Twice weekly, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here.
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Sources say that a DraftKings and FanDuel merger is “imminent” and could be announced as early as this week.
Prior media reports in recent weeks said the companies’ merger was imminent, but sources told ESPN that the companies’ financial settlements this week with the New York attorney general’s office were a key obstacle that needed to be cleared. The sources said some of the major merger details discussed this week included the newly joined company’s executive leadership, the name of the company, whether one site or two will be used, and where the company headquarters will be located. FanDuel has offices in New York and Scotland, and DraftKings is based in Boston. One highly placed source told ESPN that the recent merger discussions called for the two rivals to share roughly equally the revenue and expenses of the newly tied-in company.
“As we have stated previously, a potential combination would be interesting to consider,” a DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN. “However, as a matter of policy, we don’t comment on rumors or speculation, and there can be no assurances at this time that any discussion about a combination would result in an agreement or merger.”
A FanDuel spokeswoman declined comment.
A Seton Hall Sports Poll showed that nearly half of Americans think sporting events could be rigged.
The bottom line takeaway is that not everyone believes the sports they are watching are necessarily 100 percent above board.
“The sports organizing bodies rely heavily on the public believing that their games are honest,” said Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll. “This measurement of public perception certainly can’t please them, just as people in government are so upset about Donald Trump’s charges.”
Such perceptions likely color major US sporting organizations’ stance toward sports betting. The NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver have been vocal about legal sports betting being preferable to the current illegal offshore market that serves US bettors.
ESPN Chalk published it’s final article in a three-part series on the future of sports betting last Friday. This one looked at what could go wrong if sports betting is legalized.
If sports betting is legalized, will the United States be headed for a future with increased addiction potentially spurned by a rampant barrage of gambling advertising? Proponents point to the expected economic benefits and increased game-integrity protection of legalization. Opponents say those perceived pluses won’t outweigh the pitfalls.
The American Gaming Association released 24 reasons PASPA should be repealed in honor of the legislation’s 24th anniversary.
AGA’s list of the 24 reasons PASPA should be overturned is led by the $150 billion illegal sports betting market that grew by $10 billion from 2014 to 2015.
The betting handle is dropping along with the TV ratings for the NFL this season.
According to Nevada Gaming Control numbers released last week, $308.5 million was wagered on football, both pro and college, in September at the state’s regulated sportsbooks. That’s a year-over-year decrease of nearly $6 million, despite a similar number of games.
Overall, the amount bet with Nevada’s 190 sportsbooks was down 3.9 percent on all sports in September, year-over-year.
It’s a slight decrease — but notable after several years of overall growth. For six consecutive years, Nevada’s books have enjoyed record handle — the amount bet — on all sports. In 2015, $4.2 billion was bet on sports in the state’s 190 regulated sportsbooks, which are consolidated among roughly a dozen companies. That’s nearly double the amount bet in 2005.
Las Vegas public bettors have had a lot of success betting on the Raiders on the road this season.
“The Raiders are taking over this town,” said South Point oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, who heard the chants and cheers throughout a long game that ended dramatically on Carr’s touchdown pass with 1:45 remaining in overtime.
“It is now Raider Nation, make no mistake about it. To some degree, the people are juiced up with the talk of the team coming here.”