The Week In Sports Betting News: Flutter Bets Big On FanDuel


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Happy Monday, everyone. There was plenty of sports betting news last week as legal states continue to hit new heights while others work toward legalization.

The LSR Podcast took a look at the recent US sports betting monthly handle record hit in October (we’ll know the final tally whenever results are available from sports betting in Illinois.)

While the podcast is a great source of information each week, sometimes it’s finished before the biggest sports betting news of the week breaks as was the case last week. Be sure to follow @LSPReport on Twitter to keep up with the latest breaking news stories.

Top sports betting news: Flutter buys nearly all of FanDuel

Majority FanDuel shareholder Flutter will raise its stake to 95% with a $4.2 billion agreement.

The move could point to an eventual US listing of FanDuel. The deal gives FanDuel an enterprise value of $11.2 billion though it could be valued much higher if listed in New York. DraftKings is valued at $20 billion as its trading at 37 times its expected 2020 revenues.

Using the same multiple, a publicly listed FanDuel in the US could be valued at $31.5 billion.

The remaining 5% is owned by Boyd Gaming as part of a market-access deal.

Single-skin markets proposed in New York, Ohio

Both New York and Ohio are still working to legalize sports betting this year. Both are also looking at single-skin structures.

The latest Senate proposal for Ohio sports betting will include just one skin per casino to avoid the proliferation of gambling throughout the state, Sen. John Eklund said.

In New York, Sen. Joe Addabbo said it’s better to start negotiations at one skin per property given Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s opposition to mobile betting in the past.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow is with Addabbo in the fight to legalize mobile NY sports betting but doesn’t agree with a one-skin model:

“I know some of the casinos are advocating just one skin because they’re greedy, they think that they can be their own quote-unquote bookie, I don’t think that’s the case,” Pretlow said on a sports betting panel. “You don’t have to use all [available skins], nothing that says you have to do it but at least you have the opportunity to do it.”

Does anyone know when Michigan will launch online sports betting?

It’s been a tumultuous few weeks for anyone waiting for online sports betting in Michigan to launch.

At its November meeting, Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Richard Kalm warned online sports betting and iGaming might not launch until 2021. That warning was because the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules hadn’t yet approved and returned the rules for both markets to the regulators.

JCAR did just that last week, though, which prompted a board spokesperson to suggest a 2020 launch was possible.

Now, MLive reports Kalm said 2021 is again the expected window:

“With the waive of the rules, I thought we were four weeks out, but we just sent out earlier this week – the same day as the JCAR (meeting) – an inquiry to the platform providers’ operators to give us how ready they are to go and what they’re going to have done. So we might be having to push that back, because we’re now looking at probably six weeks.”

Showing us MO of the same

Three proposals for sports betting in Missouri are already filed. If that seems fast, it’s because they are all bills introduced this year.

Sens. Denny Hoskins and Tony Luetkemeyer pre-filed the same bills for 2021 they did for this session. Sen. Caleb Rowden filed a bill that’s identical to HB 2318 last year.

Rowden’s bill is favorable to the sports betting industry. Penned by Rep. Phil Christofanelli last year, the bill calls for a 6.75% tax rate and an annual license fee of $20,000.

That’s higher than the 6.25% tax and $5,000 annual fee from Luetkemeyer, but his bill calls for a 0.75% integrity fee to leagues. Hoskins’ bill also would pay 0.25% in integrity fees to the leagues.

Projecting winners for single-game Canada sports betting

Sports betting in Canada is ready for a renaissance should its federal ban of single-game betting come to an end.

theScore Bet, operated by Toronto-listed Score Media and Gaming, could be one of the biggest winners. Its media app, which ties directly into its betting app, has 1.4 million users in Ontario alone.

A 10% market share there could add C$100 million in annual betting revenue to the company, Canaccord Genuity said.

Technology providers like DraftKings’ SBTech, GAN, Kambi and Scientific Games could also win big. Media companies like TSN and Rogers Sports might want a partner to convert viewers into sports bettors, Bragg Gaming Chief Strategy Officer Yanic Spielberg said.