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Gambling in the USA

PlayNJ.com: Sports betting slows in June while revenue booms

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Pariplay to power PlayStar offering in New Jersey

 

New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks rejoined the national trend of declining betting volume in June. But a hold of 9.3% pushed revenue at sportsbooks to more than $71 million, a remarkable result that blunted the effects of any summer slowdown, according to PlayNJ, which tracks the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.

“Overall, New Jersey continues to perform far better than every other sports betting market in the U.S.,” said Dustin Gouker, analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayNJ.com.  “No market can completely overcome a lack of betting inventory, but New Jersey’s sportsbooks continue to find ways to capitalize on what the sports world is offering, most notably the NBA Playoffs and baseball.”

Online and retail sportsbooks took in $766.9 million in bets in June, according to official data released Friday. That is down 5.8% from $814.3 million in May, but up dramatically from $117.8 million in June 2020, a month still plagued with pandemic-related closures. 

June’s action yielded $71.3 million in gross gaming revenue, the most in operator revenue since sportsbooks posted a record $82.6 million in January. $164.4 million in parlay betting, which has a year-long hold of 17.8%, by far the highest of any type of bet, was the main revenue generator in June. Operator revenue was up 34.7% from $52.9 million in May and up exponentially over $12.6 million in June 2020.

All told, June’s betting yielded $10.5 million in state and local taxes.

March brought the highest betting volume in U.S. history, with $4.6 billion in legal bets placed across the U.S. With no football or betting holiday like March Madness, combined U.S. handle fell to $3.7 billion in both April and May. That is a 19.6% drop from March’s high. But New Jersey’s volume has outperformed the rest of the U.S., down 10.8% in June from $859.6 million in March.

New Jersey’s advantage, other than its close proximity to New York, is the popularity of the NBA in the Northeast. June saw $190.9 million in basketball-related bets, easily the most of any sport during the month. Through the first six months of the year, basketball has attracted $1.7 billion in wagering. That represents 34.5% of the $4.8 billion handle from events completed so far this year, the most of any sport by a considerable margin.

“While the sportsbooks in most states have been scouring the sports landscape for opportunities to drive interest, New Jersey’s books have successfully capitalized on the NBA playoffs and baseball,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayNJ.com.

89.1%, or $734.7 million, of June’s handle came through an online operator. FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet commanded the market lead once again with $38.1 million in gross revenue, up from $29.8 million in May.

FanDuel was followed in revenue by:

  • Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet ($13.0 million, up from $9.5 million in April)
  • BetMGM/Borgata ($5.6 million, up from $4.7 million)
  • Ocean Casino/William Hill ($2.3 million, up from $1.3 million)
  • Monmouth/William Hill/SugarHouse/TheScore ($2.0 million, up from $1.8 million)
  • Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet ($642,297, up from $508,488)
  • Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($243,981, down from $518,217)
  • Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($80,615, up from -$87,211)
  • Tropicana/William Hill ($92,388, down from $48,000)

Meanwhile, retail sportsbooks continued to benefit from loosening restrictions with $83.9 million wagers in June, up from $79.6 million in May. Meadowlands/FanDuel led all retail books with $6.4 million in revenue in June.

The most mature U.S. market other than Nevada, New Jersey should get an infusion of new brands, including a potential Sports Illustrated-branded app, after SI and 888 Holdings announced a deal to create an app that could launch in multiple markets. This as voters get a chance to alter the market with a vote later this year to lift the state’s ban on wagering on in-state college teams.

“It feels like market share in New Jersey is cemented right now,” Ramsey said. “Right now, the state could really benefit from a small shakeup. A new brand with a well-known name like SI could help. So too would unlocking local college sports betting.”

 

Online casinos and poker

Online casinos and poker rooms extended their run of $100 million-plus revenue months to four, reaching $107.1 million in June. Revenue was up 26.1% from $84.9 million in June 2020, though down from $108.2 million in May.

The huge gains made in online gambling in 2020 has so far withstood the reopening of Atlantic City casinos. Through six months of 2021, online gaming has produced $634.2 million in revenue. That is well on pace to surpass the record $970.3 million in revenue in 2020 and easily reach $1 billion in revenue in a single year for the first time.

Borgata/BetMGM led in June with $34.3 million in casino and poker revenue. That topped rival Golden Nugget, which reached $27.6 million. Resorts Digital, which includes the Fox Bet and DraftKings brands, which has also made significant investments in its online gaming product over the last year, was third with $22.5 million in revenue.

“The positive effect of online sports betting, the race for market share, and the behavioral changes that stemmed from last year’s pandemic-related shutdowns continue to benefit online casinos and poker rooms,” Ramsey said. “$1 billion in annual revenue seems like a certainty now. And more growth could come this fall, even with Atlantic City recovering.”

Other highlights from June’s report:

  • Online casinos and poker rooms generated $18.7 million in state and local taxes.
  • Online casinos and poker generated $3.6 million per day in the 30 days of June, up from $3.5 million per day in May.
  • Online casinos accounted for $104.8 million of June’s revenue, up 28.8% from $81.4 million in June 2020.
  • Online poker generated $2.2 million, down 37.5% from $3.5 million in June 2020.

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming, visit PlayNJ.com/news.

 

Gambling in the USA

Boldplay™ to make U.S. debut after signing exclusive partnership deal with BetMGM

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The new partnership will see Boldplay’s extensive collection of innovative video slots, table games, virtual scratch and keno titles become available to customers in the U.S. market for the very first time, enabling countless players to experience the brand’s signature range of bonus features and jackpots.

