The Wednesday Line: Caesars Q4, Mass. To Crack Down On DFS, Apple Sports With Odds
Here’s today’s quick rundown in the world of US gambling. If you’re catching up, here’s yesterday’s roundup.
Caesars Q4 + Michigan
Some notes from Caesars on its Q4 call:
Online gambling revenue rose almost 80% for the full year, good for $38 million in adjusted EBITDA.
The company acquired WynnBet’s online casino operation in Michigan while also re-upping a deal with a tribal partner in the state.
Caesars has been much quieter than most of the top online operators of late, but the Michigan strategy to operate multiple skins is particularly interesting as it looks to grow its online casino business. The days of CZR spending heavily to acquire sports bettors are over as the company focuses on a sustainable and growing online gambling business.
More from Earnings + More and Bonus.com.
Closing Line Consulting
Need help with gambling content, communications/PR, or research and analysis? I’m formally starting a consultancy to help companies in the gaming industry and beyond Reach out if you want to have a conversation. Learn more about CLC here.
More bad news for fantasy parlay apps
Massachusetts, a state with a daily fantasy sports law, appears ready to tell fantasy parlay operators to stop serving the state. More here. DFS is under the purview of the attorney general’s office in MA, not the gaming commission. Here in particular I will be interested to see if this is a case of operators doing the bare minimum to operate or if they received affirmation that their games were legal. Many parlay operators don’t serve the state; it’s not clear if that’s because they don’t want to pay the 15% tax on revenue or some other reason. My free PR advice to the fantasy apps: Talk publicly about your conversations with the AG if that office gave you an explicit green light beyond filling out forms. You’re welcome to talk to me and I’ll tell your story if you’re willing to go on the record and this is what happened. More on the recent wave of bad news for fantasy vs. the house here; my updated map of the industry's legality here.
Apple Sports app + odds
It was interesting to see Apple launch its sports scores product that also includes betting odds. Less from a gambling perspective and more from my personal perspective, I think there’s still a place in the market for a killer sports score app. Yes ESPN, theScore and others are good, but all have flaws. From a gambling perspective, I think we have to put a pin in Apple Sports and see what the future brings. Suffice it to say Apple’s scale and its desire to offer more live sporting events could intersect nicely with gambling down the road.
The Closing Line is a publication of +More Media.
For sponsorship inquiries, contact me or email scott@andmore.media.
If you have any interest in documenting the scams that have taken place so far from DFS apps, I'd be happy to share my notes. I don't think I've seen you mention Outlast, No House Advantage, Units, or Thrive, and they all deserve to be named & shamed.