Last week, Endeavor lowered its bid for OpenBet to $800 million, down from its previous offer of $1.2 billion. The 33% price reduction comes in the midst of a stock market correction, which has pummeled sports betting securities. Last September, Endeavor agreed to buy OpenBet from Light & Wonder (formerly […]
Business and Commerce
F1 Renews with ESPN Even Though Amazon Bid More
F1 chose to renew its media rights deal with ESPN through 2025. Amazon’s bid to stream the prestigious auto racing series, however, was significantly higher, according to Sports Business Journal sources. Still, ESPN will have to cough up a lot more than it paid to cover the previous three years. […]
Clock May Be Ticking on MLB Antitrust Exemption
Almost exactly 100 years ago, Major League Baseball received an exemption from the Sherman Antitrust Act. To this day, it’s the only US sport legally operating as a monopoly. But a minor league lawsuit, and recent pressure from the Department of Justice, could limit MLB’s unique control. In December 2021, […]
PSA Reimplements All Card Grading Services — at Much Higher Cost
The sports card hobby’s leading grader has reopened all of its levels, but collectors must now pay much more for the same services. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) had to temporarily suspend some of its authentication and grading services last year due to overwhelming demand while working through a backlog of […]
Pros and Cons of the Exclusive Apple MLS Streaming Deal
Apple just locked up the next ten years of MLS streaming rights. The US soccer league should net roughly $250 million per year from the exclusive streaming deal. While some matches will still likely air on television, Apple will offer all every single MLS match. There are some obvious advantages […]
Cricket’s IPL Media Rights Fetch More Than $6 Billion
In a series of recent auctions, the Indian Premier League (IPL) sold its media rights for more than $6 billion. The popular cricket league’s current media contract with Star India — a subsidiary of Disney — expires at the end of this year. Going forward, however, Disney will have to […]
LeBron James Wants to Own an NBA Expansion Team in Las Vegas
There’s been a lot of chatter about Seattle and Las Vegas becoming the next two cities to land NBA expansion teams, and LeBron James publicly stated that he would like to be the owner of any new team in Sin City. On Friday, the next episode of “The Shop” debuts […]
Walmart Scion Agrees to Buy Denver Broncos for $4.65 Billion
The Denver Broncos have a new owner. Well, almost. The final sale is pending a vote from the other NFL franchise owners and approval from the league’s finance committee, but it looks like the Walton-Penner group will become the next owner after they agreed to a purchase agreement for the […]
Colt Sells for Record $3.55 Million at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale
A colt from the late sire Bernardini shattered several records on Tuesday when he brought $3.55 million at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Timonium, Maryland. The colt, a product of Bernardini out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare G Note, went to Gary Young, the respected West […]
Keeneland Brings Home Record Spring Meet Handle Across the Board
Keeneland enjoyed its third consecutive year of record Spring Meet handle, bringing in an all-sources handle of $219,284,979 for its just-concluded Spring Meet. That handle was the largest total in the Kentucky track’s history. The more than $219 million from the 15-day meet that ended Friday represented a 33.16% increase […]
Card Collectors Corner: A Primer on Sports Card Grading
One of the most common questions I get from relatively novice collectors who visit my store, Cullman Sportscards & Fun Shop, is about where and how to get their cards graded. Given the popularity of “slabs,†the term those in the hobby use for graded cards, and the boost in […]
NYRA Hearing Officer Recommends Two-Year Ban for Bob Baffert
Retired Justice O. Peter Sherwood, who presided over the January hearing pitting Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert against the New York Racing Association issued a report recommending Baffert be banned from NYRA tracks for two years. That 54-page report was issued to the media on Wednesday. In it, Sherwood […]
Nevada Racebooks, Churchill Downs Inc. Reach Agreement
The three-year conflict between Churchill Downs Inc. and Nevada racebooks finally ended Tuesday when the two formerly bickering entities signed a contract that will allow Nevada horseplayers access to the entire Kentucky Derby wagering menu this year. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the deal between the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association […]
Canterbury Park Wants You to Take In This Low Takeout Pick 4
Canterbury Park announced it will add a “Post Time Pick 4†wager that features the lowest takeout of any North American track – 10%. To put this into perspective, the average takeout on a multi-race wager is 22%, according to TwinSpires. That means 22 cents out of every dollar bet […]
Charlie Blackmon Signs with MaximBet, Becomes First Active MLB Player to Endorse Sportsbook
With baseball season in full swing, fans are seeing countless ads during games for online sportsbooks. For viewers in Colorado, those commercials and billboards will now feature a familiar face: Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon. Regulated online sportsbook MaximBet announced Wednesday that it signed an endorsement deal with Blackmon, the first […]
NBC Expands Triple Crown Coverage, Brings Peacock in to Live Stream
NBC expanded its Triple Crown portfolio to the streaming world, announcing that its Peacock service will live stream all three Triple Crown races. This marks a first for the streaming service, which will supplement – not replace – NBC’s Triple Crown coverage. It also brings horse racing back to Peacock, […]
New Rules on Gambling Adverts: Football Players and Celebrities Banned from Promotions
As of October, gambling companies will be prevented from using stars to target under-18s, the UK Committee for Advertising Practice has announced. The stars with a strong appeal to young people such as footballers, coaches, and other TV or social media influencers, will be banned from appearing in gambling ads. […]
New NIL Agreement Merges Kentucky QB Levis With War of Will
Taking the NIL landscape from the green turf of the football field and merging it with the bluegrass of Kentucky’s horse country, Claiborne Farm signed a NIL (name, image, likeness) partnership with University of Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. The unique NIL partnership will pair Levis with War of Will, Claiborne […]
F1 Adds November Las Vegas Race as US Popularity Soars
F1 announced Las Vegas as its latest venue. The new race will debut in November 2023. Vegas will be its third US race location, tapping into F1’s growing US fanbase. For many years, professional sports avoided Las Vegas, fearing the prevalence of gambling might mar their integrity. But with the […]
Bettors Cash a Long-Awaited Ticket as Kentucky Eliminates Breakage
It went by Kentucky HB 607, an innocuous name for a bill that could put millions of dollars into horseplayers’ wallets after its Tuesday passage in the Kentucky State Senate. That bill, which heads back to the House for concurrence after sailing through the state senate 33-1, virtually eliminates breakage. […]