Online sports betting Archives

August 2, 2022

Gaining altitude or experiencing turbulence?

Robin Harrison talks to the local operators and lobbyists involved in the early stages of the Netherlands’ regulated igaming market.

Online gambling regulation in the Netherlands was discussed as far back as 2009 yet only launched in October 2021.

And the operators licensed were different to what the industry had expected. The local incumbents, Nederlandse Loterij (NLO) and Holland Casino, were among them as were international brands such as Bet365 and Tombola.

A host of high-profile names were conspicuous by their absence. The likes of Entain, Betsson, 888 Holdings and Kindred Group pulled out, having passively accepted bets from local consumers.

This led to a “deluge” of players coming to Holland Casino, according to director of digital transformation Jeroen Verkroost.

“We were over the moon but completely understaffed and had to shift from first to fifth gear almost immediately, which came with some teething problems,” Verkroost recalls.

Sam Depoortere, business director for N..

August 1, 2022

Rhode Island betting handle surpasses $500m in 2021-22

Consumers in Rhode Island spent more than $500m on sports betting during the 2021-22 financial year, while the US state’s betting revenue amounted to $39.7m.

Total handle for the 12 months through to the end of June 2022 was $517.2m, an increase of 46.5% from $353.0m in the previous financial year, according to figures published by the Rhode Island Lottery.

Some $290.5m was wagered via mobile during the year, while players also spent $226.8m at retail sportsbooks, split $164.9m across the Twin River casino and $61.9m at the Tiverton Casino.

Combined online and retail revenue for the year was up 9.7% from $36.2m in 2020-21 to $39.7m.

Online betting accounted for $122.1m of total revenue for the financial year, with $17.7m coming from retail. Twin River was responsible for $11.7m of all retail revenue and the Tiverton Casino $6.0m.

Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Lottery also published figures for the final month of the year, with handle for June climbing 29.1% year-on-year to $34.2m. H..

August 1, 2022

Holding back the tide

René Jansen, chair of Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), speaks to Daniel O’Boyle about the challenges involved in fighting on two fronts since the country launched its regulated online gambling market. On one hand he’s keeping the unlicensed market at bay, on the other he’s working to ensure the licensed sector moderates its advertising

After eight years of anticipation, it could have been difficult for the launch of the Netherlands’ online gambling market to fulfil expectations.

For Jansen, chair of regulator de Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the launch did indeed live up to what he anticipated.

“It’s been a success in several aspects,” he says.

But going as expected is only a good thing if the predictions are optimistic. And it’s hard to miss the fact that one aspect of the market launch went exactly as Jansen predicted, in exactly the wrong way.

Advertising turmoil

In May 2021, the KSA chair warned of an advertising “bombardment” when the legal market opened.

Looking at..

July 29, 2022

Entain takes 1.5 million online bets on Women’s Euro 2022

Entain revealed it has processed 1.5 million online bets on the Women’s Euro 2022 national football team competition, with 14% of these wagers being placed by female customers.

Of the bets placed across Entain’s brands, 46% have been from punters in the UK, ahead of 22% by German customers and 16% Brazil.

In the UK specifically, Ladbrokes and Coral have experienced a five-fold increase in the total number of bets placed on the tournament, up to and including the semi-final, compared to the Women’s Euro 2017. Entain also noted a six-fold increase in bets placed by women.

Almost 60% of outright bets from the UK have been on host England to win the tournament, with this figure being the same for outright bets from Germany.

England will face Germany in the final at Wembley Stadium on 31 July, with 72% of bets placed with Ladbrokes Digital UK being for England to win the match in 90 minutes.

Entain said the increase in betting rates on the Women’s Euro 2022 comes amid an increase in wa..

July 29, 2022

iGB op-ed: the Premier League should jump before it’s pushed

iGB op-ed: Zak Thomas-Akoo argues that the Premier League should make concessions now on gambling shirt sponsorship deals, rather than being forced into it.

This Tuesday, the barons of English football met in an undisclosed location for one of their once-in-a-while shareholders meetings – which according to reports included some rather striking ideas for “a new deal for football”.

Apparently this is some sort of grand bargain between the Premier and lower leagues, as well as more importantly a big old bash at new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s house.

Great stuff, but wasn’t there supposed to be something in there about a voluntary betting shirt sponsorship ban? Last week, it was reported that there was enough support for such a ban, subject to a transition period and certain conditions, to pass the necessary 14-vote threshold.

Kicking the can down the road

While the machinations of the big clubs are a bit of a black box, it’s probably the case that, as speculated in the press, the c..

July 28, 2022

Bet-at-home announces layoffs as it abandons in-house platform

Bet-at-home will replace its existing proprietary platform with the EveryMatrix tech stack, while the Germany-based operator also announced up to 45 job losses as a result of the outsourcing.

The EveryMatrix solution will include a sportsbook, casino platform, player management, payments module and affiliate software, with the deal to cover all the markets in which Bet-at-home is currently present.

“Selecting EveryMatrix as our platform provider will further allow us to keep providing the best service to our 5.5 million registered players while enhancing our operations in key markets,” Bet-at-home chief executive Marco Falchetto said.

