Canada
PlayUSA.com: NCAA Tournament likely the first $1 billion event
The 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will almost certainly be the first sporting event in U.S. history to draw more than $1 billion in legal wagering and could approach $1.5 billion, according to projections from PlayUSA, the leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. But without data from last year following the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, and a regulated sports betting landscape that has radically changed from 2019, predicting precisely just how much in wagering March Madness will generate is nearly impossible, PlayUSA cautions.
“The 2021 NCAA Tournament will be the most widely bet-on sporting event in U.S. history,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayUSA.com. “The popularity of the NCAA Tournament combined with such a high number of games typically makes March Madness the largest sports betting holiday each year in terms of handle, and there is no reason to suspect that won’t be the case this year. But the number of legal sports betting markets has more than tripled since 2019 and we are still in the midst of a pandemic that could slow retail sportsbooks. Those reasons alone make this year difficult to predict.”
The last time the NCAA Tournament was played in 2019, bettors in seven states could place a wager legally. Those seven states, which includes today’s three largest markets, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, as well as Delaware, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, managed to generate an estimated $440 million in bets, or about 40% of the nation’s overall handle in March, according to PlayUSA.
Now with 20 states and Washington D.C. offering some form of legal sports betting, the U.S. landscape has shifted dramatically. That includes most of the nation’s largest markets behind the Top 3, including Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, and Michigan. And Pennsylvania, now the nation’s third-largest market, launched online sports betting after the 2019 tournament.
Today, an adult population of about 86 million can now bet legally in their home states. In 2019, about 26 million adults enjoyed access to legal sportsbooks in their home states.
“The Super Bowl draws the most bets for a single game, but March Madness and its 60+ games should more than double what the Super Bowl draws,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayUSA.com. “But the dramatic expansion of legal markets, as well as the exponential growth within each market, means more people will have an opportunity to bet on the NCAA Tournament than ever before. And that will produce an eye-popping handle number that could reach $1.5 billion.”
2021 also brings multiple factors that will be unique to this year’s tournament. For one, pandemic-related restrictions are still in place in some legal jurisdictions, and most bettors may still be hesitant to make a bet indoors. That could have a significant effect on event-driven markets like Nevada, which relies on retail betting far more than in most of its largest rivals. New Jersey, for instance, accepts about 90% of its bets online, and PlayUSA projects that the Garden State could draw more than $300 million in NCAA Tournament bets this year, more than any other state.
In addition, for the first time in history every game of the NCAA Tournament will be played in a legal sports jurisdiction. With so many games being played locally, that jurisdiction, Indiana, has the potential to far outperform what would normally be expected of the nation’s fifth-largest U.S. sports betting market.
“With so many variables at play, this will be a fascinating NCAA Tournament to watch,” Ramsey said. “We know that the tournament will draw heavy action. But it won’t look like any NCAA Tournament that we have ever seen.”
For more information on NCAA Tournament betting, visit www.playusa.com/march-madness-betting/.
Stats Perform, the global leader in sports AI, data and technology, has announced an official data partnership with the Northern Super League (NSL). The partnership will allow world-leading Opta data to be collected live from every NSL league game for the next three years.
Beginning this month, the Northern Super League (NSL) establishes a new era in Canadian sport as the country’s first professional domestic women’s soccer league — an ambitious and transformative initiative co-founded by former Canadian international and Olympic medallist Diana Matheson. Its inaugural season kicks off on April 16 and will feature six teams who have assembled multinational player rosters with extensive club and international experience, including 100-cap Canadian internationals Desiree Scott and Quinn.
Once the action begins, detailed data from every on-ball event, including advanced AI-powered Opta Analytics metrics such as Expected Goals (xG) and Expected Assists (xA), will be captured and distributed via feeds and Stats Perform products, including OptaAI Studio. This will enable various broadcasters, publishers and rights holders to generate stories and insights throughout the NSL season and provide them straight to the league’s fans in real time.
