There hasn't been a sportsbook in the US that hasn't been adversely affected by COVID-19. Some have definitely fared better than others depending their company’s services. William Hill, one of the world's top sportsbooks has had a particularly tough time, largely because of their one-dimensional betting platform in its US markets. As a result, the company is looking to ramp up their offerings and to allow for online casinos in the American outlets. With the sports world slowly creeping back to some semblance of normalcy, expanding William Hill's portfolio may not be all that necessary, but it certainly won't hurt. Sportsbooks that have online casinos have obviously taken a hit during these uncertain times but table games, poker and other casino games at least mitigated some of the losses incurred. William Hill in the US William Hill is not only one of the biggest names in the betting industry, but it is a huge player in the bustling US market. Currently the company has a presence in nine states - Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. The main problem that COVID-19 has exposed with William Hill USA is their lack of an online casino - something that could have kept on generating revenue during the world's sports shutdown. The sportsbook came out as one of the biggest revenue losers in the US through the first part of the coronavirus pandemic, losing a whopping 90% of total net revenue from the same point last year. The company did take steps a few weeks ago when they set up drive-thru services in Nevada for new customers to set up accounts and for existing customers to top up their accounts. The cash injection however minimally affected their sportsbooks bottom line and contributed a fraction of what an online casino would have. Online casino boom With land-based casinos closed across the country, online casinos saw a huge jump in revenues in April, the first full month of COVID closures. Online casino and online poker have been two of a very select few winners during the coronavirus pandemic. New Jersey for instance brought in $80 million from online casinos in April - a 23% increase from March and an incredible 118% jump from April, 2019. Pennsylvania reported a 60% increase in online casino handle from March and Delaware, the smallest market currently operating in the legal US betting industry took in $28.5 million from online casinos which represents a 74% increase from March and a 138% increase from last April. Online Poker has also been bringing in a fair amount of revenue to sportsbooks that support the game. US online social poker room Global Poker reported a 43% increase of online poker players the last month and an astounding 255% increase in the amount of first-time online poker players. William Hill's planned casino rollout The plan for William Hill is to have an online casino ready to roll by the second half of 2020 - obviously too late to absorb some of the sportsbook losses the last couple of months. New Jersey is rumored to be the first to receive this service with the rest of William Hill's locations to follow soon after that. Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO of William Hill, recently commented: “In the US, where we offer online sports betting in four states, we continued to take wagers on alternative activities. Product development has accelerated throughout the period and we will be launching online casino in the second half of the year.” Better late than never William Hill is finally moving toward becoming a full-service casino in the US. It unfortunately took a global pandemic to kickstart that plan. CEO Ulrik Bengtsson recently commented that: “Our strategy for the company remains a simple one – to win with our customers, build agile collaborative teams, and get things done – execution. We are developing products that we are proud of and that will improve William Hill’s competitiveness for the long term.” Having a complimentary online casino to add to their already popular sportsbook was once simply a luxury but the coronavirus pandemic has shown it to be more of a necessity. William Hill is proof of that but is refusing to continue being left behind in that regard. Look for slots and table games to be a part of your William Hill experience in the US before too long – better late than never!
Most of us are old enough to remember two whole years back when the idea of legal sports betting in the US was taboo. It's hard to believe that it’s only been only a short time since the Supreme Court overturned the ban on legal wagers across the nation. Acceptance in the US is at an all-time high with citizens, legislators and most sports leagues in the country with one major exception - the NCAA. 19 states have legalized sports betting since May, 2018 and previously resistant leagues have even partnered with betting providers to maximize profits and exposure of not only the wagering platform but teams and leagues themselves. The last holdout in the US, the NCAA has been stout in their desire to keep sports betting at an arms-length but there are recent signs that their stance may be starting to shift, ever-so-slightly. Is the NCAA missing the boat? Sports betting in the US has generated $21.8 billion since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and as of today, just over one-third of the US population can legally place a sports wager. When and if California, Texas or Florida come aboard, over half of US citizens will have the opportunity to wager legally. Instead of fighting the inevitability of legal sports betting in the US, pro leagues have embraced the platform and have formed sponsorship and marketing partnerships with betting providers to maximize the benefits of sports betting - both for gambling companies and the leagues themselves. It is simply a matter of “joining them” rather than “beating them”. The biggest sportsbooks in the world have descended on the US market and have been giving North American sports an increased global reach since Day 1 of legalization. Simply put, sports betting is here, it is here to stay and ready to be taken advantage of. People are betting on the NCAA anyway Despite the NCAA not having anything to do with the US legal sports betting industry, there is no denying that college sports are a huge money-maker for sportsbooks. March Madness alone is one of the busiest times for Nevada sportsbooks. William Hill US Chief Executive Officer Joe Asher said: “first three days of March Madness equate to Super Bowl Sunday”. The 2019 Tournament generated approximately $349 million in bets in Nevada alone with $36.5 million in profits - all of which is taxed to the benefit of state and local coffers. New Jersey sportsbooks took in $372 million from the 2019 March Madness tournament and contributed even more in terms of tax dollars for that state. The American Gaming Association estimated that $8.5 billion was bet on March Madness in 2019 across the United States. The problem is that much of which was done through illegal offshore books, which takes the money overseas and out of US companies’ and US states’ hands. A sign that things are changing It was the end of April that the NCAA took steps toward allowing student-athlete endorsement deals based on name, image and likeness although sports betting was left out of the language. NCAA athletes, thanks to its Board of Governors threw its support behind third-party endorsements for college athletes and green-lighted previously taboo compensation for college competitors. It essentially means that NCAA athletes can now profit off their image. There seems to be little desire to let sports betting and betting providers participate in the relaxed rules however. In fact, the Board of Governors even nixed the idea of allowing an NCAA football video game to move forward. But the fact that the NCAA is being forced to address the issue of sports betting head-on is a sign that it remains a hot-button topic for the league. One study suggested that the Board of Governors consider “Whether certain categories of promotional activities (e.g., alcohol, tobacco and sports gambling) should be precluded because they are inconsistent with the NCAA membership’s values.” A COVID-forced switch? Leagues and organizations have taken a serious coronavirus hit. Embracing legal sports betting has been mentioned as a way for states, sports leagues and individual teams to at least mitigate some of the effects of the looming financial crisis. So far, the NCAA seems set on continuing on with their hardline stance against gambling. But with inevitable budget shortfalls, with legal sports betting gaining in acceptance and popularity and with other leagues finding success piggy-backing off of the platform, the NCAA may start to warm up to some sort of newfound tolerance for legal sports betting. While it doesn’t appear that any resolution on the subject is imminent, the powers that be in the NCAA are being forced to acknowledge legal sports betting. The NCAA remains in “baby steps mode” but those steps may be accelerated soon.
One of the world’s largest online sportsbooks has announced plans to further its US reach with a move into Colorado, a state that is expected to become a major factor in the US legal sports betting industry once the wagering world returns to normal. British bookmaker Bet365 signed a licensing and revenue share deal with Century Casinos to bring internet and mobile sports betting to Centennial State. The deal will last for 10 years and hopefully boost the tepid numbers Bet365 has had so far in the US market. Bet365 brings an incredible global reach to Colorado. It is licensed and regulated around the world and brings in around $4 billion annually. The Colorado location joins New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City and New York's Resorts World Catskills as Bet365’s only North American locations, assuming it secures all regulatory approval. Although New Jersey is considered one of the top two bet-friendly states in the US, Bet365 hasn't quite caught fire there just yet and the company has yet to go live in New York. Hopes are Colorado can provide that spark for one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. Century Casinos While Century Casinos looks like the big winner in their new partnership, it may just be Bet365 that aligned itself with the more influential player in the Colorado market. Century Casinos with their new deal is officially dominating in Colorado and Bet 365 was able to hitch their wagons to them. Century Casinos now has a 10-year deal with Bet365, a 15-year deal with Circa Sports and three sports betting Master Licenses from the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, one of which has yet to be filled. That Master License is being pedaled to other major names in the legal sports betting space and could give Century a stranglehold on the Colorado scene. Colorado market Colorado officially went live with their legal betting platform May 1, becoming the 19th state to do so and they did it smack-dab in the middle of the coronavirus shutdown. Obviously, there is nowhere to go but up for a state platform that is projected to bring in $6 billion annually in bets and generate $400 million in gross operator revenue. Colorado now has 17 land-based casinos with of six online sports wagering services including names like MGM Resorts International and Rush Street Interactive. Colorado is a sporting hotbed with representatives in all of North America's major sports. The Denver Broncos of the NFL, the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, the Colorado Rockies of MLB and the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL all call the state home and will drive the sports betting market there. The deal According to a press release surrounding the partnership, "The online sportsbook operations agreement with bet365 is a 10-year agreement that includes a minimum annual revenue guarantee and a percentage share of net gaming revenue payable to the Company each year, with an advance fee being paid on contract signing”. Bet365 will provide its digital sports betting services to the Colorado property but it will come at a cost. The minimum annual revenue guarantee that the service provider has agreed to pay makes this a no-brainer for Century Casinos. The company will also get paid their up-front fee no matter the situation in Colorado for Bet365. COVID's presence The world of sports is only now starting to awaken, making the timing of the Bet365/Century Casinos deal perfect from a timing perspective. The two still have time to ramp up their operation, figure out the nuances and be ready for the onslaught of sporting action that seems closer every day. Early optimism for sports betting in Colorado has turned a little however because of the coronavirus shutdown of casinos and sporting leagues around the world. Experts are now warning that the state could actually turn a small loss this year on sports betting, unless the biggest betting sport of all, the NFL is able to proceed without any interruption. Next step Bet365 has yet to get licensing and regulatory approval in Colorado but that seems like just a formality before managing an internet and mobile betting app under its brand in the state. As for an opening date, that has yet to be determined. We always knew that Colorado was going to provide an exciting new legal sports betting market but it was difficult to predict just how the platform would come together, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six operators have now been confirmed with the Bet365 announcement meaning that Colorado is well on its way to being the big player most expected.
