Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – December 7-13

Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! It was again an eventful week in the USA, despite the still-active virus attack.

Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news, new partnerships and new acquisitions. Read on and get updated.

Latest News

Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. has announced that it has been ranked #7 on Forbes’ 2020 global list of “Most Valuable Esports Companies.” This marks the first time the Company has been included in the Forbes list. The list was announced on December 5 and can be viewed on Forbes.com.

The possible legalisation of casinos in Brazil has gained new support as the journalist Luis Solano takes over as president of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Journalists (ABRAJET) from December 18. Solano has voiced support for the legalisation of casinos as well as other segments such as bingo, slots and Jogo do Bicho. Luiz Solano is a member of the Planalto Academy of Literature and Arts and of the Federal District History and Geography Institute.

According to projections from Virginia Casinos.com, Virginia’s legal sportsbooks could earn as much as $412 million annually, yielding $61.8 million in tax revenue for the State. The projection forecasts 90% of revenue coming from online wagering, with mobile sports betting apps bringing in $375 million annually when Virginia’s market reaches full maturity. Virginia legalised sports betting in July 2020. The Virginia Lottery regulates the state’s sports wagering industry and will license up to 12 different online sportsbook brands.

New Partnership

Foxwoods Resort Casino, which is owned and operated by the federally recognised Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, has entered into a partnership with the sports betting company DraftKings. DraftKings and Foxwoods said the arrangement was “setting the stage to deliver access to online sports betting” in anticipation of legislative and regulatory approvals in Connecticut.

New Acquisitions

fuboTV Inc., the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, has acquired Balto Sports, a company that develops tools for users to organise and play fantasy sports games. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition marks fuboTV’s first move into the online sports wagering market. fuboTV intends to leverage its own proprietary technology along with Balto’s contest automation software to launch a free to play gaming offering.

XLMedia, a leading global digital performance publisher, has announced that it has made a significant step in its expansion into the US sports market with the acquisition of sports gaming and betting business CBWG Sports (CBWG). Under the terms of the definitive documents for the acquisition, XLMedia will pay upfront consideration of $12 million in cash and issue 7,954,546 new XLMedia plc shares, as well as potential future contingent consideration of up to an additional $9.5 million, based on net revenue performance of the acquired business, payable over three years to the end of 2023.

New Launchings

BetMGM has launched BetMGM Casino in Pennsylvania, bringing the digital gaming company’s exclusive portfolio of online slots and table games to players in the Keystone State. BetMGM’s integration with MGM Resorts’ M life Rewards programme allows BetMGM customers in Pennsylvania to redeem their gameplay for world-class experiences at iconic MGM Resorts properties nationwide, such as Bellagio and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Borgata in New Jersey and MGM National Harbor in Maryland.

PointsBet has launched a new initiative named PointsBet Personal Good Karma Refund, the first of its kind in the burgeoning U.S. sports betting market. The PointsBet Personal Good Karma Refund initiative provides clients the power to decide which bad beat they want refunded at the end of each month. Eligibility will be applied to new clients who have placed 10 or more cash bets in a given month. Beginning 28 December 2020, those clients can then select their personal worst bad beat of the month via the “Settled Bets Page” in the PointsBet app/website.