Betting News – Page 22 – FairOdds Network

December 16, 2024

Sweepstakes has its moment at NCLGS: Law change needed to regulate or ban

The panel, entitled ‘This Ain’t Your Granddad’s Sweepstakes’, delved into issues on licensing, regulation and taxation.

More than 15 years have elapsed since the passing of Ed McMahon, the Tonight Show sidekick also famous for sweepstakes commercials that featured him awarding unsuspecting Americans with gigantic seven-figure checks.

Yet McMahon’s name circulated through the halls of Harrah’s Hotel at Caesars New Orleans on Friday before the nation’s preeminent gambling regulators.

Ahead of next week’s senate hearing in the nation’s capital on sports betting, a panel convened on the online sweepstakes casino market. The issue is one that is sweeping the broader industry. The panel, entitled This Ain’t Your Granddad’s Sweepstakes, delved into hot-button issues on licensing, regulation and taxation associated with the multi-billion-dollar market.

The panel opened the daily agenda at the National Council of Legislators From Gaming States (NCLGS) 2024 Winter Meeting. Moderated by Chris..

December 16, 2024

Sweden government confirms country will sign Macolin Convention

Sweden is to join the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, also known as the Macolin Convention, the country’s government has confirmed.

Sweden first announced its intention to join the convention in October last year, with several ministers declaring their support. The government has now confirmed it will proceed with these plans.

In declaring its support, Sweden becomes the thirteenth European Union country to ratify the Macolin Convention. Belgium, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Moldova, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine have all previously ratified the convention. It has also been signed by 39 other European states and signed by three non-EU countries; Australia, Morocco and Russia.

The convention remains the only international legal framework on match-fixing and sports manipulation. It sets out a framework for public authorities to corporate with sports governing bodies, betting operators and competition operator..

December 13, 2024

Ex-casino exec Sibella to have Nevada gaming licence revoked

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) today (13 December) announced a tentative agreement with former MGM Grand and Resorts World executive Scott Sibella, who in January pleaded guilty to failing to file a suspicious activity report while at the MGM Grand.

Sibella is so far the only person involved in a far-reaching illegal sports betting ring to be sentenced.

Wayne Nix, whom Sibella extended credit to despite having knowledge that he ran an illegal book, Mathew Bowyer, who had up to 700 customers playing at his illegal book, and Ippei Mizuhara, the Japanese language interpreter who stole $17 million (£13.4 million/€16.1 million) from baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani to gamble, all await sentencing. The cases are playing out in US District Court in Southern California. All three defendants pleaded guilty and face varying amounts of prison time and fines.

Nix’s sentencing is set for 26 March 2025, Bowyer’s sentencing is set for 7 February 2025 and Mizuhara’s sentencing is schedule..

December 13, 2024

State of the Union: Congressional hearing on tap, FanDuel making noise in MI, 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.

FanDuel rallies customers against proposed MI tax hike

FanDuel this week sent a letter to Michigan customers encouraging them to oppose two bills that would raise tax rates on digital sports betting and icasino, according to Casino Reports. One bill would increase the tax rate on digital wagering by 0.1%. Another would raise the rate on online casino by 1%. The idea is to generate more tax dollars for state and local governments.

FanDuel’s emails point customers to a form on the Sports Betting Alliance’s (SBA) website. The SBA also has tabs to click through to encourage consumers in Georgia and Texas to tell lawmakers they want legal digital gambling.

The SBA is a trade group comprised of BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics Sporstsbook and FanDuel.

Congress to discuss legal sports betting

The US Senate Commit..

December 13, 2024

Brazil regulator approves 71 betting licences

Brazil’s gambling regulator, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), has issued 71 federal online betting licences ahead of the launch of the country’s regulated market next month.

In a meeting on Tuesday 10 December, Regis Dudena, the leader of the Brazil SPA, confirmed 71 licences are approved. The SPA is still evaluating the remainder of the 114 applications filed by the initial 20 August deadline.

Dudena did not disclose the identity of any of the successful applicants. However, he did say that all operators in this group have been contacted for final evaluation ahead of the market’s launch. Brazil is due to open its regulated market on 1 January 2025, with compliance prior to this required before an operator can launch.

“The final requirements here, in addition to some technical requirements such as certification of their betting system, are mostly related to financial matter, such as full capital, creation of a reserve account and payment of a concession fee,” Dudena said.

December 12, 2024

Turns out, the promos ESPN’s personalities are pushing for ESPN Bet aren’t big winners

A 20-day journey following every promo wager and boosted parlay on the app.

Watch any game on ESPN or on its sister network ABC and you will see the ESPN Bet advertisements and promotions during just about every commercial break.

They have become ubiquitous parts of the network’s sports programming.

These are the advertisements hawking ESPN’s betting app, featuring Stephen A Smith, Mike Greenberg and other assorted talking heads from the network’s lineup.

A strong push like this from the Disney marketing department is not surprising. The media giant regularly uses all its tentacles to promote its various properties. The synergy its sports personalities offer is a major reason why ESPN hooked up with Penn Entertainment following the gaming company’s divorce from Barstool.

Those recognisable figures are now prominently featured on ESPN Bet’s promo page endorsing certain wagers. Most often these include pre-packaged parlays and odds boosts connected to upcoming games airing on the ne..