Sportsbooks in the emerging US legal sports betting industry continue to go head-to-head for gambling dollars, forcing providers to get innovative with unique features to pass on to their loyal customer bases. Premier global sportsbook operator PointsBet is on the board with a first of its kind (in North America) Parlay Booster app for its US clientele. "Our mission is to provide our clients with the ultimate sports betting experience, and we saw a gap in the U.S. market to deliver more fun and value when placing a parlay bet," said Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA CEO. Something new and some betting value is what the company was after with the Booster – something that would aid the bettor and ultimately themselves. Perhaps more will follow their lead. What is PointsBet's Parlay Booster? PointsBet is giving their customers a chance to build their own personal parlay of choice every 24-hours with the company’s own proprietary, patented, in-house platform. It allows bettors to select any 3-to-12 leg parlay and receive a bonus on that singular wager. The benefit is that on that one bet, the potential winnings would be higher, the odds would be skewed toward the customer and the winnings, assuming the bettor is successful on the bet, would be greater. The more teams played or wagered on, the bigger the potential bonus for the customer. The exact structure hasn't been released but there is a school of thought out there that a 40% gain would be the number for an eight-leg parlay and up to 50% for anything over that. The Parlay Booster is there to be customized as the client sees fit. It is simple, it is more interactive and potentially more lucrative for those bettors skilled enough to pick multiple winners in one bet. “Initial response has been terrific,” a company spokesman said Thursday. “We are thrilled.” Although the Parlay Booster is advertised as a once-a-day benefit, there is a way for customers to gain more additional daily Boosters. It, of course, depends on a customers' frequency of use and their overall loyalty to PointsBet and the Booster opportunity. Other Aspects of the PointsBet app The Parlay Booster is not the only aspect of the app that aims to serve the PointsBet customer base. Included will be an extension of BetSync which has had a significant and positive effect on how customers in Indiana deposit and withdrawal money from their PointsBet account. There are a number of other performance updates to the app that also aim to enhance the customer’s experience. Visuals, speed, unique offerings, reliability and a better overall interactive betting experience should result from the work that PointsBet has done on their app. PointsBet Parlay Booster, Quick Parlay Builder and In-Play Parlay Builder are aimed to check all of those boxes. Setting PointsBet apart PointsBet has been on the cutting edge of the legal sports betting industry in the US since its inception and the Parlay Booster is just another example of their innovation. Setting yourself apart is a big part of the competitive sports betting business. With PointsBet's PointBetting platform, with benefits as Good Karma payouts and now their one-of-a-kind Parlay Booster in North America, it shows the company's commitment to put their customers first. Customers in New Jersey, Indiana and Iowa are the only bettors in the US that currently have access to all that PointsBet has to offer but PointsBet expansion plans could make it a reality in other states soon.
Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP No state in the US has been hit harder by COVID-19 than New York and in the wake of the pandemic disaster is a massive budget deficit shortfall (estimated to be about $17 billion), caused my massive testing and months of industry shutdown. One obvious way for the state to mitigate some of the losses is to add a mobile betting platform onto its already legal brick-and-mortar sports betting that exists in just four out-of-the-way, upstate casinos. Horse racing in New York will be allowed to commence June 1 but as it stands today, New York residents won’t be able to bet on it. Senator Joseph Addabbo continues to lead a push toward a viable mobile sports betting platform - his many efforts so far have been foiled by the strange reluctance to seize on the most successful form of betting in the US. Senate Bill 17 is his latest shot and many feel that it is his best chance yet to bring mobile sports betting to the state. Major coronavirus budget shortfalls have thrust mobile sports betting into the spotlight as a way to generate some much-needed revenue for state and local coffers. “If you weren’t considering mobile sports betting legalization prior to the virus, I think the virus may put you in the position that you almost have to. The economic impact of the Coronavirus is not only for this year, it’s next year too. The idea here is we had a $7 billion deficit before the virus and then the virus hit us with another $10 billion,” said Addabbo. “Now we’re $17 billion in the red and we’re facing education cuts. A portion of our gaming revenue would go toward education, so we would be increasing education funds with mobile sports betting legalization. We’re also facing healthcare cuts, so how do you fend off some of these cuts? Look at the credible, significant, realistic money mobile sports betting would provide.” Simply put - New York needs money! The COVID factor New York, the last few months has generated exactly ZERO sports betting revenue. With the four upstate casinos and seven tribal casinos closed by the global pandemic and a curious lack of mobile betting opportunities, New York's decision to shun mobile betting was seriously exposed. With life slowly coming back to normal in the US, there are still serious questions about peoples' desire to enter a casino, spend time there and wager their hard-earned dollars in the facilities for betting in the state. New York residents have been among the nation's most ardent supporters of lockdown. When everything opens up, citizens of the hardest-hit state in the US may be reluctant to enter areas where social distancing seems like an impossibility. What New York is missing out on Senator Addabbo estimates that New York is missing out of between $160 to $200 million per year from mobile betting alone. It is not lost on New York lawmakers just how much that added revenue would contribute to the state's tax coffers which could be used to help dig the state out of their coronavirus hole. The state of New York doesn't have to look far to see just what a strong mobile betting presence can do for them. New Jersey, one of the two or three most successful legal betting states has been raking in sports betting dollars from their apps. New Jersey reported $494.81 million in total handle for February alone, 88.2% or $436.49 million coming via mobile means. That's $436 million of revenue that New York as one of the richest and most populous state is missing out on. Prior to the COVID outbreak, one study identified $33.81 in sports betting revenue per capita in New Jersey in 2019 with New York earning just $0.85 per capita. New Jersey has generated $273,436,129 in revenue since July, 2019 while New York has made $9,646,708 over that span. The reason? Mobile betting. Other states continue to absorb New York betting dollars New Jersey has, and will continue to be the beneficiary of New York's reluctance to bring a mobile sports betting platform into the fold. Some estimates have as much as 25% of New Jersey's incredible monthly handles coming from New York bettors. It is estimated that $837 million has flowed in to New Jersey sportsbooks from New York citizens. Pennsylvania has proven to be another destination for New York bettors, largely because of their strong mobile betting platform. The chances It is widely accepted that sports betting legalization in 2020 is a tough ask. New York's legislative session may not return this year and even if it does, there are other priorities that need to be taken care of before the subject of legal sports betting. So, while the appetite for mobile betting is definitely there in New York and the time seems perfect to welcome in mobile sports betting, the subject will likely and unfortunately have to wait until 2021 at the earliest to get off the ground.
NASCAR Cup Series Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway on May 20, 2020 in Darlington, South Carolina. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/AFP One of the more forward-thinking sports organizations, NASCAR is looking to seize on the increased exposure it received during the coronavirus pandemic with its introduction of a new virtual sports betting game. London-based and leading sports betting service and content hub IMG ARENA has been chosen as a partner with the resurgent racing league to deliver this new game which is scheduled to be distributed to NASCAR fans, audiences and betting providers worldwide. The deal is scheduled to last 10 years and includes markets outside of Canada and the US. IMG ARENA's task in this new partnership deal is, along with content developer Leap, to provide live streams of NASCAR Cup Series races and new betting opportunities to licensed sports betting operators in emerging markets. Betting services will be provided to sportsbooks around the world along with a “virtual live stream” of NASCAR races. Scott Warfield, NASCAR’s managing director of gaming, said: “The international sports gaming landscape is mature and vibrant, and this partnership allows us to offer compelling products that further enhance our international footprint.” NASCAR NACAR is one of the global sports leagues that broke the COVID lockdown of sports, allowing racing to get an early jump on the sports betting competition while increasing its overall exposure around the world. Last week marked its first live race after weeks of virtual racing which kept fans engaged and kept the stars of the sport relevant. Fox reported viewership numbers of 6.3 million for last week's race which came in a the most watched NASCAR race outside of the Daytona 500 since 2017. IMG brings another level of not only fan-engagement to NASCAR but also a new product to enhance the overall NASCAR betting experience. “IMG ARENA is the leading partner for global sports and entertainment media. We are excited to work together to provide a global audience the ability to engage with our sport virtually and in real-time,” said Scott Warfield, Managing Director of Gaming, NASCAR. IMG ARENA IMG ARENA is currently affiliated with 460 sportsbooks around the world, providing top-notch services 24/7. Services include live streaming and on-demand virtual sports offerings aimed at customer engagement and getting fans into near-authentic action. It combines a virtual experience with industry-best data collection and distribution in order to absolutely maximize its customers overall betting experience. It's not IMG's first foray into virtual sports betting products - NASCAR joins virtual tennis, football, cycling, horse racing, motor racing and greyhound racing in IMG's portfolio. The new product will aim to replicate some of NASCAR's incredibly iconic tracks including Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Watkins Glen International. Freddie Longe, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at IMG ARENA, said: “Adding NASCAR to our client roster is a proud achievement. The brand is renowned in sport and entertainment with the high-octane race series providing must-watch, appointment-viewing content for more than 70 years. The partnership significantly bolsters our streaming and official virtual sports offering with a product that we expect to be popular in a number of different markets.” As for the uniqueness and overall viability of the product Longe commented that: “The virtual NASCAR will have universal appeal. The difference between motor racing proper and virtual motor racing is that motor racing proper is typically once a week on a Sunday throughout the season, whereas the virtual NASCAR product will be a 24/7 proposition.” Going Virtual Virtual Sports staked a claim and emerged as a viable option to “real sports” during the COVID-19 shutdown. A virtual platform is now seen as a crucial sportsbook asset instead of a niche aspect of one. It has acted to keep current sportsbook customers engaged while at the same time attracting new audiences to sportsbooks. Virtual sports have definitely gained in popularity the last couple of months – any virtual gaming, especially one that replicates famed racing tracks in the US is bound to gather some steam. With NASCAR’s popularity on the rise once again, IMG ARENA and NASCAR’s latest venture couldn’t have come at a better time.
