Sports Betting Focus H2 2023

INSIDE

Hot topics: Florida, fantasy and Fanatics

Features and interviews: Esports, integrity & data Company profi les: A who’s who of sports betting

EDITOR’S LETTER

COO, EDITOR IN CHIEF

Julian Perry

EDITOR

Tim Poole

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IT MANAGER

LiveScore Group CEO Sam Sadi told the GI Huddle a few months ago that convergence was a great way for two struggling business models to reignite. The two models in question, of course, are sports betting and sports media. And it seems Sadi (who spoke to us again as part of the lead theme in this magazine) is not alone in holding this opinion.

Indeed, since our last Sports Betting Focus , Penn Entertainment and ESPN have joined forces to create ESPN Bet: the ultimate example of sports betting and media convergence. ESPN’s concrete entrance into the sports wagering sphere was long anticipated – even if the manner in which it arrived was, shall we say, unexpected (talks with Penn were a well-kept secret before it sold its full share in Barstool Sports back to owner Dave Portnoy for just one dollar).

For ESPN Bet, putting ‘Penn’ to paper is an expensive deal. The partnership bears heavy up-front costs for Penn for what is, effectively, just a rebrand, a fantasy database and a TV audience. But that is where a lot of the industry, and wider society, is now headed. After all, gaming is a form of entertainment and, as such, competes with any other form of entertainment: movies, music, streaming, leisure activities and the like. So why not combine the consumption of sports betting and sports media into one?

It’s a thought many operators have previously had. And it’s a plan that has already seen numerous operators fail. Can ESPN Bet, or anyone else for that matter, make it work? With insight from Sadi’s LiveScore Group, FanDuel, Sportradar and Scott Butera – who led the Fubo Sports brand that learned its convergence lessons the hard way – we explore this phenomenon in-depth in this issue’s cover feature.

Alongside convergence, we’ve also got a series of sports betting company profiles, ahead of a busy G2E and NFL season, as well as editorial on fantasy, esports, integrity and much more. So we hope you enjoy the issue in its entirety – whether you think convergence is the next big trend to take the industry by storm, or an expensive risk that history will judge years down the line.

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WITH THANKS TO:

Tommy Molloy, Dotan Lazar, Sascha Paruk, Dima Reiderman,

Gambling Insider magazine ISSN 2043-9466

Produced and

Scott Leopold, James A. Lewis, Niklas Weber, Kevin Grigsby, Sam Sadi, Patrick Mostboeck, Scott Butera, Matt Heiman, Pat Pickens, Araksi Sargsyan, Rourke Struthers, Antonino Barra, Corey Plummer, Niki Beier, Geo Zochodne and Ronny Breivik, BetConstruct, IGT PlaySports, DataBet, Codium and EasyPay.

Julian Perry, COO, Editor in Chief Tim Poole, Editor

CONTENTS

46

20

6 KINDRED’S US TIMELINE Gambling Insider looks at the last five years within Kindred’s US operations

12 MASTERS OF THEIR DRAFT Sascha Paruk speaks to the GI Huddle about sports betting objectivity

18 ESPORTS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Bayes Esports’ Niklas Weber speaks to the GamblingInsider team

20 SPORTS BETTING MEDIA GamblingInsider speaks to industry experts about the convergence of sports betting and sports media

24 IN NUMBERS: NEW YORK FOCUS GamblingInsider looks at the state’s sports betting figures for August

26 FANATICS & POINTSBET: IGAMING DISRUPTION The Game Day’s Matt Heiman presents his thoughts on Fanatics’ deal to buy PointsBet’s US sportsbook operations

28 A SLICE OF THE FANTASY PIE Gambling Insider assesses the current state of the fantasy sports market. Is there room for new entrants?

32 OLYBET AND THE IBIA Corey Plummer speaks about Olybet’s recent partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association

38

24

34 PERSONALISING SPORTS BETTING

Niki Beier, SVP of ad:s at Sportradar, talks about how sportsbooks plan to make the 2023/24 season their most efficient yet

38 SHOULD PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES BE ALLOWED TO WAGER ON SPORTS?

Geoff Zochodne discusses whether or not professional athletes should be allowed to bet on sports

44 GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

GamblingInsider caught up with B90 CEO Ronny Breivik, where he discussed getting his old team back together

46 KEY US STATE DEVELOPMENTS

Scott Leopold and James A. Lewis of Duane Morris focus on Vermont, Florida and New Jersey as new legislation and opportunities abound in the US

8 SPORTINGTECH

10 LSPORTS

14 BETCONSTRUCT

16 IGT PLAYDIGITAL

29 DS VIRTUAL GAMING

30 ALTENAR

36 DATA.BET

40 CODIUM

42 EASYPAY

50 BTOBET

Kindred Group in the US: A timeline

Gambling Insider looks at five years of launches, partnerships and departures within Kindred Group’s time as a US operator

Ki ndred part ners wi th Hard Rock Hotel & Casi no in At lant ic Ci ty, NJ

Unibet launches in Pennsyl vani a

Ki nd red part ners wi th th e Qu echan Tr ib e of th e Fort Yu ma In di an Reserv at ion

Ki ndred en ters ag r eem en t wi th Kamb i and announces long-t erm sp or tsb ook pl an s

Ki nd red ex tend s it s part nershi p wi th th e Ph il ad el ph ia Eagl es

Un ib et ceases op er at ions in Iowa

Kindred receives approval for its proprietary gaming platform in New Jersey, The Unibet Arena launches in the Metaverse, Kindred launches in Washington State

Kindred platform live in New Jersey

10 MAY

Kindred partners with the Swinomish Tribe at Swinomish Casino & Lodge in Washington

13 JAN

Kindred posts 25% year-on-year increase in number of active customers in Q4

26 APR

Kindred confirms the resignations of: CEO Henrik Tjärnstrom, CFO Johan W ilsby, CMO Elen Barber and CCO Anne-Jaap Snijders. Nils Andén becomes Interim CEO

25 JULY

Kindred reports 29% Q2 revenue rise, to £307.3m ($394.6m)

In focus: Sportingtech

The sports betting scene has never been as vibrant as it is currently. Operators are clamouring for the most engaging products and solutions, this is where Sportingtech comes into its own.

There has never been a greater emphasis from operators to have bespoke offerings that appeal to their users. Sportingtech has had to maintain its standards to keep up with the heightened demands. We understand the increased appetite for innovative products that helps operators stand out and it is a challenge we have welcomed.

Our conveyor belt of new solutions and integrations have been stand-out, maximising the breadth of opportunities. Rolling out game-changing products that give bettors an edge has certainly improved engagement and turnover for our operator partners. Our Bet Assist feature attracts and retains bettors by generating automated betting tips analysis, historical data, live-score and AI analysis. FastBet is the only feature of its kind on the market, enabling users to wager multiple single bets across all sports at the touch of a button without creating a bet slip.

Our Share-a-Bet feature is one for bettors who are active on social media platforms. This product allows them to share their bets to their social media followings via a few simple taps and for their followers to then place the same bet easily, should they wish to do so. Integrating such functionality showcases our ability to tap into current trends in bettor habits and enhance the bespoke offerings we provide.

But it isn’t ‘job done’ once a product is live. We continue to tweak and tailor our products and ensure it continues to perform to the highest level. Take the World Cup as an example, this was an opportunity that we grabbed with both hands as we delivered fantastic engagement for our partners.

Our World Cup Widgets solution was tailored to the tournament, offering outrights, stats, specials, group betting and more, fully highlighting how a standalone integration can be enhanced solely for one event.

Sportingtech doesn’t just cover global events; we also thrive in supplying regional content. Unsurprisingly, this resonates with audiences greatly and we can fully provide an array of markets and events that appeal to any audience, no matter the region.

This is down to our expert teams around the world tapping into the psyche of users, as well as understanding their likes and dislikes, arming our product

teams to provide an offering to operators so they can hit the ground running.

A sportsbook focusing on what locals engage in clearly provides a more bespoke experience. Although content can be further tailored, catering to users within certain territories can significantly increase retention rates. It is imperative we tap into the current trends, as well as examine the preferences of a diverse demographic to ensure our offering is as strong as possible across all sports and markets.

And what about AI? It is certainly a hot topic throughout many industries and it is starting to have an influence on sports betting. At Sportingtech, we are happy to utilise new tools and see how they impact our products and using AI has been a positive experience so far. Our Bet Assist uses AI analysis as well as other features to generate automated betting tips across more than 100 popular betting markets, both pre-match and live. With seamless bet slip integration, we are tapping into AI to boost turnover.

Sportingtech can cater for any bettor needs. Also boasting an outstanding content offering within the casino vertical which complements the sports betting product, our variety of content is easily accessible and provides bettors around the globe the best iGaming experiences. With leading brands entrusting us to supply this to their customers, we take pride in maintaining the highest standard known throughout the industry.

Tommy Molloy, Chief Sportsbook Officer, Sportingtech

In focus: LSports

coverage and margins, LSports’ long-term product vision includes a set of innovative betting stimulation products aimed at providing users with modern, interactive experiences while addressing bookmakers’ challenges of differentiation and bettor engagement.

At the forefront of this line of products is LSports’ revolutionary Sports Expert Chat (SEC), a large language model utilising similar technology to ChatGPT, which acts as a sports advisor for bettors. SEC analyses bookmakers’ odds, offering data-driven tips while providing additional information about the event, such as news, weather and statistics.

Another exciting tool is “Points inplay,” an interactive social betting feature offering users contests and activations during real-time sporting events, elevating the excitement of the betting process.

These products will undoubtedly assist bookmakers in their efforts to retain customers in an era where users seek more than just raw betting odds and lines.

LSports is a leading sports data provider, offering cutting-edge solutions that give sportsbooks a competitive edge. Through advanced technology, LSports produces the fastest and most reliable database in the market, delivered with the lowest latency to its customers.

A decade after its foundation, LSports has fulfilled its vision of becoming “The Google of sports betting data.” It generates information from over 140,000 live events by combining methods like web scouting, TV/sports venue scouting, and advanced computer vision techniques extracting data from live streams of sporting events. The recent acquisition of STATSCORE has further boosted LSports’ data precision, approaching exceptional accuracy levels of nearly 100%.

What sets LSports apart is the unparalleled coverage it offers, making it the most comprehensive in the industry. Encompassing over 175,000 pre-match and 140,000 in-play fixtures across more than 100 sports, LSports supports a vast array of over 2,500 betting markets, including common markets, player props, outrights and more. This extensive scope positions

the company as a valuable ally for sportsbooks in various development stages, catering to well-established brands and those in their early growth phases. ***

In the face of skyrocketing customer acquisition costs and a consolidated market, LSports understands the urgent need for unique and differentiated solutions. Having operated in the sports betting industry since 2012, the company has gained an in-depth understanding of these challenges and reacts accordingly.

Alongside TRADE360, its stateof-the-art sports trading system, and BPS (Bookie Performance System), which monitors the market and offers operators real-time recommendations to adjust their

Recognising the unique challenges faced by sportsbooks in different regions of the world, LSports customises all its products to cater to local audiences, overcoming language and terminology barriers. With a strong client base in Europe and an official presence in key markets such as North America, Latin America, China, South Korea and South Africa, the company ensures culturally sensitive 24/7 support in sales, customer service, and customer success.

***

In this pivotal technological era, LSports believes sports data providers must be proactive to stay ahead of the pack. Identifying market trends, leveraging the most advanced technologies, and rapidly developing stone of LSports’ success over the past decade, making it the ideal partner for bookmakers worldwide, both now and in the future.

Dotan Lazar, CEO & Co-Founder, LSports

Masters of their draft

Sascha Paruk , Managing Editor of Sports Betting Dime, speaks about how the legalisation of sports betting affects fan participation and league neutrality

Transcribed by Hannah Ward

Our first question is about the journey Sports Betting Dime has been on since the website started in 2012 – despite PASPA not being overturned until 2018?

I joined in 2014 and it’s safe to say things were very different back then. There were about six people working out of a two-bedroom apartment. We catered largely to an audience that was not based in the US, so we’ve always been a sports betting information and analytics site, detailing existing sports betting odds.

We also wanted to ask how the legalisation of sports betting has changed? How do not only the fans interact with league drafts, but also athletes, journalists and analysts?

The site itself has mostly maintained that framework the whole time, but the audience that we have been targeting has obviously changed and so we were not always part of XLMedia. As the legalisation trends started to sweep across the US, I believe the powers at XL recognised Sports Betting Dime as the authority in the space and saw a good opportunity to bring us into their portfolio. At that point in time, they aimed to alter the focus of Sports Betting Dime to be further aimed at the US.

to alter the focus of Sports

like DraftKings and options

for the NFL

those offerings

From an SBD standpoint, legalisation has created a lot more content for us, especially concerning the NFL, NBA and NHL Drafts. To some extent, we do have a Canadian presence, as I live in Canada. The MLB Draft, however, is less of an event compared to the other three. Over the years, our coverage of the NFL Draft has grown, commensurate with the betting market type props offered by sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. The more betting options they provide for the NFL Draft, the more we will report on and analyse those offerings to determine where we think the value lies.

