BetMaps, Inc. proudly announces the launch of the BETMAPS website and mobile app. BETMAPS is a place where sports fans, interested in legal sports betting, can find and compare nearby sportsbooks. With BETMAPS, users can read reviews, compare features, find events and specials, and connect with sportsbooks directly.
Sports betting is now legal in 18 states plus Washington, DC. Mobile betting has led the sports betting scene, with up to 85% of bets placed online. That’s great news for the industry. But for some, online betting lacks that loud, exciting, and social element which only a raucous sportsbook can provide.
To attract a new generation of sports fans, sportsbooks have built up their offerings. With their “man-cave” style furniture, pool tables, bar games, and huge walls of ultra-high-definition TVs, today’s sportsbooks have a lot to offer patrons. Other venues like sports bars, taverns, and stadiums are chomping at the bit to run their own sports betting operation. Each venue has something different to offer. However, one thing is clear: for a consumer, sorting through the different options is a tough task.
BetMaps, Inc.
“Through our platform, users can easily search for that perfect place. They can find a spot to make a bet, watch a game, soak up the atmosphere, and hopefully bring home a W,” said BetMaps, Inc. CEO and Founder Isaac Khan. “We do the work, so they can focus on enjoying the game.”
Khan, a pharmacist by trade, gained valuable experience when he started a successful consulting business. An amateur sports bettor at best, Khan saw a growing industry in need of a platform. The opportunity to shake things up was too hard to pass up. So Khan banded together with a few fellow sports fans to change the way consumers choose where to bet on sports. The BETMAPS team are professionals from diverse fields including law, finance, politics, and IT. After many long nights and early morning meetings across tables at sparsely-populated coffee shops and sports bars, BETMAPS has launched a game-changing platform.
Khan concluded, “We are in the early stages of legal sports betting, what better time than now to jump in. We’ll grow and adapt with this space and provide long-term value to our users.”
PlayerMaker, the leading international sports data analytics start-up, has teamed up with the BetVictor Northern Premier Football League (NPL), becoming the league’s first-ever player performance partner.
The deal is for an initial 12 months and will see PlayerMaker’s unique AI-driven boot-mounted device offered to players across the NPL’s 62 semi-professional clubs.
Already in use internationally, PlayerMaker tracks and analyses tactical, technical and physical player performance on and off the pitch. The breadth of data generated can inform coaches’ decision-making processes, particularly in relation to player performance optimisation, talent identification and injury prevention.
Players at participating NPL clubs will have the opportunity to train wearing the PlayerMaker device, providing the coaches and players with access to a comprehensive set of tailored metrics held securely. The NPL will also be discussing with the FA whether players can wear the PlayerMaker device in competitive matches.
Guy Aharon, CEO and Co-Founder of PlayerMaker, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be acting as the NPL’s official player performance partner over the next year, providing consultation services for performance optimisation and access to a stream of accurate and objective datapoints at a granular level. It is fantastic to see the NPL embracing technology in this way and we look forward to collaborating with their clubs over the coming year.”
Mark Harris, Northern Premier Football League Chairman, said: “The BetVictor Northern Premier League has always led the way in adopting digital technology. We are also committed to helping drive forward standards in coaching and player development. This exciting new partnership with PlayerMaker is the next stage in this journey.”
Super Soccer Stars, the nation’s premier youth soccer organization, will launch a partnership with Famer , an Israel and New York based teaching app, that will enable young players and parents to create and curate personalized training programs, messaging, and interactive feedback between coaches and athletes for the first time. The idea is to create a more user friendly and interactive environment for kids in the growing youth soccer space and then take that opportunity to other similar spaces.
Soccer, and the over 100,000 engaged kids Super Soccer Stars has, is priority one.
“This will be the first of many digital offerings in our pipeline to drive home our vision of empowering youth through sport, something which is missing in the coaching pipeline today. We need to connect with our young people on any device and at any time possible, and by partnering with Famer, we will provide a mobile curriculum which supplements our classes to further engage our young Soccer Stars and their parents through our digital content. ” said Adam Geisler, CEO, Super Soccer Stars. ”Famer’s digital platform will become a core part of the Super Soccer Stars training curriculum going forward to enable our young athletes to tap into their full potential on and off the field.
“Consumers are used to be receiving on-demand access to communities from fitness classes to continuing education programs, but youth sports training has been missing that opportunity until now. Famer provides that content for the first time, and there is no better partner to launch this than Super Soccer Stars with its proven curriculum, incredible teaching, and tremendous coaches,” added Rich Abend, CEO of Famer. “Our Famer Play product allows for better communication and provides a mobile and digital extension between Super Soccer Stars’ teachings and its parents, which leads to more fun and better participation for all.”
According to the release, Famer’s mobile app allows Super Soccer Stars’ coaches to share videos and instructions on how to perform Super Soccer Stars’ skills & drills at home, as well as assign weekly workouts and provide progress reports to athletes and parents. Super Soccer Stars customers from ages 2-X will be able to use the Famer app to digitally extend its age-specific skills and drills training program to the parent and the athlete as a supplemental interactive program at home.
With Famer, parents will have a clear understanding of their child’s training and development milestones and will receive the following:
● Access to videos and descriptions week by week explaining their child’s Super Soccer Stars’ class activities.
● Skills & Drills support their child by helping him/her work on what he/she just learned in class.
● The ability to follow their participation progress.
● Additional physical, mental, and social development activities for their child.
● Quality time spent with their child by actively supporting him/her when practicing programs assigned by Super Soccer Stars’ coach.