“This partnership will boost not only sports, but also casino. With this partnership, a new and exciting phase of bet-at-home development can begin.”

EveryMatrix group chief executive Ebbe Groes added: “Bet-at-home has dominated the sports betting vertical in several European markets and we’re delighted to further contribute to their success.

“This..

July 27, 2022

XLMedia’s new focus on US betting pays off as H1 EBITDA exceeds $10m

A renewed – and acquisition-powered – focus on US sports betting helped drive XLMedia’s revenue up 39.2% to $44.5m, while earnings grew beyond $10m.

Since the prior year’s results, XLMedia changed the structure of the divisions within the business, as part of a wider restructuring effort.

Rather than a single sports betting vertical, the business split revenue related to betting into US sports and European sports. It was the US sports division that generated the vast majority of XLMedia’s revenue, with $30.2m, which was more than five times the total recorded in H1 of the previous year.

Much of this came from recent acquisitions such as Sports Betting Dime and Saturday Football Inc.

“The opening of new regulated markets and the signing of new media partnership agreements has allowed the US Sports business to capitalise on the full US sports calendar, in particular the Super Bowl, and deliver strong growth in H1 2022,” the XL board said.

The European Sports division, meanwhile, br..

July 27, 2022

Pinnacle makes integrity push by joining IBIA

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has announced online sports betting brand Pinnacle as its latest member.

Pinnacle, previously known as Pinnacle Sports, will now feed into IBIA’s global betting integrity monitoring and alert platform.

The operator joins a group of other sports betting operators that have joined the IBIA, with the association’s members accounting for more than $137bn (£114bn/€135bn) in global betting turnover per annum and almost 50% of all regulated commercial operator online betting activity.

“Our focus on integrity not only applies to our clients but also the governing bodies themselves, an area which is increasingly important for responsible gaming operators,” Pinnacle chief executive Paris Smith said. “We are delighted to become members of the IBIA and look forward to working closely with the organisation to combat betting-related corruption and manipulation.”

IBIA chief executive Khalid Ali added: “The size and scope of Pinnacle’s sports ..

July 25, 2022

Arizona sports betting handle reaches $461.5m in May

Consumers in Arizona spent a total of $461.5m (£385.1m/€452.6m) on sports betting during May, while gross revenue for the month amounted to $55.2m.

The US state’s monthly handle, covering online, retail and limited event wagering operator licensees, was down 10.0% from $512.9m in April and some way off the record $691.0m set in March.

Of this total handle, $456.7m was bet online, while just $4.6m was spent wagering at retail sportsbooks across Arizona.

Players won $405.3m during the month, which left $55.2m in revenue, up 48.4% month-on-month from $37.2m in April.

After including $13.8m in free bets and promotional credits, taxable revenue for the month was $41.4m, a 151.5% improvement from $16.5m in the previous month.

FanDuel claimed top spot in terms of handle, processing a total of $152.4m in wagers, split $148.7m online and $3.6m for retail wagering. DraftKings placed second with $141.1m in online bets, then BetMGM with $84.2m worth of online wagers.

Turning to gross revenue..

July 25, 2022

Arizona sports betting handle reaches $461.5m in May

Consumers in Arizona spent a total of $461.5m (£385.1m/€452.6m) on sports betting during May, while gross revenue for the month amounted to $55.2m.

The US state’s monthly handle, covering online, retail and limited event wagering operator licensees, was down 10.0% from $512.9m in April and some way off the record $691.0m set in March.

Of this total handle, $456.7m was bet online, while just $4.6m was spent wagering at retail sportsbooks across Arizona.

Players won $405.3m during the month, which left $55.2m in revenue, up 48.4% month-on-month from $37.2m in April.

After including $13.8m in free bets and promotional credits, taxable revenue for the month was $41.4m, a 151.5% improvement from $16.5m in the previous month.

Turning to gross revenue..

July 25, 2022

DIY or third-party: the sportsbook technology debate

The debate over whether operators should build their own technology or use a third-party solution has raged for decades, but it appears to have grown more intense as the US market opens. However, as Daniel O’Boyle reports, it may not be a question with a clear answer

It’s said that if you want something done well, you should do it yourself.

That appears to be an adage many sports betting operators have taken to heart.

Hop on any earnings call for a US operator, and there will no doubt be plenty of mentions of “proprietary sportsbook technology”.

The demand among operators for in-house solutions is backed up by their money. In 2020, DraftKings merged with SBTech, valuing the supplier at $634.1m. Last year, Caesars acquired William Hill for $3.7bn, mostly for its proprietary technology.

Meanwhile, theScore announced a long process to build its own sportsbook technology, which surely played a major part in Penn National Gaming acquiring it for $2bn.

“I don’t want to get distracted b..

July 25, 2022

DIY or third-party: the sportsbook technology debate

It’s said that if you want something done well, you should do it yourself.

That appears to be an adage many sports betting operators have taken to heart.

Hop on any earnings call for a US operator, and there will no doubt be plenty of mentions of “proprietary sportsbook technology”.

Meanwhile, theScore announced a long process to build its own sportsbook technology, which surely played a major part in Penn National Gaming acquiring it for $2bn.

“I don’t want to get distracted b..

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Tag: Online sports betting