The effects of COVID-19 keep rearing its ugly head as state-after-state reports their April figures. One of the true stalwarts in the US sports betting industry, Pennsylvania is out with their April reports and they reflect an all-too-familiar pattern of declines across the sector. Pennsylvania, which is considered the third most bet-friendly state in the US, is further proof that even the Heavyweights of the US legal betting industry can be brought to their knees by a sickness. With no mainstream sports to speak of during April, Pennsylvania's impressive sports betting momentum was effectively stopped in its tracks with little reason to think that May's numbers will provide much of an uptick. Huge drops in both handle and revenue have been eye-opening to say the least. The trend has been that the more successful a state was pre-COVID, the more dramatic the drop-off in terms money flowing in to the state, and Pennsylvania is just the latest example of that. The numbers The coronavirus pandemic has essentially decimated the previously exploding legal sports betting industry in the US. Pennsylvania, one of the poster-children for the successes of legal sports betting reported an April handle of just $46 million according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That’s a far cry from the estimated $350 million that the state was projected to take in during what should have been a busy month, and the lowest amount since May, 2019. The handle was an astonishing 86% lower than the average monthly handle for January and February of this year. For comparison sake, Pennsylvania brought in $348.4 million during a record-breaking January - $300 million more that in April. The overall handle fell 65% from a somewhat disappointing $131.3 million in an exaggerated March, when bettors had a half a month to wager on their favorite team. Of course, revenues for Pennsylvania were reflected in the sharp drop-off of sports betting handle in the state. Revenue from March to April fell 58% to just $2.8 million - a stark contrast to the record $22.8 million in revenue the state enjoyed during its record month on January. What could have been April had potential, at a minimum to be a banner month for legal sports betting in Pennsylvania and could have been a record-breaker if things went perfectly. MLB would have been in full swing, March Madness would have crowned it Champion, the Masters Golf tournament would have been played and the NBA and NHL would have been in the midst of their playoffs. Analysts believed that $350 million in handle for the month was a reasonable goal for the state. American Gaming Association SVP of strategic communications Casey Clark acknowledged that: “The past few months should have been record-breaking for legal sports betting in America.” But betting on Table Tennis and Russian Basketball predictably failed to make up for the lack of bankable marketable North American sports staples. Making lemonade out of lemons Pennsylvania is one of the states in which mobile betting set the stage for its legal betting platform. The state consistently reported over 85% of their impressive monthly handles coming via mobile means. “The growth in online gambling as well as betting on non-traditional sports are industry bright spots,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania.com. The strong mobile presence in the state allowed online poker and casino games surge in popularity. The combined monthly revenue for online casino and poker reached a record $43,067,881, slots revenue more than doubled to $27,324,955 and online poker revenue increased 68% to a record $5,253,304. Like everyone... The Pennsylvania sports betting scene is waiting for the world to open up again. And that seems as though it will come sooner rather than later. UFC and NASCAR have set the bar for returns to action, the NBA, NHL and MLB are in the midst of finalizing plans for their re-opening and the NFL is still planning on going forward with a full season in the fall. Pennsylvania was on a tremendous path. Their legal sports betting platform was the envy of many and a model for other states to follow. According to Dustin Gouker: “… there just isn’t any way for Pennsylvania operators to compensate for such a dramatic loss of revenue, including at retail sportsbooks and land-based casinos, which can’t generate a single dollar right now.” As of now, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is in talks to slowly re-open casinos and effectively take the reigns off of the sports betting industry. Safety plans are being drafted and hopes are that things move quickly toward a smooth re-opening. The appetite for sports betting is definitely there as is the desire for sportsbooks to get back up to speed. The only thing missing is sports and brick-and-mortar casinos and those are getting closer to return each day. With the storm seemingly weathered, the Pennsylvania sports betting market is ready to explode with pent-up demand. Look for more records to fall in the state sooner rather than later.
International Game Technology (IGT) is out with their Q1 numbers which are reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on the US legal betting industry. The company reported a "solid start" to the quarter with sports betting in January and February setting records in the US. But then March happened and the whole company was dragged down, from a strong position of profit making to the weak position of declines in their business across the board. IGT's business, like so many in March others grounded to a halt. It all added up to a Q1 that saw revenues drop 18% over the same period last year. Q1 of 2020 brought in $940 million while 1.14 billion was brough in in Q1 of 2019. Those are sobering numbers for a company hoping to gain some traction and keep up momentum in not only the US but Italian markets. IGT is reporting revenue declines in every one of its business segments. The COVID factor IGT's business was especially hit hard by COVID-19. As mentioned, every aspect of the company reported some kind of decline during Q1. Simply put, IGT is a service provider and people just weren't using their services during the time of lockdown. “After a solid start in the first two months of the year, we quickly shifted our focus to the global COVID-19 health crisis in March,” said Marco Sala, CEO of IGT. “The safety and well-being of our people, customers, and communities have been our highest priority since day one." The good thing for IGT is the fact that the US is starting to open up and things could return to the glory days of... January and February. Hopes for the company are that people start to play lotteries again and that their strong gaming sector sees a resurgence during Q2 and beyond. Lotteries Lotteries are a big part of what IGT does - they are a service provider for gaming sites. IGT Lottery service revenue came in lower on reduced traffic to points of sale. With retail locations shuttered and US citizens on lockdown, lottery tickets were the last things on peoples’ minds. Because of that, North America Lottery division took in around $251 million in revenue for Q1 - the $214 million from lotteries was down 16%. Gaming, which can also be put in a category of “IGT’s Bread and Butter” was also down across the board. Of the $251 million, $34 million game from Gaming which represents a 17% drop. Other drops IGT's North America Gaming and Interactive division also reported some uninspiring numbers. They took in $196 million in revenue in Q1 which is an 18% drop. Gaming services dropped 24% to $117 million of the $196 million and product sales slipped 12% to $74 million for the quarter. Italy was predictably down across the board which certainly didn’t help IGT during the pandemic. Cash on hand and a plan IGT is fortunate enough to have $2.2 billion in liquidity, comprised of $1.5 billion in unrestricted cash and $743 million in capacity under revolving credit facilities. They also seem to have a plan post-COVID. CFO Max Chiara commented: “We’ve taken swift actions across all non-essential costs and are now switching our focus to structural cost savings initiatives. At the same time, we have adopted strict measures to preserve liquidity in the current environment. Given the uncertainty created by COVID-19, we are withdrawing our previous financial outlook for 2020, but we are confident that with $2.2 billion of liquidity, we are geared with sound financial flexibility to weather the storm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Playing catch-up International Gaming Technology appears to be yet another in a long line of victims in the COVID-19 landscape but the company appears to have positioned themselves well for climbing out of their coronavirus hole. There will be a major time of catch-up for virtually all companies following the COVID-19 lockdowns. Count IGT as one of the companies that should be able to bounce back quickly from the effects of the last two months. While Q2 may show further declines because of the lost month of April and half of May, IGT should be on solid ground and ready to roll with services once again assuming the world gets back to “normal”.
The state of Louisiana is threatening to become the next major player to welcome in a legal sports betting platform. Last week, two Bills were presented in the Louisiana Senate, discussed and ultimately voted on. Both Senate Bill 130 and Senate Bill 378 were approved by a pretty good majority and are acting as light on the horizon of the Louisiana sports betting industry. Now the pieces of legislation are set to be sent to the House of Representatives for their own debate and vote. It is unclear as to the urgency the subject will be met with in that House but hopes are the topic can be taken up quickly and some official legislation could be put to the voting public sooner than later. What was once unlikely, sports betting has moved to the "hope stage" with the aim of making it a reality by the end of 2020. What the Bills say Senate Bill 130 was the first to be considered by the Louisiana Senate. Sponsored by Senator Cameron Henry and passed in the Senate by a vote of 23-9, the Bill's goal is to get the topic of legal sports betting on the 2020 ballot and for the people in the state to have the ultimate say. Each parish, under the Bill will have the power to decide on whether or not, sports betting is a fit for them. Senate Bill 378, which also passed on Thursday dives a little deeper into the idea of the legal sports betting question for Louisiana. It addresses the rules and regulations that would be put in place if and when the platform launches in the state. The Bill effectively shows voters what the platform would look like - good and bad once it is up and running. The good The fact that legislation has gone this far in Louisiana has to be considered a win. There is still a ton of work to do before it makes its way onto the November ballot but at least it’s a start. Having lawmakers discuss further should provide a nice boost for the industry and the idea of letting people decide the fate of legal sports betting is a step in the right direction. Louisiana already has a pretty big casino scene - 53 casinos operate in the state and could easily take on sports betting. Gambling is entrenched in some Louisiana communities already making the chances of a platform indeed coming to light that much more possible. Another "good" that came out of the two Bills is what you can vote on. Unlike some states that have adopted legal sports betting already, college sports betting would be fair game under the legislation. Betting on Olympics would also be allowed. The bad The Senate Bills passed Thursday were void of one major betting platform. Somehow, after all of the available data of states that have fully embraced legal sports betting already, the idea of mobile sports betting (outside of brick-and-mortar facilities) has been left out. Mobile apps have been responsible for between 85% and 90% of the impressive handles for three of the four most bet-friendly states, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana. Mississippi has adopted a similar approach to mobile betting in which betting from your phone is legal, but only inside an actual brick-and mortar betting facility. It seems to have worked for them but sentiment out there is that Louisiana is missing the boat with regards to its limitations on mobile apps. Another hurdle is Louisiana voters’ record on sports betting. Just getting the Bills passed is a tough ask for Louisiana already. Citizens in the state already voted against the legalization of Daily Fantasy Sports in 2018. 17 of 64 parishes struck down the opportunity, making Fantasy Sports technically illegal everywhere in the state. From a precedence perspective, this fact puts legal sports betting on shaky ground as legislators move toward a possible public vote. Time Time certainly isn't on the side of the proponents of legal sports betting in Louisiana. To get the question of legal sports betting on the November 20 ballot, debate will have to be completed and language drawn up before June 10, the deadline for including anything on the November ballot. That means debate will have to take place amidst a global pandemic, the House would have to quickly act on the enact language they want to present and the Governor would have to sign off on allowing voters to have their say. It is a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time for lawmakers. Who knows, with all of the other business to attend to, if it gets done. Louisiana is on a path that not many thought they would be on. The idea of legal sports betting caught on quickly and the subject has been riding a wave ever since. It seems inevitable now that some sort of legal platform is coming to the state and that some serious tax dollars to mitigate budgetary issues will soon follow. Stay tuned to this situation – it is going to come down to the wire.
