Golden Nugget Danville Hotel Possible, Sportsbook Prospects Murky

The Golden Nugget Danville Casino opened in May 2023 and by all accounts, the venue has been a success. So much so that the operator is mulling the addition of a hotel in the future, but the outlook for a retail sportsbook is more dim.

The Golden Nugget in Danville, Ill. Adding a hotel is possibility in the future, but the outlook for a sportsbook is dim. (Image: WCIA.com)

At an event earlier this week celebrating the venue’s first anniversary in the Illinois town, General Manager Jahnae Erpenbach reiterated that a hotel is still part of the long-term plans for the venue, but evaluating demand is critical when it comes to deciding when to make large-scale additions to the property, which is one of the newest casinos in the state.

We need to make sure we balance the demand in our ability to do that,” she said at the event.

The casino is a joint venture between the Wilmot family and Tilman Fertitta, whose Fertitta Entertainment Inc. (FEI) controls the Golden Nugget brand.

Strong Start for Golden Nugget Danville Without Hotel

Casinos and hotels are often joined at the hip, but there are dozens of examples of gaming venues across the US that don’t feature guestrooms. That’s often the result of market factors, including population and the ability of the surrounding region to attract conventions and tourists.

Even without a hotel, Golden Nugget Danville is off to a strong start. At the event earlier this week, President Jimmy Wilmot highlighted the venue’s contributions to city coffers. He said that since the casino opened, it’s paid Danville $2.8 billion in gaming taxes, $350,000 in property taxes, $402,000 in sales taxes and another $45,000 in food and beverage levies. Since its debut, the casino paid $5.6 million in taxes to the state of Illinois and has purchased $420,000 worth of products from Danville businesses.

Those are financial boons for Danville, which was banking on the gaming venue to lift it out of a public pension liability mess. Wilmot added that about half the visitors to Golden Nugget Danville since doors opened hailed from outside of Illinois.

That’s important because the property could face competitive pressure from Churchill Downs’ Terre Haute Casino Resort in Indiana, which is about an hour’s drive southeast of the Golden Nugget. Erpenbach acknowledged there was some impact to the Golden Nugget when Churchill opened the Indiana casino hotel in April, but that property won’t disrupt long-term plans in Danville.

Sportsbook Off Table Over Near-Term

Erpenbach added that the hope is Golden Nugget Danville will eventually have a retail sportsbook, but that appears unlikely over the near- to medium-term because DraftKings already has a land-based presence in Illinois and would be required to shell out another $10 million for a license to run a sportsbook at Golden Nugget Danville.

With the gaming company grappling with higher taxes in the state, that licensing fee isn’t economical, particularly when accounting for the fact that in Illinois, like the rest of the US, the bulk of sports wagers are placed online, not in person.

DraftKings and Golden Nugget have a relationship by way of the former’s 2022 acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG), which made Fertitta one of the largest shareholders in the online sportsbook operator.

 

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BetConstruct Awarded Best Online Sportsbook Provider at SiGMA Africa Awards 2024

SiGMA Africa Awards 2024, one of the most prestigious awards in the industry, is over, and several companies won the awards. Among them is BetConstruct, one of the leading providers in the industry, which has been awarded the Best Online Sportsbook Provider.

Globally recognized provider

betconstruct_secures_prestigious_best_online_sportsbook_provider_award_at_sigma_africa2024BetConstruct became famous for its efforts to deliver an exceptional sports betting experience to all its fans all over the world, and this award means it has been recognized by the industry’s experts.

The event saw a range of companies, both the ones with a lot of experience in the industry and beginners with a lot of potential. All of them have one thing in common: they were recognized for producing unique content and pushing the boundaries of gambling, contributing to improving the global gaming market.

BetConstruct is one of the leading innovators in the gaming industry. Its focus lies in providing its customers with unparalleled gaming experiences and creating unique solutions. The provider’s portfolio consists of modern sports betting and gaming products that are available across the whole global market. The company focuses on providing both customers and partners with exceptional experience, strengthening its position as an industry leader.

The Best Online Sportsbook Provider award represents the company’s dedication to delivering unique and advanced offerings to the market, but it’s also a sign that BetConstruct promises a lot of new, thrilling solutions that will shape the future of the global gaming market.

BetConstruct has been present on the market for more than 20 years, and in that period, it achieved huge success. Its offering includes both online and retail products, such as sportsbooks, classic casino games, live casino products, poker, skill games, an advanced social gaming platform, as well as sports data solutions. All of them are managed through SpringBME, a business management tool that enables secure and smooth operations.

The company is owned by SoftConstruct, one of the leaders in the global IT industry.

