Sports betting handle (turnover) in Nevada during October 2020 hit a state record of $660 million, which is 18% far from the national record of $803 in New Jersey sports betting handle for the same month.

On the same month Nevada’s sports betting revenue (GGR) counted for $42.4 million with a 6.4% hold, which is 28% far from $58.5 million of New Jersey’s sports betting revenue (GGR) with a 7.3% hold.

Nevada sports betting still lagging in mobile. Betting handle from mobile devices in Nevada during October accounted for 57.1% of total handle. New Jersey, on the other hand, saw 93% of handle wagered online during the same month.

American football remains the betting favourite by far in Nevada sportsbooks during October with $441 million in handle. In New Jersey American football is also the king, with around $280 million in handle during October, but with less weight in the total handle compared with Nevada.

Under the agreement, GSG and dMY shareholders will exchange their holdings for shares in the combined business, which will be traded Stock Exchange (NYSE). The ordinary shares of combined entity are set to trade on the NYSE under the symbols “GENI”. The consideration payable to existing shareholders of GSG will be a combination of cash and rollover equity in the new business.

Mark Locke, currently chief executive of GSG, will remain in the role for the joint business. dMY chairman Harry You and chief executive Niccolo de Masi will serve on the board of director for the combined entity.

Mark Locke, currently chief executive of GSG said: “GSG created the market for official data across all tiers of sports, helping fuel our sportsbook partners’ ever-increasing range of products. This transaction will help us continue to expand and strengthen our position as a nexus of the global sports, betting and media ecosystem.”

Niccolo de Masi, chief executive of dMY said: “Elemental data provider GSG benefits from the growth of all participants in the global sports betting market. Mark Locke has pioneered the provision of official rights and live data which have been instrumental in building the modern sports betting market. The company has a strong track record of growth and we are very excited by the opportunities for further expansion in this rapidly growing segment.”

The boards of both dMY and GSG have unanimously approved the transaction, but the deal still requires approval from dMY stockholders and is also subject to other customary closing conditions, including a minimum cash condition. Should the deal gain final approval, GSG and dMY expect to finalise the merger in the first quarter of 2021.

Last week, the first 15 operators received sports betting licenses for the German market in what was a watershed moment in a long process of regulation which began in 2012. BetVictor, GVC Holdings, Tipwin, Gauselmann Group and Novomatic were all among the list of those to confirm license approvals.

BetVictor currently already operates in 60 markets around the world, employing 550 people globally. The operator is licensed in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man.

Bild is one of Germany’s most popular newspapers with a reported daily reach of approximately 8 million readers and 67 per cent male readership, while its Bild.de news portal sees 200 million views per month.

Andreas Meinrad, chief executive of BetVictor said he is “extremely excited about teaming up with Bild to enter the newly regulated German sports betting market. I could have not envisioned a better partner nor a better team to work with to get this done”.

That is a new monthly record for both the state and the US sports betting market as a whole, topping the last month’s record set also by New Jersey by 12.1%. More than 90% of the wagers were made via mobile devices, with much of the betting concerning the recent US Open in golf, as well as the French Open in tennis.

But other sports were also important in reaching that all-time record, with Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL) all playing an integral role.

Once again, the Meadowlands and its two partners, FanDuel Sportsbook and PointsBet, took the top hold (GGR) with $28.2 million. More than $25 million of that amount of GGR came from online. Resorts Digital, partnered with DraftKings Sportsbook and FoxBet, was second with a hold of $4.8 million. BetMGM partner Borgata did $4.1 million in third place while Monmouth Park and partners William Hill, theScore Bet and PlaySugarHouse of Rush Street finished in fourth place with $3.5 million.

The landmark INSPIRE Athens IRC is expected to attract an influx of international tourists and provide a significant contribution to the pioneering Hellinikon Project that will redefine the modern identity of Greece.

Mario Kontomerkos, President and CEO of Mohegan Gaming and Entertainments said: “We are honored to have been chosen by the Hellenic Gaming Commission and believe that as the first Integrated Resort and Casino experience in Greece, INSPIRE Athens will further solidify the City of Athens as one of Europe’s most enticing and iconic destinations”.

With state-of-the-art meeting facilities that will reposition Athens as the preferred MICE destination, a multi-purpose indoor event space, and sprawling resort pools, INSPIRE Athens intends to marry world-class luxury hospitality and ceaseless entertainment in a way that is never before been seen in the south of Europe.

