Betting News Archives

March 15, 2023

US growth drives 30% revenue rise in Sportradar FY22

Sportradar reported a 30% rise in revenue from €561.2m (£490.1m/$591.2m) in 2021 to €730.2m in its full-year 2022 financial report, driven by 78% growth in the US, as well as 26% growth from its international operations.

The company’s reported revenue beat its annual projected outlook range of €718m to €723m. US revenue stood at €127m for the year, as opposed to the €71.7m the business reported in 2021. This compares with the 25.8% rise in its international betting segment which grew from €309.4m to €389.1m from 2021 to 2022.

From this revenue, the business announced adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €125.8m, a 23% increase from the €102.0m the company achieved in 2021.

The business hailed the strong results across all its key performance metrics. CEO Carsten Koerl said he was “very pleased” with the company’s results, driven by what he described as “exceptional execution”.

“We saw excellent performance across all of our key perfo..

March 15, 2023

OPAP selects OpenBet to power online sportsbook

Sports betting solutions provider OpenBet has agreed a long-term deal to power the online sportsbook of Greek gambling group OPAP.

Under the agreement, OpenBet will deliver its full suite of betting technology, trading and sports content to OPAP via SportCast.

The deal marks OpenBet’s first partnership in the Greek market and its tenth with a member of the World Lottery Association (WLA).

OPAP, which is due to publish 2022 financial year results later today (15 March), operates as part of the Allwyn Group.

“At OPAP, we always look to offer our customers the highest quality of innovative and entertaining gaming products,” OPAP chief executive, Jan Karas, said. “Therefore, we are very pleased to be partnering with OpenBet and we are looking forward to leveraging their expertise and high-end technology solutions, in order to upgrade customer experience and take our online sports betting activities to new levels.”

OpenBet group chief executive Jordan Levin added: “We’re delighted to h..

March 15, 2023

ITV extends free-to-air broadcast deal for British horse racing

British commercial broadcaster ITV has extended a deal to continue showing free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing until the end of 2026.

The three-year deal covers major events such as the Grand National, Royal Ascot, the Derby and the Cheltenham Festival, the 2023 edition of which is taking place this week and will be broadcast on ITV.

ITV began its free-to-air coverage of British racing in 2017, with races shown across both its ITV1 primary channel, ITV4 and ITVx.

“This deal will take us to a decade of racing on ITV and we’re delighted to be able to continue to bring to viewers well over 100 days of live coverage of this wonderful sport, including some of the most enjoyable, storied and thrilling events of each year,” ITV’s director of sport Niall Sloane said.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Racecourse Media Group and our other partners within racing to bring audiences the very best racing has to offer in the coming years.”

Racecourse Media Group chief executive, M..

March 14, 2023

World Series of Politics Episode 13: Governor Rick Perry on Texas sports betting

Former secretary of the environment and Texas’ longest-serving governor, Rick Perry, joins Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann on the World Series of Politics.

Governor Perry believes legislation from Senator Lois Kolkhorst and Representative Jeff Leach, that paves the way for a public vote on sports betting regulation, is the best way to bring legal wagering to the Lone Star State.

Listen to the World Series of Politics on Apple Podcasts

About Rick Perry:

Rick Perry is a former United States secretary of energy, serving under US president Donald Trump from March 2017 to December 2019.

Governor Perry is a strong advocate for legal sports betting in texas

As the fourteenth secretary of energy, Perry led an agency tasked with overseeing the United States’ energy supply, nuclear defense capacity, and the 17 national laboratories, home to many of the country’s best scientists.

Prior to joining the administration as secretary of energy, Perry served as the 47th governor of Texas. As gov..

March 14, 2023

Arizona sports wagering handle reaches $572.5m in December

Consumers in Arizona spent $572.5m betting on sports in December of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 14.7%.

The monthly figure was comfortably higher than the $499.2m bet during the same month in 2021, but 7.2% behind the $616.9m wagered in November 2022.

Mobile betting accounted for $566.5m of all bets placed in December, while a further $5.0m was spent at retail sportsbooks in the state.

Read the full story on iGB North America

March 14, 2023

New York mobile sports betting handle declines in February

Mobile sports betting handle in New York fell year-on-year in February, while both spending and revenue were also lower than the record figures posted in January.

Consumer spending on sports betting in February amounted to $1.47bn, down 3.9% from $1.54bn in the same month last year and also 17.9% behind the record $1.79n wagered in January 2023.

In terms of gross gaming revenue from mobile betting, this reached $108.3m in February, a 31.4% increase from $82.4m last year but 27.5% shy of the record $149.4m generated in January of this year.

Read the full story on iGB North America

March 14, 2023

Gambling gears up for Cheltenham amid rising concerns over affordability

Ahead of the Cheltenham Festival, industry experts and data reveal consumer spend is set to spike, although affordability checks may impact one of the most anticipated events in horse racing.

Cheltenham begins today (14 March) and ends on Friday 17 March and, while betting volumes are set to rise, the festival will play out amid rising concerns about affordability checks on consumers.

A study conducted by YouGov – which was commissioned by the affiliate Online Betting Guide (OLBG) – surveyed a total of 1,007 gamblers in the UK between 23 February and 2 March.

It found that 11% of punters are gearing up to gambling more on Cheltenham this year than they did last year, compared to 10% who said they were planning to gamble less than they did at Cheltenham 2022.

A total of 23% said they were planning on gambling around the same amount on the event year-on-year.

In addition, 6% of those surveyed said they did not bet on Cheltenham last year but planned to do so this year, while 50% sai..

March 14, 2023

Playtech acquires Hard Rock Digital stake in partnership deal

Playtech has purchased a minority equity ownership stake in Hard Rock Digital (HRD), the interactive gaming and sports betting division of Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming, as part of a wider deal between the two businesses.

Playtech will pay $85.0m (£69.8m/€79.5m) for a low, single-digit percentage stake in HRD, with proceeds from the investment to fund HRD’s global expansion.

Hard Rock’s online and retail sports betting is currently operated in select US states including Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. It aims to extend its online sportsbook and igaming offerings to select international markets in the coming years.

Global supply deal

As part of the wider arrangement with Playtech, HRD will license a range of the developer’s technology solutions and igaming content.

In the US and Canada, HRD’s customers will be able to play a selection of Playtech’s slots, random number generator and live dealer table games through HRD’s existing pr..

March 13, 2023

Sportradar secures ATP betting and streaming rights

Sportradar, the sports tech company and subsidiary of Sportradar Group AG, has been successfully chosen as the bidder for the global Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) betting and streaming rights.

After a comprehensive request for proposal (RFP) process by Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), the streaming rights will commence in 2024 and last for a six-year cycle.

The RFP process kicked off in early 2023 as the TDI reviewed five different bidders’ proposals across multiple rounds.

This is not Sportradar’s first exposure to ATP. The company has supplied official ATP Tour and Challenger Tour secondary data feeds since the beginning of 2022.

Tennis Data Innovations CEO, David Lampitt, commented on Sportradar’s success: “We are grateful to all the bidders who showed such commitment to our content throughout the selection process.

“Sportradar has been chosen as the best partner to deliver against our growth ambitions due to their combination of product capabilities, global reac..