 

Boldplay™, the casino software supplier, has announced its much-anticipated U.S. debut after teaming up with BetMGM, a leading iGaming and sports betting operator, and providing its first set of games Cyborg City, Toro Bravo™, and Gold Metal Ox™.

The new partnership will see Boldplay’s extensive collection of innovative video slots, table games, virtual scratch and keno titles become available to customers in the U.S. market for the very first time, enabling countless players to experience the brand’s signature range of bonus features and jackpots.

Notable highlights to come out of the studio include Boldplay Spins™ – a unique twist on Free Spins that sees the reels spin both vertically and horizontally to create more winning pay lines – and the brand’s flagship jackpot, the Boldplay Superpot™, which gives players of all bankroll levels a chance to win big.

The exclusive nature of the deal will also see BetMGM gain a significant market advantage in the U.S., where it will initially be the only platform able to offer Boldplay™ games. Given these titles have already garnered plenty of critical acclaim from players and operators across Europe, their presence at BetMGM will be a huge draw and will help the platform further enhance its standing in the industry.

This latest collaboration represents another significant step in Boldplay’s evolution from up-and-coming studio to one of the industry’s most sought-after software providers and will allow the brand to extend its reach into new regulated markets – a move CEO, Valli Fragoso, is clearly optimistic about.

“Boldplay™ is thrilled to announce that we’re teaming up with BetMGM in an exclusive partnership that will see our games be made available in the U.S. for the very first time,” she said. “By joining forces with such a prestigious operator, we’ll be able to raise the profile of our brand in the country as we continue to expand and we’re looking forward to what should be a hugely successful collaboration.”

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Gambling in the USA

Thunderkick enters social casino space with High 5 Casino deal

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Partnership marks the provider’s first foray into sweepstakes and the US market

 

Partnership marks the provider’s first foray into sweepstakes and the US market

Independent slots studio Thunderkick has announced its entry into the US market and social casino space through an exciting new partnership with High 5 Casino.

This collaboration will see the provider’s highly acclaimed games integrated into High 5 Casino, a free-to-play social casino gaming platform, signalling the provider’s first venture into sweepstakes.

As part of the agreement, Thunderkick will provide its popular titles, including both Pink Elephants and Sword of Khan, to High 5 Casino’s players across more than 40 states in the US.

Founded in 1995, High 5 Casino is one of the industry’s largest independent casino brands, with operations in the land-based, online, and social markets across six continents and in more than 150 countries.

This partnership, facilitated by Thunderkick’s existing relationship with Relax Gaming, represents the provider’s first move into the burgeoning US market. High 5 Casino is the first customer to benefit from this collaboration, with more brands expected to follow in the coming months.

Svante Sahlström, CCO at Thunderkick, said: “Entering the sweepstakes market and partnering with High 5 Casino is a significant milestone for Thunderkick. We are excited to introduce our games to US players for the first time and to explore the potential of this market segment.

“This collaboration allows us to showcase our innovative content to a wider audience and deliver an engaging gaming experience that closely resembles real money gambling. We are confident that our partnership with High 5 Casino will be a successful one, and we look forward to working with them to bring our games to players across the United States.”

Jerry Wilson, VP of Creative at High 5 Games, added: “Thunderkick’s games have proven to be very popular in Europe and we are excited about helping them launch, not only in the US for the first time, but with social players too.

“We’re sure our players will take to these titles, and they will become fan favourites in no time at all. We’re delighted about the launch of our new partnership.”

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Compliance Updates

OpenBet bolsters compliance technologies with the launch of geolocation product, OpenBet Locator™, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)

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OpenBet Locator™ provides a highly flexible, low latency and scalable alternative for global betting and gaming marketplace

 

OpenBet Locator™ provides a highly flexible, low latency and scalable alternative for global betting and gaming marketplace

OpenBet, a leading content, platform and service provider to the global betting industry, has bolstered its modular product portfolio with the launch of its new flexible and scalable geolocation product – OpenBet Locator.

Built on the backbone of Amazon Web Services (AWS), OpenBet’s strategic cloud provider, OpenBet Locator is a low latency solution that enables operators worldwide to locate, promote to, and monitor customers, remaining fully compliant with regulatory requirements.

The technology strengthens OpenBet’s reputation for market-leading player protection and compliance following the company’s acquisition of Neccton in 2023. With OpenBet’s regulatory reach and multiple licenses, brands will be able to ensure seamless and swift integration of its trusted and compliant technology into their ecosystem.

Initially targeting the North American market, the solution will feature a number of components, such as:

  • Fully flexible geo-fence management and high precision location tracking
  • Fraud prevention combined with real-time virtual private network (VPN) and location spoofing detection
  • Player targeting for customer relationship management (CRM), data analysis and in-venue promotions
  • Multi-tenanted solution that supports travelling wallet
  • Easy and flexible configuration options to streamline business operations workflows

The product is underpinned by OpenBet’s unrivalled expertise within the global betting industry and is designed to remove the friction of geolocation to the end-customer’s onboarding process.

Jordan Levin, CEO of OpenBet, said: “Introducing OpenBet Locator is an exciting move for us and takes our modular product offering to a new level. Built in-house and leveraging AWS technology, we have developed a strong proposition that can be tailored to meet unique business needs.

“As a pioneer within the global sports betting arena for over 25 years, we have an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities operators face within highly regulated markets. OpenBet Locator is a scalable, compliant and dependable geolocation solution that removes the barriers to operators’ success.”

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