So, from a journalistic standpoint, legalisation has

So, from a

“THE BETTER YOU CAN EDUCATE PEOPLE ON THE RISKS FROM AN EARLY AGE, THE BETTER EQUIPPED THEY WILL BE AS THEY GO FORWARD AND BECOME ADULTS”

SASCHA PARUK Managing Editor, Sports Betting Dime

created a massive raft of content for us to cover, especially concerning the drafts. For fans, the obvious benefit is that you can have a much larger stake in the draft than you could previously before legalisation. When you’re watching the draft, you’re paying attention to who your team drafts and not much else. At this point in time, given the number of things that you can wager on at the NFL Draft, especially the NBA as well, you can have a stake in every pick out there.

Now, it is worth mentioning that sportsbooks are very good at mitigating their own risk, so the limits on the draft props will always be lower than the limits they offer for a standard NFL Sunday.

Do you think they are checking your sites, or maybe the informational and analytical sites, more than their sportsbook to find out how to bet? Do you see an increase in your website traffic from this?

Yes, we do. Over the years, we have developed something that we call an NFL Draft Tracker. Essentially, it aggregates the odds for the main betting market, specifically, who will be the number one pick. This betting market is offered

at FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars and numerous other legal North American sportsbooks.

What our trackers do is average out all the odds being offered and display them in a graph, showing the average odds on different days. As you follow it, you can see that the amount of traffic a page like that received in 2016 pales in comparison to the traffic it got in 2023. It’s pretty clear that the reason people are visiting it now is because it’s something they actually want to wager on.

As far as providing graphs and odds to bettors, how does Sports Betting Dime make sure you remain neutral in this process?

We’ve noticed instances where certain markets were not actually being offered by sportsbooks for betting, so we took the initiative to provide odds ourselves. We did this quite often with the Super Bowl in previous years because the Super Bowl is known for being fun. There were times in the past when we came up with our own odds and put them out into the world, but we were very clear that these were our estimations of what the odds would be if this market were available for betting. We are not a sportsbook and we cannot take your money.

When it comes to presenting the existing odds, the dynamic with our odds tracker is that we collect as much information as possible and display it to you. It is an entirely neutral researchbased process; we don’t have any stake in the matter. Our goal is to provide you with the information available and aggregate it from as many sources as possible to give bettors the most accurate depiction of the odds.

However, they must be aware that those entities will do what they can to make money within the confines of the regulations and the law. It’s really important for the regulators in each state to implement very strong controls to protect every stakeholder involved.

I know we had the MLB Draft recently. Do you think that was possibly a bit less unscrupulous? Do you think there was some neutrality there that the NBA could have looked towards for guidance?

I think the MLB has a significant advantage when it comes to their draft in that – I’m not going to say that nobody cares – but far fewer people do. Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Millers, Scoot Henderson – these guys are celebrities before they even set foot on an NBA court. Paul Skenes, Dylan Cruise, I think if you go to Louisiana, they’re minor celebrities, but there’s not the same sort of rush from a national standpoint to predict what is going to happen with them. Yes, I do think the MLB did a better job of remaining neutral and ensuring that available information wasn’t disseminated to certain parties. Though, I do think they had a massive advantage of there being far fewer eyes on them.

What do you think the education for athletes and fans in each sport has been like? Do you think there has been some gaps; do you think they have been handling things well in sports?

There was a complicated situation

it could have been, can you give us some

There was a complicated situation possibly with the NBA Draft recently where a sportsbook may have gotten information and it was not as neutral as it could have been, can you give us some background about that?

I do not have any more information than you would. It’s a very delicate situation and I agree with you on that. When sports betting started to be legalised across the United States, it was always very clear that this was going to be a highly regulated activity. When you have an imbalance in power and knowledge that could potentially exist between the sportsbook and the bettors, I do think it’s incumbent on the regulators to put very strict controls in place, similar to how insider trading is protected against, and considered illegal and penalised.

to be legalised across the United States, it was put ensure that the industry we have legalised and interest is making money and need to do so to

I do think that type of framework needs to exist, but it’s going to be on the regulators to ensure that the industry we have legalised and created for the people of their constituency is not drastically unfair to them. They have allowed these corporate entities, whose number one interest is making money and need to do so to survive, to operate in this space and industry.

No, but I also think it was almost impossible for them to do so. Gambling is an inherently risky activity and when you look at our society and the way we deal with any risky activities like drug and alcohol consumption, we address these things from an early age and try to educate people when they’re young. The better you can educate people on the risks from an early age, the better equipped they will be as they go forward and become adults, so they don’t fall into the traps that risky activities present. When you legalise something such as sports betting, you are then presenting a brand-new risky activity to an uneducated population. It was a very difficult undertaking to ensure things were done perfectly safely. You are creating an idealistic society in which sports betting is a part of it and the way you approach education is different than the way you approach it when you are introducing it into an existing society. From the sounds of it, the NFL made concerted efforts to tell its players, “Here are the rules: you cannot bet on NFL games and you cannot place a bet inside a facility.” They presented that information to everybody in the league. However, at the same point in time, people either didn’t hear it, didn’t understand or ignored it. The lattermost, most people ignoring it, is a risk that you’re going to run.

In Focus: BetConstruct Sportsbook

BetConstruct: Empowering betting excellence

One of the most remarkable aspects of the BetConstruct Sportsbook is its dedication to providing players with the ultimate betting experience; regardless of their preferences. Multi-currency and single wallet functionality empower players with the freedom to choose their preferred currency, while the seamless omnichannel capabilities ensure that bets can be placed on desktop, mobile, or in-store using a single account.

betting tools. Features like SuperBet and Counter Offer empower players to take their bets to new heights, while edit bet lets them make changes to active bets; enhancing engagement and interaction. The cash out option provides players with ultimate control over their bets, allowing full or partial cash-outs for added convenience.

Renowned for its comprehensive suite of over 50 tailored products and services, BetConstruct has emerged as an iGaming provider, dedicated to empowering its partners with cuttingedge solutions that drive success in the fiercely competitive market.

At the heart of BetConstruct’s offerings lies the crown jewel – the BetConstruct Sportsbook. A complete sports betting platform meticulously designed to enable operators to not only compete but thrive. Whether you’re a single betting shop, manage a chain of retail premises, or run an online operation, BetConstruct Sportsbook provides the arsenal of tools necessary to captivate new players.

The hallmark of the BetConstruct Sportsbook is its unparalleled array of offerings. It opens the gateway to a staggering 140,000 pre-match events and 70,000 live events every month. This diverse and engaging selection ensures that players are immersed in a world of endless possibilities, where both conventional and groundbreaking markets are at their fingertips. What’s more, the comprehensive coverage of over 6,000 pre-match and 12,000 live events from 20+ esports competitions caters to the rapidly growing esports community, underscoring BetConstruct’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve.

But the true genius of BetConstruct Sportsbook lies in its risk management prowess. Customisable margins, bet limits and cashout settings put operators in the driver’s seat, enabling effective risk management that aligns with its business strategies. This level of control is further extended through the comprehensive back office – a real-time hub offering insights, player data and robust reporting tools for streamlined operations.

Mobile betting has become an integral part of the iGaming experience and BetConstruct understands this well. The platform boasts an array of mobile solutions that cater to players on the move. From traditional mobile web interfaces to native iOS and Android applications, BetConstruct ensures that the transition from desktop to mobile is seamless and intuitive. The SpringBuilderX mobile web platform takes this a step further by offering SEO functionality and a comprehensive user interface, creating an optimal mobile betting experience.

The BetConstruct Sportsbook is a canvas awaiting customisation. Operators can tailor the Sportsbook to align with their brand’s identity and their players’ preferences. A variety of Sportsbook views – Classic, Modern, Combo, Asian, and European – offer familiarity and engagement. Tools like CMS Pro and SpringBuilderX grant effortless configuration, customisation and management of the interface, granting operators the power to create a unique and compelling platform.

BetConstruct Sportsbook comes loaded with a range of advanced

Promotions and bonuses are integral to player engagement and BetConstruct Sportsbook offers a variety of options – free bets, accumulator bonus, bad beat bonus, wagering bonus and profit boost. The in-house CRM solution adds a strategic edge, enabling operators to manage and execute successful promotional campaigns with ease.

BetConstruct thrives in the realm of exclusivity with an access to exclusive betting events, live betting and streaming on unconventional sports like table tennis, snooker, basketball shots, archery and pistol shooting keeps players engaged and excited.

Venturing beyond the virtual arena, BetConstruct offers an array of landbased solutions for retail businesses. From cashier and reporting systems, to odds display and self-service touch screen terminals, BetConstruct ensures that retail operations are equipped with the tools needed to thrive in the competitive market.

Diving into the future, BetConstruct’s in-house esports product offers a powerful betting platform for the rapidly growing esports industry. Covering 22+ competitive video games and providing over 12,000 monthly live matches, this offering speaks volumes about BetConstruct’s forward-looking approach.

BetConstruct Sportsbook is not just a solution; it’s a symphony of innovation, tailored experiences and endless possibilities. It empowers operators to elevate their offerings, engaging players on their terms and leading the industry with its cutting-edge features. With BetConstruct Sportsbook, the journey to betting excellence is more than a promise – it’s a reality.

In focus: IGT PlaySports

Get in the game with the winning combination of B2B sports betting technology and comprehensive marketready solutions. IGT PlaySports offers everything sportsbook operators need to drive growth and build all-star success. Sports operators seeking faster revenue and market share growth know their winning play is to partner with IGT PlaySports. With a large presence in North America, IGT PlaySports offers a complete, omnichannel sports portfolio that includes top-tier sports betting hardware and solutions. From fully integrated gaming bar top and hardware products, to trading services and 24/7 customer support, IGT offers high-quality products and proven experience that operators trust.

POWERFUL, VERSATILE AND MARKET-READY

The IGT PlaySports platform is one of the most powerful technology stacks in the rapidly expanding North American sports betting market. In the last year, IGT PlaySports expanded its presence in five key jurisdictions across 96 new retail locations, making it one of the largest and most influential suppliers in North America.

Backed by the versatility and market readiness of the PlaySports solution, IGT has helped commercial and tribal casinos, racetracks and lotteries establish and grow their sports betting enterprises and is poised to continue this positive momentum moving forward.

MAJOR SUCCESS WITH MAJOR SPORTS BETTING PROVIDERS

IGT PlaySports maintains a strong partnership with major commercial sports betting providers, such as FanDuel Group, Boyd Gaming and Delaware North, as well as partnerships in Ohio’s unique market with UBetOhio, SkyBox and SuperBook. In 2023, Ohio proved to be a major success for IGT with over 100 new kiosk deployments in Ohio alone, making it the most widely used self-service sports betting technology in the US. With the addition of Ohio, IGT’s PlaySports technology is currently available at more than 170 retail locations, including the FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment – a historically highvolume US sportsbook.

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR

Customers tell us they choose IGT for three key reasons:

• Our B2B sports betting solutions are built and certified for the North American market, including our aroundthe-clock, US-based trading advisory services tailored specifically for North America.

• A highly scalable platform allows operators to differentiate with retail and mobile capabilities, expanding their ability to reach players in multiple ways.

• A proven partner in profitability provides full organisational support in compliance, product development, operations, and training, backed by our extensive industry experience.

CUSTOMISABLE PROMOTIONS AND PLAYER PERSONALISATION

Personalisation of the user interface remains a continued focus. The deep integration between our player account management (PAM) platform and special offers allows for highly tailored sports promotions, which

ultimately helps drive the best ROI for our customers and maintain customer satisfaction. We were the first sports betting supplier to enable operators to pioneer unique marketing and retail promotions with our customers.

EXPERT SPORTS BETTING ADVICE

IGT’s in-house trading team provides PlaySports customers around-the-clock expert odds making with localised pricing for pre-game and in-play bets, continual offer monitoring and optimisation and on-call expertise in every aspect of day-to-day sportsbook operations.  To address the growing demand for our trading advisory services, in 2022 we introduced a new trading application that uses multi-layered technology to make it simpler for our trading team to manage multiple sportsbooks at the same time.   IGT’s PlaySports customers also benefit from compelling and original promotional bets, exclusive parlay, and combination wagering and player retention and acquisition strategies designed by the trading team’s content managers.

A TRUSTED ADVISOR, FULLY DEDICATED TO OUR PARTNERS  IGT PlaySports goes beyond the transactional relationship with its customers and serves as a trusted advisor and partner in the sports betting business. The most common feedback we receive from our partners is in praise of our high-quality customer service. Our dedicated team of Relationship Managers focuses solely on interaction with the customers and ensures they provide assistance across every phase of sportsbook launch and management.

GET IN THE GAME WITH IGT PLAYSPORTS

No other supplier takes the individual and relationship-first approach we do. Backed by decades of experience, operators have confidence they are receiving top-quality solutions from IGT PlaySports to support their business goals and move the player experience forward.

Esports: Past, present and future

We speak to Niklas Weber, PR and Content Creator at Bayes Esports, about the company’s attendance of IEM Cologne, and the past, present and future of esports

at any time and that changed the way he looked at gaming in general and he felt a real passion for watching, playing and training together with other people in these virtual worlds. So he decided that he was going to try to essentially create the ‘NFL of esports,’ as he called it, and create a league or a stage where people can play competitively; and can spend time with each other in these virtual worlds on the biggest stages so everybody can enjoy it worldwide.

