Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) and Betgenius have announced a strategic partnership. 

The agreement will see Betgenius’ end-to-end live data, trading, and risk management services integrated with GiG’s platform technology to create a fully-integrated sportsbook and platform solution, featuring betting content from over 300 competitions including the English Premier League, Serie A, and EuroLeague basketball. 

Under the partnership, Betgenius will take care of the day-to-day sportsbook management operations, while GiG will be responsible for the technical architecture and front-end development.

Discussing the partnership Chief Commercial Officer at Genius Sports Group, partner company of Betgenius, Jack Davison, said:

“The Betgenius-GiG partnership is highly complementary for a number of reasons. Not only do our technologies and specialist services dovetail perfectly to create a complete sportsbook platform solution, our values as highly compliant businesses who operate in a responsible way are very much aligned. We’re excited to work together.”

While CEO of GiG, Richard Brown, added:

“Betgenius is a market leader within sports data as well as having a first-class risk and trading management solution, and I am delighted that they have chosen GiG as their partner to create a sportsbook and platform solution. 

“Combined we will offer a highly competitive offering to the market, already proven by the signing of a Heads of Terms with a major operator. The partnership will also further improve operational efficiency within our Sports segment.”

According to GiG, the partnership is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of September, and is expected to reduce the company’s operating expenses within Sports Betting Services, while significantly enhancing product and service offering combined with increased cost efficiencies and scalability. 

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The biggest ever virtual event for the betting & gaming industry kicks off on 8 September with a stellar line-up of speakers, as top executives from DraftKings, Sportradar, GVC, Paddy Power, Parimatch, Coingaming, Pinnacle and Stanleybet share their insights with the SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital audience. 

Day one of the online conference and exhibition opens and closes with unmissable exclusive interviews. The CEOs of Sportradar and DraftKings get things underway with In Conversation: Carsten Koerl & Jason Robins on the Future of Sports Betting, while the day’s proceedings will draw to a close with former William Hill CEO Ralph Topping sharing stories about his hugely successful career in the industry. 

In between those sessions, there are two full conference tracks – Sports Betting in Focus sponsored by Betradar and Payment Expert sponsored by Neosurf.

Sports Betting in Focus will examine topics including creativity in market making, esports, the omnichannel model, sports integrity, and contingency planning for a further shutdown of sporting action. 

The speakers offering the benefit of their experience and ideas include Niels Erik Folmann (CEO, Danske Spil), Nicklas Zajdel (Group COO, Fortuna Entertainment Group), Jamie McKittrick (Group Head of Commercial, GVC), Joe Lee (Head of GB&I – Sportsbook Trading, Paddy Power), and Matt Scarrott (Director of Sportsbook, BetVictor).    

The track also features a CEO Panel, which will see BetFirst’s Alexis Murphy, Pinnacle’s

Paris Smith, Stanleybet’s Giovanni Garrisi and MaxBet’s Minja Bolesnikov debate how the industry can improve its reputation. 

A similarly high-level speaker roster will participate in the Payment Expert track, which is set to address issues such as compliance, biometric verification, cross-border B2B payments, and alternative payment methods. 

Tim Heath (CEO & Founder, Coingaming), Lior Segal (Director of Payments, The Stars Group), Ievgeniia Derbal (Chief Legal Officer, Parimatch), Andy Wright (EGM Wagering, Tabcorp) and Lee Terfloth (VP of Online Gaming Product, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) are among the experts taking part. 

Rasmus Sojmark, Founder & CEO of the event’s organiser SBC, said:

“The depth and quality of the day one speaker line-up is absolutely outstanding, so our audience can look forward to learning from in-depth evaluations of crucial issues and picking up some useful ideas about the future of the industry. 

“The high standard of the speakers is maintained throughout all four days of the event, with more than 275 senior executives and specialists set to participate. We’ve made sure everyone in the betting & gaming industry can benefit from the speakers’ expertise, as the whole event is free to attend and straightforward to access.” 

