Is Disney Wagering on a BIG Expansion into Sports Betting?
This Gambling News Flash article looks at Disney & ESPN as they look to get in on all the sports betting action.
What does Disney have to do with sports betting?
The ultimate goal in all this? Disney wants to use legal sports betting in order to promote and strengthen the struggling ESPN+ streaming service.
But just last year in a Legal Sports Report Article, Disney CEO stated…
“I don’t see The Walt Disney Company, certainly in the near term, getting involved in the business of gambling, in effect, by facilitating gambling in any way,” said Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney Company. “Getting into the business of gambling, I rather doubt it.”
But new CEO, Bob Chapek took over for Bob Iger last year and the company had a sudden change of tone. Disney has not been thrilled with the idea of jumping into the gambling world in the past, but now feel that legal sports betting can bring in a younger audience and improve overall service.
CEO Bob Chapek hinted that Disney intends to break into the sports betting industry…
“Strategically, what sports betting gives us is the ability to appeal to a much younger sports fan viewer, who can be very strong in their affinity for those sports,” said Chapek.
In August, Disney was in talks to license its ESPN brand to casino operator Caesars and DraftKings. Nothing is finalized, and the deal sources valued at $3 billion could fall through, but the move is an indication of adding gambling to the Disney franchise.
Disney, ESPN Explore Sports Betting Options
Pretty much everyone is getting into sports betting these days. Needless to say, it’s no surprise that the Worldwide Leader in Sports wants a taste.
There had been rumors this past week that they were pulling away ESPN+ from its Disney streaming service in preparation for shifting ESPN more into gambling. Of course, if they are moving into betting, they’ll want to set up clear boundaries between ESPN and the 21+ activities, and the young audience that’s into Disney content.
For now, it’s unclear where ESPN is going next but a report on CNBC indicated that they are “pursuing further value in sports betting”. ESPN’s ratings have been in decline over the last few years as other streaming services have popped up.
Moving into the sports betting space would likely give their brand a big shot in the arm and push revenues to new heights. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before they partner with a betting brand or create one themselves.
iGaming & Sports Betting in the United States About to Reel in $40 Billion
This week’s casino news starts off in Osaka, Japan where MGM Resorts has won the rights to build a casino. Let’s take a closer look at that and at the revenue numbers of sports betting and igaming in the US.
Sports Betting And iGaming In The United States Could Hit $40 Billion in Revenue
Speaking of untapped markets, iGaming and Sports betting in the United States – which is just starting to grow legally – could reel in $40 billion in revenue per year. While those numbers sound lofty, they are merely considering the fact that many states haven’t legalized the pastimes yet, so there is ample room to grow.
Sports betting revenue has already increased 435 percent compared to last year with New Jersey leading the charge. With the football season underway as well, that number is projected to jump even higher. DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM are all among the sports betting operators that are bringing in the most revenue.
iGaming is also going to be taking a nice jump. Projections say that they could increase up to $14 billion in revenue by the year 2033. As it stands right now, they are only at $1.5 billion.
MGM Resorts Winner Of Osaka Casino Rights
MGM Resorts were able to become the last company standing in the race to place a casino in Osaka. After partnering with Orix, they gave themselves an edge in the competition and it apparently worked out as Osaka has chosen to go ahead with MGM. Back in July, there were announcements that a $9 billion casino concept was planning to be placed inside the city’s Yumeshima Island.
Osaka wasn’t really left with many options in this race, though. They opted to be really choosy and a lot of other companies decided to drop out of the running. A lot of other competitors chose to pass after rising concerns regarding the tax and regulations placed in the city. The time that it was taking for Osaka to officially choose an operator also killed a lot of their enthusiasm towards the project.
According to a recent announcement, MGM Resorts and Orix are both expected to own 40 percent of the integrated resort. The remaining 20 percent will be split out to other Japanese companies. However, if those companies aren’t involved, both MGM and Orix will float up to 50 percent each. They hope to make lots of money in what many people feel to be one of the ripest gambling markets in the world.
