..

May 24, 2023

Fanatics’ Matt King brings new thinking to US sports betting

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

As CEO of FanDuel, Matt King took a daily fantasy sports brand to the top of the US sports betting industry, and in the top job at Fanatics Betting and Gaming he’s looking to do it all over again. Not that he’s looking to emulate his former employers in leading the ecommerce giant; it’s Spotify that inspires him.

For Fanatics Betting and Gaming chief executive Matt King, the challenge he is taking on isn’t building a market leader. He’s already done that during his tenure at FanDuel, which is currently sitting with a seemingly unassailable market share across the US. Revenue there grew from $200m to over $1bn on his watch.

And his core goal isn’t to build an entity capable of taking on a behemoth he created. Instead the billion-dollar question is: how do you create something capable of providing a genuine alternative to consumers?

In a market dominated by iTunes, he’s looking to build Spotify.

Fanatics: Officially licensed everything

What separates Fanatics Betting and Gaming f..

May 10, 2023

Kindred launches new platform in New Jersey

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Kindred has announced that its proprietary tech platform is now live in New Jersey, which the business said provides it with a “richer” set of analytics and data.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) gave final approval for the platform’s launch earlier in the year. Kindred is currently active in the New Jersey gaming market through its flagship Unibet brand.

The company described the new platform as an “important” step in rolling out the enhanced offering throughout all its gambling services in the US.

Kindred said the platform improves the customer experience through customisable and personalised content and products and gives Kindred access to better analytics and flexibility. The company added that this will allow the operator to create a safer environment for its consumers.

Kindred enhanced platform live in New Jersey

Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström said he was “proud and grateful” of the product the business’ team had created.

“However, the true winners are o..

May 5, 2023

PointsBet launches horse racing product

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Australian-based operator PointsBet has announced the launch of its horse racing product PointsBet Racing.

PointsBet Racing – which is now live in 25 states – was created in partnership with 1/ST Technology, a subsidiary of thoroughbred racing company The Stronach Group.

The app will feature many famous tracks around the world, including content from each branch of the Triple Crown American horse racing championship.

The operator said that over 180 tracks total would be included on the app, from venues in the US, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

The platform will have in-built live streaming and replay capabilities, single user account sign-on and “deep link” integration across the business’ digital products. Also included will be statistical and factor compilation, new user education tools as well “seamless” deposit and withdrawal services.

PointsBet Racing

The product is a result of an October 2022 agreement between 1/ST Technology and the business, who then announc..

May 2, 2023

Bally’s to outsource tech stack

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Land-based and online gaming operator Bally’s Corporation has announced sports betting supplier Kambi and PAM platform solution provider White Hat Gaming will power its sports betting services.

The deal, which consists of both online and land-based offerings, will see the providers supply the technological capabilities for sports betting to the business, as well as support the relaunch of Bally’s online sports betting platform Bally Bet.

The operator said that it expects Bally Bet to roll out across seven states and at four retail gaming locations by the end of 2023. The company further hinted that this may represent only the first stage of a global expansion.

Variable cost structure model

Through these partnerships, Bally’s said it wants to leverage Kambi and White Hat’s “proven” technology integration, licensing across regulated jurisdictions, end-to-end as well as the companies’ track record of executing “quick launches”.

The business said that another factor in why it has chos..

April 14, 2023

Bet365 to debut ultra-low latency streaming service

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Bet365 is set to launch iGameMedia and THEO Technologies’ optimised sports streaming service next month.

Sports broadcaster iGameMedia and THEO – which has developed High Efficiency Streaming Protocol (HESP) – will deliver ultra-low latency sports streaming to the sportsbook market as standard, phasing out HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). The two have combined with rights agency partner Infront Bettor and will deliver the service through the iGame One Platform from May 2023.

The platform is a single API that is integrated with all leading sports rights holders which maps multiple vendor event IDs into one singular ID in One integration. The service will be delivered with a fixed latency of two seconds from source – compared to the 7-8 seconds that is standard from HLS – aligning the data and the video for an enhanced user experience.

A Bet365 spokesperson said: “We’re thrilled that in collaboration with our partners at iGameMedia, we can continue to provide the best in-play customer exper..

April 11, 2023

Sportradar extends with college sport’s Big Ten Network

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sportradar has renewed its partnership with Big Ten Network to power its OTT platform B1G+ until the end of the 2024-25 college athletics season.

The two-season extension will see Sportradar collaborate with Big Ten Network to enhance the user experience for fans of one of the premier collegiate conferences in the US through additional front-end experiences that also include the integration and visualisation of sports data.

Additionally, Sportradar is continuing to provide Big Ten Network its technology and data-driven OTT solutions to manage the B1G+’s OTT backend and frontend – including web, mobile and connected TV apps – UX/UI design, as well as third-party integration.

Big Ten Network originally selected Sportradar to support the relaunch of B1G+ in summer 2021, delivering live streams of Big Ten Olympic sports, video-on-demand of basketball and football games, and school-specific channels allowing fans to focus on content from their favorite team, for one of the premier colleg..

April 6, 2023

Kambi agrees deal extension with BetPlay operator

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Sports betting supplier Kambi Group announced an extension of its sportsbook deal with Colombian BetPlay operator Corredor Empresarial SA.

The deal is the second renewal of the initial agreement that the two parties first signed in 2017, since which BetPlay has become the Colombian market leader.

The provider said that the Latin American has become a “key market” for the supplier, with BetPlay utilising a number of Kambi’s technology and services, including its Bet Builder product.

“We are pleased to agree a long-term extension to our successful partnership with Corredor Empresarial, providing its customers with next generation betting entertainment,” said Kambi CEO and co-founder Kristian Nylén.

“The Latin American market continues to hold great promise for Kambi and we look forward to aiding Corredor Empresarial as it expands across the region with Kambi’s cutting-edge complete sportsbook.”

As part of the renewal contract, the provider will continue to power BetPlay’s sportsbook..

March 22, 2023

GiG banks on the power of two

Sports Betting News Bookiecity

Richard Brown’s tenure as Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) chief executive began with a major change of direction, with the sale of its B2C assets to Betsson. Almost four years on, and with business booming for the B2B supplier, he’s poised to make another huge call with plans to split the business into media and platform suppliers.

When he was confirmed as permanent CEO of Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) in November 2019, Richard Brown pledged a focus “on delivery, execution and optimisation, putting us on a path for great focus and renewed growth”.

The business reported revenue of €43.0m for 2019, at a time it encompassed B2C operations; a platform business, and affiliate marketing operations under the GiG Media banner. Brown then divested the B2C operations to Betsson early in 2020.

This, he’s explained previously, created a focused business, with staff putting all efforts into the B2B platform and media operations.

In 2022, Brown’s third full year as GiG CEO, revenue hit €90.1m, ..

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