February 2024

February 29, 2024

Analysing the data: Breaking down Spain’s 2023 in numbers

Spain is rapidly emerging as one of Europe’s most exciting markets for growth. We take a look inside the numbers – with a positive 2023 for the country’s online gambling market.

The headline number from Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) is the €1.24bn (£1.06bn/$1.35bn) in gross gambling revenue (GGR) for 2023, up year-on-year by well over a quarter at 28.4%.

Spain’s GGR has now increased every year since 2013 bar 2021. The 28.4% hike is the largest year-on-year rise since 2017.

Deposits and withdrawals rose by 15.5% and 10.1% respectively. The number of active gamblers also edged up by 2.7% to over 1.6 million.

Casino and betting on the rise in Spain

Of that €1.24bn in GGR, casino led the way with 50.5% of the total, accumulating €624.8m in revenue for 2023. Meanwhile, betting wasn’t far behind, accounting for 39.8% with €491.8m of GGR. Poker, bingo and contests then lagged behind with €115.3m, €14.4m and €480,000 respectively.

Looking at those num..

February 29, 2024

New Hampshire sports betting decline continues in January

The New Hampshire Lottery reported further declines in the state’s sports betting market in January, with both handle and gross gaming revenue falling year-on-year.

Player spending in January amounted to $73.3m (£57.9m/€67.7m). This was 24.6% behind $97.2m in New Hampshire last January and 7.0% lower than $78.8m in December. It was also the second consecutive month of handle decline in the state.

Of this total, $62.7m was spent betting on sports online, while players wagered $10.6m at retail sportsbooks.

revenue was 7.0% lower than $78.8m in December 2023

Looking to gross gaming revenue, there was mixed news in the state. Revenue was down 20.3% from the record $12.3m in January 2023 but 27.3% ahead of $7.7m in December.

Some $8.9m of all revenue in January came from online betting. A further $951,079 was generated from wagering at retail sportsbooks across New Hampshire.

DraftKings remains the exclusive operator in the state’s online sports betting market. This arrangement has be..

February 29, 2024

BlueBet nets record wagering turnover revenue in H1 – offsets US loss

BlueBet Holdings reported a 12.6% increase in revenue during the first half of 2024 on the back of record turnover, but higher costs led to a wider net loss.

Revenue for the six months to 31 December hit AU$27.8m (£14.3m/€16.7m/US$18.1m), up from $24.7m in H1 of 2023 at BlueBet. This, BlueBet said, was driven by record wagering turnover of $319.5m for the half.

The six-month period saw BlueBet further grow its Australian business, with revenue rising 13.0% to $27.9m. Active customers in the country were also up 13.0%, which in turn helped pushed turnover up 6.9% to $298.7m.

revenue of AU$27.8m was driven by record wagering turnover of $319.5m for h1 2024

However, against this background of growth in Australia was some bad news for BlueBet. In August, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission charged BlueBet for breaching state rules on advertising. If found guilty BlueBet could face a fine of up to AU$945,187.

US expansion continues for BlueBet

Over in North America,..

February 28, 2024

Rhode Island’s sports betting handle declines by 6.5% in January

Rhode Island’s January sports betting handle saw a 6.5% decline from December’s figures, although revenue was up by almost 22%.

Rhode Island recorded $44.8m in sports betting handle for January, a significant decrease on December’s number of $47.9m and the lowest since September. The handle also fell 28.1% behind the same month last year, which was a record.

$34.8m of the handle was wagered online, while the other $13.1m was bet at retail sportsbooks. Of the retail handle, Twin River and Tiverton Casino took $6.4m and $3.6m in bets respectively.

Despite the downturn in handle, it was a good month for sportsbooks, who accumulated a combined revenue of $5m, over a fifth higher than December’s $4.1m and the highest since Rhode Island started its new financial year.

Online accounted for $3.8m of that figure, which is 76% of the total. By facility, Twin River outperformed the Tiverton Casino, generating $845,340 to the latter’s $402,750.

Rhode Island into H2 of its financial year

spor..

February 28, 2024

Georgia moves closer to sports betting after bill passes senate

Georgia looks set to have a referendum on whether to legalise sports betting after a bill successfully passed through the state’s senate.

Senate Resolution 579, which seeks to approve sports betting in Georgia, passed by 41 to 12. This was easily enough to meet the two-thirds majority needed to amend the state’s constitution through a referendum.

SR579 is led by Senator Bill Cowsert, who submitted the ultimately unsuccessful Senate Bill 172 in 2023. In a largely unchanged form, though, SR579 looks more likely to end up passing.

Earlier in February, Senator Clint Dixon’s Senate Bill 386 was adopted after passing with a vote of 35-15. Enabling legislation SB386 looked to establish a framework of regulation in the state and was amended so that the support of 38 senators was needed to pass.

Cowsert’s proposals would see 80% of tax revenue attributed to the lottery’s education fund. Some 15% would go to public education on problem gambling, while 5% would be given to the Sports Promotio..

February 28, 2024

Fanatics Sportsbook goes live in Indiana

The Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) division of Fanatics Holdings has announced the launch of its online sportsbook product in the state of Indiana.

Players in Indiana can now place bets on a wide range of events and competitions via the Fanatics Sportsbook.

Fanatics replaces the PointsBet brand in the state. Existing PointsBet customers in Indiana will automatically have their username, password, account balance, rewards points and responsible gaming settings migrated to the Fanatics Sportsbook.

FBG has been phasing out the PointsBet brand in states across the US after its acquisition of PointsBet US in August 2023. Indiana is the 14th state in which the Fanatics Sportsbook has launched.

fanatics casino is also now live in three states

Fanatics also runs online sports betting in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, PointsBet retail betting venues operate in Penn..

