February 2024

February 12, 2024

US sports betting: What’s your edge?

US sports betting is entering a new phase as the quality of the competition ramps up. How can operators carve out a niche in this market? Cole Rush investigates.

Welcome, one and all, to 2024, the year PASPA’s downfall turns six. While it’s an important milestone, PASPA seems more and more like a distant image in our collective rear-view mirrors.

The proverbial talk of the town is, instead, the next era of sports betting. We’ve got long-time leaders, new competitors and rebranded standbys making a play for pole position.

Behind the scenes, suppliers and third-party services are moulding the next phase of US sportsbooks. One question emerges: what will US sports betting’s next evolution look like?

Experts spanning various parts of the sports betting world – operators, suppliers and more – chimed in with their outlook for a new era in US sports betting.

Spotlight on the new and novel

Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens kicks things off, emphasising the relative youth of US sports bett..

February 12, 2024

Barstool scores sports betting partnership with DraftKings

Barstool Sports has announced details of a new a multi-year sports betting partnership with DraftKings.

Under the agreement, DraftKings is now the official sports betting partner of Barstool. David Portnoy, the founder of Barstool, confirmed the news in a blog post shortly after Super Bowl LVIII ended last night (11 February).

The deal marks the second time that the two parties will be working together. DraftKings and Barstool were previously partnered on a marketing collaboration 10 years ago.

“I’m proud to announce Barstool has signed a multi-year monster deal with DraftKings,” Portnoy said. “We’re back to our roots. DraftKings is once again the exclusive sports betting partner of Barstool Sports. The more things change the more they stay the same.”

DraftKings is yet to comment on the announcement.

Barstool back with Portnoy

The deal comes just a few months after Portnoy took back the Barstool brand from Penn Entertainment. Penn purchased the brand in 2020 and was running spo..

February 12, 2024

More than 14,500 bets per second recorded ahead of Super Bowl

GeoComply has reported a 22.3% year-on-year increase in geolocation checks during Super Bowl LVIII weekend.

Last night (11 February), Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 to land their second consecutive Super Bowl. The game took place at Nevada’s Allegiant Stadium, with GeoComply carrying out checks on betting activity over the whole weekend.

Checks took place in US states where sports betting is legal, as well as the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico. This does not include Florida, where the Seminole tribe launched online betting with Hard Rock Bet in November last year.

GeoComply says the increase in geolocation checks is positive for legal betting in the US. It says the rise underscores a shift towards a regulated, taxed and safe betting environment.

Record pre-game activity

Other key data from GeoComply includes record pre-game activity. In the minutes before kick-off, 14.75 thousand transactions per second were reported, the highest on record and almo..

February 12, 2024

New York breaks online sports betting revenue record again in January

New York set a new online sports betting record for the second consecutive month during January, with operators generating $211.5m (£167.5m/€196.1m).

The January total was 12.3% ahead of the previous record of $188.3m set in December of 2023. It was also 41.6% more than the $149.4m reported in New York in January last year.

In terms of handle, players wagered a total of $1.96bn during the month. This was 9.5% up from $1.79bn in January 2023 but 3.9% less than December’s $2.04bn. It was also 6.7% behind the record $2.10bn reported in November last year.

Players spent more than $2.0bn between october 2023 and december

However, January marked the end of a three-month run of New York players spending more than $2.00bn betting on sports online. The state first surpassed the $2.00bn milestone in October 2023.

FanDuel clinches monthly revenue record in January

Looking at individual operators, Flutter Entertainment’s FanDuel remains the frontrunner by some distance.

In January, FanDuel..

February 12, 2024

Iowa sports betting handle and revenue rise in January

Sports betting handle and revenue in Iowa both increased year-on-year in January but fell on a month-on-month basis from December.

Total consumer spending in Iowa during January was $259.5m (£205.4m/€240.5m). This is 11.1% ahead of $233.6m in January 2023 and but 8.2% behind $282.7m in December.

Some $238.4m was spent wagering on sports online, while the remaining £21.1m was bet at retail sportsbooks.

revenue dipped 8.2% compared to december 2023

As for revenue, this amounted to $22.1m in January. The figure is 33.9% clear of $16.5m in January last year but 16.0% short of December’s $26.3m haul.

Online wagering accounted for $20.5m of all monthly revenue in Iowa, with retail’s share at $1.5m.

FanDuel and Diamond Jo Dubuque remains Iowa frontrunners

In terms of individual operators, FanDuel and Diamond Jo Dubuque remain the leaders in Iowa by some distance. For January, the partnership generated $8.0m from $68.0m in bets.

DraftKings and partner Wild Rose Jefferson followed in a ..

February 9, 2024

BetMGM signs exclusive sports betting partnership with X

BetMGM has announced a partnership with the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, becoming its exclusive live odds sports betting partner.

BetMGM, a joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts, labelled the move a “first-of-its-kind” partnership, with BetMGM’s odds and branding integrated onto the social media platform in the United States.

The visible odds will initially be just professional American football, although each of the major professional and college sports are expected to follow in the next couple of weeks.

BetMGM chief executive Adam Greenblatt said: “X is the centre of the sports world’s conversation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Being directly accessible within that forum is an unprecedented opportunity to expand our reach to a passionate and engaged audience.

Linda Yaccarino, X chief executive, added: “Sports never sleep on X and now with our strategic partnership with BetMGM, fans are practically in the front row. We’re bringing sports fans on ..

February 8, 2024

Bet365 extends US reach with Arizona launch

Bet365 has launched online sports betting in Arizona through a partnership with the Ak-Chin Indian community, extending its reach in the US to a ninth state.

