Gambling in the USA
PlayNJ.com: Sportsbooks surge while online casinos reach $2 billion in July
New Jersey’s online casinos blew past $2 billion in lifetime revenue in July with another record month as sportsbooks accelerated their rebound by posting the best month since February. Ultimately with Atlantic City casinos reopening, as well as baseball and the NBA restarting their seasons, July represented a return to something more resembling normal for the Garden State gaming market, according to PlayNJ analysts.
“It will take some time before Atlantic City rebounds from the closures of the last few months, but we have at least turned a corner in the market with the return of the retail sector,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayNJ.com. “However, online casinos and sportsbooks should drive the overall market as long as the pandemic continues. A big month for both in July only emphasizes that reality.”
Sports betting
With just a week of the baseball season and two days of NBA action, the state’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $315.1 million in wagers in July, up 91% from $165 million in June, according to official reporting released Monday. It is the most substantial handle since sportsbooks produced $494.8 million in February, and up 25.3% from $251.4 million in July 2019.
Gross revenue rose 65.2% in July to $29.6 million from $17.9 million in July 2019. The “win” yielded $3.7 million in state taxes.
Even with the surge, though, sportsbooks were still off by $150 million from the $465 million in wagers a typical July might have attracted, according to PlayNJ estimates. In all, PlayNJ estimates that the shutdown of major sports since March has cost New Jersey sportsbooks about $1.6 billion in bets.
August will likely end the streak of subpar months, though. Assuming a full schedule of baseball, the NBA, and NHL — basketball hit $18 million in wagers and baseball attracted $2.7 million — sportsbooks will offer far more to bettors than in a typical August.
“August should be an unusually busy month for sports betting, and that will help make up a bit of the $1.6 billion in wagers that have been lost so far,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com. “The leagues have to stay healthy, though, or we will be right back to where we started.”
Even as Atlantic City casinos reopened in July, online sportsbooks took in 93.9% of the state’s July handle. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet was again the market leader with $12.2 million in gross revenue, up from $6.2 million in July. FanDuel was followed in revenue by:
- Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($8.2 million, up from $3.9 million in June)
- BetMGM/Borgata ($2.3 million, up from $881,435)
- Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($1.6 million, up from $593,548)
- Ocean Casino/William Hill ($1.4 million, up from $691,135)
- Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($838,812, up from $450,589)
- Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($357,132, up from $43,561)
- Tropicana/William Hill ($38,358, up from $5,245)
- Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($85,028, up from $66,533)
In-person sportsbooks drew $19.3 million in bets, an expectedly tepid restart for Atlantic City after being shuttered since March. FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands led the market with $1.9 million in July.
“As long as major sports are played, online sportsbooks will make up for much of what is lost in the retail sector,” Gouker said. “But with the college football season very much in doubt, and the NFL season facing significant hurdles itself, the fall offers a lot of uncertainty at this point.”
Online casinos
Even as Atlantic City reopened, online casinos and poker used another record month to pass $2 billion in lifetime revenue and $300 million in lifetime taxes. July’s $87.5 million in revenue was up 122.5% from $39.3 million in July 2019 and topped the $85.9 million revenue record set in May. July’s “win” yielded $13.1 million in state and local taxes.
Online casinos and poker have now generated $2.01 billion since the industry launched in November 2013, producing $302.3 million in state taxes.
“$2 billion in revenue and $300 million in taxes show just how vital online casinos have become for New Jersey,” Ramsey said. “Especially after the last few months, it’s a sobering thought to imagine where the state’s gaming industry would be without online gambling.”
Some other highlights from July’s report:
- Atlantic City casinos generated $147.4 million in revenue after most reopened in July.
- Online casinos and poker generated $2.8 million a day in the 31 days of July, level with $2.8 million a day in the 30 days of June.
- Revenue from online casino games hit $82.7 million, up from $81.4 million in June.
- Online poker produced $4.8 million in July revenue, up from $3.5 million in June.
- Golden Nugget Online Gaming dominated the market with $31.5 million in July, up from $29.1 million.
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit PlayNJ.com/news.
About the PlayUSA.com Network:
The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches produce original daily reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.
Gambling in the USA
Kambi Group plc extends Mohegan partnership with on-property sports betting agreement in Pennsylvania
Kambi Group plc (“Kambi”), the world’s trusted sports betting partner, has agreed a long-term on-property sportsbook partnership with Mohegan to provide its award-winning sportsbook at two retail locations in the state of Pennsylvania.
The partnership will see Mohegan utilise Kambi’s cutting-edge retail sportsbook offering across more than 20 kiosks in sportsbook locations at Mohegan Pennsylvania and Mohegan Pennsylvania at Lehigh Valley Race and Sportsbook.
The deal further strengthens Kambi’s relationship with Mohegan, which already utilises Kambi’s suite of sports betting products at ilani in Washington, as well as online and on-property in the Canadian province of Ontario at Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara.
Kristian Nylén, Kambi CEO and Co-founder, said: “With several successful partnerships with Mohegan already in place, we are pleased to agree this new partnership as we continue to build on our strong relationship.
“This latest deal further reinforces Kambi’s position as the sportsbook provider of choice for tribes across North America, and we look forward to our ongoing collaboration with Mohegan.”
Tony Carlucci, President & GM of Mohegan Pennsylvania, said: “Mohegan Pennsylvania is excited to continue utilising the same Kambi technology platform that existed under our Kindred partnership, which will help to create a seamless process as the Sportsbook at Mohegan Pennsylvania fully rebrands later this Spring.”
Blockchain
JuicyBet Launches Its Innovative GambleFi Platform
JuicyBet, a Web3 startup, announced the launch of its GambleFi platform. This platform combines finance technology and gambling via blockchain to create unique opportunities and experiences for users. The company strives to revolutionize the principles of the online betting industry and the interaction between platforms and users in this market.
What is GambleFi?
GambleFi uses blockchain technology to ensure the fairness and transparency of games and betting outcomes and for players to get their share of the platform’s earnings and participate in its governance and day-to-day by holding its tokens.
How JuicyBet works
JuicyBet fully utilizes blockchain technology to establish a new ecosystem that has never been seen in the gambling industry. It is centered around user participation and transparency while providing gambling thrills and quality entertainment.
All game records on the platform are kept in a public blockchain, while a set of smart contracts automates gaming outcomes and payouts and provides for the platform governance via the DAO model. This reduces fraud risks and operational costs, making JuicyBet a more efficient platform.
However, the platform’s main feature is the unprecedented level of user engagement via the platform’s native tokens.
- First, the tokens provide access to betting.
- Second, token holders get their share of the platform’s profit.
- Third, token holders can vote on key decisions on the platform’s development in JuicyBet DAO.
- And finally, DAO participants can also perform the role of oracles for bets and earn rewards.
In other words, JuicyBet doesn’t try to be just another gambling platform. It establishes a new ecosystem where users are in control of the platform and bets and are the beneficiaries of the platform.
In addition, JuicyBet offers additional earning opportunities, such as Double Farming and staking for token holders.
JuicyBet has already been noticed by users and investors – the platform’s 3-month turnover has exceeded $1,5 million, according to on-chain data available via Dune, and multiple centralized exchanges and launchpads have listed it.
eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
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