Online sports betting Archives

January 4, 2023

Ohio leads US with 11.3 million geolocation transactions over New Year’s weekend

Ohio was the busiest regulated market in the US over the New Year’s holiday weekend, with the state recording 11.3 million geolocation transactions across January 1 and 2, according to GeoComply.

Legal sports wagering launched in Ohio at midnight on January 1, with FanDuel, BetMGM DraftKings, Bet365, Tipico, Betr and Prophet among the brands that went live on opening day.

Across the first two days of Ohio’s regulated market, GeoComply recorded 11.3 million geolocation transactions from 783,863 unique accounts, in a state with a population of 11.8 million people.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

January 3, 2023

Ohio launches legal sports betting

Legal sports betting has launched in Ohio, with a number of major brands going live on 1 January.

Ohio set out a 1 January 2023 launch date for sports betting in a bill agreed by conference between both houses of its legislature.

Among the operators going live in the state on launch day were national market leaders, FanDuel, BetMGM and DraftKings, European businesses Bet365 and Tipico and startups Betr and Prophet.

Ohio is set to represent a major opportunity to operators and suppliers as the seventh-most populous US state, with 11.8 million residents.

“Today marks a monumental day of growth for both BetMGM and the sports betting industry,” said BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt. “Ohio is home to thousands of passionate sports fans, who now have the opportunity to enjoy first-hand the excitement and benefits of wagering with BetMGM.”

Read the full story on iGB North America

January 3, 2023

PointsBet in talks to sell Australia arm to News Corp venture

PointsBet is in discussions to sell its Australian arm to NTD Limited, the News Corp-led business behind Australia’s Betr brand.

PointsBet revealed last week – following a report in The Australian – that it was in discussions to sell its Australian business to NTD Pty Limited.

NTD is a venture set up this year involving media conglomerate News Corp, investment fund Tekkorp Capital and long-time industry executive Matt Tripp and operates the Australia-facing Betr brand. Another operator named Betr launched in the US this year, but the two are unrelated.

PointsBet said “any potential transaction will be assessed in the context of PointsBet’s global strategy and opportunities”.

Murdoch family-owned News Corp are among the parties involved in Ntd Pty Limited

“Discussions between PointsBet and NTD are incomplete and preliminary in nature,” it said. “There is no certainty that these discussions will result in any binding transaction.

“PointsBet will keep the market updated in accordan..

December 21, 2022

2022 World Cup breaks betting records, thanks in part to US growth

Betting across the 2022 Fifa World Cup increased by 13% from 2018’s tournament according to OpenBet, while GeoComply noted the final was surpassed only by the Super Bowl in the US.

OpenBet said its performance among European players broke a record, with an engagement level increase of 22%. Canada, a joint host for the 2026 World Cup, recorded a 21% increase for the same metric, also setting a record.

Canada will share hosting duties with the US and Mexico, where the tournament will return to being played over the summer. The Qatar World Cup was organised for November and December due to inhospitable temperatures in June and July.

In North America, OpenBet said World Cup betting was more than double the size of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments.

It also found that more 12 million bets were placed on the US team during the World Cup, garnering more than $100m (£82.3m/€94.1m) in stakes.

“Alongside a strong performance in Europe, the growth we have seen in North Ameri..

December 21, 2022

Industry insiders say New York Times series paints unfair picture

State lawmakers and stakeholders in the gaming industry have taken aim at the New York Times for its critical reporting on the expansion of US sports betting just as the industry met in Las Vegas to discuss best practices related to responsible and problem gaming. By Buck Wargo.

In late November, the New York Times, in a year-long investigation, outlined how the industry lobbied state officials with gifts and contributed millions in campaign donations to spur expansion after the repeal of PASPA in 2018.

The series depicted how ads on television and websites for making bets had become unavoidable and outlined the consequences to public health, taxpayers and the sports world.

The Times wrote that lawmakers gave out tax exemptions, which ultimately subsidised operators’ luring of patrons with free bets and other promotions, and found promises of tax revenue haven’t materialised.

When it comes to responsible gaming, the New York Times said the industry has been “creative in devising wa..

November 29, 2022

Luckbox owner to acquire Asia-facing B2B platform

Luckbox owner Real Luck Group has signed a letter of intent to acquire an unnamed igaming platform targeting the Asia-Pacific region.

Real Luck Group will acquire 100% of the shares in the Asia-facing business, which it says will give it access to more than 6,000 games from 50 game providers.

Real Luck Group chief executive Thomas Rosander said that the business had long aimed to add a B2B element to its portfolio, but that through this deal it is set to accomplish this sooner than it had expected.

“Adding B2B to our proprietary platform has always been a significant part of the Luckbox strategy, and this important acquisition means we will complete this objective almost a year in advance of our projections,” he said. “It also extends our opportunities into APAC, a significant region that we currently do not have a presence in and perhaps the largest esports market globally.

