Betting News Archives

April 10, 2024

Maryland sports handle jumps by 21.3% in March to $536.7m

Maryland celebrated one of its highest months on record, with a 21.3% increase in handle – taking the state to $4.07bn for the fiscal year to date

Maryland has reported a 21.3% increase in sports betting handle for March, reaching $536.7m (£427.7m/€499.6m) for the month.

Sports betting handle for Maryland in March was also up 39% year-on-year from the $386m in bets taken in the same month last year.

Sports betting: the numbers

Maryland handle for February was 18.8% behind January’s total of $545m despite the Super Bowl early in the month. However, that drop could also be attributed to the shorter month of February and the NBA All-Star break that ran between 16-21 February.

Mobile accounted for $522.1m in handle, 97.3% of the monthly total. Retail was responsible for $14.6m of the figure.

March’s handle total took Maryland to $4.07bn for the fiscal year to date. This was up 104.8% on the figure of $1.99bn from the same period of last year.

It was a good month for bettors in Mary..

April 10, 2024

Brazil betting regulation to be ready by end of July

Plans to implement fixed-odds betting in Brazil will take place in four stages, ending in July 2024, representing the first step towards a regulatory framework.

Brazil’s ministry of finance published the new ordinance in Brazil’s Official Gazette of the Union. It outlines how the regulations approved in Bill 3,626 will be implemented in the coming months, with an aim to be completely implemented by the end of July 2024.

The four-stage schedule is organised by which regulatory aspects take priority

The order established the Regulatory Policy of the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA), a ministry of finance body which will structure and publish the incoming regulation as per the guidelines.

The body will aim to provide clarity on the legal aspects of the regulation and prioritise the most pressing measures for enactment.

“This measure’s main objective is to systematically structure the regulatory agenda for fixed-odd betting in the country and represents a considerable advance in t..

April 10, 2024

Spain Supreme Court overturns gambling ad restrictions

Spain’s Supreme Court has partially upheld a Spanish Digital Gaming Association (Jdigital) appeal against Royal Decree 958/2020, with restrictions such as bans on celebrity advertising annulled.

The Spanish Royal Decree 958/2020 entered into force in November 2020. The regulations looked to reduce minors’ exposure to gambling advertising in Spain by banning aspects such as sponsorship deals with operators.

The measures faced backlash from the industry, with the Spanish Digital Gaming Association (Jdigital) launching an appeal against the Royal Decree. This appeal was rejected in November 2023 by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

In reviewing the law, however, the Supreme Court has now annulled several of the measures outlined in the Royal Decree, partially upholding the appeal.

As a result, multiple measures have been overturned, including article 13, which relates to targeting advertising towards new customers.

This means that Spanish operators will be allowed to market to playe..

April 10, 2024

France regulator ANJ notes “significant progress” in problem gambling prevention

L'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), the gambling regulator in France, has noted “significant progress” in reducing problem gambling in its review of operators’ action plans.

Since a 2019 ordinance, all operators in France must submit an annual plan to prevent “excessive” and underage gambling. The ANJ then reviews those action plans. The aim is to increase dialogue between operators and the regulator on the issue.

The ANJ observed that the market has made palpable progress on preventing excessive gambling. Actions have been taken to raise awareness, such as messages to players and dashboards.

Protection standards for identification and support for problem gamblers has increased. The number of at-risk players identified and then supported has risen. The majority of operators implementing improved support measures and excluding players who have been identified as most vulnerable to commercial rewards has also gone up.

ANJ: Problem gambling still too high in France

fdj submitte..

April 10, 2024

Record handle fails to halt Maine sports betting revenue decline in March

Sports betting revenue in Maine declined for the third consecutive month in March, despite players wagering a record $47.6m (£37.5m/€43.8m).

Monthly handle in March was 40.8% higher than the $33.8m spent in February. It was also the highest total since Maine opened its legal market in November last year.

However, adjusted gross receipts from sports wagering totalled $2.7m, down 41.9% from $4.3m in February. Incidentally, this was also the lowest monthly amount since Maine launched regulated betting.

