Bet On It: Florida relaunch remains in question ahead of NFL season

Welcome to the latest edition of “Bet On It,” where The Fly looks at news and activity in the sports betting and iGaming space. 

SECTOR NEWS: Macau authorities announced that the city’s casinos are due to close before the weather bureau raises its storm signal to Number 9, which will happen at 11 pm local time on Friday, September 1, according to GGR Asia. A Chief Executive dispatch published earlier in the day in the city’s official gazette states that gaming venues in the city will have to “temporarily close” once the weather forecast “gives prior notice of the issuance of a tropical storm signal higher than Number 8,” according to the report, which says Macau authorities are expected to advise later when the city’s casino operators might resume their respective gaming operations. Macau’s gaming bureau reported August gross revenue from games of fortune in the region was up 686.4% year-over-year to 17.213B patacas.

MGM Resorts (MGM) and BetMGM announced they are launching a responsible gaming campaign at nine National Football League stadiums, promoting their responsible gaming program GameSense during the upcoming football season. With this development, MGM Resorts and BetMGM are among the first gaming operators to promote responsible gaming through marketing within League venues. Additionally, MGM Resorts and BetMGM are committing more than $1M annually to fund a variety of responsible gaming and problem gambling initiatives. This includes research, advocacy, prevention, marketing, and organizational support.

Nevada reported July statewide gaming win was up 6.69% to $1.4B. Nevada’s non-restricted gaming licensees reported a total gaming win of $1.403B for the month of July, which amounts to a 6.69% increase compared to July 2022, the Nevada Gaming Control Board announced. Also, the state reported July Las Vegas strip gaming win was up 7.95% from the prior year to $834.9M.

Sportradar (SRAD) announced that Gerard Griffin, the company’s CFO will participate in two conferences in September: Sportradar is reaffirming its annual outlook range provided on August 9, 2023 for revenue and adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2023 as follows: Revenue in the range of EUR 902 to EUR 920M, representing growth of 24% to 26% over fiscal 2022. Adjusted EBITDA in a range of EUR 157.M to EUR 167M, representing 25% to 33% growth versus last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 17% to 18%. Sportradar provided additional guidance on the relative weighting of revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in the third and fourth quarters of FY23 as follows: third quarter 2023 should represent approximately 43% of our second half revenue and 52% of our second half Adjusted EBITDA. Fourth quarter 2023 should represent approximately 57% of our second half revenue and 48% of our second half Adjusted EBITDA.

Bragg Gaming (BRAG) announced the board of directors has appointed Matev Mazij, chairman of the board, as CEO, effective immediately. Mazij, Bragg’s largest shareholder and the founder of Oryx Gaming, the Company’s original PAM, aggregation and RGS gaming technology platforms, which was acquired by Bragg in 2018, takes over as CEO for Yaniv Sherman, who stepped down. The change was made following a thorough evaluation by the Board and to ensure the optimal alignment of the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.

CLOSING TIME: Fanatics Betting and Gaming, a subsidiary of Fanatics Holdings Inc., closed on the first eight states in its previously announced acquisition of the U.S. businesses of PointsBet USA on Thursday. On June 30, PointsBet shareholders in Australia approved a stock and equity sale agreement with Fanatics Betting and Gaming for $225M on a debt free basis for the sale of PointsBet’s United States sports wagering, advance deposit wagering, or ADW, iCasino, Banach technology, and a license to use the company’s proprietary technology platform. Following regulatory approvals, Fanatics Betting and Gaming closed on the operating businesses of PointsBet USA in the following states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. As each state closes and officially becomes part of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, customers in such state will see PointsBet rebranded to “PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience,” with additional state closings to continue throughout the year. Customers in Indiana and Illinois will see PointsBet rebranded to “PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience” in the coming months, but the operating businesses of PointsBet USA in Indiana and Illinois will continue to be operated by PointsBet USA without interruption until Fanatics Betting and Games closes those states later this year. “We are excited about what we are building at Fanatics Betting and Gaming and this acquisition accelerates our plans,” said Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming. “We have a ten-year plan that focuses on the customer and not market share. We are going to acquire customers efficiently, allowing us to return savings to customers by investing in the customer experience at Fanatics Sportsbook and PointsBet, a Fanatics Experience.”

A YEAR IN KANSAS:  There was $1.6M in settled wagers, with $1.46M being paid out as winnings in the first year of legalized sports betting in Kansas, Taylor Hemness of KSHB reported, citing figures from the Kansas Lottery. The Kansas City Chiefs’ run to a Super Bowl LVII championship reportedly played an instrumental role. The state legalized sports betting on September 1, 2022, Total revenue for the year was $58,73M 

FIGHT FOR FLORIDA: The Department of the Interior on told the DC Circuit US Court of Appeals it should not rehear a case on the viability of the gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and State of Florida., Matthew Kredell of PlayUSA wrote. The DOI’s response was to West Flagler’s petition for the Court to rehear in front of all 11 of its judges, its legal challenge of the compact’s inclusion of statewide online sports betting on tribal lands. DC Circuit judges will now determine if a rehearing is needed. and the speed of their decision could impact how soon the Seminoles relaunch online sports betting in Florida with the NFL season looming. “West Flagler responded by suing the Secretary of the Interior — who has no control over what gaming Florida permits on non-Indian land within its borders — because the Secretary did not disapprove a Tribal-State gaming compact addressing, among other topics, how the Tribe will treat state-sanctioned wagers placed from non-Indian land once received by the Tribe via servers located on Indian land.” The DOI countered that West Flagler’s argument against state-sanctioned wagers is more appropriate for state courts. “West Flagler’s arguments for rehearing are strawmen, premised on its erroneous assertion that, by referencing the state-sanctioned wagers, the Compact — and the Secretary’s approval thereof — purport to unilaterally legalize the placement of those wagers and the State regime for regulating them. But, as West Flagler acknowledges, the panel held in no uncertain terms that the Compact does not do that.”

PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES IN THE SPACE INCLUDE: Accel Entertainment (ACEL), Bally’s (BALY), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Churchill Downs (CHDN), DraftKings (DKNG), Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), Gambling.com (GAMB), Gan Limited (GAN), Genius Sports (GENI), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn Entertainment (PENN), Rush Street Interactive (RSI), Super Group (SGHC) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).