BET

• CLUJ-NAPOCA, Romania, Feb. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The shares of AROBS Transilvania Software (BVB: AROBS), the largest technology company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, will be included in the FTSE Russell Emerging Markets Index as of March 18, 2024.
• AROBS shares will be included in the FTSE Micro Cap index structure, as announced by the global index provider on February 16 following its quarterly review.
• "We are thrilled that with AROBS inclusion in FTSE Russell, the exposure of Romanian entrepreneurial companies to global investors is increasing.
• AROBS Transilvania Software provides software services and solutions in various industries, having approximately 70 partners of the Software Services business line located in Europe and America and more than 11.000 clients of the Software Products business lines from Europe and Asia.

• PENN Entertainment, Inc. (“PENN” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: PENN) announced today that it has reached an agreement with Wynn Interactive Holdings to acquire its New York mobile sports wagering licenses, providing PENN with market access to the jurisdiction.
• Pending regulatory approvals, PENN will launch its online sports wagering product, ESPN BET, in New York in 2024.
• As part of the transaction, PENN is acquiring WSI US, LLC, from Wynn Interactive Holdings for $25 million.
• WSI US, LLC is the entity that holds the mobile sports wagering licenses that were previously issued by the New York State Gaming Commission in 2021.

• A record 67.8 million American adults are expected to bet US$23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Gaming Association.
• The estimated number of bettors has increased 35% from the previous Super Bowl, while the total amount being bet is estimated to have shot up from $16 billion in 2023.
• Both figures would represent records – fitting for a Super Bowl held in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the U.S. For the NFL, partnering with sportsbooks has been a boon for business.

Staunch opposition

• The NFL’s leadership, however, remained adamantly opposed to its broadcasting partners explicitly encouraging gambling.
• So Snyder communicated the lines by predicting the final score, thereby allowing careful listeners to learn a point spread.
• The routine lasted until 1988, when Snyder suggested that slavery had made Black players better athletes.
• We have to make it clear to the athletes, the fans and the public, gambling is not a part of sport, period.” The measure passed.

More money, more problems?

• Since then, more than 30 states have legalized sports gambling.
• In 2021, the league announced seven companies, including BetMGM, Draft Kings and Caesars, as the league’s official gambling partners.

• Even casual fans can’t miss the surge in gambling advertisements that now air during the games, all of which buttress the value of media rights.
• Meanwhile, the NFL’s official sportsbook partners will fork over more than $1 billion to the league over the course of the five-year contract.
• Gambling addictions are at an all-time high, likely spurred by the ease with which people can place bets from their phones.

Thomas Oates does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) has hired Tony Song, a seasoned media sales and marketing executive, to the newly created role of head of network sales and advanced TV, effective Feb. 7.
• Song will spearhead Scripps' go-to-market strategy and drive long-term revenue growth across all Scripps' national assets, with a strong focus on advanced TV, connected TV, sports and news.
• With over 25 years of industry experience, Song joins Scripps from AMC Networks, where he served as senior vice president of ad sales and partnerships.
• Prior to AMC Networks, Song led East Coast national media sales for BET and steered national television buying for media agencies MediaEdge, Universal McCann and BBDO.