Betting News Archives

August 25, 2023

Fanatics expands retail network with new Columbus sportsbook

Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) has announced the opening of its latest retail sportsbook in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio.

The venue is operating in partnership with National Hockey League franchise the Columbus Blue Jackets. The sportsbook is located near to the team’s Nationwide Arena home.

On-site facilities include four betting windows, 14 self-service betting kiosks, a giant LED video wall and 20 TV monitors. Customers can place bets on a range of major sports such as football, basketball, hockey and baseball.

“A great day to be a Buckeye at the Fanatics Sportsbook Columbus”

At a special opening event held yesterday (24 August), Ohio sports legends former NFL star Ryan Shazier and long-time Blue Jackets player RJ Umberger placed the ceremonial first bets at the new sportsbook.

The launch comes a month after FBG announced its partnership with the NHL team.

“It was a great day to be a Buckeye at the Fanatics Sportsbook Columbus,” FBG chief business officer Ari Borod ..

August 25, 2023

Entain CEE adds another piece to the puzzle with STS

Entain CEE’s £750m acquisition of STS Holdings gives Entain access to Central and Eastern Europe's (CEE) largest economy, Poland. For Mikolaj Cymerman, head of corporate development at Entain CEE, this is just the first step.

The deal for the Polish sportsbook market leader marks the second acquisition made by Entain CEE, a joint venture between Entain and investment management company Emma Capital.

It’s also a major milestone for the two parties. Getting a foot in the door will allow Entain to make serious inroads in the CEE market, one already somewhat carved out by its first acquisition – of Croatia’s SuperSport – last year.

Mikolaj cymerman, head of corporate development, Entain CEE

“Once SuperSport happened, people were thinking ‘OK, so they’ve bought SuperSport and that’s it’,” Cymerman explains. “But now with STS, this kind of structure starts to unravel and people are seeing that this wasn’t a one-trick pony.”

It was this first acquisition that set the wheels in motio..

August 23, 2023

Dazn Bet granted German sports betting licence

Online sports betting and casino operator Dazn Bet has been authorised to offer sports betting in Germany.

Dazn Bet is owned by sports media streaming service Dazn. It was first formed in April 2022, as part of a partnership with Pragmatic Gaming. It was added to the sports betting section of Germany’s white list.

The operator joins the likes of Jackpot50, 888 and Tipico on the list.

Dazn Bet, which is registered in Malta, will operate under the Daznbet.de domain.

The white list came about with the establishment of Germany’s gambling regulator, Gemeinsamen Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (GGL). The GGL was brought forth by Germany’s Fourth State Treaty on Gambling (GlüNeuRStv), which came into force in July 2021.

Germany’s gambling regulator

The GGL was established in July 2022. It officially took over all tasks from its predecessor, the Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office, in January 2023.

Its responsibilities range from issuing licences to combatting illegal gambling in..

August 23, 2023

Michigan online gambling revenue tops $176m in July

Combined online sports betting and casino revenue in Michigan increased 18.8% year-on-year to $176.1m (£138.8m/€162.7m) in July, while the state also reported a month-on-month rise.

Gross receipts were comfortably ahead of $148.2m in July 2022 and also 4.0% more than $169.3m in June this year. The total also halted three consecutive months of decline in Michigan.

Online casino gaming gross receipts reached $153.6m in July, up 21.3% on last year and 1.7% ahead of June’s total.

Gross sports betting receipts were 4.2% higher year-on-year at $22.5m and 23.0% more than in June. This was despite handle falling 10.8% from $225.0m in July 2022 to $200.8m, with spend also 11.9% lower than in June.

July adjusted gross receipts up 17.8%

In terms of adjusted gross receipts, which account for promotional spending, Michigan also reported growth.

Combined igaming and sports betting adjusted gross receipts amounted to $154.6m. This was 17.8% ahead of last year and 5.8% higher than June’s total…

August 23, 2023

Sportradar scores betting data deal with US Soccer

Sportradar has entered into a global partnership with US Soccer, the national governing body for the sport, covering exclusive rights to betting data and content distribution.

Under the deal, Sportradar becomes US Soccer’s official betting data partner. Sportradar will have exclusive rights to collect, licence and distribute the federation’s official betting and media data.

The agreement enables Sportradar to provide the data to its global network of more than 900 regulated betting operators.

Sportradar also takes exclusive distribution rights for the live AV streaming of US Soccer competitions for betting purposes. This will only be available outside of the US.

The deal covers more than 111 matches per year across US men’s and women’s national team competitions.

Sportradar and US Soccer will also collaborate on the development of bespoke data-driven solutions. This is with the aim of deepening existing fan relationships, attracting and engaging new supporters and increasing oppo..

August 23, 2023

Kentucky approves online and retail sports betting licences

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has voted to approve sports betting licences for a number of online and retail operators, ahead of the state opening its legal market next month.

Temporary licences cover up to one year of operation in Kentucky, with holders to be continuously reviewed during the period. Licences were approved for sports wagering operators and service providers at a meeting yesterday (22 August).

Kentucky is due to launch regulated retail sports wagering on 7 September, with online to follow on 28 September. Pre-registration for online accounts will open next week.

The initial seven online operators that applied earlier this month all secured a service provider licence. Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings, FanDuel and Penn Sports Interactive all picked up licences.