Atlantic City Casinos See Dip in Revenue During August Compared To 2019 Numbers
The latest numbers out of Atlantic City are out and it appears that the casinos in the area weren’t able to keep up with their revenue numbers pre-pandemic numbers. Their nine brick-and-mortar casinos in the state were able to get a total of $262.4 million that month. Compared to their revenue numbers back in August of 2019, they are down 8.4 percent. They are also down 5.3 percent from their July numbers.
However, those numbers take a big jump once you include iGaming and sports betting. Those numbers shoot up al the way to $397.6 million, $58.8 million more than the amount August brought in during 2019. As a matter of fact, it represents a 17 percent increase.
Despite the solid numbers that Atlantic City casinos are bringing in right now, they are still very much in the search for more employees. Hard Rock President, Joe Lupo, said, “We’ve been looking for people all summer long…we’re looking to continue providing some jobs to the local community.” Hopefully they are able to fill the positions that they are looking for and take another jump in their operations. If you’re looking for a job, Atlantic City is the place to be.
Americans REALLY Love Sports Betting… Like A LOT!
While the gambling industry has the momentum of a freight train, a number of auxiliary businesses are also benefiting. One of those is legally betting on NFL games. That’s where we’re starting our weekly recap of the news.
Americans Bet $20 Billion on NFL Games This Season
The early estimates are out for how much Americans will be betting on the NFL this season. The numbers suggest that Americans will gamble over $20 billion dollars throughout the 2021 campaign. The news has resulted in a spike in the stock price from several companies, including Caesars Entertainment, Penn National Gaming, and DraftKings. Their stocks have increased over 20 percent this past month.
The NFL season opener between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys brought in more than 1.5 million wagers alone. DraftKings had to dish out roughly $54 million to their players that night due to an opening-night promotion.
Ironically, the league has long been against any type of sports betting but has now welcomed it with open arms. Although, the last couple of years the gambling industry has seriously taken off, which has caused the NFL to change their opinion.
Some predict that companies may be in a bit of trouble if bettors continue to win their wagers. DraftKings Sportsbook, for example, is only expected to pick up around 13 percent in total shared throughout the next year.
NBC Sports Seen Huge Ad Demand from Sportsbooks
We’re now through two weeks of the NFL season and from the business side, one thing is clear: advertisements slots on NBC Sports have been heavily sought after. The league already approved DraftKings, FanDuel Sportsbook, and Caesars Entertainment to be their official sportsbook partners and they’re wasting no time plastering every broadcast with ads. Other companies such as WynnBET, BetMGM, PointsBet and FOX Bet have all been given the same status and are allowed to run ads during NFL games as well.
These advertisements aren’t cheap, meaning these companies really want to capitalize on this recent gambling boom in 2021. The average cost of an advertisement during Sunday Night Football was $712,300 back in 2019. A number that is likely higher nowadays given how those 2019 numbers were seven percent higher than in 2018.
Look for a lot of new sportsbook operators to fight their way to a slot in the Super Bowl as well. DraftKings became one of the first to advertise in the big game, but others should be following suit in 2022. Companies are doing their best to get in front of as many eyes as possible to build brand awareness and attract customers.
Governor Charlie Baker Wants Legalized Sports Betting in Massachusetts
The New England Patriots have officially started their new season but fans in Massachusetts still can’t bet on their games. That has caused the governor of the state to speak out about the lack of sports betting. Governor Charlie Baker tweeted out that it has been too long since he started to push for legalized sports gambling in Massachusetts and aims to get it finalized as soon as possible.
Baker went on to say that he was happy to see the Patriots back in action but definitely wanted to use this as a motivating factor moving forward. He claims that they were able to file a bill to legalize sports betting all the way back in 2019 but that ended up falling through. They tried again earlier in 2021 but it doesn’t appear to be on track right now either. Baker finished up his tweet by saying that Massachusetts’s neighbors in the United States have been benefiting too much from their lack of a gambling market. This might be the push they needed to get them over the hump.
FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports Promos Give New Players More Ways To Win
Besides being a full service online, mobile, and retail sportsbook, FanDuel is one of the two leading NJ gambling websites taking Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) action. The other is DraftKings.
This article will focus on what FanDuel DFS has to offer its users, including some NFL special promotions exclusively for new players that you can take advantage of right now.
Keep in mind that the FanDuel website offers two separate platforms: FanDuel Sportsbook for those who wish to place bets on actually scheduled games and FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports. Even if you already have an account with FanDuel Sportsbook, if you also wish to participate for real money in the DFS contests, you will need to create a separate account for that purpose.
Special Welcome Bonus for first-time FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports customers: Get a 20% deposit match bonus up to $500 on your first deposit
This offer is open to new FanDuel DFS customers only. Sign up for FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports and make an initial deposit of at least $10. Within 72 hours, a 20 percent deposit match bonus will appear in your DFS account as a site credit.
The bonus must be used before the player’s own deposited funds.
The bonus itself is not withdrawable. However, any associated winnings can be withdrawn immediately.
Players have up to 30 days to use their bonus in its entirety. After 30 days, if any portion of the bonus still remains unused, FanDuel will deduct it from the player’s account.
Is the FanDuel welcome bonus for new DFS customers a good offer?
Unfortunately, this offer falls short in several respects. For starters, it is only a 20 percent match bonus, whereas many NJ gambling websites offer a 100 percent deposit match bonus to first-time depositors. Secondly, it is a sticky bonus, so after you play it, you will only be permitted to keep the resulting winnings, if any, not the bonus itself.
On the other hand, you have up to 30 days to use it, which gives you plenty of time to test the waters.
FanDuel DFS also offers many other special promotions
So, like virtually any other bonus being offered on NJ gambling websites, the welcome bonus that gets the ball rolling for FanDuel DFS players has both pluses and minuses. But more importantly, it’s just the start of many more special offers to come.
That’s why, if Daily Fantasy Sports is your thing, you can count on the following. FanDuel DFS will give you all of the action you can possibly want, including some fantastic NFL promotions you can sink your teeth into, not only this coming weekend but all season long.
FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports promotions for week 2 of the 2021 regular season
Here are two special promotions specifically for week 2. Then, each week thereafter, keep checking the site for similar offers.
Thursday Million: NFL Single Game NYG-WASH First Touchdown Bonus
This promotion applies specifically to the game being played on Thurs., Sept. 16, 2021 between the NY Giants and the Washington Football Team.
It comes with an entry fee of just $5 and is open to all registered FanDuel DFS customers.
Submit a roster including the player who scores the first touchdown, and you’ll win a share of the $100K prize pool.
Participants may enter either online by going to FanDuel.com or via the FanDuel mobile app. A maximum of 150 entries per person is permitted, but each individual can win only one share of the bonus prize.
NFL Sunday Million $100K Defensive Touchdown Bonus
This promotion applies to the NFL games being played on Sun., Sept. 19, 2021.
Submit a roster including an NFL defensive player who scores a touchdown to win a share of the $100K prize pool.
Like the Thursday promotion described above, it has a $5 entry fee and is open to all registered FanDuel DFS customers, and the same rules, terms, and conditions apply. Note that you can improve your chances of winning by submitting multiple entries (up to a maximum of 150). But if more than one of the players you select scores a defensive touchdown, you still win only once.
Play Fantasy NFL Football Free All Season
This promotion, unlike the first two, is being offered to new users only. Once you have opened a FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports account, you will receive a free voucher for each remaining week of the NFL season.
Also, if you sign up during the first four weeks of the season, you will receive one free Sunday Million voucher that’s valid for the same week that you sign up.
No purchase or wager is required to participate. Simply go to the Vouchers page, click on the applicable voucher. Then select a team and enter the contest for free!
Other special contests for new FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports players only
Besides the aforementioned contests, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports customers can compete in hundreds of other contests. But as a new player, I would advise you to start slowly while you are still learning the ropes.
FanDuel DFS is to be commended for not forcing inexperienced players to play in contests where they will face opponents who are way out of their league. In fact, FanDuel offers the following special contests for new players only. No experienced players are allowed. See the FanDuel website for the complete details.
