Category Archives: Sports Betting

An expanded mobile NY sports betting market is not expected to make the state budget, according to Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr.

It turns out that you dont tinker with something thats successful and it may be premature, Addabbo told LSR Wednesday. So we threw it out there, we looked at it, we analyzed it a little bit and said, You know what, it may be premature. So lets do this, lets take a look at this maybe six or seven months down the road and see what happens.'

That means there will likely remain just nine licensed mobile New York sportsbooks for the foreseeable future. Negotiations on the budget could continue into the weekend, Addabbo said.

The biggest concern about expanding the market, which launched in January, is how tax dollars would be affected. Operators paid more than $105 million in taxes for January and February alone. Another $50 million could come from Marchs operations.

The initial proposal from Addabbo and Assemblyman Gary Pretlow suggested lowering the tax rate based on the tax matrix that emerged from the initial bidding process over the summer. But with 16 operators as suggested, the tax rate would have dropped to 25% from the current national-high 51%.

That did not make a ton of fiscal sense, though. The New York State Gaming Commission already decided not to license bet365 as the 10th operator even though it would have only dropped the tax rate to 50%, as it was unclear its inclusion would grow state revenue.

The expansion proposal in both the Senate and Assemblys one-house budgets did not include the drop in tax rate, but even that was not enough for a change this year.

For Addabbo, there was success in simply discussing the topic.

I was so proud of the legislature to even think about expanding it, Gary Pretlow and I always think about more skins, more operators. So we stand at the ready to make a product better for the people of New York. Its not, Oh were so successful with mobile sports betting, were done. No. Its so competitive with other states and the illegal market. So you always try to figure out a way to make it better.

Gov. Kathy Hochuls administration has been much more open to discussing gaming issues than former Gov. Andrew Cuomos was, Addabbo said. This years budget likely will include New York City-area casinos, something Cuomo refused to discuss in the past.

That means Addabbo will keep thinking about how to safely expand sports betting in NY, whether that is with more operators or more options like fixed-odds horse betting:

You want to maximize your potential. So yeah, I think under this administration our eyes have got to be wide open to how we do this in a safe, methodical way to benefit the people of New York.

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No New NY Sports Betting Licenses Coming This Year, Senator Says - Legal Sports Report

Dynamic partnership includes redesigned branded club space at Citi Field and access to VIP experiences for Caesars Rewards members

FLUSHING, N.Y. and LAS VEGAS, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR) ("Caesars") and the New York Mets today announced a multi-year partnership to make Caesars Sportsbook an Official Sports Betting Partner of the team.In addition to a variety of VIP experiences and hospitality assets for members of the industry-leading loyalty program, Caesars Rewards, this partnership features plans to open a new sportsbook lounge at Citi Field, Caesars Sportsbook at the Metro Grille.

Scheduled to open during the 2022 Major League Baseball season, the new upscale 13,000 square foot space for fans to enjoy the Caesars Sportsbook app together will come to life on the Excelsior Level at Citi Field with a multi-tiered dining room and outdoor patio seating complete with panoramic views overlooking left field.

"New York is a key state for us following the successful launch of our Caesars Sportsbook app in January," said Chris Holdren, Co-President of Caesars Digital. "The Mets' fanbase is one of the most loyal in baseball and this partnership offers us the chance to treat those passionate fans like Caesars. We look forward to opening our space at Citi Field during an exciting time for the franchise."

Caesars Sportsbook is the only app in New York that rewards sports bettors with every bet they place to unlock experiences within the Caesars portfolio of resorts and partnerships. Eligible sports fans across the Empire State can download the easy-to-use Caesars Sportsbook app on iOS or Android and place sports wagers today to earn unforgettable experiences at Citi Field this MLB season.

Access to official New York Mets logos and marks, TV-visible in-game signage, and broadcast and digital content across Mets' properties are also included in this partnership, which extends Caesars Sportsbook's already-established footprint in New York. Caesars Sportsbook is an authorized gaming operator of the MLB and is currently live in 23 states and jurisdictions17 of which are mobileand operates the largest number of retail sportsbooks across the country, including sportsbooks at top New York gaming destinations Turning Stone, Yellow Brick Road, and Point Place Casino through the Oneida Indian Nation and at Caesars, Harrah's Resort and Tropicana in Atlantic City.

For real-time industry updates and to follow the Caesars empire, players can engage with the Caesars Sportsbook social handle @CaesarsSports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About Caesars Entertainment, Inc.Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR) is the largest casino-entertainment Company in the U.S. and one of the world's most diversified casino-entertainment providers. Since its beginning in Reno, NV, in 1937, Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions. Caesars Entertainment, Inc.'s resorts operate primarily under the Caesars, Harrah's, Horseshoe, and Eldorado brand names. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. offers diversified gaming, entertainment and hospitality amenities, one-of-a-kind destinations, and a full suite of mobile and online gaming and sports betting experiences. All tied to its industry-leading Caesars Rewards loyalty program, the Company focuses on building value with its guests through a unique combination of impeccable service, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to its employees, suppliers, communities and the environment through its PEOPLE PLANET PLAY framework. Know When To Stop Before You Start. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. For more information, please visit. http://www.caesars.com/corporate. Must be 21 or older to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start. Gambling problem? Call 1-877-8-HOPENY (846-7369) or text HOPENY (467369).