Bayes Esports held a roundtable at the IEM Cologne in August. Those speaking at the roundtable were Ulrich Schulze, SVP Gaming Ecosystem at ESL FACEIT Group, Alban Dechelotte, CEO at G2 Esports, Jens Hilgers, Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT, Christoph Thann, EMEA Director Esports at Ubisoft and Martin Dachselt, CEO of Bayes Esports.

What sort of topics were covered at IEM Cologne?

The roundtable was mainly going through the past, the present and the future of esports. We had some questions about the present of esports, what current issues are, what possible areas for development are; and then the future.

What potential is there? What markets the panelists would want to explore etc. The first question we had was directed at Hilgers and what led him to found the ESL in the late ‘90s and early 2000s; what made him get involved in esports. What was interesting was that in the late ‘90s, there was a shift in gaming, where before that, if you wanted to play with other people, you had to do it locally and you had to be at an arcade or in front of the TV; and you had to splitscreen essentially to play multiplayer games.

And in the late ‘90s, that changed because games started to move online, which meant that from then, at that point forward, you could play online competitively against other people

He also said that, since then, not a whole lot has changed. Back then, for him, it was the likes of Quake and those kinds of games where you spend a lot of time playing and, in today’s world, it’s the same with Fortnite. The youth are playing games like Fortnite, not just to compete against each other, but to also spend time with each other in those virtual worlds. So that’s why there has been this linear growth, and that’s something that he came back to later, where in esports it just keeps on growing with each generation that joins esports; that knows gaming; that grows up with esports and gaming; because the basic idea of it and the basic premise is that passion of wanting to be competitive, and playing games with the other, is basically the same from 1997 all the all the way up to today.

Esports itself has been growing, but what about the betting market? Esports has a large under-18 audience, so obviously, that will form a large portion of the market?

I think the issue with esports betting in that kind of sense is that, as you said, there is this need to do it right, because the more it’s allowed to just run freely, the more there is the risk of esports betting becoming a trap for younger audiences, for match-fixing and for integrity issues. That’s something that was also discussed during the

panel where there were questions of, “What do you do in terms of integrity? How can we ensure these games are not susceptible to match-fixing and the like?” To which Dachselt said that the entire field of integrity and doing esports betting right is very wide. There are a lot of fields that need to be worked on, to which there is not a singular solution because there’s matchfixing, there is insider trading, there is data scraping and that kind of stuff.

The way they want to move forward, they saw progress by getting official data and having partnerships with tournament organisers to gain access to their official data sources; and then working closely together with them to monitor player behaviour, to monitor the data that we get from them, to see abnormal behaviour of players. But also then having official data partnerships with betting partners to then run through the market and see ‘okay, where’s abnormal betting behavior? Or, where’s abnormal market behavior?’ Beyond that, esports betting is obviously still growing and there’s a lot to do. But as you mentioned, there is this caution of doing it right and seeing how we can bring esports betting into its audience, without it taking advantage of its younger audience.

What do people bet on most in esports and what are the common factors involved?

Have the biggest esports markets changed?

There are three big titles in esports. There’s counter strike global offensive (CS:GO), soon to be counter strike two – once that’s released – and there’s Dota 2 and League of Legends. There are also a multitude of other games like FIFA and Rocket League, that don’t have a similar level of audience. The majority of esports betting is on these three titles and the biggest one out of those three in terms of esports betting is CS:GO. That has a couple of reasons why; the first one is that it’s the most mature game; whereas League of Legends and Dota 2 are more catered towards a younger audience and teens. CS:GO is supposed to be for adults and it has a more mature audience; that then also attracts more betting.

The second one is that the gameplay itself lends itself to betting. The benefit for esports betting is that if given the right tools, esports betting companies can offer markets for individual round winners, such as who’s winning the next round? And that way you can encourage bettors

to bet over and over again during the match. In other games, for example, if you’re also looking towards football, as another market in sports betting, you might have a market for who’s winning the overall match but that takes 90 minutes and then you have side markets that are a lot less interesting, like who’s winning the next corner? Who scores the next goal? But even then, there is not a guarantee that these markets actually happen. It could just be that no team scores another goal, which for a bettor is not attractive.

By comparison, esports betting in CS:GO, there’s always going to be a next round winner and it happens so frequently. The benefit of CS:GO is that essentially every month there can be a big tournament in which the big teams will play and in which they will compete on the highest level; so it keeps people coming back to it because there are higher-stakes games as well.

How has the popularity of certain games changed over the last 10 years, considering you mentioned the top three at the moment? Strangely enough, over the last 10 years, they haven’t. Which is also something that Hilgers discussed during the roundtable. That is incredibly strange for esports. Usually, if we’re looking at the history of esports, there have been new titles coming up and conquering the scene on a more frequent basis. Before the 2010s, it was the likes of Starcraft, Starcraft Two, there was Quake, there were previous editions of those games; but also games that since then have fallen out of favour, like Warcraft 3 or StarCraft, World of Warcraft even had a thriving esport scene.

In the 2010s, when streaming services started to emerge, it became easier for game developers and tournament organisers to stream their tournaments to a broader audience. That’s when we saw the emergence of CS:GO, we also saw Dota 2 and we also saw League of Legends, all in the span of two to three years from 2011 to 2013. If I remember my timeline correctly, they all emerged at basically the same time and have been at the top now for over 10 years.

Why do you think that is?

I think a part of it is, because of the developments that happened in gaming and streaming, these games managed to stay relevant through live action services. They are constantly updated and there’s always new content. They stay relevant over longer periods of time.

Before, you bought the disc, you played the games and then that’s what you got. Updates to games were a lot less frequent, as opposed to now. So these games managed to build an audience over 10, 11, 12 years and remained relevant during that time.

Therefore, they could stay at the top rather than eventually falling behind due to graphical deficits that you would expect after 10 years, but if you can update the game regularly, then these games will stay at the top over a longer period of time.

What do you think the future of esports will be like?

Something that Alban Dechelotte from G2E mentioned during the roundtable was that he’s interested in the possibilities of VR and creating a virtual world for the fans of G2E, so that they can log on into this virtual world and basically have their own home field where they are; where it’s just them enjoying the games together in this kind of virtual arena.

Because otherwise you don’t have this home stadium or a home field in esports, because the venues are always neutral. But through VR and those kinds of technologies, there is the possibility of creating this home-stadium feel. Maybe that’s also a way for teams to market their own games, their own tournament runs and for this kind of premium event experience to manifest itself in esports as well.

“There is this need to do it right, because the more it’s allowed to just run freely, the more there is the risk of esports betting becoming a trap for younger audiences, for match-fixing and for integrity issues”

Sports betting media

Gambling Insider spoke to Kevin Grigsby of FanDuel, Sam Sadi of LiveScore, Patrick Mostboeck of Sportradar and Scott Butera of Sports Information Group, about the convergence of sports betting and sports media

When it comes to the media, they say ‘everybody’s a critic,’ but when it comes to media outlets lately, it seems everybody actually wants to be a sportsbook. Sports betting is now live and legal in over two thirds of the 50 states, and the companies who televise, stream and distribute those sports want to be part of the conversation. Though financial reports throughout 2023 have shown that FanDuel and DraftKings hold most of the market share when it comes to sports wagering in the US, this has not stopped many other tenacious operators, including media companies, from throwing their own baseball caps into the ring.

Betting and media have created global partnerships and acquisitions over the last few years, and now the trend could be at the top of its game. Virgin Bet launched in 2019, and now operates as part of the LiveScore Group. DraftKings acquired broadcast company Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) in 2021. TalkSport Bet launched in 2022, as the popular UK and Ireland radio station moved into betting. Entain acquired online sports media platform 365Scores in April this year. In August, Football.com announced a new purposeful combination of betting and media surrounding its namesake sport. But the biggest news this autumn was that sports media giant, ESPN, branched out to offering bets by teaming up with Penn Entertainment (after a few years of anticipation).

But for every new entry into the market, there are also cautionary tales. Flutter Entertainment announced the close of Fox Bet just a month earlier in July 2023; Fanatics Betting & Gaming purchased PointsBet’s US Operations in June after it announced a struggle to gain market share in April; and Fubo Sportsbook ceased operations in October 2022, with MaximBet following suit one month later. Meanwhile, 888’s Sports Illustrated venture also struggles to gain traction. With sports and media growing ever closer to each other, Gambling Insider spoke to four industry executives to see where the competition truly lies. How have the games we love, the ways we watch them, and the ways we bet on the action converged over time to make sports media and sports betting so intertwined?

IN MEDIAS RES

Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer and SVP of TV for FanDuel TV, is all-toofamiliar with the way in which sports media and sports betting have merged

to create a lucrative fusion. All the convincing anyone needs is to hear or see the words ‘FanDuel’ and ‘TV’ next to each other, and it’s immediately obvious that sports fans are now in the midst of a new era, based on betting-driven content. Grigsby told Gambling Insider: “FanDuel TV is a perfect example of that convergence. The sports media content we produce allows us to grab the attention of betting customers that paid marketing makes it difficult to replicate, and in a hyper-competitive industry, that is a massive advantage.”

Patrick Mostboeck, SVP Audiovisual for Sportradar noted, both FanDuel and DraftKings had expanded their AV offerings, as well as mentioned DAZN launching its own sportsbook, not just ESPN. He said this convergence between betting and media over the years has been natural: “In the fight for fan engagement, providing platforms where fans can both watch and bet has become the next logical step.” Sportradar, which uses technology and data for both engagement and integrity, also provided some research confirming the natural shift toward betting from today’s sports fan. “According to Global Web Index’s 2019 Sports Around the World report, 97% of legal sports bettors watch more live sporting events than those who do not bet; and according to American Gaming Association (AGA) research, nine out of 10 viewers are more likely to watch a sporting even if they placed a bet on it.”

The potential efficiency of acquiring customers based on their viewing habits was also mentioned by Scott Butera, the current CEO of Sports Information Group, Daily Racing Form and previous President of Fubo Gaming. He said: “Understanding how much an individual is watching sports is a pretty good indicator of their likelihood to be betting.” To Butera, three or four hours of daily sports viewership shows a possibility that a fan is watching multiple teams play multiple games,

and makes that fan 30% more likely to bet, while five hours increases that chance to 50%. Though studying fan patterns seems to be both possible and encouraged, reaching the ‘right’ fans still proves difficult within the States. Butera continued: “The cost of running a sports betting operation in the US is significant. In terms of being a media company wanting to take that on, it might be a bit daunting; but in terms of the actual relationship between viewing sports and betting on sports, that’s very strong.” The competition and saturation within the market, as well as the individual state licensing and regulation required, can put a heavy burden on media companies simply looking to drive their engagement and get in the game – but more on that later.

While convergence seems to be undeniable between sports media and sports betting, with more content, channels, campaigns, partnerships and sportsbooks saturating the US market everywhere we look, some feel as if initial opportunities have been missed. Sam Sadi, CEO of LiveScore, said this evident convergence has been “in general, very poorly executed despite all the efforts and a strong conviction around its potential.” The reasoning behind why the executive believes this convergence isn’t serving the industry is twofold. According to Sadi, the imperfect union of betting and media has been “pursued by separate companies with misaligned or conflicting goals,” and suffered from a “lack of understanding of the fans’ expectations of value.”

This time of discovery within the expanding US sports betting market has the opportunity to make or break a sportsbook if the secrets behind understanding and catering to fans’ desires can be unlocked. But how big do operators need to think to capitalise on the fans they already have and ultimately grow their fanbase with competitive new offerings?

STREAMLINING THE EXPERIENCE

Fan value and fan experience both come in many forms. For the sports fan watching hours of programming and several games a day, that experience might take place on multiple devices at once. It’s not hard to envision a group of fans cheering during a game at their favourite local sports bar while simultaneously checking the scores of other games on their phones. A fan watching a game on their laptop may have several tabs open, including their sportsbook of choice, as well as any

Kevin Grigsby, FanDuel

social media accounts held by the team, the players or the sportsbook itself.

Butera said it’s important to have “a really strong product that allows you to synchronise the streaming and betting experience in a way that is very attentive to individual customer desires and wants.” Mostboeck calls a platform able to integrate with multiple devices “essential.” Apart from following a bettor’s individual watching habits and trends, betting is a time-sensitive activity where latency and lag are an important part of the conversation surrounding mobile sportsbooks. Mostboeck adds: “Any delay or failure to deliver updates can massively impact the customer experience. Bettors expect the same features and functionality across devices and channels. In the competitiveness of our industry, any flaw in an operator’s platform provides an opportunity for rivals to gain the upper hand and sway customers.”

That competition must be noted, again, as something that applies to both sports betting and sports media. Streaming content must also be optimised for the perfect omnichannel experience for delivering content no matter where the viewer wants to access it. FanDuel TV has also already launched its own OTT platform, FanDuel TV+, in addition to hosting live web streaming and integrating its stream into the FanDuel sportsbook app. The company also plans to introduce a FAST channel. Grigsby said: “We want our viewers to be able to easily watch the bet they placed with us from wherever they are.” A new streaming service, just as much as a new sportsbook, would have to offer something truly unique to stand out and draw new customers to make the switch away from names with as much market recognition as ESPN or FanDuel.

