Monthly Archives: December 2020

UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

It’s the final UFC event of a wacky 2020 on Saturday night from the organization’s Apex facility in Las Vegas – no doubt, the UFC is hoping it can start staging events at worldwide arenas in front of fans early in 2021 – with a Fight Night card headlined by a non-title welterweight matchup between Americans Stephen Thompson and Geoff Neal.

Originally, this card was to be headlined by a welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev, yet both of those guys tested positive for COVID-19. The UFC is now targeting them to fight on January 20 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

The welterweight champion is Kamaru Usman, and the 37-year-old Thompson is ranked No. 5 in the division with a record of 15-4-1. Thompson is a former professional kickboxer with an unbeaten record in that sport and once ranked No. 1 in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League.

Football floats all UK betting boats in October

UK gamblers boosted their activity across all verticals in October, but football’s return relegated online slots to second place among customer losses. 

Figures released Thursday by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) show its online licensees’ gross gambling revenue (GGY) hit £542m in October, a 29% rise from September’s result. The UKGC credited the gain in part to the recent return of Premier League football boosting active accounts by 7%, as well as a number of bookie-friendly results.  

Football’s resumption pushed real event online betting GGY up 52% from September to £290m, with the number of individual bets rising 12%. For the first time since the UKGC began its pandemic market watch in March, online betting customer losses exceeded those for online slots. 

Football was the tide that lifted all betting boats in October, as retail wagering totaled £115.6m, up 15.6% from September. Bets placed by self-service betting terminals (SSBT) drove the retail gains, with SSBT GGY up 49% to £41.2m while OTC betting rose a mere 3% to £74.5m (likely due to bettors’ pandemic preference for dealing with machines, not humans). 

Online casino, sports betting ride to Pennsylvania’s rescue

Pennsylvania’s online gambling and sports betting revenue helped paper over the double-digit losses suffered by state casinos’ land-based slots and tables in November.

Figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show the state’s gambling licensees reported combined revenue of nearly $284.3m in November, down a modest 2.7% from the same month last year but a significant step back from October 2020’s $320.2m. 

Land-based slots revenue slumped 31.6% year-on-year to $129.5m while table games fell 30% to $52.3m as the state’s casinos continued to struggle under pandemic restrictions. The retail revenue slide will accelerate when December’s numbers are released, following their second state-ordered medical shutdown last Saturday that will extend into early January.

The outlook is significantly brighter at the state’s online casinos, which reported revenue of just under $59.8m in November, a new monthly record, although just barely, rising a mere $15k from October. Online slots brought in $39.4m, digital table games added $18m and the state’s lone online poker operator (PokerStars) contributed $2.4m. 

Legends Media & Entertainment Experiences Solid Growth In First Three Months Since Launch

The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA) today announced the numbers for the first three months of the expansion and launch of Legends Media & Entertainment (LME), a multifaceted storytelling platform producing, distributing and quantifying the wide reaching stories of many of the NBA and WNBA’s biggest stars. In three months LME in both audio and video has drawn almost 600,000 views and listens, more than three times the combined numbers of audio and video around the players in the previous nine months. Viewers and listeners have come from over 20 countries, and have enjoyed content from some of the most unique storytellers in the history of professional basketball. Athletes First Partners represents the NBRPA in its marketing endeavors and is working on engaging with brands on the platform as well.

“Basketball is a team sport, and by unifying efforts under the LME brand, we have been able to start building an audience, and a destination that fans from around the world are enjoying,” said NBRPA President and CEO Scott Rochelle. “The first three months have shown that consistency is key, and now that the season is upon us, we are expecting the concept to continue to grow both in content and in audience with our players, some of the most identifiable and engaged athletes and personalities anywhere.”

The NBRPA represents over 1,000 former NBA and WNBA players, making it the largest agency of its kind in basketball. This has allowed for direct access to players for opportunities domestically and internationally. Some of the most popular segments to date have included sessions with hoist Trill Withers talking with Charles Barkley, Bill Walton, Grant Hill and many others. The content can be seen, and heard at  https://www.legendsofbasketball.com/legendslive/

Some of the key unified elements of LME include:

Legends Magazine which debuted in 2018 and is the official publication for NBA and WNBA Legends. Produced quarterly, Legends Magazine has featured cover stories about NBRPA Director Caron Butler, Jerry Stackhouse, Elton Brand, Jamal Mashburn and “The Knuckleheads” – Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. Each issue is delivered to all former players, active players, coaches, stakeholders, influencers and league officials worldwide.

