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Persons: Dow Jones

In the sports world, betting and gambling startups have started the last two years raising fewer and fewer funding dollars. While funding is harder to come by, startups are also facing changes in the world of sports business and technology. Insider recently released a list of the top VCs investing in sports and asked their founders, CEOs, partners, and directors what they would tell startups trying to break through. Chris GroveKey investments: Acies Investments and EKG Ventures are focused on sports, gambling, and technology. When we invest in a tech company, we have four criteria.

Persons: Tom Loverro, Cole Van Nice, Chris Grove, Chris, you've, There's, Courtside, Tom Brady, Michael Strahan's, Meredith McPherron, Alex Rodriguez, Topgolf Callaway, Brad Farkas, Steve Ahern, Lance Dietz, Craig Thompson, Michael Proman, Proman, Wayne Kimmel, SeventySix, It's, Lloyd Danzig, Sharp Organizations: Elysian Park, Acies Investments, EKG Ventures, Courtside Ventures, of Sports, Elysian Park Ventures, Club, Kinetics, PGA of America, HBSE Ventures, KB Partners, Mindspring, Scrum Ventures, Ventures, Japanese, Boom Entertainment, SeventySix, Vegas Sports Information, Inc, Entrepreneurs, Sharp Alpha Advisors Locations: Chris Grove, Chicago

☆ Check out the animated slides that helped a golf-betting app raise $2 million from VCs and $50,000 from users
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

LoopGolf is an on-course betting app that lets golfers wager with their friends on their own games. The startup raised $2 million from VCs and $50,000 from supporters through a newsletter callout. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen Matt Rum worked at Square on developing Cash App, he and his coworkers played a lot of golf on the weekends. Rum said the multiplayer experience has also helped drive customers toward the app because users are incentivized to get their friends to sign up.

Persons: —, Matt Rum, Thomas Reinholm, Reinholm, Rum, LoopGolf, it's, Mike Bartels, We've, we're Organizations: Service Locations: Rum, VCs, LoopGolf

☆ These are JPMorgan’s top stocks for October
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan added three new stocks to its list of top names for October, including a sports betting company that has had a massive rally since the start of the year. The focus list comprises the top ideas of the bank's equity analysts spanning growth, value and short investment strategies. The bank has a $60 price target, more than 13% above the stock's $52.80 close on Friday. Returning names to the list include value stock General Motors , which is down 3% this year. Analyst Tessa Romero's $26 price target implies shares could rise more than 353% from their Friday close of $5.73.

Persons: Joseph Greff, Robbie Marcus, Greff, Ryan Brinkman's, Tessa Romero's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: JPMorgan, Boston Scientific, Wynn Resorts, Boston, Motors, United Auto Workers, Ford Motor, Edgewise Therapeutics, Boyd Gaming Locations: DraftKings, Macau, China, UAE

☆ Players face tougher punishment for betting on league games
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - National Football League players who bet on NFL games will face harsher penalties under the league's revised gambling policy, according to a memo obtained by Reuters on Friday. Players who bet on games involving their own teams will face a minimum two-year suspension, while betting on any NFL game will result in a minimum one-year suspension. The league said it was working with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) to develop a program educating players on changes to the policy. "The NFL and NFL Players Association share a longstanding and unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the game," the league and NFLPA said in a joint statement. Several NFL players have faced punishment for gambling over the last two years, as sports betting has become legal in more U.S. states and been made increasingly accessible.

Persons: Stephen Lew, Roger Goodell, NFLPA, Nicholas Petit, Frere, Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill, Amy Tennery Organizations: NFL, New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, Caesars Superdome, National Football League, Reuters, NFL Players Association, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, Thomson Locations: New Orleans , Louisiana, USA, New York

☆ Omada wants to become a healthy alternative to sports betting sites. It just raised $7.5 million with this 9-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Social gaming startup Omada has just secured $7.5 million in seed funding from Felix Capital. The French startup, which launched less than two years ago, bills itself as a healthy alternative to traditional sports betting apps. "It's not just a game, it's a social game," said cofounder and CEO Adrien Miniatti. Beyond its core game-prediction and social features, Omada has also worked on a range of campaigns to raise awareness about betting addictions. With the fresh funding, Omada will ramp up its product team, and focus on its expansion in the US.