The iconic design of the building was created by Steelman Partners, an international architectural firm specialising in IRC design and development. Much of the resort was designed to capitalise on the Greek affinity for the outdoors where virtually all the resort’s restaurants, bars, lounges, and nightclubs offer both indoor and outdoor experiences.

At present there are two available licenses to apply for online games of chance and sports betting. Sports betting license will cost €3 million and online games of chance license will cost €2 million with. Each license will run for seven-year terms and have to pay 35% tax on their gross gaming revenue.

In August 2020, the Greek Minister of Economy signed the new online gaming law after being approved by the Greek parliament in October 2019 and submitted to TRIES for approval in December 2019.

Play is restricted to those aged 21 and above. The regulations also impose strict conditions for online casino, including a €2 maximum slot stake, with prizes capped at €5,000, and a €50,000 limit for jackpot games.

William Hill took $9.1 million in handle (turnover) for August and reported a hold (GGR) of $1.4 million, which means a high hold rate of 15.6%, according to DC Lottery Report.

Bettors wagered on Intralot’s GambetDC in August just $2.1 million and the hold (GGR) it was $278,141, which means a 13% rate hold, according to DC Lottery News Release.

The main reason of this lower performance of GambetDC mobile app, is because of its poorly priced lines. Bettors have no reason to place bets on games that have 36-cent (or more) lines through Intralot (e.g. U/O 1.72/1.72) instead of the traditional 20-cent lines from William Hill (e.g. U/O 1.90/1.90).

Intralot’s expensive odds are keeping big bettors off its platform and sending them to Downtown DC instead, placing bets on Capital One Arena retail sportsbook of William Hill. During the August, the average bet placed on Intralot’s platform it was $31.9 compare to $132.16 on William Hill retail sportsbook.

It took just one month for a retail operation sportsbook to prove price is worth the inconvenience of traveling to the sportsbook rather than paying extra on Intralot’s mobile app.

That $668 million is the highest monthly total most ever for any state. Nevada held the previous record of $614.1 million set on November 2019. Mobile betting accounted for 90.1% of total sports betting handle during August.

The top sports betting category was “other”, which includes all action from anything that isn’t baseball, basketball, football and parlays. Handle on completed events in the “other” category was $204.9 million for the month. The “other” handle also includes all bets on the NHL.

From sports, first on handle in August on completed events it was basketball with $166.2 million and second baseball with $150 million. Parlay bettors were happy to see major US sports return, too. Handle on those completed events was $144 million.

There is always a chance this record will not stand for long. With betting on NFL games back at sportsbooks, September could be even bigger from a handle perspective.

In connection with the transaction, Scientific Games is implementing a series of governance changes and enhancements, including refreshment of its Board of Directors and termination of the Stockholders Agreement with MacAndrews & Forbes, to reflect its new investor base and continue to position the Company for growth and value creation. Former Aristocrat Chief Executive Officer Jamie Odell, along with former Aristocrat Chief Financial Officer Toni Korsanos, will join the Scientific Games Board as Executive Chair and Executive Vice Chair, respectively. They will be joined on the Board by an additional independent non-executive director.

Barry Cottle, President and CEO of Scientific Games, said, “Scientific Games is well-positioned for future success given our industry-leading portfolio of products and technologies, loyal customer base and talented leadership team. We are pleased to have the support of our refreshed Board and new investor base as we continue to execute on our strategy to drive meaningful long-term growth and shareholder value creation.”

Caledonia owns a 10.4 per cent stake in Flutter Entertainment, the Irish gambling giant whose brands include Paddy Power and Sky Bet, according to its most recent regulatory filings.

The agreement brings together GiG’s proven platform technology with Betgenius’ end-to-end live data, trading and risk management services as a complete sportsbook. This includes official sports betting content from over 300 competitions including the English Premier League, Serie A and EuroLeague basketball.

The first customer for the new sportsbook solution is expected to be a major Latin American operator whose identity has not been disclosed, with the signing of a three-year agreement expected during the course of this month.

Jack Davison, chief commercial officer at Betgenius parent Genius Sports Group, commented: “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.”

Richard Brown, chief executive of GiG said: “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.”

The partnership will be fully operational by the end of September and will reduce GiG’s operating expenses within Sports Betting Services while significantly enhancing product and service offering combined with increased cost efficiencies and scalability.