Boston-based DraftKings is set to combine with Malta-based sports betting supplier SBTech, after entering an agreement through Los Angeles-based Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp.

Expected to close in the first half of 2020, the arrangement will see Diamond Eagle, Hollywood producer Jeff Sagansky and actor Eli Baker’s firm, change its name to DraftKings Inc., reincorporate in the US state of Nevada, and continue to be Nasdaq-listed – but under a new ticker symbol.

Apparently, $304 million in Class A common stock of the newly combined company has been committed to by institutional investors, including funds managed by Capital Research and Management Company, Wellington Management Company and Franklin Templeton.

The newly combined company is expected to have an equity market capitalisation of around $3.3 billion, with more than $500 million of unrestricted cash on its balance sheet.

Discussing the news CEO of DraftKings, Jason Robins, said:

“The combination of DraftKings’ leading and trusted brand, deep focus on customer experience and data science expertise and SBTech’s highly innovative and proven technology platform creates a vertically-integrated powerhouse.

“I look forward to building significantly upon our goals of continuing our state-by-state rollout and creating the most entertaining and engaging customer experiences for sports fans globally.”

While Chairman of SBTech, Gavin Isaacs, commented:

“The combination of DraftKings and SBTech brings together two tech-native companies with the customer at their cores.

“SBTech will maintain its core business and continue its B2B focus. We are excited about the opportunity to join a company with a similar innovation DNA and create a unique and differentiated player in global sports betting and online gaming.”

And, Founding Investor of Diamond Eagle, Harry E. Sloan, added:

“We are pleased to bring DraftKings and SBTech together as one public company.

“DraftKings is already a premier online fantasy sports and betting platform. With the full integration of SBTech’s technology and innovative product expertise coupled with the right capitalization, DraftKings will be in a great position to continue its ambitious expansion plans in the United States.”

On completion of the deal, Robins will continue to lead DraftKings as co-founder and CEO, and co-founders Paul Liberman and Matt Kalish will also retain management positions.

AYO.NEWS says:

We first reported on a possible deal between DraftKings and Diamond Eagle back in October (read more), when we speculated that the company was attempting to beef up its position in the fledgling US sports betting market ahead of the merger of Flutter Entertainment with The Stars Group. That merger will see DraftKing’s arch-rival FanDuel partnered with FoxBet, and the creation of a gaming superpower in the US, with a potential market capital of around $14.5 billion.

Though SBTech-Diamond Eagle deal still won’t give DraftKings the firepower to beat FanDuel, it will certainly put it a much stronger position going forward, further consolidating the market, and making it even tougher for smaller companies to get in on the emerging US sports betting and gaming markets.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Kindred Group brand Unibet has announced it will be sponsoring the European Handball Federation’s Euro 2020 Championships.

The Men’s EHF EURO 2020 is set to take place in Sweden, Austria and Norway from the 9^th – 26^th January, while the women’s tournament will be held in Denmark and Norway from 3^rd – 20^th December.

Commenting on the sponsorship Senior Vice President of Infront, Julien Ternisien, said:

“Kindred Group’s decision to expand their presence at the EHF EUROs speaks volumes about the impact its sponsorship had at the women’s event in 2018. In addition, the fact all eight packages have been sold for the men’s event highlights the value sponsors continue to put in men’s handball.”

While Global Head of Sponsorships at Kindred Group, Timothy Mastelinck, added:

“Handball is continuing to grow in popularity and as a result the opportunity to bet on the sport is gaining traction. We are driven by a passion for sportsmanship and fair play, values we share with the EHF so continuing this partnership was logical for us. We want to offer our customers an honest, transparent and safe gaming experience and ensure they are aware of their gaming behaviour so they can play responsibly.”

And, Secretary General of the European Handball Federation, Martin Hausleitner, commented:

“The fact that all eight sponsorship packages have been sold is great news and underlines the attractiveness of handball for companies as we are looking forward to staging the biggest EHF EURO to date next month. The Kindred Group’s commitment to also collaborate with a relevant NGO as part of their agreement shows that a valuable partner for the EHF EUROs in 2020 has been found.”

Staying with Kindred Group, just last week AYO.NEWS reported the Malta-based company has been confirmed as the first commercial community partner of the European Football Development Network (read more).

Betchoice, which Unibet acquired in 2012 and now trades as Unibet, has been found breaking the NSW Betting and Racing Act and hit with fines of AU$25,000 (€15,500) for violating gaming laws in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court handed out the penalty, following government agency Liquor & Gaming NSW’s investigation into Unibet’s promotions.

The penalty specifically relates to a Unibet website offer in February, which offered consumers the chance to “earn $50 cash for each friend you refer.” A separate advertisement, appearing on The Canberra Times website in November, also offered “deposit $20, win $100.”

Under the Australian state’s Betting and Racing Act, it is deemed an offence to publish adverts which attempt to induce customers into any form of gambling activity without the requirement to be logged into their respective account first.

The states’ new gaming laws mean betting operators found guilty of marketing using inducements to gamble can now face fines of up to $110,000 per offence, while company directors can now also be held personally liable.