Persons: Felix Capital, It's, Adrien Miniatti, Zs —, Omada, Miniatti, Julien Codorniou Organizations: Felix, influencers, French football club Red Star FC, Omada, Play Ventures, Motier Ventures, Felix Capital Locations: London

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The University of Nevada’s basketball team could have a new off-campus home by 2026 under an ambitious 10-year expansion plan that Reno’s largest hotel-casino announced Wednesday. The nearly $1 billion private capital investment will be the biggest in the city's history, according to officials of the Grand Sierra Resort. Before that, the team played at the Reno-Sparks convention center south of downtown. It's been the Grand Sierra Resort since 2006. Last year, Las Vegas hosted Sweet 16 games for the NCAA basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on the Vegas Strip.

Persons: Alex Mereulo, Brian Sandoval, Sandoval, It's, Hillary Schieve Organizations: University, Nevada’s, Grand Sierra, Las, University of Nevada, Nevada men’s, “, Sierra Resort, Mountain West Conference, Reno, MGM, Reno Hilton, Las Vegas, Sweet, NCAA, Mobile, Vegas Locations: RENO, Nev, Las Vegas, Reno, Mereulo, Northern Nevada, Nevada, U.S, North America

☆ Binance says to sell Russia business to CommEX
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Fanduel and Paddy Power owner Flutter said on Wednesday it had bought an initial 51% stake in Serbia's number two sports betting and gaming operator MaxBet for 141 million euros ($148.95 million) in a bid to expand in the Balkans. 7:12 AM UTC

Persons: Paddy Power Locations: Balkans

☆ Flutter eyes Balkan expansion with acquisition of Serbia's MaxBet
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Flutter, the world's largest online betting company, said the 700 million euro Serbian betting market is attractive due to its relatively low online penetration of around 35% and expected online compound annual growth to 2025 of approximately 15%. MaxBet, which generated pro forma fully regulated revenue of 145 million euros in the year to June, 44% of it online, also has a smaller presence in Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. "We believe MaxBet is an excellent opportunity to replicate the success we have achieved in markets like Georgia, India and Italy," Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said in a statement, referring to similar acquisitions in those markets. Flutter, which makes 78% of its revenue in its main divisions of the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom and Ireland, operates in more than 100 countries around the world. ($1 = 0.9466 euros)Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paddy Power, Peter Jackson, Padraic Halpin, Jan Harvey Organizations: DUBLIN, Thomson Locations: Balkans, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Georgia, India, Italy, U.S, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland

Sports has become a hot category for venture-capital investors in recent years. While other private investors like private equity firms have set their sights mainly on teams and leagues — looking to cash in on the rising costs of media rights and the growth of live events — early-stage investors are pouring money into startups innovating in areas like sports betting, esports, sports technology, analytics companies, NIL, and more. Insider is highlighting prominent venture-capital investors who are funding startups in sports. Insider compiled this list of investors based on our own reporting as well as nominations we vetted from readers and industry experts. Here are the 26 venture capital and other early-stage investors — listed alphabetically by company — that have made prominent investments in sports in 2023:

Persons: Brad Farkas, Pareek, Jake Paul, Joey Levy's Organizations: HBSE Ventures, trampolines

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: SiriusXM, Cintas, United Natural Foods and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A customer uses an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in San Bruno, California, on April 14, 2023. Cintas — Shares fell 5.3% after the company reported its 2024 fiscal first-quarter earnings. Cintas raised its full-year guidance but the lower end of its EPS and revenue predictions came in below analysts' estimates. United Natural Foods — Shares sank 27.4% Tuesday after United Natural Foods forecast earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA in the coming year below analysts' estimates, citing profitability headwinds. Shares of Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs declined 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively, while Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan both lost about 1%.