SOURCE Caesars Entertainment, Inc.

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Caesars Sportsbook Named Official Sports Betting Partner of the New York Mets - PR Newswire

Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a home run against the New York Yankees during the ninth inning of a baseball game on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, in New York. The Blue Jays won 6-4. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

With the Ontario online sports betting market now open for business, theScore Bet has hit a grand slam in Toronto.

The Toronto Blue Jays gave theScore Bet sportsbook the nod to be their official gaming partner in a 10-year exclusive partnership. This landmark deal is a first for both organizations, and it comes as the Jays prepare for their home opener on April 8.

Catch all the details on this groundbreaking partnership and sign up with theScore Bet before the first pitch of the Jays 2022 MLB season.

As Ontario sports betting gets underway and the Blue Jays prepare for opening day, theScore Bet and Penn National Gaming released an official statement with full details on this exciting partnership.

The Blue Jays and theScore Bet are both based out of Toronto, making this deal a natural fit. The agreement is a first for both parties, as this is theScore Bets first pro sports team partnership and the Blue Jays only official sportsbook.

Here are the key details of this exciting Ontario sports betting partnership:

This is a massive move for theScore Bet Canada, who debuted in Ontario earlier this week along with other sportsbooks like BetMGM Canada and Bet365 Canada.

TheScore Bet is looking to stand out with this partnership as numerous Canadian sportsbooks compete for coveted market share in the countrys most populous province.

While lottery-run sportsbooks like PROLINE have been available in Ontario for quite some time, the province just started welcoming privately-owned sports betting apps like theScore Bet on April 4, 2022.

Privately-operated sportsbooks like theScore Bet offer far greater value to sports bettors, and new customers can register with theScore Bet Ontario today to start experiencing everything they have to offer.

>>>DOWNLOAD THESCORE BET ONTARIO APP<<<

Download the mobile app and complete the registration process with theScore Bet ahead of tomorrows Blue Jays home opener. While their MLB betting options like player props are very limited compared to other sportsbooks, youll be pleased with their reliable and easy-to-navigate betting app.

After two seasons that saw the Blue Jays play the majority of their games in Buffalo and Florida, Canadas baseball team will play out the entirety of their home games from the comfort of the Rogers Centre this year.

The Blue Jays made some big moves over the offseason, acquiring the likes of Kevin Gausman, Matt Chapman, and Yusei Kikuchi to fill out their already promising roster. Powered by a strong starting rotation and young superstars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, you can bet MLB odds will favour the Jays throughout the 2022 season.

Keep it locked in withSports Betting Dimefrom the first pitch all the way through the dog days of summer.

MMA Sportsbooks Gambling Horse Racing

A sports fanatic and strategic wordsmith, Mitchell has been writing gaming content for over seven years. As sports betting emerges in markets across the globe, hes ready to journey alongside those who havent wagered before with informative articles and comprehensive how-to guides.

MMA Sportsbooks Gambling Horse Racing

A sports fanatic and strategic wordsmith, Mitchell has been writing gaming content for over seven years. As sports betting emerges in markets across the globe, hes ready to journey alongside those who havent wagered before with informative articles and comprehensive how-to guides.

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Blue Jays and theScore Bet Announce Ontario Sports Betting Partnership - Sports Betting Dime

Arizona finally announced its sports-betting numbers for January and, after breaking a monthly record for handle in December, the state did so once again to start 2022.

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2022 11:54 AM ET Read Time: 3 min

After a record-setting December, the January figures for sports betting in Arizona didn't disappoint.

The Arizona Gaming Commission recently released sports-betting numbers for January, during which retail and online sportsbooks in the Grand Canyon State took over half a billion dollars ($563,694,591) in wagers for the first time, smashing Arizona's previous monthly handle high of $499.2 million.

Arizonas 12 active mobile sportsbooks and two retail locations combined for just over $40.5 million in gross gaming revenue for the month as well.

Operators in the state once again doled out a generous amount of free bets and credits, with the monthly total for January close to $21 million. Sportsbooks have now shelled out almost $118 million in promotional offers since the inception of legal sports betting in the state last September.

The bonusing left sportsbooks with an adjusted revenue of around $19.6 million, which resulted in $1.9 million in tax receipts for the state as mobile operators are subject to a 10% tax rate and retail operators face an 8% levy on their revenue.

