The leading hedge fund manager attributed his change in perspective to the growing trend of riskier betting options and the subsequent boost to operators’ margins. A steady stream of innovations from US operators has enabled them to reach broader demographics and improve customer onboarding and retention. New wagering options, often originating from daily fantasy offerings, also contributed to these trends.

New Ways to Wager Can Bolster Profitability

Jim Chanos noted a significant rise in riskier forms of betting during the 2022-2023 National Football League season, prompting a reassessment of the industry’s potential. The seasoned investor previously secured a substantial profit on shorting DraftKings stock, so his shifting sentiment surprised many of his peers. However, Chanos is confident in his new assessment.

The betting numbers have continued to be strong in the US, stronger than we thought they’d be.

Jim Chanos

During an interview for the Financial Times, he explained the reasoning behind his shifting perspective, highlighting the resounding success of new and engaging betting options as the industry slowly pivots away from traditional pre-game wagers. These new offerings usually offer significantly higher margins than the standard 5%, causing operator profitability to skyrocket.

Chanos also highlighted the emergence of a duopoly in the US betting market, primarily controlled by FanDuel and DraftKings, dominating the industry’s landscape. While promising newcomers like ESPN Bet and Fanatics have certainly made a splash, the market leaders have also stepped up their game, attempting to mitigate the outflow of customers via new promotions and offerings.

Market Leaders Remain at the Forefront

DraftKings, one of the leading betting platforms, reported its first profitable quarter in the second quarter of this year and is poised for a full-year profit in 2024. The operator’s share price has reflected this positive trajectory, more than tripling this year to $35.35. CEO Jason Robins expressed confidence in the company’s market position, lauding its product excellence.

DraftKings’ new Progressive Parlay product perfectly highlights Chanos’ point, mirroring the style and functionality of fantasy gaming offerings. This new way to wager enables bettors to build parlay cards and potentially win money even if some bets lose. DraftKings’ ability to swiftly recognize and adapt to industry trends has been one of the leading factors for its unparalleled success, bolstering investor confidence.

The shift in Chanos’ perspective underscores the evolving dynamics in the US gambling sector as operators explore innovative betting options and capitalize on the rising appetite for riskier wagers among American bettors. The fact that the investor did not name any concrete promising stocks could indicate his confidence in the sector as a whole, boding well for the industry’s future.

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Celebrity singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has once again demonstrated her cultural influence by prompting an avalanche of wagers for Travis Kelce, whom she is rumored to date.

Kelce is a National Football League star, currently playing as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. According to wagering operators, bets on the player have more than doubled ever since the dating rumors appeared.

According to the wagering operator Tipico Sportsbook, fans of Taylor Swift appear to be either actively wagering on Kelce or influencing the overall market. Citing numbers first announced by the operator, weekly Travis Kelce player prop bets skyrocketed by 115%. At the same, anytime touchdown bets increased a whopping 122%.

During the weekend, Kelce stood firmly as the most wagered-on NFL player in terms of anytime touchdown bets. Bets on him comprised a stellar 30% of the total number of anytime touchdown bets. For reference, the second most bet-on player in terms of anytime touchdown wagers was Christian McCaffrey with only 14% of the bets.

Swift Definitely Affected the Numbers

The overall betting handle during the game between the Chiefs and the New York Jets also made up 23% of the NFL handle, although this figure cannot be necessarily attributed to Taylor Swift’s fans alone.

Regardless, it is very likely that the songstress’ popularity did play a role. As reported by Front Office Sports the aforementioned game between the Chiefs and the Jets attracted 27 million viewers and was the most-watched Sunday show of any kind since the Super Bowl.

Front Office Sports added that the game also attracted an additional two million female viewers on top of the league’s average.

Unfortunately, the popular Kelce anytime touchdown scorer bet did not yield fans the results they expected. The American sports betting giant DraftKings had also launched a promotional Kelce long reception over 22 yards wager in reference to a Taylor Swift song called 22. However, that wager also failed to make bettors rich.

While Kelce performed suboptimally, NFL and Taylor Swift fans will get more chances to see him in action. Since the Chief defeated the Jets, they will proceed to the next round where they are set to face the Minnesota Vikings. That game is scheduled for October 8 and will be an opportunity to see whether the Swift mania will continue.

