Casino City’s Friday Five: Sports betting revenue edition
Yesterday, Iowa became the 11th state to accept legal sports bets. The Hawkeye State is expecting big results from sports betting. In addition, New Jersey’s gambling numbers continue to rise.
Also this week, we have a Florida casino awarding several major jackpots, Intertops Poker giving away free spins and a poker bonus, the NFL expanding its partnership with Sportradar and Foxwoods Resort Casino introducing a new casino.
Let’s start off with your chance to pick up some free spins:
5. Poker bonus and free spins at Intertops Poker
This weekend, players at Intertops Poker can get up to 50 free spins on 4 Seasons and Dragon Kings, along with a poker bonus for any of the poker rooms or to register for poker tournaments when making a deposit.
Until Monday, when a player deposits at least $25, they receive 30 free spins on 4 Seasons, plus up to a $50 poker bonus. A $50 deposit will award 50 free spins on Dragon Kings, plus up to a $50 poker bonus.
“Sometimes our poker players don’t realize we have casino games. And a lot of our slots players haven’t checked out our poker room,” said Intertops Poker’s casino manager. “So we thought we’d mix it up a bit with this one!”
4. Seminole Hard Rock Tampa awards $1.4 million in jackpots
Players at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa have been hot on the slot machines as of late. In the last four weeks at the Florida casino, three Wide Area Progressive jackpots have been won, totaling over $1.4 million.
The first jackpot was hit on 12 July for $516,519 on Cash Spin Deluxe. Just two weeks later, another jackpot for $242,443 was cashed in by a guest playing the Ghostbusters 4D slot. The final one hit on 4 August, again by someone playing the Cash Spin Deluxe slot. This payday came out to be $706,320.
“To have one jackpot hit at these amounts is a reason to celebrate,” said Steve Bonner, President of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. “To have three in less than a month is really something special.”
?? Now THAT'S a jackpot. ?? Congratulations the winner who scored $706,320 on the Scientific Games Cash Spin Deluxe penny slot machine!! pic.twitter.com/SCJufLFREe
— Seminole Hard Rock (@SHRTampa) August 10, 2019
3. Sportradar expands partnership with the NFL
On Monday, the National Football League and Sportradar announced an expansion of their existing partnership, which will license the distribution of NFL official league data and content to more fans around the world.
The renewal expands upon the existing partnership, including exclusive distribution of real-time official play-by-play data to sports betting operators in the U.S. and internationally where sports betting is legal and regulated.
On top of all of that, the NFL will use Sportradar’s integrity services to monitor the betting across all NFL games.
“Sportradar has been an excellent partner the last four years and has provided the league, our teams and the media marketplace with innovative data products,” said Hans Schroeder, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NFL Media. “We look forward to working with Sportradar to deliver fast, accurate official league data that will innovate and improve experiences for our fans across platforms.”
“We are thrilled to become @NFL's exclusive data distribution partner, undoubtedly one of the most important partnerships in Sportradar’s history.”
— Sportradar (@Sportradar) August 12, 2019
We've expanded our #NFL partnership to license the global distribution of official league data & content.https://t.co/v6bZb8hMNH
The NFL wasn’t the only professional sports league in the gambling industry’s headlines this week.
FanDuel Group announced a partnership with Major League Baseball.
This is the company’s first partnership with the league, which will provide FanDuel access to official MLB data, along with league and team marks and logos, across FanDuel’s online sports betting products and retail sportsbook locations.
"Baseball is one of the most popular sports to bet on, and partnering with MLB allows us to make the betting experience even better for our customers," said Kip Levin, President & COO, FanDuel Group. “With an enhanced betting experience, sports fans are watching more baseball as they have a stake in the game.”
2. William Hill opens four Iowa sportsbooks on first day of legalized sports betting
Yesterday at noon, all four William Hill sportsbooks at Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, Lakeside Hotel Casino, Isle Casino Hotel - Waterloo and Isle Casino Hotel - Bettendorf accepted their first sports wagers.
Iowa is now the ninth U.S. state that William Hill operates sportsbooks in.
“What a great day. I’m so proud of everyone who has worked so hard to bring sports betting to Iowa and to our four new sportsbooks,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill U.S. “Sports betting will bring a lot of enjoyment to local sports fans. Iowa State is a four-point favorite over Iowa and the early money is on the Cyclones.”
Mobile betting will be available for Iowa players as well. The William Hill sports betting app will allow anyone within the state to place a bet on sporting events.
William Hill is officially LIVE in Iowa!
— William Hill Iowa (@WilliamHillIowa) August 15, 2019
Come visit our new Sports Books at @PrairieMeadows, @IsleCasinoWT, @IsleCasinoBT and @LakesideCasino! pic.twitter.com/Ftnmdmf6R6
After becoming the 11th U.S. state to accept legal sports wagers, Iowa could generate $4 billion a year in bets.
"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 most likely take at least five years for the sports betting industry in the Hawkeye State reaches full maturity.
One downside for Iowa is the requirement for players to sign up at a physical sportsbook in person until 2021, which could slow growth.
New Jersey is also expecting growth for its sports betting industry, which is now a year old. In 12 months, online sportsbooks in the state have seen $2.6 million in wagers, which is 75% of the state’s handle since the first online sportsbook was opened in August 2018.
July sports betting numbers did go down a little for New Jersey. In July, sportsbooks generated $251.3 million handle, down 8% from $273.2 million in June 2019. However, that is still greater than any July in Nevada’s history.
In fact, July’s handle increased 517% year-over-year, compared to its $40.7 million handle in July 2018.
1. Foxwoods Resort Casino unveils Rainmaker Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut announced the opening of Rainmaker Casino, a "reimagined gaming space" with an array of slot machines — including many exclusive to Foxwoods — table games, a racebook and a new poker room.
“We’re pleased to introduce the top-of-the-line Rainmaker Casino as we continue to provide the world-class gaming our guests have come to know and expect at Foxwoods,” said Wayne Theiss, Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Vice President of Gaming Operations. “These new offerings are just another way of showing Foxwoods’ commitment to maintaining our position as the premier gaming destination in the Northeast.”
The new poker room offers some new ways to win, including the Random Riches Jackpot, which gives players the chance to match a randomly generated hand to win the jackpot. The jackpot will increase $100 every 30 minutes and keeps growing until the hand is matched.