Sports Betting in the News — Weekly Round-up for October 19, 2018

Another Transatlantic Sports Betting Alliance Forged

US casino operator Wynn Resorts in sports betting deal with Europe’s Betbull mobile sports betting operator

Major US land casino operator Wynn Resorts revealed Thursday that it is partnering with European mobile sportsbook and casino operator BetBull to compete in the burgeoning US sports betting sector.

Based in Malta and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, BetBull will provide the necessary technology for the partnership, whilst Wynn will contribute its strong brand and expertise in the US gambling industry, where it operates two major land casinos in Nevada.

Both of these assets run sportsbetting activity which includes mobile betting using Miomni technology; it is not clear how this will fit in with the new arrangements.

Wynn is also working on a third major undertaking, investing $2.4 billion in Boston, Massachusetts to launch Encore Boston Harbour once the state’s licensing and regulatory structures have been completed and are in place.

The sports betting agreement requires Wynn to eventually take up a 22.5 percent stake in BetBull.

Letter Of Intent Signed In G.I.G. – Hard Rock Deal

Partnership moves forward

The agreement to partner on an omni-channel sportsbook venture in the USA announced earlier this year between Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and Gaming Innovation Group Inc moved a step further Thursday with a brief announcement via press release.

The two companies affirmed that they have signed a Letter of Intent “for the provision of an omni-channel Sportsbook platform in the newly opened New Jersey, US market”

The intention of the LOI is to execute an agreement and launch the Sportsbook in New Jersey in Q4 2018.

September Sports Betting Doubles In New Jersey

Operators report revenues of $183.9 million thanks to internet action and the start of the football season

The September handle numbers for sports betting released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement were, at $183.9 million, almost double those of the preceding month, thanks largely to an increase in mobile betting and the beginning of the new football season.

Revenue came in at $23.9 million, bringing year-to-date revenue to $40.5 million in the nascent vertical.

The Reuters news agency reports that on-site sports wagers placed at casinos and racetracks rose by $5.1 million to $79 million in the month of September, a 7 percent increase, but that was eclipsed by the total of wagers placed over the internet, which was $104.9 million versus $21.7 million the previous month.

Four new sites launched internet sportsbooks in September, compared with only three that had come online in August.

The “explosive growth” in sports wagering contributed to a 19.5 percent overall increase in New Jersey’s total gaming revenue to $281.7 million in September versus the same month the previous year, division director David Rebuck said in a statement.

Since sports betting went live in New Jersey on June 14, $328 million of sports wagers have been placed, according to the data. Of that handle – or the total amount of bets placed – New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks reaped $40.5 million of gross revenue.

The state received $4.2 million of taxes from the 8.5 percent tax on sports betting revenues and the 13 percent tax on internet sports betting revenue.

Fantasy Sportsbook Firms Lead The Way In New Jersey Sports Betting

Online betting makes a big impression in September

Drilling down into the New Jersey sports betting figures for September released Friday by the Division for Gaming Enforcement (see previous InfoPowa reports) reveals interesting developments, among them the fact that online – mobile activity has noticeably accelerated, and former fantasy sports providers FanDuel and DraftKings in their new role are doing well.

DraftKings Sportsbook and BetStars NJ, which operate under the Resorts Digital Gaming licence, led the online revenue list, generating $8.51 million, and if the alliance’s land and online betting numbers are combined accounted for 65.6 percent of the sector’s revenue.

Paddy Power Betfair’s FanDuel Sportsbook operating under the Meadowlands licence did better on the retail side than online, but still delivered a creditable performance – revenue of $2.85 million from online activity, and $4.37 million from retail – the top retail performer in September.

Borgata held second position on the revenue list, contributing $2.39 million from retail and $121,000 from the online operations of PlayMGM.

The other notable online performer was PlaySugarhouse, operating under the Golden Nugget licence and delivering revenue of $619,000, whilst on the retail front Monmouth Park generated a promising $2.14 million in revenue – more than double its figure for August.

Ocean Resort Casino, which opened early in September, holds good potential, recording retail revenue of almost a million dollars (just about double its August total) and online revenue of $292,100.

The September figures illustrate the potential for online sports betting; online handle accounted for an impressive $104.9 million or 57 percent of industry sports betting handle, rising from 22.7 percent in the preceding month.

