Industry News of the Day for October 20, 2023
Industry News
- Legal Sports Report: LSR Q+A: Fanatics Sportsbook Product Head On Building Sports Betting App
- Scot McClintic, chief product officer of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, recently sat down with LSR to discuss the sports merchandise giant’s foray into an online sportsbook. First launching in June, Fanatics Sportsbook is now available in five states. Through the first four weeks of NFL betting, it ranked fourth in downloads among all sports betting apps, according to JMP Securities. Its cash-back system and a widely used search feature headline the developer’s goals for innovation. Its acquisition of PointsBet promises to help with the “meat and potatoes” of a typical app, according to McCltintic, who believes the benefits of PointsBet’s technology will lead to a more personalized betting experience.
- Business Insider: DraftKings Edges Out FanDuel In Online Gambling Market Share
- There’s a new top dog in US online gambling. DraftKings edged out rival FanDuel for the largest portion of online gambling market share in the US, according to a Wednesday report from the market research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. DraftKings had amassed about 31% of online gambling gross gaming revenue in the third quarter through August 23, while FanDuel’s market-share lead had dipped to 30%. That’s across online sports betting and casino gaming.
District of Columbia
- iGB North America: Washington DC: Caesars Retains Sports Betting Top Spot In September
- Caesars Entertainment remained the leader in the Washington DC sports betting sector in September, while it was revealed revenue and handle in the market fell year-on-year. Spending on sports betting in September amounted to $14.5m, down 25.3% from $19.4m wagered in Washington DC last year. However, this total was 79.0% ahead of $8.1m in August of this year. In terms of gross gaming revenue, this reached $1.9m. Revenue was 47.2% down from the same month last year but 90.0% ahead of August 2023’s total.
Florida
- SBC Americas: DeSantis, West Flagler battle Over FL Supreme Court Extension
- The latest developments in the Florida Supreme Court challenge to the sports betting compact between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Seminole Nation are arguments over timing. Days after No Casinos, Inc filed its amicus brief in the case, DeSantis’s office has requested a 30-day extension to file its response. In the motion, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody noted a particularly heavy workload for Solicitor General Henry Whitaker over the next two weeks as part of the request for an extension to Dec. 1. The current deadline is Nov. 1.
Georgia
- Georgia Recorder: Gaming Interests Ready New Legalized Gambling Push In Georgia In ’24; Sports Bets Still A Favorite
- A powerful sports betting and gambling company is intensifying its efforts to win legalized sports betting, casinos and horse racing in Georgia. Representatives from the Entain Foundation U.S. met with several state legislators in Atlanta on Tuesday to hatch a plan to pass a gambling bill in 2024. In the last couple of years, Georgia’s legislative sessions have ended with failed attempts to legalize sports betting, horse racing, and casinos in combination or as standalone propositions as legislators were divided on everything from the ills of gambling addiction, to how revenue would be distributed, and what forms of gambling to permit.
Massachusetts
- Sports Handle: Massachusetts Regulator: We Need More Info Before Considering ESPN BET Launch
- As PENN Entertainment points to a November national rebranding of its sports betting platform to ESPN BET, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Thursday found itself a bit perplexed. Commissioners questioned why PENN had not yet submitted a “detailed explanation” of its relationship with ESPN ahead of the planned change, and staff attorney Catilin Monahan stressed that the rebranded platform could not launch in Massachusetts until the commission signs off on it. With 12 days left in October and the next MGC meeting scheduled for Nov. 2, time is getting tight for approval in time for PENN’s November rebrand under its new partnership with ESPN.
New Jersey
- PlayNJ: Prophet Exchange, GeoComply Get Go-Ahead in NJ For New Security Tech
- New Jersey gaming regulators gave the green light to a new technology that will streamline registration for online users while offering enhanced security. Prophet Exchange, a licensed NJ sports betting exchange, will be the first operator to use GeoComply’s Core for Authentication (CfA) product following approval from the Division of Gaming Enforcement. GeoComply, a Vancouver-based geolocation and identification service, says CfA will reduce malicious digital activity and improve the user experience.
New York
- PlayUSA: NY Lawmakers Hope To Gain Online Casino Support With $25 Million Fund For Casino Workers
- New York Sen. Joe Addabbo said he believes he has a solution to help the state pass online casino legislation in 2024. Addabbo told PlayUSA that he and Asm. Gary Pretlow are considering including a $25 million fund for brick-and-mortar casino workers in gaming legislation next year. The money is meant to appease the New York Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, which lobbied heavily against online casino last year citing cannibalization concerns for resort casino workers. “That’s $25 million a year in an effort to show or to ensure there will be no cannibalization of brick-and-mortar casinos,” Addabbo said. “This is to help the brick and mortars who suffered greatly in COVID. It’s not our intent to cause cannibalization or a loss of jobs. We only want to grow union jobs and we will work to ensure it.”
North Carolina
- TheLines: North Carolina Regulators Strike Down Prop-Style Pick’Em Games
- The newly formed North Carolina Sports Betting Committee met Tuesday for the first time. During the 30-minute meeting, the committee approved basic rule proposals for the regulated sports betting market. These rules will help lay the groundwork before North Carolina sportsbooks launch, including what games and markets can and cannot be offered. The approved rule proposals included specific definitions surrounding sports wagering. One clear definition pertained to fantasy sports pick’em style games.
- NC Sharp: The Interconnections Between Written Designation Agreements And NC Sports Betting Licenses
- Suppose a North Carolina sports betting operator terminates its written designation agreement with its pro sports team or venue for any reason. In that case, that operator will also lose its sports betting license in the state. The first round of rulemaking by the NC Lottery Commission’s Sports Betting Committee clarifies this rule by stating that an operator has no more than 72 hours to report to the NCLC any of the following: Any alterations, changes or modifications to the written designation agreement and any breach, discontinuance or other cessation of the written designation agreement.
Pennsylvania
- PlayPennsylvania: Pennsylvania Sportsbooks Surge To $726 Million In September Handle
- The summer slide is over as football betting has returned, much to the delight of sportsbook operators in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported $726.3 million in total bets this September. PA online sportsbooks brought in $66.1 million in revenue, a 12.2% year-over-over decrease. DraftKings Sportsbook PA just about caught up to FanDuel in online sports betting handle. Last month, DraftKings trailed FanDuel in market share, 34.8% to 28.9%. This month, DraftKings closed the gap even further, recording a 31.7% share compared to FanDuel’s 35.3%