November 2023

November 29, 2023

Brazil’s Senate plenary to delay final voting on regulation until December

Today's vote in Brazil's Senate plenary has been delayed until December, following more than 100 amendments to the bill.

Originally scheduled to vote for today (29 November), the Senate plenary has agreed to delay the vote until an unconfirmed date in December.

This follows the bill being presented by Senator Angelo Coronel, a key proponent for legalisation in Brazil.

The newly proposed amendments total more than 100, which will now be considered. These include a proposed taxation of fantasy sports on the same level as the 12% for sports betting and online casino, as well as the role of the health sector in the exclusion process.

Due to the requested amends, and there being a lack of of quorum to vote, the vote will now be delayed.

The president of the Brazilian Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, will now need to decide the next voting date, although this is expected to be in December.

Once the bill is approved, it will need to be returned to the Chamber of Deputies for revie..

November 29, 2023

Penn Entertainment’s ESPN Bet and theScore Bet strike partnerships with NHL

Penn Entertainment has struck a deal for its ESPN Bet and theScore Bet brands to become official sports betting partners of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Under the arrangement, ESPN Bet becomes an NHL partner in the US. Penn also agreed for theScore Bet to partner with the NHL in Ontario, Canada.

Penn said the deal comes into effect immediately. It covers the NHL regular season, Stanley Cup Playoffs, 2024 NHL Winter Classic, 2024 NHL Stadium Series, and 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend.

The agreement will grant ESPN Bet and theScore Bet access to a host of entitlements. These include IP rights and media and marketing integrations across the NHL’s programming and premium NHL experiences. In addition, the partnership includes collaboration for game integrity procedures.

Major partnership for newcomer ESPN Bet

ESPN Bet, a product of Penn’s partnership with Disney-owned ESPN, is among the latest brands to launch in the US. It went live across 17 states on 14 November.

In essence, it ..

November 28, 2023

PointsBet CEO: On course to deliver growth in FY25

PointsBet chief executive Sam Swanell has outlined a focus on technology to deliver growth in Australia and Canada following the group’s departure from the US.

Swanell told investors at the AGM that PointsBet remains on course to break even this year and deliver growth in FY25. The CEO reiterated the rationale behind the $225.0m sale of its US business to Fanatics. He also gave an update on growth targets in its remaining Australian and Canadian markets.

PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell

Central to its performance, Swanell said, will be the proprietary technology powering its own platforms as well as Fanatics. In total, PointsBet’s platform handled more than $7bn in wagers during the most recent financial year.

PointsBet also retains the rights to use and further develop the Banach “Oddsfactory” technology assets. This drives in-play, parlay products and cash-out features in Australia, Canada and the US.

“The strength of our technology has also been validated through our sale of the plat..

November 28, 2023

New Hampshire sports betting handle hits seven-month high in October

Consumer spending on sports wagering in New Hampshire reached its highest level in seven months in October, while monthly revenue was its highest since January.

Handle for October reached $77.8m (£61.7m/€71.1m). This was 14.8% lower than $91.3m in October of 2022 but 16.5% ahead of $66.8m in September of this year. It was also the largest monthly spend in New Hampshire since a record $103.4m was bet in March 2023.

Of this total, $65.9m was bet on mobile and $12.0m at retail sportsbooks located across New Hampshire. This is according to figures published by the New Hampshire Lottery.

DraftKings remains the only operator offering online sports wagering in New Hampshire. It secured exclusive rights for the state in November 2019.

Betting revenue reaches $8.8m in October

Turning to gross gaming revenue, this amounted to $8.8m during October. This was down 3.3% from $9.1m in October last year but 41.9% higher than the $6.2m that was posted in September this year.

The lottery noted the..

November 27, 2023

Brazil’s upcoming vote: Everything you need to know

Brazil's Senate plenary could vote to legalise sports betting and online casino on Wednesday (29 November). Ahead of the vote, we bring you all you need to know about the journey so far.

Before we delve into the complex legal history of sports betting in Brazil, let’s start off with last week’s key step.

Last Tuesday (21 November), the industry was waiting eagerly for Brazil’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) to vote on whether to greenlight sports betting and igaming through Bill 3,626/2023. This was delayed by one day on the request of senators, according to Senado Noticias.

The bill will now head to the Senate Plenary this Wednesday (29 November)

The CAE’s eventual approval on Wednesday 22 November gave the thumbs-up for the bill to move to the Senate plenary. This session will now take place this Wednesday (29 November). If the plenary vote goes in the bill’s favour, sports betting and igaming will officially be legal in Brazil.

Importantly, the outcome at the CAE confirm..

November 27, 2023

Brazil Football Confederation appoints Gussem to oversee integrity

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has appointed Eduardo Gussem, former attorney-general of Rio de Janeiro, as its integrity officer as part of an effort to clamp down on manipulation in the sport.

Gussem will now work with a multidisciplinary team and focus on strengthening integrity functions across football in Brazil. This includes overseeing a new integrity unit within the CBF.

He will also work with partners to help identify and punish criminals in Brazil. These include the International Centre for Sports Security, Global Alliance for Sports Integrity and a private investigative task force.

Gussem joins having previously been attorney-general of justice and president of the Public Ministry Association in Rio de Janeiro.

CBF: Online sports betting increases risk of football manipulation

CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues said the rising popularity of sports betting has increased the risk of manipulation in football. He added that this is particularly an issue within the ..

