This Week's Sports Betting Update

One big story?

Flutter Entertainment takes controlling stake in Serbian sportsbook MaxBet?

Flutter Entertainment has become the majority shareholder in Serbian sportsbook brand MaxBet in a deal worth €141 million. The investment sees Flutter secure immediate access to the regulated Serbian iGaming market, underpinning its target of expansion in the broader Balkans area.

Under the terms of the deal, Flutter will have an option to purchase the remaining 49% to take sole ownership of MaxBet in 2029.

At the time of writing MaxBet is said to have a 20% market share in Serbia, with the brand posting €145m in regulated revenue during the year to June 2023.

Click here to get the thoughts of Flutter CEO, Peter Jackson, on the addition of MaxBet to the Flutter portfolio.

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What you need to know

Commercial

• BetMGM has inked a marketing partnership with English Premier League outfit Newcastle United in a bid to underpin its launch in the UK sports betting market. BetMGM is now an official club partner of the Magpies as part of this new multi-year arrangement, with the operator’s UK headquarters also situated in the city. More
• Entain bemoaned below-par online revenues for Q3 2023 in its latest trading update, citing the impact of safer gambling measures and unexpected sporting results. However, the iGaming behemoth insisted it remained on track to meet its initial EBITDA guidance for the year. More
• Arizona’s sports betting handle remains up 11% year-on-year in July 2023, despite falling for a fourth month in succession. Meanwhile, bettors’ spending on sports betting was 18% down month-on-month. Approximately $7.7m was issued in free bets and bonus credits to new players in July. More
• Kambi Group and LeoVegas has joined forces to help power BetMGM’s launch into the licensed UK market. The underlying LeoVegas platform will be used for BetMGM UK, with Kambi’s online sportsbook services – including its Bet Builder and algorithmic trading capabilities – also harnessed to deliver a next-generation sports betting experience. More

Regulation

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and stakeholders at Racing Post, Racing TV and At The Races have joined forces to launch a new public survey to gauge the views of Britain’s bettors on affordability checks being consulted on by the UK Gambling Commission. The survey will be available to complete until 9 October. More

Technology

Genius Sports has unveiled a new sports betting solution enabling bettors to bet within live video streams integrated within online sportsbook apps. BetVision will be launched on Caesars Sportsbook and Fanatics Sportsbook in its infancy, with plans to offer integrated betting odds for live streamed NFL games in the coming weeks. More

People news

Mark Stebbings departs role as Betfred COO

Mark Stebbings is leaving Betfred this week after almost 30 years with the business. Stebbings currently serves as the brand’s chief operating officer and revealed on his LinkedIn profile that the time was right for him to move on.

Stebbings gave special thanks to founder, Fred Done, for his mentorship and faith through the years, having evolved from trainee betting shop manager to COO of the company.

His departure comes fresh off the back of multiple staffing changes at Betfred USA, including the appointment of Kresimir Spajic as the subsidiary’s new CEO.

Click here to get more from Stebbings on his Betfred exit, as well as the departure of Betfred USA’s own COO, Bryan Bennett.

This week's talking point

Is the UKGC’s goal of rewriting problem gambling statistics good or bad news?

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will next year publish a new gambling survey which is expected to include a problem gambling rate that’s much higher than the latest official data. Dan Waugh, partner at Regulus Partners, believes the industry should be wary of this decision.

Waugh said the UKGC seems surprisingly confident that its latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) will show that the true rate of problem gambling in the UK is multiple times higher than the figure generated by NHS Health Surveys.

Waugh believes an artificial rise in the problem gambling rate could be another red flag for British horseracing. He also feels there will be a bias in the data from the new GSGB, simply because the survey is marketed as a gambling survey rather than one about general lifestyle or health. This means the survey is more likely to attract those who regularly gamble online.

Click here to learn more about the potential implications of the estimated rate of UK problem gambling rising in the coming months.

This week's insight

Why the iGaming opportunities in Eastern Europe could pose challenges for major operators

Eastern European iGaming markets will be a tough nut to crack by well-established operators from overseas. That’s the view of George Athanasopoulos, the chief executive of Novibet, who believes local conditions play a bigger role in Eastern Europe than other regional markets.

Athanasopoulos believes the bigger operators will take huge risks expanding eastward without a sufficient understanding of the local market. He alluded to Entain’s decision to invest in the Croatian and Polish markets through acquisitions, purchasing SuperSport and STS Holdings and utilising executives with a detailed understanding of the landscape.

He said that individual markets in Eastern Europe are at varying degrees of maturity, requiring unique approaches across the board, including how to interact with bettors which may have different habits and attitudes in each country.

Click here to find out more about the value of local hero operators when establishing iGaming brands in Eastern Europe.

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