Business By The Books: bet365 Making Moves In US Sports Betting


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The largest sportsbook in the world, bet365, appears to be starting its US sports betting push in earnest.

Ohio February report shows bet365 is holding its own in a new market despite significant spending from established brands.

Virginia reports are not nearly as detailed but based on market dynamics, bet365 seems to be making its presence felt there as well.

bet365 holds strong in Ohio sports betting

February was a much different month for Ohio, which saw online handle, revenue and promos drop significantly from the launch month of January. There are two main reasons why: fewer promos means fewer bets and January had many more NFL betting opportunities than just Super Bowl betting.

bet365 had 3.5% of handle in January while contributing 5% of total promotional spend in the market. But as larger sportsbooks significantly decreased promos in February, like FanDuel which cut spending by 88.3%, bet365 dropped 39.6% and stepped up in the handle rankings.

The operator’s online handle share increased to 5% while contributing 16.3% of total promo spending.

That handle share might seem low, but that is mostly because DraftKings and FanDuel are dominating the market. Strip them out and bet365 accounted for 17.8% of handle in February. Out of those 14 remaining sportsbooks, bet365 trailed just BetMGM in terms of handle share.

Virginia sports betting promos jump in February

bet365 announced it was live in Virginia on Jan. 31, and its presence is seen in the promotional deductions for February.

Only bet365, Betway and Hard Rock could deduct promos in January and February because of a change made last July limiting deductions. January, where the sportsbook was live for just one day, saw just $768,221 in promotional deductions.

That is compared to $7.8 million deducted in February.

DraftKings launches DK Horse

DraftKings’ DK Horse launched with 12 states last week with more states expected to launch before Kentucky Derby betting on May 6.

The app is born out of a partnership with Churchill Downs, which will power the ADW technology for DraftKings.

Unlike sports betting, the DK Horse does not work based on location but rather where the bettor lives:

Bettors must be 18 or older, except in Indiana and Washington where the age is 21.

GeoComply, Xpoint appeal starting up

GeoComply‘s appeal of its lawsuit dismissal against Xpoint in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is moving forward.

Both sides had initial documents due on Wednesday. GeoComply’s brief explaining its appeal is due by May 15.

GeoComply contends the first ruling did not consider all points of the lawsuit:

It is important to note that today’s decision only concerns technical patent matters. It does not address any of the various other troubling matters identified in the 2022 report and elsewhere. All of those questions will be answered. We respectfully disagree with this particular decision and are evaluating next steps in all available forums. 

– GEOCOMPLY STATEMENT

Fanatics adds betting COO

Fanatics Betting & Gaming hired Hank Couture as its chief operating officer.

Couture comes from DoorDash, where he oversaw its US marketplace. He will report directly to CEO Matt King.

The release states Fanatics Sportsbook is “poised to launch nationwide in mid-2023.”

Three join sports betting RG coalition

Fanatics, Hard Rock and PointsBet joined an industry-led coalition focused on responsible gambling standards.

That brings the coalition to nine members, including the six that founded it last September:

The coalition partnered with the National Council on Problem Gambling and advocates for a nationwide RG helpline.

Elsewhere, BetMGM received top accreditations from the Responsible Gambling Council for its RG and player protection protocols in its North American platforms.

Flutter note to former Stars holders

The deadline for former Stars Group (TSG) shareholders to claim their Flutter shares is about a month away.

Those who held TSG shares have until May 4 to swap each TSG share for 0.2253 of a FLTR share.

Any unclaimed FLTR shares after that will be deemed surrendered.