Super Soccer Stars curriculum will be live via Famer’s app starting September 7.
Next steps on expansion to other sports and more interactivity will be rolled out later in 2019.
DraftKings Inc. today debuted its Sportsbook app for sports fans in West Virginia. The platform previously made history in New Jersey as the first mobile, online and legal betting offering outside of Nevada. The official launch of the DraftKings Sportsbook in West Virginia, the second U.S. state where the product is accessible, follows DraftKings’ licensing agreement with Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) in December 2018, and marks a pivotal next step for national expansion of the product.
“We are thrilled to continue our DraftKings Sportsbook expansion by getting our product into the hands of West Virginians,” said Matt Kalish, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at DraftKings. “We look forward to serving our fans with the top-rated DraftKings Sportsbook app, that features numerous consumer protection features and strives to provide the broadest selection of betting options with the best odds and rewards in West Virginia. DraftKings knows the American sports fan better than anyone, and we look forward to proving that in the Mountain State.”
Having paid out more than $720 million to customers in New Jersey, expansion of the DraftKings Sportsbook app to West Virginia is the latest move in the company’s commitment to providing the best and most enjoyable mobile sports betting product for consumers nationally. Fans in West Virginia will have the opportunity to seamlessly transition between the DraftKings Sportsbook app and the DraftKings Fantasy app to engage with their favorite major and niche sports worldwide.
“We are pleased to help welcome DraftKings to West Virginia,” said John Finamore, Sr. Vice President of Regional Operations at Penn National Gaming. “They provide a quality online sports betting experience that will benefit their customers and the state.”
Sports fans in New Jersey and West Virginia can place their bets on the DraftKings Sportsbook app via iOS and Android or online at Sportsbook.DraftKings.com.
Synergy Blue, the premier creator of arcade-style casino games and platforms for an emerging class of players, today announced its move to the heart of North America’s casino industry, Las Vegas — a couple of months after the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the company’s manufacturing and distribution license. With a new Nevada license and a freshly renovated office, the company plans to hire locally and brings a positive economic footprint to the community, while the team looks forward to immersing themselves in the industry and harnessing the momentum around skill-influenced games.
“This is a big step for Synergy Blue,” said Georg Washington, CEO of Synergy Blue. “As the industry evolves, and skill-influenced games continue to gain traction, we found it necessary to be closer to our clients and the industry. We are very excited to be in Vegas with our Nevada license. We look forward to building strong relationships with our neighbors and becoming a beneficial part of the community.”
After outgrowing their headquarters in Palm Desert, California, Synergy Blue renovated a new home office in Las Vegas. The company plans to expand their team locally to support the growing momentum surrounding skill-influenced games, as well as the progression of the company’s products through certification with the Nevada Gaming Commission.
“As barriers to adoption of skill-influenced games continue to decrease, and more casinos add arcade-style gambling to their offering, Synergy Blue is focusing heavily on partner relationships,” continued Washington. “No one knows their own players, property, and target demographic opportunities better than a casino’s own operations and marketing team. While our team has extensive expertise in skill-influenced gambling, we recognize that it’s the casino teams who are the experts of their own house. Our move to Vegas is another way of showing our dedication to establishing best practices and securing mutually beneficial relationships with both the casinos and their future patrons.”
In the past year, Synergy Blue has strengthened their technology development, grown their game library, secured strategic partnerships, increased game placements, and secured their Nevada Gaming Certification. The company also conducted and published research on the emerging skill-influenced gambling industry, which shows how critical innovation and new solutions are for casinos. Synergy Blue will be displaying new technologies and products at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas this October 2019.
WagerTalk, one of the largest sports betting content providers in the world, has announced a new podcast for the 2019-20 pro football season, ‘Bet On It.’
The new show will feature WagerTalk co-founder Marco D’Angelo, professional sports bettor Gianni “The Greek” Karalis, and WagerTalk Director of Media Relations Kelly Stewart.
D’Angelo has been a professional sports handicapper and bettor since 1980. He is a two-time winner of Preferred Picks’ Wise Guy Football Contest. During football season, D’Angelo makes a number of regional and national media appearances to provide insight on that week’s games.
“With the ‘Bet on It’ show, Ace and myself will break down each week’s pro football games in great detail,” D’Angelo said. “We will be dropping bombs, sprinkling, betting sandwich games, and enjoying ‘Fat n Sassy’ plays all season long, right from the Las Vegas Strip.”
Karalis broke into the sports betting industry as a bookmaker in Philadelphia in the late 1980’s. He moved to Las Vegas in the mid-1990’s and served as a runner for respected betting syndicates at the Stardust Race & Sports Book, where he frequently participated on the famous Stardust Line radio show.
Since then, Karalis has become one of the most recognizable faces in the Las Vegas sports betting scene. He has made several appearances on ESPN, FOX, CBS, Yahoo! Radio and many more local and national outlets. Karalis has been featured on a CNBC sports betting special, a NY Times Magazine longform on sports betting, and was a featured participant in “The Best of It” sports betting documentary.
“I am honored to be a part of the all new ‘Bet On It’ podcast,” Karalis said. “Our supporters have been a huge part of this ride, and I can’t wait to share even more winning information, along with some great times and laughs ahead. I even bought a new ski mask for occasion, so let’s do damage.”
Stewart emerged as a prominent voice in the Las Vegas sports betting scene in the early 2010’s while working for Don Best Sports. She has turned that Internet following into one of the industry’s largest proxy services for out-of-town gamblers.
