Month: March 2021

Leigh Day said that Football index customers had been “misled by the platform and failed by the Gambling Commission”, suggesting that either could be the target of any upcoming claim if it is filed in court.

The claim is open to customers of Football Index. According to the operator’s terms and conditions, Football Index account funds were held in a standalone account which is separate from BetIndex’s general accounts. While trust arrangements are in place to offer protection of these funds, the operator said there was “no guarantee that all funds will be repaid in the event of insolvency”.

However, these terms added that the value of player shares purchased are “not stored in any account or otherwise protected as they are sums at risk”.

“Following the suspension of their betting licence, Football Index have suspended the platform leaving individuals unable to withdraw their money,” Leigh Day said. “An administrator has been appointed. We will be investigating whether Football Index was distorting the product they were offering to consumers.”

The group claim is supported by Matt Zarb-Cousin, chief executive of Clean Up Gambling.

“Clean Up Gambling is working with Leigh Day to ensure Football Index users have the best possible chance of getting redress from a company that has consistently misrepresented its product and misled the public regarding its sustainability,” Zarb-Cousin said.

In Louisiana, a ballot measure has paved the way for lawmakers to regulate the vertical, while in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has thrown his support behind online expansion.

This session brings together two figures heavily involved in those processes. New York Senator Joseph Addabbo has been a vocal proponent for a liberal online market, while Louisiana Gaming Control Board chair Mike Noel will be responsible for promulgating rules in that state.

Now, as Colorado approaches the first anniversary of legal wagering, and in the wake of Michigan’s online rollout, the states’ regulators share their impressions of the early stages of their markets.

Dan Hartman of the Colorado Division of Gaming discusses the challenges of going live at a time when all major leagues were shut down.

Michigan Gaming Control Board executive director Richard Kalm, meanwhile, shares his thoughts on the rapid uptake seen in the first few days of online betting.

In this first of a three-part series, Brian Ohorilko, Allen Godfrey, David Rebuck and Susan Hensel discuss the growth trajectory since the launch of legal wagering.

Watch part two here.

After the initial flurry of activity, the regulatory panel of Brian Ohorilko, Allen Godfrey, David Rebuck and Susan Hensel is invited to take stock of the first year’s progress, and share what they feel could improve regulations.

Part one in this series is available here, while the third and final part can be found here.

This brings about a wide range of responses from the panel, from discussions on future competition as more state regulate, to expansion into new channels.

Watch parts one and two for the full story.

The nascent US sports betting market is currently in its first phase, in which customer acquisition is the core focus. In almost three years since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), operators have invested heavily to build up large audiences.

However, as more operators list, partnerships are set aside and new deals struck, there are early signs of evolution.

The forces evolving US sportsbook marketing

In the first part of the Path to Profitability series, Robin Harrison considers these changes, and whether the industry is beginning to shift emphasis to customer relationship management and user experience become key.

US betting product goes through the gears

That shift from acquisition to operational excellence is likely to be followed by product becoming the key factor in sportsbook success. Forward-thinking operators are already beginning to consider this, resulting in some shifting to new platforms, or as the ICE 365 US sports betting series keynote DraftKings did, acquiring them. The second feature in the Path to Profitability, from Scott Longley, examines this in depth, looking at pricing and product development across the market.

Free-to-play sports come to the fore

And amid this process operators are looking for ways to drive down costs and better retain players. And this has finally helped free-to-play sports, a vertical that failed to make an impact during the 2012 social casino boom, gain a foothold. Cole Rush talks to one of the leading providers, Chalkline Sports, to discuss how these products can help acquire and retain bettors, and build up hefty databases before real-money regulation takes effect.

Off to the races

The Path to Profitability series finishes with Cole Rush’s second piece, this time looking at a potentially lucrative area of expansion. Horse race betting is the oldest form of gambling in the US, and this analysis looks at the early stages of racetracks engaging with the gaming expansion wave. And with a fixed-odds betting bill under consideration in the New Jersey legislature, there could be significant scope for this to be ramped up in the coming years.