LIVE ACTION

One of those underrated selling points seems to be offering live and in-play betting options. Grigsby, Sadi

and Mostboeck all referred to these markets as either important or in demand. Sadi commented that the trend toward offering live and in-play bets is responsive, saying: “Those outside of our industry often underestimate how much consumer research goes behind product development. The clear reason why so much investment is being directed towards improving in-play and live products is that we see strong demand from our users.” Grigsby says live bets allow viewers to stay engaged with FanDuel’s product “throughout its entirety.” He said, “FanDuel TV is heavily investing in watch-and-wager content with live betting data and data visualisation.” Grigsby added that it’s not only valuable to the fans looking for this content, but from an operator’s perspective as well, saying live markets are “proving to be a valuable business model that generate more revenue per viewer.”

Mostboeck, acutely aware of how much both bettors and operators love sports data, said: “Sportradar offers more than 200 in-play markets on a single soccer match and provides the marketplace with more than 25,000 betting opportunities in soccer each month, which gives you an idea of the size of the opportunity.” Noting that the technology behind in-play betting is everadvancing, Mostboeck is counting on both enhanced fan engagement and experience in future, due to the use of AI and the accessibility of real-time information. The greater availability of mobile phones will also influence operators and their platforms greatly. Mostboeck added: “Prioritising mobile readiness is vital for business growth, as mobile betting drives the highest growth and expansion across key markets.”

PROS AND CONTENT

Wherever a media focus lies, a swift

desire for varied and frequent content follows, often with a celebrity host. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and many other US sports betting platforms offer livestreaming of sporting events alongside their own original content via either a collaboration with broadcast television, a proprietary OTT platform, online streaming, in-house podcasts, a company YouTube channel or even TikTok and Instagram videos. Both current and former athletes appear in the promotional images and on the mics for various shows, such as DraftKings Network’s “Gojo and Golic” with Mike Golic Sr and Mike Golic Jr; FanDuel TV’s “Run it Back” with Chandler Parsons; and BetMGM’s World Cup 2022 series of YouTube videos featuring Tim Howard. The entire existence of Jake Paul as a concurrent YouTuber, boxer and cofounder of sports wagering platform, Betr, also ties a neat bow around the theory of convergence in these areas.

For Grigsby, FanDuel TV aims to “purposely interweave betting narratives into all programming.” He added that FanDuel TV’s “gambling-centric lower screen ticker, displaying FanDuel odds, is a constant mainstay which has led to distribution in restaurants and bars.” The company has also thought about the social media applications of the FanDuel TV experience, stating that shortform “Action Updates” are “purposely produced and index very well on social media and digital platforms, such as the FanDuel Sportsbook Explore tab.” Butera, meanwhile, thinks betting content within media is “pretty prolific” now, but that we should still expect more to come. “In broadcasts, they’re talking about it a lot and it’s really kind of exploded – both visually and through radio, podcasts, all kinds of media: people are using betting lines as analytics to understand games.”

The trend toward multi-platform and omnichannel experiences has also

Scott Butera, Sports Information Group

“For fans, the ability to watch and bet on a single platform can make the betting experience far more engaging and convenient, as it means they do not have to go elsewhere for live action or to place a bet”

created more types of data and more ways to integrate this data with both the sporting events and the media content that covers them. Mostboeck commented: “By providing fans with greater portfolios of live-streamed content, more ways to access live sports, and more compelling sports insights and data, betting companies are transforming their businesses into ‘one-stop-shops’ for live sports entertainment.” Sportradar offers a tool called EmBet, which provides live odds and statistical overlays, aiming to create more “holistic” fan involvement as well as customer loyalty.

Though some sports fanatics are after more data to help them make their wagering decisions, rather than the opinion or commentary from a celebrity host, in the end it all serves the same purpose: helping a fan become loyal to a particular betting operator, based on media preferences and needs. Mostboeck added, “For fans, the ability to watch and bet on a single platform can make the betting experience far more engaging and convenient, as it means they do not have to go elsewhere for live action or to place a bet. This is massively beneficial as studies have shown that 90% of viewers currently use a second screen when watching live sport.”

But how can sports fans who began their watching journey with ESPN, and their betting journey with an unrelated sportsbook app, either choose between the two, or make sure their games and bets exist in perfect harmony? Are customers swayed by the call of convenience that a ‘one app to rule them all’ situation could potentially offer? Butera said it could “certainly happen.” He continued, speaking first from an operator’s point of view and then from a fan’s: “If you can create a competitive enough product, or if you have a competitive enough partner, you should be able to overcome that. If you thought the company was very adept at both, you would just stay on one platform for the offers you could have.”

HEALTHY COMPETITION

So far, the US has seen not only a rise in the convergence of sports media and sports betting, but also a few high-profile exits from this new double-industry. As mentioned earlier, PointsBet sold its US operations to competitor, Fanatics Betting and Gaming for $225m, after a brief bidding war with DraftKings, which also offered $195m before Fanatics’ winning counter offer. Fox Bet announced that it would stop taking bets in July this year, and was offline by the end of August.

Butera’s own previous experience at Fubo Gaming and Fubo Sportsbook also came to an end in 2022, after Fubo TV announced that the betting divisions would close following a strategic review.

When asked whether there is a drawback to the aforementioned conundrum of watching sports on one platform and betting on another, Butera said: “But that’s just competition, right?” Butera spoke of his previous ideas, as well as what sports streaming companies could do now to build on the possibilities for betting integration in the future. “When we were at Fubo, our TV broadcast was actually synced to our sportsbook, so I could be watching a game and be getting offers on my sports betting app as I’m watching it. If I were to change the channel, the app would go to that new game. There are a lot of things you can do, that are very fast. If it’s a streaming company, you could offer, free streaming for certain-level players. If you have a quality product through synchronisation, you can be very effective more broadly.”

This competitive US market, which has caused a few sportsbooks to ‘bet’ off more than they can chew, likely comes down to how much it takes to both fund and regulate a sports betting operation in such a large market with different needs, policies and demographics. Sadi said of what could have happened at Fox Bet, Fubo Gaming and PointsBet: “It’s hard to provide a single answer for three entities, except that all three, together with many analysts covering the opening of the US sports betting industry, underestimated how challenging the unit economics of growth would be and the amount of capital it would take them to reach long-term profitability.”

But how did the US sports betting market, which only began offering wagers after the overturning of PASPA in 2018, become so oversaturated so quickly? Sadi agrees: “The US market has already become the world’s largest regulated online market so you could certainly argue the growth has been spectacular.” Mostboeck, however, maintains that at its core, the US is “still a young and less mature betting territory.” He commented that both new and current US sportsbook operators must pay attention to the variance within: state regulation, individual state markets and individual player preferences. He said operators should “understand the local betting laws across the country and adjust their offerings accordingly to ensure they meet the licensing and compliance requirements of each jurisdiction.” He added that acquiring

customers has also “posed a significant challenge, with operators fiercely competing to entice sign ups, which can prove costly and unsustainable, with an overreliance on first-time deposit bonuses and free bets resulting in less customer loyalty in the longer term.”

A CONVERGING CONCLUSION

While the convergence of sports betting and sports media may be obvious, what the future holds for the nature of the two seems less so. As more states legalise and launch sports betting, more operators may want a piece of the action. But at what cost? It’s been proven that the US certainly has the demand for sports betting, but how many sportsbooks are necessary to supply it? Will every active sportsbook have the capital, the content and the customers to keep going? As tough as the challenge may be, all of the executives Gambling Insider spoke to have some hope for the future of sports, media and their natural intersection. Sadi said, though initially there wasn’t “sufficient effort made in the early days to understand the market, which resulted in unrealistic and severely flawed strategies,” this era of sportsbook fumbles may be behind us. “Such periods are usually followed by correction, and then stability – a phase I believe we are now entering.”

Patrick Mostboeck, Sportradar

Sam Sadi, LiveScore Group

In numbers: New York focus FEATURES

Gambling Insider looks at New York’s sports betting figures for August and gives further insight into the state of the market

New York’s August figures show an overall annual fall of 1% for its sports betting market, with FanDuel still ahead of the competition. However, DraftKings, as has been seen in recent trends, is closing the gap. DraftKings has seen a 37% increase in revenue year-on-year, while FanDuel has fallen by 10%. Furthermore, DraftKings market share has risen by 10% since this time last year and FanDuel’s has fallen by circa 4%.

In terms of handle, what can be seen is DraftKings overtaking FanDuel to become number one in New York. Again, this correlates with the swing in annual market share between the pair, as DraftKings has actually taken the lead from FanDuel when it comes to handle.

Fanatics & PointsBet: iGaming disruption

CEO & Co-Founder of The Game Day, Matt Heiman (alongside Senior Sports Writer Pat Pickens), presents his thoughts on Fanatics’ deal to buy PointsBet’s US sportsbook operations, and why he thinks all 50 states will one day have legalised online sports betting

effectively such a highly established brand can sidestep traditional scaling inefficiencies, but also the means by which a disrupter brand with no historic iGaming credentials can continue to build meaningful traction among an informed audience.”

FIGHTING FOR A FOUNDATION

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin’s endeavour remains one of the most recognisable company names among sports fans. Fanatics produces offi cially licensed team apparel and has partnerships with more than 900 athletic properties, per their website, and manages the team stores for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and many others.

The June finalisation of Fanatics’ $475m acquisition of PointsBet’s sportsbook represented both a new beginning and the end of a tough fight for the online sports retail titan. (More on the exact valuation later). Fanatics had long sought to expand into the iGaming world, having performed market research and applied for a New York sports betting licence after the Empire State legalised online sports betting in the spring of 2021.

But when rebuffed by regulators in New York for one of the highly coveted initial sports betting licences, Fanatics pivoted and flexed its financial muscle. Fanatics has long been determined to enter the competitive – and still

blossoming – US iGaming landscape as an operator. Landing PointsBet’s assets – $225m for the company, plus $250m to buy out its existing NBC Sports marketing deal – cost a mere drop in the bucket of Fanatics’ circa $31bn market capitalisation.

This coup may also have provided a blueprint – not an easy plan, but a plausible path – for disrupting a market of well-established brick-and-mortar gaming houses, and new-wave online gaming leaders to capture a sizable share of the legal betting market.

“Fanatics’ entry into the iGaming space will offer a compelling case study,” said Steve Carey, the COO and Co-Founder of The Game Day. “Both of how

It felt a rare test, though, when DraftKings – a powerhouse in its own right – submitted a $195m bid for PointsBet at the reported ‘11th hour’ of the process. That late-stage move nearly shut Fanatics out of its quest to find its foundational product and built-in user base. DraftKings could’ve operated PointsBet, and its signature style of high-stakes ‘PointsBetting’ wagering, as a unique brand and alternative to the fixed-odds wagering and daily fantasy sports.

But instead of waiting even longer for licences to open, and for the bureaucratic process of assessing its application, Fanatics skipped the line. It went above and beyond to absorb the Australia-based sportsbook and its valuable licences in more than a dozen states. Plus, by acquiring PointsBet USA, Fanatics also squashed competition. PointsBet carries a modest 3.7% control of the US market share, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Matt Heiman, CEO & Co-Founder of The Game Day

But that share is large enough to siphon some profits away from the generally accepted ‘big four’: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars.

WEARING ANOTHER HAT

Some sportsbooks and online media companies have built brand awareness with unlicensed merchandise. Barstool Sportsbook, an online media brand who also dove into the gambling space with a fervent fan base and plenty of attitude, was perhaps the most prominent in the media, gambling and clothing space (before becoming ESPN Bet).

But Fanatics could easily start producing licensed versions of kitschy sports wears or even produce bettingrelated swag to sell online. Or it could offer FanCash or league-store credit to lure new subscribers, like how Caesars offered a free NBA Store or NFL Shop credit for new signups in 2021, to further differentiate itself.

With Fanatics in the game, don’t be surprised if an arms race ensues and creates further consolidation in the sports betting space. Caesars actually skipped the line as well with its purchase of William Hill US, which closed in August 2021. DraftKings and FanDuel likely will seek further properties to bring aboard; FanDuel already has with its rebrand of horseracing simulcast TVG in 2022.

Despite the fact online sports betting is a fledgling industry, and dozens of new states still have to either legalise or roll out the practice, there have already been signs of fall-off in sportsbook competition. Flutter Entertainment and Fox announced the shuttering of their sportsbook, Fox Bet, on July 30 and that followed the 2022 closing of TwinSpires, a sportsbook founded by Churchill Downs which chose to focus on horse racing instead.

WHEN TO PIVOT TO STAND OUT IN IGAMING

Objectively, few companies can take such a grandiose path at the moment, but the nearly 20-year-old Fanatics has built up long-term credibility and profi tability through partnerships. Sports betting and affiliate companies of any size should recognise the need to differentiate themselves from the competition to thrive or survive in a rapidly expanding universe that may often seem redundant.

PRODUCT

Some entities have tried to build their product around high-priced

influencers and notable media members who can attract sports fans and bettors to their sites and/or TV products. However, those moves often tend to enrich the individuals but don’t necessarily positively affect the payer’s bottom line. Bettors want to wager on a site they enjoy rather than Drew Brees’ “favourite.”

This need for pivoting also applies to product: Introducing new promotions and wager types like micro and live betting have been some of the most notable changes to the landscape of ways for customers to wager. It’s how FanDuel became the No. 1 sportsbook in America, in part through its creation of same-game parlays in 2018, which have since become the industry standard.