April was an excruciating month for the legal sports betting industry in the US. With all brick-and-mortar facilities closed and with Major sports around the world locked down, it has become increasingly difficult to find a feel-good industry story. That was before New Jersey released their gaming numbers for April. While April saw predictable declines in overall handle, some sectors of the platform actually spiked and kept the losses in "respectable territory". Kudos to New Jersey, which has been especially hard-hit by COVID-19 for still chugging along. While in-person games like slots, table games and bets on sports saw some incredible declines, the state was able to make up for the intense shortcomings in other ways. Online and casino games were able to mitigate at least some of the sportsbook losses in April, and keep the top-tier New Jersey legal betting platform in the shrinking list of gambling Heavyweights. First, the bad Gaming revenues, understandably, continue to drop across the US with the most successful states prior to the coronavirus pandemic seeing the starkest drop-offs. New Jersey, being one of those successful states saw a 68.9% year-over-year decrease in handle in April - from $265.4 million in 2019 to $82.6 million last month. April's handle dropped 49.5% from March, when the betting public had a couple of weeks of regular wagering opportunities. Sports betting and in-person gambling dragged the New Jersey figures down - not surprising considering the state of sports (or lack of) during the month of April. Sports betting plunged 82.6% to $54.6 million from $313.7 million in the same month last year - by far the lowest total in the two years New Jersey has enjoyed legal sports betting. The handle declined 66.6% from March to April of this year. Betting revenue came in down an eye-opening 87.6% to just $2.6 million in April which is a sharp drop from the $21.2 million the state generated in April of 2019. With no sports and no in-person table game betting, it is somewhat of a surprise that the numbers didn't come in even lower. After all, land-based casinos posted $207.6 million in revenue in April of last year. Now for the good news Online casinos in New Jersey picked up some of the slack from the barely existent sports betting industry. Online casinos in New Jersey generated $79.9 million in bets which represents a 23.5% increase from March and an incredible 118.5% increase from April of 2019. John Pappas, a leading consultant on the sports betting industry in New Jersey remarked on Twitter that: "iGaming ($74M+) and iPoker ($5M+) generated just under $80 million in operator revenue for New Jersey in April 2020. Importantly it produced $12M+ in TAX REVENUE for a state that would have been left with ZERO in taxes from regulated gaming if not for iGaming." Casino gaming was the biggest surprise in the figures released for New Jersey's April haul. iGaming was responsible for an incredible $74.8 million, a 114% increase from April of 2019 when the handle was $34.9 million. Poker brought in $5.1 million in to New Jersey sportsbooks in April, up an astounding 208.7% from last year at this time. Part of this was due to the lack of live poker available during the month and part has to be credited to the online casinos who put together quality poker tournaments in a hurry in order to seize on the opportunity presented them. Overall in 2020 As an endorsement of how strong the New Jersey legal betting scene is, their overall 2020 handle has fallen just 8.6% despite the better part of two months being totally lost to COVID-19. With one-third of the year in the books, New Jersey has brought in $1.27 billion in bets which is more-than-respectable considering the times we are living in. Revenues for 2020 has somehow climbed 2.3% to $86.4 million. It speaks to just how successful the legal sports betting industry was during the months of January and February of this year. During those months, New Jersey was able to bring in an astounding $1 billion in bets. Opening up With sports and the world as a whole starting to show signs of life, the numbers are bound to get better soon for New Jersey. We've already seen the appetite for sports betting that exists with the NFL Draft attracting 5 times its regular bets and the action we have seen on the 3 UFC events this past week or so. NASCAR has returned, golf is on its way, German soccer enjoyed a successful first weekend back and MLB is finalizing plans to return to action. New Jersey's sports betting platform is prepping to explode once again when everything returns back to normal. It's an old adage that "only the strong survive" but it seems to ring true when talking about the New Jersey sports betting scene. Their prior strength carried them through the COVID-19 shutdown and their diverse and all-encompassing betting platform allowed them to actually thrive in previously underwhelming sectors. Let New Jersey be a lesson to all prospective sports betting states - diversify, limit the regulation and the betting industry will drive itself!
Thursday marked the two-year anniversary of the US Supreme Court striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which paved the way for legal sports betting that state-after-state has been welcoming in. While nobody will be blowing out birthday candles because of COVID-19, the occasion can't be overlooked as the world looks to get back to normal, existing states look to relaunch and some new states test the waters with regard to their own sports betting scene. Since 2018, 17 states have joined Nevada in their implementation of legal sports betting. Four more plus Washington DC have passed their own legislation and are prepping to launch ahead of what everybody hopes is the commencement of a regular NFL season. Nevada is still King but other states have risen up and made a statement that they are after Nevada’s distinction of the most bet-friendly state in the US. Exceeding expectations By all accounts, the US sports betting industry has exceeded all expectations, generating $21.8 billion in bets since 2018. According to the American Gaming Association, just 30% of the US population is now able to place a legal wager on their favorite sports, and that number could significantly rise if and when states like California, Florida and Texas welcome their own form of the platform as they see it fit. Mobile betting so far has been the biggest surprise in the legal sports betting space. Future states are officially on notice that betting apps are far more productive than brick-and-mortar facilities. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana, just to name three have emerged as Heavyweight contenders thanks to mobile betting which makes up 84%-90% of those states' monthly handles. New Jersey, which is in the process of passing Nevada as the King of US Betting States has reported 84% of their $4.6 billion handle since implementation coming via mobile means. Exceeding expectations in the US has so far been tied to states' acceptance and reliance of betting apps. Other successes Perhaps the biggest success for legal sports betting over the last two years is the relationship between the platform and sports leagues who cautiously entered into agreements with sports betting operators. Previously wary of the implications of allowing wagers on their sports, most leagues in North America have not only embraced the industry but have formed sponsorship and marketing partnerships with providers to maximize the benefits of sports betting. States that have welcomed legal sports betting platforms have also won over the public with their lucrative taxation contributions to state and local coffers. Education, pension funds, water projects and other financial-needy projects have come to fruition because of the tax dollars being generated by legal sports betting in various states. Some problems exist There are some states that are still staunchly resistant to the idea of legal sports betting. Ideological differences exist and they don't seem as if they are going away anytime soon. The fact that California, arguably the most liberal state in the US, still has no legal sports betting platform is viewed by many as a failure. By bringing California on board, the percentage of US citizens legally allowed to bet on their favorite sport would climb to over 50%. Other states like New York have been reluctant to adopt any sort of mobile betting, leaving the four upstate, out-of-the-way casinos as the only place in the state to place a sports bet. In turn, many New Yorkers are heading across the bridge, to New Jersey to place their bets. On the flip-side, others like Tennessee have opted for a mobile-only sports betting platform. Lotteries' handling of various states' sports betting platforms has also created some problems. From the unfair odds in Tennessee resulting from unusually high hold rates, to Lottery Commissions being out of their leagues, to delays by commissions that don’t seem to be in a hurry in a few states, the Lottery-model has been what some insiders feel a disaster. What you can't bet on has been a problem Another hole that has emerged in the legal sports betting industry the last couple of years is on the topic of "What you can't bet on". The first is the lack of political betting, which would have certainly kept sportsbooks active during this time of total sports shutdown. Secondly is some states' reluctance to allow betting on college sports. By not offering action on politics or college sports, bettors are visiting offshore sportsbooks, where they can and are wagering on those very events. Legal sports platforms in the US were designed in-part to do away with bettors seeking an offshore alternative but until the US platform is more all-encompassing, people will take their money overseas. Conclusion Sports in the United States is a passion. It was difficult to see, prior to 2018 how much betting was tied into that passion. Pre-COVID, the sports betting sector was in the midst of exponential growth, bigger and faster than most had envisioned. Hopes are that punt-up demand for sports and sports betting is real and once sports returns, so too will the momentum of a previously exploding sports betting industry. Maybe on the next anniversary date we will be talking about the biggest industry comeback story ever!
Momentum is starting to build for a US sports betting industry that has been decimated by the impact of COVID-19. UFC events on Saturday and Wednesday demonstrated the level of pent-up sports betting demand that truly exists. NASCAR, after a 70-day layoff is next up to return to real-time, bankable, marketable action and revenue-strapped sportsbooks are ready to seize. NASCAR has been one of the most forward-thinking sports organizations on the planet in terms of keeping their profile high and maintaining the betting dollars rolling into sportsbooks during this time of complete global sports shutdowns. While eNASCAR provided a nice weekend distraction and kept us in touch with our favorite drivers the last few weekends, there is nothing like the real thing to get fans engaged and bettors betting. The COVID Effect Nobody needs to be reminded about the insane impact that the coronavirus has had on the planet. But the return of sports, which most are realizing they have taken for granted, shows us just how much most of us long for weekends and evenings in front of the TV cheering for our favorite teams. While all of the figures have yet to be added up with regards to the money lost to the sports betting industry during the pandemic, we can take an educated guess based on the amount of money that has been wagered in the US since the Supreme Court overturned the ban on sports betting in 2018. Over $20 billion flowed in to US sportsbooks from June-2018 to mid-March of this year. From that we can extrapolate that up to $2 billion in handle was snatched away from sportsbooks the last couple of months. Nevada saw at 76% decrease in their sports betting handle in March, New Jersey reported losing $450 million in bets in April, Pennsylvania recorded a 60% drop in wagers in March and Indiana experienced a 65% drop in its overall handle during April. What NASCAR Brings To The Sports Betting World You will be able to get your NASCAR fix early and often. Starting Sunday, there will be four races over an 11-day span in order to squeeze in a 36-race season before playoff time. Sunday May 20 and Wednesday, May 20 will see races at Darlington with Charlotte hosting races Sunday, May 24 and Wednesday, May 27. Things return to a more normal schedule after that with races happening every weekend. There will be no fans at those races but that isn't expected to affect the amount of dollars bet on the races. While the lack of practice will surely change the way odds are calculated for each race, betting is expected to be vigorous as people cheer on their favorite drivers and teams from the comfort of their own homes. A Lot Is On The Line This Weekend Sportsbooks are gearing up for this weekend for sure. William Hill in Nevada even created a drive-thru service to get new bettors to sign up and seasoned bettors to deposit more into their accounts. Revenue-thirsty sportsbooks have a lot riding on every real-time sporting event right now - it still remains uncertain whether or not any other sport will return in a meaningful way anytime soon. Not unlike the NFL Draft and the last two UFC events, sportsbooks have increased the amount of betting opportunities that they will present to their customers. More bets equal more money coming in and potentially more revenue for books and states. A lot is on the line for an organization whose popularity struggled a tad prior to the COVID outbreak. But taking the sport virtual and returning far ahead of any other sport other than the UFC could provide NASCAR a spark. Momentum from eRacing weekends is expected to carry on in a big way starting Sunday. “People tuned into this, people who hadn’t watched a real race this year,” said Steve Myers, the executive producer of iRacing’s pro invitational series. “If NASCAR retained even 10 per cent of those people, it’s a win.” Bottom Line With a ton of moving pieces, NASCAR was willing to take a gamble on letting you gamble. Their bet may just pay off. Armed with a potential new, younger audience that had sadly been lacking and the fact that every other sport-type event since the global shutdown exceeded betting and viewership expectations, NASCAR has a chance to make some inroads in the next couple of weeks. It could be an 11-days that instills some confidence in the legal sports betting industry in the US and NASCAR as a whole. The Brickyard is back and it couldn’t have come too soon.