Persons: Cintas, Pinterest, Goldman Sachs, Jamie Dimon, Morgan Stanley, CNBC's Hakyung Kim, Alex Harring, Brian Evans, Samantha Subin, Yun Li Organizations: Wells Fargo Bank, HSBC, United, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs — Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Reserve, Wells, Goldman, Liberty Media, Barclays — U.S, Barclays, Federal Trade Commission, Amazon Locations: Wells Fargo, San Bruno , California

☆ The sports-betting apps that NFL fans in their 20s love — and 3 other key takeaways on the habits of young football devotees
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

And a new report sheds light on how those efforts are resonating with younger fans. Compared to NFL fans aged 30 and older, fans in their 20s were three times more likely to place a bet every week. And only 11% of fans in their 30s spent more than $1,000 annually on sports betting, versus 28% of younger fans. That number was just 33% among fans aged 30 and up. Most of these fans said they played in a fantasy league during the 2022 football season, but most older fans didn't.

Persons: YouGov, FanDuel, Barstool, Penn, Fox, sputtered, Barstool Sportsbook, sportsbooks, NFL RedZone, aren't, they're Organizations: NFL, Sports, Penn Entertainment, ESPN Bet, Fox, Bally Bet, Brand, FOX Bet

☆ JPMorgan upgrades this sports betting stock that can rally 35%
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Analyst Joseph Greff upgraded the sports betting stock to overweight from neutral and raised his price target by $11 to $37. His new price target implies an upside of 35.2% from Monday's close. "We are taking advantage of sluggish share price performance since late July," Greff said in a note to clients Tuesday. The stock has fallen about 13% since July, while the S & P 500 pulled back by about 6%. Notably, Greff said to expect a sports betting market size of $23.2 billion in the U.S. and Ontario by 2030. iGaming's market size over the same timeline and locations should near $13.5 billion in 2030.

Persons: underperformance, Joseph Greff, Greff, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: JPMorgan, Penn Entertainment, Caesars Locations: DraftKings, Monday's, U.S, Ontario

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Fisker, Tesla, United Natural Foods and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Fisker — Shares of the vehicle development company surged 4.1% premarket after Bank of America reinstated coverage with a buy rating. Thor Industries — Shares of the recreational vehicle company slipped 3% premarket after it warned that it expects net sales to decline in the coming year. For the quarter just ended, Thor posted $1.68 in earnings per share on $2.74 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for 96 cents in earnings per share on $2.42 billion of revenue. United Natural Foods forecast earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA in the coming year below analysts' estimates, citing profitability headwinds, and fiscal fourth quarter revenue that missed analysts' $7.47 billion estimate, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: BofA, Fisker, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, DraftKings, Thor, —, Jesse Pound, Pia Singh Organizations: Bank of America, European Union, Barclays — Barclays, JPMorgan, Thor Industries, United Locations: Huntington Beach , California, China

☆ NBCUniversal names insider Rick Cordella president of sports division
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

General Sport - Leaders Sport Summit2012 - Stamford Bridge - 10/10/12 Rick Cordella, SVP and GM NBC Sports and Olympics Digital during a talk called "The Digital Olympics: Expensive experiment or a new era in sport?" during the summit Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Matthew Childs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 22 (Reuters) - Comcast's (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal on Friday appointed veteran executive Rick Cordella as president of its sports division. Cordella will take charge of NBC Sports' platforms including NBC Olympics, Golf Channel and oversee sports on the company's streaming platform Peacock, home to Sunday Night Football and NASCAR. He was most recently president of programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. In the role, he led NBCUniversal's sports programming strategy across broadcast, cable and streaming and oversaw sports betting and sports fantasy.

