Author: Brett Smiley

DraftKings CEO Robins Reveals Sports Betting Already Crushing For Company Overall

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

The numbers are beginning to show that DraftKings’ metamorphosis from a daily fantasy sports operator to sportsbook-first company is moving at Ludicrous Speed. The DFS aspect of the company isn’t going anywhere, but the revenue and obviously growth potential in the U.S. is in legal sports betting.

At the ICE Sports Betting USA conference in Manhattan on Wednesday, DraftKings Co-Founder and CEO Jason Robins told Darren Rovell (who himself switched jerseys from ESPN to Action Network mid-conference) that 20 percent of the company’s business is currently being generated through sports betting. In New Jersey, where the DraftKings Sportsbook was first to market in the state in August, Robins said sports betting represents 80 percent of the company’s revenue.

In other words, the sports betting revenue being generated in just one state*, roughly four months post-launch, is currently accounting for 20 percent of the company’s overall revenue coming nationwide via daily fantasy sports contests.

DraftKings Sportsbook Already Driving 20 Percent of Company’s Revenue; Full Speed Ahead For Familiar Players As Expansion Continues

 

 

Read more DraftKings CEO Robins Reveals Sports Betting Already Crushing For Company Overall on SportsHandle.

Get a Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: More Things Keep Happening, Everywhere

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad).

Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories, and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.

Top happenings and developments this week:

Keepin’ it brief this week because you people are either unplugged this weekend, shopping, avoiding shopping,  watching college football, de-fatting from Thanksgiving, or some combination.

1) After some stops, starts, testing and unrealized projections, sports betting is finally set to launch in Rhode Island on Monday at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln.

2) This week in Virginia, home to zero casinos and a few racetracks, emerged a bill pre-filed for 2019 that would grant the state lottery authority to licenses up to five sportsbooks (and itself). The lottery would have regulatory authority and would have to decide how it’ll work. In other words, whether to permit online-only operators and/or allow them to establish a brick-and-mortar presence as well. Very early stages here but we didn’t expect Virginia to enter the conversation heading  in 2019.

3) The Mississippi Gaming Commission released the October revenue report his week and while the betting handle was static at about $32.8 million, the hold dropped to just 3.59 percent as the Gulf Coast casinos got hammered on football, losing a combined $600,000.

4) Last Friday DraftKings opened a brick-and-mortar sportsbook in Mississippi (near Biloxi), and this week, on Tuesday, it opened its second U.S. physical sportsbook, at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. The leader so far in New Jersey’s online sportsbook handle and revenue, DraftKings had been working on the project with Resorts (quietly) for at least a couple months. One interesting footnote: The small, Resorts-branded, SB Tech-run book that opened in the summer closed up shop, coinciding with the launch of the DK book.

5) Like Mississippi, Delaware’s October handle dipped a bit, too. Perhaps they should both consider regulations allowing patrons to make wagers via mobile devices/online, not exclusively on premises.

 

Read more Get a Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: More Things Keep Happening, Everywhere on SportsHandle.

‘Pro Football Handle’: NFL Week 12 Breakdown, Thanksgiving, Steelers-Broncos and More

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

On The Pro Football Handle, brought to you by PropSwap.com, Las Vegas-based sports talk voice Matt Perrault and veteran bookmaker Robert Walker of USBookmaking dive into select NFL games, line movements and bookmaker liabilities, plus greater sports betting topics and stories that may have nothing to do with football. Walker has seen it all behind the counter and Perrault the same from behind the microphone, so they’ll have you prepared for anything.

It’s Thanksgiving Week! None of these are marquee games, but it’s one of the three biggest handles of the year. Everyone’s on the favorite and the over.  Then on Sunday, Robert wonders, have the Texans rattled off the most fraudulent 7-game winning streak in the history of sports, including Little League baseball? Steelers-Broncos will probably be the biggest decision of the week. Get the full breakdown.

Spotify fans go here to listen. Download the PropSwap app for iOS systems here and Android here. Time codes for the episode follow below.

1:18: The most exciting time of year to be a bettor.

1:46: Few words on college basketball.

2:34: Thanksgiving Day games and handle

3:25: Washington Redskins QB Alex Smith’s potentially career-ending injury and legacy.

7:44: Chicago Bears -3 at Detroit Lions: Chase Daniels makes the third start of his career.

8:40: Washington Redskins +7.5 at Dallas Cowboys: Too many points for this game.

9:49: More bets on Atlanta or the under? No one wants to bet against New Orleans.

10:31 — PropSwap.com Futures Focus  — More than just a futures marketplace, check out PropSwap for favorable real-time betting opportunities and get 10% off your first purchase by visiting PropSwap.com/Handle.

