Month: January 2024

While Arkansas had estimated gaming to generate $3.7m in revenue for December, it surpassed that figure by an additional $100,000. The month’s above-expectation results take the state’s year-to-date gaming revenue up to $25.8m, 4.5% above the forecast of $24.7m.

In total, Arkansas’ gaming revenue for December was 7.5% higher than the same month last year. The year-to-date revenue is also an 11.2% increase on 2022’s numbers.

Arkansas: betting journey

Sports betting launched in Arkansas in July 2019, following approval from the Arkansas Racing Commission. Arkansas became the ninth state to begin taking bets since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was struck down.

Online sports betting was introduced in April 2022, when a collaboration between Gaming1 and Delaware North led to the launch of Betly.com. This allowed bettors across the state to participate in sports betting on Southland Casino Racing’s online website and through iOS and Android apps.

In August 2022, Kambi Group entered into a multi-channel sportsbook deal with Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Arkansas. The deal allowed Kambi to provide its on-property and online sportsbook solutions direct to the thoroughbred racetrack and casino.

The launch of online sports betting has helped to grow the industry in Arkansas. November 2023’s revenue was north of $45m for the first time, with total commercial gaming revenue for Q1 standing at $177m, a 20.1% increase year-on-year.

Proposed as one of a host of measures in the Gambling Act white paper, the new levy would be set as a 1% fee on gross gambling yield for online gambling operators. Traditional betting shops and casinos will pay a proposed fee of around 0.4%.

The government says the levy would raise an estimated £100m (€115.5m/$121.7m) per year.

The operators would pay the levy to the Gambling Commission. The hope is this will ensure all licensed operators in the UK pay their fair share. The current voluntary levy system allows operators to pay a chosen sum.

With the consultation on the statutory levy ending in mid-December, Osmond has hailed its introduction, saying: “GambleAware welcomes the introduction of a statutory industry levy to fund gambling harms research, prevention and treatment (RPT).

“This is something we have long called for and it marks an important step-change in efforts to tackle gambling harms. 

“Following years of uncertainty, the levy will provide clarity of funding for the gambling harms sector, support long-term planning and prevent duplication of work.”

Statutory levy: GambleAware sees potential issues

Despite GambleAware’s overall support for the levy, Osmond also detailed a number of concerns she had over its introduction.

Osmond called for the development of a national strategy to combat gambling harm, which was not listed in the proposals. Osmond also suggested the appointment of a single commissioner, charged with prevention and treatment of gambling addiction.

GambleAware also wants a change to the proposed funding allocations, which it feels “do not adequately reflect the potential population-level benefits” of early intervention.

White paper progress

The Gambling Act review white paper, published in April 2023, outlined how the UK will look to change the manner in which gambling is regulated.

The white paper includes proposals on affordability checks, sports betting and machine numbers. Consultations started in July, with the first round on financial risk and vulnerability closing in October. Over 3,000 submissions were made in total.

The next round of consultations considers seven topics including opting in for online bonuses. It is set to close in February or March, according to Tim Miller, executive director of policy at the Commission.

The Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), which has broadly backed the white paper, has already come out in support of the planned levy. However, it calls for the levy to go further and apply to all operators, including the National Lottery.

December revenue surpassed the existing New York record of $166.3m, set in October 2023, by 13.2%. The figure was also 24.8% higher than $150.9m in November and 32.8% up from $141.8m in December 2022.

As for handle, this amounted to $2.04bn in December, just 3.2% shy of November’s record of $2.11bn. The total was also 25.7% higher than the $1.62bn bet in December of the previous year.

December also marked the third consecutive month that New York players spent more than $2.00bn on online sports wagering. New York in October became the first state to report an online monthly betting handle higher than $2.00bn.

FanDuel stretches lead over DraftKings in New York

Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel remains the frontrunner in New York, extending its lead over DraftKings in December. FanDuel posted $93.6m in revenue off $834.5m in bets.