This forms part of the ICE 365 US sports betting series’ Path to Profitability, a deep dive into marketing, product and new revenue streams across the US. Read the full range of analysis from the iGB team here.

By Cole Rush

It’s March 2021. Just shy of three years since the US Supreme Court demolished the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), sports betting has enjoyed a period of rapid growth. 

As it stands, that growth has begun to open doors that previously remained tightly locked. Online casino is playing catch-up, as markets that have seen sports betting success are beginning to embrace digital gaming in all its forms. 

But one form of gambling significantly predates these online up-and-comers. In fact, it even predates land-based casinos and most state lotteries. Horse race betting – parimutuel wagering – has long been a harbinger of gambling innovation. 

Take Illinois, for example. The Land of Lincoln embraced parimutuel wagering on horse races in 1927. Horse race betting enjoyed a legal gambling monopoly until 1974, when the state launched a lottery. 

It was not until 16 years later, in 1990, that riverboat casinos joined the scene. Now, Illinois is a bustling gambling market in the Midwest, with legal online sports betting, various casinos, race tracks, and a full-fledged state lottery. Legislators recently introduced an online casino bill, too.

US gambling markets often reflect this timeline, with reasonable differences, of course. Horse race betting has historically celebrated long periods of legality while other forms of gambling lagged behind. 

Skip ahead to 2021. Now, numerous gambling formats compete with the equine pastime in plenty of US markets. 

In a highly competitive marketplace dominated by fast-growing betting channels, horse racing is staged to carry on its legacy. Parimutuel wagering is no longer a silo. The unique and storied form of gambling slots neatly into the ever-expanding portfolio of gambling options available to US bettors. 

A horse racing renaissance?

Gone are the days of horse racing as a separate channel, a niche offering. The rapid migration of gambling options into the online space has opened up new revenue streams and innovation opportunities for companies across the parimutuel spectrum. Technology providers and betting operators on all sides of the horse racing industry are noticing a significant transformation in the space.

Illinois’ own Hawthorne Race Course serves as an excellent example. The track’s assistant general manager John Walsh points out that it is the state’s oldest sporting venue, opened in 1891, with its races simulcast around the world. 

“In July of 2020, Hawthorne received preliminary approval to redevelop its facility to include a casino with slots, table games and a sportsbook,” Walsh continues. “The $400m redevelopment is currently underway and an interim sportsbook opened in September through an exclusive partnership with PointsBet.” 

Put simply, Hawthorne welcomed shifts in the gambling world. Its partner, PointsBet, is also one of The Prairie State’s five licensed betting operators. And the new casino project takes full advantage of the omnibus gambling Illinois bill signed into law in 2019. 

This new era of horse racing isn’t limited to the tracks themselves, however. Newcomers, with horse racing heritage, are moving in. 

Among these is PlayUp, an Australian business that offers a host of betting products, including racing.

 “Horse racing is part of our DNA and has always been a huge driver for us,” its US chief executive Dr. Laila Mintas says. “It remains one of our key drivers in Australia and we have aggressive growth plans for the segment throughout North America.”

Equally, race betting has been the driver of another Australian business’ growth. BetMakers Technology Group, which is in the process of acquiring Sportech’s global tote business to strengthen its US position, does not see itself as a gaming company, however. 

“[BetMakers] is a technology and data company that facilitates commercial opportunities for racing authorities, rights holders, and wagering service providers (bookmakers) while providing an improved racing experience for punters,” its chief operating officer Jake Henson says. 

That’s three companies, three strategies, three outlooks. And each perspective includes horse racing as a load-bearing part of the business.

 As sports betting and other digital gambling formats proliferate throughout the US, horse race betting operators, technologists, and data providers have to navigate an ever-shifting landscape. As parimutuel wagering is welcomed into the fold, there are a few important factors to consider. 

