News September 2024
Public vote on sports betting in Missouri Legislation
Te Missouri secretary of state has green-lit a public vote in November on whether to introduce sports betting statewide in a move that would allow Missouri’s 13 casinos and six professional sports teams to offer onsite and mobile sports betting. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has issued a ‘certificate of sufficiency’ allowing sports betting to be included on the November 5 ballot. Onetime costs are estimated at $660,000, ongoing annual costs of at least $5.2m, and initial licence fee revenue of $11.75m. Because the proposal allows for deductions against sports gaming revenues, tax revenue estimates range from $0 to $28.9m annually.
DraftKings forced into U-turn Sports Betting
DraftKings has made a dramatic U-turn on its decision to introduce a surcharge on winning bets in four high-tax US states, after rival sportsbooks FanDuel and BetRivers refused to follow suit. DraftKings had proposed the surcharge for the states of New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Vermont starting in January 2025 to offset tax rates, which had been increased to 20 per cent in these states. Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment,
who owns FanDuel, had earlier said: “We think that moderating levels of generosity or reducing local marketing is the best customer option. We have no plans to introduce a surcharge for winners. Most states have taken a sensible approach to date. I think it [higher tax rates] will drive customers to offshore operators or potentially onshore operators who are offering unregulated, untaxed prop parlays under the guise of sweepstake. In a similar vein, Richard Schwartz, CEO of
Rush Street, owners of BetRivers, had commented: “As we put our customers first, it
Belgian casinos enjoy stellar year Operator News
Belgium's gaming revenue reached €1.7bn in 2023, up from €1.45bn the previous year, with casinos up an impressive 18 per cent to €594.92m. For the fourth consecutive year, online gaming outperformed land-based gaming, accounting for 55.8 per at €758m. Visitation to casinos is increasing with
Belgium's nine gaming floors attracting 1.35m, up 17.9 per cent. 23.5 per cent of the total casino spend, amounting to €139.9m, was generated in local casinos, compared to 76.5 per cent online. With the exception of Blankenberge, all Belgian
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was an easy decision for us. RSI remains committed to maintaining its leadership position in the industry by continuously prioritising the needs and preferences of its players.” It hasn’t been a great few weeks for the daily
fantasy and sports betting company, who abruptly shut down a programme called Reignmakers on July 30th after posting a notice on its website and associated app and sending out an email blast to a subset of its user base. Reignmakers, which the company launched in 2021, offered pay-to-play contests in NFL football, PGA Tour golf, and UFC mixed martial arts. Te decision to wipe the entire programme, says DraftKings, was not made lightly, but was forced "due to recent legal developments.” Te company was sued in U.S. District Court
last year by a Reignmakers player who accused the company of dealing in unregistered securities, of taking advantage of relatively unsophisticated "retail investors," and of failing to market and support Reignmakers to the degree necessary to return to its users the expected financial benefits.
casinos saw their land-based GRP increase in 2023. Te Blankenberge casino is operated under the Unibet brand, which belongs to the Kindred group, listed in Stockholm, and on which the FDJ has launched a takeover bid at the start of the year.
As reported by Journal des Casinos, the top
earning casino remained Viage casino in Brussels with a GGR of €52.5m, up 5.53 per cent. Te Middelkerke casino, operated by the Partouche group, and which recently returned to its coastal location saw the greatest increase up by 62.9 per cent with GGR of €5.4m. Behind Brussels, the casino Namur operated by Circus came in second place with GGR of €22.5m.
Aviator wins $330m trademark claim Legislation
Te Court of First Instance in Georgia has ruled in favour of Aviator’s copyright and trademark infringement claim against Spribe and Adjarabet, the country's largest online casino owned by Flutter Entertainment. Te court ruling found copyright and trademark infringement and invalidated trademark registrations based on bad faith registration and copyright infringement, awarding the claimant damages in the amount of $330m. Aviator owns several trademark registrations for
the graphic logo “Aviator” for gambling services including online and physical casino services and gambling. Te image and brand name “Aviator” has been used by Spribe OÜ in its flagship game which was offered by Adjarabet in Georgia. “We are pleased with the outcome of the court’s
ruling on this claim, and we will continue to aggressively protect our client’s intellectual property from unlicensed use on any international gaming platforms,” said Nikoloz Gogilidze, Managing Partner of the law firm which which represents Aviator.
bet365 sponsors the Champions League Sports Betting
bet365 has signed an historic sponsorship agreement to become the first official sports betting partner of the UEFA Champions League. Te three-year global partnership, which covers sponsorship of the men’s competition beginning from the 2024/25 season through to 2026/27, includes brand exposure on in- game perimeter LED boards, media backdrops and UEFA Champions League digital channels. Te partnership provides a opportunity for bet365
to unlock access to elite European club football on a global scale with a range of immersive activations, including a free-to-enter ballot to give away thousands of tickets to fans in select countries.
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