PointsBet was onto something with its PointsBetting system. Since the landscape is full of fixed-odds betting, empowering players to potentially earn more – with the caution of higher risk – when their preferred wager hits big adds a unique wrinkle to the sportsbetting experience.

Yet, PointsBetting raises the concern of problem gambling since users may be required to lay out more than their initial stake if their wager is drastically wrong. The experience, which has been referred by experienced sports bettors as a “wild ride,” may be too much for novices who may want to add some juice to an individual game without putting up their whole paycheck.

PointsBet does also offer fixedodds betting, but it did not break out enough against competition. Thus, PointsBet’s decision-makers ultimately did not feel it could survive in the budding landscape, especially since its marketing efforts, which included former pro athletes like Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson, proved too costly to sustain.

COMMUNITY & PERSONALITIES

Another facet of the betting world that must rely on zagging when others zig is using unique voices or talents to connect with potential wagerers. Many sports fans have set their media-consumption habits, but those who soon will become legal bettors nationwide will reshape how sports information is consumed.

At The Game Day, we have found success in promoting young, upand-coming, in-house voices who know what modern sports fans and prospective bettors need. By having that talent produce podcasts and shortform video posted on socialmedia platforms fans are engaged with, we can grow a brand and have sustainable success even in the broad sphere of sports-betting affiliate sites and online sports media.

Similarly, Fanatics has a seamless way to fold under-21 audiences into its betting property. There should be a natural funnel from teenagers who previously purchased a hat or jersey from Fanatics to sign up for a sportsbetting account on or around their 21st birthday.

THE FUTURE

It’s a unique time to be affiliated with sports. We’re watching leagues transition further away from ticket sales and from linear TV to online media. Sports gambling has been standing at the forefront of this revolution – and it’s only a matter of time until online sports betting is legal in all 50 states.

Fanatics couldn’t wait any longer to get into the online betting game. The enormous merch operation is making its own wager that its partnerships with sports leagues, retail reach and household name recognition are enough to drive new signups and loyal, devoted players to a sportsbook that may or may not have its name on it.

It’s also why the future of sports media, and sports writ large, is so hard to predict. But Fanatics boasts the economic foundation, industry cache and potential for consumer domination that will keep them in the discussion for the long haul. Beyond the monetary advantage that cannot be built instantly, entrepreneurs and companies of any size and experience should note Fanatics’ forward-thinking plans. Indeed, it serves as inspiration to position one’s self more strongly for success in the surging and ever-changing iGaming universe.

Pat Pickens, Senior Sports Writer, The Game Day

A slice of the fantasy pie

Gambling Insider assesses the current state of the fantasy sports market

Fantasy sports have always been popular on a casual level. Sports fans around the world will create drafts, or play various free-to-play leagues with their friends or colleagues. But playing fantasy sports for money separates those who are only in it for, perhaps, pride, and those who genuinely consider it a true hobby. We caught up with GameBlazers CEO Rourke Struthers to find out more about the current state of the fantasy sports market. Speaking of the growing interest in fantasy sports betting, Struthers told Gambling Insider: “I think ultimately, sports betting, sports gambling, DFS (daily fantasy sports), fantasy-style competitions and things like that aren’t going to go away. I think they’re only going to become more prolific as more and more states continue to write regulations in.”

He continued: “I think that as we continue to grow, as those regulations continue to pick up across different states, I think you’ll see a big change of consumer behaviour from – maybe not necessarily from a betting side to a playing side – but I think maybe from a playing side to a betting side.”

SAFEGUARDING YOUNGER PLAYERS

With most fantasy sports being a free-to-play game that can be aimed at teenagers and most operators’ aims being to convert free players into paid players, there have to be precautions in place to ensure those players don’t enter the realms of betting until it’s legal for them to do so.

To help with this, geofencing can be a good method to keep track of players and regulations as, if you’re not in that particular location, you can’t utilise the site. Different verification methods can also be used to regulate the paid side of fantasy sports, such as verifying your identity. Linking geofencing and KYC together, if you’re in an unregulated state, the geofence won’t allow you to participate, let alone get to the verification stage.

Verifying customer accounts also helps create data to see what age range fantasy sports is appealing to prevent players from trying to circumvent

the system in any way. Speaking about GameBlazers’ integrity systems, Struthers stated: “We have constant monitoring that’s going on on the site. So if you’re doing something you probably shouldn’t, we’ll pick up on it.”

FANDUEL AND DRAFTKINGS DOMINATING THE MARKET

As for market share, FanDuel and DraftKings dominate, holding around 90% of the fantasy sports market, as they currently provide DFS in 45 states. States in which they don’t provide their services (due to state-specific regulations against cash prize awards) include Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Washington.

However, new operators are coming to market. ESPN Bet recently signed a 10-year agreement with Penn Entertainment to launch a multiplatform online sportsbook in 16 states, with ESPN being famous for its existing fantasy database. Betr has launched Betr Picks, where you can pick more or less for your favourite fantasy players’ stats to win up to 100x your entry.

Struthers comments: “I can only hope that over time ESPN Bet and those users come to play GameBlazers. I’m hoping that we can all set this fantasy sports gaming industry on fire.”

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said during the company’s Q2 earnings call: “DFS has had a great year. We’ve made improvements to the products – a really exciting year for DFS and we are continually adding more customers. We’ve seen really strong crossover for DFS in new

states and it continues to be a source of new engagement.”

Clearly, the competition is stepping up to reach demand. The Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association states that as of June 2023, over 81 million adults across the US and Canada now participate in legal sports wagering and fantasy sports. In the US this represents a 7% increase in total bettors/players since 2022 and 26% growth compared to 2021.

NEW COMPETITION EVENING OUT THE MARKET

Upping the competition are the likes of StatHero, PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, Betr and more. Recently, FanDuel’s Senior Director of State Government Relations, Cesar Fernandez, made certain accusations: “There are companies today posing as fantasy sports operators, and they are running illegal sportsbooks” during a panel at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) summer meeting.

Underdog Fantasy CEO Jeremy Levine clapped back at the FanDuel Senior Director with an open letter to its customers, suggesting that FanDuel just wants to keep its position in the market and rid of any potential competition:

“When the Supreme Court later permitted states to legalise sports betting, DraftKings, FanDuel and their lobbyists went to work. But this time they wrote laws designed to make it hard for innovators to break into the brand new sports betting industry. The strategy worked and they had a near instant monopoly, capturing nearly 80% of the US sports betting market,” Levine wrote.

“But Underdog and other companies innovating in fantasy sports and sports betting threaten their monopoly. They’ve seen our company, and others, produce superior products, more exciting user experiences, and begin to challenge them for sports fans’ attention – and they’re scared that we will challenge their market positions. We’re already bigger than they are in fantasy. Frankly, they should be scared.”

So the big question is: is there enough of the fantasy pie for everyone to take a slice?

Rourke Struthers, CEO, GameBlazers

In focus: DS Virtual Gaming

DS Virtual Gaming (DSVG) is a comprehensive service provider in the field of virtual sports betting and online games. Our victory run started with DS Software GmbH’s launch in Austria in 2003, which instantly started making waves with its strong dedication and fresh ideas. Today, it is a household name with strong recognition amongst countless betting shops and online gaming software developers.

A couple of years ago, the company underwent complete restructuring and realignment measures. Now DSVG proudly presents itself with a new identity and a recognisable character. Our iconic games are unparalleled and they clearly stand out from the competition. We exclusively use real-life pre-recorded videos of races, fights or draws, which is a sure-fire way to spark thrills in front of the screens. We use our tried and tested odds generator to keep all outcomes fair, and the same draw, fight or race is displayed in all locations simultaneously. This foolproof technology is meant to protect both the customer and operator from any hitches or fraudulent activity. Our compact product portfolio includes charismatic and traditional titles. Greyhound and horseracing with multiple variations are our unwavering classics that are extremely successful in Latin America.

We are also very proud of our userfriendly innovation, the “Online Retail Solution,” which will revolutionise the way we perceive retail. We were able to reduce the gaming system with all titles, odds and transmissions to a single link or QR code that can be inserted into the betting firm’s computers. The new element is that now punters can scan QR codes from their own smart devices to take part in the betting process. The clients have full control over their wagers and only need to pay for the betting slips at the cash desk. As a consequence, the bookmakers need less cashiers in the crowded betting shops. Also, less mistakes are made, since the customers are responsible for the whole procedure, except for the payment. Additionally, given the fact that available hardware can be used, no investments need to be made in terms of new equipment. We seamlessly merge online and offline by using the same layout as the

web offering. At DSVG, all processes are automated, so we can instantly connect all our titles to multiple bet shops.

Kickbox Mania is yet another game that we would like to shed light on. Three rounds of complete excitement with footage of real kickboxing competitions give punters the genuine fighting atmosphere. The images of the fights stemmed from WGP Kickboxing, which was founded by the legendary Brazilian kickboxing pioneer Paulo Zorello. What originally started in 2011 as a Pan-American Kickboxing event is increasingly gaining in international significance with athletes participating from all over the world, especially from Ibero-America.

We are in the process of renewing our casino game virtual roulette. It combines the advantages of the classic roulette game with state of-the-art graphics, while gameplay controls are streamlined for ease of use. It offers an impressive range of popular features, including series 5/8, Orphelins, series 0/2/3, zero game, neighbours and many more. Together with a high pay-out rate of 97.3%, players are sure to feel they are getting the best bang for their buck. We recognise the necessity to stay up to speed with market trends and demands, so we strive to reinvent ourselves at every turn

and ensure that our products are top choice among betting shops or online gambling platforms, while guaranteeing that our after-service is on the same par. Our strategic markets are located in Europe, Africa and Latin America, where we hold multiple licences and certifications. In Latin America specifically we are currently certified in Colombia and Panama, more certifications will follow soon. This market is very promising with around 650 million inhabitants and a young population that is digital native. As opposed to other regions of the world, the Latin American players are already virtual-savvy. This means they are familiar with virtual games, which makes market entry easier. Also, the usage of mobile phones has soared in recent decades, the same way as everywhere else around the globe. Moreover, the GDP and the associated spendings for leisure and entertainment have proportionally increased in the same period. Of course, those developments are not equal in each and every country but there is a trend that is clearly emerging. There is an immense difference between the urban and rural areas where the internet connection, power supply and the infrastructure in general are poor. We see a lot of opportunities and potential for improvement there.

Araksi Sargsyan, Head of Business Development at DS Virtual Gaming

In focus: Altenar

How does Altenar’s Sportsbook adapt to a plethora of global territories and its operators’ needs?

At Altenar, we recognise the vital importance of catering to a diverse range of global territories and meeting the unique needs of each operator. That’s why we’ve designed our sportsbook to be highly flexible and customisable, enabling operators to adapt to the unique challenges of their markets.

Our solution offers clients the ability to manage their playerbase by country, ensuring compliance with local regulations. Moreover, our sportsbook provides a range of customisation options, including language and currency support, localised content, and a bonus tool that allows operators to promote their brands while targeting different GEOs and player clusters simultaneously.

In addition to our customisation options, our sportsbook features a builtin risk management and fraud prevention tool, which ensures that operators can offer a safe and secure environment for their players. Altenar’s Sportsbook is fully licensed in various focal countries throughout Europe, North America and LatAm.

What technologies underpin Altenar’s SB2 and how can this benefit your clients?

Altenar’s sportsbook is constructed using technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3, which provide speedy loading times and a seamless user interface. The SB2 platform has been built with scalability and flexibility in mind, enabling operators to effortlessly personalise their sportsbooks, add new functionalities and seamlessly integrate with third-party providers and services. This empowers Altenar’s clients to enhance their user experience and drive engagement. Our value proposition is our creed – stability meets flexibility –and our resilient tech stack is the secret to each of our clients’ success stories.

With the 2022 release of Altenar’s mobile app, how has this addition increased the satisfaction levels of your operators?

By providing a white-label app that can be customised to suit any brand’s needs, we have empowered operators to manage their sportsbook operations on the go, improving their efficiency and enhancing their customers’ betting experience.

With our BO tool, our clients can easily manage key features such as main colour, logos, geo-restrictions,

static pages, translations and external service integrations without relying on developers, allowing for greater flexibility and autonomy. Overall, our mobile application has been praised for its user-friendly interface and efficient functionality, making it an essential tool for operators looking to take their sportsbook to the next level.

How has Altenar increased its 2023 offering to be able to compete with other providers in the space?

To stay competitive in the rapidly evolving sports betting industry, Altenar has continued to innovate and improve its offering. In 2023, the company expanded its product portfolio to include new technologies and features, such as a new mobile-first design and expanded live betting options. The platform also offers a range of customisation possibilities, including a wide range of marketing tools to help operators acquire and retain players. We invested heavily in research and development, to create innovative solutions that help operators stay ahead of the curve and provide our clients with the best possible sportsbook solution.

Antonino Barra, Head of Sales, Altenar

Altenar Head of Sales Antonino Barra reviews the key aspects of Altenar’s Sportsbook solutions, products and services to better detail how the global provider has instituted year-on-year success

The business of entertainment

Gambling Insider speaks with Chairman and CEO of Olybet and Olympic Entertainment, Corey Plummer, about its recent partnership with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA)

What does a typical day at Olybet look like?

Our parent company is called Olympic Entertainment Group. Olybet is our leading brand, covering sports bars, gaming, online sports betting, fantasy sports, poker and traditional casino games.