International impact

The US has consistently lagged behind its overseas counterparts with regard to gambling. It’s a huge market, and gambling juggernauts are laser-focused on bettor-acquisition and legalization in the States. 

But it’s also a new market. Even though horse racing has been around for some time in the US, the country still has plenty to learn from markets that have historically welcomed gambling with more open arms. 

Among experts, the prevailing wisdom seems to say that the US market for horse race betting requires careful study paired with select learnings from international geographies. 

Henson of BetMakers says: “As a B2B supplier, BetMakers takes its knowledge and learnings of best practice racing and wagering solutions across global jurisdictions. 

“BetMakers works with regulators and licensed parties to ensure compliance,” he continues. “Under these conditions, [we explore] opportunities to tailor technology solutions for each region and deliver commercial success for all players while maintaining critical integrity.” 

It’s that last point that’s crucial. BetMakers seeks to tailor its products to each region. 

Every gambling market is unique, as anyone in the global industry knows. Anyone looking to bring horse racing products to the forefront must strike a balance between what works elsewhere and how each unique US jurisdiction will respond to new channels. 

PlayUp CEO Mintas emphasizes the unique nature of the States as well: “We wouldn’t migrate an Australian horse racing product to the US market,” she says. 

“There are too many fundamental differences in the way the product is presented to customers. We know we need a product focused on the US style of betting and one that addresses the uniqueness of the market and the bettors. We feel the global horse racing industry is poised for a renaissance that could be driven by the US market.”

The various pieces of the horse racing puzzle come together to tell an interesting story. It’s a narrative of rebirth and of massive change that brings horse racing into the betting scene like never before. 

There are, however, other factors at play aside from the heavy influence of experienced international companies. One such factor is a constant conversation topic these days… 

The impact of Covid-19

The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic changed everything. No industry was left untouched by the raging global pandemic. 

The gambling industry is no exception. Horse race betting in particular has seen some important shifts that shed light on the possible future of parimutuel wagering. Covid-19 is still shaping the landscape, and horse racing stakeholders are taking notice. 

“Covid had (and continues to have) a really nuanced effect on racing,” Walsh explains. “The logistics of our sport enabled us and many other tracks to continue racing throughout the pandemic, albeit with necessary safety protocols. 

“Because most other professional sports were shut down for so long, there was a kind of return to racing for a lot of sports bettors. Racing is the original sports betting, after all, and continues to offer much more profitable odds and bigger payouts than other fixed odds sports betting.”

Covid-19 then led to increased betting numbers across digital horse racing channels, which have been available in many states for years, Illinois included.

“Much more of our handle was coming from mobile wagering,” Walsh continues. “Though ADW (advance deposit wagering) has been legal for racing in Illinois for a while, it’s still not as common a way to bet for older handicappers. 

“Though newer (and younger) racing fans are very comfortable wagering through an app, they also fall in love with the sport through the experience of being at the track and seeing the horses and jockeys and post parades. So our focus is on developing ways to enhance the mobile experience and excitement of parimutuel wagering through the app as a kind of 2nd screen entertainment.”

According to Mintas, Covid-19 has already summoned a flurry of real, impactful changes. “We have seen a dramatic shift of handle to online. That transfer has been happening gradually for some time, but rapidly accelerated in the last 12 months.”

So early on, during sports shutdowns, Hawthorne saw a bump in in-person race attendance and online handle. PlayUp noted a similar trend. But what happens in the as yet undefined “post-Covid” period? Once the vaccines have reached enough arms and herd immunity kicks in, what’s next for horse racing?

“Spectators are going to return to sporting venues, the growing pent-up demand will hopefully see racetracks the busiest they have been for decades,” Mintas says. “Fixed odds is a product which, if priced correctly, [will] make horse racing a more attractive betting product to the consumer.”

Fixed odds betting is another factor that could transform the parimutuel arena, and it’ll be revisited later in this piece. 

Henson notes that Covid-19 could spur rapid globalization for the horse racing industry. 