Indiana, a state on the cusp of climbing into the US legal sports betting Heavyweight picture is out with its April numbers and unsurprisingly, they aren't good. Indiana's is the latest state to report a COVID-19 April slump and the most recent to see a 60%+ drop in its overall handle. Indiana took in exactly zero retail bets in April which contributed to the numbers falling off a cliff. But according to stats released by PlayIndiana, mobile wagers also experienced eye-popping declines due to the fact that there were no sports to bet on. While it's true that Indiana's sport betting scene is in its relative infancy, the overall numbers from the Hoosier State proved to be the lowest on record. April expectations March was horrible with regard to legal sports betting in Indiana but was nothing compared to the figures that have been released concerning April's cliff-dive. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, spring was touted by analysts to be huge for sportsbooks and the state. March, with the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, was expected to approach record handles in basketball-crazed Indiana but that obviously didn't happen. April was projected to generate approximately $190 million in bets with NBA and NHL playoffs, MLB, NASCAR, golf and soccer filling the sports betting shelves. But none of that happened either. The NFL Draft and WNBA Draft during the month generated some betting interest but nothing close to what was expected by all analysts. April's figures The writing was on the wall early for April's ability to generate any sort of gambling revenue. Sport was nowhere near a return and shelter-in-place orders for most states were showing no signs of easing. Dustin Gouker, chief analyst for PlayIndiana.com said of Indiana's downturn: “Bettors have very few places to turn in Indiana. In some states, online casinos have driven significant revenue. But that isn’t possible in Indiana. So, the industry’s results will continue to be grim until the sports world figures out a way to reopen.” Indiana's April’s handle came in down 64.8% from $74.8 million in March to the lowest handle since $35.2 million was taken in during the first month of legal betting for the state in October. Just $26.3 million in bets in was recorded for the entire month of April which is about $165 million less than the state had been expecting. Gross revenues for the month fell from $5.5 million to $1.6 million in April which resulted in just $148,189 in tax revenue for the increasingly needy state. The shutdown effectively cost the state approximately $49 million in anticipated gaming tax revenue. Stunted growth Indiana's pre-COVID sports betting platform was in the midst of some impressive growth, particularly on the mobile side. Some apps were starting to be developed while others were close to launch. Coronavirus put a halt to those plans. William Hill, Tropicana, Caesars, FoxBet and Unibet are providers with a strong mobile betting focus that hoped to be live by this time in Indiana but have been forced to delay their launch. Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIndiana.com said of COVID-19's impact that: “The legacy of this shut down for the market could be in the way it has stunted its growth. From lost revenue to less competition, the effects of this unprecedented shutdown will be felt well after sports resume.” Reason for optimism? The US as a whole is starting to ease lockdown restrictions and sports are starting to follow. UFC 249 last weekend and last night were huge successes, NASCAR and German soccer are about to return and golf has signaled that it is ready to come back, albeit without fans. The NBA has been in negotiations to return, the NFL seems undeterred and MLB is in the midst of prepping for the start of an abbreviated season. “It could be that April is the low point in what will undoubtedly still be a struggle until sports can resume with their regular schedules,” said Dustin Gouker. “If sports do resume relatively soon, online sportsbooks should recover quickly. In the meantime, sportsbooks will continue to look for creative ways to drive revenue.” Professional sports look poised to return sooner than later and with that will come the opening of casinos and a gradual return to some form of normal. There are even whispers about Indiana’s casinos and retail sportsbooks opening as early as Sunday, June 14. Weathering the coronavirus storm wasn’t a choice for sportsbook operators and the sports betting public. Now, that storm looks as though the worst is behind us. To describe the last couple months as “rough” is a colossal understatement but as life gets back to normal, so too will an Indiana sports betting industry that was in the midst of a meteoric rise prior to COVID-19.
Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images/AFP Need more proof that the sporting world is starving for action? Look no further than the numbers surrounding last weekend's fan-less UFC PPV card in Jacksonville Florida. Pent-up demand and a stacked card propelled the first marketable, bankable sporting event in two months to some impressive figures, both in PPV buys and wagering traffic for the event. Dana White and the UFC won the race to be the first sport back from the coronavirus hiatus and it seems to have paid off. The numbers coming out of the weekend action exceeded expectations of both the UFC and sports betting operators, while breeding some optimism among industry insiders that sports betting won't skip a beat once the world returns back to normal. According to SI.com, some sportsbooks reported that UFC 249 was the most-bet MMA event ever before the fights even started. “We absolutely destroyed it,” UFC President Dana White told Yahoo Sports. “It was a home run by every measure. The early trends were good and they continued.” Some numbers While dollar figures for UFC 249 betting are still trickling in, sportsbooks have been more than willing to share their delight with the overall numbers for the Night of Fights. SuperBook from Las Vegas reported doing six-figures of action despite their own mobile app only being operational for three days ahead of the event. Another Major sportsbook is said to have quadrupled their betting handle from UFC 248 which went down March 7. Their UFC 249 take, by estimation, wound up to be about one-third of the overall handle that the UFC has provided the sportsbook so far this year. It wasn't just sports betting that saw some impressive numbers from Saturday night's action. ESPN’s Pay-Per-View were equally strong, which speaks to sports fans willing to pay up just to see some live, real-time competition. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported 700,000 PPV buys, which is definitely on the high-side since ESPN took over UFC PPV subscriptions. Nielsen ratings for the prelims on ESPN haven't been released yet but are expected to be equally impressive as are the UFC's FightPass sales. What some sportsbooks are saying PointsBet USA director of communications Patrick Eichner said of Saturday’s event: “This UFC 249 card ended up slightly outperforming Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon in UFC 246. For us, those two (events) have blown every other UFC event out of the water, with handles comparable to a full weekend’s worth of NBA games.” Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US, while not eclipsing any sort of record commented that: “Handle was very good. I’m not sure what to compare it to, because of all the different factors. Big thumbs-up to Dana White and UFC for pulling it off and having strong safety measures, as well.” The SuperBook at Westgate just re-opened their sportsbook Thursday and saw some respectable traffic as well. Derek Wilkinson, manager of The Sportsbook said of UFC 249: “When you consider that there are almost no tourists in town and all of the bets came through the mobile app, it was a big success. Definitely not a record, but really good with all the limiting factors considered.” Keeping up the momentum There are two more UFC events on tap this week and both will be aired on ESPN+. Wednesday features Anthony Smith battling Glover Teixeira in the Main Event and Saturday's card highlights a Heavyweight clash between Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem. While firm numbers on the amount bet on UFC 249 haven’t been released just yet, it is easy to see by the PPV buys and the comments by those in the sports betting industry, that the event accomplished all of its goals. UFC 249 signaled a “return to sports”, it kickstarted a desperate sports betting industry, it gave the combat sports organization a little added exposure and it wet the whistle for sports fans and bettors alike. While Dana White’s vision may not have been the smartest one from a health and safety prospective, it certainly was an appreciated one.
The state of Colorado, undeterred by the impact of COVID-19 keeps ploughing ahead with a legal sports betting platform that officially went live May 1. Providers have been lining up in the state for a piece of a large betting pie that was projected (pre-COVID) to come in around $6 billion annually with $400 million in gross operator revenue. The newest is Carousel Group that obtained its license from the Colorado Division of Gaming just this week to operate out of Johnny Nolon’s Casino in Cripple Creek, Colorado. The Carousel Group brings with it their flagship brand www.sportsbetting.com that was launched just last year. “Despite the ongoing and tragic global crisis, we couldn’t be more confident about the sports betting product we’re bringing to the American market,” Carousel Group CEO Daniel Graetzer said. “While other entities have closed their doors and laid off employees, we’re hiring staff and expanding our operations in the United States.” About Carousel Group Carousel Group is considered a relative newcomer in the legal sports betting space. Formed in 2017, the Group is a rapidly growing holdings company whose focus is becoming a major global player in the iGaming and sports betting space. Colorado figures to be a major achievement for the Company as it attempts to infiltrate the US market and beyond with their proprietary in-house platform. "Carousel Group aims to be a leading international powerhouse in iGaming while striving to maintain world-class levels of staff and customer happiness, respect for responsible gaming and innovation through product and technology" said CEO Daniel Graetzer. SportsBetting.com SportsBetting.com is the result of the Carousel Group taking a slightly different approach to legal sports betting platforms than most have come used to. It runs on the Group's proprietary in-house platform, which eliminates the reliance on third-party vendors to provide hardware, software, marketing and odds. This "stand-alone approach" is something different for the US market and could reasonably act as a model to be duplicated in the future. “We have built our business upon a team with years of experience in the industry combined with our own technology, which gives us a huge advantage over the competition,” Graetzer added. “It’s in our DNA to be innovative and different so through our proprietary assets we will offer something fresh and exciting to the U.S. betting community.” The Colorado market Colorado has long been considered one of the more enticing markets for the legal sports betting industry. It is home to four professional sports teams and a sports-crazed population that could end up being the envy of the rest of the country. As of now, Colorado has 40 casino facilities ready to roll once the COVID restrictions are lifted. All of the major sports betting providers have already staked their claim in Colorado which could make Carousel Group's path potentially more difficult. That said, with a projected $6 billion in bets annually with $400 million in gross operator revenue, there appears as though there will be enough to go around in Colorado. What's next for Carousel Group? Colorado marks Carousel's first foray into what had been an exploding US legal sports betting market. Hopes are for a speedy recovery for the industry post-coronavirus. Their launch in the state will be a good dry-run as the Group's expansion plans come into the light. Offices in New Jersey and Colorado will be set up later this year to oversee expansion plans and announcements on where Carousel Group goes next are expected soon. Colorado is just the 18th state to legalize sports betting in the US – you can bet Carousel Group has eyes on the other 32 that have yet to bring the platform into their state.
