Welcome to the latest edition of "Bet On It," where The Fly looks at news and activity in the sports betting and iGaming space.
SECTOR NEWS: Sportradar, a global provider of sports betting and sports entertainment products and services, and Bally's Interactive, a division of Bally's (BALY) that operates the omni-channel provider's sports betting, iGaming, free-to-play, and daily fantasy sports platforms, announced a five-year sports betting partnership. Under the terms of the deal, Sportradar will provide Bally's Interactive with access to its complete pre-match betting services, live betting services, and content solutions portfolio. Bally's Interactive will incorporate that data portfolio as part of its ambitious expansion plans to become a leader in the North American sports betting markets.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) reported Q2 results on Thursday, posting earnings per share and revenue below analysts' consensus forecasts. Sands China revenue increased to $849M, compared to $40M in Q2 of 2020. Capital expenditures totaled $157M, primarily including construction, development and maintenance activities of $129M in Macao and $27M at Marina Bay Sands. "We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties as greater volumes of visitors are eventually able to travel to Macao and Singapore. We also remain deeply committed to supporting our team members and to helping those in need in each of our local communities as they recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We remain confident in the eventual recovery in travel and tourism spending across our markets. Demand for our offerings from customers who have been able to visit remains robust, but pandemic-related travel restrictions in both Macao and Singapore continue to limit visitation and hinder our current financial performance. Our industry-leading investments in our team members, our communities, and our market-leading Integrated Resort offerings position us exceedingly well to deliver growth as these travel restrictions eventually subside and the recovery comes to fruition. We are fortunate that our financial strength supports our investment and capital expenditure programs in both Macao and Singapore, as well as our pursuit of growth opportunities in new markets," said chairman and CEO Robert Goldstein. Las Vegas Sands stock was down 3% in the wake of the report.
DraftKings (DKNG) revealed plans to launch DraftKings Marketplace, a digital collectibles ecosystem designed for mainstream accessibility that offers curated NFT drops and supports secondary-market transactions. Once launched, millions of customers will have the ability to seamlessly buy, sell and trade digital collectibles across sports, entertainment and culture using their existing DraftKings account. Additionally, as part of a new strategic relationship, DraftKings Marketplace will also be the exclusive distributor of NFT content from NFT platform Autograph, which leverages official licensing of prominent athletes and celebrities to provide a wide array of digital collectibles. The initial drops on DraftKings Marketplace for USD purchase will be the "Pre-Season Access" collection, which will showcase NFTs of legendary athletes from Autograph's roster of talent and partners while also giving fans a chance to obtain preferred access to future releases. DraftKings Marketplace will also serve as a secondary-sale platform where users can buy, sell and trade digital collectibles bought within the marketplace community. Autograph's esteemed advisory board will help design custom NFTs exclusively for Autograph that will begin rolling out later this summer via DraftKings Marketplace drops. While DraftKings Marketplace will be the exclusive purveyor of sports NFTs from Autograph, the collaboration may eventually branch into other verticals like entertainment, lifestyle and culture. Commenting on the launch of DraftKings Marketplace and an exclusive partnership with Tom Brady's NFT Platform Autograph, Needham analyst Bernie McTernan said he views this entrance in the NFT marketplace as an "interesting call option" for the company, especially if the emergence of NFTs can grow and move the $10B sports memorabilia market online with Autograph establishing significant share. The analyst would expect the DraftKings marketplace to be able to earn a 1% to 3% fee on transactions in its market place. Therefore, on $1B of transactions in its marketplace, he would expect DraftKings to earn $10M to $30M in revenue, or 1% to 3% of his 2021 revenue estimate. McTernan has a Buy rating and a price target of $73 on the shares.
MASSACHUSSETS MAKING PROGRESS: The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a bill 156-3 to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts. Despite bipartisan support in the House, the question of whether to allow wagers on college sports emerged as a major sticking point between the House and Senate, Colin A. Young of NBC Boston reported. Sources said that they hoped the House's lopsided vote would send a message to the Senate, which has reportedly been less enthusiastic about sports betting. House Speaker Ronald Mariano said on Bloomberg Baystate Radio that leaving collegiate betting out of any bill "probably would be" a deal breaker. "That's a great point, but I tend to think it probably would be," he said, adding that negotiations have not begun. "I find myself having a tough time trying to justify going through all of this to not include probably the main driver of betting in the commonwealth." The House bill would put sports betting under the watch of the Gaming Commission. MGM Springfield (MGM), Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park Casino would be granted licenses to take in-person wagers. They would be allowed to have between one and three mobile sports betting platforms, depending on the facility. Mobile-only operators could also seek licenses and every license would carry a $5M fee. It is estimated that Massachusetts could receive $70M-$80M in licensing fees. A sportsbook's revenue from in-person bets would be taxed at 12.5% and revenue from mobile wagers at 15%. NBC Boston noted the House and Senate are expected to take a summer break in the near future and it remains to been if the Senate plans to take up a sports betting bill.