“We are emerging into the new world and witnessing many businesses re-evaluating everything they do – from business models to behaviors,” he says. “With challenges come new opportunities, and I think more broadly we are seeing racing bodies explore new revenue streams from their existing wagering content.

“Our view is that racing needs to unite globally as a betting option of choice for the betting public who have never had so many options. By collectively plugging into a global racing network and exporting their product across the world, racing bodies can monetize existing content to a new global audience of punters. That’s where BetMakers wants to exist – as the technology and rights partner to facilitate this with all the integrity and compliance across licensed jurisdictions.” 

It can therefore be said that Covid-19 has sparked a new way of thinking about horse race betting. The industry is looking inward for existing products and services that will easily transfer to a more digital-savvy audience. At the same time, horse racing companies are looking outward to the changes that can bring parimutuel to the next level. 

But of course, Covid-19 is just one piece of the puzzle, and a hopefully temporary one at that. The growth of one major space has brought welcome disruption to virtually every other gambling format.

Fixed-odds betting: The next frontier?

If the US is the room, sports betting is the elephant everyone wants to address. And if you skip much of the story so far (PASPA, ongoing state legislation, M&A), you arrive at 2021, where US bettors have an unprecedented knowledge of sports betting. 

“Point spread,” “moneyline,” and “totals” now mean something even to the casual sports fan. The past three years have seen a remarkable increase in layperson sports betting knowledge. 

Naturally, that’ll have a huge impact on horse racing. 

Horse race bettors–especially casual fans–now have an entirely new vocabulary they can leverage to bet on races. Historically (and even nowadays) horse racing has been dominated by the parimutuel structure. Odds and payouts change based on the wagers that come in from around the world. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for race tracks and horse racing tech providers. 

Dr. Laila Mintas says: “Fixed odds will certainly help the cross-sell of racing to sports betting players; it’s not a good experience for someone used to fixed odds to back a horse at 5/1 and get paid 5/2 through the pari-mutuel system.” 

“The opportunity for fixed odds betting,” she continues, “is in taking the sportsbook player who has a $50 football parlay on a weekend and giving them the opportunity to place $20 win bets in a format and presentation style which looks like their existing online sportsbook […] this is about bringing betting players to view racing as another sport they can place bets on.”

And this sentiment seems to be the secret sauce for the racing industry: give existing sports bettors an easy, understandable way to bet on races that looks and feels like the sports betting they already do on a regular basis. 

Walsh says fixed odds betting offers certainty to fans who want to make a bet and get the odds they see rather than parimutuel, which is based on global wagers. 

“I see lots of big race future pools coming into being with fixed odds,” he adds.

Fixed odds offer an opportunity, but one that does not necessarily cannibalize parimutuel stakes, Walsh continues.

. “[Fixed odds betting] will be another source of revenue, augmenting parimutuel betting but not replacing [it],” continues John Walsh. 

There’s also a completely new generation of bettors to consider. Millennials now have access to online sports betting and horse racing in dozens of US markets, and when Gen Z reaches the legal gambling age on a wide scale, there could be a new, addressable audience on the scene. 

Henson thinks this, if properly leveraged, can be a winning bet. 

“As we have seen with younger, digital-savvy Australian punters – they like the certainty of ‘getting set’ at a fixed price and having no surprise changes in fluctuations,” he says. “While we think fixed odds can grow the overall wagering pie for horse racing in the US, we have recently shown our commitment to the tote as a betting option with the acquisition of Sportech’s racing and digital assets. 

“We believe the tote and fixed odds should be complementary options for different audience segments.”

At this point, fixed-odds betting isn’t just a pipe dream, with a bill working its way through the New Jersey legislature. There may even be movement before that passes, with the state Racing Commission approving a pilot program for fixed-odds race betting, limited to bets on out-of-state Grade I races, approved in November 2020. 

BetMakers, because of its partnership with Monmouth Park and Dennis Drazin, is supporting the bill’s passage. While the Garden State has been particularly progressive when it comes to gaming expansion, Henson believes it’s a harbinger of what’s to come. 