Sportsbooks around the United States and around the world for that matter have been dealt a body-blow the last two months thanks to COVID-19's effect on casinos and sports in general. Well, you can't blame horse racing for the historic, jaw-dropping revenue declines for the sports betting business. The ponies, despite an abbreviated schedule across the US actually saw increased interest on the days that horses went to the starting gates. Equibase, the industry leader in providing horse racing information is out with some numbers on just how well the horse racing sector did in the month of March. The report identified just how much horse racing contributed to a sports betting industry that was desperately short on action and overrun with panic and pessimism. Equibase altered its reporting process for this time in history to reflect its impact month-to-month rather than releasing its numbers on a quarterly basis. The numbers The overall numbers of horse races predictably declined in the month of March with the global slowdown of life as we knew it. The number of races over the month dropped 71.4% to 746 and the number of racing days was limited to just 85, a drop of 72.7%. That is a lot of horse racing that was taken off the track. But the overall handle for the month didn't exactly reflect the incredible effect of the global shutdown. The handle dropped only 24.4% to $639.4 million which is a respectable number proportionally considering the loss of race-days, the cancelling of some of the biggest thoroughbred races on the calendar and the number of tracks that saw no racing at all. “It was similar to the 20s and 30s, when horse racing was the only game in town,” said New York Racing Association chief revenue officer Tony Allevato. Per-day racing handle are the story Despite the race-days lost, the Equibase study identified a spike in the amount of money that was wagered on the days that there was indeed racing. Each day the US saw horse racing on the calendar resulted in a 176.5% increase in money bet over the same period last year. An average of $7.5 million was taken in by racebooks per race-day during March, up from $2.7 million per day over the same period last year. To put it in perspective, if the number of racing days was on par with the number over the same period last year, the handle would have been $2.3 billion from March. That $2.3 billion would have obliterated records for the industry. TwinSpires reports healthy growth One of the most recognizable brands in the US Horse Racing industry, TwinSpires is out with some impressive figures for its first quarter. The company reported an 8.3% growth in its overall handle from March 16, when the rest of the sporting world effectively shut down over coronavirus concerns. Their handle came it at $329.8 million thanks to an 11.6% increase in active players. Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a call with investors: “Our TwinSpires business, within the online wagering segment, has grown significantly as more individuals bet online, particularly with so many brick-and-mortar betting outlets closed and, perhaps, with fewer entertainment options in general. Even as the number of racetracks that are actively running races has declined, TwinSpires really capitalized. This has been even more true as we’ve progressed through the second quarter.” The future of horse racing in the US Horse racing has always had a strong foundation in the US. The acceptance of betting on the horses came much earlier than any, if not all other sports in the country. Now, horse racing is enjoying a bit of a resurgence with the COVID-19 pandemic putting a stop for virtually every other sport around the world. With increased exposure, horse racing’s next challenge is to keep up the momentum gained the las couple of months. How sportsbooks do that is anyone’s guess but if there is one industry that boasts the creativity and innovation to do so, it is the emerging legal gambling business in the US.
It has been nothing but bad news the last eight weeks since COVID-19 took over the global way of life. Everything that we know, love and expect have been turned upside down by coronavirus and the resulting changes to the way that we go about our daily lives look as though they will be forever altered. The US legal sports betting scene is one industry that has been hit particularly hard by the virus but through all of the negative has emerged a school of thought that global shutdown of sports and global casino operations could actually help. A lot has been learned the last few months. Now it is up to states and casino operators to seize upon those lessons and strengthen what had been a rock-solid business pre-COVID. COVID could bring more states into the fold There has been an enormous cost associated with COVID-19, both human and financial. While states will never be able to recover the human cost, legislators will, and can be tasked with making up for the seemingly insurmountable financial costs. One way being floated by some is for previously reluctant states to expedite the legalization of sports betting in order to benefit from the tax dollars associated with the platform. Perhaps the biggest example of a state that could benefit from legalizing sports betting is California, an enormous population base that is projected to have a $54.3 billion shortfall. Some think the idea of legalized sports gambling will get a more positive reception in the next legislative session and that lawmakers now see the tax revenue generated from such a platform as crucial to the state digging out of their present budgetary hole. “We think that this legalization process that is happening at the state level stands to accelerate" Penn National Gaming CEO Jay Snowden recently said in an interview. The rise of mobile betting One of the true eye-opening legal betting trends in the US since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn its ban in 2018 has been the mobile betting takeover that has transpired. Some, like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana (three of the four most successful, bet-friendly states) have embraced the platform fully and have since consistently reported over 85% of their monthly handles coming via mobile apps. Mobile is a huge revenue generator, rendering brick-and-mortar facilities as secondary earners for participating sportsbooks. Other states like New York have so far shunned mobile betting, opting to stick with four upstate retail casinos for sports betting - and they have suffered in comparison. Their biggest revenue month came in January when $1,943,361 was the amount made. New Jersey recorded $53,561,626 during the same period and Pennsylvania saw $31,580,803 in revenues that same month. The reason? You guessed it... strong mobile platforms. Nevada, the grand-daddy of legal betting just started identifying their mobile betting numbers in January when just 49% of their monthly handle came in via the internet. In March, when the retail locations were shuttered, that number grew to 63%. The importance of mobile betting With no retail casinos operating at the moment, mobile betting is the only game in town and those that rely on it are awfully happy they have it. Those states that had been considering a strong retail angle with a lesser mobile presence are surely refocusing on how to best roll out sports betting in their states. One state, Tennessee has even opted for a mobile-only legal sports betting platform and are prepping to be up-and-running by late summer, in time for the NFL season. Somehow, online casino games can only be accessed by those located within New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Nevada to some extent. That stat figures to change once we can all catch our breath and everything returns to normal. Legal sports betting as viable as ever With the tax revenues that states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania had been enjoying prior to the coronavirus pandemic, other jurisdictions are going to be forced to look at legal sports betting as a viable option to solve their inevitable budget shortfalls. Although the revenue from sports betting will hardly put a dent into the intense budget deficits of states, at least tax dollars will be a positive step. Every little bit helps. Look for prospective state legislatures to put their foot on the gas toward legal sports betting. It can also be assumed that most states that don't have their own legal platform yet will be leaning heavily on a strong mobile presence. Only 18 states have legalized sports betting so far leaving many more states that will be going to school on just how COVID-19 has affected their sports betting platforms.
Penn National gets the honor, or dishonor, depending on how you look at it, to be the first sports betting provider out with a quarter report that includes the month of March, when the whole sports world went silent thanks to COVID-19. A huge loss has been reported but shock and disappointment were nowhere to be seen with the cancellation of March Madness and the shuttering of all 41 Penn National locations in 19 states across the US in mid-March. Penn National was able to register record high revenues during January and February but thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, an inevitable overall loss was the result. “Penn National saw a phenomenal start to 2020, with record results in January and February,” said CEO Jay Snowden. But nothing kills momentum like a global pandemic! Q1 As mentioned, Penn National had been in the midst of a record-setting quarter before the world went dark. “That momentum was cut short in mid-March by the COVID-19 pandemic, which required the temporary closure of all 41 of our properties,” said Jay Snowden, president and chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming. “As a result, our first quarter revenues decreased $166.5 million year-over-year, to $1.12 billion [13%], and we incurred a net loss of $608.6 million due to $616.1 million of impairment losses.” Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent costs was $252.3 million, compared to $391.4 million in the same period of 2019. Share prices for Penn National were expectedly affected by the downturn. COVID-19 was directly responsible for a $5.26 loss per share in Q1 which is a huge jump from the 36-cent loss the Company posted over the same period last year. All together Penn National Gaming shares have decreased 38% since the beginning of the year and 19% in the last 12 months. A bright future ahead Penn National has done well to build up their brand in the US and develop a strong mobile betting presence in each state. When all is said and done, it may be their mobile apps and a new toy that will be discussed later that keep them afloat, especially if lockdown persists across the United States. “Penn National is the only operator in the U.S. with a large, geographically diversified land-based gaming footprint, a well-known sports brand, a fully aligned marketing partner and a wholly-owned sports betting and iCasino subsidiary,” said Snowden about his Company’s ability to climb out of the coronavirus hole. He went on to add that: “While we have faced unprecedented challenges in recent weeks, we are confident that the Company’s long-term growth strategy remains intact, supported by our differentiated omni-channel approach”. As far as the future of Penn National stock, it seems to be rebounding as well. The stock finished Thursday 15% higher, and is up an eye-opening 385% from its March lows. Even with that, the stock is viewed as an underperformer. Flush with cash Penn National has put itself in an unenviable position of having cash that will help them ride out the betting shutdown, even if it lingers into the fall and beyond. The company has reported $730.7 million of cash on its balance sheet. With an estimated burn rate of $83 million per month (assuming all properties remain shut down), Penn National could last without any revenue or a return to "normal" until the end of the year. It's a luxury most casino operators don’t have and a nice perk for the Company going forward. The Barstool effect The Penn National decision-makers must have been staring into a crystal ball when they acquired 36% of Barstool Sports for $163 million. A new and unique mobile app being developed by Penn National and Barstool is near completion and should be ready for launch in the third quarter. Barstool has shown some impressive growth even during this unprecedented time and is proving already to be a tremendous asset for Penn National. Barstool gives Penn National a whole new audience, one that is vast and will be crucial in giving the Company a media presence that is lacking for other sports betting providers. “The Barstool brand, loyal audience, and marketing engine will help drive meaningful market share as the product is introduced across our database of 20 million casino customers and Barstool’s audience of over 66 million fans,” said Snowden. During a time of no live sporting events, Barstool's blog traffic increased 20% and video views grew by 50% in one month. There were recently new 40,000 customers that registered for the Company's services in Pennsylvania alone. Setting themselves apart Penn National seems as though they covered all of the bases even before COVID-19 arrived on the scene and took over. Because of that, the Company looks as though it is a better position than the lions share of sports betting providers out there. Call it luck or call it good management but Penn National looks poised to be in the betting operator Heavyweight Title picture for a while.
COVID-19 has forced sportsbooks around the world to get creative. The grand-daddy of the US legal betting scene, Nevada is not immune to that fact. It has been behind the curve with respect to its mobile sports betting platform, specifically its requirement that bettors sign up in-person for a chance to place a wager from their phones. In turn, one of its major players, William Hill has been forced to open a drive-thru option for sports betting fans in the state hoping to sign up for an account and deposit funds into its mobile sportsbook, starting Friday. With Nevada casinos shuttered for the foreseeable future, bettors in the state that had not previously signed up in-person for a mobile betting account have so far been left out in the cold. While William Hill's creative solution won't immediately solve Nevada's antiquated mobile betting sign-up rules, it may just kickstart a change in how Nevada bettors are able to access what has been a lucrative and dominant wagering platform in other areas in the country. Simply put, if bettors can't sign up, access or deposit funds into a betting account, providers and ultimately the state will continue to miss out on mobile betting's huge revenue potential. Drive-thru Availability Starting Friday, William Hill's drive-thru services will be available at four of its Nevada casinos for two days - Friday and Saturday with an eye on the first real, marketable, promotable sporting event in months - UFC 249. Bettors will be able to sign up for an account or deposit funds from 11 AM to 5 PM on those days. Customers will be required to download the app prior to visiting one of the drive-thru locations. Thinking outside the box, William Hill is offering a safe, social-distancing focused method of getting Nevada sports fans and wagering public back into the game, now that there is actually one to look forward to. It's drastic, its innovative but it is also a sign that we are about to embark on a new reality in the US. "Ahead of the largest sporting events of the month, we wanted a safe way to meet the current demand from our customers," said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US. "It sure is nice to have some American sports to bet on." Other Perks of the Drive-thru William Hill is tying their drive-thru service in to a UFC 249 bonus betting opportunity called "Watch the Fights on Us." Existing customers of William Hill in Nevada will get a $65 bonus when they bet $249 on UFC 249 while new customers using the drive-thru service will be eligible for a $65 bonus for simply betting $100 on Saturday's card. William Hill, not unlike the NFL Draft has expanded its betting menu for UFC 249. The sportsbook boasts 90 different ways to bet on the most anticipated combat sports card in quite some time. Capitalizing in UFC 249 looks as though it will be crucial for sportsbooks around the country, and will be a good test in Nevada where mobile sports betting has lagged behind the more successful “new states” that offer a legal sports betting platform. Casinos and sportsbooks rely on innovation to keep them fresh and keep them exciting for new and old customers alike. William Hill’s drive-thru sign-up idea is just another example of that. In Nevada, if you don’t have a mobile betting account already, William Hill will be your only option for this weekend’s enormous UFC card, for German soccer that will start up next week, for golf and NASCAR betting that will go live in the coming weeks.