Known by most as Kelly in Vegas, Stewart won the Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest’s “Mini Contest” in 2014. She is a writer and video personality for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in addition to working as a featured correspondent for Bleacher Report.
Founded in July 2015, WagerTalk’s team of writers, handicappers, and personalities create sports betting content from across the globe. The brand’s YouTube channel has over 23,000 subscribers and has generated over 6.2 million views on their unique sports betting videos. WagerTalk also produces a daily radio show from ESPN Las Vegas.
The exciting world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be the subject of the Gaming Standards Association’s (GSA) latest Technology Summit (GSATS), “Focus on Artificial Intelligence.” This crucial technology event for the gaming industry takes place November 6 and 7 at the Hyatt Regency in San Diego, Calif.
AI is defined as “the ability for computer-based programs to parse large volumes of data, identify patterns, learn those patterns, discern probable outcomes and make recommended actions based on that learning.”
As defined, AI has great applicability in the global gaming industry with use cases ranging from responsible gaming, such as, the early identification of potential problem gamers based on analysis of actions and the evaluation of pertinent big data, to tracking patrons feelings and analyzing their needs and interests allowing for the creation of better gaming experiences, anti-money laundering, identifying most valuable players, identifying efficiencies for revenue maximization, and a host of others.
GSA logo
Leading AI experts from around the world are scheduled to present at the event, including:
Dr. Stasi Baran ~ COO, nQube Data Science Inc.
Mr. Kiran Brahmandam ~ CEO, Gaming Analytics
Mr. Andrew Cardno ~ CEO, Innovation Gaming Group
Dr. Gavin Clarkson ~ Managing Director, Native American Capital
Mr. Simo Dragicevic ~ Founder and CEO BetBuddy, a Playtech Company
Mr. John English ~ Partner, MD Sports and Technology, Global Market Advisors
Mr. Earle Hall ~ CEO AXES.ai
Mr. Tim Huckaby ~ Founder and Executive Chairman, VSBLTY
Mr. Amit Likhyani ~ Account Executive, Dynatrace
Mr. Mark Pace ~ Managing Director, GSA Europe
Mr. Clayton Peister ~ Managing Director, Differential Labs
Mr. Joseph Pisano ~ Founder and CEO, Jade Group Companies
Mr. Nimish Purohit ~ Sr. Director, Tech. Compliance, Aristocrat Technologies
Mr. Travis Siegfried ~ Global Cognitive AI & Vision Solution Eng., IBM
Dr. Ralph Thomas ~ Founder and President, Education Revolution LLC
Mr. Markus Van Kempen ~ Corporate Strategy Executive, IBM
Dr. Johannes Wilms ~ Sr. Data Scientist, NOVOMATIC AG
Mr. George Yang ~ Founder and CEO, AI PROS
GSA is gratified to recognize our event sponsors: Diamond sponsor AXES.ai, a Cloud Information Management Platform that licenses actionable intelligence and applications to the Global Gaming & Amusement Industry and Platinum NOVOMATIC AG, a producer of high-tech gaming equipment and operator of electronic casinos, regular casinos and sports betting outlets, as well as a technology and service partner in the lottery segment.
-theScore, Inc. (TSX Venture: SCR) (“theScore” or “the Company”) today announced that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has granted an initial approval authorizing the Company’s subsidiary, Score Digital Sports Ventures Inc. to engage in Internet and mobile sports wagering activities in the state. In accordance with the DGE’s procedures, theScore will undertake a soft-launch phase of its sportsbook app with a select group of sports bettors in the state in the coming days, ahead of its anticipated state-wide launch in advance of football season.
“This is a huge milestone and a result of the tireless hard work that has gone into getting our sportsbook ready for launch,” said John Levy, Founder and CEO of theScore. “We can’t wait to debut a best-in-class sports betting offering in New Jersey, delivering a truly unique and holistic sports media and wagering experience for fans.”
theScore became the first media company in North America to announce plans to operate a sports betting platform in December 2018 after finalizing an official licensing partnership for New Jersey market access with Darby Development LLC, the operator of Monmouth Park Racetrack, and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.
Last month, theScore announced a major expansion to its U.S. mobile sports betting platform through a strategic multi-state market access framework agreement with Penn National Gaming Inc., North America’s largest regional gaming operator. The framework agreement provides theScore with the right to offer online and mobile sports betting and i-gaming applications in 11 states where Penn National operates casinos and racetracks, subject to applicable state gaming laws and regulations.
theScore’s sports media app for iOS and Android is one of the most popular sports apps in North America, with an audience of approximately four million monthly active users that span every U.S. state. theScore’s mobile sports betting applications will leverage proprietary sports betting platform technology by U.S. based i-gaming and sportsbook provider Bet.Works.
SlatersPicks.com, a sports consulting website launches featuring long-time radio host Andy Slater. Slaters Picks has announced its plans to launch in September to the public officially after a successful private run this summer releasing late breaking MLB news and seeing how their clients could act on the news. Lining up with the start of the college and NFL regular season, Slater’s service is attempting to bring unique insight to the industry with late-breaking value picks.
To this point, SlatersPicks.com was only accessible through invite-only. Slater’s team has worked hard to ensure that the website is ready for launch to the public, opening up his vast knowledge of the world of sports handicapping to everyone.
Over the last couple of decades, Slater has built up his reputation in the sports industry as a radio talk shows host based in South Florida. He covers all the major sports on his weekday show, The Andy Slater Show which is known globally beyond Miami.
While sports betting has become legalized in more states this year, the sports radio show and website Slaters Picks is designed for those who want all the tips and information Slater has on upcoming games. This is a great opportunity for not only beginners to get a feel for betting responsibly, but seasoned sports gamblers to hone their craft as much as possible.