Prestigious award

Apart from BetConstruct, the companies that were awarded at SiGMA Africa 2024 are Sumsub, Smartx, Wa Technology, Digitain, Hollywood Bets, Hea, GR8 Tech, Kiron, WeWire, SA Gaming, Payler, Bitville, Bmit, Fast Track, 1xBet, SoftGamings, Softswiss, SEO Brothers, Rival, MarketCall, FinRax, and PayBrokers. The award was established by SiGMA Group, founded by Eman Pulis back in 2014. Its main mission is to research all topics in the industry and inform the public about them. Currently, the company has four ventures: SiGMA Events, SiGMA Play, Venture Capital, and SiGMA Foundation.

Source: Narayan, Niji. “BetConstruct Secures Prestigious Best Online Sportsbook Provider Award at SiGMA Africa 2024”. European Gaming. March 19, 2024.

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LeoVegas Ordered to Withdraw Radio Advert for BetUK Sportsbook

leovegas_ordered_to_withdraw_irresponsible_betuk_radio_advertLeoVegas, the international operator of online casinos and sports betting websites, has been ordered by the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority to withdraw one of its radio advertisements for BetUK, an online sports betting brand.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the respective advert was “irresponsible” and that it could appeal to children. The advert aired in September 2023 and it featured Adebayo Akinfenwa, a retired football player, who spoke about his role as a brand ambassador for BetUK.

However, in the advert in question Akinfenwa encouraged players to gamble responsibly and also made them aware of the various safer gambling tools available on BetUK, including deposit limits, the possibility of setting time-outs and scheduling reality checks.

The Advertising Standards Authority received just one complaint regarding the advertisement’s possible appeal to children. The respective complaint underlined that the presence of a former football player in the advert could present a strong appeal to children and that would put the advert in breach of the BCAP Code.

LeoVegas Rejects Complaint

The online casino and sports betting operator responded to the complaint by saying that it doesn’t believe the advert appeals to children. LeoVegas and BetUK underlined that Adebayo Akinfenwa is now aged 41 and has retired from football for some time, so it is quite unlikely that he is popular with today’s children.

Moreover, LeoVegas and BetUK pointed out that Akinfenwa was not a huge football star back in the day, he spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football and not in the Premier League. That makes any potential for appeal to children even lower.

Adebayo Akinfenwa does have a clothing range which made him known outside of the world of football but BetUK underlined that it does not include any products for children, so there shouldn’t be any problem there either.

When looking at the social media accounts associated with Akinfenwa, BetUK pointed out that just 8 percent of his total followers on Instagram were under the age of 18, while on Snapchat the percentage went up to 18 percent.

The sports betting operator also underlined that the advert did not feature any content that would normally be associated with children or a childish tone. Moreover, it was played during a radio show that is targeting an adult audience. Radiocentre, the commercial body for United Kingdom radio stations, decided to support BetUK in this case.

Despite the response, the Advertising Standards Authority decided to uphold the complaint because it was found in breach of the BCAP Code, which states that adverts for gambling products must not be likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons.

Source: “LeoVegas ordered to withdraw “irresponsible” BetUK radio advert“. iGaming Business. March 13, 2024.

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ESPN Bet Rapidly Outperforming Barstool Sportsbook

Penn Entertainment’s (NASDAQ: PENN) ESPN Bet mobile sports wagering application has been live for about two months and in that brief period, state-level data indicate the app is outperforming predecessor Barstool Sportsbook.

ESPN Bet Penn Entertainment sports betting
The ESPN Bet logo. The new sports betting app is generating more revenue for Penn Entertainment than predecessor Barstool Sportsbook. (Image: ESPN Bet)

The app debuted in 17 states on November 14 on while not all of those states have delivered November data let alone reports for December, the early indications from some states confirm ESPN Bet is generating more revenue than Barstool Sportsbook.

Out of the gates, ESPN Bet garnered a double-digit share of gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Indiana, Iowa, and Maryland. Last month in Maryland, ESPN Bet’s handle was $42.4 million, more than double the $16.4 million notched by Barstool Sportsbook a year earlier. In Iowa, ESPN Bet’s December handle was $18.8, well ahead of the $7.2 million generated by the predecessor app in December 2022.

Impressively in Maryland, ESPN jumped to third in terms of market share last month, trailing only FanDuel and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).

Promotional Spending Helping ESPN Bet

When new operators enter the ultra-competitive US sports wagering space, the typical concern is that those firms will spend heavily on promotions to lure new clients, but prove ineffective at retaining bettors when the bonuses wear off.