- $3,5M Sunday Million
- $175 K Sunday NFL Huddle
- $60K Sunday NFL Huddle
- $40K Sunday NFL Pooch Punt
Summary and Conclusion
Daily Fantasy Sports offers an exciting alternative or adjunct to traditional sports betting. The special promotions described in this article provide just a small taste of the many enticing money making opportunities that await you as a new FanDuel DFS player.
FanDuel welcomes players of all bankrolls and skill levels, including beginners. However, novice players should keep the following in mind. As enticing as the contests with the biggest prize pools sound, they come with higher entry fees and stiffer competition. You’ll fare better focusing on beginner contests initially while you’re gradually acquiring valuable skills and building your bankroll.
If you’re new to DFS, we highly recommend that you give FanDuel a try. FanDuel Daily Fantasy Sports gives new players many ways to win.
Gambling News Flash – Facebook Looking To Get In On The Sports Betting Game
Is Facebook moving towards sports betting? That’s the recent speculation after they announced that they’re launching a free-to-play to test the waters. That’s where we pick up our weekly recap of the news.
Facebook Close to Introducing Fantasy Sports And Predictive Games
Facebook Fantasy Sports? Well, well, well: look he’s jumping into the sports betting space. Facebook has decided to jump right into the fantasy sports world as the social media giant had partnered up with Whistle Sports to bring a new category called Pick & Play Sports, Facebook Fantasy Sports. Players will get points as they correctly pick the winner of a specific sports game or go into smaller in-match events. While this starts off as a fantasy option, we’ve seen how this can quickly turn into sports betting. FanDuel and DraftKings have already shown the way.
Facebook is also expected to bring in games involving popular television shows such as The Bachelorette and Survivor and even BuzzFeed is supposed to get their own segment in the coming weeks. These new games will be available on both iOS and Android devices and for any residents in the United States and Canada.
Facebook hasn’t mentioned whether or not cash prizes will be awarded to the top players in these games, though. It seems like their new platform is going to be based primarily around user interaction and good times rather than financial gain. However, if they do see that players are craving that – as they likely will – the speculation is that they will look into adding it.
DraftKings Reaches Settlement With Gamblers
DraftKings is moving towards settling a court case in regards to misleading advertising. The company has announced that they were able to get approval in the last distract of Massachusetts on their massive settlement of class action reports. People had claimed that DraftKings Sportsbook was misrepresenting the difficulty of their sports contests and the terms to certain promotional deals during their marketing campaign. The settlement to get this all behind them had ballooned all the way up to $8 million dollars.
The settlement had involved a total of about 3.15 million people. Without a doubt getting out of this mess that they had gotten themselves into will be a big weight off their backs.
Hochul To Be Friendly To Sports Bettors?
The newest governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and her husband have been under the microscope lately after she took over for Governor Andrew Cuomo. While there are all sorts of questions as to what she’ll do for the state, there has been early speculation that she’ll be quite friendly to sports betting. She and her husband had apparently spent thousands of dollars to lobby state officials before she was promoted. One claim has them giving $300,000 to lobby Bolton-St.Johns throughout 2019 to 2021, which is a gaming hospitality brand.
A lot of people in the state of New York are hoping that Hochul will be friendly to sports betting. While the state of New Jersey has been very progressive in opening up its doors, New Yorkers are still struggling with it. Maybe she’ll be able to get things on the fast track as Governor Cuomo definitely wasn’t a friend to online sports betting.
WynnBet Tabs Affleck For Ads
WynnBet is breaking out the big guns. The company, which is a little late to the online sports betting party, has brought on Ben Affleck for its first round of commercials. Along with Shaquille O’Neal, the hope is that the company will be able to get a lot of attention and start bringing players over to its platform.
WynnBet will be shooting a variety of ads with Affleck, some of which will be longer in the two-minute range and others that will be 30 seconds and short both for television and social media.