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The Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the regulator in charge of overseeing sports betting and gambling in the state, has announced the sector’s financial results for the month of July 2023 and the numbers show a healthy increase in sports wagers.

Going Mobile

Sports wagers in Louisiana amounted to 134.8 million dollars in July, a figure which represents an increase of 14 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.

The best-performing sector was mobile sports betting, which attracted 122.5 million dollars in wagers during the month of July. That total represents an increase of 18.6 percent year-on-year. Baseball was the most popular sport for mobile bettors in Louisiana in July, it managed to attract wagers amounting to a total of 2.7 million dollars.

Retail sportsbooks in the state did not perform so well, in fact, they recorded a significant decline in July. The total wagers at retail locations was 19.4 percent lower compared to the financial results of July 2022, amounting to just 12.2 million dollars. In the case of retail sportsbooks most punters chose to play parlay bets, which attracted over 1.2 million dollars in wagers.

Casinos Register Downward Trend

Casino revenue in the state of Louisiana was not that great in the month of July, it registered a decrease both when compared to July 2022 and with June 2023. Harrah’s New Orleans Casino, the land-based venue which is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment, reported gross gaming revenue of 17.5 million dollars in July 2023, 11.9 percent lower than the previous month and 22.8 less than what it recorded in July 2022.

Riverboat casinos in the state managed to bring in a total of 146.6 million dollars in adjusted gross revenue during the month of July. That was a good result considering that two riverboat casinos, one in Lake Charles and another in Bossier City, are currently closed.

Slot games located at the state’s racetracks reported slight increases in activity during July compared last month and last year. The Evangeline Downs racetrack registered the largest increase, with adjusted gross revenue going up by 7.3 percent to almost 6.5 million dollars.

Delta Downs was the best-performing racetrack in July when it comes to adjusted gross revenue, with a total amount of over 14.2 million dollars. Overall, total revenue from slot machines in Louisiana amounted to 27.6 million dollars, while the four racetracks in the state paid a total of 4.2 million in state tax.

Source: “Louisiana mobile sports betting wagers rise 18.6% year-over-year for July“. Gaming America. August 22, 2023.

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The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the country’s regulator of communications and media, announced it imposed a sanction against the leading gaming and entertainment company, Entain. Announced on April 28, the sanction comes after the Authority uncovered that two brands of the company offered online in-play betting. This resulted in an infringement notice of AU$ 13,320 ($8,800) against Entain.

ACMA explained that the financial sanction is the maximum penalty for this particular breach of the gambling regulation in the country, the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. Additionally, the Authority explained that this is the first such infringement notice for this particular breach of the online in-play betting rules.

The breaches, which the ACMA deemed illegal, involve two of Entain’s brands, Ladbrokes and Neds. The media Authority explained that the two brands accepted a total of 78 online in-play bets during the final day of the Bangkok LIV Golf tournament, an event that was played back in October 2022.

“Entain Pty Ltd (Entain) has been penalized for online in-play betting after it was found that two of its services had accepted illegal bets on a LIV golf tournament,“

reads a statement released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority

A breakdown of the collected bets released by ACMA reveals that 59 bets were accepted via Ladbrokes, while Neds collected 19 bets. Considering that this happened after the event had started, those bets were voided, said the Authority.

On the day of the breach, Entain was alerted by a customer, but this happened three hours after the golf event started. Still, the company explained that it has reviewed and consequently updated its in-play compliance policies. Ultimately, with those actions, Entain sought to “ensure such errors do not occur again.”

“Entain is a highly experienced wagering operator and it is disappointing it did not have internal procedures in place to prevent or detect the error. The ACMA made it clear to the industry last year that they must have robust systems in place to ensure that online in-play bets are not made available or accepted.“

Nerida O’Loughlin, chair at ACMA

Nerida O’Loughlin, ACMA’s chair, acknowledged that it is disappointing to see an experienced operator like Entain allow such a breach. She reiterated that in 2022, the Authority clearly outlined that operators cannot accept online in-play bets.

O’Loughlin explained that such bets can result in increased wagering activities by gamblers given that they have fast outcomes. This, in turn, creates a risk for the customers, which is why such bets are not permitted, said ACMA’s chair in conclusion.

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