“We have been in discussions with other states, and there is no doubt that there is much wider interest than just in New Jersey,” he says. “We believe that as the awareness grows of what fixed pdds can achieve as a complementary option to the tote for a whole new audience of the betting public – one that is accustomed to fixed odds sports betting – then we will see traction. 

“The commercial returns to industry participants will tell the story.”

At any rate, it appears fixed odds wagering is simply a matter of “when,” rather than “if.” 

And paired with the already strong parimutuel offerings at race courses across the nation, this particular betting channel seems well-positioned for continued success. 

This forms part of the ICE 365 US sports betting series’ Path to Profitability, a deep dive into marketing, product and new revenue streams across the US. Read the full range of analysis from the iGB team here.

By Cole Rush

In the US, sports betting can aptly be described as a mad dash. New states regulate at a rapid clip, and operators put forth every effort to be one of the very first to go live in legal markets. 

Once a market goes live, another state crops up. The country is a massive game of whack-a-mole, and sportsbooks with the biggest mallets and quickest reflexes tend to enjoy the most success.

The path to launch in any state for most operators comprises a few steps: tailoring the technology to meet regulations, securing a market access partner and licence according to state law, and then actually pressing the big red button on launch day. Rinse and repeat when a new state comes along. It isn’t one size fits all, but as the market grows it allows for economies of scale, that in turn can help an operator generate returns – provided it has industry expertise and significant backing. 

But the moving pieces and intense competition can make it difficult to flourish in any sports betting market. The space is still new to rookie bettors, and operators need to factor that educational component into their plans for any given market launch. Or, in existing markets, sportsbooks need to do the legwork to educate casual sports fans about the vocabulary, the odds, and the myriad intricacies that encompass sports betting. 

That’s where free-to-play (F2P) comes in. There are a number of businesses jostling for position in this space, offering predictions and pick’em titles, and Bally’s showed its intent to muscle in by snapping up one of the leading names in F2P, SportCaller, for $40m. 

Chalkline, a business that straddles the US and South Africa, continues to go it alone. Like SportCaller, Chalkline operates on a software as a service (SaaS) model, providing sportsbook operators with F2P sports content. 

Dan Kustelski, Chalkline’s chief executive, says: “The genesis of Chalkline was simply a question: how do we help operators and media companies wrap their arms around the sports fan who will eventually become a full-fledged sports bettor? 

“There’s a huge group of people that don’t know much or anything at all about sports betting, so there’s a need for an educational component.”

Barriers to entry

The barriers of entry for a newcomer to sports betting, Kustelski says, are surmountable, as long as operators and media companies are willing to walk users through the process. 

“As a new sports bettor, you need to sign up, deposit, money, then actually place a wager,” he explains. “It sounds simple on paper or when you say it out loud, but it’s actually a long process. At Chalkline, we’ve built a platform that creates free-to-play sports betting games, and we license that out to sportsbooks and media outlets.”

Players who experience these free-to-play games quickly get up to speed with elements such as terminology and how odds work. This is built into Chalkline’s approach. “Every time a player participates in one of our games, we tell them ‘here’s what you would’ve won if you have wagered a dollar on this event.’” 

“It’s a form of sampling,” Kustelski continues. “For instance, when you go to a casino, if you want to learn craps, the property might have a scheduled lesson, and they’ll say ‘meet us at this table at 4PM, we’ll teach you everything you need to know.’ Same goes for roulette, blackjack, any game, really.

“Sports betting is no different. There’s a lot of intimidation in sports betting that can keep players from trying it.”

Those intimidating factors can prevent sports bettors from placing an otherwise straightforward wager. 

“The first hurdle is obviously picking an operator,” Kustelski says. “But in the bettor’s head, the train of thought is usually something like ‘I’m a Bears fan, and I want to bet on them. How can I do that?’ People are passionate about their teams, and that’s typically the first wager they’ll look to make. The Super Bowl is another good example. This year, rookie bettors often wanted to make a simple bet on Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.” 