Harry How/Getty Images/AFP Harry How / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP It was pretty easy to take the existence of constant live sports for granted but a little thing like a global pandemic and hundreds of thousands of resulting casualties has made us appreciate the athletes that put their bodies on the line for our pleasure. Through all of the misery of this historic, unprecedented time, a glimmer of positivity comes our way this weekend in the form of live sports returning with UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida. With the sporting world effectively shut down by COVID-19, sportsbooks around the world were predictably suffering. The NFL Draft provided a little relief, bringing in 5 times the number of bets a usual Draft reports, but it was just an appetizer, a primer of things to come. It has been a long time coming, but combat sports seem to be the trigger that may just kickstart the sports betting industry and make it viable once again. A return to normal? UFC 249 officially signals the start of live, face-to-face sports and a real, marketable, sellable event for sportsbooks to promote. NASCAR, German soccer, Korean baseball and even golf have set their return dates already with more to follow. For this upcoming weekend, all eyes will be on fighting and the UFC as brand new and old US sports betting markets start to crank up once again. Although there will be no fans at any event in the foreseeable future in North America, TV audiences and the sports betting world has to be thrilled with the prospect of watching and wagering on something other than Table Tennis or computer simulations of the games we love. The “new normal” will include fan-less venues, medical screenings and antibody testing, self-isolation for fighters, frequent temperature tests, intense sanitization and separately scheduled weigh-ins – pretty standard really! But once the bell rings and the octagon doors are closed, it should be back to the norm of people trying to knock each other’s heads off! The UFC once again proves to be hard-core Dana White originally hoped to just forget about COVID-19 altogether. He had visions of UFC 249 taking place April 23 but travel issues and perhaps some common sense got in the way of that. Then White secured what he called "Fight Island", a secluded, secretive spot where fights could go as planned during the pandemic. Push back from ESPN and Disney plus... you guessed it... a little common sense derailed those plans. But here we are with the second Saturday in May officially deemed a jumping-off-point for the UFC and sports in general. Top-ranked Tony Ferguson rides a 12-fight win streak in as -175 favorite against a dangerous Justin Gaethje who is listed as a +150 dog. The co-main event has Bantamweight Champ Henry Cejudo (-220) taking on Dominik Cruz (+180) in what should be a thrilling affair. The rest of the UFC 249 card is solid as well. It couldn't come soon enough Sports betting in US dropped more than 65% from February thanks to the cancellation of events such as March Madness, which accounted for $495 million in bets in Nevada alone last year. March's total US handle came in at $604.8 million, down 45% from last year at this time. Revenues also took a hit in March, falling 58% from February to just $37.8 million and 56% from this time last year. April's numbers haven't come in quite yet but expectations are for a blood-bath. April saw zero major sports with the NFL Draft as the only bankable event on the calendar. It looks like May might bring some money into US sportsbooks however and it couldn't come soon enough. Ramifications The UFC will attempt to prove to the sports world and sports betting public that sports can resume with appropriate precautions. While many see Dana White’s desire to carry on as a sick obsession, others view it as a good dry-run for the eventual full return to sports as we know and bet on it. If things go well, others will follow. If things go badly… MLB, the NBA and even the NFL will be looking hard at returning too quickly. What the next few months looks like in terms of sports and sports betting is on the line Saturday night. It will be interesting!
Louisiana has long been a state to watch with regard to the legalization of sports betting. A move by Senator Cameron Henry on Tuesday resurrected the chances of citizens of the state being able to wager on their favorite team, likely not this year but certainly next year. Legislation was rejected in some contentious debates last year but a host of factors has put sports betting back in the forefront of Louisiana lawmakers’ long wish list. Bill S 130, which would get the subject of legal sports betting legalization before voters on the November ballot was introduced Tuesday and was advanced through the state legislative committee by the end of the day. While rules and regulations are far down the road, Senator Henry's plan was to get the conversation started with an eye 2021 for finalizing the platform and that is what he did. “It’s going to be a very significant debate on who is able to do it, how, and what the regulations will be,” Henry said. “While dealing with COVID-19, we’re trying to hold back on bills that take a lot of debate. We’re just going to pass the referendum bill, see if folks like it and next year, start the process of putting regulations in a bill that we’ll have months to work on rather than days or weeks.” Hurdles ahead Any legislation, with the craziness currently gripping the United States is going to be an issue. First and foremost is the fact that the Louisiana legislature has under one month to conduct all of the states' business, much of which will be coronavirus-focused. The Louisiana Senate wraps up their current session on June 1 and after that will be consumed by the 2020 election campaign. Secondly, Bills that deal with any taxation, under Louisiana law are taken up in odd-years – even years are non-fiscal with odd years taking up fiscal priorities. That means that sports betting and the taxation that comes along with it will have to be debated and finalized in 2021 or wait until 2023. And finally, is the political make-up of Louisiana which is divided up into parishes - each of which will have to approve legal sports betting via referendum for the platform to move forward. If a 2018 referendum on the viability of fantasy sports in the state is any indication, sports betting in Louisiana has a real shot at becoming a reality. In that referendum, fantasy sports were approved by a parishes vote of 47-17. Next steps It was a bit of a surprise to see legislation introduced in Louisiana so early in the legislative session. Rest assured that there is still a ton of work to do before it is finalized. Lawmakers will have to pass the Bill presented to them, voters in most parishes will have to vote "Yes" in November, rules and regulations for the platform will have to be agreed upon. Then all will have to pass with a two-thirds majority in the Louisiana legislature. Is it possible? Sure, but the last attempt to discuss the matter turned into a bit of a disaster among lawmakers. Legal sports betting likely won't happen this year with everything going on in the world and with the election just over 6 months out. But steps have been taken toward welcoming the platform in Louisiana which is more than we can say for yesterday. Level playing field There is no shortage of legal gambling opponents in the state of Louisiana but those voices are slowly being drowned out by proponents that seen the benefit of the tax dollars in the state. Those in support just want to see Louisiana on a level playing field with the states around them that have already legalized sports betting. Louisiana, after Tuesday’s move in the legislature is one step closer to being able to wager on their favorite team. Now the people and individual parishes will hopefully have their chance to weigh in. 2020 won’t see legal sports betting in Louisiana but the 2021 is definitely gaining steam.
It seems like a lifetime ago that the US legal betting industry was in the midst of exponential growth and a feeling like it couldn't be touched. But then the unthinkable happened - sporting events around the globe were put on hold, casinos were shuttered and virtually the whole country went on lockdown with no clear idea of when things would return back to normal. Sportsbooks were hit hard immediately with the lack of marketable, sellable live athletic events to promote and for bettors to wager on. But the hits just keep coming for an industry that has already lost somewhere between $350 million and $400 million. If it weren't bad enough that the sporting world is essentially shut down, but now comes word of a run of seasoned bettors either withdrawing their funds from betting accounts or closing them altogether. Reality is setting in The US has recently been through crisis but they had nominal effect on the betting industry as a whole. The September 11th attacks saw a brief pause in North American sports but the continuation of global sporting events. The 2008 financial crisis wasn't enough to bring the betting industry down and even the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting that killed 58 in Las Vegas in 2017 failed to derail sport betting in that town. But COVID-19 offers up a totally new challenge. Firstly, there are almost no sports to still bet on. Secondly, unemployment is about to reach historic levels meaning that expendable income has become a thing of the past. And thirdly, nobody knows what the post-COVID world is going to look like. Nothing in the last 50+ years has been able to shutter the Vegas Strip for 40+ days and maybe nothing ever will again. The result People are withdrawing their money from sportsbook accounts in droves. There is a common thought among industry insiders that: “run on withdrawals, in combination with account closures” is the biggest threat to the industry going forward. Without the NFL Draft taking place a couple of weeks ago, withdrawals from online casinos would have far outpaced deposits the last seven weeks. It all started with a run on account withdrawals that corresponded with the panic and uncertainty that surrounded Black Thursday - the day that eight Major professional leagues announced a suspension of their seasons. Nobody can blame customers for emptying an account due to a lack of sports to bet on or using that money during tough times for some necessities. An industry insider exec put it best when he said: “The worry about them [customers] taking money out and not putting it back because they were laid off, or they are not as flush as they were a few months ago, that’s across the board. That’s not only applicable for gaming, it’s also applicable for retail sports gambling, sporting events, movie theaters, shopping centers, and everyone else.” One case study that has come forward is the small state of Rhode Island. It has seen sharp increases in the disparity between deposits and withdrawals. Obviously, there aren't a whole lot of depositors at this time of total sports shutdown! That said, the state reported $162,500 in withdrawals in the four days after Black Thursday and $286,000 since the middle of March which is a nearly 20% jump. Optimism The COVID-19 reality is starting to shift in the US toward a relaxation of the lockdown rules which is obviously good news for individuals and businesses alike. Hopes are that infection rates remain in decline so the relaxation measures can stay in place and even progress toward normalization. Sports will quickly follow society's lead and hopefully make US bettors' reliance on Korean baseball, Ukrainian and Russian table tennis, Taiwanese basketball, Russian ice hockey, and English darts a thing of the past. UFC 249 is planned for May 9 in Florida, German soccer is slated to come back in May, NASCAR has announced a couple of races and the PGA Tour will resume next month, albeit without fans. If the betting action on the NFL Draft taught us one thing - it's that people are sports-starved and eager to throw down a wager or two when permitted. Conclusion Despite the state of the sports betting world and the shape of our planet as a whole, there doesn't seem to be as much concern among gambling execs as one would think. Pent up demand for sports betting and a thirst for the games we didn't even know we loved this much will drive the gambling industry again according to those in charge. Withdrawals from sportsbook accounts were bound to happen. The panic is understandable. But most gambling execs interviewed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown have preached patience and don't seem overly worried about their post-COVID reality. If they aren’t worried, we shouldn’t be either. Sports will carry on… eventually and when it does there will be people to bet on them.