Persons: Rick Cordella, Matthew Childs, NBCUniversal, Cordella, Arsheeya, Dawn Chmielewski, Shailesh Organizations: Sport, Summit2012, GM NBC Sports, Olympics, NBC Sports, NBC, Golf Channel, Sunday Night Football, NASCAR, Peacock, Thomson Locations: Stamford, Bengaluru, Los Angeles

☆ Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from running Fox and News Corp. and is handing the reins to his son Lachlan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rupert Murdoch is stepping down from his role at Fox and News Corp., according to a company statement. "For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change," Murdoch wrote. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt's unclear how Murdoch's media empire will change post-Rupert. Lachlan Murdoch, 52, has been CEO since 2019 after the baton switched back and forth between him and his brother James as to who would succeed their father. And while he's privately criticized Trump, he's also said that the Fox audience supports the former president, suggesting he knows that supporting Trump is good for Fox's business, CNN has reported.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Murdoch, Lachlan, Lachlan Murdoch, Trump, Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Donald Trump, James, Rupert, He's, Tucker Carlson, he's Organizations: Fox, News Corp, Fox Corp ., Fox News, London, Voting, Dominion, Google, Meta, Street Journal, Hollywood, Fox Nation, CNN Locations: Rupert, FanDuel

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The online sports betting company PointsBet committed three different types of violations of New Jersey sports betting laws, including taking bets on soccer games that had already ended, according to gambling regulators who fined the company $25,000. One aspect of the fine involved the company accepting bets in August 2021 on the outcome of five European soccer matches after the games had already ended. Political Cartoons View All 1171 ImagesAfter discovering the error, the bets were voided and the money from the customer's initial bets was returned, according to the gaming enforcement division. PointsBet blamed human error for the mistake, according to the gaming enforcement division. On Oct. 29, 2021, the company offered bets on a “League Of Legends” esports competition in which a player on one of the teams was 17 years old, under the legal minimum age of 18.

Persons: PointsBet, “ PointsBet, Peter's, Wayne Parry Organizations: CITY, New, New Jersey Attorney General's, Associated Press, of Gaming Enforcement, NCAA, St, Twitter Locations: N.J, New Jersey, PointsBet, Denver, www.twitter.com

☆ Why we’re cautiously optimistic about Disney’s new multibillion dollar theme park investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

We're cautiously optimistic about Disney 's (DIS) decision to invest billions upon billions more into its booming theme parks. DIS 5D mountain DIS stock performance. In a separate note, KeyBanc believes Disney's DPEP segment has a "bright long-term future" after its analysts attended Disney's Investors Summit. Bottom line Disney's moat is its strong intellectual property that it can use to monetize and grow its business. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: We're, Bob Iger, doesn't, Iger, He's, Morgan Stanley, KeyBanc, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Joseph Prezioso Organizations: Disney, Disney Parks, Hulu, ESPN, CNBC, Comcast, Penn Entertainment, Investments, Disney's Investors, DIS, Parks &, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Hulu

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA once again had strong metrics as the league had its most-watched regular season in 21 years and its highest average attendance since 2018. Viewership was up 21% over last year across its national television partners and the league's average attendance of 6,615 fans was the WNBA's highest since the 2018 season. An expanded schedule to 40 games this season helped the league gain its highest total attendance in 13 years (1,587,488). Las Vegas also hosted the highest-attended game this season, drawing a crowd of 17,406 on Sunday against Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury on the final day of the regular season. That game was played at the bigger T-Mobile Arena as opposed to the Aces regular venue, which seats about 12,000.

Persons: Cathy Engelbert, Brittney Griner, Nikki Fargas, ___ Organizations: WNBA, Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Mobile, ” Aces, ESPN Locations: Vegas

☆ This sports betting company is a good short-term buy, Deutsche Bank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

While Deutsche Bank is skeptical on the long-term story for Penn National Gaming , it is bullish on shares in the short-term. Analyst Carlo Santarelli put a catalyst call buy, or short-term buy rating, on the sports betting company, which trades as PENN Entertainment. In August, the company signed a licensing deal with ESPN to rebrand its sportsbook to ESPN BET, slated to launch in November. Through the deal, Penn has the exclusive right to the ESPN Bet trademark in the U.S. for 10 years, with potential to be extended. An Investor Day in December, which is likely to focus on ESPN BET, will also highlight the brand's early traction, he added.

