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Category Archives: Sports Betting
Bunker Mode Launches High Limit Sports Mobile App
The social sports-betting market just got a new contender. The company Bunker Mode has launched a new mobile app called High Limit Sports, available for iOS devices. An Android version is planned for later.
The game is intended for audiences interested in a purely social betting experience, with no risk of losing real money. It was developed by Greg Dirrenberger, Jason Bredice, and Matt Pangborn out of San Francisco. Check out some more details on VentureBeat.
“Our goal with High Limit Sports was to turn sports betting into a game, removing the complexity of the sports-book experience and replacing it with entertaining features that reward people for playing often,” said Dirrenberger. “We’ve created a mobile game that connects fans with their favorite team in an even deeper way while providing a great second-screen experience for tracking live sporting events.”
Ah, the second-screen experience. It’s a concept that’s been gaining ground in popular entertainment these days. A recent study found that 85 percent of tablet owners use their devices when watching TV. There is vast potential for attractive new apps to cash in on the second-screen experience. Sports-betting apps are one way, especially when you consider that Sean Ryan, the director of game partnerships at Facebook recently said that “sports fantasy apps are certainly an area that was underrepresented.” Every time someone employed by Facebook says something is underrepresented, startup folks perk up all across the Bay area like startled meerkats.
At the moment, High Limit Sports is a free-to-play title that features NFL, CFL and NCAA football. The company intends to add additional sports later, beginning with the NBA.
Is High Limit Sports late to the show? Hardly! Just because companies like RocketPlay and Pickmoto have arrived on the scene doesn’t mean that Bunker Mode’s new game has any less of a chance to take off. As Matt Pangborn said, “We may be the 10th to come out this month, but the platform we are building will be a lot different. We believe this is an underserved demographic, and we will be true to the casual sports game segment.”
Check out the game for yourself and see what High Limit Sports has to offer this emerging new market.
The Staggering Growth of Online Gambling
On this lovely Friday afternoon, Chipist is giving you some weekend homework. Your assignment is to study the numbers in the below infographic and remind yourself of exactly what kind of industry the world of online gambling represents. Created by the folks over at Poker Sites, the graphic states that in a sense, the growth of online gambling has actually surpassed social media itself.
There was a 32 percent increase in online gambling in just a single year. One year saw an entire third more people get into the game. Social media only saw a 4.5 percent growth. Now, you’ll need to take that with a grain of salt. Social media already has a titanic number of users, so a 4.5 percent yearly increase still constitutes a significant number of people. But it’s exciting to see that online gambling grew by such a huge margin as well.
The graphic also takes a look at the U.S. market. We already know the U.K. market is thriving, but we’re more interested in our own shores. Coming in at 63 percent, lottery play is the most popular online gambling activity. I’m wondering what kind of numbers we’d see if online poker was regulated by the federal government?
Click the infographic for a full view.
Click for full resolution.
Nevada Governor Supports Reid-Kyl Bill
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is offering his full support to the Reid-Kyl Online Poker bill currently proposed in Congress. While it may sound particularly obvious to hear of the governor of the gambling-friendly state of Nevada endorsing such a bill, keep in mind that Brian Sandoval is a Republican. His support of the bill is in opposition to the general stance of the GOP, which would likely favor a total ban on all online gambling operations and a repeal of the DOJ’s interpretation of the Federal Wire Act.
“While many states have long-standing proficiency in regulating brick-and-mortar gaming within their boundaries, the advent of Internet gaming has introduced a borderless element that state regulation alone cannot address,” Sandoval wrote.
“As governor of a state that jealously guards its primacy in the regulation of gaming, I am pleased the proposal maintains state authority to regulate online poker operators built upon a basic federal foundation of common-sense regulatory principles.”
This kind of legislation is being hailed by some politicians as a job-creating opportunity and a chance to generate much-needed revenue for the federal government. Regulate it. Tax it. Be done with it.
The Two-Screen Experience for Social Betting and Entertainment
The “second-screen” experience is a concept that is gaining ground in sports and entertainment. Fantasy football’s popularity has increased the usage of mobile devices and laptop computers during game day, and chances are you’ve watched a game on Monday night with friends gripping smartphones or keying laptops perched in front of them.