DraftKings Sportsbook Is The King Of NFL Contests
Now that week 1 of the 2021-22 NFL season has finally arrived, plenty of NJ gambling websites are ready to take your action. But if you want a fun and not necessarily expensive way to take your play to the next level, one of the first places you should look at is DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nothing beats the thrill and excitement of competing in a pro football pick’em contest or survivor pool, and DraftKings is the undisputed king of both.
We’ll tell you about some of these contests and what you can win in this article. But for even more opportunities and the complete details, visit the DraftKings Sportsbook website.
Then pick your contest, make your selections, watch the games, and maybe, at the end of the season, you can walk away with a life-changing bundle of money. DraftKings Sportsbook offers contests for players of all budgets. So, they provide a great opportunity for virtually anyone who loves NFL football to get involved and possibly win big cash prizes.
DraftKings Sportsbook $4M Pro Football Millionaire Pick’em Contest
This contest is in a class by itself. It comes with a guaranteed prize pool of a whopping $4 million dollars, including a guarantee of at least $1 million for first place. But that still leaves plenty of prize money remaining to be divvied up among the other top 134 finishers.
Here’s the catch though. The entry fee is a hefty $1,500 (or $4,500 for those who would like to purchase the maximum of three entries). So clearly this contest is not for everyone.
In order to participate in this contest or any of DraftKings Sportsbook’s other NFL contests, you must be a DraftKings Sportsbook account holder. If you wish to enter the Pro Football Millionaire Contest, you have until 1 p.m. Sun., Sept. 12 to do so.
How the contest works
Your task is to make up to five point spread picks each Sunday for 16 of the first 17 weeks of the regular NFL season, for a total of up to 80 selections. No contestant can submit selections for week 18, and in addition, you may skip any week of your choice during weeks 1-17. Also, while you won’t be disqualified if you select fewer than five games in a given week or fewer than 80 games for the season, it is not a good idea. Every correct selection is worth one point, while point spread ties and losses are worth 0 points but no points get deducted. So, to maximize your chances of winning a prize, be sure to make the maximum number of selections permitted.
For the purposes of the contest, DraftKings will post the applicable point spreads for each week’s games on or about the Wednesday of that week. The point spreads will remain fixed for all contestants regardless of when they make their selections or if they differ at any point in time from the actual betting lines.
All selections for any given Sunday must be made through the DraftKings website or mobile app prior to the kickoff time for that day’s first NFL games.
If any game in which you make a pick gets postponed or canceled, the selection counts as a loss. Also, if the NFL regular season winds up being canceled prior to the conclusion of week 12, the entire Millionaire Pick’em Contest will be canceled and all entry fees refunded. If the NFL regular season gets canceled after week 12, all of the prizes will still be awarded.
Why the DraftKings Sportsbook Pro Football Millionaire Contest is a good bet
If you can afford the steep entry fee, this contest offers great money-making potential. As mentioned, there’s a guaranteed minimum top prize of a cool million dollars, along with lots of other great prizes. For example, the contestant finishing in second place will win at least $500,000, and the contestant finishing in third place will win at least $400,000.
In fact, all of the prizes for the top nine players amount to six figures, and all of the prizes for 10th through 30th place are for five figures. Even the smallest prize (for 121st through 135th place) is a very generous $2,500, which amounts to a $1,000 profit.
All of the prizes will be paid in cash, so there is no bonus to clear.
But wait–that’s not all. Any contestant who makes five correct point spread picks in a single week will receive a free $100 bet.
$1 Million DraftKings Sportsbook Pro Football Survivor Pool
The Pro Football Millionaire Contest isn’t the only one that DraftKings Sportsbook is offering this season with a chance to win a million dollars. The same guaranteed prize is up for grabs in the $1 Million DraftKings Sportsbook Pro Football Survivor Pool.
This contest isn’t cheap either. But some people who are unwilling to fork over $1,500 for the contest with a $4M prize pool might not mind paying this contest’s entry fee of $333. Or those who are so inclined can enter both contests and/or purchase up to three entries in the Survivor Pool.