DraftKings placed second with $65.2m in revenue and a $773.4m handle. Caesars followed with revenue of $15.9m off $202.0m in total bets during December.

BetMGM also had a good month, reporting $8.1m in revenue and a $126.5m online handle. Rush Interactive was next with $3.1m in revenue from $50.7m of online wagers.

PointsBet reported revenue of $2.6m from $28.6m in bets, and Resorts World Interactive $401,566 off $401,566.

Record revenue despite BallyBet and Wynn Interactive losses

New York posting a new monthly revenue record is all the more impressive when considering two out of the nine licensed operators in the state reported a loss in December.

Wynn Interactive noted the largest loss of $323,464 from $9.2m in bets. December was the second consecutive month the operator reported an online sports betting loss.

BallyBet posted a loss of $252,433 from a $6.6m handle. BallyBet only resumed its online sports betting operations in New York in November after pausing activities back in July.

FanDuel lobbied against advertising rules near colleges

In other news out of New York in December, it was revealed that FanDuel lobbied against rules that prohibit advertising sports betting near colleges and universities in the state. This was according to unredacted documents released by the New York State registrar.

Updated rules were introduced in October after the New York State registrar considered opinion from various licensees. The ban on betting adverts near education establishments is now in place. 

However, state registrar documents show FanDuel opposed such a move. The document said FanDuel objected to a ban on adverts in the “area of a college or university campus”. 

The New York State Gaming Commission disagreed. The regulator said adverts near colleges and universities could be regarded as an “objectionable marketing effort”. It added that prohibiting such ads would help prevent “predatory” marketing to underage persons. 

Total market revenue in the three months to 30 September 2023 surpassed the existing record of €122.0m, which was set in Q2, by 4.6%. The Q3 figure was also 36.1% higher than €158.2m in Portugal in the same period in 2022.

Some €133.4m of revenue in Q3 came from online games of chance, up 50.5% year-on-year. This was a new segment record and also represented 62.0% of all online gambling revenue in the quarter.

Consumers spent €3.65bn on this form of gambling in Q3, up 47.2% and another new record for Portugal. Slots accounted for 82.3% of this total spend, with French roulette at 6.4% and blackjack 6.2%.

Portugal online sports betting revenue continues to decline

The overall increase in online revenue in Portugal comes despite an ongoing decline within the sports betting market.

Sports betting revenue in Q3 amounted to €81.9m. This was 17.7% higher than the previous year but 2.5% lower than Q2 and the third consecutive quarter of decline.

Player spending on online sports wagering was 12.1% higher year-on-year at €390.5m. Of this total, 71.4% of bets were placed on football, 22.2% tennis and 6.4% across other sports.

Self-exclusions reach 196,600 in Q3

The Q3 figures were published by the Gaming Regulation and Inspection Service (SRIJ), the national gambling regulator in Portugal.

Aside from revenue, the SRIJ also revealed other data about Q3. This included that, by the end of Q3, 196,600 players had self-excluded from online gambling, up 42.5% from the same point in 2022.

Meanwhile, some 205,200 new online registrations were reported during the quarter. It was also reported that 97,800 accounts were cancelled in Q3. By the end of the three-month period, 3.9 million online gambling accounts were active in Portugal.

In addition the SRIJ said it had ordered 23 websites to cease illegal operations during Q3. 

Portugal land-based gambling revenue also increases

Away from online and into the land-based sector, revenue for this segment also climbed. In Q3, revenue from land-based gambling amounted to €76.1m, up 14.0% year-on-year.

Physical slot machines accounted for €57.2m of this total, up 1.0% on the previous year and 75.1% of all revenue in Q3. The other €18.9m came from casino-style and bingo games – a rise of 35.6%.

Baccarat gambling generated €5.9m in Q3 revenue, American roulette €5.8m and blackjack €3.3m.