Adjusted gross receipts is the remaining total after subtracting voided and cancelled bets, player winnings and federal excise tax from handle. Maine’s current record for this figure is $4.6m, set in November.

Tax revenue for the state in March amounted to $270,607. Players in Maine won a total of $44.6m.

DraftKings the clear leader in Maine

Maine currently has just two licensed sports wagering operators – DraftKings and Caesars. Both offer sports betting in the state via tribal partn..

April 10, 2024

Operator-branded platforms won’t have a home in legal California wagering

In Anaheim on Tuesday (9 April) a diverse group of tribal leaders said during an Indian Gaming Association panel that they feel an “urgency” but not a rush to get sports betting legalised in the state.

But don’t expect platforms like BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, ESPN BET, Fanatics Sportsbook or FanDuel to have operator-branded platforms in the state.

“I can tell you what they won’t be,” California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva said. “They won’t be operators in the state. If they want to be partners like the slot companies we work with, then we can do that. I think they are starting to come around.

“And I think urgency is the right word… but right now, while it’s urgent, we won’t be hurried and we will make decisions based on real data. We are going to make sure we stay united in purpose. Keep that urgency in the back of your mind, because we need to do it, but we need to do it right.”

FanDuel apology tour continues

Earlier in the day, Fa..

April 10, 2024

Detroit casino revenue edges up to $123.9m in March

The three commercial casinos in Detroit reported $123.9m (£97.7m/€114.2m) in revenue during March, a 3.9% increase on the previous year.

Revenue in March was clear of the $119.2m posted in the same month last year. March’s total was also 18.5% ahead of the $104.6m recorded in Detroit in February this year.

Some $122.3m of this amount came from slots and table games, up 3.8% year-on-year and 16.7% higher than February.

In comparison, retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) reached just $1.6m. However, this total was 13.2% ahead of last year and a stark improvement on the $120,142 loss reported in February.

MGM continues to lead the Detroit market

MGM Grand Detroit remains some way out in front in terms of market share in Detroit. The casino reported a 46.0% market share in March.

MGM posted $56.7m in table games and slots revenue, up 4.1%, while sports betting QAGR reached $327,857.

MotorCity Detroit placed second with a 31.0% share of the market. Revenue ..

April 10, 2024

Colorado sports betting revenue down despite handle increase in February

Sports betting revenue in Colorado declined 27.1% to $25.8m (£20.3m/€23.8m) in February, despite the Centennial State reporting an increase in player spending.

Revenue was down year-on-year from $35.4m in February 2023. Colorado’s monthly total was also 51.8% less than the $53.5m posted in January of this year.

Online betting generated $25.9m in gross gaming revenue in February. However, a $144,982 loss from retail betting pushed the monthly total down slightly.

This decline came despite handle in Colorado climbing 8.6% from $494.4m in February last year to $537.0m. However, this figure was 10.0% behind the $596.7m bet during January.

Online wagers for the month amounted to $533.5m, while a further $3.5m was bet at retail sportsbooks across the state.

Basketball the sport of choice for Colorado bettors

Breaking down the market sport by sport, basketball proved the most popular with Colorado players in February. Some $229.8m was bet on basketball during the month, accounting for s..

April 10, 2024

Howe: California sports betting will be done “with and through” state tribes

FanDuel CEO Amy Howe extended an olive branch to California tribes in a panel discussion Tuesday (9 April ) morning at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention, acknowledging that any future of California sports betting will be done “with and through” tribal operators.

Howe was joined onstage by CNIGA chairman James Siva as well as Jacob Mejia, director of public affairs for Pechanga Development Corporation, both of whom lauded the CEO for being willing to engage in such discussion after the two sides’ previous vitriol.

FanDuel, DraftKings and other commercial operators burned hundreds of millions in 2022 by lobbying for and promoting Proposition 27, an initiative that would have legalised online sports betting in California but was soundly rejected by state voters.

Tribes did offer their own initiative – Proposition 26 – that was also rejected by voters, however tribal leaders have maintained that the overall goal was to oppose and defeat Proposition 27 rather than promote and p..