Anyone who signs up when SlatersPicks.com launches will have the opportunity to link their phone number with their account. This benefit allows for text alerts, as well as access to Slater’s picks by calling right before a game. It’s crucial to have the best edge in sports. Information can change a pick right before an event starts. That’s why it is so essential to Slater that his service provides the latest news at all times.
In the next few weeks, SlatersPicks.com will release the subscription prices for all first-time members. Discounts will be available for those who sign up for longer subscriptions, and initial pricing will depend on how many sports a person wants picks for. To learn more, all updates will be available online or via the company’s phone number (888-364-4003) and on SlatersPicks.com. This will be a year we look back and prove that pundits, radio hosts, and journalists can make a difference even in the sports gaming world.
Iowa’s online and retail sportsbooks could generate more than $4 billion a year in bets once the fledgling industry in the Hawkeye State hits full maturity, according to analysts for PlayIA.com, which delivers news on the Iowa sports betting and gambling industries.
On Thursday, when a number of physical and online sportsbooks launch, Iowa will become the 11th state to actively accept legal sports bets. And that will officially open the door to an industry that will eventually inject millions of dollars into state coffers.
“Once the Iowa market reaches maturity, its potential is on par with what Nevada is today,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIA.com and a veteran observer of the legal sports betting markets across the U.S. “That means a handle that will exceed $4 billion a year, and perhaps approach $5 billion. And as we have seen with the success of the early adopters of legal sports betting, such as New Jersey, the state should reap millions in tax revenue.”
According to PlayIA.com:
It will take Iowa five years or more to reach full maturity. But once it does, the state’s handle should eclipse $4 billion and even approach $5 billion. Those estimates are based in part on the handle that Nevada generates with a population that is similar in size to Iowa.
If Iowa reaches its full potential as a market, operators could generate more than $300 million a year in revenue, or “win” in gaming parlance.
With a tax rate of 6.75%, Iowa would generate more than $20 million a year in tax revenue if the win reaches $300 million a year.
“We have seen in almost every legal jurisdiction that sports betting can be safely regulated and serve as an economic engine for the state, and Iowa should be no different,” Gouker said.
If there is a downside for Iowa it is that the opportunity to generate significant revenue and handle will be muted to start. That is almost entirely due to the requirement that online bettors sign up in-person at a physical sportsbook until early 2021, which will initially slow the industry’s growth.
In New Jersey, where there is no such requirement, more than 80% of all sports bets are made online. That will be a level unreachable in Iowa until the in-person requirement is lifted.
“The requirement of in-person sign-ups until early 2021 will mean Iowa will not capture all of the market at the start,” Gouker said. “But once that requirement sunsets, Iowa sports betting should really take off.”
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Iowa, visit PlayIA.com.
Increasing strategic collaborations and partnerships with diverse stakeholders, growing advertising and marketing spend, and rising interest of millennial are the major factors responsible for the increased growth of the fantasy sports market. A major factor driving the growth of the fantasy sports business is the rise in the number of sporting events organized worldwide. The urge to participate in a sport event rather than view it has raised the bar of the market significantly. Technological advancements, coupled with the availability of streaming partners, are further driving the fantasy sports market.
The growing popularity of OTT platforms is expected to augur well for the fantasy sport segment. The OTT sports experience is set to observe innovation, which is mainly driven by fantasy sport business. Fantasy sport and OTT platforms have become an apt match for the overall entertainment business. With the growth in streaming service providers and digitalization, fantasy sport is expected to receive a major boost.
This research report on the fantasy sports market covers market sizing and forecast, market share, industry trends, growth drivers, and vendor analysis. The market study includes insights on segmentation by sports (football, soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, cricket, and other fantasy sports), gender (male and female), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, Latin America, and MEA).
The study considers the present scenario of the fantasy sports market and its market dynamics for the period 2018?2024. It covers a detailed overview of several market growth enablers, restraints, and trends. The study covers both the demand and supply sides of the market. It also profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the market.
Fantasy Sports Market: Segmentation
This market research report includes a detailed segmentation of the market by sports, gender, and geography. The worldwide popularity of football is a major reason for the highest share of the fantasy football segment. The segment captured around half of the fantasy sports market in 2018. The extensive fan engagement is another a major factor that is driving the fantasy football market segment. Strategic partnerships and the launch of supporting products across fantasy platforms have raised the standards of fantasy basketball in major playing countries.
As men have historically been receptive to sports and outdoor games, the male segment accounts for the highest share in the fantasy sports market by gender. However, over the last few years, the female population in fantasy sport has witnessed a reasonable surge. The growing number of women-centric sports events and the increasing awareness about games among womenfolk are the factors boosting market growth of female sports segment.
Investors Bank and the New York Giants are expanding their strategic alliance during the 2019 football season. They began a 10-year partnership last year and are marking the second year by publicly introducing the New York Giants-branded debit card and checking account.
The New York Giants Checking Account was designed to engage and excite the football franchise’s enthusiastic fans. Investors Bank is prominently featuring the New York Giants logo on each account holder’s debit card and checks. Everyone who joins the Big Blue Checking Crew will have access to many premium features and amenities.
Today, Investors Bank, the Official Consumer and Business Bank of the New York Giants, is publicly launching the New York Giants Checking Account during a “Signing Day” event at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center. New York Giants CEO John Mara will open one of the first Giants checking accounts. Investors Bank CEO Kevin Cummings and President Domenick Cama will present Mr. Mara with a personalized New York Giants debit card. Mr. Mara and the franchise’s senior management team will present official New York Giants game jerseys to Mr. Cummings, Mr. Cama and EVP Chief Marketing & Product Officer Dorian Hansen.
