Sports betting – Page 21 – FairOdds Network

December 18, 2024

Brazil betting CPI rapporteur hits back after claims of extortion

Senator Soraya Thronicke, rapporteur of the betting Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) in Brazil, has called for help from the federal police (FP) to investigate claims of extortion within the group.

In response to growing criticism of the betting industry in Brazil ahead of the legal market launch on 1 January 2025, the betting CPI was established in November at Thronicke’s request. It aims to investigate the “growing influence of online gambling on [Brazilian families’ financial spending]”.

Last week (13 December) however, the CPI was plunged into scandal after a report from Brazilian magazine Veja made allegations of extortion linked to businessmen within the gambling industry.

Veja reported senator Ciro Nogueira alerted congress president Rodrigo Pacheco to a lobbyist from Brasília named Silvio de Assis seeking to extort members of the industry.

The FP are already reportedly involved, with De Assis allegedly requesting BRL40 million (£5.2 million/€6.2 million/$6.5 million)..

December 17, 2024

US senate gambling hearing derailed by Kennedy’s and Hawley’s transgender fetish

Two US senators used a hearing on legal sports betting to push forward their own agendas on whether or not “biological males” should be allowed to play in women's college sports events.

Senators John Kennedy and Josh Hawley hijacked today’s (17 December) US congressional hearing about the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) to push forward a different agenda.

It was an ironic situation – as senators and witnesses were discussing how to protect student-athletes from harassment from bettors, Kennedy and Hawley harassed NCAA chief Charlie Baker in the most public of forums.

During a question-and-answer period, Louisiana Republican Kennedy veered off track with questions around why the NCAA “allows biological males” to play in games with “biological females”. The issue has been in the news after multiple women’s volleyball teams forfeited games against San Jose State after it was revealed that there was a transgender player on the team. Boise ..

December 17, 2024

Another new igaming revenue record for New Jersey in November

New Jersey set a new igaming revenue record for the fourth straight month in November, as all licensed verticals grew year-on-year.

Overall gambling revenue for the month hit $556.9 million (£438.6 million/€530.1 million), the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DHE) reports. This is comfortably clear of $482.4 million last year and 11.4% above $499.8 million this October.

Sports betting and igaming were the standout performers in the New Jersey gambling market in November, with both verticals reporting double-digit growth. Land-based casino revenue in New Jersey was also up year-on-year.

After slipping behind online casino’s contribution in recent months, land-based was once again the main contributor to revenue in the month.

Land-based casinos make a comeback

Despite another record month of igaming revenue, the segment slipped back behind land-based casinos in terms of the area that generated the most gambling revenue in New Jersey.

Revenue from land-based casinos in No..

December 16, 2024

ESPN Bet leans into ESPN as it seeks to differentiate itself

ESPN Bet and ESPN believe that the gambling platform's newest functionality – account linking to the media site – is a game changer.

When it comes to sports betting platforms, a key driver of success is differentiation. Some platforms lean into massive bet menus. Others lean into high limits. And still others lean into microbetting. ESPN Bet is leaning into… ESPN.

And it believes connecting the Worldwide Leader in Sports with a like-branded betting app gives it a serious advantage.

“The assumptions you can draw are that the individual who links is betting more often,” Mike Morrison, vice president of ESPN Bet and ESPN Fantasy, told iGB. “Perhaps some of the bets are of higher value and we’re able to identify different kinds of betting behaviour. This group of fans that are playing fantasy or betting are a high-value player… they’re going to be a very valuable customer for ESPN, so we want to find ways to engage them.”

Toggle between apps

To that end, ESPN Bet announced on 1..

December 16, 2024

Weekend Report: former Premier League footballer jailed for match-fixing, Zeal celebrates anniversary

Welcome to the Weekend Report, where iGB looks at the news that you may have missed across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This week: former Premier League footballer jailed for match-fixing, Veikkaus pens Finnish Ice Hockey Association extension and Zeal reaches 25-year milestone.

Former Premier League footballer faces 20 years in jail

A former Chinese footballer who played in the English Premier League for Everton has been jailed for 20 years for match-fixing.

Li Tie, who also managed China’s national team, pleaded guilty in March to taking over $16.0 million (£12.7 million/€15.2 million) in bribes. The BBC reports that Li also admitted to both accepting and offering bribes.

The court said the offences occurred while Li was an assistant coach at the Hebei China Fortune Club, which previously played in the Chinese Super League but was declared defunct last year. Li worked for the club from 2015 until 2021, when he quit as national coach.

Li would accept bribes to select certain play..

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

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..

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Tag: Sports betting