February 28, 2024

Betsson CEO Lindwall celebrates “record year for the group” and outlines 2024 plans

A record 2023 saw Betsson post higher revenues and EBITDA than ever before. With further global expansion on the cards, Betsson chief executive Pontus Lindwall believes it’s the company’s localised approach that will help them achieve further growth.

Revenues shot up by 22% to a record €948.2m (£811.3m/$1bn) for Betsson’s 2023 financial year. EBITDA also skyrocketed 52% to €262.7m from €172.4m in 2022. The year-end results were aided by a surge in Q4, one that saw group revenue hike by 14%.

Quite the set of results then for Betsson. According to Lindwall, the positive outlook for the company looks set to continue, both short- and long-term. The CEO is delighted with the group’s performance, comparing the operator to a well-oiled machine.

“Of course, we’re very happy with the outcome of 2023,” Lindwall told iGB. “It’s a record year by far for the group. It’s nice to finish off so strongly with the record quarter as well.

“I think we have a strategy that has played us well as we are ..

February 27, 2024

Spain: online gambling revenue edges up to €315.3m in Q4

Online gambling revenue in Spain increased marginally year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter to €315.3m (£269.8m/$342.0m) in Q4, while total deposits were also higher.

Gross gaming revenue in Q4 was 0.6% higher than in the same period in 2022. The total was also up 3.6% from the amount generated in Spain during the third quarter of the year.

Breaking this down, casino was the primary source of revenue by some distance during Q4.

Total revenue from this segment was €171.3m, representing 54.3% of all market revenue in Spain. Growth in the casino market was helped by a 25.9% rise in slots revenue and 15.3% increase in live roulette revenue.

Elsewhere, sports betting revenue hit €114.7m, accounting for 36.4% of total revenue and poker €25.4m, or 8.1% of overall revenue. For poker, tournaments had a negative variation rate of 0.5% and poker cash 7.0%.

A further €3.8m in revenue came from bingo activity, some 1.2% of all revenue, and contests €50,000.

Total deposits up 9.4% in Q4

In te..

February 27, 2024

Netherlands regulator KSA presents 2024 supervisory agenda

The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the gambling regulator in the Netherlands, has presented its supervisory agenda for 2024, citing four areas of focus.

Looking to achieve its mission of “safe gaming”, the KSA says it will increase its protection of vulnerable players in the Netherlands by looking to prevent addiction. The country took measures to do this in 2023, including the introduction of a ban on most forms of advertising.

The KSA is also looking to combat illegal online offerings, aiming for at least 90% of players to gamble with legal providers in the Netherlands. In a December article for iGB, Yield Sec chief executive Ismail Vali noted how the KSA’s current approach appeared to lack clear success in actual enforcement terms.

The KSA is vowing to further support partners, including the police and tax authorities, on investigations in the physical domain. The regulator hopes this will lead to less “undermining” between different organisations.

The KSA’s final area of emphasis is..

February 27, 2024

Arizona sports betting revenue reaches record high in December

Gross sports betting revenue in Arizona hit a new monthly high in December, despite handle declining month-on-month.

December gross revenue in Arizona amounted to $66.1m (£52.1m/€60.9m). This was up 22.1% from $54.4m in the previous year and also 62.4% ahead of November’s total.

Of this total, $65.2m came from online betting and $625,986 retail sportsbooks. A further $240,604 was generated by limited event wagering (LEW) operators.

This came off the back of $693.3m in total wagers placed during the month. Total player spend was 21.1% ahead of December 2022 but behind the record $713.6m wagered in November.

Online spend amounted to $685.1m, retail sportsbooks $6.4m and LEW operators $1.8m.

A total of $17.8m in free bets and promotional credits were noted in December. Almost all of this came from online betting.

As such, adjusted gross sports betting revenue for the month amounted to $48.3m, another new record. This was 30.3% higher than December 2022 and 139.4% more than $20.3m i..

February 27, 2024

Webis upbeat on growth prospects despite wider net loss in H1

Webis Holdings’ non-executive chairman Denham Eke said the company remains “optimistic” over future growth potential for the business despite reporting an expanded net loss in H1.

Turnover for the six months to 31 November 2023 hit $5.9m (£4.7m/€5.4m). This was 4.8% behind the $6.2m reported in the previous year by Webis, which owns advance-deposit wagering (ADW) operator Watchandwager.com.

Eke and Webis put this drop mainly down to external factors in the second quarter. These, he said, included the cancellation of many US events due to bad weather in the country. On the flip side, Eke said trading was stronger during the summer months.

Turnover decline, coupled with the fact that spending remained level in H1, led to a wider loss for Webis. However, Eke is upbeat about the company’s performance moving into the second half.

“Our principal subsidiary, WatchandWager.com, again had a varied start to the first six months of the financial year,” Eke said. “I remain optimistic that trad..

February 27, 2024

Sportradar scores extension with Bundesliga International

Sportradar has extended and expanded its partnership with Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the German Football League (DFL) that manages deals for the country’s top two leagues.

The global deal runs for an additional six years to the end of the 2031-32 season. Sportradar will collaborate with Bundesliga International to distribute data and audio-visual products around the world.

Sportradar will remain the official provider of betting and streaming rights for Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. It also covers other DFL properties such as the German Supercup and relegation playoff matches.

The deal grants Sportradar the rights to sub-license video content from the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 to its sportsbook clients. It will also collect and exclusively distribute live match data for betting purposes.

Sportradar will also provide betting and streaming rights for all matches in the WOW Virtual Bundesliga esports offering. In addition, Sportradar will work with DFL to expand the sco..

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