Industry News of the Day for January 9, 2024

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: ThriveFantasy Latest Daily Fantasy Sports Company To Ghost Customers
    • Daily fantasy sports operator ThriveFantasy has drawn the ire of customers for allegedly failing to allow them to withdraw money from their accounts.  One customer alleged to LSR that daily fantasy sports outfit ThriveFantasy has not responded to his messages seeking to withdraw nearly $45,000 remaining in his account. Other customers have posted similar accounts via Reddit and social media, with five-figure account balances at stake.
  • PlayUSA: State-By-State 2024 Online Gambling Legislation Projections
    • After a long December, there’s little reason to believe this year will be better than the last for online casinos and sports betting legislative efforts. Few states enter 2024 with the momentum it takes to pass gaming legislation in a presidential election year. Gaming attorney Jeff Ifrah told PlayUSA, “Legislators typically don’t want to take up gambling issues in a presidential election year, so we’re very likely not going to see any new states legalize iGaming in 2024. We’ll see legislation proposed, and we may see some ballot measures, which will probably lead to some states coming on board in 2025.”
  • Gaming Today: AI Will Soon Become Key Sports Betting Element for Casual Bettors, Says Microsoft Executive
    • Artificial intelligence (AI) will greatly broaden its role in sports betting as soon as Super Bowl 58, according to Microsoft Director of Sports Jon Flynn. Casual bettors using language models like ChatGPT and sharps enhancing their algorithms with AI will affect wagering like never before, Flynn told the Gaming Today Playbook podcast. It was all a matter of time. But Flynn believes the time comes on Feb. 11. Microsoft has an interest and expertise in these developments because its Azure Cloud technology can be used to store and process information needed to build or bet markets with greater speed and insight.
  • SBC Americas: US Expansion Contributes To Bet365’s Losses In Latest Financial Report
    • Bet365 has released its annual filing to the British government. The report covers the year ending on March 26, 2023. Over that time, the privately owned company generated £3.39 billion ($4.32 billion) in revenues, which was a substantial YoY jump from £2.87 billion ($3.6 billion) from the previous period. Sports betting revenues were up 15% from the previous year, while online casino experienced a 31% bump. However, the company reported losses during the period compared to a profitable year in the 2021-2022 period.
  • US Bets: Progressive Wagering Game Roulette Up Debuts In U.S. Online Casinos
    • Every spin of a roulette wheel, whether in a brick-and-mortar casino or via a mobile casino app, promises a rush of gambling adrenaline in one direction or the other. But for those who crave a little extra action on top of the standard 1/1, 2/1, 9/1, 18/1, or 36/1 payouts, casino table game developer Galaxy Gaming and gaming technology company ODDSworks have introduced Roulette Up for mobile casinos. The game puts a spin on the typical online roulette experience, adding streaks and progressive payouts — at increased risk, of course — to the equation.

Iowa

  • iGaming Business: Iowa Reveals Year-On-Year Sports Betting Growth In December
    • Player spending in December amounted to $282.7m (£222.5m/€258.3m). This was 23.0% up from $229.9m in Iowa in December 2022 but 2.4% behind $289.7m in November 2023. Of this total, $258.3m was spent betting on sports online, with a further $24.4m wagered at retail sportsbooks across Iowa. Turning to revenue, this amounted to $26.3m in December, which was up 28.9% from $20.4m in the previous year and also 86.5% ahead of November’s $14.1m haul.

Massachusetts

  • Legal Sports Report: Betway Exits MA Sports Betting Market Before Ever Launching
    • Betway is already leaving the online Massachusetts sports betting market, despite never launching in the first place. Last week, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission announced that it had been informed by Betway that the operator does not intend to begin operations in the Commonwealth.  Betway’s temporary MA sports betting license will expire at the end of February, and it will not renew. At the time it was approved for a license nearly a year ago, Betway intended to join the MA sports betting market in Q1 2024.

Pennsylvania

  • PlayPennsylvania: FanDuel Casino Pennsylvania Sees Customer Retention Rates Trending Upward
    • Multiple online casinos appear to be jockeying each other for headlines in Pennsylvania. FanDuel has improved customer retention rates, which has made the operator a viable contender in the Keystone State. FanDuel has moved up to the second-best platform in the market, behind DraftKings. It’ll be interesting to see how the competitive field of PA online casinos shakes out in 2024. FanDuel has the strongest sportsbook across the country, including Pennsylvania, but is also building an empire in the online casino space.