"With over half a billion dollars wagered in January, it is clear that Arizona has become a top-ten event wagering market nationally," said Ted Vogt, director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, in a press release. "A big thank you to Arizona Department of Gaming Staff and event wagering and fantasy sports stakeholders, whose work has contributed to the strong start in the state."

After the launch of sports betting back on September 9, Arizona operators registered more than $1.7 billion in wagering handle and revenue of around $60 million as of the end of 2021. This has resulted in approximately $6.1 million in taxes paid to the state over that time.

January's take also shows there are no signs of a slowdown in Arizona, which is now the 12th state to reach $2 billion in total handle and the fastest one to do it, as it needed just five months to reach the milestone.

There's a range of opinions on how much of a windfall legalized sports betting could bring to the state's coffers. The state legislature's budget analysts predicted somewhere in the $15 million range per year, while industry advocates suggested it could blow that out of the water. Republican Rep. Jeff Weninger, who sponsored the sports-betting legalization legislation, had lofty expectations upwards of $100 million.

The Arizona betting market continued to be dominated by DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars in January.

The operating giants brought in over $520 million of the total handle, accounting for around 92% of total wagers. Caesars and FanDuel also operate the states two retail locations.

The only other operators to eclipse $10 million in January handle were Barstool Sportsbook and WynnBET, bringing in close to $21.5 million and $12.8 million, respectively.

BetMGM led the way in free bets, spending over $8.6 million on its promotional efforts during the month and bringing its total promo spend to close to $35 million since launch.

FanDuel spent just under $4 million in promos in January but has spent nearly $35 million total, most of which came back in September with the initial launch.

The generous free credits won't last forever, though.

While promos are designed to spark interest with attractive welcome bonuses and free bets, the credits can only amount to 20% of operators' gross receipts during the first two years of sports betting in Arizona. They will then have to drop to 15% and then to 10% by the sixth year.

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Arizona Breaks its Sports-Betting Record With Over $500M in January Handle - Covers

The Kansas City Chiefs still have nine years remaining on their lease at Arrowhead Stadium and are currently looking at options to renovate the nearly 53-year-old facility, a team representative said during a Missouri Senate sports betting hearing, attempting to calm rumors that the franchise is open to moving to neighboring Kansas.

Missouri senators questioned Anne Scharf, Vice President, Hunt Family Foundation and Civic Affairs at Kansas City Chiefs, of the franchises potential to relocate during a Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee sports betting hearing this morning. Scharf, on behalf of the Chiefs, attended the hearing to throw the franchises support behind HB 2502, a bill to legalize retail and online sports betting for state casinos and Missouri professional sports franchises.

Representatives from the NHLs St. Louis Blues, MLBs Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals, the MLS St. Louis Soccer Club and Womens Soccer League Kansas City Current all spoke up in favor of legalized sports betting at the Senate hearing.

HB 2502,(sponsored by Rep. Dan Houx) will allow for 39 separate sportsbooks skins distributed amongst the states 13 casinos and six professional sports organizations. The bill will officially set the sports betting tax rate at 8%, which will be one of the lowest in the country. It was approved by the Missouri House of Representatives in late March by a vote of 115-33.

The bill is being worked through a Senate committee before potentially receiving a vote on the Senate floor. If approved by the Senate, it would have to be signed into law by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R).

As expected, several senators questioned Scharf on the Chiefs commitment to remaining in Missouri. At the recent NFL meetings two weeks ago, team President Mark Donovan commented that the Chiefs are exploring all options for the teams future, including building a new stadium next to Arrowhead or moving the franchise out of state.

When asked why the Missouri Senate should invest time to ensure the Chiefs receive a sports betting license and an online sports betting skin if theyre looking to leave the state, Scharf noted that nothing shared at the NFL meetings had not been shared repeatedly with local news outlets over the last year.

Sen. Barbara Washington, (D-9), told Scharf the Senate hoped the Chiefs would show a commitment to Jackson County, Missouri, moving forward.

Scharf said the franchise is spending a considerable amount of money on an extensive survey to potentially renovate Arrowhead, Scharf said. If the Chiefs were to receive a sports betting license it would be contingent on remaining in Missouri, she noted.

The Chiefs, she said, have a lease agreement for Arrowhead Stadium that runs through 2033.

While this is true, its worth noting that Kansas will likely soon legalize online and retail sports betting as well, so the Chiefs could likely offers sports betting in that state as well. Kansas also has a provision in its sports betting bill earmarking 80% of sports betting tax revenue to attracting professional sports franchises to relocate to the state. While these funds could potentially go towards the construction of a new stadium, it would likely only amount to a few million dollars when billions would be necessary for a new facility.

The Senate Appropriations Committee did not take any official action on the bill, no votes were taken, and a schedule for any potential votes has not been laid out yet.

If the bill is approved and signed into law, itwill allow each casino to offer a maximum of three skins, but will cap the number of skins per casino company at six if they own two or more facilities. The remaining skins will be allocated to Missouri professional sports franchises.

