This Week's Sports Betting Update
Spotlight Sports Group
Evolved from the Racing Post, we deliver distinctive sports betting experiences
Hello, we’ve taken a look at what’s new, 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?
UK gross gambling yield falls 4% quarter-on-quarter in Q2 22-23
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed that gross gambling yield (GGY) in the UK market fell by 4% in Q2 2022-23 to the end of September.
GGY for the quarter weighed in at ￡1.2 billion, while several other metrics were down across the UK’s gambling market.
GGY from slot gaming fell 3% quarter-on-quarter, while GGY from other forms of gaming, including casinos, declined 5% quarter-on-quarter. In fact, the only subsector of the UK’s gambling market that grew in the last quarter was virtual betting (2%).
The UK’s land-based betting market saw GGY fall even further still by 8% quarter-on-quarter to ￡540m. Over-the-counter GGY was the biggest loser of all, with a 15% drop-off quarter-on-quarter.
Click here to discover whether the average monthly active accounts in the UK followed the same downward trend for Q2 2022-23.
What you need to know
Commercial
Regulation
BetMGM has committed almost $180,000 to fund the International Center for Responsible Gaming’s (ICRG) research into the potential harms of gambling advertising. The funds will also drive ICRG’s bid to raise awareness of problem gambling nationwide in the US. It’s hoped this “ground-breaking research” will act as a guide for “the industry and key stakeholders”. More
Technology
Penn Entertainment has announced an expansion to its Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarship programme, partnering with a trio of Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the US. The move is designed to bring greater diversity to its scholarships and internships, widening Penn Entertainment’s prospective talent pool stateside. More
People news
Altenar confirms appointment of John Quaye as its new CFO
Sportsbook technology provider Altenar has announced the appointment of John Quaye as the firm’s new chief financial officer. Quaye’s remit is to oversee the provider’s Isle of Man base and work alongside the rest of its senior management team to grow key areas of the business.
Prior to his move to Douglas, Quaye spent six-and-a-half years serving as CFO and managing director at Delphi Trust.
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Upon his appointment, Quaye said he was struck by the “strong team environment [at Altenar] across multiple jurisdictions”.
Click here to get the thoughts of Altenar CEO, Stanislav Silin, on Quaye’s arrival at the forefront of Altenar’s operation in the Isle of Man.
This week's talking point
Gambling Minister Paul Scully keen to get Gambling Act 2005 white paper “out of the door”
Newly appointed Gambling Minister, Paul Scully MP, has insisted he is very keen to get the long-awaited Gambling Act 2005 review white paper “out of the door”. Scully confirmed the proposals from the UK government will finally be made public in the next few weeks.
It’s been almost two years since the government began its review of the UK gambling industry, meeting its 2019 manifesto pledge to deliver a regulatory framework “fit for the digital age”.
Perhaps the biggest talking point within the review is the prospect of affordability checks for customers. Bookmakers remain adamant that these checks would prove too intrusive, forcing many into the black market, and could wipe as much as ￡100 million from the sport's revenues per year.
Click here to discover the percentage of bettors that would be unwilling to permit bookmakers to conduct compulsory affordability checks to prove they can afford to bet.
This week's insight
The issue of black market sports betting still looms large in the US
The American Gaming Association (AGA) commissioned a new report, which revealed that the black market for sports betting in the US is still likely to be worth more than $44.2bn.
American sports bettors are reported to wager more than $511bn a year on sports markets with unlicensed, unregulated sportsbooks. All of this highlights the work that US operators and jurisdictions have ahead of them to discourage the use of illegal or ‘grey market’ sites.
?It’s not an issue reserved exclusively for sports betting in the US either. Some $337bn is wagered annually on unlicensed slots and table games, yielding a revenue of $13.5bn for unregulated online casinos.
Only a narrow majority (52%) of survey respondents said they play online casino games solely with legal, regulated sites. Almost a third (30%) said they use only illegal or ‘grey market’ operators, while almost a fifth (18%) use both licensed and unlicensed sites.?
Click here to discover the regions of the US where illegal online casino and sports betting is most prevalent.
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