Consumers in Louisiana wagered a record $245.2m on sports in January, although revenue in the market declined month-on-month.
The total spent by players was 505.4% up from $40.5m in January 2022, although the state’s legal online betting market only opened towards the end of that month.
The monthly handle was also 12.1% higher than in December 2022 and 4.9% ahead of the previous record of $233.7m set in November.
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In his latest column, Tom Waterhouse of Waterhouse VC discusses the wagering experience in the US, as well as how Flutter is integrating itself into the states.
On a recent trip to the US, we spoke with many US bettors who are incredibly frustrated with both the US online wagering experience and the US taxation system (regarding the treatment of winnings).
Due to KYC/AML requirements, it is very cumbersome to set up and fund an online betting account. We do not envision this changing any time soon – if anything, this initial barrier to entry is likely to become more challenging for consumers.
Furthermore, according to the IRS’ website, wagering winnings are fully taxable and a bettor must report winnings as income on their tax return. Gambling spans lotteries, raffles, horse races, online sports betting and igaming, and land-based sports betting and casinos.
An operator is required to issue bettors with a “Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings” if they receive certain gambling winni..
Caesars Entertainment has announced that the Caesars Sportsbook app is live in Massachusetts from today (22 February), in anticipation of the launch of online sports betting in the state.
On 31 January, retail sports betting became legal in the state of Massachusetts. However, online sports betting is not expected to go live until next month.
In advance of the March launch, the Caesars Sportsbook app has been made available to download. From today, bettors can register and make deposits in order to access early sign-up offers.
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Betsson has announced the launch of its Betsafe brand in Ontario after it secured approval for operator and supplier licences in the Canadian province.
The B2C Betsafe offering in Ontario will include online casino and sports betting, with the brand to run on the Strive Gaming platform, which is part-owned by Betsson.
Players in the province will be able to gamble with Betsafe via native mobile apps and on the ot.betsafe.com local website.
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Michigan reported $187.3m in internet gaming revenue for January, a decrease of 7.1% from December, while also reporting record online gaming gross receipts for the fourth consecutive month.
The internet gaming revenue consists of combined online gaming and sports betting revenues for the month.
December’s total revenue was $201.6m.
Read the full story on iGB North America
Sports wagering revenue and handle in Mississippi both declined year-on-year in January, amid ongoing efforts to legalise online betting in the state.
Player spending for the month amounted to $57.2m, down 14.0% from $66.5m in the same month last year and also 23.1% behind the $74.4m wagered in December 2022.
Turning to revenue, this reached $5.1m during January, representing a 21.5% decline from $6.5m in the corresponding month in 2022 and a 54.9% drop from $11.3m in the final month of last year.
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William Hill has been named as the official betting partner of the Grand National in a three-year deal.
As well as being the official betting partner, the deal will see William Hill named as the sponsor of three races held at the Aintree racetrack during the Grand National.
The festival runs from 13-15 April.
The three races are the Grade 1 William Hill Aintree Hurdle on 13 April, the William Hill Handicap Hurdle on 14 April and the Grade 3 William Hill Handicap Chase on 15 April.
Non-runner, money-back
william hill will be offering bets with non-runner, money-back terms
Daryl West, William Hill’s head of sponsorship, social and PR said the company was “delighted” to be involved as the event’s official betting partner for the next three years.
“The Grand National Festival at Aintree is one of the pinnacles of the National Hunt calendar and we are delighted to be involved as the official betting partner for the next three years,” he said.
“Horseracing is a vital part of our heri..
Italy's igaming revenue in November dipped slightly to €322.5m in the lead-up to the Fifa World Cup, down from October’s revenue of €331.1m.
Since pushing past the €300m barrier in September 2022, Italy’s igaming revenue has remained relatively stable. Although November’s revenue of €322.5m does represent a 2.6% decline month-on-month, this is still a 6.0% increase year-on-year. The decline was mostly consistent across all verticals, although sports betting’s decline of 4.3% was the biggest drop for November, with revenue of €126.3m.
However, online sports betting still fared better than retail sports betting, which suffered a decline of 16.4% month-on-month, which is a decrease in revenue from €88.6m in October to €74.1m in November.
In contrast to the betting figures, casino revenues only dropped by 2.1% from €180.0m to €176.1m.
The market shares of online casino operators by GGR remained relatively stable in November, with Eurobet being the biggest mover as it was unable to..
Sports betting supplier Kambi Group has entered into a retail sportsbook partnership with del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York.
Under the deal, Kambi will provide the Churchill Downs Incorporated-operated casino with an on-property sportsbook solution.
The new sportsbook will complement the property’s casino gaming floor, which features more than 1,000 square feet of LED video screens.
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MyRacehorse, a micro-share horse racing syndicate, has hired ex-Betfair head of racing Will De Nardo to lead on its UK and Ireland marketing efforts.
De Nardo has been appointed as MyRacehorse’s UK and Ireland marketing director and global gaming advisor.
In his new role, he will lead the company’s customer base expansion.
De Nardo joins MyRacehorse after close to 10 years working at various Flutter Entertainment brands, spending time at Sky Betting & Gaming and FoxBet before moving on to Betfair.
“Will brings an additional and important marketing skill set to our UK and Ireland business due to his invaluable experience at Flutter,” said MyRacehorse managing partner Jules Pittam.
“He will be influential in enhancing the owner experience as well as working with new partners as he develops gaming opportunities around the world. We are delighted to have someone of such high calibre join the team.”
de nardo said he aims to replicate the business’ success in new markets
De Nardo sa..
Omnichannel gaming operator Penn Entertainment has completed its acquisition of media business Barstool Sports.
The closing of the deal is the latest stage of an acquisition process that began in February 2020, when Penn purchased a 36% stake in Barstool.
Today (17 February), Penn revealed that it has paid approximately $388m (£322.5m/€363m) for the remaining interest in the business, having exercised its option to acquire in August 2022.
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Sports data business Genius Sports has agreed to a new data distribution and fan engagement partnership with minor football league XFL.
As part of the deal, XFL has granted Genius exclusive rights to distribute official data from all XFL games to its media and betting partnerships.
As such, Genius Sports is now XFL’s official betting data distribution partner and free-to-play provider.
Genius Sports’ executive vice-president, Sean Conroy, said that having a comprehensive data policy is an important part of a sports organisation’s financial success.
“For every sports league, an official data strategy that drives both new revenues and fan engagement levels is vitally important,” he said. “We’re thrilled to partner with the XFL, connecting their games with the media and betting sectors while creating meaningful fan interactions through the bespoke XFL Pick’Em solution.”
genius argued that a data strategy is vital to the success of a sporting league
XFL Pick’Em
The deal also saw G..