December 12, 2024

Tennessee sets another sports betting handle record in November

Sports betting handle in Tennessee reached a record high for the second consecutive month in November, while tax from wagering in the Volunteer State also reached a new all-time high.

Gross wagers during November amounted to $598.6 million (£469 million/€569.4 million). This is 16.1% more than in Tennessee last year and 8.6% higher than October’s existing record of $551.2 million.

Data from the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council show $4.2 million worth of adjustments, the details of which were not disclosed. After taking these into account, gross handle for the month was $594.4 million.

On top of this, the Council also reported $11 million in tax from sports betting activities in November. This is another new record for Tennessee, surpassing the previous all-time high of $10.1 million in October.

The Council does not publish figures for sports betting revenue, nor does it break down monthly performance by operator or sport.

At present, 12 mobile betting platforms are live in the st..

December 12, 2024

Sanborn casino sale saga highlights value of HHR for small markets

Earlier this month, the year-long New Hampshire legal saga surrounding the forced sale of Andy Sanborn's Concord Casino came to a close. The process was drawn out and contentious, however in the end it didn't actually centre around the casino but around a historical horse racing (HHR) licence.

Sanborn, a former New Hampshire state senator, was forced to close and sell the casino last year. Attorney general John Formella last August accused Sanborn of misappropriating $844,000 (£660,846/€803,192) of Covid relief funds related to the casino and other businesses. No charges have been filed for that investigation, but Sanborn was arrested on 18 October on a separate charge for misrepresenting the casino’s gross receipts in order to obtain more relief funds.

After the first investigation was opened, Sanborn and the state began a legal battle that lasted almost a year. He was originally given a June deadline to sell, but that was extended multiple times. A deal was said to be i..

December 12, 2024

Gamban founder calls for horse racing to be excluded from affordability checks

Matt Zarb-Cousin, the co-founder and director of external affairs at Gamban, has called for horse racing to be exempt from the UK's new affordability checks.

In August, the Gambling Commission launched its financial risk checks pilot, which triggers more extensive checks for a player when their monthly deposit hits £500. This measure will be adapted in February 2025 when net deposits will be lowered to a threshold of £150 or above. These checks involve the UK’s largest operators and credit reference agencies.

Much of the criticism of affordability checks has come from the horse racing sector, which feels it’s being unfairly treated compared to other more high-risk forms of betting such as slots.

Zarb-Cousin feels that horse racing must separate itself from such verticals, with the belief it shouldn’t be included in affordability checks.

“I think horse racing needs to get as far away as possible from online casino, [which] is bringing the industry down,” Zarb-Cousin said on t..

December 11, 2024

FanDuel adds legislative and regulatory specialists to government relations team

FanDuel today (11 December) added two new executives to its government relations team while BetMGM announced a new chief marketing officer on 9 December.

FanDuel continued to expand its government relations team today (11 December) with the additions of James Hartmann and Louis Trombetta. The pair bring diverse backgrounds to the ever-burgeoning department, which now not only monitors and works with state legislatures, but also in Indian Country.

Hartmann brings a legal background. He was a prosecutor in Chicago and New York City before shifting into politics. In Illinois, he was the lead house gaming attorney. Hartmann was heavily involved in crafting the legislation that led to the legalisation of sports betting in Illinois in 2019.

Trombetta was the first executive director of the Florida Gaming Commission. He oversaw the build-out of the commission and the regulatory process and set state legislative priorities.

Since tribes in California in 2022 killed a commercial sports be..

December 11, 2024

Super Group raises full-year revenue guidance to €1.6 billion

Super Group, the parent company of Betway, has increased its full-year revenue guidance by 3.2% following a “strong” performance in the first two months of the fourth quarter.

Revenue at Super Group for the 12 months to 31 December 2024 is expected to reach €1.6 billion (£1.32 billion/$1.68 billion), the operator announced today (11 December). The group previously forecasted a full-year revenue of €1.55 billion.

In addition, adjusted EBITDA, excluding the US, is on track to hit €360 million in 2024, 4.3% above its earlier guidance of €345 million. Super Group is expected to publish its full-year results in March or April next year.

The group’s favourable performance in Q4 is the reason behind its increased forecast. Both October and November were “strong” months for the business, it said, although it did not provide any additional context.

CEO Neal Menashe said he is “proud” to be in the position to increase guidance and pay an extra dividend. He said Super Group will seek to buil..

December 11, 2024

Illinois FY24 gambling report: Tax revenue over $2 billion, but casinos not key drivers

Data from the fiscal year 2024 edition of the Wagering in Illinois report from the legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability showed that the state's gaming industry generated a record $2.08 billion (£1.62 billion/€1.97 billion) in tax revenue in FY24, the most ever for the Prairie State.

According to the report, state tax revenue grew 4.8% year-over-year from $1.99 billion in FY23. Illinois has one of the strongest gaming industries in the US, with casino gaming, video gaming (slot routes), sports betting, horse racing and lottery.

The report covers not just the last fiscal year, but references financial reports dating back to legalisation dates for each genre of gambling.

The commission noted that FY24’s growth was “largely driven by the steady expansion of video gaming, elevated lottery sales and rapid growth in sports wagering”. The first two sectors generated the majority of tax revenues – $886 million from the lottery and $848 million fr..

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