It has been a long road toward legal sports betting legislation for the state of Virginia but the day finally arrived last week when Governor Ralph Northam signed off on three bills paving the way for a legal sports betting platform in the state. As it stands, House Bill 896, House Bill 4, and Senate Bill 384 will be enacted July 1 with the Virginia Lottery having until September to draw up its final set of rules. Ideally, hopes in Virginia are that the sports betting platform will be fully operational by the start of the NFL season. There is still one legislative hurdle to clear. VA HB 4 requires a change to Virginia's Constitution and will need a public vote that will take place in November. That vote addresses the approval of the land-based sportsbook locations in Portsmouth, Richmond, Norfolk, Danville, and Bristol. But as it stands, Virginia is poised to become the second US state to welcome in legal sports betting in 2020. More details The Virginia Lottery has been tabbed with drafting up the rules for legal sports betting in the state and will be tasked with overseeing and regulating the platform once it goes live. As of now, there Lottery will support both retail and mobile sportsbooks and will license up to 20 providers. That makes room for up to 12 mobile and internet sportsbook, five brick-and-mortar casinos and up to three professional sporting venues (if and when one arrives in Virginia) that will be allowed to take bets. Included in that are Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Sportsbooks will pay $250,000 for a three-year license and the industry will be taxed at 15%. There will be no betting on in-state colleges and operators in the state will forced to use official league data to settle all in-play betting. One head-scratching provision Licensing fees for potential operators has raised a few eyebrows amongst Virginia legislators and those in the sports gambling industry. Governor Ralph Northam, in addition to a $250,000 three-year licensing fee and $200,000 renewal fee has come up with a $50,000 fee for FBI background checks regarding any principal. A principal in this case is anyone on a casino operators' payroll with a 5% ownership stake in the company that "has the power to vote or cause the vote of five percent or more of the voting securities or other ownership interests of such entity." This could mean that larger sportsbooks, which commonly have a range of people in management positions with more 5% stake, could be forced to pay millions just to have their applications approved. Sportsbooks operating in Virginia will have to make that money up somewhere, leaving the consumer to absorb the higher holds casinos will be forced to take and robbing bettors of the generous bonus structures that online books have become known for. Simply put, operating a casino in Virginia may become a whole lot less attractive. Down to the wire It took some work to get the final legislation before Governor Northam but to legislators’ credit, they managed to do so albeit after an overtime session after a bill was discarded on the last day of the legislative session. Without an extra day, sports betting would not have become legal in the state. Even at that it wasn't a certainty as the Governor added a few late amendments into the wash. With the major lifting over with, the way has been paved for Virginians to commence betting on their favorite teams later this year. There is still a little work to do although legislators don’t seem overly concerned about it all getting done. With all of the T’s crossed and I’s dotted, Virginia is expected to bring in nearly $90 million in revenue each year for an economy that could certainly use it right now.
The legal sports betting industry in the US has gone through some growing pains but one trend has remained constant, and has even been accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic - the strength and evolution of a strong mobile betting platform. States with mobile betting continue to reap the tax revenue rewards (although diminished greatly with the global shutdown of sports) and by all accounts should continue to lead nation when everything returns back to "normal". States like New York have fallen behind the pack of impressive monthly handles because of a resistance to the idea of betting apps and wagering from a personal electronic device. Others like neighbors New Jersey and Pennsylvania have thrived thanks to a mobile platform that has consistently been responsible for over 85% of the money they take in. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time in the US legal sports betting scene - embrace mobile or expect an underwhelming. Oregon State Lottery CEO Barry Pack recently said: "I think the recovery from this pandemic is going to force a digital transformation in our industry, a whole lot quicker than we might normally have seen it come." The history of mobility Along with the evolution of cell phones came the birth of online gambling. PCs and Macs have been tools in the past but it wasn't until the mid-2000s and the emergence of the Blackberry that phones became all-encompassing devices. BlackBerry had its moment in the sun but quickly faded in favor of... The iPhone became the dominant mobile device of choice when it debuted in 2007. Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy quickly followed and changed the way the world consumed information, kept in touch and enjoyed their favorite games. Revolutionary graphics and frequently updated ease-of-use platforms transformed every aspect of society and made top-notch gaming readily available anywhere, anytime. A study conducted by Newzoo identified 3 million smartphone users in 2018 and predicted that 3.8 billion people around the world will be cellphone-dependent by 2021. That's over half of the world's population with another half of the world's consumers yet to be smartphone owners. Newzoo also found that bettors will be spending $106.4 billion on gambling apps by 2021, up from the $92.1 they spent in 2018. Reasons for further growth We live in a world of convenience that centers around our phones. There isn't much we don't use our mobile devices for - from scheduling, to reminders to shopping to entertaining ourselves. Our phones are with us everywhere we go and betting providers are well-tuned in to that fact. Operators are now targeting mobile players and dramatically increasing their focus on those who gamble from their phones. Mobile-only bonusses have become regular benefits put forth by sites and platforms are being built with the mobile customer in the forefront of their minds, from the types of games available to their graphics to the way customers navigate their sites. States like Tennessee have even opted for a mobile-only legal sports betting platform that supports zero retail locations. Pennsylvania reported over 90% of their March handle coming in through their apps and states like New Jersey and Indiana are bumping up against that 90% figure. The COVID effect Bettors will continue to be bettors is what we have learned from the coronavirus lockdown . Another thing that has come to light is the fact that bettors don’t care where they place a wager from. Gamblers just wanna gamble. Online poker has enjoyed a 43% increase since the pandemic hit (255% for first-time poker players) and eSports has also seen a huge uptick in business. The one thing that both have in common is that both are being wagered on via mobile means. Younger bettors are being brought into the legal sports betting fold by eSports and online poker has created a whole new generation of online customers. Playing from home never seemed like much of an option to some in the past and is now a more-than-acceptable way to place a bet, night or day. So… It is a good time to have a strong mobile betting capacity for both betting providers and for states. While revenues are not near pre-COVID levels, there is still money coming in to the sites and those jurisdictions. Growth is a certainty in regards to the mobile betting industry. After all, half the world is still without a smartphone and new technologies like 5G will only enhance the betting experience on mobile devices. It’s a “cell phone world” in which retail sectors in every industry have suffered. Expect more of the same going forward and for mobile betting to become even more of an overwhelming choice of gamblers in the future.
After months of planning by Colorado legislators and regulators, their legal online sports betting platform finally went live on Friday even though COVID-19 has effectively shut down the industry worldwide. Despite a serious lack of sports to bet on, Colorado decided to forge ahead with legal sports betting. Four betting providers were lined up, waiting for the starters' pistol with others waiting in the wings according to the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (CLGCC). While launching a sports betting platform during a global sports shutdown is a bit like opening a KFC during a major chicken shortage, hopes are that selling “wagering sides" like KFC's biscuits and coleslaw will at least give bettors a taste of what their platform will look like once the world returns to normal. Online casinos, futures bets, esports, and wagers on obscure leagues around the globe will have to suffice for now while the planet struggles to dig out of the coronavirus hole. “This is a different way of launching than what we thought would happen three months ago, but the whole world has changed since then,” said Dan Hartman, the gaming division’s executive director. “Some of the operators are looking at this as a soft launch to get the bugs out.” Which providers were there Friday? Rush Street Interactive claims that it has won the race to be the first to market in Colorado with its Kambi-powered BetRivers mobile betting site which is affiliated with J.P. McGill’s Hotel and Casino. Rush Street officially went live at 10 AM local time on Friday with the others close behind. Roar Digital, the joint venture between MGM Resorts and GVC Holdings went live with the popular BetMGM site in association with Triple Crown Casinos’ Midnight Rose Hotel and Casino and two of the biggest rival Fantasy site providers have already put a stake in Colorado’s landscape at Twin River’s Golden Mardi Gras Casino and another one of the Twin Rivers's properties, Golden Gates Casino. Which providers are on the horizon? Just four operators have gone live in Colorado with many more to follow suit in the near future. PointsBet has committed to the state, UK-based Smarkets should be live in the next few days, William Hill should be up-and-running in the next couple of months and Nevada-based SuperBook is expected to be a force in the next few months. Other operators on Colorado's market horizon include BetAmerica, FoxBet, Betfred, Circa Sports, Digital Gaming, theScore, and Wynn. All-in-all there will be up to 33 licenses granted in the state of Colorado meaning that lack of competition definitely won’t be an issue. Which sports can Colorado count on? The sports betting menu will be limited to start off. Not surprising. Sports such as Korean baseball, Ukrainian and Russian table tennis, Taiwanese basketball, Russian ice hockey, and English darts are available to bet on immediately. Of course, futures bets on the 2021 Super bowl winners as well as the champions in every Major league around the world will be popular. Rush Street has committed to taking on some esports action. eNascar, League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are on the limited betting menu. MMA is set to resume May 9 with UFC 249 which should give the sports betting world a nice boost and operators in Colorado a decent idea of just where the market stands. There was talk of German soccer returning in May, golf has announced a plan to return in June, and MLB and other North American sports are in various stages of planning to re-open their seasons. For now, the voter-approved laws in Colorado prohibit betting on topics like politics, entertainment, and the weather. Expectations for Colorado Colorado has long been one of the more anticipated sports betting launches. Optimism was rampant prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but those feelings have been tempered to say the least. “The playbook has kind of gone out the window. We will have to see how this rolls out and when sports get back to normal and what that looks like. There’s no data on that right now,” said Dan Hartman, Colorado's gaming division’s executive director. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, there were reports of Colorado generating between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion annually in bets. The expected tax dollar boon from the legal sports betting industry is scheduled to go directly to aiding with Colorado's water issues. The state of Colorado will be a juicy market once things get back to normal in the US. But there is no quick fix to what coronavirus has done to industry and society as a whole. Sports will come back, bettors will return – it’s a matter of when, not if.