The breakdown for skins will be as such:

An online sports betting license will require an initial application fee of $150,000, and then a renewal fee of $125,000 one year after. A retail sports betting license will require an initial application fee of $100,000.

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Chiefs attempt to calm relocation rumors during Missouri sports betting hearing - Saturday Down South

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Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ:SRAD) is a leading global technology platform and solutions provider enabling next generation engagement in sports and sports content. The company is currently the top provider of B2B solutions to the global sports betting industry based on revenue. SRAD provides mission-critical software, data and content via subscription and revenue share arrangements to sports leagues, betting operators and media companies. SRAD also offers sports entertainment and gaming solutions, as well as live streaming services for online, mobile, and retail sports betting. Its software offerings cover the full sports betting value chain, from traffic generation and advertising technology to data collecting, processing, and extrapolation, as well as visualization and risk management solutions and platform services.

Per the annual report, core offerings are listed below:

"For Betting Operators: Our offerings include pre-match data and odds, live data and odds, as well as sports audiovisual content. Our full-suite of software solutions includes managed trading services, managed platform services, betting entertainment tools, virtual games and programmatic advertising solutions.

For Sports Leagues: We provide access to over 900 sports betting operators and over 500 media companies to distribute their data and content globally. We give them greater reach and serve as an intermediary to the highly regulated betting industry. We also provide leagues with a range of tech-enabled solutions including fraud and manipulating monitoring, anti-doping, professional sports team technology and services, and OTT production and technology.

For Media Companies: Sportradar provides a range of services to media companies including data feeds and APIs, sports audiovisual content, broadcasting solutions, digital services, research and analytics, OTT streaming solutions and programmatic advertising solutions." Source: Company Annual Report

Company Earnings Presentation

Sportradar was founded in 2001. Over the last 20 years, the company has gone from being a niche industry player to being a global provider of sports technology and media solutions. Along the way, SRAD has built a strong business model with recurring revenue streams, proprietary technology offerings based on a history of innovation, and a global network of customers. These and other factors form a strong investment thesis for SRAD.

Compared to other sports betting industry players, SRAD is a truly global company operating in many diversified markets. Today, the company counts over 1,700 customers in 123 countries globally. Further, its operations include partnerships with 900 sports betting operator customers, and coverage of over 890,000 events annually across 92 sports, including live data coverage of 790,000 events across 32 sports. From a coverage standpoint, this is almost the triple amount of events covered annually by its nearest competitor. SRAD also serves 250 sports league partners and more than 500 media customers. With this global scale, SRAD has been able to carve a "core" position in the sports industry ecosystem.

Beyond market positioning, the company has built what is arguably the deepest and most sophisticated portfolio of sports data and content across the world. SRAD's offerings are fine tuned to provide low-latency, accurate, real-time, structured data 24/7 and 365 days a year. The company works with over 8,300 independently contracted data journalists which use SRAD's proprietary technology tools to collect live data from events globally. Additionally, SRAD has been at the forefront of deploying innovative solutions to capture in-game data. SRAD is deploying computer and machine vision systems to capture in-play data in real-time and then leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions to distribute advanced data to leagues, betting and media customers around the globe. The commentary from management below illustrates the strength of SRAD's data solutions:

We also operate five data collection centers which are strategically located around the world to provide 24/7 uptime and supported by over 799 full time equivalent data experts, with all processes being ISO 9001 certified for Quality Management. These data collection processes are enhanced by in-stadium verification technology and augmented by direct feeds from sports leagues, computer vision and AI technology. The proof that our system works is in the numbers-up to 30 million odds changes per minute, across more than 40 languages served, and with 99.9% proven accuracy-and underpins our market leadership. Source: Company Annual Report

SRAD's data lakes can be an important source of competitive advantage going forward. With its proprietary datasets, the company can analyze user behavior to further drive customer interactions and potentially even provide personalized experiences. These investments enrich the data collected, reduce the cost of data collection through automation, reduce latency and enable new AI use cases. This data feeds into a large collection of proprietary, in-depth specific odds models for a wide variety of sports, setting SRAD apart from competitors by making the company essential to sports betting operators who cannot achieve this in-house for all the sports they cover. In the long run, the company hopes its real-time data and analytics for in-play betting will enable experiences that are similar to stock and bond trading for online brokerages.

With a complete technology stack that provides software solutions to address the entire sports betting value chain, from traffic generation and advertising technology, to the collection, processing and extrapolation of data and odds, to visualization solutions, risk management and platform services, SRAD has built a platform which is benefitting from significant network effects. The more betting operators and media companies are brought onto their platform, the broader distribution SRAD gets globally. This attracts new sports leagues to partner with and, in turn, with each new league partner comes more events, deeper sports data and insights, and new opportunities for betting operators and media companies to engage fans. For SRAD, this creates a revenue flywheel effect that should benefit the company and shareholders for years to come.