For new bettors, this first bet acts as a gateway to the larger sports betting world. And newcomers have to learn quickly. “If a player comes to a sportsbook to bet on the Bulls to win, for example, they have to very quickly figure out what a moneyline is, how point spreads work, all the stuff that seasoned bettors already know.”

National exposure

The educational aspect is predictably a huge driver for Chalkline’s services. But there’s another benefit to the free-to-play model that can catapult operators to real-money success: databases. 

“We work with a few nationwide media companies,” says Kustelski, “so breaking down our users by state is really important. It helps these companies build up a database of users.” That list can be a huge advantage both in nascent sports betting markets and those that expect to launch in the near future. 

As an operator, that database can make a world of difference as you prepare to go live in a new market. “Operators hold on tight to these databases. They protect that information intensely. And building up that data is important. If you’re a casino, just because a player is loyal to you for land-based games – [such as] slots [or] craps – that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get that person’s sports betting business. You have to earn it. That’s a challenge many operators see when they’re gearing up for a big go-live.”

It’s no secret that sports betting is incredibly competitive. Players might even feel stretched to their limits by the massive marketing campaigns surrounding legal markets – especially new ones. According to Kustelski, Chalkline can help fuel acquisition initiatives. 

“I see a lot of value in acquiring customers in states just before regulation hits,” Kustelski says. “Customer acquisition is expensive. Today it’s at its cheapest, tomorrow it’ll be more expensive, and the next day it’ll be even more expensive. 

“As a given state approaches a full-on launch, you’re paying more just to get customers on board. In some recently launched states, say Tennessee, the ads are everywhere: billboards, TV, radio, it’s just nonstop. That all contributes to the cost of acquisition in these particular states.”

Kustelski doesn’t claim that sportsbooks should eschew these methods. Rather, he emphasises that the free-to-play model can support operators by teaching new bettors the ropes and building a marketable database. 

It’s a welcome departure from the scattershot marketing approach so frequently adopted by some of the industry’s big names. Kustelski and Chalkline have provided a viable path to building a savvy sports betting audience that can springboard businesses into the future. 

And what is that future, exactly? “Sports betting is just the beginning,” Kustelski adds. “It’s part of a larger entertainment proposition that’s going to grow across many states. 

“And it’s not just sportsbooks. We’re going to see the lines start to blur between many of these formats: online casino, online lottery, daily fantasy, and horse racing. So much will change as gaming continues to digitise. 

“On the whole, the industry will see some incredible transformation.”

This forms part of the ICE 365 US sports betting series’ Path to Profitability, a deep dive into marketing, product and new revenue streams across the US. Read the full range of analysis from the iGB team here.

By Scott Longley

The amount of news generated by the regulated US sports betting market and the clearly competitive nature of each state-by-state opportunity sometimes obscures the fact that this is still early days when it comes to the actual product on offer to newly unleashed legal punters in the US.

“Everyone’s goal was focused on getting there for day one, even if that meant launching with a minimum viable product,” says Kevin Vonasek, vice president of corporate development at Golden Nugget Online Gaming.

“On the product side, I believe we’re still in the very early days,” suggests Omer Dor, chief executive and founder at Sport IQ, a next-generation proprietary odds provider. “For the most part, the first two years since PASPA was repealed have been predominantly categorised by a race for market access deals and getting live as quickly as possible,” he adds. “From a product standpoint that meant the majority of the focus has been on getting all the pieces in place to get a sportsbook operational.”

This has necessarily led to compromises over product delivery, suggests Vonasek. “Everyone’s roadmap is a rolling debate between filling gaps that haven’t yet been ported over from Europe, knowing which ones to skip, and where we can create uniquely new US features that improve the experience and create customer loyalty.”

New product, old audience

There is, then, an element of a new frontier being opened up for regulated sports-betting in the US. But it should still be remembered that this is far from being completely new territory.