15:01: Jacksonville Jaguars -3 at Buffalo Bills — The Shock Bowl: This game only matters to sports bettors. Blake Bortles is a problem and the Bills are in tank mode.

18:39: Oakland Raiders +10.5 at Baltimore Ravens — The public does not like the Falcons.

23:33: San Francisco 49ers +3.5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — What are the Bucs even doing? Tampa needs to tank. If

26:48: New York Giants +6 at Philadelphia Eagles — The Eagles the worst defending Super Bowl Champions ever and the Giants are looking much better.

30:25: Cleveland Browns +3 at Cincinnati Bengals — The wheels are falling off for the Bengals and expect an increase in Cleveland money.

33:29: New England Patriots -9.5 at N.Y. Jets — NE doesn’t care what the score is as long as they win. Every parlay and teaser is on the Pats.

37:40: Arizona Cardinals +12 at L.A. Chargers — Anyone taking Arizona?

40:50:  Miami Dolphins +8 at Indianapolis Colts — Ryan Tannehill back but Andrew Luck hasn’t been sacked in about 5 weeks! He can pick ‘em apart with that kind of time.

42:00: Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers — Seattle always a public team when getting points.

42:30: Pittsburgh Steelers -3 at Denver Broncos — Robert says this will probably be the book’s biggest decision of the week. Late money will all be on Pittsburgh.

43:30: Green Bay Packers +3.5 at Minnesota Vikings — Packers are live dog.

44:20: Tennessee Titans +6 at Houston Texans  — Robert loves Titans in this spot.

Have a profitable Week 12, folks. Have a profitable Week 10, folks. Thanks for listening and see you back next week, tell a friend, sign up for our newsletter and also check out the Cover City Podcast, featuring sports bettor Eric Rosenthal.

 

 
 

Hear more ‘Pro Football Handle’: NFL Week 12 Breakdown, Thanksgiving, Steelers-Broncos and More on SportsHandle.

Swanky New DraftKings Sportsbook Opens At Resorts Casino In Atlantic City

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson bet the New York Yankees to win the 2019 World Series on Tuesday morning, the first wager at DraftKings Sportsbook located at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City.  It’s DraftKings’ first physical location in New Jersey and the first on the East Coast, as the Boston-headquartered company continues its push from an online-only operation into physical spaces.

The sportsbook is the second of two at Resorts. The first is Resorts-branded, run by SB Tech and opened earlier this summer. 

The new sportsbook features 135 50-inch televisions and a video wall that is more than 1,000 square feet. Rows of club chairs sit in front of the video screen, with a bank of teller windows to the right, and a VIP Lounge to the left. According to the Nov. 14 DraftKings press release, the facility has five teller windows, a full bar, charger stations at each seat and bar-top electronic slot games. The chairs are set stadium-style to allow for unobstructed viewing.  The risk-management and trading operation, as well as the 12 sports betting kiosks, are powered by U.K.-based supplier Kambi Sports, which also powers DraftKings’ online sportsbook.

 

Read more Swanky New DraftKings Sportsbook Opens At Resorts Casino In Atlantic City on SportsHandle.

Legal Sports Betting in Pennsylvania Officially Launches Near State Capital

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

Legal, regulated sports wagering in Pennsylvania moved out of the hanger, onto the launch pad achieving blast off Saturday morning at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in Grantville. It’s now the first venue to accept legal sports bets in the Keystone State, situated about 100 miles northeast of Philadelphia, near Harrisburg.

William Hill US, a subsidiary of UK-headquartered bookmaker William Hill, is running the casino’s sportsbook operations. As part of its deal with Hollywood Casino’s parent company, Penn National Gaming, the sportsbook conducted what it called “live wagering test day” on Thursday to certify the staff and equipment are in compliance with state regulatory requirements.  Additional testing was scheduled Friday from 2 p.m. to midnight, satisfying the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) to subsequently authorize the facility to officially open at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Although without fanfare or a ribbon cutting seen at official launches in Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi or West Virginia (at least not one visible from afar), the sportsbook indeed went live on Saturday morning. Two William Hill officials confirmed to Sports Handle that the sportsbook at Hollywood Penn opened and is open for business.

 
 

Read more Legal Sports Betting in Pennsylvania Officially Launches Near State Capital on SportsHandle.

Michigan Could Become First State to Pay Leagues Sports Betting ‘Integrity Fee’

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

So far the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and PGA Tour are 0-for-7 in persuading state lawmakers to mandate payment of an off-the-top “integrity fee” or “royalty,” putting a percentage of legal sports bets into league coffers.

Now, a key lawmaker in Michigan sponsoring a bill that would legalize sports betting and iGaming in the state could give a win to the leagues.

