This Week's Sports Betting Update

One big story 

UK Gambling Minister moves to reassure bettors over financial risk checks

UK Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew took to the Racing Post this week in a bid to reassure readers of the government’s plans for affordability checks in the gambling industry.

Andrew said the government and the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will launch formal consultations on the way forward following its gambling white paper in April.

Andrew moved to reassure readers that the purpose of potential financial risk checks on customers is to ensure the losses for the highest-spending bettors aren’t out of control. Andrew believes such checks will affect only 3% of bookmaker accounts.

Click here to read more from Andrew on potential affordability checks, as well as the government’s review of the horserace betting levy.

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What you need to know

Commercial

• 🇬🇧 Betfred has confirmed its sponsorship of Racing Post’s ‘What A Shout’ show for the rest of the Flat racing season. The show will air on Racing Post’s YouTube channel, which has almost 50,000 subscribers, and will be available across all Betfred and Racing Post social channels. ‘What A Shout’ made its debut in 2019 and has since provided expert insight and content on the biggest races in Britain and Ireland. More
• 🇺🇸 PointsBet shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposed sale of its US business to Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG). After a surprise bid from DraftKings, FBG increased its bid to $225 million which led to 99.16% of voters approving the sale. With the sale, PoinsBet will still retain ownership of its proprietary sports wagering and iGaming platform. More
• 🌎 Betsson has moved to enhance its exposure in the Latam sports betting market by securing a high-profile shirt sponsorship deal with iconic Argentinian football club Boca Juniors. Betsson’s branding will be on the front of Boca’s jerseys throughout the 2023/24 campaign, covering both the men’s and women’s first teams. More
• 🇺🇸 Betr has secured an additional $35m in its latest Series A2 funding round. The round was deemed a success, with co-founder Joey Levy insisting this latest money will lay the foundations for both Betr Gaming and Betr Media services. More

Regulation

GamCare wants the UK’s high-street banks to improve customer awareness of gambling blocks that can protect vulnerable bettors from harm. The gambling support charity fears not enough is being done to promote these blocks, which can prevent deposits from being made with online bookmakers. GamCare believes the inconsistent naming conventions of these blocks within various banking apps has also muddied the waters. More

Technology

Genius Sports has extended its exclusive data rights deal with Football DataCo, the firm which oversees data for the English Premier League. The extension runs through to the end of the 2024/25 season, with the arrangement also including the English Football League (EFL) and the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Genius will be permitted to distribute real-time data on over 4,000 professional fixtures across the UK per season. More

People news

NeoGames appoints Motti Gill as its new CFO

iGaming solutions provider NeoGames has confirmed the arrival of Motti Gill as the firm’s new chief financial officer.

Gill replaces the outgoing Raviv Adler, who is leaving to pursue a new role next month. Gill is an experienced financial executive, having worked as CFO for Aspire Global for the last seven years. Aspire was recently acquired by NeoGames, making Gill’s appointment a relatively straightforward switch.

Click here to get the thoughts of NeoGames’ CEO, Moti Malul, on Gill’s arrival and why he was the ideal candidate.

This week's talking point

Speculation is mounting over the intentions of 888’s investors

Uncertainty remains for William Hill and its parent company, 888 Holdings, after reports suggest a group of 888 shareholders are keen to increase their influence on the company.

Earlier this month it was revealed that a string of heavyweights within the gambling industry had increased their stake in 888 through a holding company known as FS Gaming Investments. Former GVC Holdings CEO, Kenny Alexander, and GVC chair, Lee Feldman, are both involved in this holding company, which now holds a near 7% stake in 888.

The initial reasoning behind FS Gaming Investments’ increased shareholding was due to its belief that the company was undervalued in the market. However, it now appears the investors’ intentions may be somewhat different.

Reports suggest Alexander is eyeing up the vacant CEO position at 888, which was vacated suddenly by Itai Pazner.

Click here to learn more about how the industry would perceive Alexander’s appointment at the helm of 888.

This week's insight

Why sports data is the new battleground for bookmakers in competitive markets

Dotan Lazar, CEO of LSports, a real-time sports betting data provider, says data is the new arena for competition among sportsbooks in saturated markets. With sports bettors demanding faster, more accurate real-time in-play sports data, the onus is on the bookmakers to accommodate their needs.

Lazar said that in an era where mergers and acquisitions are rife, brands within the sports betting industry need to focus on tools and data that can deliver a unique offering to bettors. Whether it’s visualisation tools, real-time data or statistics-based tip assistance, these tools are already having an impact.

However, Lazar insists operators cannot afford to stand still. Data providers such as LSports are already developing next-generation tools to give sportsbooks a cutting edge.

LSports’ own Sports Expert Chat (SEC) is an AI-driven chatbot which acts as a personal advisor to bettors using historical data and bookmakers’ odds and lines to determine whether a bet is worth placing.

Click here to learn more about SEC and LSports’ additional AI-based tools that can help to personalise the future sports betting experience.

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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