In addition to conference sessions, delegates can look forward to presentations from SG Digital, Stats Perform, Miracl and Community Payments, along with the In-Play Football Modelling workshop hosted by Sportsbook Training Services. 

There will be some fantastic opportunities to make new contacts during the Blockchain for Gambling 101 Power Hour hosted by CalvinAyre.com and the US market networking session. Delegates will also have the chance to connect with leading suppliers and explore their latest innovations in the interactive product display areas. 

SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital takes place over four days this week (8 – 11 September) and features four main zones – Sports Betting, Casino & Gaming, Payments & Compliance, and Affiliate & Marketing – each of which have their own conference tracks, networking roundtables and interactive expo halls. 

Click here to secure your free pass for the betting & gaming industry’s largest ever virtual event. 

US sports betting and iGaming supplier Bet.Works has used its sportsbook platform tech to power the Colorado launch of theScore.Bet. 

Operated by Score Digital Sports Ventures Inc, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Score Media and Gaming Inc.), theScore.Bet is now live and accepting wagers in Colorado as part of its multi-state roll-out.

Commenting on the news Bet.Works Chief Executive Officer, David Wang, said:

“theScore and Bet.Works have achieved another major milestone with this launch, which leverages our cutting-edge sportsbook technology in Colorado. John Levy’s vision of fusing sports media with betting creates a truly differentiated experience for sports fans and sets theScore apart from its competitors. Bet.Works looks forward to supporting theScore as they continue to grow their presence as a leader in North American sports media and gaming.”

While Founder and CEO of theScore, John Levy, added:

“We’re thrilled to launch theScore Bet in Colorado, bringing our unique and best-in-class sportsbook experience to a state with such a rich sports history and passionate fanbase. We thank David and his team for continuing to deliver the first-class sports betting technology that powers our gaming offering.”

Bet.Works has been the sportsbook technology platform for theScore.Bet since 2018, when it announced its intention to enter the regulated US sports betting market. As part of the solution, Bet.Works provides a arane of resources, including a customer service call centre, compliance support, risk and trading services, and a scalable architecture with a full suite of API’s. 

The Colorado launch of theScore.Bet mobile sports betting is being made possible through an agreement with a subsidiary of US gaming operator Jacobs Entertainment Inc. Pending regulatory approval, Indiana should be the next state to see theScore.Bet launch, under its multi-state market access framework agreement with Penn National Gaming. 

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The sports betting industry has been advised to prepare for the biggest virtual gambling event in history next week – SBC Summit Barcelona – Digital.

SBC’s Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark is encouraging everyone to plan their week very carefully, otherwise they risk missing some of the expert insight that will be shared over the course of the week. 

He said: “We have almost 300 speakers sharing their ideas, 50 of which are CEOs, covering all aspects of the industry – sports betting, casino gaming, marketing and affiliation, and compliance. 

“Not only that but we are able to do this free of charge and deliver directly to your desktop. This must be the best value that the industry will ever have for the quality and depth of content on offer next week.”

Among the many highlights are:

• In Conversation with DraftKings Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Jason Robins and Sportradar Founder & CEO Carsten Koerl
  
• Former William Hill CEO Ralph Topping on his life in the industry

• Tim Heath, Coingaming CEO, on how his firm has embraced the latest technology to carve out market share

• CEOs including StanleyBet’s Giovanni Garrisi, Pinnacle’s Paris Smith, MaxBet’s Minja Bolesnikov, BetFirst’s Alexis Murphy, Danske Spil’s Niels Erik Folmann, Fitzdares’ William Woodhams, Apuesta Total’s Gonzalo Pérez, Betcris’ JD Duarte

• Oddschecker Global Media CEO Toby Bentall on a panel with KaFe Rocks CEO Simon Pilkington, and Marcos Oliveira of Clever Advertising Group – moderated by Lee-Ann Johnstone, CEO of AffiliateINSIDER

• A dedicated CTO panel with representatives from Parimatch, Genesis Global, Kaizen Gaming and Stanleybet