Legends Studios also debuted in 2018 with the launch of original live-action and animated short videos and two podcasts, the All-Access Legends Podcast and On Deck with Scott Rochelle. In April 2020, Legends Live, a weekly web series broadcasted to multiple social media platforms featuring live conversations with NBA and WNBA Legends, was added to the Legends Studios portfolio. In addition to 32 standard episodes, Legends Live also covered the 2020 WNBA Draft and ESPN’s The Last Dance with live commentary from Legends. Last week, media personality Tyler Johnson, aka Trill Withers joined the LME team as host of Legends Live, where he will spend time with many of the game’s most successful and dynamic personalities and business people. Johnson will also be a key contributor to Legends Magazine, the All-Access Legends Podcast and the NBRPA’s social media strategy and content.

To follow along with LME content from the NBRPA, find them on social media at @NBAalumni on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch or on Facebook at NBA Alumni.

Fantastic 4 Odds: Who will play Marvel’s first family?

Now that Robert Downey Jr. is officially out of the Marvel universe, the comic book franchise is set to revive the Fantastic Four. While now may be the time to drop in an Arrested Development reference, we have the odds on who may be pulling on the spandex for the dream team in 2022.

Giancarlo Esposito is the early frontrunner at +350 to fill the role of the villain Doctor Doom. Esposito is better known for his role as Gus Frigg in Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. The Danish-born actor is making waves as the villain of the new Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Cillian Murphy of the Chris Nolan Batman series and BBC’s Peaky Blinders is the second favourite behind Esposito at +500 for the role.

Anthony Ramos is a slight favourite to claim the role of the human torch. Zac Efron also has a claim to the role first filled by Chris Evans in the film version (If you don’t count the 94 Roger Corman take). The husband-and-wife team of Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are the favourites for the roles of the Invisible Woman and Mr Fantastic. The two were last together in A Quiet Place. 

The Thing looms as an interesting choice for the quartet, with the Rock, John Cena and Terry Crews outsiders to fulfil the role. According to Bodog, Stephen Graham at +400 is the favourite to land the role. Graham is better known for his role as Scrum in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

WSOP Main Event Reaction: Players Critical of “Galaxy Brained Decision-Making”

Running the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event during a pandemic was never going to be easy. However, some railbirds are less than impressed with how things have played out so far.

Some players have criticized the way this year’s WSOP Main Event has played out online and in Europe. (Image: Twitter/WSOP)

The poker community’s reaction was largely positive when the WSOP announced it was going to trial a hybrid version of the Main Event.

Although it called into question the status of September’s $5,000 Main Event winner, no one was mad at getting another chance to win a bracelet. However, for certain critics, the end product hasn’t matched expectations of what a Main Event should be.

Entain announces partnership with Verizon for Virtual Reality betting

A new alliance between Entain (formerly GVC Holdings) and Verizon Media hopes to keep pace with new technologies, and deliver a whole new level of realistic digital gambling experiences to customers. The two companies announced their new global innovation alliance in a December 17 press release.

Entain will work with Verizon to develop a new Virtual Reality (VR) experience, allowing users to watch live sports, interact with sports data, gamble, and socialize with friends. The two companies will also develop concepts for new formats using 5G and augmented reality to offer similar content. The end goal is to offer the customer experiences similar to being in the stadium, while having all the benefits of sitting on the couch.

“To win in the future we need to understand where consumers will be in five, ten years’ time and work with other global businesses also investing in that,” said Shay Segev, CEO of Entain. “We envisage consumers meeting at a game with friends, who could in fact be elsewhere, using virtual reality headsets to watch, interact and share the experience together and, potentially, compete between themselves at half time or feel like they’re on the pitch with the players.”

“Together, we are building the next-generation of content experiences for sports and gaming fans,” said said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. “Our world-first 5G-enabled production studios in LA and London, creative technology teams and Verizon Media’s Immersive platform, that enables extended reality (XR) content to be created and distributed across digital channels at scale, allow partners like Entain to bring next-level immersive and interactive experiences to their customers.”

Entain And Verizon Media Announce Global Innovation Alliance

Verizon Media, the global media and technology company and Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the international sports-betting and gaming operator (formerly known as GVC Holdings), today announced a global innovation alliance to develop new opportunities across interactive sports and entertainment.  Entain brands include Ladbrokes, bwin, PartyPoker, and BetMGM in the United States, which is co-owned with MGM Resorts.

The new alliance coincides with initial findings from new research for Entain by YouGov, revealing that the use of technology is increasingly shaping consumer behaviours in gaming and entertainment around the world, notably in the United States and Australia.  Social media has become central to consumer enjoyment, with new immersive experiences, driven by virtual reality and 5G, accelerating growth of both gaming and e-sports.