Other than the lower price tag, I will now describe some other key differences between the two contests that anyone contemplating entering the Survivor Pool needs to consider.
- First and foremost, it is a winner takes all contest. In other words, instead of having 135 winners, there is only one–the last contestant standing.
- Instead of making five picks against the point spread on a given Sunday, you pick just one team to win the game outright. If your team wins the game, you survive to make another pick the following week. However, if your team loses or ties, you’re out of the contest and out of the money you paid to be in the contest.
- You cannot pick the same team to win more than once.
Additional terms and conditions
All of the following terms and conditions that apply to the DraftKings Pro Football Millionaire Pick’em Contest also apply here.
- You must make your weekly selections through the DraftKings website or mobile app.
- All selections must be submitted before the start of the first Sunday NFL games.
- Tied, postponed, and canceled games all count as a loss.
- If the NFL regular season gets canceled prior to the conclusion of week 12, the Survivor Pool will be declared null and void and all entry fees will be refunded.
Determining the winner
The contest will end as soon as either only one contestant remains, no contestant remains, or the regular season is over, whichever occurs first. It is possible, but not likely, that after a given week, no contestants will remain. If that happens, the prize money will be equally distributed among the entire final group of players. Likewise, if the contest should end with more than one surviving player, all remaining players will get an equal share of the prize money.
Other NFL contests being offered at DraftKings Sportsbooks
If the entry fees for the $4M Guaranteed Contest and $1M Guaranteed Survivor Pool are too rich for your blood, you have other alternatives. For example, here are three you might consider with only a $20 entry fee.
- $100K NFL Survivor Pool
- $20K NFL Season Long Pick’em
- $5K NFL Sunday Afternoon Pool
DraftKings also offers several single-week contests and survivor pools that are completely free.
See the DraftKings website for details.
Special offers for new players
Lastly, keep in mind that all of the DraftKings NFL contests and survivor pools are open to registered DraftKings Sportsbook customers only. So, if you’re not yet signed up, what are you waiting for?
All first-time depositors will receive a 20 percent deposit match bonus up to $1,000 in the form of site credits.
In addition, through 9/13/21 only, after you make your first deposit and place a bet of at least $1 on any NFL or college football game, you will receive an extra $200 bonus in the form of eight free bets of $25 each.
Can The Phillies Turn It Around Vs Diamondbacks So You Can Cash In?
The Phillies are slowly falling apart, but fortunately, the rest of the NL East isn’t all that much better, so they are actually still in the playoff race.
At 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies are taking on the worst team in baseball in the second game of a 4-game series after yesterday’s loss. The Fightins are now 0-4 this season vs an Arizona team with a putrid 43-85 record.
If they can’t take advantage of the remaining three games against one of the worst road teams in baseball, then they might as well call it a season.
BUT, if you believe the Phillies will take care of business tonight Caesars Sportsbook has just the NJ sports betting promotion for you to make some extra cash.
MLB Superboost +250 – Phillies vs Diamondbacks
- Phillies Win by 4 or More Runs vs Diamondbacks on Aug. 27 – Click here for odds BOOSTED to +250
There’s also a boosted parlay the Phillies were added to…
DraftKings Purchases Golden Nugget & One NFL Fan Buys Up All Tom Brady NFT’s
DraftKings has been in the news this week for a couple of big reasons. We’ll start off with their latest acquisition as they’ve shelled out well over a billion to bring another company into the fold.
DraftKings Makes Huge Move With Golden Nugget Purchase
Sports betting giant DraftKings has just expanded portfolio with the purchase of Golden Nugget. Variety has reported that DraftKings was able to buy Golden Nugget Online Gaming for a whopping $1.56 billion. It is going to be an all-stock type of agreement and should give DraftKings a major boost in players – especially on the casino side of things. Golden Nugget usually maintains around five million players, which will all be making the switch to DraftKings now.
The deal has already been approved by the board of directors and should be finalized in the first quarter of the 2022 year. Golden Nugget was only worth around $745 million back in June of 2020, yet they were able to flip the script and sell it for double 14 months down the line as online business grew throughout the pandemic.