In discussing the partnership, Mr. Mara said, “The Giants and Investors Bank share the belief that our fans and their clients deserve an exceptional level of service, and we are both dedicated to achieving that goal. This expanded partnership will allow both the Giants and Investors Bank to continue to serve our communities in an innovative and transformative way.”
Investors Bank and the New York Giants are also announcing a joint corporate social responsibility program. Each time Big Blue scores either a touchdown, field goal or safety this season, Investors Bank will donate $250 to the non-for-profit CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) of New Jersey. Dedicated, compassionate and highly trained CASA volunteers assist and serve some of the most vulnerable children in the region.
Reviewing the alliance, Mr. Cummings said, “Our bank continually strives to develop new and exceptional ways to serve our consumer and business clients, which is why Investors Bank is linked to the New York Giants. We are solidifying the relationship with the fabled Big Blue team by launching our checking account, which enhances the legacy of each organization. We are also grateful to be one of the only regional banks in America to partner with an internationally-known, professional football franchise.”
New York Giants Checking Offers Many Premium Features and Amenities
Fans are invited to show their team pride by opening their New York Giants Checking Account at one of Investors Bank’s 147 branches. Fans will receive a 20 percent discount each time they use their Giants debit card to buy merchandise at www.shop.giants.com. The Giants Checking also comes with premium features such as free identify theft protection and cellphone insurance for three smartphones.
Banking with Giants Checking is convenient and rewarding. The dedicated client services team at Investors will help fans switch their account and join theBig Blue Checking Crew. Fans also have an opportunity to score big, and they may receive a cash reward by opening an account and referring their friends. For people who bank on the go, Giants Checking has a mobile wallet feature that is supported by the three major payment services, and they have access to exclusive New York Giants weekly postgame content that is presented in a mini-podcast format.
Source Communications is the advertising agency of record for Investors Bank. Source’s President Larry Rothstein and his team played a key role in creating the marketing campaign to launch and build positive awareness about the New York Giants Checking Account.
Parx Casino®, Pennsylvania’s #1 casino, announced the grand opening of the brand new Parx Casino® Sportsbook on Thursday. Parx Casino® Sportsbook looks to set the industry standard with a dazzling 7,400 square foot space that features a sweeping 156 foot HD media wall that can show up to 36 games all at the same time. Additionally, the sleek, state of the art space will feature six live tellers, 18 kiosks, 196 seats, three VIP areas, plus a 38′ x 14′ bar with 38 seats and a dramatic four-tier light design hanging from above. At the bar, look for a full menu of beer, wine, spirits and cocktails. From the kitchen, look for elevated game day favorites, including chicken wings, the Philly cheesesteak, a selection of burgers, and even a vegan Impossible burger. Parx Casino® will cut the ribbon at 3:00pm, and then open to the public at 5:00pm just in time for the Philadelphia Eagles preseason game vs. the Tennessee Titans. The grand opening of this permanent Sportsbook follows the recent launch of the Parx Online Sports Betting App and the Parx Casino real money casino. Parx Casino® is located at 2999 Street Road, Bensalem, in the heart of Bucks County – and only a short drive from Philadelphia and New York.
“Parx Casino® is excited to cut the ribbon on the best sportsbook in the country,” said Senior Vice President of Interactive Gaming & Sports, Matthew Cullen. “Parx aims to set the industry standard in this new and fast-growing arena. The timing couldn’t be better as we head into football season. We felt our local Eagles fans deserved to have the ultimate game day destination to cheer on the Birds. Game day will soar to new heights as we present the absolute best gaming and entertainment experience of its kind. We have worked for nearly two years to expand our portfolio of offerings to give patrons the best of all types of legalized gaming. After the recent launch of online sports betting and our real money online casino, the grand opening of Parx Casino Sportsbook completes this mission.”
Sports fans are invited to place their bets at the largest and most state-of-the-art new sportsbooks in America. When opened, customers can expect their favorite ways to bet on sports at Parx including: spread, moneyline, total, props, parlays and teasers. Sports that will be available will include, among others, Pro Football, Pro Basketball, Pro Baseball, Pro Hockey, College Football, College Basketball, Tennis, Golf, MMA, Boxing, Auto Racing and more. In honor of the grand opening, the first 1,000 people to come through the Sportsbook doors on August 8th will receive a $25 free bet when they fund their online sports betting account with at least $25. The promotion is available to both new signups and people with existing Parx Casino® online accounts. Look for details at the grand opening and on the Parx website.
The new Sportsbook will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week with 10-16 hours of live teller assistance pending on sports schedules. The space can hold up to 422 people, and features a 156 foot HD media wall that can broadcast 36 games simultaneously. The space also features six live teller windows, a full service bar, and comfortable seating for up to 200 people to watch the games. There will be 18 self-service sports betting kiosks available in the new Sportsbook as well as throughout the casino floor, Parx Beer Garden and Parx Poker Room.
From the kitchen, Parx Casino’s Sportsbook will fire up elevated game-day favorites. The opening menu includes Cheesesteak Dumplings $9, Chicken Tenders $10, Chicken Caesar Salad $1, Sports Book Chicken Wings $12, Boneless Chicken Wings $12, Angus Beef Hot Dog $7, Cheddar Pub Burger $10, Crispy Fried Chicken Burger $12, Philly Cheesesteak $12, Shaved Pork and Broccoli Rabe $12, Smoke House Burger $13 and The Impossible Burger $14.
