Industry News of the Day for August 17, 2023

Industry News

• Legal Sports Report: Fanatics Sportsbook Opens To All After Extended Beta Period
  • Sports bettors in four states now have access to the previously limited Fanatics Sportsbook. The launch gives the platform about three weeks to add customers before NFL betting kicks off with the start of the regular season on Sept. 7. Fanatics cannot say much about the pending acquisition of PointsBet‘s US operations but did touch on how it fits into Fanatics Sportsbook.

• PlayUSA: AGA: Growth Continues As Commercial Gaming Revenue Tops $16B In Q2 2023
  • US commercial gaming hit a Q2 record of $16.07 billion in total revenue in the second quarter of 2023, according to the American Gaming Association. The number is an 8.1% yearly increase from Q2 2022, marking the industry’s 10th consecutive quarter of annual growth, the AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker showed. The report covers 34 commercial gaming jurisdictions, their legal markets, and the District of Columbia, including casinos sportsbooks, and online gambling.

• Gambling News: GiG Posts All-Time High Q2 Revenues
  • Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has posted its Q2 financials, reporting all-time high revenues. The company is optimistic about the future and will do its best to maintain its momentum into H2. As reported by the company, GiG achieved all-time high quarterly revenues at $33.9 million (all figures have been converted to USD). This represents a stellar 40% year-on-year increase, the iGaming and sportsbook solutions provider said.

• AP News: Athletes’ Confidence, Competitiveness Explain Willingness And Risk To Bet On Own Games, Experts Say
  • Allegations of Iowa and Iowa State athletes illegally wagering on sports is one thing. Accusations that some of them bet on games in which they played, or could have, is quite another. While fans of both schools have asked why athletes would risk losing eligibility and possibly going to jail over relatively small amounts of money, National Council on Problem Gambling executive director Keith Whyte said he isn’t surprised by allegations of athletes betting on their own games and risking a permanent ban.

Arizona

• SBC Americas: FanDuel Big Leader In The Arizona Sports Betting Revenue Race For June
  • FanDuel maintained its position as the market leader for Arizona in June, leading the pack in both handle and revenue. Of the $390.3 million in handle for the state, over $146 million belonged to FanDuel. On the revenue side, FanDuel posted $12 million in gross revenue for a hold rate of 8.2%. DraftKingswas second in handle with $111.3 million in bets but only managed to generate $7.1 million in revenue for a hold rate of 6.4%.

Michigan

• PlayUSA: Massachusetts Lottery Sees Record Revenue Despite Online Sports Betting
  • After more than six months of Massachusetts sportsbooks operating in the state, their impact on the Massachusetts Lottery seems different than what some people expected. When sports betting launched, the Massachusetts Lottery feared operators would take away much of the lottery’s revenue. There’s a push to take the Mass Lottery online to compete more fairly with sports betting. However, the lottery said it had seen no decrease in its business.

New Jersey

• PlayNJ: NJ Online Casinos Eclipse $1 Billion In Revenue For 2023, Well Ahead Of 2022
  • Internet gambling in New Jersey has already generated more than $1 billion in revenue this year, putting online operators in a position to shatter 2022’s record-setting returns. All told, online casinos in NJ generated more than $155 million in revenue last month, a 13.5% year-over-year increase from July ’22, according to data released Wednesday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement. Year-to-date, online casinos have netted more than $1.085 billion in revenue, which is 14.2% higher than in the first seven months of 2022.

North Carolina

• NC Sharp: North Carolina Approves Digital Instant Lottery Tickets
  • The North Carolina Education Lottery Commission approved the sale of digital instant games on Tuesday. This adds yet another gaming offering to the increasing legal gambling market in the state. The commission, which had the authority to authorize so-called “digital instant tickets” (likened to digital scratch-off tickets) for some time, has now indicated that they will be available starting Nov. 15. The North Carolina lottery made the addition while the legislature mulls over allowing commercial casinos to operate in the Tar Heel State, and legalizing video lottery terminals.