Fanatics, which did not appear on the original list, was also approved to launch online sports betting in Kentucky. In addition, the KHRC issued a service provider licence to Kambi, alt..

August 22, 2023

CDI closes deal for historical racing specialist Exacta

Horse racing operator Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has closed its acquisition of historical horse racing provider Exacta Systems.

The $250m deal allows Churchill Downs to realise significant and immediate synergies, the operator explained.

Its tracks in Virginia, Colonial Downs and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, already house Exacta historical racing machines. This means it takes charge of the full value chain.

More historical horse racing machines (HHRMs) will be rolled out across its other properties.

Churchill Downs flexes B2B muscle through acquisition

Exacta will fold into CDI’s B2B subsidiary TwinSpires, providing content to its current third-party clients in Kentucky, Wyoming and New Hampshire.

This arm, formerly CDI’s operating business repurposed as a B2B proposition, already powers DraftKings’ horse racing app DK Horse.

August 22, 2023

Commission-free exchange Novig raises $6.4m in pre-seed round

Commission-free sports betting exchange Novig has raised $6.4m (£5.0m/€5.9m) in a pre-seed funding round from a number of well-known tech investors.

New York-based firm Lux Capital led the investment round into Novig, with participation from several prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

These include famous start-up accelerator Y Combinator, the inventor of the Lisp programming language Paul Graham and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi. Also investing is former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana.

Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky said the business was “honoured” to have the support of the tech investors.

novig ceo jacob fortinsky

“Our vision is clear: to reshape the sports betting landscape that has long favoured exploitation over innovation and to usher in an era of integrity, transparency and empowerment,” he added. “Together, we’re rewriting the rules and putting the power back in the hands of bettors.”

Novig plans October launch date

Novig completed the investment r..

August 22, 2023

Delaware igaming wagers continue to decline in July

Delaware reported year-on-year declines across online casino and sports betting spend in July, while player wagers on igaming in the state fell to a calendar-year low of $36.4m.

The total amount wagered in July was 7.6% lower than wagers in July 2022 and also 4.0% less than in June this year.

Players spent $24.6m playing online video lottery games and a further $11.8m on internet table games.

Online casino revenue amounted to $1.2m in July. This was 5.6% behind July last year but 7.3% higher than June 2023.

Video lottery games generated $915,640 in revenue and table games $221,187. The other $44,861 came from poker rake and fees.

Delaware Park took top spot in the igaming market with $475,192 in revenue from $16.9m in bets. Bally’s Dover was second on $363,047 from $9.8m, then Harrington Raceway with $343,449 from $9.7m.

Sports betting revenue and wagers down

Looking at sports betting, monthly handle for the market reached $2.3m. This was down 14.8% from $2.7m last year and 23.3..

August 22, 2023

College betting lands Fox Bet with $80,000 New Jersey penalty

New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has ordered Fox Bet to pay an $80,000 fine (£62,592/€73,371) for accepting bets on college basketball games taking place in the state.

The DGE filed several complaints against Fox Bet, the sports betting joint venture between Flutter Entertainment and Fox Corporation, for violating the ban on betting on college teams based in the state.

Offences stretch back to 2021, starting with the NCAA basketball game between New Jersey’s Rutgers University and Northwestern University on 13 February 2021. Markets on another game featuring Monmouth University in November that year were also spotted by the regulator.

Fox Bet then admitted two further breaches, for games involving Fairleigh Dickinson and Seton Hall University, in December 2021 and January 2022 respectively.

This amounts to a breach of the New Jersey Casino Control Act, DGE executive director David Rebuck said, ordering the business to pay $80,000 to settle the case.

News of the..

August 22, 2023

How will ESPN Bet carve out its place in the industry?

The stakes are high for ESPN's long-awaited foray into sports betting. Vice president of sports betting Mike Morrison believes the broadcasting behemoth will upend the established industry order.

“There was an inevitability about this,” ESPN’s Mike Morrison says of the sports giant’s move into betting.

Partnering Penn Entertainment to launch ESPN Bet brought years of speculation – and the operator’s partnership with Barstool Sports – to a close. This was momentous at every level.

First, the announcement came as a surprise. Penn’s sportsbook now connects with a vast audience, potentially catapulting the operator’s interactive business to the top tier of operators.

To the general news connoisseur, beloved multimedia behemoth the Walt Disney Company – owner of ESPN – entered the sports betting race.

ESPN Bet: A deal five years in the making

Sports betting is a natural extension for ESPN and speculation over deals with DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment was rife.

Morrison say..

August 22, 2023

Kentucky opens online betting pre-registration as launch nears

Players in Kentucky can pre-register for online sports wagering from 28 August, ahead of the regulated market launching next month.

Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, announced the initiative in his approved timetable for the rollout of legal betting.

Retail betting is going live on 7 September, with online following on 28 September. Next week’s pre-registration launch means players can sign up for an account a month ahead of the online market opening.

“The countdown is on; we are just three weeks away from sports wagering in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “We are ready to deliver the quality entertainment experience Kentuckians asked for. We’ll also bring in money to support pensions and free up funds to build a better Kentucky.”

Vote due on Kentucky licence applications

The announcement comes as the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) meets later today (22 August) to vote on licence applications.

Earlier this month, Bet365, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings and Penn Spo..

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