Matthew Cullen, president and chief business development officer of RocketPlay, the company which recently launched the sports betting Facebook game Sports Casino, feels that the two-screen experience allows fans to feel closer to the action. In an op-ed on Social Casino Intelligence, Cullen wrote that RocketPlay developed Sports Casino to offer players a “more in-depth experience when watching sports and predicting the outcomes—something beyond simply placing a single, isolated bet about the final outcome of a game.”
A recent Forrester Study found that 85 percent of tablet owners use their devices when watching TV. It’s a concept that AMC capitalized on during its latest season of Breaking Bad, and you’d better get used to hearing the term “two-screen experience” before getting your zombie-killing groove on in a new episode of The Walking Dead. As an even timelier example, news outlets are reporting on the trending topics and social media mentions that occur in real time during the Presidential debates. Perhaps during tonight’s debate, we’ll get another amusing sound-bite out of one or both of the candidates, and you’ll likely hear about it because folks will have their smartphones and tablets in their hands while watching.
It is a sound business strategy to incorporate the two-screen experience in a number of entertainment ventures, and RocketPlay’s Sports Casino is a smart choice for fantasy players looking to augment their sports-watching experience. At the moment, Sports Casino is an exclusively browser-based game, but the company is hard at work on producing a mobile app. Still, the browser experience works just fine for football fanatics. As Cullen writes:
“Given that almost every sporting event is now televised live, there is nearly an endless amount of content for sports fans to watch, enjoy, and potentially bet on. That creates limitless opportunities for Sports Casino, and we believe we have created an unrivaled second screen option for Facebook—and eventually mobile users.”
At this point, the kind of two-screen experience for which Cullen is hoping is hampered by the fact that real-money gambling has yet to come to Facebook in the U.S. As lobbyists and entrepreneurs seem to agree however, total legalization in this country is just a matter of time. Given enough time and effort, it is certainly possible that the two-screen sports betting experience will become almost as popular as watching the game itself.
Churchill Downs Launches Luckity.com
Let’s just get this out of the way. Luckity.com is totally legal. Federal law currently allows interstate gambling on horse races, and Churchill Downs is a big fan of that. In an attempt to attract a broader gambling audience, the famous racetrack’s new website will hopefully yield the company larger facing purses and bigger payouts for players.
According to The Courier Journal, here’s how it works:
Luckity.com gamblers can bet their lucky number or have the game choose a number for them. But rather than spinning wheels, horses in races running live somewhere around the world determine a winning bet.
Luckity players can see the location of the race and the names and odds of the horses if they want — though not the video. But the game is more aimed at the gambler who couldn’t be bothered by the difference between a filly and a mare. For instance, gamblers who pick numbers for the Luckity Fast 2 don’t know — unless they want to — that they’re placing an exacta bet on the Tuesday opener at Beulah Park near Columbus, Ohio.
So who is Churchill Downs targeting with this new online venture? The demographic they are after are the same kind of folks enjoying social networking games. To be more specific, they’re aiming at women over the age of 35 who enjoy slots, the lottery, and Farmville.
The company has plans to make Luckity.com available through mobile devices, and officials pointed out that Luckity is in no way related to their hopes to participate in the online poker business. Personally I can see news about that kind of thing hitting the web soon.
Sportingbet, William Hill and GVC Approach Deal
Remember a few weeks ago when Sportingbet rejected William Hill’s and GVC’s acquisition deal? As sure as clockwork, a new offer was expected by today, October 16.
The online sport betting firm Sportingbet PLC said today that it has reached an agreement with William Hill PLC and GVC Holdings PLC over a revised proposal. Though a purchase has not yet officially happened, it is expected that Sportingbet will be bought at a value of £530 million.
MarketWatch has the details on the particulars of this important industry development.
But some analysts say the story isn’t over quite yet. According to the Telegraph:
“The proposal values Sportingbet at 61.1p per share, compared to 52.5p in the previous bid. The terms comprise 48.9p in cash, a 1.1p dividend, and 0.0475 GVC shares for each Sportingbet share. However, the proposed offer would also allow Sportingbet shareholders to “mix and match” cash and shares if they wish to alter the split proposed.”
