Product & technology Archives

September 14, 2023

Genius shares down 10% as Apax sells $121m in stock

A subsidiary of one of Genius Sports' major shareholders and former owner, Apax Partners LLP, will sell 20,000,000 shares in the business.

The underwriter of the sell-off, Goldman Sachs & Co, will have the option of purchasing an additional 3,000,000 shares worth $18,120,000. The option will end after a 30-day period.

The stock to be sold off is worth – as of close of trading on 13 September – $120.8m (£97.1m/€113.1m).

The total shares on the table represent just over 10% of all of Genius’ 216,627,899 shares.

Following the announcement of the stock sell-off, Genius’ share price has fallen 10.2% to $5.4 per share since trading opened. The supplier will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale.

Former owner opts to sell stock

Apax is the provider’s former owner, having purchased the company from Three Hills Capital Partners in July 2018.

Funds advised by Apax kept hold of the business for over two years prior to Genius going public on the New York Stock Exchange via an ..

September 1, 2023

Ontario: The state of play

More than a year on from the regulation of the Ontario gaming sector, gambling businesses have each adapted to the market in their own way. But how can operators stand out from the crowd in North America’s most competitive market?

With every gold rush comes the prospectors.

In the 16 months following the regulation of the gaming sector in Ontario, gambling operators of all shapes and sizes have thrown the dice to get a slice of the biggest and most dynamic market in North America.

Those involved range from former grey market players trying to make the regulated transition, the big European operators, media brands which have grown a betting wing and land-based companies trying to get in on the action – plus everything in between.

The landscape

Ontario has become an incredibly competitive market, with iGaming Ontario recording 46 companies operating 71 brands as of Q1 2023.

However, one trend to note is its diversity. This is especially striking when compared to the US which, butt..

August 30, 2023

Sporttrade now live in Colorado

Sports betting exchange Sporttrade is now live in its second state after launching in Colorado.

The Philadelphia-based operator enters the Colorado market with strategic partner GF Gaming. The pair said Coloradans will benefit from Sporttrade’s unique structure within the sports betting market.

In particular, it highlighted its capital markets-like approach centred around its use of market makers to provide liquidity to the exchange. Low liquidity in ring-fenced US jurisdictions have been a long-standing problem for betting exchanges.

The Colorado launch comes after Sporttrade entered New Jersey as its first sports trading platform in September 2022.

“Today we’re privileged to introduce the Sporttrade experience in Colorado,” said Alex Kane, Sporttrade’s founder and chief executive.

“Our launch today proves that Sporttrade can operate in any jurisdiction, with the same great features our customers have come to know us for; instant in-play betting, great prices, awesome liquidit..

August 30, 2023

Bally Bet relaunches Kambi-powered app in Ohio

Bally Bet has launched its new platform in Ohio some two months after temporarily ceasing online betting operations across most of its US markets.

Bally’s Corporation’s sports betting division announced earlier this year that it would be relaunching its app. After shuttering its Bet.Works-developed app, the new platform has been created with Kambi Group and White Hat Gaming.

The new app has debuted in Ohio, where Bally Bet has a licence through its partnership with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. It withdrew from five states in June ahead of the relaunch, only remaining operational in Arizona.

Bally Bet announced on its website that the new app is now live in Ohio. It will be rolled out in further US states in the coming months, according to partner White Hat Gaming.

“With extensive coverage of all major sports, near-endless wagering options, and features made to heighten the experience, our mobile sportsbook app is poised to deliver unmatched sports betting thrills,” Bally Bet said.

August 16, 2023

Fanatics launches online sportsbook in four states

The latest challenger to the US online sports betting market, Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG), has launched its online sportsbook in Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee.

After six months of beta testing, the Fanatics Sportsbook is now available to download on iOS and Android.

FBG highlights the new platform’s simplified betting and transparent withdrawals as features that will help it appeal to sports fans.

The sportsbook includes live scores, plus lines and odds for teams and athletes. Also included are moneyline bets, spread bets, over-unders, player props, live-in-game betting markets and same-game parlays.

Fanatics bets on product quality

“After six months of beta testing, we are excited to officially launch the Fanatics Sportsbook product to the public,” said FBG chief product officer Scot McClintic.

the fanatics sportsbook

McClintic also pointed to the business’ extended focus on product quality as key to its strategy.

“We are laser focused on solving pain poi..

August 9, 2023

ESPN Bet to launch in November

Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn Entertainment, confirmed that ESPN Bet will go live in November this year.

Penn and sports broadcaster ESPN’s transformative $1.5bn deal will consist of Penn relaunching its existing Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet.

Off the back of the deal Penn is divesting its Barstool Sports sportsbook brand and selling it back to Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool.

Snowden confirmed the month for launch on Penn’s earnings call today, following the publication of its second quarter results.

When the deal was announced yesterday, Penn said the launch had been set for “the fall”, with no specific details as to when.

On the earnings call, Snowden skipped around the month with “sometime this fall” and “certainly before Thanksgiving” before landing on November.

Snowden defended the timing of the launch amid claims it would come too late in the NFL season.

“I think our launch in November is good, because it won’t get lost at the beginning of football season,”..

