Omnichannel gaming operator Penn Entertainment has completed its acquisition of media business Barstool Sports.
The closing of the deal is the latest stage of an acquisition process that began in February 2020, when Penn purchased a 36% stake in Barstool.
Today (17 February), Penn revealed that it has paid approximately $388m (£322.5m/€363m) for the remaining interest in the business, having exercised its option to acquire in August 2022.
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Sports data business Genius Sports has agreed to a new data distribution and fan engagement partnership with minor football league XFL.
As part of the deal, XFL has granted Genius exclusive rights to distribute official data from all XFL games to its media and betting partnerships.
As such, Genius Sports is now XFL’s official betting data distribution partner and free-to-play provider.
Genius Sports’ executive vice-president, Sean Conroy, said that having a comprehensive data policy is an important part of a sports organisation’s financial success.
“For every sports league, an official data strategy that drives both new revenues and fan engagement levels is vitally important,” he said. “We’re thrilled to partner with the XFL, connecting their games with the media and betting sectors while creating meaningful fan interactions through the bespoke XFL Pick’Em solution.”
genius argued that a data strategy is vital to the success of a sporting league
XFL Pick’Em
The deal also saw G..
DraftKings has raised its 2023 revenue guidance to $2.95bn (£2.47bn/€2.77bn), up from $2.90bn, after experiencing “better than expected” sportsbook results – among other successes – in the fourth quarter of 2022.
DraftKings CEO and co-founder Jason Robins pointed to a double effort of increased revenue and reduced costs as reasons for the Q4 growth, along with the sportsbook results.
Revenue for the quarter was $855m in total, a rise of 81% year-on-year.
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France's national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ) reported full-year 2022 revenue of €2.46bn (£2.18bn/$2.62bn), up by 9.1% compared to 2021, as lottery ticked up by 11%.
Stéphane Pallez, chairwoman and CEO of FDJ Group, said that the full-year results were indicative of growth across the business as a whole, as well as a steady balance of retail and online betting activity.
“FDJ recorded very strong results for the year as a whole, marked by an increase in all of our business activities and supported by significant growth in our 30,000 points of sale and sustained momentum online,” said Pallez.
“This good performance benefits all our stakeholders, in particular our employees,
our retailers and our shareholders.”
This growth was seen across the board. Lottery revenue rose by 10.9% year-on-year to €1.91bn. Revenue from sports betting and online gaming activities came to €467m – up by 0.6%.
In addition, FDJ said that 6% of the total revenue for the year was generated ..
Inside The Pocket (ITP) and Playtech have entered into a strategic partnership, which will see ITP's free-to-play (F2P) and daily fantasy sports (DFS) platform offered to Playtech's international operator partners.
As part of the deal, over 100 F2P and DFS games will be offered to a number of Playtech’s operators around the world, giving ITP a “broader scope” in the market.
This distribution will occur “territory-by-territory”.
The deal will allow ITP to establish itself as a tool for Playtech customers, wherein they can take advantage of ITP’s acquisition and retention tools.
“The international scope provided by Inside The Pocket’s content aggregation platform represents an exciting opportunity for Playtech,” said Anthony Evans vice-president of strategy at Playtech. “ITP’s content aggregation platform also provides the requisite flexibility for newly regulated and maturing markets.
“We’re looking forward to how these games perform for the end user across this diverse r..
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has completed the sale of a property in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to nearby National Football League (NFL) franchise the Chicago Bears.
The initial deal was struck in September 2021, with the Bears having agreed to pay $197.2m to acquire the 326-acre site, which is currently home to Arlington Heights Racecourse.
The racecourse opened in 1927 and upon closure had a capacity of 35,000 seats. The venue had not hosted any form of racing since the deal with the Bears was agreed in 2021.
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The American Gaming Association (AGA) reported that the 2022 gross gaming revenue total hit a new all-time record, with sports betting growing 72.7% year-on-year.
US commercial gaming revenue – excluding revenue taken by tribal entities – reached $60.42bn in 2022, up significantly compared to 2021’s then-record of $53.0bn.
During the year, new records were also broken for both sports betting handle and revenue, which stood at $93.2bn and $7.5bn respectively.
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Diamond Sports Group, operator of the Bally's branded TV sports networks, will miss $140m in interest payments due today (15 February), in a move that puts it near bankruptcy.
The company has instead chosen to enter a 30-day grace period on the interest payments. The interest payments relate to the company’s 6.625% senior unsecured notes due in 2027, the 5.375% 2L senior unsecured notes due 2026 and the 5.375% 3L senior secured notes due 2026.
Talks with creditors to continue
During this grace period, it said, talks with creditors and other key stakeholders will continue, “regarding potential strategic alternatives and deleveraging transactions to best position Diamond Sports Group for the future”.
This may result in the Sinclair Broadcast Group subsidiary filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with its total debts reportedly $8.6bn.
Diamond Sports said it expects that “business will continue as usual” during this grace period. The company operates 19 regional sports networks (RS..
An existing partnership between Novo Interactive's AdmiralBet and German football club Hamburger SV – also known as HSV – has been extended until 30 June 2024.
AdmiralBet has been the exclusive sports betting partner of Hamburger SV since 2019.
As part of the extension, AdmiralBet will provide content to Hamburger SV’s digital channels, which will include its AdmiralBet series.
AdmiralBet branding will also be present on video and LED boards at Hamburger SV’s home stadium, Volkparkstadion.
Additionally, during the second half of the club’s season, AdmiralBet and Hamburger SV will operate the AdmiralBet numbers game, an interactive tool where fans can test their knowledge of Hamburger SV on match days and compete with friends.
“It is a great honour for us to continue to be a partner of HSV,” said Florian Hermann, director of marketing and operations at Novo Interactive. “The fans and the passion for football are our focus.
“We are underscoring this with the extension of t..