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Brazilian soccer star Lucas Paqueta is facing two new charges as part of the English Football Association’s (FA) investigation into allegations of spot-fixing. Lucas Paqueta, above, pictured in a publicity image For West Ham United. The midfielder faces potentially career-ending charges of spot-fixing. That’s after around 60 people in Brazil bet on him to receive yellow cards in games in 2023. (Image: West Ham Utd) The West Ham playmaker was charged in May with deliberately seeking to “receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market.” The seriousness of the charges is unprecedented in English soccer. If proven, they could be career-ending for the …

The developing news in Alberta will no doubt be front and center at G2E on Wednesday, with a panel discussion on the Canadian market featuring the government minister quarterbacking that province’s iGaming expansion. Alberta government minister Dale Nally, seen here speaking at the Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto in June, will be front and center at a G2E panel discussion on the Canadian market tomorrow. Image/Mark Keast “Understanding the Changing Canadian iGaming Landscape” is the topic of the panel. That’s scheduled for 3:10 p.m. Wednesday at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas. Alberta Working Toward an Ontario-Style Model Led by Paul Burns, President & CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, …

bet365 has selected Denver as its US headquarters and plans to hire nearly 1,000 people in the years ahead in Colorado’s largest city. bet365’s sign promoting betting at an Australian cricket match. The company announced Denver as its US headquarters, saying it will fill nearly 1,000 jobs there. (Image: Getty Images) The UK-based gaming giant already has an office in Denver where about 50 people are employed, but its official headquarters is now located at 1701 Platte Street. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) said the gaming company could fill as many as 300 roles in its first year of calling Denver its US home. Positions …

They’re direct competitors, but when it comes to FanDuel parent Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT) and DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), what’s good for one can benefit the other. A DraftKings billboard appears at Times Square in New York City. Analysts believe good news from rival FanDuel is benefiting DraftKings, too.(Image: NASDAQ) That was the case Wednesday when Flutter told investors it sees the total addressable market for gross gaming revenue (GGR) in North America swelling to $70 billion by 2027. The forecast includes $63 billion attributable to the US, which is 1.5x higher than the operator’s prior estimates and doesn’t include the addition of new states into the iGaming or sports betting …

Fanatics is reportedly considering selling equity to employees at a $25 billion valuation, a hefty discount to the $31 billion the company was valued at following a December 2022 funding round. The Fanatics Sportsbook logo. The company is rumored to be considering the sale of equity to employees at a $25 billion valuation. (Image: Fanatics) Citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that privately held Fanatics is mulling selling $75 million to $100 million worth of shares to staffers of the sports apparel giant. Selling stock to employees would give them some liquidity, a Fanatics representative told Bloomberg. Timing for a decision wasn’t mentioned. The news emerged …

Two Pennsylvania casino owners have decided to shutter the oldest horse racetrack in the country in neighboring New Jersey. A photograph shows live harness racing in Freehold, NJ. The photograph is believed to be from 1905-1910. Two Pennsylvania casino operators that own the Freehold Raceway, the oldest horse racetrack in the United States, plan to close the facility at the end of 2024. (Image: Monmouth County Historical Association) New Jersey’s Freehold Raceway traces its roots to the 1830s. Harness racing became the staple of the half-mile dirt oval beginning in 1854. Freehold has long been considered the oldest horse racetrack in the United States. That designation will end when the …

DraftKings is betting big that Missouri voters in November will back Amendment 2, a ballot referendum that would authorize retail and online sports betting in the Show-Me State. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo. The Missouri sports betting referendum campaign has received another $5 million from DraftKings. (Image: Shutterstock) The Boston-based sportsbook leader this week wrote a $5 million check to Winning for Missouri Education, the political committee behind Amendment 2. DraftKings’ contribution comes a day after Casino.org broke the news that Caesars Entertainment is funding the opposition to the sports betting question. Caesars reportedly opposes Amendment 2 because it would allow too many sportsbook entities access into the …

UFC 306, the first sports event held at the Las Vegas Sphere, generated the highest gross revenue that either the venue or the UFC has ever seen. According to UFC, the 10-fight spectacle earned $22 million in gate receipts, handily trouncing the $17.7 million gross earned by UFC 205 in 2016. The Octagon is enveloped by the Sphere’s immense video screen. (Image: X/UFC) Still, UFC spent $20 million to produce the show at the $2.3 billion venue, so its real profit will need to come from pay-per-view sales. Though UFC CEO Dana White vowed never to return to the Sphere, he softened his stance on Saturday. He still told the …

UFC 306, scheduled for Saturday, September 14, will be the first sports event held at the Las Vegas Sphere. It could also be the last if a lesson is to be learned from UFC CEO Dana White’s admitted mistake. With production costs mounting and ticket prices in freefall, UFC 306 (aka Riyadh Season Noche) will be the first, and possibly last, sports event to be held at the Las Vegas Sphere. (Image: UFC) Tickets for UFC 306 sported the highest face value of any event ever staged in Las Vegas. They started at $2,500 for seats in the rafters and topped off at $23,437.50 for floor seats to the right …

After quickly abandoning a plan to tax winning bets in states with high sports betting taxes, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) CEO Jason Robins says the company is seeking workarounds in jurisdictions with burdensome tax structures. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins at an industry conference. He said the company is examining alternatives to surcharges to deal with high taxes in some states. (Image: Bloomberg) At the Bank of America’s Gaming and Lodging Conference last week, Robins acknowledged DraftKings customers scoffed when it proposed a small levy on winning sports bets placed by clients in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont to deal with the elevated taxes in those states. Clearly, this was something …