It’s October and its time for all industry professionals to come together and get excited about the future of the gaming industry. The latest trends and technology on show by gaming manufacturers show off their latest and greatest games and gadgets for casinos to purchase at the fantastic Global Gaming Expo (G2E). If you’ve never had the opportunity to attend the Business to Business event, the expo floor at G2E is very similar to an actual casino. The majority of space is occupied by slot machines, table games and the latest trends to hit the casino floor for the upcoming calendar year. The 2018 G2E held this past week at Sands Expo & Convention Center, was groundbreaking for one segment of the gaming sector in America in particular. Sports Betting. Not only was there a dedicated Sports Betting symposium, that offered insightful industry speakers and educational sessions but there were other noticeable shifts on the expo floor. Gaming operators from across the globe with worldwide leading dedicated sportsbetting products and innovation were the main attraction. With obvious excitement in the Sports Betting industry with the groundbreaking victory in the Supreme Court over turning PASPA, it was clear that the World is ready for legal and regulated Sports Betting in America.
The highlight of the event for Editor-in-Chief Michael McCabe was the important discussion held in the sports betting symposium on “The Future of Legalized, Regulated Sports Betting in the US”. Special guest Scott Van Pelt led the discussion between Sara Slane (Senior Vice president, AGA) and Kenny Gersh (MLB EVP of Gaming). The topic was insightful and a breath of fresh air to acknowledge what is going on behind closed doors.
Kenny Gersh EVP of gaming at the MLB was very clear of what Major League Baseball is requiring in order to regulate and elevate sports betting on baseball. He quoted several times its a “Royalty fee not integrity fee” .25% not 1%. The mindset behind the .25% fee is given the economic incentive and partnership, the League grants the fairness and opportunity for others to profit from the sport that they can then elevate the level of gaming through greater data and advancements.
The obvious argument made by AGA representative Sara Slane, is this is unprecedented in all other industries. In order for legal regulated operators to compete with illegal offshore Sports Books they must be granted the opportunity to compete with the best available odds and products. Illegal Sports Books currently have a stranglehold on unregulated markets, have little to no overheads and no brick and mortar costs. Not to mention taxes and “royalty fees”. In a thrilling debate like format the answer does not appear to be clear. Is illegal Sports Betting any leagues problem? Is it simple naive and negligent of them to consider that gambling does not currently exist on their games?
In the ideal world both parties must be dedicated to the eradication of the illegal market and work together to do so. I propose a 5 year no “.25% royalty fee”, this would allow operators to enter the market on a fair playing field and eradicate the illegal market. Once all parties are up and running and profitable, the fee makes sense to elevate the potential level of betting further through increased data options. Is it possible? Yes, agreeable….Not sure. I look forward to watching this space and development in the upcoming months, the good news is that the industry is in great hands moving forward.
Here are three Companies to watch in the evolving Sports Betting market from the 2018 Global Gaming Expo.
Kambi made history in 2018 by leading the way and becoming the first sports betting supplier to process online wagers in the post PASPA US market. Kambi Powers the Draftkings and PlaySugarHouse sportsbook in New Jersey.
Get excited – Teaser+ – Kambi has taken its own innovation of the popular teaser parlay, with its own dedicated method to pricing it is set to deliver the player with greater value and return for their money. This is possible with kambi’s in house trading team that is able to generate a price based on each individual leg.
Betgenius and Sportcast have combined to offer sportsbook operators the best user friendly pre match betting experience currently available across the globe.
Get excited – The product “BetBuilder” is a revolution to the industry allowing pre match betting by enabling punters to instantly build accumulators or parlays made up of dozens of different player, team and event markets within the same game.
SBtech offers self service betting kiosks with the complete on property solutions. The kiosks are currently available in New Jersey and Mississippi and boast the industry’s widest range and market coverage for sports Betting.
Get excited – No more lines and Parlay boost! The parlay boost is just that, it’s an option to increase the payout on parlay bets.
