Industry News of the Day for September 28, 2023

By iDEA | September 28, 2023

Industry News

  • Legal Sports Report: PrizePicks Bid To Dismiss Suit Countered By Fantasy Sports Tech Provider
    • A fantasy sports company suing PrizePicks for allegedly ripping off its pick ’em software defended its claims in a new filing with the Northern District of Georgia. On Tuesday, Vetnos LLC, a business-to-business fantasy sports software provider, responded to PrizePicks’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which seeks interest on lost profits and royalties from allegedly stolen trade secrets. Vetnos says its predecessor, Game Sports Network, invented the software that powers the app’s player vs. house fantasy contests where users predict athlete stat outcomes in return for fixed prizes, otherwise known as pick ’em games. PrizePicks has characterized those claims as “open-ended and boundless.”
  • SBC Americas: EPIC: Leveraging Industry Experience To Tackle Problem Gambling
    • When EPIC Risk Management announced the appointment of Teresa Fiore as VP of Partnerships earlier this month, CEO Paul Buck pointed to her versatility and variety of perspectives in the gambling industry. Fiore boasts a plethora of gaming experience from both the regulatory and operator sides of the industry, having worked with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and more recently PointsBet US. At the latter, she was Responsible Gambling and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager.
  • Business Insider: 26 Top VC Investors In Sports Startups: Tech, Gambling, And More
    • Sports has become a hot category for venture-capital investors in recent years.While other private investors like private equity firms have set their sights mainly on teams and leagues — looking to cash in on the rising costs of media rights and the growth of live events — early-stage investors are pouring money into startups innovating in areas like sports betting, esports, sports technology, analytics companies, NIL, and more. Insider is highlighting prominent venture-capital investors who are funding startups in sports. The list includes early-stage investors with funds of varying sizes and different sector expertises, but all view sports as a core focus area and have made significant investments in the category in the last 12 months.
  • New York Post: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred: Sports Betting Directly On MLB Broadcast Coming ‘At Some Point’
    • Major League Baseball has its short-, mid- and long-term goals clear. Could they be intertwined with the explosive world of sports betting? “I see that at some point coming as an alternate digital product. You’re always going to have that clean broadcast,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said on the “Marchand and Ourand Podcast” with The Post’s Andrew Marchand and Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand. “If we get there to betting off the screen, it’s going to be a separate digital feed that the true gambler can opt-in to.”

Indiana

  • PlayUSA: Indiana Senator Talks About Future Of Online Casino Efforts Without His Leadership
    • Future efforts to legalize Indiana online casino will take place without its biggest champion. Indiana Sen. Jon Ford announced this month that he is resigning from the state legislature effective Oct. 16. Ford spoke with PlayUSA about his lasting impact in modernizing gaming in Indiana and the chances for online casino legislation passing next year in the state without his support. If not for Ford, Indiana residents might have to go into a casino to place sports bets. In 2019, the House removed online sports betting from the legislation before passing the bill. As the Senate sponsor for sports betting, Ford led the charge to add the online aspect back into the bill in conference committee.

Kentucky

  • Gaming Today: A Financial Look At The Seven Kentucky Mobile Sports Betting Apps Launching Sept. 28
    • Sports betting apps are kind of like winning thoroughbred racehorses — they need to be competitive if they expect high earnings. Of the seven licensed apps scheduled to launch in Kentucky on Thursday, Sept. 28, five are market leaders. Two are up-and-comers only available in a handful of states. Each wants a sizable share of the Kentucky online sports betting market estimated to be worth approximately $200 million in taxable revenue annually at full implementation. Gaming Today looks at each of the seven apps in terms of market share and performance in 2023 Q2 as each app rounds the bend toward Thursday’s Kentucky mobile sports betting launch.

Missouri

  • PlayMissouri: Without Legal Sports Betting, Missourians Giving Millions To Neighboring States
    • It was just one year ago that sports betting became legal in Kansas. During the first month of operation, it was estimated that 6-7% of the $160.5 million in total bets came from Missouri residents. According to the Kansas Racing & Gaming Commission, sportsbooks had $1.5 billion in bets in the first year of legalized sports betting. The state collected $5.8 million in taxes. Nearly $4 million of that is funding an effort to attract a pro sports team to Kansas. If the original projections held, $90 to $105 million came in from Missouri.

New York

  • PlayNY: New York ‘Critical’ For ESPN Bet, But How Can Sportsbook Find An Entry Point?
    • PENN Entertainment may not have a casino, racetrack or online sportsbook in New York. But that isn’t stopping management from targeting the Empire State for its newest brand, ESPN Bet. As relayed this week by the Earnings+More newsletter, analysts from Wells Fargo reported that PENN and ESPN have made it a “priority” to launch the newly branded sportsbook, particularly in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan — the country’s three biggest online casino markets. However, Wells Fargo analysts also noted that PENN has said “being in New York is critical.”

North Carolina

  • NC Sharp: Early North Carolina Sports Betting Launch Thrown Into Doubt
    • On Wednesday, the North Carolina Lottery Commission took three important rulemaking steps on the way to legalizing sports betting by approving: A sports betting committee creation, an operator application acceptance plan, and an amendment to the contract of Gaming Labs International. These steps will lay the groundwork for the rulemaking process to accept, vet, and launch licensees. However, taking this step at the end of September suggests that online sports betting in North Carolina is not coming in early January.
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