November 24, 2023

Slovenian tennis official banned for betting on matches and data manipulation

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has banned Slovenian tennis official Marko Ducman for more than a decade after he was found to have wagered on matches.

Ducman is banned from officiating at or attending any tennis event authorised by ITIA members. The ban runs for 10 years and six months, until 7 March 2034.

The ITIA said that Ducman breached its Tennis Anti-Corruption Programme (TACP) by betting on tennis matches. He was also found to have manipulated data from matches in which he was an official to facilitate betting.

Ducman is an international-level and bronze-badge official who has officiated at ITF, ATP and WTA tournaments. He admitted to four breaches of the TACP, co-operated fully with the ITIA investigation and accepted an agreed sanction.

The official also waived his right to a hearing before an independent anti-corruption hearing officer. He has been suspended since 8 September 2023, with the ban being backdated to this date.

In addition, Ducman will pay..

November 24, 2023

ARC and RMG to launch shared channels for international racing wagering

Arena Racing Company (ARC) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG) have joined forces to create shared channels to distribute UK racing around the world.

The five-year partnership will begin in January with ARC and RMG jointly offering British and Irish racing content. This will be promoted and commercialised across international tote and pari-mutuel markets as a single service.

Racing content will be offered under Great British & Irish Racing (GBI Racing). This served a similar function between 2010 and 2018.

RMG represents 34 British racecourses including Jockey Club-operated racecourses, York and Goodwood. ARC, meanwhile, works with 16 British racecourses and several independent racecourses such as Ascot, Chester and Newbury.

Meanwhile, a separate service for various fixed-odds territories will broadcast coverage from British racecourses. This will also cover ARC’s Premier Greyhound Racing service. Broadcast services for tote and fixed-odds channels will be provided by Vermantia, ARC..

November 23, 2023

Wyoming smashes online sports betting records in October

Bettors in Wyoming wagered $21.2m (£16.9m/€19.5m) on sports online during October, the highest monthly amount since the Equality State opened its legal market, while revenue also reached an all-time high.

The October total exceeds the previous record of $19.2m set in Wyoming in September this year. It was also 23.4% higher than October of last year.

Gross gaming revenue for the month amounted to $2.3m, another new record for the state. This is up 15.0% from last year and 53.3% more than $1.5m in September 2023.

There was also an all-time monthly high for taxable gaming revenue of $1.4m. This increased 21.7% from October 2022 and 172.6% from $517,523 in September.

Wyoming players won a total of $19.0m from online sports betting, while tax hit a record $141,087.

DraftKings led the market with $1.4m in revenue from $12.5m. FanDuel placed second in Wyoming with revenue of $402,961 and a $4.9m handle.

Meanwhile, BetMGM posted $378,344 in revenue from $3.5m in online sports bets. Caesa..

November 23, 2023

The art of harnessing artificial intelligence for sportsbooks

As we’ve seen this year, the groundbreaking and rapidly evolving technology powering artificial intelligence (AI) is sure to revolutionise the economy, including the world of sports betting. In the second part of this two-part series, Russell Karp, senior vice-president of DataArt, focuses on the many ways sportsbooks can benefit from harnessing the art of AI.

Today, one of the most promising uses of AI in sports betting is bettors’ ability to use the technology to place bets more strategically and attempt to minimise their losses.

Apps like BettorTakes and Juice Reel aim to boost users’ performance through comprehensive analytics of their past betting behaviours. As BettorTakes CEO Steve Rubenfaer described in an interview with DataArt this year, the app “show[s] you your patterns, biases and things you might not know about yourself”.

With these apps, AI can be used to assess bettors’ gambling history, in addition to player or team stats. AI can then present digestible, comprehensi..

November 23, 2023

Road to ICE 2024: Sports betting heads to LatAm

On the road to ICE, iGB will prep you for the biggest show of 2024 with this new series covering the latest developments since 2023's show.

As we begin our road to ICE 2024, Brazil remained a prominent market this year for LatAm, particularly after sports betting was finally legalised in July after the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed Provisional Measure (PM) No 1,182.

Hallelujah: Brazil saga nears its end before ice 2024

This brought an end to years (and years) of delays. However, uncertainty remained as the PM still needed to be okayed by Brazil’s National Congress within 120 days.

The PM itself came mired in controversy. Its signing meant that the 2018 sports betting measures implemented in Law No 13,756 were also passed – but with a number of amendments.

Naturally, the industry wasn’t too pleased with these developments. Luiz Felipe Maia, founding partner of Brazilian law firm Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados, told iGB that reactions to the PM were “99% negative”, due..

November 23, 2023

Road to ICE 2024: Sports betting heads to LatAm

On the road to ICE, iGB will prep you for the biggest show of 2024 with this new series covering the latest developments since 2023's show.

As we begin our road to ICE 2024, Brazil remained a prominent market this year for LatAm, particularly after sports betting was finally legalised in July after president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Provisional Measure (PM) No. 1,182.

Hallelujah: Brazil saga nears its end before ice 2024

This brought an end of years (and years) of delays. However, unsurety remained as the PM still needed to be okayed by Brazil’s National Congress within 120 days.

The PM itself came mired in controversy. Its signing meant that the 2018 sports betting measures implemented in Law No. 13,756 were also passed – but with a number of amendments.

Naturally, the industry wasn’t too pleased with these developments. Luiz Felipe Maia, founding partner of Brazilian law firm Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados told IGB that reactions to the PM were “99% negative”, due to “th..

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Monthly Archives: November 2023