With the year past its halfway point, the gambling industry came together in July to share insights and knowledge at SBC Summit North America, while August was the month of regulation, as several regions across the Americas discussed legislation.
SBC Summit North America
The industry came together in early July to share wisdom at SBC Summit North America in New Jersey, including FanDuel CEO Amy Howe.
At the event, Howe took part in a one-on-one keynote chat with CNBC Correspondent Contessa Brewer, where she spoke about a variety of different topics, including women in sports betting and igaming, and her vision for the future of FanDuel and the industry as a whole.
The FanDuel CEO stated at the time that the industry can do more to encourage more women to wager on sports by making its products more consumable to that audience.
Howe said: “I think it’s important for us to start to make our product consumable to that audience, and there’s a lot of things that we’re trying to do. By no means have we cracked the code on this, but I think supporting female athletes and advocating for equity with female athletes is really important.
“But you’re right, in terms of who I hire, making sure that we’re a reflection, not just from a gender perspective, but just diversity of all types of the population is important to make sure that we can go after those opportunities.
“There’s still a lot of experimentation that we’re doing to really crack the code, but the numbers are compelling, Last year, women on sports betting platforms were growing at 115% times the rate of men, so we’re making progress, but there’s a lot of untapped opportunities that we haven’t, as an industry, yet gone after.”
Elsewhere at the event, Sportradar’s Jeff Yabuki spoke about how the industry should address mental health in their operations, and there were also discussions about responsible gambling and the industry’s history in the Garden State.
To book your tickets for the 2023 SBC Summit North America, taking place between May 9-11, click here.
US states debate and legalize gambling
Throughout July and August, several US states either discussed or legalized sports betting, expanding the industry into more parts of the country.
Kansas announced the launch of its retail and online sports betting market for September 1, as Senate Bill 84 allowed each of the four state-operated casinos to offer retail and mobile sports wagering on up to three platforms or applications.
Massachusetts also legalized sports betting, becoming the 36th US state to do so. The state passed bill H5164, which allows for up to 15 online licenses in addition to five retail sportsbooks at the three state casinos and two racetracks.
In California, two propositions – Proposition 26 and Proposition 27 – were being discussed during a point which was the height of enthusiasm for sports betting in the state.