While the fall of PASPA represented a watershed for those states that could now choose to regulate sports betting, it is more properly categorized as an expansion of the regulated market for sports betting.

Nevada has, of course, been ruling the roost for many decades and that brings with it both a storied betting heritage and the knowledge that when it comes to US sport, Vegas betting lines will be pre-eminent. Then there is the offshore market, the somewhat hidden competitor for every regulated operator and whether it is fair or not, the benchmark against which many consumers will base their assessment of any regulated sportsbook offering.

“Betting and gaming are not new in the US,” says Brent Winston, co-founder and chief executive at BetSwap.io, a secondary marketplace for sportsbooks. “Both regulated and unregulated markets have thrived to the point where the US has been seen as the dominant global market and is likely, over time, to push for that position once again – so just because sports betting is being legalised it doesn’t mean that the industry is developing overnight with an uninformed audience.”

Among those being converted are the newest cohort of sports betting-savvy consumers; the daily fantasy sports audience. “The fact that the precursor to sports betting in the US has long been fantasy sports cannot be underrated,” says Winston. “One can argue whether or not fantasy sports should be considered betting, but the normal gameplay of the players – who are now the core betting market in the US – included a myriad of changes of the bet over time, trading players and, of course, once again the player-versus-player element.”

This is not, then, a naïve customer base. Moreover, their collective demands to be serviced with a decent product – and in quick order – have exerted a pressure on the operators which helps explain many of the product decisions. In particular, it provides the rationale for the initial and sometimes somewhat awkward moves to marry up a US-focused offering with the existing platform experience from Europe. But that is changing partly because of an influx of both money and talent into a sector which was previously a far more marginal endeavour.

“There are lot of really clever people in the US who until now may not have found it all that attractive or feasible to get involved in legalised gambling,” says Marc Thomas, partner at sports betting consultancy Propus Partners. “You have the epicentre of technology over there and now they can work in gambling. They can now start developing their ideas and at the same time it appears it may be a good time for innovators to raise money for their sports betting-related projects.”

Leading the efforts to develop a uniquely US-facing offer is a developing and burgeoning US-based and US-focused supply side as companies such as the aforementioned BetSwap and SportsIQ, as well as companies such as Simplebet, get to work on evolving the product. Similarly, there is the example of the now US-listed GAN which recently bought Coolbet in order to specifically service US opportunities.

“We want to bring technology into the US,” says Dermot Smurfit, chief executive at GAN. “We want to bring a fundamentally better product, with better managed trading services. You can buy the tech but with the clients in the US need you to drive the car for them. Will all clients want to control the tech stack? No.”

A different-shaped ball

A central factor in the ongoing adaptation of existing sports betting technology and product to the US opportunity is the nature of the underlying sports. “We are constantly developing and enhancing it to refine the user experience – we view the development of a sportsbook as never complete,” says Simon Noy, head of trading at Kambi.

“American football is a hugely important sport for us in terms of resources and we have worked hard to expand our offering by increasing the number of player props available and investing in the combinability in these markets,” he adds. “The same goes for all major US sports, including baseball, hockey and basketball, as well as other sports that drive significant US engagement such as golf.”

The combined success of the previously fantasy sports-focused DraftKings and FanDuel is also informing further product developments.

“The successful cross-sell of daily fantasy into US sports-betting has meant more of an emphasis on player-specific markets in US facing products – that’s an area where US sports product has distinguished itself from other international sports,” says Liam O’Conner, who leads the customer success function at Banach Technology.

“But we’ve also seen an early adaptation of the TV audience to betting concepts like in-game player props, in-game parlays and cash-out,” he adds. “These are relatively new concepts in soccer and haven’t caught on quite as quickly as the US where regular peak coverage, longer games, more ad-breaks and rich play-by-play data can all add to a higher demand for compelling in-game betting.”