Koutsoukos moved into the role at Boylesports towards the end of last year. He joins from Kaizen Gaming, where he worked across the Stoiximan and Betano brands.

Koutsoukos spent more than two years with Kaizen Gaming, most recently serving as its director of customer relationship management. He also had a spell as head of lifecycles.

Prior to this, Koutsoukos worked in a number of senior roles during four years with Kindred Group. These included head of customer strategy, head of customer campaigns and head of customer communications.

Earlier in his career, Koutsoukos spent over 12 and a half years with De Agostini Editore. The company, which is 100% owned by De Agostini, co-ordinates and manages the group’s operating companies in the publishing sector. 

The wider De Agostini group counts International Game Technology (IGT) among its clients.

New industry appointments mount up

Koutsoukos is the latest industry appointment to be confirmed in recent days. 

This week, igaming technology solutions provider iGP announced Dirk Camilleri as its new chief product officer. In his new role, Camilleri will lead the iGP product team. 

Camilleri has worked in the gambling industry for over eight years. He was most recently vice-president of product at Pariplay, holding the role for 11 months.

Elsewhere, NeoGames subsidiary Wizard Games appointed Dimitar Panteleev as director of games technology. Panteleev’s remit is to drive research and deployment of new technology at Wizard Games.

Panteleev joins after a spell as chief technology officer at Bulgaria-based igaming provider The Better Platform. 

BetMGM and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) reached a deal for the operator to replace Cazoo as the new title sponsor of darts’ “biggest roadshow event”.

With a total of £1m (€1.2m/$1.3m) in prize money available, eight players will face off across 17 nights primarily in venues across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Rotterdam, Berlin and Dublin will also host events before the play-offs in London in May.

The partnership between the PDC and BetMGM comes in the wake of the 2024 World Darts Championship. Wednesday’s final became the most-watched non-football event in Sky Sports’ history with 3.75m viewers.

PDC chief executive Matt Porter said: “The Premier League will reach a huge live audience and a massive global television audience across four months, and we’re delighted to welcome BetMGM as our new title sponsor.”

Sam Behar, UK director of BetMGM, added: “We are thrilled to be partnering with such an exciting and entertaining event as Premier League Darts and look forward to an action-packed 2024 for both BetMGM and the PDC.”

BetMGM’s UK expansion

This move into darts by BetMGM is the latest example of the operator looking to expand into the UK market.

In 2023, BetMGM launched into the UK as the beginning of an international expansion strategy. Interestingly, it made its move in partnership with LeoVegas, not troubled giant Entain. This means it is competing against Entain’s UK brands, which include Ladbrokes and Coral.

This is in spite of BetMGM being a 50-50 joint venture in the US, owned by MGM Resorts and Entain.

BetMGM’s UK launch was helped by a deal with English Premier League club Newcastle United, benefitting from an extensive presence within the club’s St James’ Park stadium. BetMGM also recruited Hollywood star Chris Rock to feature in a range of marketing campaigns.

BetMGM: A growing emphasis on sports

As part of its expansion strategy, BetMGM has placed a particular focus on sports, with darts the latest target.

The operator recently announced an extension to its agreement with the NHL to continue as its official sports betting partner.

BetMGM is looking to particularly exert its influence in Las Vegas. Chief executive Adam Greenblatt recently claimed BetMGM will “unlock” Las Vegas in 2024.

The first ever Formula One Grand Prix in the city attracted 300,000 fans in November 2023. BetMGM took three times as many bets as at any other F1 race in its history.

The Super Bowl will also be held in February at the Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders after the NFL franchise relocated in 2020. The MLB’s Oakland Athletics also plan to follow the Raiders in moving to Las Vegas.

Betfred sponsored the Derby Festival for the first time in 2023 in an initial three-year deal. This has now been extended by a further year, covering each event until at least 2026.