The Golden Nugget has been one of the most consistent platforms in New Jersey, consistently ending months with just over a third of the total market share. This company also recently launched over in Michigan, a state that created a new online gambling market not too long ago.
DraftKings NFT Marketplace Allowed One User To Grab Every Tom Brady Autograph Issue Available
Sticking with DraftKings, another area where they have been expanding is non-fungible tokens in the cryptocurrency space. Their inclusion into the NFT world didn’t really go as they had hoped as one buyer was able to scoop everything up. Up for auction were a number of different types of sports memorabilia, including some Tom Brady-signed items. One user was somehow able to obtain all five Tom Brady autographed NFTs that were available. They were numbered 100 (twice), 50, 25 and 12.
There was over 20,000 people sitting and waiting for nearly a half an hour before the autograph could become live. Unfortunately, one person got access and bought them all, which has people wondering if there was a glitch in play.
The user, named SweetBabyNicco, turned around and flipped all of the NFT’s but one of them. In total, he earned $75,500 profits after his sales compared to the $3,250 that he spent to obtain all of them. He still holds one of the NFT’s, which is up for sale.
Upcoming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Has Great Ties Within Gaming Industry
This past week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has agreed to step down. Leaving the politics aside for now, a number of people in the gambling sector have wondered where the state is heading with Kathy Hochul set to take over. New York could now be headed in a completely different direction in the next couple of months – especially with sports betting.
Hochul will not only be the first female governor of the state, she could also bring new light to the gambling industry up there. Her husband, William Hochul, has a terrific job at Delaware North, one of the biggest gaming firms in the country. That’s led the early speculation to suggest that she’ll be far more friendly to gaming.
Hochul now has an opportunity to oversee the New York State Gaming Commission, which is already reviewing applications from a few gaming companies who want sports betting licenses. Many entities have been trying to bring online sports betting to the state but things have mostly stalled. We’ll see if something changes now that she’s in charge.
Gambling News Flash: Fixed-Odds Horse Betting Heading to NJ, Penn Buys The Score
A new form of horse betting is coming to New Jersey. Those looking to bet on the ponies are going to be happy with the news. We’ll start there as we recap this week’s key casino headlines.
Gov. Murphy Signature Legalizes Fixed-Odds Horse Racing
Fixed-odds horse racing is finally set to touch down in New Jersey. With New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signing this bill, residents of age in the Garden State will soon be able to lock in horse odds at the time of betting. This bill was supposed to be signed a couple of months ago but there were too many bills trying to get thrown together towards the end of their legislative period, which ended up delaying it.
What NJ Tracks Will Offer Fixed-Odds Horse Betting?
Monmouth Park intends to be the first of the three NJ racetracks to offer fixed odds, possibly before the 2021 horse racing season comes to a close. Freehold Raceway and Meadowlands Racetrack are the other two Garden State locations. As far as how fixed-odds wagering will be rolled out, Monmouth Park plans include designated betting windows on the grandstand and clubhouse levels. Additionally, there will be TV screens displaying current odds.
The minimum wager is set at $1 for now and anybody over the age of 21 can place bets.
BetMakers, an Australian-based horse betting company, recently signed a 10-year deal with the state of New Jersey to handle the betting lines for the tracks. DraftKings, BetMGM and FanDuel are all likely to join the mix of sportsbooks for horse racing in the near future as well, so if you see it pop up on their websites, you’ll now know why.
Nevertheless, New Jersey is set to become the first state to officially legalize fixed-odds horse racing.
Penn National Purchases Score Media
Penn National Gaming has decided that they want to take a massive step forward with their acquisition of Score Media and Gaming. They had to shell out $2 billion in cash and equity in order to finalize this transaction, which adds to their growing portfolio of content and gaming, including Barstool Sports. Penn National seems to be looking to take advantage of single-game betting makings its way to Canada as this could pave the way for them to make inroads in the North.
In case you’re wondering about the gaudy figure, it is quite the impressive haul for TheScore. Penn had previously acquired Barstool Sports for roughly $163 million. theScore has reset the market for these types of acquisitions, so other companies can now look to surpass their figures.