SRAD's revenue model is another area that is core to the investment thesis. Management has built a revenue model that includes both recurring features and usage-based upside. The revenue model is primarily structured as follows:

"We generate revenue primarily via two types of contracts: subscription and revenue sharing. We believe this mix of subscription-based revenue and revenue sharing provides us with a stable, predictable base of revenue and allows us to participate in the upside from growing betting volume around the world, especially in more nascent geographies. Typically our contracts related to Betting services are renewed every year, while RoW AV contracts tend to be longer in duration as they are frequently linked to the duration of our major AV rights. Revenue generated from subscription contracts are priced based on the amount of matches, data and the types of products received and include surcharge components based on scale or usage where relevant." Source: Company Annual Report

SRAD definitely seems to be finding success with this structure. As of Q4 2021, the company reported a Dollar Based Net Revenue Retention rate 125% globally.

In addition to the factors above, growth opportunities for SRAD appear to be numerous and could lead to a significant boost in long-term valuation if the company can successfully execute. To start with, it's worth highlighting that industry analysts believe global sports betting is a $49 billion market today that will grow to $128 billion by 2030.

While it's nice to have this industry tailwind, there are many other growth areas SRAD is targeting. For starters, the company is a leader in virtual sports. SRAD has built one of the most realistic virtual sports products around that is designed to simulate actual matches and races on the back of Sportradar's data expertise in real sports, AI and machine learning capabilities, and advanced 3D graphics technology. This virtual sports technology could become much more widely adopted as bettors look for more sophisticated simulation solutions to improve their betting capabilities.

Additionally, management has moved quickly into the e-sports betting markets as well. Although global e-sports betting remains just a fraction of the market today, SRAD's first mover capabilities in this space could pay off handsomely down the road. Further, the company is also exploring interactive content, augmented reality and gamification solutions which could greatly enhance the user experience. Although these types of opportunities may be smaller today, SRAD management is planning for the future and trying to enhance its "revenue flywheel."

Also core to SRAD's growth strategy is the ability to expand its B2B service offerings. Management is bullish here, noting that:

"Expand Offerings in B2B Products and Services For example, our Radar360 data research platform is used by leagues and is increasingly being utilized by broadcasters to provide pundits with reliable, accurate data. Logs show that our Analytics Engine over the last six months did over 55 million queries and provided a response within milliseconds. Providing more innovative solutions will further strengthen our relationships with leagues, enabling us to cost-effectively secure access to official rights and position ourselves favorably for the expected opening of new segments, such as college sports in the United States." Source: Company Annual Report

Lastly, as part of the investment case, it's important to highlight the strength of the company's leadership. SRAD's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, is Carsten Koerl, a successful entrepreneur in the sports betting market and is the driving force behind its vision, mission and culture. Koerl founded the online betting platform, betandwin Interactive Entertainment, in 1997 and led the company through a successful listing on the Vienna stock market in 2000. Over the last 20 years, Koerl has built SRAD into a global sports and media technology enterprise. Outside of the leadership team, SRAD has also secured a prominent network of sports industry investors and advisors such as Mark Cuban and Michael Jordan.

The investment case above certainly offers a number of bullish themes for potential investors to evaluate. Although the investment thesis for SRAD is strong, there are several risks that investors will want to watch as well.

In the 2021 annual report, management disclosed a material weakness in its financial reporting. According to the company, the material weakness is related to insufficient design and implementation of controls, IT systems and segregation of duties. SRAD is rolling out new ERP systems to address this issue, though there could be integration and transition complexity over the next couple of years. As a newly public company, management will need demonstrate that this weakness is remedied or risk possible significant losses of investors if there's little faith in the financials.

Control and corporate governance are other watch areas. As of December 31, 2021, the Founder, Carsten Koerl, holds all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Class B ordinary shares, which, together with his outstanding Class A ordinary shares, constitutes approximately 81.7% of the total voting power of the outstanding share capital. Investors considering SRAD need to be aware that the company's future will largely be defined by Koerl's ambitions and that investors may not have the opportunity to bring alternative proposals up for evaluation.

Much of SRAD's future is largely dependent on 2 key areas - the company will need to maintain its global portfolio of sports data rights and also drive further end - user usage of its products and solutions in order to benefit from the upside of sports betting. Loss of data rights from Tier 1 sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NHL, UEFA, etc.) could lead to material revenue reductions. The company will also need to continue to innovate around its user experiences to help continue to drive more business, data, and users through its platform. Although SRAD is in a strong position today, continuing to grow will require significant innovation and flexibility from management.

The betting and data markets are characterized by a vast number of rules, regulations and licensing procedures. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements in a particular jurisdiction, or the failure to successfully obtain a supplier license or authorization applied for in a particular jurisdiction, could impact SRAD's ability to execute on its strategic vision.

