Latest news with #FanDuel
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Gold medallist Thomas harassed by bettor at Grand Slam Track
Gabby Thomas competing in the women's 200m on the Grand Slam Track-Philadelphia on May 31. PHOTO: AFP NEW YORK - Three-times Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas said she was verbally abused at the Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia last weekend, the latest incident of harassment the American has reported in 2025. Thomas, who won gold in the 200 metres, and 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the Paris Games, said in a post on X that a man followed her around the track while she took pictures for fans and signed autographs, shouting personal insults at her. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," wrote Thomas. Thomas' post was in response to another on X which contained a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting "you're a choke artist - you're going down, Gabby". "I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win," the social media user wrote, with a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. The track circuit said in a statement: "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video. We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary. "We will implement additional safeguards to help prevent incidents like this in the future. Let us be clear, despicable behavior like this will not be tolerated." Thomas finished third overall in the short sprints group for the Philadelphia meet, the third in the novel circuit's inaugural season. One of American track's brightest stars, the 28-year-old Thomas catapulted to mainstream fame after her breakout performance in Paris, gracing the cover of American "Vogue" magazine and appearing on US talk shows. But Thomas has also suffered the darker side of fame, describing on TikTok this year how she was stalked by a group of men at several airports, as social media gives female athletes greater exposure. The incident at Grand Slam Track also reflected a growing link between sports betting and harassment, with female tennis players including Caroline Garcia pointing to "unhealthy betting" as a key culprit. Major tennis governing bodies moved to combat online abuse and published last year a report that attributed nearly half of abusive social media posts to angry gamblers. "Thank you for pointing out this disgusting behavior," retired former world 10,000m silver medallist and NBC Sports commentator Kara Goucher wrote on X. "You are exposing the crap that women go through and will eventually help other women as well." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How much the Illinois sports betting tax could cost operators
Shares of sportsbook operators DraftKings (DKNG), FanDuel parent company Flutter Entertainment (FLUT), and MGM Resorts (MGM) are hard pressed on Monday after Illinois lawmakers passed a tax on sports bets. Citizens Senior Equity Research Analyst Jordan Bender comes on Asking for a Trend to discuss what this new tax could cost sports betting platforms in the long run. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Asking for a Trend here. Sign in to access your portfolio
UPI
7 hours ago
- Business
- UPI
Betting stocks decline as Illinois raises taxes on legal sports wagers
1 of 4 | Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street on Monday in New York City. Stocks of major U.S. steel companies jumped after President Trump announced he would double tariffs on steel and aluminum. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo June 2 (UPI) -- Illinois legislators have approved a new state budget that raises taxes on legal sports wagers, causing betting stocks to decline Monday. On Sunday, the state's Senate and House passed a $55 billion budget with $800 million in tax increases, including sports betting. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he would sign the bill. Illinois officials hope to raise more than $36 million in yearly revenue with a per-wager tax on sports bets placed within the state, according to Casino Beats. The new tax takes effect July 1, with the money going into the state's General Revenue Fund. Online and in-person sportsbooks are run by FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetMGM and ESPN BET. Betters 21 years of age and older must be physically located within Illinois state lines. Many casinos and racetracks have partnered with sportsbook operators. Last year, Illinois sportsbooks paid $276 million in taxes, according to an LSR analysis, including FanDuel $74 million and DraftKings $67.9 million. Of the more than 370 million bets in Illinois last year, DraftKings and FanDuel took in more than 150 million bets each. The new law imposes a new tax of 25 cents per wager on the first 20 million online sports bets made each fiscal year, rising to 50 cents per bet afterward. In 2024, the state went to a tiered 20% to 40% rate from 15%. DraftKings and FanDuel should "certainly" surpass 20 million wagers, meaning they'll face the higher tax rate, Truist analyst Barry Jonas told CNBC. Jonas said Illinois' rate will be among the highest in the nation. DraftKings' stock price declined 7.44% on Monday afternoon on NASDAQ, and Flutter Entertainment, which runs FanDuel, declined 2.44% on the New York Stock Exchange. Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming Exchange Trading Fund dropped 1.7% on the NYSE. Smaller competitors in the market also declined. MGM Resorts, which owns BetGM platform in a 50-50 relationship with Entain, went down 1.9% on the NYSE. Penn Entertainment, which partners with Entain, dropped 0.78% on NASDAQ. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow online sports betting statewide. The Sports Betting Alliance, which includes DraftKings and Fan Duel, said it will "will fight this discriminatory tax alongside our customers." The SBA said: "For the second consecutive year, the Illinois legislature chose to balance its budget with a crippling tax on legal online sports betting operators and their million plus Illinois customers -- this time with no warning and no consideration of the devastating impact this tax would have on the legal market," the SBA statement reads. Dan Katz, known as "Big Cat" of Barstool Sports, which is sponsored by DraftKings, said in a video that the new tax would be "very bad." Robert Walker, who for more than a decade was the sportsbook director for MGM Mirage's Las Vegas casinos, said legalized sports betting is facing competitors in the form of companies like Kalshi that offer sports "prediction" markets. "Make no mistake: This cost will ultimately land squarely on the customer," Walker, director of operations at ARMS, which helps retail sportsbooks manage potential risks to their business, told Front Office Sports. "The tax may be levied on the operator, but basic economics tells us who really pays. What's particularly frustrating is how this undermines the competitive position of regulated operators just when they need every advantage they can get against emerging alternatives." Other states with taxes include 51% in New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island with 6.75% in states that include Nevada and Iowa, according to a report from the Tax Foundation. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a budget that includes a 5 percentage point increase to the sports betting tax. An Ohio legislator introduced a 2% handle tax on top of the existing 20% tax on revenue. DraftKings and FanDuel initially offered daily fantasy sports services nationwide. With sports betting approved by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2018, they expanded into online and retail sportsbooks. It struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 DraftKings, which was established in 2012 and based in Boston, had revenue of $4.77 billion in 2024. FanDuel, which is based in New York City and was established in 2009, has revenue of $5.79 billion in 2024. Pro leagues initially shied away from sports gambling companies. DraftKings and FanDuel have partnerships with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
Betting companies expect customers to pay cost of Illinois' new tax
Betting companies expect customers to pay cost of Illinois' new tax Welcome to Prince's Picks, a collection of betting news, analysis and opinions from BetFTW senior writer Prince J. Grimes. Online sports betting just became more costly in Illinois -- though it remains to be seen for whom. On Saturday, state lawmakers approved a $55 billion fiscal year budget that includes a new tax for every wager made in the state. The first 20 million bets will come with a 25-cent fee per bet. Every bet after that will have a 50-cent fee. In theory, sportsbooks would just eat all or most of the cost -- with FanDuel and DraftKings shelling out the most money as the only operators taking over 20 million bets -- and bettors wouldn't notice it even exists. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the plan of these operators. The Sports Betting Alliance -- a coalition whose membership includes the two betting behemoths -- released a statement Monday calling the tax "discriminatory" and saying customers will bear the cost. The SBA even started an online petition Saturday, prefilled for signees to tell lawmakers "I work hard for my money, and it feels like lawmakers are just trying to make my life, and the things I enjoy, more expensive." With limited time to oppose the late proposal, several betting influencers and spokespeople (and The Ringer?) shared the petition with some variation of the same message. Rob Gronkowski, who works for FanDuel, went so far as to say Illinois was "trying to take away gambling." Dramatic, much? Betting isn't going anywhere. It just became a bit more pricey, though these online operators are certainly good for it. But with their stocks taking a hit Monday, the question turns to whether customers will feel the burn too. Would operators add an actual 25-cent fee to bet slips? Would they build it into odds? Would they offer fewer promotions, like what FanDuel announced in response to last year's tax hike in Illinois? The ways in which they could pass this fee to bettors are limitless -- even if unnecessary and completely optional. DraftKings even tried hitting bettors with a surcharge in high-tax states last year before reversing course. Ideally, operators wouldn't do any of the above. But having bettors pay these fees is clearly on the table based on the SBA's statement, which can be translated as "we're not taking a loss." If not them, then who? Weekend recap: Vanderbilt and Texas sent packing I'm so glad I delayed my picks for the College World Series because regional play delivered some massive upsets over the weekend. On Sunday, No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt was eliminated by Wright State and No. 2 Texas was bounced by UTSA. At +650, Vandy