Betting News Archives

November 9, 2022

Flutter revenue up 31% in Q3 as US becomes largest market

Flutter Entertainment forecast a 31% year-on-year increase in revenue for the third quarter of its 2022 financial year, primarily due to growth within its US and international businesses.

In a trading update, Flutter said that revenue for the three months to the end of September is expected to amount to £1.89bn (€2.17bn/$2.18bn), which would be a significant increase from £1.44bn in the corresponding period last year.

On a constant currency basis, revenue is forecast to increase by 82%.

Flutter said it expects this to be driven by growth within the US, where its revenue is forecast to rise 114% year-on-year, or 82% on a constant currency basis, to $598m, making it Flutter’s largest market.

This, the group said, was down to a 106% rise in sports revenue – comprising sportsbook, exchange, daily fantasy sports, advance deposit wagering and B2B product verticals – driven by customer acquisition across existing states as the new NFL season began.

US igaming revenue is also expected t..

November 8, 2022

Gambling Commission lifts Lebom suspension after Gamstop integration

The Gambling Commission (GC) has lifted football prediction and betting operator Lebom Limited’s licence suspension after the company integrated with self-exclusion scheme Gamstop.

Lebom had its licence suspended on 3 November after failing to integrate with Gamstop’s self-exclusion platform. Since March 2020, It has been a mandatory requirement for operators to integrate with the service and to refuse custom to registered participants.

“Gamstop provides a crucial service for people who feel they are suffering gambling harm,” said Gambling Commission executive director of operations Kay Roberts. “It is simply unacceptable for any online operator to fail to integrate with the scheme.”

Following Lebom’s failure to register with Gamstop, the the Gambling Commission undertook a review of the business’ licence under section 116 of the 2005 Gambling Act. While it is unclear whether this process has completed, the lifting of the suspension is certainly a step forward for the business as it..

November 8, 2022

Fandex receives patent for fantasy sports stock exchange

Free to-play fantasy sports stock exchange Fandex has taken a step forward towards securing its intellectual property, announcing today that it has received a US patent for its platform.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted US patent No 11,436,674 to the fantasy business which covers certain aspects of the company’s fantasy sports team and player stock exchange.

“This is a huge moment for us here at Fandex as our team has worked hard since 2017 to create this patented platform and we look forward to speaking with the market leaders in igaming to discuss licensing and other partnerships” said Matt D’Alessandro, CEO of Fandex. “The patent not only adds to our intellectual property portfolio covering our novel fantasy sports exchange, but it also strengthens our competitive advantage.”

D’Alessandro outlined the business’ future IP strategy.

“We have additional patents pending as part of our IP protection strategy, and we will continue our innovation efforts to..

November 8, 2022

Bayes Esports enters Canada with Bet365 deal

Esports live data supplier Bayes Esports is entering the Canadian market through an extension of its deal with Bet365.

Canada has just recently opened its doors to single-event sports betting, since a ban was lifted in August 2022, while Ontario became the first Canadian province to end its igaming monopoly in April.

Bet365 is one of 49 brands to receive a licence to launch in Ontario.

“These past couple of months have been amazing for us,” Amir Mirzaee, COO and managing director of Bayes Esports, said. “We have expanded to the US, launched an innovative odds integration platform that will revolutionise sports betting in BODEX, and strengthened our management team with some of the brightest minds from across various different industries.

“To now also be registered in Ontario and to extend our partnership with Bet365 accordingly feels like the cherry on top. I am certain other provinces will follow Ontario’s example and we will be able to offer live esports data to sportsbooks all a..

November 8, 2022

Sports betting on ballot in California as midterms begin

Today, Californians will vote on the duelling sports betting ballot measures, Proposition 26 and Proposition 27, as polls open for the 2022 US midterm elections.

Voting has indeed already begun, as every county in the Golden State has early voting and drop-off locations. Backed by California’s 78 gaming tribes, Proposition 26 is a retail-first proposal that would legalise sports wagering at tribal casinos and licensed horse racing tracks – imposing a 10% tax on the profits derived from such activities.