Indeed, the foundational argument around many state-by-state opportunities has been over mobile betting. Any restrictions around having land based-only sports betting or even in-person registration inevitably retard the formation of a distinct regulated US sportsbook offering. It is a glib phrase, but the US should indeed be a truly mobile-first market.

“The market largely skipped desktop,” says Noy. “Overall, mobile in the US accounts for more than 80% of total online turnover, a higher rate than in Europe.”

Winston agrees. “(We) have passed and reached the point where mobile activity is synonymous with all leisure activity, so there will be a seamless transition for US bettors,” he says. “It seems as if US bettors don’t know of a time of betting without their mobile device. If you look to the US, bookmakers are coming up with new and innovative solutions to get users engaged from their mobile devices.”

He points to Penn National’s Barstool Sportsbook. “It is an example of a mobile sport betting offering innovating at the highest level. Barstool has leveraged its loyal, sports-betting crazy and predominantly mobile social media following to generate a large amount of handle on its sportsbook.”

Given developments in other sectors – look at the recent furore around mobile trading app Robinhood, for instance – the mobile-first nature of the sports-betting market should be a given.

As part of this, in-play will certainly evolve. “At present the majority of money in US sportsbooks is on the main pre-match markets – spread and total points – paying close to evens odds,” says O’Conner. “But there is largely a focus on single bets. As the US market matures and the in-play offering is expanded then we would envisage that in-play will also become the dominant handle driver in US sports betting.”

The next level

Another central element of just how US sports betting will develop comes down to localisation. State-by-state expansion highlights the regional nature not just of the regulations but also the offerings.

“Localisation of product will be a key differentiator in the US market,” says O’Conner. “Just as many UK-based operators learned that they needed to localise their offering if they were to succeed in new territories like Australia, Spain or Italy, for instance, the US will be no different where an emphasis on product offering for Nascar could be a key differentiator in West Virginia or where a superior college football product will resonate with customers in Tennessee.”

Many believe that innovative player and props bets will be the killer app for US sports betting. “The way in which (the US audience) will interact with sports betting will be more an extension of fan engagement and sports entertainment rather than the traditional way we have seen in more mature markets,” says Dor.

Or as Vonasek suggests, the pressure from the bottom-up will move betting into a new future. “With our love of parlays and prop bets combined with the sheer number of daily events, the attention span of millennials, and the high-paced scoring changes found in the NFL, college football and college basketball, I believe that will drive US mobile in-play and cash-out betting to new heights.”

Indeed, Noy points out that at instant betting saw a threefold increase this past season compared with last. “NFL live punters who placed an instant bet last season made up over 20% of the NFL live punter base and were responsible for around 45% of turnover, making it almost three times as large as non-instant punters.”

But there is a catch to all this potential development – bandwidth. The move to 5G has the potential to transform in-play betting generally but no more so than in the US. Jeevan Jeyaratnam, head of compilation at Abelson Odds, says that at present the latency issues mean that with much of US sports the TV picture time lag means that for all the potential of in-game betting in, for instance, American football and baseball, the fact is that markets are suspended much more than they are open.

“Using 5G you can clear that up, you can come close to no delays, even when watching on TV it will be a level playing field,” he says. “Eliminate latency then you reinvent in-play. It could be an absolute game-changer. I honestly believe this is the next big step for the betting industry.”

Unfortunately, this picture being painted of a bright new dawn comes with an expensive blot. Early in February, the US Federal Communications Commission raised a record $81bn from mobile telecoms groups for 5G spectrum. Such is the good news.

The bad news, according to an article from Eric Schmidt, former chief executive and chairman of Google, is that in investing such enormous sums, it will leave the indebted auction winners with precious little left to actually develop the needed infrastructure.

“5G is more marketing than a true step change in data speeds,” Schmidt wrote. In fact, a further $70bn in investment in a new network and new cell sites is needed, he warned. “Without it there will be no 5G, and no base on which to build 6G. America’s digital economy will become an also-ran.”

It appears that the revolution in in-play, ironically perhaps, will also come with some latency issues.