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Esports events now account for more than half of all suspicious betting activity, say IBIA

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) has published its Q2 2024 data on suspicious online betting activity, resulting in a renewed focus on Esports.

More than half (54%) of all suspicious activity with online sportsbooks was linked to pre-game or in-play Esports betting markets. The total number of suspicious Esports betting alerts soared 80% year-on-year.

Efforts to combat match fixing in Esports are ongoing. The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) is working hard to champion this cause. It recently partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a view to redefining the integrity of the Esports scene.

US Integrity, a sports betting monitor for suspicious activity, partnered with data experts, Grid, to collaborate on a new Esports monitoring solution.

Click here to discover the second and third-highest sports for suspicious betting alerts during Q2 2024.

What you need to know

Commercial

• Kambi has seen its Q2 2024 revenue rise 6.5% year-on-year. The sportsbook platform provider successfully kept a lid on its overheads too, resulting in an improved EBITDA margin. Total revenue for the quarter to June 30, 2024, reached ￡38.5m, with wagers placed up 3.1% year-on-year thanks to a hectic summer sporting calendar. More ??
• Kindred Group has confirmed it has returned to growth in H1 2024. Within its latest interim trading accounts, Kindred saw corporate revenue rise 4% year-on-year. In the year-to-date, Kindred generated post-tax profits worth ￡76m, with an EBITDA of ￡133m for the first half of the year. More ??
• DraftKings has announced its intention to join the likes of BetMGM, FanDuel and Caesars Sportsbook in launching a mobile sports betting application in Washington, DC. This would become its 29th live jurisdiction in North America alone. More ??
• SuperBook Sports has taken the commercial decision to close its mobile sportsbook services in eight U.S. states. The retail sportsbook operator in the Westgate, Las Vegas, has ceased trading online in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and Tennessee. It remains online in Nevada via the Westgate SuperBook mobile app. More

Regulation

• UK-licensed gambling operators have surpassed their initial pledge in 2020 to donate ￡100m to fund the treatment, research and education on gambling-related harms. The funds allocated by Flutter Entertainment, bet365, Entain and Evoke total ￡122.5m, with additional funds ring-fenced for the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme. More

Technology

• EveryMatrix has established itself as the fastest-growing tech firm in the iGaming sector. In its latest trading update, the firm noted “record high” momentum, with Q2 net revenue up 57% year-on-year to ￡35.69m. The company’s net revenue was achieved with an “all-time” high profit margin of 59%. More

People news

Entain appoints industry stalwart Gavin Isaacs as its new CEO

Gavin Isaacs has been named Entain’s new chief executive, assuming his new role with effect from 2nd September.

Isaacs is the successor of Stella David, who has been in an interim CEO role following the departure of Jette Nygaard-Andersen in late 2023. David will move into the role as chair of the company, replacing the outgoing Barry Gibson.

Isaacs recently served as chair of Games Global and has held positions on the board at DraftKings and SBTech.

Click here to hear more from Isaacs on his new challenge at Entain and the chance to work with some of the “iconic brands” in the company’s portfolio.

This week’s talking point

Flutter’s UK and Ireland CEO describes a bleak picture for its horse racing product

Flutter Entertainment’s CEO for its UK and Ireland division, Ian Brown, has penned an opinion piece on Racing Post this week discussing the “unprofitable” picture for Flutter’s horse racing product.

Brown says average attendances at race meetings are down 25% between 2000 and 2023, yet the number of races has soared from 7,400 in 2000 to almost 10,000 in 2023. Consequently, Brown believes this has diluted prize money in UK and Irish horse racing, spreading it too thinly across all fixtures.

Declining prize money results in smaller race fields and fewer high-class jockeys and horses in competition. All of which leads to a poorer overall product for bettors.

Brown said Flutter contributed more than ￡140m in 2023 to horse racing’s levy, as well as sponsorships, marketing spend and media rights. Yet it does not make a penny from UK and Irish horseracing.

Brown added that the costs just to stream certain races is often as much as the “total prize money on offer”.

Click here to read more from Brown on the challenges surrounding media rights, a diminishing horseracing audience and the encouraging early signs surrounding Premier racing.

This week’s insight

bet365 “made to pay” for its mispricing of Spain’s Euro 2024 outright odds

Steve Freeth, PR man for bet365, said the Stoke-on-Trent-based sportsbook experienced a Euro 2024 double-whammy of watching England’s final heartache and its heavy payouts on some of the final outright outcomes.

Pre-tournament, almost a fifth (17.7%) of outright bets were being placed on England. Very little airtime was being given to the Spaniards, who started the tournament at 9/1 in the outright winner market.

By the time of Spain’s final with England, they had shortened immeasurably into 8/13 favourites. England’s loss resulted in a big payout to Spain backers at bet365, but the damaging losses didn’t end there, according to Freeth.

Rodri was an unlikely winner of the Player of the Tournament award, having been priced at 33/1 pre-tournament. Meanwhile, Rodri’s compatriot, Lamine Yamal, landed Young Player of the Tournament from a pre-tournament price of 18/1. Yamal also finished with the most assists in the tournament, which was also available at 40/1 pre-tournament.

Click here to read about some of the other Euro 2024 outcomes which dug bet365 – and potentially other sportsbooks – out of a hole this summer.