The tax authorities in New Jersey will be pleased with September’s run as well, state coffers benefitted by $2.6 million from the 8.5 percent tax rate on retail revenues and the 13 percent tax rate on online revenue.

Washington DC Sports Betting Proposal Retains Momentum (Update)

Lawmaker claims support for legalisation

During a committee hearing Wednesday by the Washington DC Council to consider the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018, proposer and council member Jack Evans reiterated that he had the necessary political support for his measure, and that legalised sports betting will benefit the city-state.

“Sports betting is going to happen across the country, I would imagine in over 40 states,” Evans said. “I want legalized sports betting in the District ahead of Virginia and Maryland, before their legislatures convene in January.”

Washington DC would become the ninth US state to legalise sports betting following the strike down of PASPA in May this year by the US Supreme Court.

Evans claimed that five of those states have already begun seeing more tax revenue from sports betting.

The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018 seeks to legalise in-person and online sports bets and levy a 10 percent tax on gross gaming revenue.

Nevada Regulator Mulls Remote Sports Betting

Changes could permit punters outside Nevada borders to place sports bets through licensed sportsbooks

The Nevada Gaming Control Board discussed a proposal earlier this week that could see punters outside Nevada borders being allowed to place sports bets through mobile licensed sportsbooks.

The proposal has been supported by most of Nevada’s land gambling giants, and includes online registration for punters rather than having to physically present themselves at a land establishment.

The Nevada Resort Association is not on board however, and favours retaining the current system, with which it is “comfortable” according to a spokesman.

Following the strike down of PASPA earlier this year by the US Supreme Court, which affirmed the rights of individual states to decide on their own gambling laws, Nevada has experienced growing competition from states that have moved quickly to legalise sports betting.

The NGCG discussion this week was the start of a process which chairperson Becky Harris says will continue with a consultation on the merits of remote registration and betting

In related news, the state of New Mexico has become the latest to begin accepting sports wagers thanks to a partnership between USBookmaking and the Santa Ana Star Casino operated by the Tamaya Nation at the Pueblo of Santa Ana. Wagering is confined to on-premises activity pending legislative developments in the state.

U.S. Sports Leagues Set To Reap A $4.2 Billion Sports Betting Harvest

Nielsen Sports survey released Thursday quantifies the benefit…without the ‘integrity fee’

The four major U.S. professional sports leagues could reap a combined $4.2 billion (GBP 3.2 billion) annually as a result of legalised and liberalised sports betting in individual US states, most of it indirectly from increased fan engagement, according to a casino industry survey to be released later today (Thursday.)

Carried out by the respected Nielsen Sports research firm on a commission from the American Gaming Association, the study shows that the National Football League (NFL) stands to make the most, with a projected $2.33 billion of additional annual revenue. Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) would account for the rest.

The projections do not include the controversial “integrity fee” which the leagues have demanded from operators despite opposing the liberalisation of sports betting every step of the way for the past several years, and observers have opined that the survey could add fuel to the feud between the gambling industry and American sports leagues over whether to share revenues.

The leagues claim that liberalisation and a widened spread of sports betting threatens the integrity of the games and a creates the need to fund additional integrity measures. They additionally claim that without their games there would be nothing for punters to bet on, so they deserve a slice of the action.

Thus far, the majority of lawmakers in the states that have legalised sports betting have rejected these demands, along with requirements by the league that they control the use of sports data generated by the games.

The opposing positions led to an interesting clash between the AGA and the leagues at the G2E conference and expo recently, where an MLB executive vice-president said during a panel event that the integrity fee should be called a “royalty” and that leagues had lowered their demand to just 0.25 percent.

That was met by a riposte from a spokesperson for the AGA who fired back: “You want a cut of the revenue without any of the risk. We have to go through a regulatory process. We invest billions of dollars in buildings and our licenses. You want us to take that risk, pay you, and then you’re going to benefit on the back end as well.”

The Nielsen study found that $596 million of leagues’ total increased annual revenues would come from gaming services spending on television advertising; $267 million from sponsorship deals with the sports betting industry and $89 million from data and video revenue.

The rest would come if more fans – attracted by the appeal of being able to lay bets – watch games and are drawn into stadiums. The biggest portion of the total increase – nearly $3.3 billion – would come from those indirect revenues, including media rights and more merchandise and ticket sales.

For the NFL alone, indirect revenues could grow 13.4 percent to $14.8 billion of annual revenue, the report projects.