Persons: Carlo Santarelli, Santarelli, Penn, GGR, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Deutsche Bank, Penn National Gaming, PENN Entertainment, ESPN, ESPN BET, ESPN Bet Locations: Wednesday's, U.S, Las Vegas

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Commercial casinos in the U.S. had their best July ever this year, winning nearly $5.4 billion from gamblers, according to figures released Thursday by a national gambling industry group. The American Gaming Association said the casinos' winnings were up nearly 6% from July 2022. Internet gambling in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia generated another $481.5 million, up nearly 23% from a year ago. Combined revenue from online sports betting and internet gambling increased 25.2 percent year-over-year in July. Over that same period, internet gambling revenue was $3.45 billion, up 22.6% from a year earlier.

Persons: Wayne Parry Organizations: CITY, —, American Gaming Association, Sports, Twitter Locations: N.J, U.S, Illinois , Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut , Delaware , Michigan , New Jersey , Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, www.twitter.com

☆ Retailers are losing $100 billion a year from return fraud, bots and coupon stacking, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This type of "friendly fraud" might feel harmless and seem like a small drop in the bucket for powerful corporations. But taken together with more nefarious forms of fraud, it's costing retailers more than $100 billion per year, according to Riskified , which published a new study on the problem on Thursday. Riskified uses artificial intelligence and automation to fight fraud and boost revenue at major retailers including Wayfair , Peloton , Revolve and Canada Goose . For the study, it surveyed over 300 global companies with more than $500 million in total annual revenue. The firm found retail policy abuses, such as return fraud and using fake email addresses for promo codes, is rising for some retailers.

Persons: Robert, there's, they've, Eido Gal, Gal Organizations: Hulu, CNBC Locations: Long, , New York

☆ An N.F.L. Stadium Brings Sports Betting Inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Jenny Vrentas | More About Jenny Vrentas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Since a Supreme Court ruling in 2018 opened the door for more states to greenlight sports gambling, the N.F.L. issued its most extensive set of penalties for violations of its gambling policy. Nine players in the past four years — including one Commanders player — have received at least season-long bans for betting on N.F.L. This diverges from other professional leagues such as Major League Baseball, which prohibits only betting on baseball games or illegal betting. Commanders left tackle Charles Leno Jr. said he doesn’t like talking about the gambling policy because he’s wary of saying something that could get him in trouble.

Persons: Roger Goodell, —, Charles Leno Jr, Leno, “, ” Organizations: Caesars Entertainment, MGM, Harbor, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, N.F.L, Major League Baseball Locations: FanDuel

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino company Caesars Entertainment on Thursday joined Las Vegas gambling rival MGM Resorts International in reporting that it was hit by a cyberattack, but added in a report to federal regulators that its casino and online operations were not disrupted. Caesars is the largest casino owner in the world, with more than 65 million Caesars Rewards members and properties in 18 states and Canada under the Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe and Eldorado brands. MGM Resorts said reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and other states were affected. MGM Resorts has has about 40 million loyalty rewards members and tens of thousands of hotel rooms in Las Vegas at properties including the MGM Grand, Bellagio, Aria and Mandalay Bay. Some MGM Resorts computer systems were still down Thursday, including hotel reservations and payroll.

Persons: “, ”, ” Brett Callow, Emsisoft, Callow, Charles Carmakal, ” Carmakal, Mandiant, ” Mandiant, Brian Ahern, pinky, ’ ”, Frank Bajak Organizations: LAS VEGAS, —, Caesars Entertainment, Las, MGM Resorts International, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social, New, MGM Resorts, “, Caesars, Associated Press, SEC, MGM, Aria, FBI, CNA Financial Locations: Las Vegas, Reno, New Zealand, Russia, U.S, Canada, Harrah’s, Eldorado, Mandalay, China, Macau, British Columbia, Boston

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