Players in Arizona can now place pre-event and in-game wagers across a range of sports with Bet365. Additional offerings available to players in the Grand Canyon State include same game parlay, cash out and edit bet.

Bet365’s entrance into Arizona follows launches in Kentucky, Louisiana, Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Iowa, Colorado and, last month, Indiana.

The launch comes ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl LVIII, the end-of-season showpiece for American football’s NFL.

“Like Bet365, the Arizona sporting scene is never ordinary and boasts several professional and college teams, earth-shaking, fan-favourite moments and exhilarating championship events,” a Bet365 spokesperson said.

“Just in time for the big game, sports fans in the Grand Canyon State can enjoy the Bet365 experience. This includes market leading offerings like ..

February 7, 2024

Episode 27: Representative Dina Titus on the Gaming Caucus and GRIT

The World Series of Politics welcomes its very first congresswoman, with Representative Dina Titus joining Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann.

As representative for Nevada’s 1st congressional district and co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, she is a crucial industry advocate at federal level.

Tackling the excise tax

Representative Titus is also leading the charge to repeal the 0.25% federal excise tax on sports betting handle.

Dina Titus serves as US Representative for Nevada’s 1st congressional district

The money is deposited into the General Fund, rather than being used to tackle illegal gambling. Why not cut the tax and allow legal businesses to better compete against offshore operators by offering a more attractive product, she asks.

Listen to the World Series of Politics on Apple Podcasts

GRIT is not the solution

However the representative is an opponent of the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment Act (GRIT Act), which aims to reallocate that ta..

February 7, 2024

Fanatics replaces PointsBet in Iowa

Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) has announced the launch of its sportsbook in Iowa, replacing the PointsBet brand in the Hawkeye State.

Players in Iowa can now download and place bets on the Fanatics Sportsbook mobile app. Existing PointsBet customers’ usernames, passwords, account balances, rewards points and responsible gaming settings will automatically migrate to the Fanatics Sportsbook.

The existing PointsBet retail sportsbook at Catfish Bend Casino will also be rebranded as a Fanatics Sportsbook. This project will include installing new self-service betting kiosks from Suzohapp.

Iowa marks the 12th state for the Fanatics Sportsbook. It is also the latest phase of FBG phasing out the PointsBet brand across the US following its acquisition of PointsBet US in August 2023.

The Fanatics Sportsbook is also online in Colorado, Connecticut. Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, retail betting venues opera..

February 6, 2024

AGA: Super Bowl LVIII bets to reach $23.10bn in US

Americans will wager $23.10bn (£18.39bn/€21.52bn) on this weekend’s Super Bowl LVIII NFL end-of-season showpiece, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).

The San Francisco 49ers face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on 11 February at Nevada’s Allegiant Stadium. Ahead of the game, the AGA surveyed 2,204 adults to predict wagering activity.

Findings from the survey suggest $16.0bn more will be bet on Super Bowl LVIII than last year’s game. The AGA also said a record 67.8 million people are expected to place a wager, up 35.0% from Super Bowl LVII.

Of those expected to wager, 42.7 million will do so online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookmaker. This would be 41.0% more than in the previous year. Some 36.5 million plan to bet casually with friends or via a pool or squares contest, a rise of 32.0%.

As to where players will bet, 28.7 million, or 11.0% of all bettors, will do so with a licensed online sportsbook. The AGA said this shows Americans are continuing..

February 6, 2024

Nevada gambling revenue hits record $15.52bn in 2023

Gambling revenue in Nevada reached an all-time high of $15.52bn (£12.37bn/€14.46bn) in 2023, surpassing the previous annual record by 4.6%.

The 2023 total was comfortably ahead of the existing Nevada record of $14.84bn, which was set in 2022.

Breaking down the past year, land-based slots were the primary source of revenue. The $10.28bn generated in 2023 was 2.8% higher than in the previous year. Some $5.97bn of all slot revenue came from multi-denomination games, while penny slots drew $3.15bn.

Baccarat revenue falls just short of $1.50bn in 2023

Elsewhere, table, counter and card games revenue, which also includes sports betting, hit $5.24bn. This was 8.5% ahead of the $4.83bn posted in 2022.

Baccarat was responsible for $1.49bn of table, counter and card games revenue in Nevada in 2023. This was 28.2% higher year-on-year.

A further $1.33bn came from blackjack, up 0.8%, while craps revenue increased 4.6% to $467.5m and roulette 1.8% to $460.3m.

Nevada mobile sports betting reve..

February 2, 2024

Colorado smashes monthly betting handle as $716.4m wagered in December

Players in Colorado wagered a record $716.4m (£565.8m/€663.3m) on sports in December, beating the previous monthly high by more than $100.0m.

The December handle beat the existing record of $608.5m in November 2023 by 17.7%. It was also 38.3% higher than the $518.1m bet in Colorado in December of the previous year.

Some $712.0m of all wagers placed in December were via the internet. Retail venues took just $4.5m in bets in comparison.

Revenue down year-on-year

As for gross gaming revenue, this amounted to $40.5m for December, 41.6% more than the $28.6m generated in November.

colorado’s december gross gaming revenue was 41.6% higher than the previous month

However, despite taking far more bets than in December 2022, this was not reflected in year-on-year revenue comparison. Revenue was actually 0.1% less than the $40.9m in the previous year.

Online wagering accounted for almost all monthly revenue, with retail’s contribution at just $63,546.

As the National Football League seas..

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Monthly Archives: February 2024