Catch A Case
More betting allegations against Iowa and Iowa St. student-athletes include betting on games they participated in, and making sense of WynnBet's surprise exit announcement on Friday.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: More Iowa and Iowa St. Athletes accused of betting on games they participated in.
NEWS: WynnBet is the latest casualty of the Hunger Games-like landscape that is US sports betting.
VIEWS: Is Darren Rovell the problem? A panel at the recently concluded BetBash sure seemed to think so.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Portnoy’s Penn shares, and BvB throws some cold water on ESPN BET.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Ancient Roman philosophy.
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If You Want to Destroy My Sweater…
The investigation into what can only be described as rampant betting among Iowa and Iowa St student-athletes has pulled on a few threads and watched it unravel. First was the Hunter Dekkers news, and now things have gone from bad to worse, with at least one athlete betting against his team.
Per the AP, “Jirehl Brock and three other Iowa State football players along with three current or former Iowa football players and a student assistant were charged Thursday in connection with the state’s investigation into illegal sports wagering at the two schools.”
As law professor John Holden said, this is the tip of the iceberg:
Beyond the obvious, there are several things at play here.
First, this is not an Iowa/Iowa St. phenomenon. This level of betting is happening at schools across the country, and to a lesser extent, at high schools across the country (read last week’s feature about age-gating gambling for more of my thoughts on this topic).
Second, legal, regulated sports betting didn’t create the stones (although legalization has likely added quite a few). The regulated market is simply turning over the stones that were always there.
Lastly, these investigations and whatever penalties are handed down are not going to put a stop to student-athlete betting. They’ll learn and adjust, such as not logging into an account from their phone.
WynnBet Scales Back as iCasino Progress Stalls
In a Friday night news dump, we learned that WynnBet is the latest causality of the hyper-competitive US sports betting market. Unlike some of its peers, WynnBet isn’t wholly disappearing, but the company is scaling back its operations to a select few states.
The company is exiting eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, while evaluating its New York and Michigan offerings. Wynn will maintain its online operations in Nevada and Massachusetts, the two states it has a land-based presence.
WynnBet completed an app upgrade in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia a week ago, on August 4, which makes the timing interesting. Wynn offered its rationale in a press release.
"In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders," said Julie Cameron-Doe, Chief Financial Officer of Wynn Resorts.
In the release, Cameron-Doe also pointed to the dearth of iGaming (online casino) legislation as an impetus for the decision. And Wynn isn’t the only operator reevaluating its US strategy now that the outlook for online casino legalization has shifted from short-term to long-term.
Rush Street Interactive is another company emphasizing markets with sports and online gambling. After ending its agreement with the Connecticut Lottery, RSI CEO Richard Schwartz said the company is taking a more deliberate approach regarding which markets to target, with the possibility of online casino legalization a significant factor – RSI chose not to apply for a Massachusetts license.
With few online casino prospects and a lengthy rollout time between legislation and launch, spending time and money on a flailing sports betting product while crossing your fingers that states wake up to the online gambling opportunity is becoming less and less appealing.
Beyond the Headline: Step Aside Butch
The US sports betting landscape is in a state of flux. Wynn represents the seventh brand to wave the white flag (that number jumps to eight if you count Bally Bet 1.0).
Churchill Downs
Barstool Sportsbook
FOX Bet
Maxim
Fubo
PlayUp
WynnBet
Bally Bet
Two other early US operators, PointsBet and William Hill, were swallowed by peers. Caesars acquired William Hill, and Fanatics took control of PointsBet.
The change isn’t a complete surprise, and the timing makes sense. With several major players entering the market or increasing their presence – Fanatics, ESPN BET, and Bet365 – and FanDuel and DraftKings’ willingness to spend to maintain their top positions, the dreams of EBITDA-positive earnings call may get pushed back as marketing budgets grow.
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A BetBash Imbroglio
Darren Rovell was outnumbered, surrounded, and in the spotlight at a BetBash 3 panel - and he loved it.
Conference panels tend to be bland, with a lot of groupthink and disagreements handled civilly with lots of mutual respect. The Rovell panel went off the rails almost immediately (@RufusPeabody did a terrific blow-by-blow breakdown), reminiscent of the Joe Asher vs. DFS companies panels pre-2018.
At the end of the day, Rovell’s point is that most people seeking out sports betting content are doing so for entertainment, not to learn the ways of the force sharp bettors. His antagonists believe winning is at the top of every bettor’s list.
Both groups happen to be correct.
Yes, every bet is placed with the intention of winning, but not every bet is given the attention and care to maximize the chance it wins, and it’s not because the bettor doesn’t know any better.
While pros enjoy the process, it zaps whatever enjoyment a casual gambler receives from the bet. Most bettors will not spend countless hours on research or line shopping. Just like the typical poker player won’t put in the work away from the tables to improve their game.
Bottom line: There is a vast chasm regarding how pros and casual bettors derive enjoyment from gambling.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
The Penn-Barstool-ESPN story is not the typical 24-hour news cycle event we are accustomed to. One strand that has popped up is the numerous shares of Penn stock owned by Dave Portnoy and what he plans on doing with them. Portnoy addressed the rumors on X.
Is ESPN BET guaranteed success? Not according to @SportsbkConsig, who went on a mini-rant on Bostonian vs. the Book, saying in part, “Just because you slap ESPN on the side of it doesn’t mean it’s gonna work.”
Stray Thoughts
Given the Wynn and Barstool news, and as we prepare for ESPN BET and Fanatics, I thought about the following passage from Seneca:
“Won’t you be walking in your predecessors’ footsteps? I surely will use the older path, but if I find a shorter and smoother way, I’ll blaze a trail there. The ones who pioneered these paths aren’t our masters, but our guides. Truth stands open to everyone, it hasn’t been monopolized.” ~ Seneca