The $10M addition of Sportsbook follows a $58.5M expansion over the last two years that included the Xcite Center, Parx Poker Room, Liberty Bell Gastropub, Oliveto and Parx Casino® Beer Garden.
Smarkets, operator of one of the world’s largest betting exchanges, has today announced the launch of its new sportsbook product, SBK.
SBK is a sportsbook app that combines industry-disrupting odds with a social-focused interface to offer users the fairest and funnest app for betting on sport and politics. Prices on SBK are the same as those on the Smarkets exchange, which has the best odds in the world thanks to its peer-to-peer model and proprietary technology.
SBK will benchmark its prices directly against leading bookmakers and show users how often they are getting the best odds with the revolutionary SBK Price+ feature, which will initially compare odds on football before incorporating the app’s entire event offering.
Users will be able to sign up and start betting on SBK from tomorrow (Friday 9 August); the app has been in a private test mode, with a waiting list to join, for the last 12 months.
Smarkets CEO and Founder Jason Trost said: “We are extremely excited to fully launch SBK having made substantial improvements since the beta introduction last year.
“By combining innovative technology with transparent and fair odds, I believe we are able to offer a product like no other in the market, which will help us continue to have an impact in an industry dominated by a few big players who don’t seek to give customers the best value.”
The Smarkets exchange, which has processed over £14 billion in trading volume since launching in 2010, offers users more flexibility and trading options compared to the sportsbook user experience of SBK.
Trost added: “While some bettors prefer the advanced features of Smarkets, we created SBK for those customers that want the better pricing of an exchange with the cleaner interface of a sportsbook.”
SBK was built in-house, predominantly by the company’s engineering team in Los Angeles, and will initially be launched in the UK, with Smarkets also expecting to introduce the product to the developing US betting market in the near future.
About Smarkets
Founded in 2008, Smarkets is an award-winning, product-focused, sports betting company headquartered in London, with offices in Los Angeles and Malta.
It was founded by a team of finance and software engineering professionals, and is backed by Passion Capital and Deutsche Telekom.
The Smarkets exchange has processed over £14 billion worth of transactions for customers across the company’s licensed and regulated markets.
SBK is a new sportsbook that delivers industry-disrupting odds. It draws these prices from the Smarkets exchange but offers a sleek, social, sportsbook experience for those customers that want the better pricing of an exchange with the cleaner interface of a sportsbook.
Today, the Fan-Controlled Football League (FCFL), the only professional football league where fans call the shots, including the plays themselves in real-time, announced legendary boxing champion Mike Tyson as the seventh Team Owner | Fan Captain to join the Owner’s Box. In addition to calling on fans to shape his team’s destiny – from name selection, serving as the final call on team uniforms, to drafting the players – Tyson brings his passion for sports and trash-talking skills to the league. Once the inaugural season kicks off, fans will find Tyson live commentating throughout games via Twitch, where they will have the unprecedented opportunity to engage with The Champ in a way never before seen in the history of professional sports.
“I’m fired up about joining the FCFL as its newest Team Owner and Fan Captain, and even more so to demolishing the competition,” states Tyson when asked about what he’s looking forward to accomplishing in the FCFL. “Leading into opening day, I’ll be engaging with fans from across the globe to stoke excitement and participation in the development of the Baddest League on the Planet.”
Tyson joins a talented group of global influencers spanning the world of sports and entertainment, all of whom share one common factor – a fervidness for professional football. To date the FCFL has announced six FCFL fan captains, all of whom are Tyson’s ‘competition’ (if you can call them that), including Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, Prince Royce, Kinda Funny, Bobby Bones, and Chad ‘Ochocinco’’ Johnson.
An undisputed heavyweight boxing champion and international entertainer known for his ‘take no prisoners’ approach, Tyson is also a serial entrepreneur; recent projects include a cannabis company called Tyson Ranch and a new podcast, HotBoxin, of which he produces and hosts.
“We are reinventing the sport of football for the digital age and a cultural phenomenon like Iron Mike could not be a better fit for this league. We are impossibly excited for him to bring his unparalleled energy, legendary smack talk, and unrivaled will to win to the FCFL,” shares Patrick Dees, FCFL co-founder and Chief Gaming Officer. “Tyson is a total badass and there is zero doubt in my mind that his team is going to be a force to be reckoned with and I for one, cannot wait to watch him stream his games on Twitch.”
The FCFL is the first professional sports league to combine the passion of live sports, the competitiveness of fantasy sports, the interactivity of video games, and the global reach of esports all into a live-streamed, real-life experience created for the digitally native fan.
Fans will create their team’s brand, hire (and fire, if necessary) a coaching staff, build roster through live fan-run draft, and call all their team’s plays in real-time. Games will be a seven-on-seven competition on a 50-yard field in a state-of-the-art production studio, creating a fast-paced, open style of play conducive to an action-packed sixty minutes of football. All games will be live streamed on Amazon’s Twitch, the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers and eSports. Using a brand new, unprecedented Twitch Extension, fans will get to use an interactive overlay that allows them to call the plays natively on top of the Twitch player.
To kick this announcement off the FCFL with WAX have partnered to give back to the fans who can enter to win one of three prizes anyone would be lucky to win: a pair of boxing gloves, a pair of boxing shoes, or a football – all of which are complete with Tyson’s autograph.