Director of Compliance Operations, Sean Goodchild at Liquor & Gaming NSW, said:

“Betting operators have an obligation to ensure all advertising complies with NSW laws on gambling advertising. Inducements are known to increase the risk of gambling harm so any breaches are taken seriously.”

Recently Unibet’s parent company, Kindred Group, got fined €470,000 for offering online gaming to Dutch customers (read more). Though the company initially appealed against the fine, it has recently dropped it and agreed to pay up.

AYO.NEWS says:

Online gambling operators are getting hit with fines all over these days, and with all the new gambling and advertising regulations, it’s only going to get hard to remain compliant.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

British online gambling giant Bet365 has reported annual revenue of almost £3 billion for the 2018-19 fiscal year, ending 31^st March.

Bet365’s annual gaming revenue hit the £2.98 billion mark – a 10% year-on-year increase. The company’s operating profits were also up 12% to £767.1 million, and profits after tax jumped 16% to £681.7 million year-on-year.

Significantly, Bet365’s active customer base across all platforms rocketed by 23% year-on-year, while new customers contributed £64.5 billion to the company’s overall betting handle, a 22.7% jump year-on-year.

Notably, in-play betting contributed a staggering 79% of Bet365’s betting revenues, and mobile betting grew 18%.

AYO.NEWS says:

Well, we think its safe to say its been a pretty good fiscal year for Bet365! Of course, next year may present some challenges as the company, which has significant operations in Gibraltar, braces for Brexit (read more), but on the whole, with a new world of opportunity to exploit in the United States (read more), the future seems very bright!

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Inspired Entertainment, Inc. has entered a global distribution deal with Novomatic that will see its Virtual Sports integrated into the NovoPrime Sports betting platform.

The company says its platform, NovoPrime Sports, provides a leading array of sports betting products and services, and the new agreement will cover a wide range of Virtual Sports, including soccer, horseracing, greyhounds, motor racing, trotting, basketball and football.

Inspired says it will also be looking to introduce new content throughout the course of the agreement. In fact, as AYO.NEWS reported, the company recently partnered with the NFL Alumni to create a new Virtual Football game (read more), and Jaromir Jagr for Virtual Hockey.

Commenting on the deal Executive Chairman of Inspired, Lorne Weil, said:

“We have a great relationship with Novomatic and we are very excited to work with them on adding Virtual Sports to their NovoPrime Sports platform. This partnership has a great deal of potential for Inspired, bringing our Virtual Sports to new geographies, customer verticals and distribution channels. It is a win-win for everyone involved, especially the consumer.”

While Head of NovoPrime Sports, Alan Bruce, added:

“We are focused on developing the premiere global turnkey sports betting platform solution for retail and online and Virtual Sports perfectly round out our portfolio of offerings.

“The ultra-realistic graphics of Inspired’s Virtuals provide a higher frequency complement to real sports betting. We are particularly excited for consumers to experience their groundbreaking new Virtual Basketball game, which will help our customers create continual streams of betting content.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Virtual Sports Betting is rapidly gaining a significant foothold in the world of sports betting, being ideal for younger generations of bettors who have grown-up in an on-demand culture and are more at east with the virtual world.

As technology advances we expect Virtual Sports Betting will incorporate things like Virtual Reality and in-game advertising, taking things to an entirely different level of commercial importance.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Pennsylvania’s lifetime sports betting handle hit $1 billion as the state’s sportsbooks celebrated the industry’s first birthday last month.

According to figures from PlayPennsylvania.com, FanDuel still dominates the growing sports betting scene in the state, despite stiff competition from the recently launched online offerings of DraftKings and Unibet (read more).

Reflecting on the first year of sports betting in Pennsylvania, analyst Dustin Gouker said:

“Pennsylvania has come a long way in a year. Plagued with relatively high gaming taxes and early hurdles to its online launch, Pennsylvania’s future as a legal sport betting jurisdiction was murky at the beginning. But despite the issues in its infancy, the state has proven to be attractive for operators and the market is truly beginning to flourish.”

According to official data, in November Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks accepted $316.5 million in wagers, a significant 31.2% increased on October’s $241.2 million (read more). Those wagers generated $20.6 million in revenue, up slightly from October’s $19.1 million, and yielded $3.9 million in taxes for the state.

Putting things in perspective, back in November 2018, Pennsylvania’s first, and at the time only sportsbook, at the Hollywood Casino, generated $1.4 million in bets and $508,997 in gross revenue. Since then the state has grown to become the third-largest legal sports betting jurisdiction in the United States, after Nevada and neighbouring New Jersey (which accepted $562.2m in bets in November).

The state’s betting fortunes were boosted greatly in summer 2019, with the launch of online betting, and more operators have since entered the market, bringing the total to seven. Unsurprisingly, online sports betting is now dominating the market, generating 84.3% of the state’s November handle.

Commenting on this Gouker added:

“Online sports betting has unquestionably been the key driver of the state’s growth. Not only has online betting grown to account for an overwhelming majority of the state’s handle, but it has also helped spur growth among retail sportsbooks. That is a pattern that we saw in New Jersey, too.”

For more information on the revenue generated by Pennsylvania sports betting, visit https://www.playpennsylvania.com/revenue/.

Staying with US sports betting, don’t miss WHY THESE TWO SPORTSBOOKS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE US MARKET.