Betting News Archives

June 8, 2023

North Carolina sports betting bill voted through by house

North Carolina has moved a step forward in its journey to sports betting legalisation after the state’s house voted in favour of a bill that would regulate this form of gambling.

The bill will now be passed to North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, who is expected to sign it into law.

This comes after two unsuccessful attempts at sports betting legalisation were passed before the end of the legislative session in June last year, and did not see any further progress.

Read the full story on iGB North America

June 8, 2023

GB online gross gambling yield reaches £1.30bn in Q4

Online gross gambling yield (GGY) in Great Britain increased 5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter to £1.30bn (€1.51bn/$1.62bn), while GGY for the land-based sector also improved.

The latest gambling behaviour report released by the Gambling Commission covered activity in January, February and March 2023, a period that included the Cheltenham Festival horse racing event.

The Commission said the increase in online GGY was primarily driven by growth in real event betting and slots. The regulator also noted a rise in the total number of bets and spins, as well as average monthly active accounts.

Online real event betting was up almost 13% to £555m, with the number of bets 19% higher and average monthly active accounts 9% up year-on-year. The Commission put this down to the popularity of the Cheltenham Festival and player retention from the 2022 Fifa World Cup late last year.

Meanwhile, online slots GGY edged up 2% to £525m, helped by a 9% rise in the number of spins to 19.5 billion an..

June 7, 2023

Sky Bet and EFL agree five-year partnership extension

The English Football League (EFL) and Sky Bet have agreed to a record five-year partnership extension, wherein Sky Bet will remain as the League's title partner until the end of the 2028-29 season.

The extension builds on a decade-long partnership. It includes a new rights fee from Sky Bet, which is up by 50%. The aim is for this to produce “significant revenues for EFL clubs” and support the League’s goal to make all clubs “financial sustainable”.

In addition, Sky Bet will invest £1m per season and £6m in total into an EFL-held Community Fund, which will be distributed into communities at EFL club locations throughout England and Wales.

The funding will be used to deliver initiatives operated by the EFL Trust and the network of club community organisations.

Trevor Birch, EFL chief executive, said that the increased funding enforces the EFL and Sky Bet’s focus on community investment.

“We have consistently seen our partnership evolve to move with the times and, with community..

June 7, 2023

IBIA signs betting integrity deal with Portuguese regulator

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and the Portuguese Online Betting and Gambling Association (APAJO) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Under the agreement, the IBIA and APAJO will work together on issues related to betting and sports integrity, as well as a safe and sustainable online sports betting environment.

The two associations will discuss areas of cooperation and potential shared projects, with the aim of pooling their expertise on a range of activities.

“APAJO is strongly invested in building and maintaining the most beneficial environment for Portuguese consumers and operators and sports integrity is definitively a very important part of this overarching goal,” APAJO executive committee president Ricardo Domingues said.

“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with IBIA, whose extensive work and knowledge in this domain will surely be extremely valuable. We’ll look forward to making our own contribution at the international lev..

June 7, 2023

Rio’s Loterj issues first sports betting tender in Brazil

The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) has become the first state lottery in Brazil to issue a tender for sports betting.

Awarded to São Paulo-based Rede Loto, the five-year tender permits the operator to offer online sports wagering in the country.

Loterj said that the new tender is worth R$5.0m (£819,520/€952,405/US$1.0m).

“Since I took over the management in July last year, I had the objective of publishing the accreditation notice for sports betting; we achieved more than that,” municipality president Hazenclever Lopes Cançado said.

“We have the first company accredited and ready to operate in our country. I appreciate the unconditional support of the governor, Cláudio Castro, and the secretary of the civil house, Nicola Miccione, who believed in the project.”

Loterj added that the approval should encourage that other interested parties to register and also gain accreditation for sports betting.

Provisional measure

The tender comes ahead of the expected federal regulatio..

June 7, 2023

Adam Greenblatt outlines BetMGM’s path to profitability

The US sports betting and igaming market is maturing and at BetMGM Adam Greenblatt believes product is the battleground where the leaders will be decided for the market’s next phase.

Adam Greenblatt has led BetMGM, the joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts since its formation in 2018. It is on track to achieve profitability in the second half of the year.

BetMGM is live in 20 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico and Ontario in Canada. Since 2018, it could be seen as the only business to consistently keep pace with DraftKings and FanDuel.

It didn’t have the database of the legacy daily fantasy giants. But thanks to the MGM Resorts connection (and without M&A along the way), it’s established as a top tier brand in the US.

Other brands with designs on a top tier position such as Caesars, Bally’s, Penn National and 888, have undergone significant change. They’ve acquired to grow, onboarded new tech or sought out new partners.

This may help each business close the..

June 6, 2023

Bet365 launches in Iowa

Bet365 has officially launched in Iowa through a multi-year partnership with Casino Queen Marquette.

This is the latest state launch for the operator, following its entries into Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey and Colorado.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome the Hawkeye State to Bet365,” said a spokesperson from Bet365. “From Sioux City to Marquette and everywhere in between, Iowans will now have access to our market-leading sportsbook product.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

June 6, 2023

Sorare: From pressure point to new regulations

Sorare has updated its operating model in France, and gambling regulator ANJ is yet to confirm whether it meets its regulatory criteria, writes Jake Pollard. However, news that the French government is working to pass new regulations for Web3 “pioneers” shows how important the sector is to the French authorities.

In a statement posted on Medium, Sorare said it had updated its product roadmap as a “temporary solution”.

This decision was taken in accordance with “the French National Gaming Authority [l’Autorité National des Jeux (ANJ)] that creates an optional alternative method of entry for users based in France only”.

Essentially, Sorare has increased free-play access to its fantasy sports leagues for players in France. Even if the French language version of the company’s statement, unlike the English text, mentioned that the new method of entry would be available to players “without blockchain cards”.

A marker of regulatory pressure

Overall, the move by Sorare is a marker of t..

June 5, 2023

Episode 17: More on Brazil plus US sports betting updates

Brendan Bussmann and Brandt Iden talk about the latest developments in US sports betting legislation, as well as more from Brazil, in episode 17 of the World Series of Politics.

We start by revisiting Brazil sports betting, the focus of our last episode, as the regulatory process undergoes yet more evolutions.

From a provisional measure to a bill in Brazil

Brazil sports betting looked set to pass through a provisional measure (PM) which Hugo Baumgartner outlined in episode 16.

However that PM is likely to be turned into a bill, which sets up even more legislative hurdles. Other forms of gambling such as integrated resorts may be incorporated into the process.

While this could expand the market, it could also result in the bill failing to pass. Brendan says “it’s clear as mud” as to what’s likely to happen now. There’s plenty more to discuss in a future episode of the World Series of Politics.

More pain for Missouri sports betting

Next we pivot to US sports betting, where Misso..