According to a report from Reuters, following a U.S. Sports Betting Policy Summit in Washington D.C. this week, Michigan state representative Brandt Iden (R-District 61) changed his mind on the fees after “spending significant time with the leagues.”

 

 

‘Cover City’: NFL Week 11 Picks, Preview, Prop Bets With Christian Pina

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

Sports Handle is pleased to present Cover City: A Pro Football Betting Podcast, hosted by Eric Rosenthal (@ericcports). Rosenthal is a professional sports bettor who focuses on NFL and college football. He’s wagered more than $25 million in the last nine years, getting banned from many sportsbooks along the way.

There’s six teams on a bye and it’s not an easy card this week. Sometimes, less is more. The defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles are 9-point underdogs on the road at New Orleans and the line may grow. Eric makes the case for Tennessee Titans against the Indianapolis Colts, while Christian calls out all the fraudulent teams. And of course, the guys spend some time on the Chiefs-Rams Monday Night Football tilt which is expected to be a fireworks show with an NFL record 63-point total.

Listen and subscribe on Spotify here. Download the PropSwap app for iOS systems here and Android here. Time codes for the episode follow below.

1:45 — Carolina Panthers -4 at Detroit Lions

4:18 — Dallas Cowboys +3 at Atlanta Falcons

8:40 — Minnesota Vikings +2.5 at Chicago Bears

12:42 — Philadelphia Eagles +9 at New Orleans Saints

18:00 — Tennessee Titans +1 at Indianapolis Colts

26:55 — Houston Texans -3 at Washington Redskins

29:30 — PropSwap.com Futures Focus. More than just a futures marketplace, check out PropSwap for favorable real-time betting opportunities and get 10% off your first purchase by visiting PropSwap.com/Handle.

35:15 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1.5 at New York Giants

38:35 — Denver Broncos +7 at Los Angeles Chargers

40:00 — Oakland Raiders +5.5 at Arizona Cardinals

42:00 — Pittsburgh Steelers -5.5 at Jacksonville Jaguars

43:40 — Kansas City Chiefs +3.5 at Los Angeles Rams

52:15 — Final thoughts: Less is more this week! And Eric’s SuperContest picks.

Also check out this week’s ‘Pro Football Handle’ podcast!

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New Jersey Sports Betting Handle Surges to $261M, Revenue ‘Just’ $11M As Bettors Exact Revenge

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

The good news for the New Jersey sportsbooks in the newly released revenue report for October is a large jump in handle from $186 million in September to $261 in October. The downside is that the bettors took a bigger bite of the books this month than usual, cutting revenue by more than half month-over-month from $24 million in September to “just” $11.7 million in October.

Overall that spells a 4.4 percent hold, down from 13 percent in Sept., which may be partly attributable to baseball (more on this below) and perhaps moreso a lot of “public” teams covering the spread in October NFL contests. The rise in betting handle is almost entirely attributable to the mobile/one sector, which grew from $105 million in September to $174 million in October. On-site sports betting inched up from $79 million in the prior month to $86 million.

Resorts Digital continues to lead the way by a lap on the revenue front, reporting $5.1 million in October, which is nearly half of the entire haul across all sportsbooks for the month. An arm of Resorts Casino, Resorts Digital figures represent DraftKings Sportsbook as well as BetStarsNJ.com.  We can no longer parse out which side is driving what, but based on prior figures we can safely say that DraftKings is responsible for the lion’s as well as the cub’s share. Let’s dig in a litter deeper now.

 

October Brick-and-Mortar Sportsbook Revenue:

  • Bally’s: $303K
  • Borgata: $120K
  • Golden Nugget: $46K
  • Harrah’s: $104K
  • Meadowlands (FanDuel Sportsbook): $1.1 million
  • Monmouth Park: $606K
  • Ocean Resort: $438K
  • Resorts: $97K
  • Tropicana: $15K

A spokesperson for FanDuel Sportsboook said: “Demand for the FanDuel Sportsbook continues to outpace our expectations with online handle 2.5 times higher than September and continued double digit growth in retail handle. It was an exciting month for bettors who won at a high rate on football and benefitted from our industry-leading pricing and odds boosts.”

October Online Sportsbook Revenue:

  • Bally’s (combination of CaesarsCasino & 888sport): $108K
  • Borgata (PlayMGM): $67K
  • FanDuel Sportsbook (Meadowlands): $2.43 million
  • Golden Nugget (PlaySugarHouse): $151K
  • Monmouth Park (William Hill and PlaySugarHouse): $609K
  • Ocean Resort (William Hill): $385K
  • Resorts Digital (combination of DK Sportsbook and BetStarsNJ.com):  $5.1 million
 

Read more New Jersey Sports Betting Handle Surges to $261M, Revenue ‘Just’ $11M As Bettors Exact Revenge on SportsHandle.