This compares with the commercial-sector-supported Proposition 27, which would permit online sports betting. Under the text of the proposed law, such agreements would cost $100m (£87.2m/€100m) – limiting access to the market from all but the largest operators.

Barring a major upset, both proposals are set to fail according to polling from the Berkeley Institute of Government Studies (IGS). When questioned, 31% of respondents supported Prop 26, with 42% opposed; support for Prop 27 wa..

November 7, 2022

Laila Mintas announces new venture, PlayEngine

Former PlayUp US chief executive Laila Mintas has co-founded a new venture, PlayEngine, and joined as chief executive.

The new business is a “microservices-based” B2B sports betting and igaming platform. The business said that it will “provide its customers with a tailor-made, individual solution that is reliable, scalable, fast and secure”.

Its sportsbook offering will allow clients to accept payments from cryptocurrency as well as fiat money and will include a “travelling wallet” to allow players to use the same wallet in different jurisdictions.

PlayEngine was initially created through the Berkeley Skydeck startup incubator.

“I am very excited about being a co-founder and the CEO of PlayEngine,” Laila Mintas said. “The sports betting and igaming market is just too competitive to work off legacy tech.

“There is a huge need for agile and modern technology and I truly believe that we have the most automated and data-driven product in the market, which will enable the sportsbettin..

November 7, 2022

The 2022 US midterm elections: What we are watching

As the US goes to the polls for the midterm elections, there are plenty of races that could affect the progress of sports betting regulation and gaming expansion. Paul Girvan picks out the states to watch.

The 2022 US midterm elections, while important in so many ways, contain few issues directly related to gambling regulation.

Rather, they represent an opportunity to extract a thorn that has irritated the body politic and coloured the consideration and adoption of more gaming legislation, whether it be sports betting legislation or casino regulation.

Only in two states does gaming appear directly, or indirectly, on the ballot: California and Georgia.

California

In California, a statewide ballot measures voter approval for constitutional changes, through Propositions 26 and 27.

Polling suggests both the tribal and commercial sports betting ballot measures are doomed to fail.

Prop 26 permits Native American casinos and four..

November 7, 2022

Analysts divided on potential value of FanDuel IPO after court ruling

Analysts are divided on the value that may come from a potential FanDuel IPO, after a court ruling left the hopes of a potential spin-off for the US market leader up in the air.

The reactions come following a New York court ruling that media giant Fox must pay $4.16bn if it wishes to acquire a 18.6% stake in FanDuel, which is owned by Flutter Entertainment

While the court ruling settled the question of the value of the stake that Fox had the option to buy, it left the question of a FanDuel spin-off up in the air until next year. The tribunal will determine early next year the conditions under which Fox may be able to participate in a FanDuel IPO, which Flutter had raised the prospect of before the legal dispute began.

Analysts at Barclays said that this factor was “dampening the enthusiasm” of the main ruling.

“The path to a FanDuel IPO is not yet clear with Fox stating that ‘Flutter cannot pursue an IPO for FanDuel without Fox’s consent or approval from the arbitrator’,” Barclays ..

November 7, 2022

Singapore Pools outlines digital plans as revenue beats pre-pandemic total

State-owned gaming monopoly Singapore Pools’ 2021-22 revenue levels rebounded to 20% above the pre-pandemic total, growing to S$10.1bn ($7.2bn/£6.3bn/€7.2bn) from S$8.4bn for the 2018-19 period, the last pre-Covid data set.

According to the operator, growth in sports betting primarily drove the revenue increases. Singapore Pools added five new South American football leagues to its offering, and the resumption of delayed events – notably 2021’s UEFA Euro 2020 – led to a one-time boost in revenue.

Lottery revenue also rebounded past its pre-pandemic level, but horse race betting remained below trend as a result of the continuance of Covid-19 prevention measures in the betting venues.

The money raised via betting duties and taxes amounted to S$2.1bn, which was a 30% increase from the S$1.6bn raised the previous year, but has not yet significantly increased past the pre-pandemic norm.

The surplus paid to the Tote Board was a record S$464m compared to S$456 in 2019-20 and S$455m in 20..