As part of the new deal, the bookmaker will now hold naming rights on each day of the two-day event

Betfred will also expand its backing of races during the festival. The bookmaker will support a total of six races at each edition of the event, with the existing deal only covering two races.

Betfred boss hails “memorable” first year

“Following on from a memorable two days at Epsom last year we are delighted to further develop our support of the Betfred Derby Festival,” Betfred boss Fred Done said. “We very much look forward to working with the team to keep the fixture at the forefront of world racing.”

Amy Starkey, managing director for the east region at Jockey Club Racecourses, which owns Epsom Racecourse, also welcomed the extension. 

“Our relationship with Betfred spans many years and many major races. We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership at Epsom Downs still further.

“Betfred’s support of British racing over many years is clear for all to see. We can’t wait to get cracking with Fred and his team as we look to promote the greatest flat race in the world in 2024 and beyond.”

Betfred CEO Whittaker named on iGB Most Influential Women list

Confirmation of the deal comes after iGB last month named Betfred CEO Joanne Whittaker on its Most Influential Women 2023 list.

Whittaker took over from Done as CEO at Betfred in 2021. This followed a 20-year working relationship between the two.

During more than two years at the helm, Whittaker has overseen a successful period for the bookmaker. In 2022, turnover grew 37.5% year-on-year to £723.2m (€839.0m/$918.5m).

Upon being named among iGB’s Most Influential Women in Gaming for 2023, Whittaker said there is an emerging female leadership class in the industry today. 

Powered by Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and BetRivers, the sportsbook soft launched on 27 December. After a successful first week of operation, the new sportsbook is now fully live in Delaware.

Players can access a range of wagering options across professional and collegiate leagues, games and players. Betting options include spreads, moneylines, player props, futures and same game parlays.

Accompanying the new sportsbook are three updated versions of the state’s existing online casinos. These will continue to be operated by Delaware Park, Bally’s Dover Casino and Harrington Raceway & Casino.

RSI sees off competition to land Delaware igaming contract

RSI secured the contract to power the Delaware Lottery’s igaming offering in August of last year. This followed an RFP process that reportedly also involved 888. RSI was the only remaining bidder after other interested parties pulled out.

RSI will provide igaming for an initial term of five years, with extensions at the discretion of Delaware Lottery. Delaware Park and Harrington Casino & Raceway sites are accessible through the BetRivers multi-state app and website, while Bally’s Dover Casino offers its own standalone app and website.

“RSI’s successes in other jurisdictions, including neighbouring New Jersey and Pennsylvania, are impressive, along with the company’s overall reputation and experience,” Delaware Lottery director Helene Keeley said.

“RSI’s commitment to responsible gaming, quality products, breadth of gaming content and customer service are key reasons we are so excited to partner with them.

“Together RSI and the Delaware Lottery are devoted to successfully delivering best-in-class products and services to our customers.”

RSI CEO Richard Schwartz added: “We are thrilled to begin this historic and much-anticipated launch of the new online sportsbook and casino.

“With our extensive offering of gaming content, wide range of deposit and withdrawal methods, real-time cash-out approvals and best-in-class customer service, Delaware customers are going to love the convenience of wagering on their favourite sports, slots, and table games from anywhere in the state.

“We are honoured to collaborate with the Delaware Lottery team and the state’s three casinos to offer consumers in Delaware a safe, convenient and innovative online entertainment experience.”

Mixed results for Delaware in November

The launch and relaunches come on the back of a mixed November for Delaware. The Delaware Lottery reported a year-on-year rise in igaming revenue but posted a decline in revenue from sports betting.

Total igaming revenue in Delaware in November was $1.1m (£882,214/€1.0m). This was up 13.0% from $987,423 in November 2022 and 13.5% ahead of $982,919 in October 2023.

Turning to spending, players spent $32.1m on igaming in November. This was 24.8% lower than $42.7m in 2022 5.3% ahead of $30.5m in October.