Fulltime Fantasy Sports who owns and operates the Fantasy Football World Championships in Las Vegas is acquiring https://www.fantasysp.com. Fantasy SP covers all major sports and builds industry leading apps and tools such as the Fantasy Assistant, Draft Genius and Team Analyzer. Brant Tedeschi sold to Fulltime and joined the Fulltime team as technical director and managing partner.
Fantasy SP has already built a mock draft simulator which is powering Fulltime’s Mock Draft World Championship, A FSTA award winning contest which allows users to mock draft on demand and enter the drafted team in a free to play bestball contest for thousands in cash and prizes. Just visit www.mockdraftnow.com.
“Fulltime stands out in the fantasy industry, and I’m excited to join the network,” says Fulltime Fantasy Sports Technical Director and Managing Partner Brant Tedeschi, “Looking forward to taking things to the next level.”
“We are thrilled to acquire FantasySP.com,” says Fulltime Fantasy Sports owner Ian Ritchie, “This is another giant step in the right direction for Fulltime Fantasy Sports Network.”
“Our community is about to get a big upgrade in overall user experience,” says Fulltime Sports co-owner Scott Atkins, “The tools and technology enhancements that Fantasy SP brings to the table truly makes Fulltime a one stop shop for everything a fantasy player needs to win.”
Zebra Technologies Corporation, an innovator at the edge of the enterprise with solutions and partners that enable businesses to gain a performance edge, today announced the renewal of its partnership with the NFL, extending Zebra’s role as the League’s Official On-Field Player-Tracking Provider through the 2021 season. This extension builds on the past five seasons during which Zebra has worked with the NFL to successfully implement a best-in-class player and ball tracking system, helping to launch a new era of football data and analytics known as Next Gen Stats.
Zebra captures data for the NFL by attaching RFID tags in player equipment and the football, transmitting real-time location data to receivers positioned around the stadium. The Zebra MotionWorks™ Sport tracking system captures metrics such as player speed, distance traveled, orientation and proximity, and acceleration/deceleration. This information is then utilized by the NFL to calculate vast amounts of information about every player for every play.
The Next Gen Stats data is used to enhance the fan experience both at home as well as in-stadium. The data helps to convey unique, engaging details about individual and team performances, as well as season-long trends, allowing fans to understand the game in a whole new way. Used by everyone from the casual viewer to the fantasy football fanatic, these insights provide fans, media, and teams with helpful and interesting information for every game, every week, throughout the entire season.
“We are pleased to extend our relationship with Zebra to further develop and share cutting-edge insights into the game of football,” said Matt Swensson, Vice President of Emerging Products & Technology, National Football League. “We’re excited to build on our partnership, and collectively advance the League’s commitment to innovation. In the coming seasons, we plan to further develop the Next Gen Stats platform, allowing coaches, players, and fans to understand the game in ways never possible before.”
NFL Club personnel use Next Gen Stats data to inform a variety of decisions, from play design to player workload, and to formulate specific practice plans.
“We are very excited to continue our work with the NFL, and we are committed to ongoing innovation to provide the League, teams and fans with real-time tracking data and insights for years to come,” said John Pollard, Vice President of Zebra Sports Business Development, Zebra Technologies. “Based on our collaborative approach, this extension validates the value of our real-time locationing technology in football to give those on the front line a performance edge.”
Earlier this year, Gartner, Inc. recognized Zebra as a Visionary in the Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services, Global for the second consecutive year. Part of Zebra’s market leading locationing portfolio, the MotionWorks Sport solution is powered by Zebra’s Savanna data platform which transforms information into insights to help teams make the best possible decisions.
Genius Sports Group, a global leader in sports data technology, has been awarded the exclusive right to collect official Serie A betting data in stadia from the start of the 2019/20 season.
The data will be captured using the Group’s advanced pitchside technology and instantaneously distributed as a live feed to licensed sportsbook operators outside of Italy via its sports betting arm, Betgenius.
By creating the fastest, most accurate and reliable real-time data feed on Serie A fixtures, Betgenius will offer sportsbooks and their customers access to premium content and a world-class betting experience, while providing the league with a solid return for betting on its games.
To provide enhanced control and visibility over the use of its betting data, Serie A will launch its first rights enforcement initiative, including the identification and ejection of unauthorised data collectors operating in-stadia.
Jack Davison, Chief Commercial Officer of Genius Sports Group, said: “Our partnership with Serie A is another example where we work with the most important global sports competitions to ensure our sportsbook operators have complete confidence in the security of their data supply and that our organisation will deliver the most trusted and compelling betting products to operators around the world. We look forward to working alongside Serie A to help extend the reach one of the largest leagues in world football.”
The rise of eSports is largely due to the vast extent of media platforms such as Twitch or YouTube. Previously, Twitch dominated the eSports media industry as many top players across various games live streamed on the platform. However, as the industry continues to ramp up, others want to get involved in the marketplace. Notably, Microsoft has its own platform called Mixer and while it is relatively small compared to Twitch or YouTube, the platform is growing.
Recently, top eSports influencer, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins signed a deal with Mixer to exclusively stream on its platform, leaving Twitch behind. Ninja was one of the top streamers on Twitch, boasting over 14.7 million followers. Ninja attributes to his success to Twitch and Fortnite, which has led him to accumulate over a total of 270 million viewing hours since January 2018. To put it into perspective, Riot Games, owner of League of Legends, accumulated 165 million hours, while individual streamers such as Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Turner “Tfue” Tenney have reported 144 million and 105 million hours, respectively. Ninja, who is also an individual streamer, has more than 100 hours of viewership compared to Riot Games, which is multi-international gaming franchise corporation. While Twitch does dominate the eSports media scene, other platforms have also become increasingly popular such as Facebook Live, Smashcast, and Bigo. Aside from free online platforms, large corporations such as Disney and Comcast have also dove into the industry. And with the evolving eSports scene, competition among media companies could potentially grow even larger as they try to secure the media rights to livestreams and tournaments. According to data compiled by Infoholic Research, the global eSports market is expected to triple by 2025, reaching a value of USD 3 Billion. Additionally, the market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 20% during the forecast period from 2019 to 2025. UMG Media Ltd. (TSX-V: ESPT), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL).