A day in the life of Olybet is very interesting and complex. For the people that work in it, it’s unique because we’re an entertainment company, not necessarily a betting company. We engage in a lot of activities across the spectrum, travelling around, creating content for our media business and the shows we produce; talking about sports and engaging with sports. We have had some significant partnerships with the NBA, NHL and the European Tour. We’ve taken more than 1,000 employees to sporting events and in

different places to participate in the things our customers do, and to engage with our sports partners. We partner with clubs in Serie A and LaLiga. We have Sky boxes, we’re in the locker rooms doing city tours and a lot of different fun activities. A day in the life of Olybet is busy, but it’s fun. We try to inject

sports entertainment into everyday life. Everyone here has apps to watch sports that are paid for by the company. There are TVs all around the office, we’re constantly watching sports and engaging in live activities on our premises or online. We operate in 10 countries across Europe. We have more than 10 hotels in the Baltics alone. We have about 150 gaming premises and about 90 sports bars.

What makes Olybet stand out from other competitors?

Olybet is an entertainment compay that has sports betting as a product. We are engaged in a lot of different activities that are important to different groups of people. We like to be close to sports fans. We like to be close to younger people and they’re all very different. We have traditional gaming customers that

“There are TVs all around the office, we’re constantly watching sports and engaging”

like to be in premises that are close to home or close to work.

There’s just a lot going on and the way we do business is in a responsible way. We have significant responsible gaming programmes that are protecting our customers and our suppliers, but we only operate in regulated markets.

In every country we operate in, we have a local licence. We have physical premises in all the markets and everything we do is integrated that way. We have a global entertainment platform and local businesses, so we can tailor our experience to each market. In every market, the interests are a little bit different. If you rank the top three sports in every country, they’re a little bit different, so we get to focus a lot on what people locally find interesting. We stream a lot of sports and a lot of live events. We travel a lot. We take customers all over the world to Vegas, Toronto, Abu Dhabi, Japan and Kenya. We’re all over the globe, giving unique experiences to people at live events with our partners.

What does the partnership with the IBIA mean for the company going forward?

It’s a way for us to live our values more publicly and be associated with an organisation whose main purpose really is to protect sports and the integrity of sports with its anti-corruption practices. It is an opportunity for us to be more vocal and be more active externally. We have a big footprint across Europe so we’re able to share information with the association, and other operators that take this opportunity seriously.

How do these partnerships differ? Do you take a different approach?

Yes, we do. If you look at the NHL Global Series special events this year, it’ll be in Australia playing ice hockey, our partners tend to be in a lot of places. The NBA plays in Mexico; they play in China, France, the UAE etc. What we try to do is be associated with partners that are interested in growing their sport.

The NBA tends to be a US-based sport, but everyone in the world watches basketball and a lot of them watch the NBA. Today in the NBA, most of the best players – especially the younger ones – are Europeans. The feeder for global sports, whether it’s FIBA, the Olympics, the NBA or Euroleague, a lot of the talent comes from Europe and so we try to highlight that for some countries. We participate and support local leagues. We are engaged in the academies that

our club partners support. We are partnered with the clubs and our club partners offer incredible experiences. If you go to a night game at Real Betis, it’s a pretty spectacular light show with live music on the pitch and around a billion people have viewed it on the Internet to date.

We try to take people to these types of experiences and let them live the sport uniquely where it takes place. Great cities, great clubs, great stadium environments, great arenas. We go in the locker room, we meet the players, we do a lot. It’s a fantastic opportunity for our customers. We have recently taken more than 1,000 customers to sporting events and more than 1,000 employees to the same events. So we spread the love.

Do you have any plans to enter any new markets? Are you on the lookout for new sports to create opportunities around? We’re always looking to grow the company. We’ve added four new countries over the last couple of years and we’ve expanded the business continuously over the last three or four years, even during Covid-19. We will continue to do that.

We’re primarily a European operator, but we do spend a lot of time in other parts of the world physically. With our media business, there’s no limitations. We will continue to advance into territories where we are not today, and just continue to grow our footprint and network across Europe; then ultimately outside Europe.

Every country has different interests and we try to focus on specific countries with things that they find interesting. In some countries, it’s cycling. In some countries, it’s volleyball. In Spain, it’s padel. If you want to engage with sports fans, you have to be local as well as global. We have significant global partnerships that people find appealing. And we do a lot with local sports fans around the sports they find the most interesting in their countries.

Did your partnership with the DP World Tour change in any way with the merger of the LIV Tour?

It has not changed one bit. A lot of our customers love golf and play golf. We are doing OlyBet golf tournaments in all of our countries to activate the partnership. People are playing in local tournaments at the best golf courses in Europe. That’s a part of our partnership with DP

World Tour. In fact, we are expanding our relationship with golf. OlyBet is the official partner of the Ryder Cup 2023, played in Rome.

In 2024, there will be opportunities for us to continue to expand our relationship with golf through different partnerships, but also the Olympics. Olympic Entertainment Group has had a long history of supporting local Olympic committees and local athletes to train, prepare and represent their countries in the Olympics. The road to Paris will be a big part of what we do in 2024 and golf will be a part of that.

“It’s a way for us to live our values more publicly and be associated with an organisation whose main purpose really is to protect sports and the integrity of sports with its anti-corruption practices”

Corey Plummer, CEO, Olybet and Olympic Entertainment

Personalising the sports betting experience

Niki Beier, SVP of ad:s at Sportradar, speaks to Gambling Insider about how sportsbooks plan to make the 2023/24 season their most efficient yet wastage.

In fact, our proprietary ad:s programmatic marketing service has enabled our global operator clients to increase click-through-rates by up to 60%, while increasing net gaming revenue by as much as 110%. We estimate that reducing the manual inputs in this process saves our clients up to two months’ worth of productivity annually.

Automation is similarly enhancing operators’ advertising performance across publisher sites, such as highprofile sports and media news websites, and for their sponsorships. By using data to understand fans’ most consumed online content, Sportradar’s publisher products adtech uses automation to display contextually relevant betting ads across both premium publishers and rights holders’ websites. The range of these adverts and the speed at which they are delivered increase click-throughrates by up to 225%, which would be impossible to replicate manually.

How important is it for operators to know exactly where their customer is and what their sports betting habits are?

From a marketing perspective, what are Sportradar’s expectations for the new football season?

As millions of fans celebrate the start of the European football season, now is the time for operators to ensure their campaigns are optimised to attract their first bets and stay ahead of the competition. Football is the world’s most popular sport, so the betting market is huge. We provide our clients with coverage of more than 25,000 matches a month, so creating and delivering this volume of adverts on such quick

turnarounds presents a huge marketing challenge.

Operators are subsequently turning to automation technology to scale their campaigns and streamline their marketing processes. The start of the season is a key period for customer acquisition. Automation is used within programmatic advertising technology to efficiently acquire new bettors at this critical time. Programmatic automates the buying of online advertising in real time to serve highly targeted adverts to the most relevant audiences, which is highly efficient and limits ad

If operators can better understand their fans’ interests and browsing habits, they can more effectively target and engage them with personalised content. This is key to acquiring new customers, reengaging existing players and building brand awareness. This is why we engineered ad:s, as our operator clients approached us requesting an industry specific marketing solution that would enable them to fully understand where and how bettors were interacting with their brand.

We provide this visibility by collecting data points across the full marketing funnel, from first impression to conversion, so operators can identify fans’ favourite teams, betting markets and preferred channels. These

Niki Beier, SVP of ad:s at Sportradar

customer insights power digital marketing technologies, which decide the most relevant bets to serve to players, on the right platform at the right time. This personalised approach engages fans more deeply, delivers greater conversions, customer loyalty and revenue growth, while limiting advertising waste.

Social media is also a popular platform for football fans to engage with their sport. With a reach of more than three billion global monthly users, social media generates 50% more engagement per post on average than any other sector, making it an extremely effective and vital advertising channel. Given this popularity and importance we have made ad:s available across Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. This enables operators to cut through the pre-season noise and target fans with the most cost-efficient and effective acquisition campaigns.

AI can no doubt play a part here; how is it brought into play at Sportradar within this field in particular?

AI’s role cannot be understated, but it needs data to deliver marketing efficiency. Similarly, data is a resource that is only as useful as how effectively you use it. Therefore, the real game changer is when the two are combined. Operators possess deep pools of anonymised customer data, which offer valuable insights into fan behaviours and interests, such as previously bet-on teams or most frequented digital channels. AI algorithms within digital marketing technologies process this data to create personalised dynamic football adverts

that can be delivered on fan-favourite channels. For instance, a Spurs fan who regularly uses Instagram might receive dynamic ads containing the odds for their team’s next fixture across the platform’s stories function.

With this data readily available, the AI capabilities within marketing services, like programmatic or paid social, allow operators to truly create highly targeted and customised fan experiences that achieve greater acquisition and brand awareness.

How can AI help increase the efficiency of marketing to ensure less resources are used on the wrong marketing methods?

By focusing on the content that fans care most about, AI-driven personalisation tools can drive efficiency and limit advertising waste. This is essential at this time of year when operators must supply advertising creative for the hundreds of weekly matches played across football’s biggest competitions. While this was previously a protracted, manual process for creative teams,

AI and automation technologies are powering Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) solutions to address this operational challenge quickly and at scale.

We use DCO in our industry-specific Dynamic Display solution to engineer an unlimited supply of personalised betting advertising creative, based on fan content preferences and the most popular pages on operators’ websites. The customised content within these creatives engages end users more deeply and improves clickthrough rates, while automation saves valuable time and money to achieve more effective budget spend and higher ROI.

In the same way that clubs allocate their transfer budgets effectively to deliver the best performance on the pitch, operators who execute efficient marketing strategies are most likely to succeed in the marketplace. By leveraging data and AI within the latest advertising technologies, operators can better understand their customers, find their audience quickly and serve them with the content that’s most relevant to them.

“Operators possess deep pools of anonymised customer data, which offer valuable insights into fan behaviours and interests, such as previously bet on teams or most frequented digital channels”

In focus: DATA.BET

DATA.BET provides an esports odds feed with over 30 disciplines, including the most popular games like CS:GO, Dota 2, League of Legends and Valorant, as well as much less common and more chancebased games like Dota Autochess.

DATA.BET’s esports offering is considered to be one of the most extensive in the world:

• over 2,000 markets on major high rated gaming events

• up to 12,000 pre-match events per month

• up to 11,000 live events per month

DATA.BET’s esports feed is made for bookmakers who see the potential of a growing esports industry and want to start earning revenue from esports betting. A key advantage of DATA.BET is the combination of using both highquality data and flexible software to maximise the potential of esports data. High-quality data means simultaneous delivery of dozens of different parameters, such as player purchases, health points, map position, etc. DATA. BET’s AI-based solution can process masses of data to generate lucrative odds in a fraction of a second, allowing to maximise operators’ revenue while keeping high odds and prevent fraud.

The DATA.BET service also includes a risk management system, which can track risks in real time and manage the esports feed in such a way as to make sure the client maintains their profits and the bettors enjoy the games.

RAPIDLY UPDATING DETAILED DATA

The provider accumulates and processes data obtained directly from official sources. This ensures that any delays in delivering in-game information will be reduced to a minimum. DATA. BET’s software processes the data and provides betting companies with odds ready to be shown on their platforms. Detailed game information makes it

possible not only to generate a standard set of win/loss outcomes, but to also provide a wide range of markets with many different variations. Using the DATA.BET esports feed makes it possible to create unique markets covering things such as the number of kills by an individual player, or even the likelihood of a specific in-game item being purchased. This way DATA.BET’s esports feed becomes a foundation for a steadily growing, profitable business.

SMART SOLUTIONS BASED ON MACHINE LEARNING DATA.BET has developed a complex piece of software that it continues to work on. Thanks to the use of machine learning algorithms, the software can analyse the results of past matches and predict the results of future games. The software is regularly filled with historical data, which allows the model to deliver more accurate predictions for upcoming matches. Unlike other providers, who update their models once every 1-2 months, DATA. BET updates its software every 1-2 weeks with the most up-to-date information, as well as analytical data from the team of traders who are directly involved in building the list of markets.

MAXIMUM PROFITABILITY

The model examines audience demands and reacts to them by adjusting the odds. The software can track the number of bets on different market outcomes and adjust the margin distribution, thereby maximising profits for betting companies. DATA.BET’s software can be set up to meet individual betting companies’ needs, functioning as their nerve centre to maximise profits and minimise risks.

24/7 SUPPORT FROM TRADERS WITH ESPORTS EXPERTISE DATA.BET’s software-generated esports feed will naturally be moderated by live traders with esports expertise.

In any sport, the human factor can be decisive. The software cannot, for example, predict a team’s morale or the influence of a player’s emotions on the choices they will make in-game. Traders must also understand the extent to which the situation can vary between different games. That is why DATA.BET only employs traders with expertise in a wide array of different games and with experience in esports trading.