MAYBE NEXT YEAR: Sports betting in Maine will have to wait at least until next year, according to Legal Sports Report's Brad Allen. The state’s legislative session adjourned Monday with sports betting legislation still tabled. Milton Champion, the executive director of the Maine Gambling Control Unit, told LSR that the lack of face-to-face meetings was a major factor as to why the 2021 effort failed. “It just didn’t have the punch this year,” Champion said. “It never felt like there was the same interest as last year and that was due to the pandemic in my opinion.” On the other hand, Champion is optimistic on legislation passing in 2022. “It’s like a statue,” he said. “You chip away at it every year and eventually get a finished product. It’s a matter of when, not if, for Maine sports betting.” There is also a tethering issue that has persisted throughout the legislation process. Casino companies, including Penn National (PENN), are all for pro-tethering. Penn said last year it supported Maine sports betting only for those who had “invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the state.” However, other online sports betting proponents are anti-tethering. The bill is still yet to make its way to Governor Janet Mills, who has already vetoed sports betting legislation in the past. LSR noted that New Hampshire and DraftKings will continue to benefit from the lack of sports betting progress from the Pine Tree State. Maine bettors will continue to cross the border to place wagers as other parts of New England are also moving forward with betting.
CHICAGO TAKES AIM AT SPORTS BETTING BAN: Despite sports betting being been legal in Illinois for over two years, the “home-rule” in place prevents Chicago teams from constructing sportsbooks near their venues, Chris Altruda of Sports Handle reported. Only the Cubs are on track to build one after reaching a partnership deal with DraftKings last September that will eventually include a sportsbook near Wrigley Field. Additionally, the NFL's Chicago Bears have a sportsbook deal with BetRivers (RSI). Notably, Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett, whose ward most includes the United Center, home to the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks, introduced an ordinance during Wednesday’s City Council meeting that would lift the ban on sports betting. It would allow the city to set parameters for those establishments and collect license fees for authorizing wagering. “All [the city’s] venues have suffered from the pandemic,” Burnett said. “I’m just getting the ball rolling. We want to help them get a leg up. It gives us an opportunity to help them.” Burnett’s ordinance would authorize sports wagering at the city’s five sports venues Wrigley Field, the United Center, Guaranteed Rate Field, Soldier Field and Wintrust Arena or in a “permanent building or structure” located within a five-block radius. There would be a limit of 15 kiosks and betting windows at venues that do not provide food and drink for purchase. Wagering would be prohibited from midnight until 10 a.m. on Monday through Thursday; midnight Friday until 9 a.m. Saturday; and from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES IN THE SPACE INCLUDE: Accel Entertainment (ACEL), Bally's (BALY), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Churchill Downs (CHDN), DraftKings (DKNG), Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), Gan Limited (GAN), Genius Sports (GENI), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN), Rush Street Interactive (RSI), Scientific Games (SGMS), Score Media (SCR) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).
Bally's
-0.13 (-0.28%)
Las Vegas Sands
-1.28 (-2.71%)
DraftKings
+0.215 (+0.44%)
MGM Resorts
-0.335 (-0.85%)
Penn Entertainment
-1.53 (-2.13%)
Rush Street Interactive
-0.27 (-2.73%)
Accel Entertainment
-0.02 (-0.17%)
Boyd Gaming
+0.06 (+0.11%)
Caesars
-1.97 (-2.13%)
Churchill Downs
-2.23 (-1.17%)
Use FLUT
+4.775 (+5.58%)
Gan Limited
-0.7 (-4.30%)
Genius Sports
-0.11 (-0.68%)
Scientific Games
-1.11 (-1.79%)
Score Media
-0.12 (-0.79%)
Wynn Resorts
-3.76 (-3.50%)