Verizon Media and Entain will collaborate to develop a first-of-its-kind highly immersive proof of concept virtual reality experience, that will combine live sports viewing with interactive layers of sports data and gaming. Consumers will be able to participate in sports events, check data, socialise with friends, and place bets on Entain platforms.   

Additionally, Entain will work closely with Verizon Media to develop concepts for new formats with emerging technologies like 5G, virtual reality, and augmented reality to bring the best experiences in immersive content and gaming to sports betting and gambling.  Along with betting on the Entain platforms on live streaming sports events, the goal is to create realistic, immersive experiences for sports fans, such as being in the stadium, participating in play, competing and betting on outcomes on the Entain platforms. 

“To win in the future we need to understand where consumers will be in five, ten years’ time and work with other global businesses also investing in that,” said Shay Segev, CEO of Entain. “We envisage consumers meeting at a game with friends, who could in fact be elsewhere, using virtual reality headsets to watch, interact and share the experience together and, potentially, compete between themselves at half time or feel like they’re on the pitch with the players.”

“This new alliance takes the collaboration between our two companies to a new level and will allow us both to maximize new opportunities across sports-betting, content and entertainment,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media.

“Together, we are building the next-generation of content experiences for sports and gaming fans. Our world-first 5G-enabled production studios in LA and London, creative technology teams and Verizon Media’s Immersive platform, that enables extended reality (XR) content to be created and distributed across digital channels at scale, allow partners like Entain to bring next-level immersive and interactive experiences to their customers.” 

The collaboration builds on an existing successful relationship between Yahoo Sports, part of Verizon Media, and BetMGM, a joint venture with MGM Resorts through which Entain operates in the United States.  BetMGM is integrated throughout Yahoo Sports in the US, and in legal jurisdictions fans can place a bet with BetMGM without leaving the Yahoo Sports app.

The new alliance coincides with first findings of new research for Entain from YouGov, revealing that gaming and entertainment is converging across multiple devices and becoming increasingly interactive, with two-thirds of consumers combining it with social media to increase their enjoyment.

Across all markets, men aged 25 to 39 are the most likely to be innovators or early adopters and are the key audience for e-sports and gaming. Half of e-sports players are in this age group, with most also interacting in social media and more than half enjoying a bet. When it comes to conventional sport, interaction is also increasingly important to this audience, with 31% of 25 to 39-year-old and 34% of over 55’s also engaging digitally to increase their enjoyment of watching sport.

Electronic Gaming Federation Selects First-Ever Board of Governors

The Electronic Gaming Federation, the national governing body for formalized collegiate D-I esports and high school level leagues, today announced the election of its first Board of Governors for EGFC, EGF’s Division 1 esports governing body. 

“We have had tremendous success growing our position in the space in the past year, and being able to bring on this group of educators who are the center of gaming growth on college campuses is essential as we expand our reach in 2021,” EGF Founder Tyler Schrodt said. “The election of this Board is a tremendous milestone for the League and Division 1 esports and we’re so excited to work with such a remarkable group of people from our member schools to continue the development and advancement of collegiate esports”.

“I’m excited to join the Board of Governors and look forward to helping EGF continue its growth in the collegiate esports space,” said Steve Kramarck, of the University of Delaware.  “There are so many great elements already in place and I believe that the next few years will further establish EGF as a national leader in the industry.” 

“Thank you to the EGF for the selection, and I look forward to serve on the first EGF Board of Governors and am energized to grow the Esports program here at Marist as well as across the collegiate landscape,” added Julie Byron, Marist College. I look forward to working with both students and school administrators in the coming months to create a new and innovative gaming community.”

The Board of Governors will work directly with EGF on League policy and governance and furthering the initiatives important to the League like student development, diversity and inclusion, and a slate of other topics and projects. This group of seven is the first cohort of the board that will eventually include 21 representatives from member schools as the League continues to grow.

The following individuals were elected by their peers to serve on the Board for a three year term:

  • Courtney James, DePaul University
  • Michele King, William & Mary
  • Steve Kramarck, University of Delaware
  • David Tomczyk, Quinnipiac University
  • Nyle Sky Kauweloa, University of Hawaii
  • Julie Byron, Marist College
  • Bill Newton, Niagara University

Now in partnership with the new Board, EGF is will start the second half of EGFC Season 2 on February 1st with conference and national championships starting in March, 2021 across a wide range of games.