According to Karl Burns of Shore Capital, the deal won’t close until the first quarter of next year:
“We believe the deal is likely to take some time to complete, with William Hill required to apply for an Australian gaming licence, which may take up to three months, whilst also conducting due diligence. Therefore, we believe the deal may not fully complete until the first quarter of 2013.”
New Sports Betting Facebook Game Fanhood Attracting Users
Venture Beat has the details on a new sports-betting game on Facebook called Fanhood. The San Francisco-based company’s new title features all major and professional college sports and embraces the kind of community experience that you’d expect from a social networking game. Players can wager against each other, conduct challenges, participate in pools and trivia games … and folks are paying attention. In just its short beta period, the game has gathered 40,000 registered users.
Fantasy sports is a $1.5 billion market which is enjoyed by 35 million U.S. players. The fields are fertile for sports betting apps and social games and Fanhood is working to capitalize on it.
CEO and founder Brandon Ramsey said “With Fanhood, we are engaging sports fans on a whole new level, making their opinions matter. As fans ourselves, we saw a distinct opportunity to create the perfect platform to make following sports with friends easier and more fun.”
And investors have hopped on board as well. First Round Capital’s Josh Kopelman said, “We are thrilled to be a part of the continued growth and development of this exciting platform. This is a creative team that knows how to execute. I’m betting on them.”
How Long Will Fantasy Betting Last in Maryland?
A new law in Maryland is allowing for online fantasy betting. Players can now accept a pool from a friend’s fantasy football league, but how long will this freedom last?
Popular fantasy sports websites are legal in most states since 2006 thanks to a notable exception in the federal law, but Maryland decided not to go along with it. According to the Washington Post, the state’s attorney general office defined gambling as “requiring decisions” regarding the element of chance and a prize.
But the General Assembly passed a new law which went into effect on October 1, officially giving Marylanders the right to win prizes, including cash, in fantasy football leagues. This opens the doors to popular sites like FanDuel, Fanball, and FantasySportsLive.com.
According to the Maryland controller’s office, these sites meet the “statutory definition” of ‘fantasy competition’ and may legally operate in Maryland.
But how long will this last? Maryland is concerned about the regulation of fantasy competition, which lends support to the argument that federal regulation is required to properly integrate online gambling into the law.
Manchester United Signs Deal with Bwin
Bwin, the largest publicly listed online gaming company in the world gobbled up a partnership with Manchester United, allow it to serve as the club’s gambling partner. Manchester’s new three-year sponsorship deal makes it the third soccer—oh, excuse me, football—club to sign with Bwin.
Football betting represents a massive percentage of business for online gambing companies.
“As Europe’s leading online sports betting operator, football is fundamental to our long-term success, making up approximately half of our total sports betting revenue of 261m euros ($320m; £204m) in 2011,” said Norbert Teufelberger, co-chief executive of Bwin’s parent company, Bwin.party.
“Man Utd has 569 million followers outside of Europe, providing us with a great opportunity to offer jointly designed and innovative products in countries that do not yet allow real money online sports betting,” he said.
A partnership like this makes a lot of sense for all parties involved. The company investing the money is of great benefit to the clubs being sponsored, and fans will continue to support their teams and place wagers.
Now, when can we bring this kind of industry development to America?
Bwin.Party Acquisition Rumors Edge Up Share Prices
As Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment has been the subject of a number of bid rumors of the last past month, the company’s shares have enjoyed a nice bump. Shares were up more than 6 percent yesterday. According to the Independent, gambling traders are starting to pay more attention to the company:
“Private-equity players or overseas competitors were suggested as potential bidders by hopeful traders. Its shares moved up 6.8p to 116.1p. The sector is waiting to see what happens with William Hill and GVC Holdings’ interest in Sportingbet. The pair are rumoured to be coming back with a 60p-a-share bid.
(We reported on this earlier this week.)
“If Ladbrokes is well out of the race, some traders thought Ladbrokes might look at a merger with Bwin.Party instead. But with an extremely difficult market for online poker and various legislative and tax issues in Europe, not least Germany, other traders urged caution.”
Ladbrokes is the largest betting company in the UK and the largest retail bookmaker in the world. It owns over 2,400 retail betting shops in the UK.
