Industry News of the Day for August 11, 2023

By iDEA | August 11, 2023

iDEA Growth Member News

  • Financial Times: The dark side of the US sports betting boom
    • Jeff Ifrah, founder of iDEA Growth, a lobbying group representing betting apps, says the backlash against advertising is based on little more than “shooting from the hip and assumptions that people make about how little Jenny is going to steal her mother’s credit card to play online.” The industry’s biggest players, however, argue that they go over and above the demands of regulators. FanDuel, which controls nearly half of the sports betting market, says not only does it ban any customer who expresses concern about their gambling habit, but it also proactively monitors for risk factors.
  • PlayUSA: FanDuel Launching Digital Gaming Corp. Online Casino Content In Three States
    • Digital Gaming Corp.’s (DGC) B2B iGaming division teamed with FanDuel to launch online casino content in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Under the terms of the agreement, players in these states will gain access to some of the most popular DGC online slots. The launch will allow FanDuel’s players in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan to access highly engaging online slots like Hyper Gold and Kings of Crystals. According to the company’s news release, these have already become player favorites in the three mature US gambling markets.
  • Gambling News: Catena And The Sporting News Set to Boost North American And LatAm Presence
    • Owing to a new partnership with The Sporting News, Catena is bringing home two important achievements – one the opportunity to further expand across North America as a whole, and two – a deeper reach into Latin American online betting and casino markets, owing to the new partner’s well-established footprint in both regions. This new opportunity comes as Catena Media has recently completed a share buyback program strengthening its financial standing along the way.
  • SBC Americas: New Survey Claims ESPN BET Will Win Over Bettors
    • It was only on Tuesday that news of ESPN BET’s launch came into the ether, and it is still months before the app launches, but pollsters have been hard at work collating data gauging public interest in Penn’s venture.  Odds Assist, an affiliate marketing site, has published the findings of a survey it has conducted indicating that 54% of sports bettors plan to use ESPN BET once it launches. Pertinently, just 8% of users said that they will not use ESPN BET, while the remaining 38% of players are unsure of whether they will try the app out.

Industry News

Kentucky

  • Legal Sports Report: Kentucky Sports Betting Operator Landscape Coming Into Sight
    • A nearly full scope of operators eyeing the Kentucky sports betting launch including the industry’s biggest players is now clear. Gov. Andy Beshear shared an update from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission during his weekly press conference Thursday, including a list of seven initial applicants the KHRC will consider at an August 22 meeting. In-person KY sports betting can begin Sept. 7, while online sports betting goes live Sept. 28. “The countdown is on. Kentuckians can plan to place their first sports wagers, at a retail location, in just 28 days,” Beshear said.

Maryland

  • Sports Handle: Maryland Sportsbooks Extend Run Of Double-Digit Holds To 13 Months
    • Operators in Maryland continued their hammering of the sports betting public in July, posting a hold of 11.4% on $247.4 million handle, according to figures released Thursday by Maryland Lottery and Gaming. It was the 13th consecutive month the house had a collective hold of 10% or higher, and the ninth time in as many months since the launch of mobile betting last November. Gross revenue totaled $28.4 million in July, with the state eligible to tax $22.1 million of that total after promotional credits and other deductions.

New York

  • PlayNY: Billion-Dollar Streak Snapped In July, But NY Sports Betting Ahead Of 2022 Pace
    • We have reached the nadir of the sports betting calendar. Which means there’s nowhere to go but up from here. According to data from the New York State Gaming Commission, NY sports betting apps totaled just $962.1 million in handle for the month of July, snapping a streak of 10 straight billion-dollar months. While it is the lowest month of the year for New York, it was much-expected. And in truth, it was a good month for the NY sports betting industry.

Oregon

  • The Center Square: Oregon Audits Division Finds State Gambling Laws Are Too Vague
    • An audit of the Oregon Racing Commission released by the state’s Audits Division found that ambiguity in state gambling laws has led to different interpretations of what the state allows. The Audits Division said the ambiguity hurts the economic interests and sovereign Tribal nations. “As technology changes, laws and rules need to be updated to minimize conflicts between existing statutes authorizing gambling on horse races with Oregon’s constitutional prohibition of casinos and limitation of lotteries,” the Audits Division said in a news release.

Virginia

  • TheLines: Virginia Lottery June Report Shows Large Sports Betting Growth
    • The Virginia Lottery released its sports betting activity report for June 2023. Virginia Sportsbooks saw $325,455,052 in betting handle for June. This was an overall 10.2% increase year over year from June 2022. Operators saw $32,668,024 in adjusted sports betting revenue. With the Old Dominion taking 15% in taxes, $3,939,701.01 was allocated in monthly taxes.

West Virginia

  • Bonus.com: Hacksaw Gaming Makes a US Debut Via BetRivers In West Virginia
    • Malta-based Hacksaw Gaming has partnered with BetRivers Casino in West Virginia, becoming the latest European game developer to make its US debut. Hacksaw’s slots will be integrated into BetRivers’ portfolio through the Light & Wonder distribution network. The launch in West Virginia marks the first US state for Hacksaw and the second jurisdiction in North America. In July, the developer entered Ontario, Canada, through BetRivers. The successful launch in Ontario is one of the reasons that BetRivers’ parent company, Rush Street Interactive (RSI), decided to bring Hacksaw’s games to West Virginia.
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