VIRTUAL SPORTS DATA FEED

DATA.BET offers clients a unique feed of virtual sports. Virtual football, basketball and tennis are relatively new forms of entertainment, but they are making a real splash in the market and winning over new fans. Virtual sports are particularly popular with fans of quick betting, since the average match length is between 6 and 50 minutes. Bettors will often bet on virtual sports while they are waiting for an esports or traditional sports match to end. So, adding this feed to your platform can increase customer engagement and conversion. Besides the virtual sports data feed, DATA.BET clients will get:

• up to 6,500 pre-match events per month

• up to 6,500 live events per month

24/7 event coverage

INTUITIVE CLIENT INTERFACE

DATA.BET cares greatly about the quality of its software, but no less attention is given to making sure the service is easy and convenient to use. DATA.BET’s functionality makes it possible to order individual matches and tournaments, or all competitive events for a given game and to instantly switch between different games and sports. Betting companies can use the admin panel to see a statistical summary of current matches and predicted pre-match odds, as well as monitor active live/pre-match markets and create financial reports covering their performance.

DATA.BET is a tech-savvy provider of complex esports solutions, which includes SPA (iFrame) and odds feed. our solution covers all the needs of the betting company for a high-quality, extensive and profitable esports offering

Should professional athletes be allowed to wager on sports?

Sports betting information hub Covers recently reported a poll regarding legalised sports betting among athletes. Gambling Insider spoke with Geoff Zochodne to discuss the findings further

We looked at the research you published and want to know: why do you think professional athletes should be allowed to bet on sports they don’t play?

We were curious about how people felt about these kinds of issues, given that we have just had a spike in these instances recently. The findings reflect the maturation of people’s thoughts about legal sports betting. In the poll that we did, all of the respondents were in states that have legal sports betting.

These are people that are bettors themselves, or they just live somewhere where they’re seeing advertising for it, or they know other people who are doing it. You are in a situation where

we have more and more people getting comfortable with the idea of sports betting and with letting athletes bet on other sports, just because that seems to be a less problematic way. When you have athletes betting on their own sports, that becomes more of an appearance of a conflict of interest; even if there isn’t an actual conflict there, it’s just a harder sell.

You see it reflected in some of the league guidelines. I think there’s a bit more of an acceptance to let athletes be adults and to bet on sports that aren’t their own if they so choose; but also still, there is a fair amount of discomfort with letting them bet on their own sport. However, we have and we are getting much more rigorous standards

and regulation of that aspect of it, which is in part causing some of the recent headlines when it comes to this thing, because in some ways the system is working and athletes are getting caught for betting.

With the recent NFL news, do you think more players are getting caught because of the lack of concern for the rules put in place, or because it’s an overall miscommunication between the company and its players, with regards to what their rules are?

There were some interesting comments made by Detroit Lions player, Jameson Williams. Of five NFL players who were

suspended in April, four had played for the Lions. Williams said something to the effect that he wasn’t aware of the rules. He was given one of the lesser penalties, for wagering at the team facility on other games, not on the NFL itself. That, to me, suggests there is (or has been) perhaps a lack of communication between the leagues, the teams and the players – or the message just isn’t resonating well enough with them.

Maybe it needs to be refined so it sticks with people when they hear it, and it sounds like the NFL sort of agrees with me. They’ve really gone all out, and it sounds like they’ve been on a bit of an awareness campaign with players and media, informing them about exactly what is and isn’t allowed. I think communication is an issue for sure. You can’t rule out entirely that some of the blame is also on the players. Maybe you do have a few bad apples that are going to engage in bad behaviour no matter what; but I think the recent issues sound like more of a lack of understanding or not getting the message across about what is and what isn’t permitted. If you live in a state like New Jersey or Pennsylvania and you’re an NFL player, you could go on your phone and bet on online casino, not even on sports, and that could potentially be a violation of NFL rules because you’re gambling in the workplace. Even though that’s something that other residents of that state could do, it’s something players have to avoid at all costs.

With regards to the research, 19% of people disagreed with legal and regulated sports betting and 25% of people disagreed with athletes being able to bet on other sports. Do you think those two points coincide in that people who don’t agree with legalised sports betting think athletes shouldn’t bet because they’re against betting in general?

I’m sure if there was a Venn diagram, you’d get a lot of the same people in there, because of the objection to sports betting and the objection to athletes betting on sports; they seem to go pretty well together. We didn’t drill down into that specifically. Maybe it’s something for a subsequent survey, but I do think those are pretty parallel. Around 6% of people who support sports betting also have objections to athletes engaging in it, including some of

the people who oversee professional sports and college sports.

Do you think betting could be regulated more for athletes, or that the transparency of the rules could be enforced more to make sure all the athletes are crystal clear on regulations? I think there’s definitely room for improvement. Technologically, they’re already starting to look into some more stringent guard rails to the extent. Say, my name is Patrick Mahomes and I sign up for a FanDuel account, they’ll just say ‘Absolutely not, Mr. Mahomes, you play in the NFL’ – that kind of thing. I can envision a day where something like that is possible, with collective bargaining agreements. It can be a kind of private agreement that the players and the leagues can strike, to try and ensure people don’t even have the ability to make the mistakes that could cost them a suspension or other penalties.

Is it totally fair for the athletes? Maybe they still want to go on to bet on baseball or whatever, but I think there are ways around the technology side, where there could be room for improvement. The MLB made some interesting points about how people see all of these headlines of athletes getting caught up in this stuff and think, ‘Things are going crazy, what’s going on?’ Meanwhile, the industry is saying ‘Hey, this is working, we are catching this behavior.’

Overall, by having these kinds of high-profile cases get out there, it’s really increasing awareness among athletes, among bettors, among operators, among regulators and among legislators about the issue and just putting it on their radar. The NFL might even have more announcements to come, but there have been several already. This whole recent burst of news has gone a long way toward just creating awareness of the situation. You probably have athletes, regulators and lawmakers asking a lot more questions about what we have here for rules. What sort of rules do we have for the players? What sort of rules do we have in our states to ensure this doesn’t happen? It’s creating a lot more awareness with everybody.

A few English footballers were recently suspended as well for betting breaches. Do you think it would ever get to a point

where they would lose a job over betting breaches? Or do you think consequencs would always be a fine or a certain length of suspension? Obviously, it’s completely different when you’re a professional athlete because it’s your work, but if you’ve got hundreds of betting breaches, how can that be justified?

I do think that it could get to a point where people could face loss of future employment over this. If not as something that’s imposed by the laws themselves, as something like a Pete Rose situation where the league says, ‘You’re banned for life.’ The other part of it is that players who break gambling policies might face a bit of a softer regulation just from within the leagues themselves, with teams saying, ‘I don’t want to potentially bring someone onto the team who’s going to get suspended.’ It kind of creates a liability; it’s a distraction situation.

In the NFL, they’re very concerned about ensuring there are no distractions away from the football itself, especially at the team level. That could be something where, if you have someone who is an offender or a repeat offender of gambling-related policies, maybe they just don’t get picked up as a free agent. Maybe nobody wants to trade for them, and they just find themselves slipping out of the league in that fashion.

The reputational risk is huge, and you’ve seen it in the NFL with people who get wrapped up in other kinds of criminal behaviour not getting onto teams. Teams just want to avoid any sort of headache off the field.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I know it’s different talking to someone from the UK, where you have a much more mature industry that’s been around for so long. When it comes to British footballers getting into situations there is a very clearly defined process, whereas in the US, it is still relatively nascent. The only thing I would want to add is to underscore that more data is needed, in general. More public opinion surveys are needed to keep trying to capture the mood of what people are thinking; that data then helps to inform the leagues. There needs to be more data collected, more of an effort to collect that data and more discussion to be had around the findings of those types of surveys (and other forms of data collection) to inform policy.

In focus: Codium

The art of coding

Codium brings innovative IT solutions in the field of sports betting and online casinos. We provide our clients with turnkey and white-label platforms through our own in-house full stack development

OUR EXPERIENCE IS YOUR ADVANTAGE

Starting as the IT department of one of the most successful betting companies on the Slovak market, Codium has evolved its vision and decided to use IT solutions with more than 14 years’ experience in foreign markets, and create a B2B offer.

Our experience is an advantage for anyone who decides to cooperate with us. Not only do we develop the product, but we also have a deep understanding of it from everyday practice, as an operator of sports betting and online casino. Millions of processed betslips per month and more than 40 B2B partners among which are the most exclusive names in betting industry are the proof that we are here to create success together with our customers. We actively contribute to the development of new functionalities and innovate online betting according to players’ latest demands.

Over the past few years, online sports betting has gained dynamics, which need to be reflected in the quality of products and flexible response to demands. Users have high expectations and service providers must keep their attention through constant upgrades. In the creation of new functionalities, we apply knowledge in AI, machine learning and advanced analytics.

The combination of cutting-edge technologies with the elite skills and creativity of our team represents a killer combination and a competitive advantage. We focus on value-added projects and provide our clients with top-quality products and support.

WE ARE ONE STEP A HEAD

Our DOXXbet betting platform

and DOXXbet casino platform can be implemented anywhere in the world thanks to individual customisation and our unique Central Feed service, which ensures a worry-free integration.

It is available on the web, mobile applications, as well as on a unique betting terminal that combines online betting functionality with reliable hardware and perfectly managed cashflow operations. The quality of our service is further supported by collaborations with the most renowned service providers in the field of sports betting and online casino games.

We consider our Central feed service to be a huge competitive advantage as it connects all content from our providers into one seamless integration – event odds automatically switch between providers based on the availability of individual functionalities (pre-match/live/streams).

This way, every betting option is secured against data outages from the provider’s side, ensuring endless entertainment for players. It is a unique solution that is one step ahead and supports all premium features of online sports betting, such as MultiBet, Match Tracker, Live Streams, Ticket Changer or Sportsbook jackpots.

One of the top innovations we have introduced this year for our clients is the Ticket Changer. It is an exclusive novelty in the world of online sports betting, developed by our IT professionals in collaboration with the project management of DOXXbet. It is a unique sales tool that impresses even the most demanding player with its three innovative features: closing of event on the ticket, removing event from the ticket and adding matches to the ticket. Ticket Changer engages the user in the game and takes the entertainment to an interactive level.

Martin Varmus, CEO, Codium

It is available in our portfolio.

OUR TEAM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ESSENCE

We are guided by deeply rooted values and spread them among our team of professionals. Each and every one of us values cooperation – not only within the team but also at the client level. We appreciate and nourish long-term business and employee relationships.

We strive to convert our corporate culture into every activity we work on. We are connected by a common enthusiasm for programming – and we believe it is an art – a creative activity in which each of us puts a piece of our heart. We seek tailormade solutions and deeply understand the business needs of our clients. We enjoy creating works worthy of new visions. We are reliable and professional. We keep up with the latest trends and technologies, and deliver projects of the highest quality within deadlines. We are a strong team that offers long-term knowhow in large projects.

In focus: EasyPay

EasyPay is a Romanian group that includes three companies renowned by now on the local market, USA, Europe and Africa as a self-service solutions main supplier, with experience of more than 13 years. The group, owned by Mr. Fraseniuc Serghei, obtained a constant growth and leader position through a wellconsolidated team with common goals to sustain high performance, best service and quality products.

The mother company, EasyPay System, was founded in 2010 when we set off with the first payment terminal implemented on the Romanian market as an agent. We currently manage over 1,000 payment terminals in our network, with expansion to Ireland and France, counting more

than 220 integrated services, among which are services dedicated to the gambling area for account supplementing. The payment terminals are nowadays present throughout all super and minimarket networks, streets, car parks and gambling areas.

As to the production of self-service kiosks, they are manufactured by the EasyPay Production company, which generates sales of more than 4,000 kiosks annually; the main products being the payment terminals and sports bets terminals, which come in a variety of more than 10 different designs, between 19 and 43 inch monitor sizes, any model of printer, bill and coin acceptor or dispensers, RBG LED lighting

and personalised with a customer logo. We developed and implemented solutions on a secondary level for fields such as: Retail, HoReCa, Parking, Transport, Crypto, Hotels, Insurance, Fitness, Auto and many more.

All EasyPay products are registered and Certified with CE, ISO9001:2015 and all European quality standards.

Our kiosks are present at global level as the clients chooses us for the quality of the products supplied in perfect balance with their price, but particularly for the services they benefit from: Storage in 2000 sqm

• Check room for soft implementation and last check before packaging the kiosks

• Support in delivering the products directly to the final location

• Technical support

EasyBet range, the most popular in the portfolio, has the big advantage given to our customers to customise their products in terms of design and technical configuration. Also, for the specific projects, clients can choose a design which is exclusively produced and associated to their brand.

As expected, for the support of terminals implemented on the market, in its own and customers’ networks, Easy Technix – the third company of the group – supports a warranty period and post-warranty period with maintenance and repair services performed in-house, as well as software integration upon clients’ request.

At the EArena 2023 expo, EasyPay will greet customers with a fresh range, where the main portfolio products will be shown and tested by everybody.

In premiere, we will present also the challenge of the year, a Sports Betting Terminal which comes with double size of monitor comparing with what exists currently in the market.

The presence at EArena and the other relevant and profile exhibitions reiterate our future growth plans, particularly for the US market and Europe, already addressed through the payment terminals, and the sports betting terminals; for which we develop special products, specific to the local demands.

Serghei Fraseniuc, Owner

Getting the band back together

Gambling Insider took a trip to Bank in the City of London to meet with B90 CEO Ronny Breivik during his visit to the UK capital, in which we discussed him getting his old team back together and B90’s place as an affiliate and operator in the market

How has 2023 for you guys so far?

