Players in New Hampshire bet $91.3m (£75.3m/€87.8m) on sports during October, a 7.0% drop from last year but the highest monthly total since January 2022.
Spending was down from $98.2m in October 2021 but 16.8% ahead of the $78.2m wagered by consumers in September this year.
Of the $91.3m spent in October, $68.2m was bet online with the remaining $23.1m at retail sportsbooks.
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Fresh from announcing a management buyout, PressEnter CEO Lahcene Merzoug talks to iGB about the new leadership's strategy and future plans.
So, the cat is out the bag; PressEnter Group will be under new (or should we say old?) management.
There are many questions that remain: Will the new chairman stay the course or head to uncharted waters? What form will the shape of the business’ future growth take? And what’s the plan with the company’s brands?
The business formerly known as Betpoint has reinvented itself before, though only the new owners know what the plan is now. Current CEO and future executive chair Lahcene Merzoug explains in his own words.
What was the rationale behind the management buyout, and what important factors led the executive team to decide to go down this route?
The management team has grown the business into what it is today, so we could clearly see the potential in the company and its operations. When the opportunity to buy PressEnter Group arose, ..
Maryland’s online sports betting market is officially live, with seven operators now active in the state as of today (23 November).
Barstool, BetRivers, BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet can now accept wagers in the state.
Caesars and DraftKings launched before the regulated market officially opened, in preparation for the imminent commencement.
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Genius Sports and the National Football League (NFL) have entered into a Canadian video streaming licensing agreement with three sportsbook operators – Bet365, Canada-facing Bet99 and esports-focused Rivalry.
Bet365, Bet99 and Rivalry will be permitted to provide their customers with video streams of all regular and post-season NFL matches through Genius’ Watch & Bet solution.
Genius became the exclusive distributor of NFL data and live video feeds in April 2021. In return, Genius issued 22.5m warrants to the NFL.
Genius said that it will use machine learning-powered live streaming technologies to facilitate video streaming and bet tracking for players in Canada.
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Players in Louisiana spent a record $219.0m (£184.1m/€213.2m) betting on sports online during October, while the state also reported a nine-month high for retail wagering.
October’s online handle was 3.8% higher than the previous record of $211.0m, which was set in February of this year – the first full month of legal online betting in the state – and also 24.4% above the $176.0m spent by consumers in September.
However, despite higher player spending, revenue from online wagering was 4.1% lower month-on-month at $26.0m, compared to $27.1m in September.
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Rush Street Interactive-operated BetRivers and affiliate business Gambling.com Group have both announced they will fully launch in Maryland when the state’s legal sports betting market opens tomorrow (23 November).
BetRivers commenced a short soft launch yesterday (21 November), with this to also run for a period today, prior to the operator launching in full tomorrow subject to final regulatory approvals.
The online launch will support the operator’s retail sportsbook, which opened in Baltimore in August following the legalisation of in-person betting in December last year.
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TonyBet has become the 24th online gaming operator to secure an internet gambling licence from Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit.
The licence will enable TonyBet to offer online casino games, sports betting and horse racing wagering to players across the Netherlands.
TonyBet is yet to confirm the domain name under which it will operate in the country, but it was confirmed that the licence will run for a period of five years, from 15 November this year to 14 November 2027.
Licences in the country are awarded under the Netherlands’ remote gambling act (KOA), which came into force on 1 April 2021. Last month, One Casino Limited also secured a licence from de Kansspelautoriteit to operate in the country.
TonyBet is based in Riga in Latvia and is already live in a number of other countries such as Canada, Spain, Estonia and Malta.
Last month, TonyBet also extended its offering into its native Latvia after securing approval from regulators in the country.
TonyBet has become the 24th online gaming operator to secure an internet gambling licence from Dutch regulator de Kansspelautoriteit.
The licence will enable TonyBet to offer online casino games, sports betting and horse racing wagering to players across the Netherlands.
TonyBet is yet to confirm the domain name under which it will operate in the country, but it was confirmed that the licence will run for a period of five years, from 15 November this year to 14 November 2027.
Licences in the country are awarded under the Netherlands’ remote gambling act (KOA), which came into force on 1 April 2021. Last month, One Casino Limited also secured a licence from de Kansspelautoriteit to operate in the country.
TonyBet is based in Riga in Latvia and is already live in a number of other countries such as Canada, Spain, Estonia and Malta.
Last month, TonyBet also extended its offering into its native Latvia after securing approval from regulators in the country.
On Sunday, the New York Times (NYT) published an article on sports betting lobbying efforts, which has been criticised by industry trade groups and individuals as including “several mischaracterisations”.
Titled “Cigars, Booze, Money: How a Lobbying Blitz Made Sports Betting Ubiquitous”, the article makes the argument that the gambling sector “got their way with lawmakers after showering them with donations, gifts and dubious arguments”.
This assertion has been criticised by a number of US-based trade organisations, who pointed to the already stringent regulatory environment and the industry-wide commitments to responsible gaming.
Criticised by trade bodies
In a statement published on LinkedIn, the American Gaming Association (AGA) said that the NYT had made “several mischaracterisations” in the article, and emphasised that there is a high standard for obtaining gaming licences in the US.
“As unapologetic advocates for our industry, the AGA engages with the New York Times and any..
DraftKings’ co-founder and president of global technology and product, Paul Liberman, has released a statement confirming that a mass hacking has taken place on a number of customer accounts affecting $300,000 (£252,745/€291,742) in funds.
The hack was first reported by sports betting insights site Action Network. In the article, customers said that hundreds of dollars had been withdrawn from bank accounts that had been linked to their DraftKings accounts.
In addition, customers’ two-factor authentication had been rendered useless as the hack had allowed their phone numbers to be changed.
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The senior team at PressEnter Group, the igaming operator formerly known as BetPoint, is to take charge of the business through a management buyout.
Terms for the buyout have been agreed with PressEnter’s existing investors.
Chief executive Lahcene Merzoug and a team of senior executives will then take control, with Merzoug named the operator’s executive chairman once the deal completes.
Management said PressEnter, who operate online casino brands such as 21.com, JustSpin, NeonVegas Casino, NitroCasino, UltraCasino and RapidCasino, in addition to the XLBet sportsbook, offers “significant growth potential”.
New chapter for PressEnter
“The management team sees this as a new chapter for the business and will be reviewing existing strategies and processes to maximise new opportunities, grow the business and focus on the company’s core strengths,” PressEnter said.
Lahcene Merzoug will become executive chair of PressEnter following the buyout
“The management team has worked hard fo..
The industry expects a record number of bets to be placed during the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
The 2018 tournament saw high betting levels and is widely considered to be the most bet-on sports event in history. For many sports betting operators, 2022’s controversial tournament will be the most significant betting event of the year.
Looking across the industry, Flutter has predicted that its UK and Ireland brands will see £300m staked during the World Cup.
In particular, Flutter noted that its FanDuel and Sportbet brands may see greater engagement due to both the USA and Australia qualifying for the competition.
Flutter cited a study from Fifa, conducted in conjunction with Sportradar, which estimated that $136bn was staked globally on various teams during the 2018 event. Whether betting levels will surpass the previous record will depend on many factors, not least which teams are able to proceed the furthest.
Elsewhere, Ladbrokes, Coral and Bwin agreed with Sportingbet brand operator ..