Indeed, Penn has doled out attractive promotions since launching ESPN Bet, but Bank of America analyst Shaun Kelley recently noted that the operator’s promo spending in Kansas, Kentucky, and Maryland was tolerable. Jefferies analyst James Wheatcroft pointed out the operator’s current bonus offer for new clients is $150, down from the original offer of $250.

Spending effectively is critical for Penn because the regional casino operator is paying ESPN $2 billion in cash and stock over 10 years to use the sports network’s brand.

Penn estimates the relationship with “the worldwide leader in sports” could add $500 million to $1 billion in long-term, adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to its interactive gaming unit. Still, ESPN Bet is expected to generate a loss of at least $100 million this year, indicating 2025 will be the earliest at which the app turns profitable.

ESPN Bet Having Overall Positive Impact on Market

The emergence of ESPN Bet and Penn’s willingness to spend to attract clients is being felt across the industry as highlighted by some elevated promo spending activity.

Unsurprisingly, industry-wide promotional reinvestment accelerated in November, largely due to the mid-month launch of ESPN Bet,” observed Stifel analyst Jeffrey Stantial. “However, we also observe modestly higher spend for certain well-established incumbents (in particular DraftKings), as well as continued above industry-average reinvestment for Fanatics & bet365.”

Some data points seem to suggest that ESPN Bet may have pilfered market share from BetMGM and DraftKings immediately following its November debut, but DraftKings noted its customer churn that month was normal and that it believes ESPN Bet has the potential to grow the market of US sports bettors, which would be a positive for the industry at large.

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Fanatics Sportsbook Bows in Connecticut After Reaching Lottery Partnership

The Fanatics Sportsbook went live in-person and online in Connecticut on Tuesday, less than two weeks after the sports betting operator struck a deal for market entry.

Fanatics Sportsbook Connecticut sports betting
Fanatics Sportsbooks are opening in Connecticut at 10 retail locations and online. Fanatics gained entry into the state through a partnership with the Connecticut Lottery. (Image: Fanatics Betting and Gaming)

Fanatics Betting and Gaming is a subsidiary of Fanatics Holdings, Inc. Earlier this month, the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) chose Fanatics as its new sports betting partner after Rush Street Interactive folded on the agreement in March.

A Fanatics spokesperson told Casino.org that Tuesday’s debut is a soft launch. Only the first 2,000 customers who download the Fanatics Sportsbook app in Connecticut and register an account will be accepted. Assuming there are no technical or regulatory glitches, the online sportsbook will open to more bettors on Monday, December 18.

Fanatics is additionally now the retail sportsbook partner of the CLC and is taking bets in person at 10 locations across the state, including at the XL Center in Hartford. Fanatics Sportsbooks are also located in Shelton, Stamford, Windsor Locks, Manchester, New Haven, New Britain, Milford, and Waterbury. Fanatics is working to open a sportsbook in Bridgeport at Total Mortgage Arena.

Connecticut marks the ninth state entry for the Fanatics Sportsbook.

Lottery Sportsbook

Connecticut expanded gaming in 2021 when Gov. Ned Lamont (D) reworked the state’s two Class III gaming compacts with its tribal partners. The revenue-sharing arrangements were amended to allow the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which respectively own and operate Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, to conduct iGaming and both retail and online sports betting.

In exchange for the expanded gaming, the tribes agreed to partially cede control of its gaming monopoly by allowing the Connecticut Lottery to venture into sports betting. The CLC can operate online and retail sports betting, but not online slot machines and table games, as the tribes can.

The CLC picked Rush Street Interactive as its sportsbook partner in August 2021. The interactive gaming unit of Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming pledged to direct at least $170 million to the Connecticut Lottery during the 10-year agreement.

Rush greatly over-projected the market and fell far short of coming anywhere near its $17 million a year tax pledge. Per revenue reports from the Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection, Rush Street’s SugarHouse Sportsbook has contributed roughly an average of $300K a month to the state from its online and retail wagering operations.

Rush terminated its CLC agreement, and though a separation fee is presumed, the amount wasn’t publicly disclosed. Fanatics’ agreement with the CLC also has not been made available.

Connecticut taxes sports betting revenue at 13.75%.

Staunch Competition

Fanatics in Connecticut is going up against two industry leaders in DraftKings and FanDuel. Mohegan is partnered with FanDuel and Foxwoods with DraftKings for their iGaming and sports betting operations.

FanDuel is the state sports betting leader. In October, FanDuel’s 13.75% tax on its online sportsbook win amounted to a little more than $1 million. DraftKings paid the state more than $866K. The Connecticut Lottery’s online sportsbook tax totaled $152,600.

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin isn’t shunning away from the DraftKings and FanDuel-dominated market. The billionaire says it’s his mission to make Fanatics one of the largest sportsbooks in the country.

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