SportsHandle and friends deliver another round-up of the week’s big developments in US sports betting.
Sportsbooks Vs. Academics: One Wins The Battle, The Other Wins The War
Hope springs eternal — and so do academics who think they might’ve cracked the sports betting code. In fact, two recent papers purport to be able to beat the sportsbooks at their own game.
While both papers “prove” it’s possible to beat the books (assuming one can understand and master Will Hunting-levels of math), both papers, in the end, run into the same problem faced by many a would-be sharp: The books have a habit of protecting their bottom line by making sure winners aren’t exactly welcome.
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Russian Roulette: Sportradar Profiting As CEO Holds Large Stake in Russian Sportsbook
Since Russia began its military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 23, top global corporations such as Apple, Disney, and McDonald’s have suspended operations in Russia in light of the nation triggering the largest European security crisis since the Cold War.
Like those Fortune 500 companies, the world’s largest sports betting companies have also followed suit, with one notable exception: Sportradar AG. Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl, who became a billionaire when the company went public last September, is also a large shareholder in a prominent Russian sportsbook, Sports Handle has learned. When Sportradar will leave Russia, if it decides to depart the country at all, is anyone’s guess.
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New York Reports Robust Mobile Revenue For First Week Of March Madness
New York gamblers have contracted a serious case of March Madness, as the state gaming commission reported $428 million in mobile sports betting handle for the week that ended March 20, including all play-in games plus the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. It was the highest volume of online wagering in New York since the Feb. 13 Super Bowl.
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New Jersey Could Be Nearing The End Of Its ADW Monopoly
For years, New Jersey horseplayers have been flummoxed and frustrated with the state’s limitations on online advance-deposit wagering options.
But in the years since sports betting was legalized in 2018, it’s been especially galling that New Jersey bettors are only allowed to wager on horse racing through one parimutuel operator, when sports betting options are in the 20s.
There is a sense, however, that a new era is on the horizon. The ADW monopoly in New Jersey, which goes through a site called 4NJBets (operated by TVG, a member of the FanDuel Group), could be coming to an end.
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FanDuel To Stop Offering Daily Fantasy Sports Contests In Ontario
This is not an April Fool’s joke: There’s a chance Ontarians will no longer to be able to play daily fantasy sports games as a result of the launch of the province’s regulated iGaming market on April 4.
Starting on April 1, FanDuel announced on its website, it will no longer offer paid, or free, daily fantasy contests in the province of Ontario due to “changes in government regulations.”
However, this will not impact FanDuel’s DFS players in the other provinces of Canada. Ontarians have been playing FanDuel’s DFS games since roughly 2012, and the operator has tens of thousands of users across the province that have wagered millions of dollars in entry fees.
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Ohio Casino Control Commission on pace to have sports betting in Ohio by January 1
Just over three months have passed since Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB29, which legalized sports betting in Ohio.
Yet the moment when Ohioans are able to place a sports bet at a casino or racino, or even through a mobile sportsbook, is still many months away. It’s considered a long and arduous process to construct and launch a statewide sports betting apparatus. Plenty needs to be done before the time arrives when placing sports bets on the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Blue Jackets, or Ohio State University will become commonplace in the Buckeye State.
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