As part of the agreement, the NSL’s League Office and every NSL club will also have access to Opta Search, part of OptaAI Studio. This will allow their content creators to leverage all Opta data collected during the NSL season in the creation of data-led stories on the stand-out performers, and will help them generate key talking points for publication on official league and club platforms. Opta Search will also empower the NSL’s media team to create a range of data visualizations, including player shot maps and touch maps, to visually illustrate the impact of different players’ on-field performances.
Christina Litz, NSL President, said: “We are thrilled to have Stats Perform on board as our official data partner. When we talk about detailed performance data in soccer, Opta is the gold standard, so we are delighted to have it powering each of our official digital channels. As the season progresses, we want to put the spotlight on all the on-field heroes who emerge and having access to world-class data will help us tell their stories and inspire a new generation of Canadian soccer fans.”
Steve Xeller, Chief Revenue Officer at Stats Perform, said: “Stats Perform has been a huge supporter of expansion leagues around the world, so we are very pleased to be partnering with NSL in the lead-up to their first domestic campaign. Seeing a fully professional women’s soccer league launch in Canada is an incredibly exciting development for the sport in North America and we see considerable potential in working proactively with the League’s Head Office to help the competition grow, using the power of AI and data-led storytelling to build fan communities across the continent.”
The post Northern Super League Partners with Stats Perform appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Africa
INCENTIVE GAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, SOUTH AFRICA AND UK WITH LIGHT & WONDER
Leading B2B games provider, Incentive Games, today announced its new agreement with premium gaming company and content provider Light & Wonder, Inc.
Through this agreement, Incentive Games will distribute its premium pay-to-play games – including new arcade-style titles – to key global regulated markets including the USA, Canada, South Africa, UK, and within Europe via Light & Wonder’s extensive operator network. Additionally, Incentive Games’ popular free-to-play content will be made available to a wider audience through Light & Wonder’s content marketplace.
The agreement brings together two industry leaders in iGaming and the strengths of both companies to deliver exceptional player experiences and elevate customer engagement.
Ahmed Baker, Chief Commercial Officer at Incentive Games said, “This agreement is a landmark moment in our company’s history. Previously, we’ve worked directly with major operators such as bet365, FanDuel, and Sky Bet. Now, we can distribute our games via Light & Wonder, an exceptional aggregator that we trust will handle our games with care.”
Steve Mayes, Senior Director of Partners at Light & Wonder, said: “We are excited to work with Incentive Games, a leader in gamification solutions. We look forward to leveraging their innovative platform and bringing their customisable crash and fast game content to all major regulated markets.”
The post INCENTIVE GAMES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTION DEAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, SOUTH AFRICA AND UK WITH LIGHT & WONDER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
PENN Entertainment announced that it has launched theScore Casino, a new stand-alone iCasino app in Ontario. The dedicated online casino experience leverages the popular theScore brand, which has been a mainstay in the Ontario market for decades. Now available on Android, iOS, and desktop, customers can login using their existing theScore Bet credentials, allowing for a seamless experience across online gaming platforms.
theScore Casino operates on the same cutting-edge proprietary technology platform as PENN’s online Hollywood Casino, which launched as a standalone product in the US in December. The product was recently ranked by Eilers & Krejcik as the #2 overall iCasino product in the US.
theScore Casino, also available within theScore Bet app, offers a variety of online slots, table games, and live dealer content, including original titles from PENN Game Studios, the company’s in-house game development studio. theScore Casino also includes bespoke live dealer tables and exclusive games such as Blue Jays Blackjack, an original title leveraging theScore Bet’s partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We’re excited to introduce our dedicated iCasino product in Ontario under the well-known and trusted theScore brand. We’ve built a strong online gaming foothold in the Ontario market and are primed to deliver an even better casino experience with our proven stand-alone app. Our customer-friendly platform features more than 1200 games, dozens of original titles and intuitive game play that distinguishes our product and positions us for even greater success,” said Aaron LaBerge, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Interactive at PENN Entertainment.
The post PENN Entertainment Launches Stand-alone iCasino App, theScore Casino, in Ontario appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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