On a macro level, investors will also want to keep an on the global economic outlook. Lowered demand for some of SRAD's solutions is likely to result during worsening economic times, with consumers having less disposable income and pulling back on discretionary activities like sports betting. COVID also presents a somewhat unique risk for SRAD, as many of its sports league partners are located in international areas where significant lockdowns occurred and stopped sporting events.

M&A activity and integrations are also a risk for SRAD. Since 2010, the company has completed 13 acquisitions. Although management has successfully navigated these transactions to date, SRAD is a much larger company now with more operational areas that it must juggle alongside of any M&A activity.

From a competitive standpoint, SRAD primarily competes with Genius Sports Limited (GENI), privately held Stats-Perform, and IMG Arena (EDR). It likely will not be easy for new competitors to enter this market, as these 4 companies largely have locked up the most valuable sports data rights for many years to come. However, among these 4, competition is quite strong. Management summed up the competitive landscape very well in the 2021 annual report:

"Certain competitors could use strong or dominant positions in one or more markets to gain a competitive advantage against us, such as by integrating competing platforms or features into products they control such as search engines, web browsers, mobile device operating systems or social networks; by making acquisitions; by making access to our platform more difficult; or by employing more aggressive bidding strategies with our sports league partners. Further, current and future competitors could choose to offer a different pricing model or to undercut prices in the market or our prices in an effort to increase their market share. Failure to compete effectively against any of these or other competitive threats could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations." Source: Company Annual Report

In recent years, SRAD has demonstrated strong financial execution. 2021 revenue grew 39% and reached 561 million euros. However, the company may have benefitted from easy YOY comps as 2020 was impacted by COVID. Moving down the income statement, SRAD has gross profit margins of 49% in 2021. The significant costs of sales/goods reported are largely due to the costly sports data rights SRAD requires to run its business. In 2021, net margin was 2.3%. While these margins are ahead of many of the company's competitors, it should also be noted that net margins have largely been stuck in the 2-3% range since 2019.

Having recently gone public, it's not surprising to see that SRAD reported having 743 million euros of cash on the balance sheet at YE 2021. A portion of this cash will undoubtedly go to paying off some of its 411 million euros of long-term debt, as well as its 253 million euros of current liabilities (including sports rights payments). Overall debt seems manageable, as SRAD has a debt to equity ratio of 0.55 at YE 2021.

According to Seeking Alpha data, free cash was 61.3 million euro in 2021, up 19% YOY. In the coming years, I'll be looking to see both growth in FCF, as well as an improved FCF yield.

Looking ahead to 2022, the company is guiding to revenue of 665 million to 700 million euros, representing a 20-23% increase. According to analyst projections, the company will maintain a 20% growth rate for 2023 and achieve revenue of 800 million euros.

For 2021, return on total capital clocked in at 3.64%. This is less than half SRAD's sector median of 7.91%.

When valuing SRAD, there are a lot of factors to consider. Value enhancers include its strong market positioning, end-2-end product offering, global operations, revenue/growth optionality, innovative and proprietary technology, experienced leadership and revenue flywheel. Value detractors include a very competitive market, slowing growth, weak profitability and weak financial comps as company that desires to be valued in the SaaS category. In my view, valuing SRAD on a price-to-sales basis is the right methodology since profitability is low and the future free cash flow outlook is unclear at this time.

SRAD has a current market cap of $4.9 billion, meaning that it's trading at 8.0x TTM sales and 6.0x 2022 sales. For comparison, DraftKings (DKNG) currently trades at 5.0x 2022 sales. At the moment, I'd argue SRAD appears to be fairly valued for a company that's growing its topline at 20% per year. Some may feel that SRAD deserves a higher multiple as a SaaS company, but current growth makes it difficult to justify this premium and the content rights costs also make it hard to consider SRAD as a true SaaS. Using the 6.0x multiple and 2023 sales of $890M SRAD could hit a valuation of $5.3 billion in 2023.

While there's much to like about SRAD's strategic positioning, including its proprietary data and technology solutions, customer relationships and global positioning, there does not appear to be enough growth at the moment to rate the company a buy today. For the time being, a neutral / hold rating is fair, though, given the quality of the overall company, there's a strong case for keeping SRAD on the watchlist to see if growth re-accelerates in the future. Alternatively, a market cap closer to $4 billion would offer a much safer entry point for potential for improved returns.

SRAD is a high quality company, with a proven business model, strong leadership and growth potential. However, there's likely a better entry point for this stock, especially given current market volatility.

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Sportradar: A Sports Betting Industry Leader With Growth And Profitability - Seeking Alpha

Over the last few years, the US has exploded into one of the hottest sports betting markets in the world. For years, the industry was either held to Nevada or went completely unregulated, but now, states are reaping the benefits of taxation and licensing. The opening of the nation invited the biggest and best names in the business from around the world, with some $165 billion bets in the country, per Yahoo! Finance.

