Betting News – Page 26 – FairOdds Network

January 8, 2025

Industry calls lopsided Minnesota online sports betting hearing “a media stunt”

In Minnesota, a state that has considered legalising sports betting since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned in 2018, Senator John Marty today (8 January) held a hearing on the issue. But he didn't invite industry reps.

The decision to keep the industry out of the hearing in front of the state senate finance committee was by design. In his comments before testimony began, Marty acknowledged that the state has been struggling with whether or not to legalise.

But he also said that no previous hearing had “focused on harm”. While “harm” may not have been a focus in previous hearings, problem and responsible gambling advocates testified many times.

Marty also suggested that sports betting “is currently legal in Minnesota”. He said betting with friends or strangers is legal. But “sports bookmaking where a corporate entity can come in and profit off of your betting” is not legal. He went on to qualify gambling addiction “as powerful as any op..

January 8, 2025

Brazil Supreme Court rejects Loterj’s latest appeal in ongoing spat with federal government

Supreme Federal Court (STF) minister André Mendonça has rejected the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery’s (Loterj) appeal against the ban on state-licensed brands operating throughout Brazil.

On 2 January, Mendonça passed a preliminary decision to ban Loterj licensees from operating nationally across Brazil. The request was initially filed by the attorney general’s office (AGU) back in October, requesting the court suspended certain 2023 provisions that gave Loterj powers to regulate outside of Rio (Accreditation Notice 01/2023).

As a result of the court’s ruling, Loterj licensees were banned from accepting bets beyond Rio de Janeiro state borders and also mandated to reintroduce geolocation tracking to ensure bets are only being accepted within the state.

Mendonça’s decision gave Loterj five days from 2 January to halt its nationwide activities and impose these geolocation mechanisms.

Loterj immediately appealed the decision, citing “defects, omissions, obscurities and material errors..

January 8, 2025

Flutter issues US profit warning amid “very unfavourable” sports results

Flutter Entertainment has warned it is likely to fall approximately $370 million (£297 million/€359 million) short of US revenue expectations for FanDuel following a period of “very unfavourable” sports results in the country during November and December.

In a trading update published today (8 January), Flutter said strong player-friendly results have offset US player momentum. The group published Q3 results in mid-November, with these showing “excellent” growth across all regions.

However since the results announcement on 12 November, running into December, FanDuel has endured “unfavourable US sports results” primarily affecting NFL parlay and same-game parlay outcomes.

The operator went as far as calling the 2024-25 NFL season “the most customer friendly since the launch of online sports betting with the highest rate of favourites winning in nearly 20 years”.

Flutter takes $438m GGR hit from customer-friendly results

These results, Flutter said, generated an estimated adverse gr..

January 8, 2025

India GST enforcement agency given blocking powers for tax-avoiding gaming sites

The ministry of finance in India has granted new powers to the directorate general of GST Intelligence (DGGI) to begin blocking online gaming websites and mobile applications that are illegally avoiding goods and services tax (GST) in the country.

Confirmed this week in the Gazette of India, the new regulation – SO 95(E) – is effective immediately. The ministry said this intends to address fraudulent activities under both the Information Technology Act 2000 and GST Act 2017.

The DGGI is an agency tasked with mitigating tax evasion on behalf of the GST Council which enforces the tax requirement.

Online real money gaming companies operating in India are required to pay a 28% turnover tax for skill games. This was first enforced in October 2023 and was reiterated on 10 September last year, following a performance review of the tax measure.

Operators must be registered under the Simplified Registration Scheme of the IGST Act and appoint a person based in India to pay their GST contri..

January 8, 2025

Sportsbook+ could be DraftKings’ tax saviour. But in the era of subscriptions, will consumers add one more?

On 28 December, DraftKings quietly launched a new subscription service, dubbed DraftKings Sportsbook+, for select customers located in New York. The new service, which allows for odds boosts on parlays, is the first of its kind – and it could be the company's tax saviour. But will bettors actually subscribe?