July 17, 2023

Entain to acquire Angstrom Sports in £200m deal

Entain will acquire sports modelling, forecasting and analytics specialist Angstrom Sports in a deal worth up to £203m.

Under the deal, Entain will pay an initial £81.0m, as well as £122.0m in additional payments over a three-year period, totaling £203.0m.

Angstrom utilises simulation-based predictive modelling to offer a range of pricing and forecasting capabilities to sportsbook clients.

Primarily serving the US market, Angstrom’s offering covers the most popular competitions and leagues in the country.

The acquisition will allow Entain to offer a full suite of end-to-end analytics, risk and pricing capabilities for its US operations, namely BetMGM, which it runs as a joint venture with MGM Resorts International.

This will improve customers’ US sports betting experience including more betting opportunities, optimised parlay and in-play products, it added.

The acquisition is expected to complete during Q3 2023.

Unlocking new US opportunities

“We’re delighted Angstrom will b..

July 14, 2023

Penn migrates Barstool Sportsbook to proprietary platform

All Penn Entertainment’s brands are powered by proprietary technology after Barstool Sportsbook and Casino was migrated to its in-house platform.

The migration took place simultaneously across 16 states where Barstool operates during Major League Baseball’s (MLB) All-Star Break, the largest-scale technology migration in North American gaming to date.

Penn describes the migration as a major development which completes its long-term strategic goal to be technologically independent, bringing all gaming operations in-house.

Penn’s acquisition of theScore, which was in the process of building the platform when it was bought, and the launch of Penn Games Studios also formed part of this plan. TheScore, now Penn’s brand in Ontario, was the first to move to the new tech stack.

‘Milestone achievement’

The updated version of Barstool Sportsbook and Casino contains several new elements, including streamlined navigation, more personalisation capabilities and faster deposits and withdrawals.

June 28, 2023

BetMakers concludes 10% share buy-back

Racing data and analytics provider BetMakers Technology Group said that it has now concluded its buy-back of 10% of the business' shares.

The buy-back – which began on 12 July 2022 – saw BetMakers repurchase 30,626,884 shares using the business’ cash reserves. Following the announcement, the provider’s shares rose 13%.

The news comes in the aftermath of BetMakers making a number of changes to its senior management team.

In January, the business announced a restructuring which saw CEO Todd Buckingham step down to take on the newly created position of chief growth officer.

BetMakers North American CEO Christian Stuart also announced his exit from the business in April as part of the organisational restructure.

The news came as BetMakers warned that it was facing negative growth in Q2 due to its outstanding investment commitments.

This trend continued in the company’s Q3 report. In the financial quarter the business saw continued cost pressures keeping the business at a loss, ..

June 23, 2023

Genius extends Premier League data rights deal

Sports data and technology provider Genius Sports has extended its exclusive partnership with Football DataCo, the business that manages data rights for the English Premier League.

Under the terms of the new deal, Genius extends its official partnership with the data rights organisation to 2025. It also expands the agreement to cover new areas such as Genius’ data tracking product.

Genius’ 2019 deal with Football DataCo

The previous partnership – first established in 2019 – granted Genius the exclusive rights to collect, license and distribute official live betting data from the EPL to its sportsbook clients. The deal also covers the English Football League (EFL) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).

The new deal, which is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, will see the business distribute data from over 4,000 UK football fixtures per season.

As the official tracking data and analytics partner to the EPL, Genius Sports also expanded its partnershi..

June 12, 2023

Sports betting apps: Why change is long overdue

Over the last several years, online sports betting has continued to grow in popularity. Russell Karp, senior vice-president at DataArt, explores what sportsbooks need to do to stay at the top of their game.

Following a wave of deregulation in the US, which has led to the legalisation of sports betting in more than 30 states, millions of users are increasingly able to place bets on sports through operator websites and mobile apps.

Major operators like FanDuel and DraftKings have claimed a significant share of the US sports betting market. But I would argue that the entire industry is overlooking some critical technological developments that could change the playing field for everyone.

Studying the playbook of extremely successful apps like Spotify, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, no sports betting app – including those offered by DraftKings and FanDuel – has effectively utilised tools like in-app personalisation, performance analytics, AI, high-quality video streaming or a loyal commun..

June 7, 2023

Adam Greenblatt outlines BetMGM’s path to profitability

The US sports betting and igaming market is maturing and at BetMGM Adam Greenblatt believes product is the battleground where the leaders will be decided for the market’s next phase.

Adam Greenblatt has led BetMGM, the joint venture between Entain and MGM Resorts since its formation in 2018. It is on track to achieve profitability in the second half of the year.

BetMGM is live in 20 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico and Ontario in Canada. Since 2018, it could be seen as the only business to consistently keep pace with DraftKings and FanDuel.

It didn’t have the database of the legacy daily fantasy giants. But thanks to the MGM Resorts connection (and without M&A along the way), it’s established as a top tier brand in the US.

Other brands with designs on a top tier position such as Caesars, Bally’s, Penn National and 888, have undergone significant change. They’ve acquired to grow, onboarded new tech or sought out new partners.

This may help each business close the..

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Tag: Product & technology