As for sports betting, revenue in November amounted to $576,800. This was 62.3% less than $1.5m in November 2022 and also 78.0% behind October’s $2.6m haul.

Sports betting spend for the month was $8.1m. The Delaware Lottery said this was 20.6% behind $10.2m in 2022 and 24.3% less than $10.7m in October 2023.

Happy new year listeners! Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden are back to discuss a Festivus miracle in Brazil, as well as setting out their predictions for US sports betting growth and whether 2024 will finally be the breakthrough year for US igaming.

We come back after Brazil sports betting and igaming finally makes it over the finish line, giving the industry an early Christmas present. The market has potential to be huge, Brendan Bussmann says, especially after the 18% tax rate was cut to 12% of GGR.

There’s one thing missing, he adds. Integrated resorts are not part of the mix. This could bring billions in revenue into the local economy and, after the sports betting saga, we know Brazil isn’t one for rapid progress.

Regulatory predictions for 2024

A new legislative session is underway and that means it’s time for some predictions on where US sports betting and igaming goes next. All the low hanging fruit has been picked, Brandt Iden says, so there’s going to be a battle to find room to grow.

Let’s start with what’s not going to happen. Missouri remains unlikely, Brendan and Brandt agree, but there’s still prospects for mobile sports betting expansion elsewhere. Mississippi may finally go digital, having been an early mover post-PASPA, and further north the stars are aligning in Minnesota, Brandt says.

Listen to the World Series of Politics on Apple Podcasts!

Mississippi may finally go digital, having been an early mover post-PASPA, and further north the stars are aligning in Minnesota, Brandt says.

It’s not only states beginning with M, however. Could we see progress in Alabama and Georgia in 2024? In an election year, November’s ballot at least provides an option to push legislation through in more states. Washington DC may also be back into the mix for mobile sports betting after a botched launch through the lottery – could we see more operators move in?

Is 2024 the year for US igaming?

After years of dashed hopes, will 2024 finally bring a breakthrough for igaming? New Hampshire, unfortunately, was taken out of contention between recording and release for this episode, but New York and Maryland are both in the mix.

And there’s another bottle of wine on the line as Brendan and Brandt place a bet for US gaming regulation in the year ahead. Brandt is 2-0 ahead, but can Brendan cut the deficit this year?

The public hearings on tribal gaming rights will occur on Wednesday, with the bills expected to be opposed by Janet Mills, the governor in Maine.

The proposals come in the wake of Maine opening its sports betting market in late 2023. Having long been an opponent of allowing betting, Mills granted tribes the rights to sports betting before the launch in November.

However, LD 585 states internet sports wagering can only be run by approved tribes in the state. Tribes can apply for a licence to operate online betting. They may also partner one online operator each.

Tribes are now looking to expand into igaming and Wednesday’s hearings in Augusta could take them one step closer to acquiring the exclusive rights for online betting.

Sports betting an early success in Maine

The first month of legal betting in Maine saw more than $37.0m (£29.1m/€34.0m) wagered on sports in the state.

With total handle amounting to $37.6m, DraftKings was the early leader in the opening month. Having partnered with the Passamaquoddy tribe, DraftKings posted $4.3m in adjusted gross receipts with a $30.5m handle.

Caesars’ handle lagged well behind with $7.1m, with gross receipts of just $382,374. Caesars is live in Maine thanks to partnerships with three of the Wabanaki nations. These include the Houlton band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq nation and Penobscot nation.

Tribes fighting for sovereignty

Tribal gaming is on the rise, with the National Indian Gaming Commission’s annual report for 2022 showing revenues rose 4.9% in 2022 to $40.9bn. That $1.9bn year-on-year gain is the highest ever recorded.

However, tribes remain on edge with politicians and commercial gaming interests potentially cutting into their rights on gambling.

Maine’s proposals for exclusive tribal rights follow California and Florida, with both of those states taking steps in 2023 to grant tribes increased access to launch their gambling offers.