‘Pro Football Handle’: NFL Week 11 Breakdown: Chiefs-Rams Back in The U.S.A. and the Highest NFL Total Ever

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

On The Pro Football Handle, brought to you by PropSwap.com, Las Vegas-based sports talk voice Matt Perrault and veteran bookmaker Robert Walker of USBookmaking dive into select NFL games, line movements and bookmaker liabilities, plus greater sports betting topics and stories that may have nothing to do with football. Walker has seen it all behind the counter and Perrault the same from behind the microphone, so they’ll have you prepared for anything.

Week 11 is here and what a week it is. There are some truly bad games like Bucs vs. Giants, but there’s also a possible Super Bowl preview with Chiefs vs. Rams and the highest regular season total ever. The Steelers are also officially Le’Veon Bell-less (and may be better of for it) and the Bears defense is looking fierce. 

Spotify fans go here to listen. Download the PropSwap app for iOS systems here and Android here. Time codes for the episode follow below.

1:40 — From Mexico City to LA — what does a venue change mean for bettors on the Week 11 marquee matchup?

10:31 — PropSwap.com Futures Focus  —  More than just a futures marketplace, check out PropSwap for favorable real-time betting opportunities and get 10% off your first purchase by visiting PropSwap.com/Handle.

15:41 — Green Bay Packers +3 at Seattle Seahawks  — Perrault doesn’t usually play Thursday night games, but he just may need to get some action on this week’s match up.

19:09 — Dallas Cowboys +3 at Atlanta Falcons — After the ‘boys primetime win in Week 10, will the public fall back in love with America’s Team this week?

26:06 — Carolina Panthers -4 at Detroit Lions — Could this be ugliest game of the week? No one wants to take a chance on Detroit.

28:27 — Cincinnati Bengals +4.5 at  Baltimore Ravens — This game’s off the board in most spots. Does anyone even care? .

30:30 — Philadelphia Eagles +8.5 at New Orleans Saints — Contrarian pick of the week!

35:49 — Tennessee Titans +2 at Indianapolis  Colts —  Only one way to bet this game: take the dog.

39:11 — Houston Texans -3 at Washington Redskins — Will this be the worst game ever between two 6-3 teams?

43:15 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers +1.5 at N.Y. Giants — This is a hard game to handicap. They may have to book it, but you don’t have to play it.

45:35 — Oakland Raiders +5.5 at Arizona Cardinals –– Oakland looks like they are playing for lottery picks.

48:21– Pittsburgh Steelers -5.5 at Jacksonville Jaguars — Where is the Jaguars of the beginning of season? Another contrarian option

50:11 — Minnesota Vikings +2.5 at Chicago Bears — The Vikings should be taken seriously in the NFC, but the Bears defense is scary good.

52:51 — Kansas City +3.5 at L.A. Rams — Hyper emotional game for L.A., but KC is the right pick. And with the highest regular season game total ever at 63.5 (and rising), the under could be a smart play.

Have a profitable Week 10, folks. Thanks for listening and see you back next week, tell a friend, sign up for our newsletter and also check out the Cover City Podcast, featuring sports bettor Eric Rosenthal.

Follow Perrault on Twitter @sportstalkmatt and Walker @robertusfsports.

 

 

Listen to more ‘Pro Football Handle’: NFL Week 11 Breakdown: Chiefs-Rams Back in The U.S.A. and the Highest NFL Total Ever  on SportsHandle.

New York’s Empire Resorts Joins Forces With Bet365 on Sports Betting

Posted on | by Brett Smiley

Empire Resorts, Inc., now an affiliate of bet365 Group Limited (bet365) and Resorts World Catskills today revealed a “strategic alliance” to join the rapidly expanding sports wagering business space in the U.S. by creating a physical and online sportsbook in New York State.

Sports wagering is not now legal in New York, however, rules and accompanying regulations are expected to come under close examination by New York State lawmakers in 2019, Democratic State Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow (89th District) told Sports Handle in an interview last week. Pretlow is the state lawmaker sponsoring enabling legislation that would legalize full-fledged sports betting in the state.

Resorts World Catskills in Kiamesha Lake, on the site of the former Concord Hotel, a “Borscht Belt” landmark, is New York’s newest and largest integrated commercial casino resort destination with closest proximity to Manhattan. Empire, as a bet365 affiliate company, is part of the world’s largest online sports bookmaker. The parties said in a media release that their deal 20-year agreement would become effective when permitted by applicable law.

 

Read more New York’s Empire Resorts Joins Forces With Bet365 on Sports Betting on SportsHandle.