The latest in sports betting news

Hi there, we’ve taken a look at what’s news, trending and being talked about in the sports betting world this week. Grab a coffee, take five minutes and we’ll fill you in on everything you need to know.

One big story

Legal sports betting industry in California could arrive by 2028

Two years after a failed bid to launch a legalised sports betting industry in California, a key tribal leader has teased when discussions are likely to restart.

James Silva, chair of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, spoke at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, intimating that a fresh approach could happen “maybe [in] 2026, but probably [in] 2028”.

It’s well known that California has the potential to be America’s largest online betting market by a considerable margin and the battle to legalise sports betting has been protracted.

Silva also suggested that whether the tribes bring forward an initiative for legal sports betting in two or four years, it’s likely to be in-person betting only or staged. However, Silva revealed that tribes were “already looking down the road” at the potential to combine regulated online casino gaming with sports betting.

Click here to learn more about the future landscape for betting in the Golden State.

What you need to know

Commercial

• Stake is one of three operators who have been incorporated into the list of approved companies permitted to serve Brazilian bettors by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). Stake, Hiper Bet and LBBR were all added to a 96-strong list of operators allowed to operate during the transitional period of the Brazilian sports betting market. More ?
• Gross gambling revenues in the South African gambling market hit ￡2.58bn in 2023-24, which is an all-time high. In addition, player spending also reached record levels. 2023-24 gross gambling revenue was up 25.7% year-on-year, with sports betting accounting for the majority (60.5%) of all revenues. More ?
• German gaming firm, Merkur Group, has moved to sponsor the Table Football Bundesliga final. The event, which sees Germany’s top teams do battle in Jena’s Lobeda-West sports hall, takes place on 21-22 September. More ?
• Caesars Entertainment has unveiled its sixth iGaming brand with the launch of Horseshoe Online Casino in the Michigan market. It plans to launch in New Jersey, Ontario, Pennsylvania and West Virginia too. Caesars now has more iGaming brands than any other U.S. gambling operator. More

Regulation

• The likelihood of gaming expansion in the Texas market next year is “greater than 50%”, according to Andy Abboud of Las Vegas Sands. In a recent discussion about the progress of iGaming legislation in 2025 at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), Abboud anticipates “another session of great progress”, even if expansion isn’t forthcoming for gaming in the Lone Star State. More

Technology

• Genius Sports has unveiled a new omnichannel marketing tool, equipping brands with the tools needed to maintain and expand their target audiences. The FANHub platform is designed to give marketers the insights needed to interact with fans using “ultimate precision”, according to Josh Linforth, CRO of Genius Sports. More

People news

Entain director Simon Clare to join Horserace Betting Levy Board

Entain’s group director of PR & sponsorship, Simon Clare, has been elected to serve as the representative of the UK gambling industry on the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB).

The body, which oversees the collection of the UK betting levy on horseracing bets to underpin the sustainability of the sport, comprises seven board members. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) elects one of the board members to act as a representative for bookmakers.

Clare replaced the outgoing Mike O’Kane from 7th October. BGC CEO, Grainne Hurst, said Clare had the wisdom and knowledge necessary to offer “crucial assets to the HBLB over the coming years”.

Click here to get the thoughts of Clare on his appointment to the HBLB and learn more about last month’s HBLB leadership reshuffle.

This week’s talking point

What can British horseracing learn from McDonald’s?

Racing Post’s industry editor Bill Barber believes there are lessons for British horseracing to be learnt from McDonald’s plight in recent decades. Bob Langert, vice-president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at McDonald’s, gave a keynote speech to the Racing Foundation’s annual conference last week, at which Barber was present.

From a social licence perspective, Barber feels the British horseracing industry can certainly take a leaf out of McDonald’s’ book, the fast food giant having had its reputation placed under the microscope for everything from nutrition and obesity to animal welfare and human rights.

Langert argued that British horseracing is facing a similar battle to McDonald’s in protecting its brand while earning the trust of the British public.

After listening to Langert’s talk, Barber believes UK horseracing is making the right decisions in many aspects, including its proactive approach towards animal welfare and social licence.

Click here to read about more of the ways that British racing has followed Langert’s advice by seeking to avert potential crises for the sport.

This week’s insight

Betting turnover continues to fall as the Levy Board pumps more prize-money in for 2025 season

The Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) is to contribute an extra ￡2.2m towards prize-money in British racing during 2025. The board has budgeted to provide ￡72.7m in prize funds, up from the ￡70.5m budgeted for 2024 and ￡13m higher than the pre-Covid seasons of 2018 and 2019.

However, there was a stark warning from HBLB, which said that levy yield during the current financial year was below the previous period. HBLB chief executive Alan Delmonte said turnover had continued to decline and that increases to prize-money in 2025 had been made possible partly by having sufficient reserves.

Richard Wayman, director of racing at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said at the end of August that year-to-date betting turnover had fallen by as much as 9.5% and approximately 6.9% per race.

Click here to learn more from Wayman’s recent blog post, as well as the other areas benefiting from funding increases by the HBLB.