Industry News of the Day for January 5, 2024

By iDEA | January 5, 2024

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: Analysis: Why The Parlay Is Sports Betting’s Top Business Trend Of 2023
    • It is hard to think of a trend that had a bigger impact on sports betting in 2023 than improving the parlay. Parlays have long been the highest-margin product for a sportsbook. As the transition has gone from customer acquisition to customer retention and profitability, parlays have been a key way for sports betting companies to improve their structural hold. From standard parlays to same-game parlays, ill-thought remembrance parlays and progressive parlays, 2023 was certainly the year that operators focused on parlays.
  • Gaming Today: DraftKings, Fanatics Among Most Searched Brands By Sponsor Execs in 2023
    • Two sportsbooks were among the 100 most-searched national brands by sponsorship executives in 2023 on the SponsorUnited platform, according to a company report. DraftKings ranked 45th, while Fanatics came in at No. 99. SponsorUnited describes itself as a “global sports data intelligence platform, delivering actionable data and insights to build stronger marketing sponsorships.” This suggests that the searches came from executives empowered to make partnerships and that the presence of two gambling companies in the top 100 underscores the continued spread and mainstreaming of legal sports betting in the United States.
  • AP News: Betting Surged For College Football Playoff Semifinals, But Short Of Setting Records
    • The combination of a strong College Football Playoff field and the semifinals being on New Year’s Day sparked a surge in betting, but not to the level hoped for by sportsbooks. There was anticipation records would be set, but the semifinals being played on a Monday likely kept that from happening. “Last year’s numbers were really disappointing as the games were played on (New Year’s Eve),” Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports operations at Westgate Las Vegas, said in a text message.
  • Gambling Insider: Kambi Reports Record Betting Numbers During World Darts Championship Final
    • Last night’s Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship final grabbed headlines in a number of ways, with Luke Humphries making a dramatic comeback against 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler. With all the attention surrounding the final, Kambi has announced that the final itself was the most bet-on darts event in the supplier’s history. According to its data, the number of bets on last night’s event was 45% higher than last year’s final between Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen, and the number of bets on this year’s World Darts Championship increased 63% compared to last year’s tournament within the US.

Illinois

  • PlayUSA: Caesars Racebook Joins Illinois’ Competitive Online Horse Betting Market
    • When it comes to shopping for the best pari-mutuel pools on horse races, Illinoisans are spoiled for choice. That spoiling has become even more robust with the debut of Caesars Racebook. While Caesars Racebook has gotten off to a late start in Illinois, it is offering bettors a launch bonus to try and catch up. Additionally, Caesars Racebook has one feature that its competitors can’t boast. After making West Virginia its 20th state in November 2023, Illinois is now No. 21 for Caesars Racebook.

Massachusetts

  • State House News Service: Massachusetts Regulator Sets Responsible Gambling Conference For May 14
    • Having collected data and information over the last 10 years on the ways in which gambling is changing, the Mass. Gaming Commission is preparing this spring to convene a regional conference to consider how to apply that research to responsible gaming policies. The May 14 conference in Worcester aims to bring together officials from the Northeast Council on Problem Gambling, which includes Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York, and other industry stakeholders. It’s planned to take place at the AC Marriott hotel with a capacity of about 200 people.

Missouri

  • SBC Americas: Two Missouri Sports Betting Bills Kick Off 2024 Legislative Session
    • Efforts to legalize sports betting in 2024 are already underway in Missouri as two separate bills from familiar names have been filed in the state legislature. Sen. Tony Leutkemeyer has filed SB852, a bill to legalize sports betting in Missouri to mark his second consecutive effort after his attempt died in the Senate in 2023.  SB852 would allow the state’s riverboat casinos to partner with up to three online sports betting operators. Additionally, the bill would allow the state’s professional sports teams to partner with one online sportsbook each.

New Jersey

  • The Guardian: Gambling Boom Detrimental To New Jersey Economy, Report Says
    • A promised economic boom from online gambling’s rapid expansion across the United States may be a mirage, according to new research. New Jersey, which led the charge for mobile sports betting’s legalization, has received hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes from the sector. But economists cautioned that the cost of higher problem gambling rates could be “roughly equal” to the state’s takings. In a report seen by the Guardian, they estimated economic output, jobs and wages have been knocked by New Jersey’s digital gambling surge – calling into question industry claims that legalization can provide a boon to states nationwide.

North Carolina

  • NC Sharp: NC Regulators Tiptoeing Toward A Sports Betting Launch Date
    • The NC Lottery Commission Sports Betting Committee is edging closer to announcing a launch date. At today’s meeting, Sterl Carpenter, deputy director of sports betting, indicated a launch announcement could come as soon as the Jan. 10 full NCLC meeting. Carpenter’s notice comes just over a week after the recommended deadline for sports betting firms to submit their applications to enter the North Carolina online sports betting market. We first learned that online sports betting would not launch at the earliest possible launch date of Jan. 8.

Ohio

  • PlayOhio: ESPN Bet Stands Out During Successful November For OH Sportsbooks
    • November was one of the best months of 2023 for Buckeye State sports betting. Ohio online sportsbooks handled a total of $841.1 million worth of wagers. Additionally, bettors placed another $23.1 million at the state’s brick-and-mortar operations. Altogether, November’s handle totaled $864.2 million, according to numbers released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. The nine-figure total is the second-largest monthly handle in the short history of the state’s market. Last year’s January launch was the only bigger month. Bettors wagered more than $1 billion during the first month.

Texas

  • Sports Handle: Mark Cuban Lukewarm About Texas Sports Betting While Advocating For Casinos
    • Last week, the NBA Board of Governors approved Mark Cuban’s sale of his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Dr. Miriam Adelson and members of her family. While Adelson’s son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, the president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp., will serve as the governor of the Mavericks, Cuban will maintain control of basketball operations. The purchase, which values the Mavericks around $3.5 billion, raises the possibility that former casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s surviving family members could seek to build a new arena inside a mega casino.

Virginia

  • PlayVirginia: Can Problem Gambling Funding In VA Keep Up With Rise In Sports Betting Issues?
    • A recent report noted that even though Virginia is receiving more funding to help problem gamblers, it might need much more. Problems associated with sports betting are on the rise, and younger bettors have become the most vulnerable. The ease of mobile wagering is speeding up the addictive process. So, moving forward, can Virginia responsible gambling resources maintain adequate funding for problem gambling programs to meet the ever-increasing need?
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