This Week's Sports Betting Update

One big story?

Entain acquires sports modelling firm Angstrom Sports in ￡203m deal

Sports modelling and analytics experts Angstrom Sports has been acquired by Entain in a deal worth ￡203 million. Entain will pay ￡81m up front, followed by ￡122m in instalments over the next three years.

Angstrom specialises in simulation-based modelling to provide accurate odds and forecasts for online sportsbooks, largely across the US sports betting market.

The buyout will enable Entain to provide end-to-end pricing and analytics capabilities to its US-based brands, including BetMGM, which it owns jointly with MGM Resorts International. Entain hopes the addition of Angstrom’s technology and expertise will allow it to deliver improved in-play and parlay betting opportunities for clients.

Click here to get the thoughts of Entain CEO's, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, on the purchase of Angstrom Sports and the opportunity to provide unique betting opportunities across US sports.

Can't Miss Webinar

Customizing the user experience: Making your platform standout to sports bettors and sports fans for the NFL season

The NFL season is quickly approaching and the importance of the season for companies within the sports betting and fantasy sports industry cannot be understated.

Our SVP of B2B Operations, Ed Bunnell, and Eliot Crist, the CEO of Matthew Berry's Fantasy Life, recently connected and discussed unique ways in which companies can engage their audiences. Sports Illustrated's Fantasy and Senior Betting Analyst Jennifer Piacenti moderated the discussion and asked the hard-hitting questions.

Click here to watch the webinar on-demand and learn the importance of creating a custom experience for your audience.

What you need to know

Commercial

• ???? The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) saw annual betting turnover rise 0.5% year-on-year through the 2022-23 season to HK141.1 billion. A rise in overseas betting turnover and combined pools betting helped offset a modest decline in local turnover. Turnover from wagering on the 299 overseas simulcast races was up 12.5% year-on-year. More
• ???? Massachusetts’ online sports betting handle plunged 27% month-on-month in only the third full month of legal online betting in the Bay State. The total wagered amounted to $323.5m. A further $8.5m was wagered by bettors at land-based retail sports betting locations within state lines. More
• ???? Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has powered the launch of Crab Sports’ online sports betting platform in the state of Maryland. Crab Sports becomes the 11th operator to launch in the Old Line State, having launched its licensed sports betting market in November 2022. Crab Sports’ co-founder, Derek Baker, believes the brand’s unique localised approach will help it to stand out from the crowd. More
• ?? Gambling.com Group has announced the launch of a new global iGaming affiliate hub, Casinos.com, targeting a worldwide demographic. With dedicated, expert content on the iGaming scene, including strategy and how-to guides, videos and free-to-play versions of iGaming titles, Casinos.com leverages the group’s proprietary platform honed from the success of Gambling.com. More

Regulation

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has revealed account withdrawals are the biggest bugbear for bettors. Lucy Denton, director of communications at UKGC, said the number-one complaint received from UK-based bettors is their bookmaker’s propensity to withhold funds or demand further proof of identity to proceed. In contrast, many of these bettors say they have no such issues opening accounts, depositing and betting on sports events. Denton says the UKGC will be undertaking targeted compliance activity on this issue. More

Technology

Barstool Sportsbook and Casino has successfully migrated to Penn Entertainment’s proprietary online sportsbook platform. In what was dubbed the biggest iGaming tech migration in the North American industry, Barstool migrated to Penn’s underlying sportsbook technology in 16 states, bringing all operations in-house. More

People news

Heidi Reinhart steps in as interim chair of AGCO

Heidi Reinhart has confirmed she will take the reins as interim chair of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Following the departure of Lalit Aggarwal, who plans to focus on his other business affairs, current vice-chair Reinhart is the natural successor, at least in the short term.

Under the leadership of Aggarwal, AGCO oversaw the Canadian province become the first to legalise and regulate online sports betting and iGaming, with 44 licensed operators and 75 active sites now live in Ontario.

Click here to learn more about Reinhart’s background as Aggarwal’s immediate replacement.

This week's talking point

MPs warned of the lack of a ‘silver bullet’ for the gambling black market

Examination of gambling regulation in the UK continues, with the Culture, Media and Sport select committee having recently heard more about the threat from unlicensed, unregulated betting sites.

Michael Dugher, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and his colleague, Wes Himes, were quizzed by MPs on the subject.

Himes, director of standards and innovation at the BGC, admitted it is a constant battle tackling unlicensed domains, simply because they reappear in another guise just as quickly as they’re taken down.

He revealed black market operators look to poach player databases from VIP managers of licensed sites to try to entice users to their platforms. They also change merchant codes and misrepresent their online payments as fees for other leisure services.

Click here to find out why Dugher believes the key is to understand why a customer feels the need to move from a regulated site to an unregulated site with zero safeguards.

This week's insight

Football is the number-one sport of concern within the IBIA

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) noted 50 alerts to suspicious sports betting patterns in Q2 2023, with football the sport responsible for the most alerts.

The overall figure was significantly lower year-on-year: 88 alerts were recorded in Q2 2022.

19 of the 50 alerts covered live football matches, followed by tennis (14), table tennis (eight) and darts (five). There were further alerts recorded for bowls, boxing, esports and even badminton.

34 of the 50 alerts were derived from European sporting events, with around a third (11) stemming from the tennis courts. There were eight alerts from European football and table tennis apiece.

Nine of the alerts were recorded from the UK, followed by Estonia (six), Czechia (five) and Italy (four). All seven of the alerts in Africa were linked to Ivorian, Tunisian and Algerian football matches.

Click here to learn more about how the IBIA is working to enhance its network of members, as it seeks a fairer, more sustainable online sports betting landscape.

The BetTech Ecosystem 2023

Investigating the global landscape of sports betting and iGaming suppliers

The BetTech Ecosystem Report provides key insight into the global market of suppliers for sports betting and iGaming operators. While the visual offers an overarching view of the key suppliers across the 42 subsections that make up the BetTech Ecosystem.

Click here ?to read the BetTech Ecosystem Report.

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