Essentially, Sportsbook+ allows subscribers to get better odds on parlays. Each applicable parlay must be at least two legs and each leg must have odds of -500 or narrower. For each leg added to the parlay, the odds would be improved by 10%. In other words, a two-leg parlay would be boosted 10%, a three-leg bet would be boosted 20% and so on. Parlays with 11 or more legs would be boosted by 100%, or double the original payout. The maximum applicable bet is $25.

The news of the launch was first reported by Sportico on 3 January.

DraftKings said the service would be available to “select, eligible customers” in New York, but didn’t elaborate on specific criteria. The fact t..

January 7, 2025

What will it take to return UK retail betting to growth?

UK retail betting is in decline. Can the sector take inspiration from a high street betting stalwart and Serbia’s thriving social scene to turn the channel’s luck around?

UK retail betting continued its slow long-term decline in Q3 2024 with the channel’s gross gambling yield (GGY) falling 1% to £533 million in the UK, according to UK Gambling Commission data. Entain reported a drop of 2% in retail betting revenue in the market, while Evoke observed a 9% fall in revenue across its international retail portfolio.

Meanwhile online gambling is surging in popularity due to ease of access and improving technology. The Gambling Commission reported an overall Q3 GGY of £1.32 billion (€1.6 billion/$1.7 billion), with online real event betting GGY rising by 6% year-on-year to £453 million.

In its Q3 results, Evoke said it had hired a new retail managing director in September who had identified and actioned a series of measures to improve trading in the short term. This included the rollout ..

January 6, 2025

Maryland, Virginia lawmakers to consider online casino legalisation

State legislatures across the US will consider legalising online casino in 2025, including Maryland and Virginia, where bills have been filed.

Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, chair of the Maryland house ways and means committee, will again try to move an online casino bill in Maryland. HB 17 would allow for igaming regulated by the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission (MSLGCC). It was pre-filed in December and it will officially be filed on 8 January, when the legislative session opens.

The bill is similar to one she filed last year that passed the house but didn’t get to the senate floor. Concerns about how digital gambling would cannibalise retail casinos became a sticking point. A senate bill suffered the same fate.

Atterbeary’s latest version would allow for existing video lottery operators and sports betting facilities to apply for icasino licences. The MSLGCC would also be able to issue five licences for applicants who “meet the requirements for an internet gamin..

January 6, 2025

Weekend Report: SL Green CEO set for Times Square casino bonus, computer game addiction links to gambling warning

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: SL Green CEO £10 million bonus hinges on Times Square casino, expert warns computer game addiction drives teens to gambling and OBE for GambleAware CEO.

SL Green CEO set for £10 million Times Square casino bonus

Up first, Marc Holliday, the CEO of the real estate investment trust, will receive a $10 million (£8 million/€9.7 million) bonus if he can secure a land-based casino at New York’s iconic Times Square.

According to Crain’s New York Business, SL Green confirmed the bonus last week. The trust is hoping to gain permission from the state to convert a 54-storey tower into a casino and hotel.

SL Green is working in partnership with Caesars Entertainment and Roc Nation on the bid for a New York casino. However, the project faces competition from a host of other interested parties.

The Related Cos, Silverstein Properties, Bally’s, Miriam Adelson’s Las V..

January 3, 2025

State of the Union: Missouri sports betting update, California tribes sue, more

Welcome to iGB's State of the Union, a look at the biggest North American sports betting stories we've covered over the week and briefs on others we found interesting.

MO wagering coming online sooner than expected?

Legal Missouri sports betting could be available sooner than mandated. The new law, passed by voters on 5 November, requires the state gaming commission to launch operators by 1 December 2025. But on 2 January, Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) chairman Jan Zimmerman told Sports Betting Dime, “Depending on how quickly the process goes with getting the rules to the governor’s office, getting them signed, getting everything to the attorney general’s office, we could be looking at earlier in the summer than we anticipated.”

The emergency rules process is moving more quickly than expected, said Zimmerman. She is hopeful that the emergency regulations will reach the governor and attorney general for approval by the end of January. Should that happen, the MGC could op..