Earnings+More - Churchill Downs suspends racing
Churchill Downs suspends racingChurchill Downs’ horse deaths inquiry, Tabcorp’s market share focus, DraftKings, Genius analyst takes, startup focus – GamePLAI +MoreGood morning. On today’s agenda:
Churchill Downs’ horse deathsHorse racing is suspended and moved to a different track as the company investigates the deaths of 12 horses. Life and death: Churchill Downs announced late on Friday it would be suspending racing at its home track after this weekend’s action and moving the remainder of its spring meet to the Ellis Park track in Henderson, Kentucky.
Analyst takes: Wells Fargo said the timing of the news on Friday was “not ideal” but indicated the financial impact was limited despite the bad PR.
Casting a shadow: Financially, the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby was a success for Churchill Downs, generating record handle and EBITDA. All-sources handle rose 5% to $412m while TwinSpires handle was up 9% to $74m.
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Calendar
Thai movesA report from Bloomberg suggests MGM Resorts and Galaxy are laying the ground for casinos in Thailand. In an apparent response to worries that Macau might never get back to being the money-making machine it was pre-pandemic, the two operators are reported to be exploring the potential for opportunities elsewhere.
Tabcorp investor day‘Australia’s biggest startup’ says it is delivering on its promises. It’s a new day: CEO Adam Rytenskild said Tabcorp was focused on winning market share following last year’s demerger with its lottery business as well as focusing on growth opportunities ex-Australia.
This is the modern world: As one of its ‘big bets’, chief customer officer Jenni Barnett said Tabcorp’s hope is to control 30% market share by 2025 by modernizing the brand, “dominating racing” and by “doubling down” in other key sports including from the US. The company also intends to “sweat” its land-based outlets.
Analyst takesDraftKings: Jefferies suggested the lack of any further state openings this year means visibility for reported earnings is improved, while concerns over cash levels are “mitigated”. There are also “limited prospects” for surprises and cash-flow positivity is forecast for H2 this year, accelerating into 2024.
Genius Sports: With two years remaining on its NFL agreement, JMP said Genius is “confident” that with its Second Spectrum offering bringing “value-enhancing” elements, such as in-stadium betting, camera augmentation and fan engagement to the NFL, that it will be “increasingly difficult” for the league to look to another data provider.
Full House Resorts: After taking a trip to Colorado to check on the progress with the Chamonix Casino rebuild, the team at CBRE said the company is confident in having a “mostly complete” complex by the December opening.
** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** Venture capital firm Yolo Investments manages in excess of €600m in capital across 80 exciting fintech, gaming and blockchain companies. The Yolo Investments' Gaming fund, regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, has taken positions in fast-growth suppliers and operators, including Dabble and Enteractive. Yolo Investments (yolo.io) wants to hear from readers of this newsletter. Get in touch with your pitch, or for a chat about innovative products which can plug into our investment ecosystem. Startup focus – GamePLAIPLAI for today: Co-founded in 2021 by data scientists Graham Savage and Nikos Volakis, the London-based GamePLAI is an AI-assisted odds provider whose first product focuses on micro-markets. Angels and stars: The company is an alumna of the Techstars accelerator program and has some notable angel investors on board, including ex-Pinnacle trading director Marco Blume and former head of corporate development at Banach Donal Barron. What’s the big idea? Savage says that as data granularity and reliability increases, there is an opportunity to more accurately automate market pricing for a wide range of sports. “Through our modelling approach we are able to create more accurate pricing and through automation we reduce the manual overhead on trading teams, enabling trading experts to focus on more value-added tasks,” he suggests. Micro-managing: The initial focus on micro-markets makes the US the natural target market. Still, the first product to market is an NBA solution that Savage says was chosen for its global appeal.
Growth company newsThe Unit has announced it will be supplying marketing services to gaming platform PlayStar in New Jersey. BettorEdge and BettingLadies.com have launched what they say is the first sports-betting community for women. Simplebet has announced a partnership with BlueBet’s US-facing operation ClutchBet to deliver micro-betting solutions. ** SPONSOR’S MESSAGE ** EveryMatrix delivers iGaming software, solutions, content and services for casino, sports betting, payments, and affiliate/agent management to 200+ global Tier-1 operators and newer brands. The platform is modular, scalable, and compliant, allowing operators to choose the optimal solution depending on their needs. EveryMatrix empowers clients to unleash bold ideas and deliver outstanding player experiences in regulated markets. Career pathsWynn Resorts has extended the employment agreements of CEO Craig Billings and CFO Julie Cameron-Doe to June 2027 and June 2026, respectively. Esports Entertainment Group has reappointed Damian Mathews as its new COO. Matthews left the group in December Lam Yi Young will step down as deputy CEO of Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa on June 30 after just six months in the role. Svenska Spel has named Frank Hojem as its new head of communications and sustainability. Hojem joins the Swedish lottery from banking group SEB. The Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has appointed Adriane Koppe and Monique van Oers as chairs on its appeals committee. Valeria Sükiläinen has rejoined Betsson as chief product officer three years after leaving the group. NewslinesCambodian casino operator NagaCorp has pushed back the completion data of its $3.5bn Phnom Penh project by three years to 2029. An +More Media publication. For sponsorship inquiries email scott@andmore.media. Earnings+More is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Earnings+More that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments. |
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