The combination of theScore and Barstool Sports now gives Penn access to plenty of content as well as potential customers. Sports fans love both brands and now if Penn can convert them into sports betting customers, they’ll easily be able to justify these purchases.
Women’s Sporting Events Fueled Olympic Betting
The Olympics aren’t often a big event in the sports betting community. Other than a few events like golf, tennis, and basketball, it’s mostly amateurs participating and it’s hard to handicap the matchups. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to note that it was the women’s events that fueled betting at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
According to PointsBet Sportsbook, Women’s Soccer and Women’s Beach Volleyball were among the surprising leaders in bets, coming in second and third, respectively. A big factor may have been the time difference between the United States and Japan. The men’s basketball team, which eventually did win the gold medal, played most of their games in the hours of the early morning on the East Coast in the Eastern Time Zone. The men’s basketball team did end up pulling in the most action at PointsBet in terms of the Olympics as they reeled in 26% of the bets.
One big factor favoring the ladies at the 2020 games is that many of this year’s stars were females. That includes swimmer Katie Ledecky, gymnast Suni Lee, and women’s volleyball duo Alix Klineman and April Ross.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Gambling News Flash: DraftKings Drama, Takeover Deals & Sports Betting to Wrigley Field?
This week’s casino news starts off with sports betting giant DraftKings, who is under federal investigation. While the headline might sound daunting, the news isn’t as major as most would have you believe.
DraftKings Under Federal Investigation For SBTech Deal
DraftKings has found themselves in the hot seat as they are currently under federal investigation over their purchase of SBTech, a Bulgarian sports betting provider. There are alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act regarding DraftKings’ purchase of SBTech, as first reported by Hindenburg Research.
One DraftKings spokesperson doesn’t seem to be too worried about the allegations though, saying:
“It is not uncommon for the SEC to investigate allegations. The SEC inquiry does not suggest any wrongdoing or agreement with the short-seller allegations, and we intend to cooperate with the SEC inquiry.”
There is no doubt that the company has plans to stand up for themselves. And they seem to believe they won’t be severely damaged by this investigation.
DraftKings also has some issues regarding tax challenges as the Internal Revenue Service is auditing the sports betting giant over taxes paid in years past. Apparently, the issues are focused on taxation of fantasy sports contests. If they find that the numbers don’t add up, DraftKings could be forced to pay a sizable penalty.
Betting Giants Unveiling Growth Amid Takeover Speculation
A couple of United States gambling giants just released their growth numbers amid takeover deals speculation. Flutter and Entain showed six exceptional months of growth, which could put them into position for a takeover deal in the future. After all, aren’t takeovers the hottest thing in the sports betting space these days?
Entain has been watching their value increase steadily over the past couple of months ever since MGM Resorts has been rumored to buy them. MGM had a multi-billion dollar deal almost finished up before things broke down in the end. There are some insiders who believe the two sides are still negotiating.
With restrictions around the United States slowly easing, players in the online gambling market have been able to expand pretty quickly. We could see online gambling expand even further in the coming months to several additional states.
Sports Betting Outpost Coming To Wrigley Field?
The Chicago Cubs have finally gotten themselves one step closer to allowing sports betting at their home stadium. This past week, the City Council committee approved their request to construct a 22,450 square foot structure. The location is Addison Street and Sheffield Avenue. It is going to be a two-story building located adjacent to their stadium and early estimations expect construction to take at least a year to be fully built. Customers will be able to pop in there and bet on sports if they want to get in on the action.
This new idea likely stems from their newfound partnership with DraftKings, a deal that was struck back in 2020. They came to the decision that they wanted to partner up for an official sportsbook. If it pans out, this sportsbook will be the first located at a professional sports stadium in the US.
They aren’t out of the woods completely yet, though. They still need approval from the full City Council along with the National Park Service and the Illinois Gaming Board. However, after a unanimous decision from the first committee, things are looking good. The Cubs said that this sportsbook will be a terrific way for them to connect with their fans.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa