Industry News of the Day for November 22, 2023

iDEA Growth Member News

  • SBC Americas: Fanatics Migration Continues With Virginia Switchover
    • The rollover from PointsBet to Fanatics continued on Tuesday with the switch of Virginia’s PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience Sportsbook to the Fanatics Sportsbook platform. Users on the PointsBet platform will need to download the Fanatics Sportsbook app powered by Amelco going forward. However, those users can log in using the same credentials as PointsBet on the Fanaticd app and their balance will automatically be transferred to the new app. This is the second rebrand in as many weeks for Fanatics following the first brand shift in West Virginia.
  • Gambling Insider: Catena Media Reports Net Cash Position Of €21.2m Despite 28% Q3 Revenue Dip
    • Catena Media has reported a year-on-year fall decrease of 28% for Q3 2023, down to €15.9m ($17.4m). When accounting for discontinued operations, this total revenue decrease was 42% from Q3 2022 to €18.7m. In Q2 2023, revenue including discontinued operations was down 37%. Catena Media has sold off several assets this year, including the sale of Catena’s Italian online sports betting and casino business for €19.8m. As such, when reflecting on revenue of the past few years, the affiliate has included in its report earnings from discontinued operations.

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: Kambi Says Pipeline Still Strong, Focus On Differentiation
    • Kambi still has a strong B2B customer pipeline despite an industry shift away from third-party gaming technology, CEO Kristian Nylén said. Shape Games, the iGaming platform Kambi acquired last year for €38.5m, generated €2.6 million in fixed licensing fees over the three-month reporting period. Nylen said the product was instrumental in recent deals with Svenska Spel and LiveScore Group, which he called “the biggest things to talk about.” Both companies are former clients of SBTech, a Kambi rival, and are expected to contribute significant revenue in the second half of 2024. SBTech is now owned by DraftKings.
  • PlayUSA: Online Casino Revenue Surpassed $1.5B, Marking Quarterly Record In Q3
    • Commercial online casinos in the United States recently completed their most lucrative quarter ever. The American Gaming Association (AGA) touted that achievement, among many others in a recent accounting of commercial gambling activity from the third quarter of 2023. Overall, Q3 2023 was the second-highest-grossing quarter for commercial gaming in the US ever. Amid the new record for online casino revenue in a quarter, a different industry segment could be churning out a new high of its own. For the first time, legal non-tribal online casino revenue across the United States has surpassed $1.5 billion in a quarter in the AGA’s accounting.
  • Front Office Sports: U.S. Sports Betting On Pace To Hit $100B In Wagers
    • Sports betting operators were always looking at 2023 as a landmark year in the business, and now there’s fresh data showing exactly how much that is the case. A recent report from the American Gaming Association found that Americans bet $23 billion on sports during the third quarter, 32.7% higher than a year ago, and well on pace to hit an unprecedented $100 billion in total handle for the year. The total January-September sports betting handle stands at $78.7 billion, up 22.9% from the comparable period in 2022.

Georgia

  • The Telegraph: Sports Betting Has The Best Odds For Legalizing Gambling In Georgia, Advocates Say
    • After years of failed efforts to get legalized gambling through the General Assembly, political observers could hardly be faulted for not betting on 2024 to be different. But if Las Vegas were setting odds on the three betting options that have generated the most discussion under the Gold Dome, sports betting would be the clear favorite over casinos and horse racing. “Sports betting is something that should be an easy lift,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who introduced a sports betting bill back in 2020 when he was a member of the Georgia Senate. “It’s probably the most popular of the three arenas of gambling we’ve talked about.”

Illinois

  • Sports Handle: Illinois Posts Record $1.08 Billion Sports Wagering Handle For September
    • The Illinois Gaming Board reported Tuesday that the state’s sportsbooks had traditional sports wagering handle of nearly $1.08 billion in September, an all-time high that also contributed to a national record monthly handle of more than $11.5 billion. It was the sixth time Illinois sportsbooks accepted more than $1 billion in wagers in a month, all coming in the last 12 months. September’s handle was about $5.7 million higher than the previous best of $1.07 billion established in March. Handle was up nearly 30% from the previous September and close to 60% more than in August.

New Jersey

  • PlayNJ: Senate Bill To $7 Billion: 10 Years Of NJ Online Casinos By The Numbers
    • The story of 10 years of legal online casinos in New Jersey cannot be told with words alone. In fact, some may argue that the numbers behind the unprecedented success of NJ’s internet gambling industry are even more telling and more enlightening than the prettiest of prose. From dates and times, to operators and revenue, to taxes and fees, the numbers behind online gambling in NJ are remarkable. As the official 10-year milestone approaches, PlayNJ is breaking down some of the figures associated with one of the US gaming industry’s greatest success stories ever.