News & Industry
This is news about the business, not the games. When a book opens, closes, changes hands or changes how it pays, it goes here, along with what it means for anyone with money on deposit.
What counts as news
Sportsbook launches and closures. Acquisitions, and the new owners behind an old name. Product changes that alter what you can bet or how. Pay-per-head updates that matter to an agent running players. Regulation, and changes in how money moves in and out of books. Any material change at an operator we review, from new terms to a new license. That's the beat.
Game results and picks don't belong here. Plenty of places cover those, and I've never thought a game report told a bettor anything his ticket hadn't already told him.
Kept apart from the reviews
News reports what happened, with the date it was published, the date it was updated, the byline and the sources. It isn't a review and it isn't selling anything. I keep the two apart on purpose. When a story changes a fact in a review, the review is re-checked separately and shows its own new date.
I'd read this section for one thing: the change that touches your money. A book that has just been sold, or has just changed its withdrawal terms, is a different book from the one you deposited with, whatever the logo says. Check before you reload.
Latest
Matchbook buys Betdaq, and the old Betdaq exchange shuts
Two of the oldest betting exchanges are now one company. If you still have money sitting on Betdaq, the date that matters is 4 November.
New Jersey makes its responsible gaming triggers law
New Jersey now tells its online books exactly when they have to look at a player, and what they have to do next. Big depositors should expect an email.
Powerball Xs & Os cut its prizes in the very first drawing
Powerball's new NFL game advertised $20,000 for seven teams out of eight. In its first drawing it paid $500. The rules allowed it, and the reason is one any bookie would recognize.