Real Luck Group CEO Thomas Rosander

“This transaction ultimately builds our business’ upside by providing ..

November 29, 2022

Does brand awareness really impact customer loyalty?

As operators search for customer loyalty, brand awareness is front-of-mind. But does it really impact loyalty and is it enough for long-term success?

Welcome to episode three of our five-part consumer insight series designed to outline and analyse the customer acquisition, retention and development opportunities for the leading operators in North America.

In episode one, we explored the common challenges faced by bettors when attempting to register, fund and bet with their preferred apps, highlighting the correlation between seamless user journeys and brand loyalty.

In last week’s episode, we dove deeper into the day-to-day frustrations faced by consumers and the opportunities for operators to develop improved customer experiences that can impact both loyalty and market share.

In this week’s episode, using our proprietary insights, we will analyse the best-performing operators in terms of brand awareness, app preferences and customer loyalty – all through the lens of the consumer. ..

November 29, 2022

IBIA signs up Bet99 as latest member

Canadian online sports betting and casino platform Bet99 has become the latest gambling business to join the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

Bet99 will now feed into the IBIA’s global betting integrity monitoring and alert network, working alongside a host of licensed operators from around the world.

Ontario approval

The announcement comes shortly after Bet99 secured approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario to offer online gambling services in the Canadian province.

Membership of an integrity body such as IBIA is a requirement for Ontario licence-holders.

“Joining IBIA, the world’s leading independent integrity monitor, is critical to our sportsbook strategy, in which trust, integrity and protection are prioritised for our Canadian customers,” Bet99’s head of sportsbook André Bewerungen said.

“We are delighted to combine forces with IBIA to combat foul play in sports, as well as betting-related corruption and manipulation..

November 29, 2022

Maryland records 16.5 million geolocation transactions in first five days

More than 16.5 million geolocation transactions were reported during the opening five days of Maryland’s newly regulated online sports betting market.

Data published by geolocation and fraud prevention specialist GeoComply revealed activity across 477,365 unique accounts between 23 November, the day the state’s market opened, and 28 November.

The five-day period included the Thanksgiving weekend, and some 3.7 million geolocation transactions were recorded on Thanksgiving Day alone, with focus on events such as the NFL, NBA and the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Read the full story on iGB North America

November 28, 2022

Kahnawàke council launches legal challenge against Ontario igaming laws

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawàke (MCK) has launched a constitutional challenge against iGaming Ontario and the attorney-general of Ontario, arguing that the province’s regulation of gambling is unconstitutional.

The Council – which runs its own gambling licensing regime – said that the Ontario regime did not meet the requirements for gambling outlined in Canada’s constitution.

As a result, it has filed a motion in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to challenge the legality of Ontario’s igaming framework, which it said was “illegal and unconstitutional”.

Ontario igaming legal status

Commercial betting and gaming are legal in Canada only if it is “conducted and managed” by a provincial government. While in most provinces that offer online gambling, the government runs a monopoly, Ontario instead launched a licensed regime this year, with more than 30 different licensed operators so far.

While a specific definition of conducting and managing is not provided, the Mohawk Council of ..

November 28, 2022

Dutch operators under tax investigation for pre-2021 activities

The Dutch government has published a memo revealing that – as of last year – eight operators were under tax investigation for their activities in the country before it regulated online gambling, with authorities planning to look into seven more.

The memo was dated 28 October 2021 – four weeks after the Dutch online gambling market launched. The memo was written by the Corporate Service for Professional Technology (CD VT) within the Tax and Customs Administration and was sent to “Dutch online gambling companies”.

It was revealed last week following a freedom of information request.

The memo said that – prior to the launch of regulated online gambling – a number of operators made money from the Netherlands that should have been subject to tax, but that these taxes were not paid.

These companies, it said, were in practice based in the Netherlands but on paper were listed as being from other countries in order to escape taxes.

In particular, the companies with unpaid tax bills were t..

November 25, 2022

GB gross gambling yield recovers to almost £10bn in 2021-22

Great Britain’s gross gambling yield (GGY), excluding lotteries, increased 16.5% to £9.93bn ($12.0bn/€11.53bn)
from April 2021 to March 2022.

The figures were supplied through industry research from the Gambling Commission.

While this is a significant rise, the total is 0.8% below the 2019-20 numbers, which mostly occurred pre-pandemic. Despite the increase in the headline numbers since this, the Commission reports that the number of bettors in the sector have fallen.

“Since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in 2021 and products and opportunities to gamble are available to consumers again, the overall percentage of the adult population who gamble remains lower than it was pre-Covid (28%),” said the Commission.

This can be explained by gaming spend increasing to a proportionally larger extent than the number of consumers. However, as the Commission outlines, there are strong signs of increased participation in gambling activities from younger demographics.

“There are signs of a r..

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Tag: Online sports betting