• A Casino Global Outlook Panel featuring: Pontus Lindwall (CEO, Betsson AB), Tim de Borle (COO, Napoleon Sports & Casino), Avigail Nir (COO, Mansion Casino) and Eric Olders (CEO, JVH Gaming)

• 50 local experts discussing which territories offer the best long-term opportunities for ambitious operators, with in-depth evaluations of the markets in Africa, Asia, Australia, the CIS, India, Latin America, and North America

• A full Safer Gambling track, with experts from GVC, PAF, Kindred Group, Genting and Sky Betting & Gaming working to identify solutions to the industry’s most complex problem

• A dedicated Payment & Compliance track, featuring Lior Segal (Director of Payments, The Stars Group), Isabelle Delisle (Global Head of Payment Solutions, Pinnacle), Lee Terfloth (VP of Online Gaming Product, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino) and Ievgeniia Derbal (Chief Legal Officer, Parimatch)

The full agenda features sessions that cover markets on six continents, together with verticals including sports betting, esports, online casino, slots, live casino and lottery.  The crucial issues in those sectors will be examined from a variety of perspectives such as business planning, trading, product development, technological innovation, regulation and compliance, marketing, and investment.

Providing insights and ideas on all these topics is a speaker roster that includes senior staff from more than 75 different international operators, along with specialists from internet giants such as Google and Twitter, super affiliates, major suppliers, safer gambling charities, banks, law firms and trade associations. 

In addition to the unmissable conference content, delegates can also look forward to a programme of skills workshops and themed networking roundtables, together with an interactive expo showcasing the next generation of sportsbook, casino and payments products.

Click here to secure your free pass for the betting & gaming industry’s largest ever virtual event. 

FanDuel has launched its online and mobile sportsbook in Iowa, and PointsBet is set to launch its offering in Illinois. 

FanDuel’s online offering goes live in Iowa

Iowans wanting to use FanDuel’s online and mobile offering, which has been launched in partnership with Boyd Gaming, will first have to visit one of FanDuel’s land-based sportsbooks at the Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque or Northwood to register in-person. This requirement is set to be lifted on 1 January 2021. 

Flutter Entertainment-owned FanDuel’s online and mobile sportsbook is now available in seven US states. 

PointsBet gears up for Illinois launch

Meanwhile, the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has given the green light for PointsBet to launch mobile sports betting in partnership with Hawthorne Race Course, ahead of the National Football League (NFL) season. Illinois will become the 4th US state market for PointsBet.

In August, PointsBet announced a major five-year media partnership with NBC Universal, in a deal worth close to $400m USD. As official sports betting partner of NBC Sports in the US, PointsBet will gain access to over 184 million viewers, and to nearly 60 million monthly active users across digital assets. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While this is good news for FanDuel, the fact that Iowa is still requiring in-person registration until next year, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, seems insane. 

Such requirements basically defeat the point of mobile and online betting, especially in a state as vast as Iowa, where people may be required to travel for many hours to register in-person. 

As we reported earlier this week, even tiny Rhode Island, America’s smallest state, saw sports betting explode when the in-person registration requirement was dropped. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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South African horse racing betting operator Phumelela has rejected an acquisition offer by British bookies Betfred. 

As we reported last week, Betfred had made an offer worth up to ZAR925m ($54.8m) for Phumelela. It had also offered to provide a loan of up to ZAR650m to help the South African company clear its debts, and promised to protect all jobs and keep all of Phumelela’s assets together. 

However, Phumelela’s creditors have instead decided to opt for the original rescue deal from Mary Oppenheimer Daughters (MOD) – one of the company’s biggest creditors – despite the option being worth less, with creditors only guaranteed to recover a minimum of 72%, compared to the 100% under the Betfred proposal. 

AYO.NEWS says:

On the surface Betfred’s proposal clearly looked better, but we suppose MOD already being one of the company’s biggest creditors had a lot to do with the decision. However, with the COVID-19 crisis dragging on, and the very real threat of further sustained disruption to sports betting over the next few years, Betfred may well end up breathing a sigh of relief on this one! 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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