Now, many are familiar with betting lines like the spread and money line, but theres so much more to major sports betting in the modern scene. Thanks to online platforms, the markets run very, very deep for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and more. Still, theres one newly popular section thats well worth a look due to its odds and how it often only relies on just one event or milestone to be hit.

The rise of prop bets in US sports betting

Its commonplace for bettors to bet on outcomes of games via the money line or spread, often stacking several picks onto the pay slip to enhance the odds, but recently, more and more fans have been turning to props. Prop Bets dont require you to correctly predict a game-winner, have higher potential payouts, and with some bookies, you can request your own exotic prop bets.

You can bet on markets that have near-even odds, such as the result of the coin flip or under-overs on the length of the national anthem or number of touchdowns, or per player outcomes. These can be anytime touchdowns, the first player to score a point, the number of bases stolen, interceptions gave away, and anything else that can be quantified or tallied within the game.

Match outcome bets can leave bettors a bit detached from the sport itself when they have a multiple bet slip. Props, on the other hand, are all about the intricate parts of the game at hand, with prop bets needing certain players to get in on the action and suddenly perform as the bet predicts. A prop bet can be won in a second, while most other bets wait for the final whistle.

How to capitalise on prop betting options

While all bettors should thoroughly research teams, injuries, and news prior to placing a wager, prop betting can be the most reliably researched, thanks to modern stats sites. With one team coming against another, there are many factors that can swing the eventual outcome, but with prop bets, the research often pertains to one player, their form, preferences, and who theyll have to best to win in prop bet markets.

Due to how many goals and points are scored in ice hockey, NHL props bet markets have become rather popular particularly the anytime scorer margins. For these, TSN Stats is the easiest and most clear-cut resource to utilise. Not only can you sort by teams and point, goals, or assists counts as well as several other key stats but you can then flip to player logs to see form and over to the goaltenders to see where they rank.

Naturally, NFL betting is the biggest in US jurisdictions and certainly presents a glut of prop betting opportunities. Again, research is key, and while it can be easy to identify offensive stars, its not always clear how well theyll fare against certain defensive set-ups. For this, turn to Pro Football Reference and its defence page, paying particular attention to yards and touchdowns allowed to the pass and the rush to identify weaknesses that prop bet players can exploit.

Prop bets have opened up a new angle to engage with sports, particularly if you put in the research and can identify key players in advantageous positions.

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Best Ways to Capitalise on Modern US Sports Betting Options - The Sports Bank

Despite stalling in committee yesterday without a vote, a bill to legalize online and retail betting in Kansas passed out of the House on Wednesday.

The bill passed 88-36 after House lawmakers amended it to add more revenue for problem gambling treatment. The Senate and House will meet next for a conferencing committee, where theyll look to reach a compromise on competing tax rates.

Progress in the legislature nearly went up in flames yesterday after lawmakers in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee nearly uprooted control from the casinos to a state lottery monopoly. That would have effectively gutted the entire bill, according to committee chair Rep. John Barker (R).

The hearing unexpectedly ended without a vote, but the House later amended a competing Senate bill to include language from the House billsetting it up for todays floor vote.

The Senate bill would tax online sports betting at 8% and retail at 5.5%, as opposed to the House version that would tax each at 20% and 14%, respectively.

For the bill to be sent to Gov. Laura Kelly (D)whos been bullish on sports bettingthe Senate must pass an identical version before the legislature adjourns on May 20. Theyll meet for a conference committee in the coming weeks.

Lawmakers will also have to agree on whether or not to let sportsbooks deduct revenue tied to free play bets from their taxable revenue, as a handful of states have done. The House version would not allow it, while the Senates would.

Last year it was the Senate that passed a sports betting bill and the House that refused to compromise.

This has been a good debate that has been ongoing for years. Its nice to pass this today, said Rep. John Barker, who chairs the Federal and State Affairs committee.

His bill is estimated to raise between $6-10 million a year.

Kansas may have the edge on Missouri when it comes to their college basketball rivalry, but its lawmakers want to make sure it beats its neighbor out in sports betting as well.

Throughout the legislative process lawmakers from both states have repeatedly cited just how close their neighbors are to legalizing sports betting.

Early this week the Missouri House sent its sports betting bill to the state Senate, setting it up for a final vote before the legislature adjourns May 13. It is the furthest each state has made it towards legalizing and a lot of that may be due to the pressure theyve put on each other to get it done first.

I do not like Missouri. I want to beat them, Rep. Stephanie Clayton (D) said during a hearing earlier this week.

Online tax rates in the final bill will likely end up somewhere between 8-20%, which would be considered middle-of-the road compared to other states.

Both versions require casinos to pay $100,000 annually to the Problem Gambling and Addiction fund.

The rest of the bill passed by the House should stay the same:

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Kansas Sports Betting Heads to Conferencing after House Passage - The Action Network

As Ontarioreadies for commercial sports betting, the province will likely lose most of its daily fantasy sports operators.