At its inception, eSport just involved a group of friends creating a team and competing against others. Since the birth of games, there has always been a competitive aspect to the industry, whether in the original Pac-Mac or the latest edition of Call of Duty. A multitude of players has been attracted to the idea of winning and climbing the leaderboard, which is why the eSports industry grew at such a remarkable pace. Now, games such as Fortnite and League of Legends have pushed eSports into mainstream media, allowing organizers to create multi-million dollar tournaments. The attractive grand prize pools have prompted teams from around the world to strive to become the best of the best, which is why some teams have become more business oriented rather than just a group of friends. In particular, games with a large fan and player base generally offer the highest prize tournaments. And with the large sum of monetary prizes in combination with popular professional players, a large audience is expected to be drawn in.
The larger the audience and the longer the viewing hours, the higher a company can monetize the broadcast. Similar to sports, many broadcasting and media companies are aggressively pushing to obtain the media rights for specific sports teams or tournaments. For instance, one of the largest sports networks, YES Network, broadcasts games for the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets and is a template others want to emulate. The network owns exclusive media rights to the teams, meaning that if other companies want to broadcast a Yankees or Nets game, they would need to negotiate a deal or pay the network.
Steve Arhancet, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Owner of Team Liquid said in an interview last year with CNBC’s “Fast Money,” that media streaming providers are pursuing to own the exclusive rights to broadcast League of Legends. League of Legends is a prime target for many companies because of its large audience. In 2018, League of Legends World Finals had nearly 100 million viewers. The impressive number only means more monetization for media companies. “Media rights have to do with the exclusive right to broadcast the League, and there’s plenty of interest in the space,” he said. “You’ve got Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, kind of all vying for these rights.”
UMG Media Ltd. (TSX-V: ESPT) announced earlier last week that, “Legends were made and champions were crowned this weekend in New York City at the Fortnite World Cup. With over $30,000,000USD awarded to players in the Solos, Duos, Creative and Pro/AM World Championships, countless lives were changed from a few flights on Fortnite’s Battle Bus.
Out of the four world championship events, all four were won by players of UMG’s Friday Fortnite. Bugha, a 16-year old reigning from Pennsylvania just won the most recent Friday Fortnite on July 19, 2019 and went on to win $3,000,000USD and claim the title of Fortnite World Champion. Aquaa took home $1,500,000USD in the duos championship. Friday Fortnite regulars, Cizzorz and Airwaks won the Creative World Championship and Pro/AM at the World Cup respectively. Countless other Friday Fortnite competitors finished top ten in the world taking home a combined $9,287,500.
UMG’s CEO, Dave Antony had this to say regarding UMG series players performance at the World Cup:
‘I want to congratulate everyone who participated in the Fortnite World Cup on their achievements and give a special shoutout to the four newly crowned world champions who participate in UMG’s broadcast events, along with all other UMG players at the event. Everyone at UMG loves the game, the competitions and most importantly the players and community. We look forward to kicking off more Fortnite initiatives through the remainder of 2019 to give more players a platform to kickoff their competitive gaming careers.’
UMG has increased their Fortnite offerings in the recent months to meet the demand set forth by the competitive gaming community for their competitions. Since 2019 started, UMG has had over 110,000 Fortnite tournament signups. Between the gaming platform and their initiatives on the influencer side, UMG is in a unique situation to capture a large percent of the Fortnite market.
Technavio analysts forecast the global sports betting market to grow at a CAGR close to 9% during the forecast period, according to their latest market research report.
The legalization of sports betting is one of the major trends being witnessed in the sports betting market 2018-2022. With the immense support for legalizing sports betting, several countries are expected to legalize sports betting, which would help generate massive revenue. This development would also help achieve more engagement with sports fans, thereby driving market growth.
According to Technavio analysts, one of the key factors contributing to the growth of the global sports betting market is the increasing popularity of e-sports betting:
Sports betting market: Increasing popularity of e-sports betting
The emergence of electronic systems to facilitate gaming competition, including a variety of video games, contributes to the growth of the e-sports industry. Owing to this popularity and growth, leading bookmarkers offer regular bets on numerous e-sports matches. Moreover, the betting volume for e-sports is increasing over other categories such as golf, tennis, rugby, and others. Thus, the broadening of the e-sports platform will drive the revenue generation in the sports betting industry.
According to a senior analyst at Technavio for research on leisure products, “Factors such as rising popularity of sports betting and the growing number of initiatives taken to legalize sports betting will further drive the growth of the online betting platforms market during the forecast period.”
Sports betting market: Segmentation analysis
The global sports betting market research report provides market segmentation by betting platform (online and offline) and by geography (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA). It provides an in-depth analysis of the prominent factors influencing the market, including drivers, opportunities, trends, and industry-specific challenges.
The Americas held the largest share of the market in 2017, accounting for close to 41% share, followed by the EMEA and APAC, respectively. Although APAC held the smallest share of the market, it is expected to witness the maximum increase in its market share over the forecast period owing to ease of gambling regulations in the region.