Well, obviously, it’s been another period of transition for the company. As you can imagine, with everything that happened towards the end of last year, it’s been a very, very eventful year. I would say the first step was to get the band together

again. So, Mark Blandford has been appointed as a strategic advisor. That happened in February and lends a lot of credibility to the company without a doubt.

It also under builds what we really want to do going forward, which is to replicate

a lot of the good stuff that happened at Sportingbet in the early days. We have quite a few people in the team, me included, who have a background from this period.

Since November, we raised £4.2m in cash, which we obviously have been spending on strengthening the balance sheets and looking for value creative acquisitions. One of which we announced just a few weeks ago. Which would be the NBA deal, which I think is fantastic for us.

Talking about that deal, I know it’s not due to be complete until September but how will that impact B90 going forward?

It gives the tools first and foremost and the important thing here is we believe it is priceless for us. It allows

“For all the changes that have happened in recent years, it’s fun. At the same time, it’s challenging because gambling is a very dynamic field”

us basically to build revenues that the company, so far, has not had a chance to do. We can use it both for our existing marketing vertical and we can use it for our operational vertical as well.

In terms of being an operator and an affiliate in these competitive markets, what benefit does that bring to you? What can you do that other people maybe struggle to do?

I want to say that we have an absolute stonewall between the two divisions so that we ensure that all operators that we partner with on the affiliate side of things get the quality players that they pay for. That’s step one.

Step two is that I personally believe it is a fantastic opportunity for us to increase the lifetime value and decrease the cost of the customer acquisition. I mean that by obviously having looked at or been in this industry now for many years. What I’ve seen is that back in the day it was easy to acquire customers because they cost very little. However, getting a platform was very expensive. Today, it’s the other way around.

Anyone and their uncle can just get the platform and be up and running within a month with a lot of different platform providers. But getting the customers in, that costs quite a lot of money. So, for us, it is a lot makes a lot of sense to own the marketing platforms, which obviously takes down the customer cost for us.

Furthermore, in terms of us being able to work with players on both sides through our own CRM, we are able to make sure that players leave more money on the table, which obviously is beneficial for us.

Looking at B90’s market presence, right now what ones would you highlight as being the core for B90 at present and going forward?

I would say the Nordic and LatAm markets. The Nordics is a very advanced market, it resembles a little bit of what you see in the UK, but not quite as mature. LatAm has a lot of growth potential, which it is now beginning to display. So, it’s a market that it makes a lot of sense for us to be in for that purpose. It’s like a little bit more quality in one and quantity in the other, I think that that matches itself up pretty well.

Ronny Ingvar Breivik, Executive Chairman, B90 Holdings

I noticed that your stock price has gone up quite a lot since the year started, what would you attribute to this happening?

Yeah, obviously the getting the band together is a part of that and it basically shows unity. I would also say that this unity was shown at the AGM (Annual General Meeting), which was held on the 31 of July this year, where all the resolutions duly passed.

I would say was a big exclamation mark for the work done so far by the board and the management team, getting approval from all the shareholders was a big thing. We know that we are now building on a base of unity that will allow us to focus on business going forward and do the things that we really want to do, which we have a plan for.

What is it like for you managing the C-level executives, obviously the AGM was a smooth process for you earlier this year, but what are the challenges?

For all the changes that have happened

in recent years, it’s fun. At the same time, it’s challenging because gambling is a very dynamic field. Everyone contributes. I would also say that in terms of the band getting back together, you would probably have noticed Farzad Peyman has joined us.

Farzad comes in with a background from as a financial controller in Sportingbet and was CFO and CEO of matchbook.com. He has a lot of sector experience and is strengthening our financial team, as well as taking charge on the M&A. I would basically say he’s been stellar.

On a final note, in the wider industry and as an operator and an affiliate, what do you make of ICE shifting from London to Barcelona in 2025? I do believe that that changes things a lot to be honest. I mean, there has been quite a few events held in Barcelona, which is a great city. A fantastic city. But it’s not ICE.

Key states to watch in 2023-24

This year has already seen major developments in sports wagering and internet gaming in states around the US as the industry expands, changes and faces legal challenges. As these trends take shape, those in the industry – operators, software suppliers, data suppliers marketing affiliates and others – should keep a close eye on both the sports wagering and internet gaming advancements defining the industry’s future, from existing regulatory bodies as well as state legislatures. In the past few months alone, New Hampshire, Florida and New Jersey saw significant advancements in their legislative and regulatory frameworks. Here’s what the industry should keep in mind

as it prepares for 2024 and beyond.

VERMONT ENTERS THE MARKET WITH AN EMPHASIS ON RESPONSIBLE GAMING

Vermont catapulted into the sports wagering spotlight earlier this year when Governor Phil Scott signed legislation authorising sports wagering, making it the 38th state (plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico) to do so. As the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery reviews proposals to select between two and six sports wagering operators for the state, concerns over responsible gaming may play a large role in the process.

Vermont’s Request for Proposal designates its “responsible gaming” criteria as a top selection priority, tied for point allocations with critical

elements like the strength of the betting hardware and software, as well as the strength of sports betting services. Priority responsible gaming requirements for the state include, but are not limited to:

• Voluntary self-exclusion programmes

• Resources made available to educate players about problem gambling, addiction and compulsive behaviour

• Deposit limits

• Employee training programmes

• Advertising limitations and prohibitions (no depictions of, endorsements by, or participation by underage persons and no promotional activities on college campuses).

Vermont is not alone in its emphasis on responsible gaming,

Scott Leopold and James A. Lewis of law firm Duane Morris focus on Vermont, Florida and New Jersey as new legislation and opportunities abound in the US

which has been a focal point for sports wagering regulatory agencies since the beginning of this year. The industry has seen new state entrants take a more aggressive approach to ensuring high levels of player protection – by way of amended regulations and regulatory fines, to name a few.

Once all proposals are reviewed and Sports Wagering Operator applicants are selected, Vermont expects to “go live” by late 2023 or early 2024. Sports wagering operators around the country should maintain a watchful eye on Vermont’s approach to responsible gaming programmes and obligations, as other states may follow a similar approach.

FLORIDA SPORTS WAGERING TAKES A BIG STEP FORWARD

On June 30 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia paved the way for a tribal monopoly on sports betting in the Sunshine State. The decision in West Flagler v. Haaland, 1:21-CV02192, reversed the lower court’s

decision and issued a favourable opinion to the Department of the Interior, joined by the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida as amici. For context, under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), Indian Tribes may off er Class III gaming, colloquially known as “Vegas gaming,” which includes house-

“Deeming wagers to occur in a specific location of a state is not uncommon in gaming law, especially with the proliferation of mobile sports betting platforms”

banked table games (black jack, craps and roulette), slot machines and sports wagering. tribes may conduct Class III gaming only on “Indian lands” under the terms of a tribal state compact, which is a contract setting forth the procedures governing such gaming.

However, in 2021, Florida and the Seminoles suddenly announced a landmark compact providing the Seminoles with a monopoly on sports betting operations in the state. The most contentious provision of the compact – colloquially known as the “deeming” language – provides that wagers that occur in the state of Florida are “deemed” to occur on Indian lands.

Deeming wagers to occur in a specifi c location of a state is not uncommon in gaming law, especially with the proliferation of mobile sports betting platforms. To maintain compliance with state and federal law, sports betting operators generally need to ensure that online wagers are placed within the boundary of the state in which they are licensed. States often employ statutes that provide that a wager is “deemed” to occur at a licensed gaming establishment, provided it is within the geographic boundary of the state.

Conversely, the Florida compact is likely the first time that a state statute has provided that wagers occurring within a state are deemed to occur on Indian lands instead. Some states provide the exact opposite, in fact, to separate gaming occurring on tribal lands (controlled by IGRA) and state lands (controlled by state law). Here, however, Florida and the Seminoles took a novel approach to provide the tribe a

monopoly on sports wagering in Florida.

The compact, however, drew the ire of Florida’s pari-mutuel facilities. The state’s pari-mutuel facilities and tribal casinos are some of the only locations where authorised wagering can occur in-person in Florida, so the pari-mutuel facilities challenged the Secretary of the Interior’s decision to approve the compact by operation of law, alleging that the language of the compact violated IGRA.

Specifically, the pari-mutuel facilities contended the inclusion of the deeming language authorised gaming off Indian lands. The Department of the Interior disputed this assertion, countering the compact did not authorise gaming off Indian lands because the statute did – and the court agreed and opined that the allocation of jurisdiction for gaming activity off Indian lands was lawful under IGRA. If the decision stands, sports wagering in Florida may soon be a reality.

NEW JERSEY’S IGAMING LEGISLATION REAUTHORISED –FOR A SHORTER TERM

As New Jersey’s iGaming 10-year authorisation sunset provision approached its November 2023 expiration date, New Jersey lawmakers reached a bipartisan (37-0) consensus to continue offering iGaming in the Garden State through November 2028.

The impact of the shortened fi veyear authorisation period has yet to materialise, but speculation as to its consequences commenced, before the bill was even enacted into law. Certain legislators, industry leaders and business people believe this fi ve-year iGaming extension is too short, while others argue it’s too long. Commentators questioned whether tax rates will increase with respect to either player or operator earnings,

along with how the flow of business investments into the iGaming and overall casino industry will be impacted if state legislators set a precedent of contentious political debates impacting iGaming authorisation periods. Investors are looking for assurances that iGaming will remain authorised for defi nitive periods of time – without the looming threat of ancillary policy provisions fi nding their way into enacted legislation.

While such questions remain unanswered, and downstream effects are still highly speculative, the New Jersey iGaming market has been put on notice that all industry players should keep a watchful eye on legislative trends and prepare for a wide variety of possible outcomes before November 2028.

CONCLUSION

Those that are in tune with current and anticipated changes to the US sports wagering and iGaming markets will be able to adapt, innovate superior products and services, and maintain a strong presence in existing and forthcoming jurisdictions around the country. The key is to always be ready for what comes next.

“Investors are looking for assurances that iGaming will remain authorised for definitive periods of time – without the looming threat of ancillary policy provisions finding their way into enacted legislation”

James A. Lewis, Associate, Duane Morris

Scott Leopold, Associate, Duane Morris

In focus: BtoBet

Instant gratification: The driving force behind modern sports betting

Dima Reiderman, MD of BtoBet, discusses innovation within the sports betting industry

of the opinion that we are assisting the casino-fication of sports betting, with modern day fast betting products seeking to address and replicate the quick gratification that many casino players seek in slots.

With people increasingly seeking instant gratification and faster payouts, bet builders provide an opportunity to cheer on multiple selections within one game, enhancing excitement and entertainment. Moreover, with the rising availability of TV and streaming coverage, placing a bet-on-bet builder also gives the feeling of being actively involved in the action.

The challenge with in-play betting, including microbetting, is to align the odds with what customers are watching on their TV or mobile devices. Real-time streaming and improved live match trackers have revolutionised the experience, allowing fans and bettors to witness sports events in real-time and access a wealth of data-driven insights. Advanced analytics and real-time statistics are readily available, providing bettors with valuable information to analyse and make informed decisions during the event.

The sports betting industry has often been criticised for lacking groundbreaking innovation. However, the reality is quite the opposite. In recent times, the landscape of sports betting has transformed; offering players an entirely different experience compared to the past when few pre-live betting markets, referring purely to final score or half-time, were available. Leading bookmakers now provide a vast array of betting options through their apps, with players presented with hundreds of markets to choose from, for a wide variety of different sports.

This diversity in the offering has emerged due to the insatiable demands of modern players, who seek continuous engagement at a granular level of the sports events they are watching. Bet builders, also known as same-game parlays in the US and North American markets, have been a pivotal development in this sense, allowing players to place multiples of their favourite matches, teams and players rather than creating multiples over matches they lack knowledge of.

The growth of bet builders can be attributed to the evolving nature of betting and the preferences of the modern player. In fact, many are

While live bet builders have already expanded in-play betting options, microbetting and fast markets are nowadays becoming difficult to ignore. Although Europe has already been familiar with minute markets for soccer and winner of the next point in tennis for quite some time, the US market is now catching up in this aspect. The popularity of platforms like TikTok, Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, where people consume and engage with content quickly, reflects the potential for microbetting and fast markets to become the fastest-growing segments of sports betting in the coming years.

The appeal of wagering on play-by-play action lies in its ability to capitalise on instant gratification. As a result, more popular American sports like baseball and American football are better suited to microbetting compared to soccer. In the US, bettors can place wagers on short-lifecycle markets like the next drive’s outcome or the speed of the next pitch, owing to the relatively slow-moving nature of sports like NFL, where a match can take around three hours and more to finish. This style of betting is likely to thrive in the US due to its compatibility with the flow of American sports, creating additional markets at every break in-play.

Having said this, one can easily come to the conclusion that the sports betting industry has seen remarkable innovations, offering players an extensive range of betting options and experiences. Bet builders, microbetting and fast markets have emerged as significant developments, catering to the evolving demands of modern players who seek continuous engagement and instant rewards. With technology continuing to advance, the industry is likely to witness even more exciting changes in the future. Additionally real-time streaming and data-driven insights have added a new dimension to in-play betting, providing valuable information to bettors, ultimately enhancing their overall experience.

Dima Reiderman, Managing Director of BtoBet

“Growth of bet builders can be attributed to the evolving nature of betting and the preferences of the modern player”