FanDuelwill pull its daily fantasy sports product out of Ontario on Friday because of regulatory issues, company spokesperson Kevin Hennessy confirmed Tuesday.That comes as FanDuel prepares to launch its sportsbookfor ON sports betting next week.

Following FanDuels decision, theFantasy Sports & Gaming Association issued a press release. Most DFS operators active in Ontario will join FanDuel in leaving the province, said Peter Schoenke, an FSGA board member.

When Ontario put forth their regulations, they were just not hospitable to daily fantasy sports, Schoenke told LSR. I dont think it was intentional, but our industry was caught off guard. Were hopeful [the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario] and elected officials hear from consumers and realize the need to address this issue.

DraftKings did not respond to a request for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.

The AGCO regulations require a CAD $100,000 registration fee and a 25% tax on DFS revenue. Both of those figures are nearly double the rates of any US state, according to FSGA.

Paid fantasy sports contests operate differently than sports betting, iGaming or brick and mortar casinos, with low margins and player pools from multiple jurisdictions, the FSGA statement said. Large registration fees are especially prohibitive for smaller operators and reduce competition as witnessed in US states such as Indiana and Delaware.

Fantasy contests are explicitly included in the regulated online gaming market in Ontario. That causes a problem for DFS products.

Unfortunately, games offered in the regulated market currently cannot include shared liquidity with other jurisdictions meaning Ontario players would only be able to play against other Ontario players, Hennessy said. Contests would need to be smaller, with significantly smaller prizing. FanDuel knows such a product would not be attractive to our Ontario players.

There are nearly 2 million DFS players in Ontario, according to FSGA. Hennessy said DFS accounts and wallets will still be available to customers in Ontario.

Hennessy said FanDuels DFS product will remain live in other Canadian provinces. Schoenke said he believes other operators will also stay active in other provinces.

Ontario is the first province to open up its sports betting market to private companies, while others offer single-event wagering through provincial lotteries.Schoenke said DFS regulations in other provinces are virtually nonexistent, and he hopes for more clarity in the future.

Beyond Ontario, Schoenke has yet to hear of any problems in other provinces. Still, he said there are multiple issues to work through with Ontario regulators.

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With Ontario Sports Betting Near, DFS Operators To Bail Over Regulation - Legal Sports Report

Minneapolis-based online technology company SharpLink Gaming announced on Tuesday that its integrated C4 solution has resulted in a measurable improvement in the conversion of NASCAR.com fans to sports betting depositors for BetMGM for the first five weeks of the 2022 NASCAR racing season.

SharpLink, which provides targeted, data-driven user engagement and conversion solutions for the US sports betting and iGaming industries, reported its customer acquisition model has shown increased results in all key conversion metrics, including a 225% increase in qualified sports betting depositors for BetMGM.

Currently, the company is featuring a BetMGM bet slip module on NASCAR.coms homepage that incorporates C4 bet recommendation algorithms in states where online sports betting has been legalized. Once a NASCAR fan clicks on the bet slip, a BetMGM promotion offer is provided to the potential bettor.

When comparing fan engagement metrics for the first five weeks of the current racing season to the entire 2021 season averages, SharpLink found the results reflect that the percentage of NASCAR fans who engaged with promotional offers was 9.2%, and that the percentage of fans who registered with BetMGM after landing increased 72%.

Additionally, the total number of fans who deposited with BetMGM after landing was up 152%, while the percentage of fans who became qualified depositors with the sportsbook rose 225%, thus showing notable increases in all key metrics.

However, of all these results, the company says the most impressive measure of C4s value proposition is that, following a NASCAR fans interaction with the bet slip, there was a 9.2% engagement rate with the BetMGM promotion offer. According to SharpLink, this far outperforms prevailing metrics in the market.

Were eager for BetMGM to be at the forefront of innovation and SharpLinks technology has allowed us to do just that, delivering a first-of-its-kind integration that places a BetMGM bet slip on the NASCAR home page, said Kyle Wachtel, Head of Partnerships at BetMGM.

The executive further stated that the feature is helping the sportsbook to position itself directly in front of NASCAR fans, as well having contributed to increased engagement within its partnership with the league, reaching new customers and reconnecting with existing customers.

Applying the strength and capabilities of our proprietary C4 conversion engine the Bot Behind the Bet is enabling forward-thinking league clients and sportsbook partners to fully optimize and benefit from customized and engaging betting content, resulting in an increase in conversion of traditional sports fans into online sports bettors, said Rob Phythian, CEO of SharpLink.

The CEO describes NASCAR and BetMGM as enthusiastic early adopters of leading-edge technological innovations in their efforts to advance their online sports betting business strategies and optimize their marketing spending. SharpLink is very proud to be among the solution providers they are coming to rely on to deliver technologies that can help positively impact their success, the executive noted.

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SharpLink drives conversion of NASCAR fans to BetMGM's sports betting depositors with 225% growth - Yogonet International