Industry News of the Day for November 17, 2023

iDEA Growth Member News

• CDC Gaming Reports: Better Collective Increases Revenue By 26% And EBITDA By 35%
  • Better Collective, the global digital media company behind brands like SportHandle, Action Network, Playmaker HQ, and Betarades, released its Q3 financial report. This included a 26% increase in group revenue of €75 million (approximately $81.5 million). The report also revealed an EBITDA of €20 million (approximately $21.7 million), an increase of 35% from €15 million (approximately $16.3 million) in Q2. The company reported cash flow before special items of €14 million (approximately $15.2 million), and its capital reserves stood at the end of Q3 at €123 million (approximately $133.6 million).

Industry News

• SBC Americas: Fanatics begins PointsBet Rebrand In West Virginia For Sportsbook And Casino
  • The first of the transitional PointsBet, A Fanatics Experience sportsbooks is officially under the Fanatics banner effective today. Fanatics announced that in West Virginia the PointsBet brand is gone and existing customers can now access Fanatics Sportsbook. A Fanatics-branded online casino will be embedded into the sports betting app. This marks the first time Fanatics has delved into the online casino space. The online casino comes with a custom Fanatics blackjack game. More games will be added in the coming months. Existing PointsBet users in West Virginia will need to download the Fanatics Sportsbook app but can use the same login credentials they previously used to log into PointsBet.

• Bonus.com: ADHD & Problem Gambling: Study Shows ADHD Symptoms Predict More Severe Relapses
  • New research shows that when people recovering from gambling addiction slip back into old habits, those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are likely to suffer a more severe relapse. Interestingly, the study found no significant differences in treatment response between the participants with ADHD and those without. Those with the disorder showed similar improvement, dropout and relapse rates to the control group. However, when relapses occurred, participants with ADHD symptoms experienced more severe relapses, meaning they wagered and lost more money than participants without.

Arizona

• PlayUSA: Arizona Is Fastest To Reach $1 Billion Mark In Sports Gambling Revenue
  • After 25 months of offering legal sports betting, Arizona became the ninth US gambling state to surpass the $1 billion mark in sports betting revenue. Arizona is the fastest to reach that milestone, beating Illinois, which held the previous record at 27 months. Moreover, the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) reported the state generated a staggering $59.65 million in revenue for September, resulting from a $610.72 million handle (total bets), the highest monthly total since March. The $610.72 million handle represents a 70.17% monthly increase from Arizona’s handle in August of $358.88 million.

Massachusetts

• PlayMA: October Marks The Busiest Month In Massachusetts Sports Betting History
  • In October, $571.7 million was wagered on sports in Massachusetts. As a result, the commonwealth coffers swelled by $11.7 million in tax revenue. Furthermore, that’s the most money wagered on sports in the state’s history. But the state’s online sportsbooks were responsible for most of that cash bet in the state. DraftKings Massachusetts stayed on top as the No. 1 sportsbook in Massachusetts, with nearly twice as much in total handle than the closest competitor, FanDuel. In October, DraftKings reported $304.7 million in total handle, while FanDuel Massachusetts reported $155.5 million. Since it launched online sports betting in March, the commonwealth has received just over $70 million in taxes.

New York

• Gaming Today: New York Becomes First US State To Hit $2 Billion in Monthly Sports Betting Handle
  • The sports wagering report from the New York Gaming Commission discloses that the state handled over $2 billion in mobile sports bets in October, establishing a new record. This achievement positions the Empire State as the first in the United States to reach this milestone. The state witnessed a 14.2% increase from its reported September handle of $1.76 billion. Additionally, the October handle demonstrated a substantial 30.5% growth compared to the corresponding month in the previous year. In October, the state achieved a new pinnacle in sports betting revenue, reaching $166.3 million and marking a significant 14.1% increase compared to the revenue recorded in Oct. 2022. 

North Carolina

• Legal Sports Report: NC Sports Betting Regulators Remove DFS Ban, Push Off January Launch
  • North Carolina regulators delayed a proposed daily fantasy sports pick’em ban for later consideration as they advanced a set of NC sports betting rules Tuesday and sought to expedite the online launch. The North Carolina State Lottery Commission’s Sports Betting Advisory Committee approved an initial set of online NC sports betting regulations Tuesday. The full NC Lottery Commission will vote on the draft Thursday. Following pushback from DFS industry stakeholders, the committee temporarily removed a ban on DFS pick’em contests and explained the regulatory agency would monitor the issue. Another set of more detailed rules is in a public comment period, set to end November 27.

West Virginia

• PlayWV: WV Online Casinos Set Monthly Revenue Record In October With $15.5 Million
  • After West Virginia online casino operators faced a mild summer slide, the fall season has more than made up for it. So much so, that platforms in the Mountain State set a monthly revenue record in October, generating $15.5 million. The figure is quite impressive after a few down months for WV online casinos. During a recent earnings call, one operator in particular reached a milestone to help the market grow even more. Mountain State platforms smashed the previous record of $14.3 million set back in March. The $15.5 million produced in October is a $1.2 million increase from March’s figure.