had the third-best odds to win the CWS. Texas was the fifth overall favorite at +1000, and with the third-highest handle percentage at BetMGM, the Longhorns were the book's second-biggest liability to win it all. This was a great result for the house, and it might not be the end. LSU (+400), UNC (+700) and Tennessee (+1200) are all looking to avoid the same fate in elimination games Monday. Where there's value for Thunder bettors I warned a week ago that the time to bet on the Oklahoma City Thunder had probably long passed, because the team's odds to win were so short that it wasn't worth it for the average bettor. That's certainly proved to be the case in the NBA Finals, where the Thunder's -700 odds at BetMGM make them one of the biggest finals favorites in NBA history. That dominance trickles down to other markets like MVP, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a massive -625 favorite. He's an even bigger -5000 favorite to lead the series in scoring. Unless you're an Indiana Pacers believer -- or have a good feeling about the length of the series -- there isn't much betting value in this finals. UNDERDOGS: Pacers have longest NBA Finals odds in 7 years However, I did find one area where Thunder fans can potentially make some money, and that's the "most rebounds" market where Chet Holmgren is a modest -125 favorite -- a decent bet for OKC's leading rebounder through the playoffs. However, the odds that caught my attention were the +550 on Isaiah Hartenstein that seem too good to be true. That's where I would be throwing my coins. Though Holmgren has nine more rebounds than any other Thunder player this postseason, the team has had a different leading rebounder in each series -- Hartenstein in the first round, Holmgren in the second round, Jalen Williams (+700) in the conference finals. So, Holmgren isn't exactly a lock. Also, it was Hartenstein, not Holmgren who led the team in rebounding in the regular season at 10.7 boards per game. Now, yes, I know, it's completely on the table for Indiana to run Hartenstein off the floor with their fast style of play. But given the way the Pacers struggled to keep Mitchell Robinson off the boards -- and considering OKC is such a huge favorite -- I'm willing to roll the dice on +550 odds that Hartenstein will play enough to be a factor. He had a game-high 13 boards in 34 minutes when the Thunder played Indiana on Dec. 26.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Gabby Thomas, American gold medalist, calls out bettor for harassment at track
Gabby Thomas, American gold medalist, calls out bettor for harassment at track Show Caption Hide Caption Gabby Thomas found track later in life, now she has her eyes on gold Gabby Thomas didn't find track until later in life. She has a silver and bronze from Tokyo Olympics, but now she's looking for gold in the 200-meter Gabby Thomas took to social media Monday to call out a sports bettor whom she said verbally harassed her and followed her around the track at last weekend's Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, wrote on X that the bettor shouted personal insults at her and "followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans" at Franklin Field on Sunday. The man had posted a video clip of himself on X yelling at Thomas prior to the women's 100-meter dash, and boasting that the interaction had helped him win a parlay bet. "Anybody who enables him online is gross," Thomas wrote in her post. "Honestly the heckling is tolerable," she added in a second post. "It's following me around the stadium that's wild." In the video clip, the bettor is heard calling Thomas a "choke artist" and referencing the fact that she is Black and her fiancé is White. He also posted screenshots on X of two separate bets he had made on FanDuel, indicating that he had won more than $1,000 on parlay bets that included the women's 100-meter dash, in which Thomas finished fourth. In response to a direct message from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment, the bettor, whose real name is not listed on his X account, disputed Thomas' characterization that he was following her around the stadium and expressed his reasons for disliking her. When asked for his name and city of residence, he first asked that he be identified only by his X handle, then gave a reporter a fake name. He said he resides in Puerto Rico. "Grand Slam Track is conducting a full investigation into the reprehensible behavior captured on video," the track league said in a statement provided to Reuters. "We are working to identify the individual involved and will take appropriate action as necessary." Thomas has become one of the most popular athletes in track and field during the past few years after winning three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Games – including in her signature event, the 200-meter dash – to go along with a bronze and silver from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. The 28-year-old is one of several athletes who have become outspoken about harassment and other troubling interactions they have had with fans. Thomas said on TikTok earlier this year that she has been confronted at airports in multiple cities by the same small group of adult men, who approached her with a stack of photos, asked her to sign them and became aggressive when she declined. "They have my flight information, and they show up at the front door of the concourse, or they show up at my gate, which means they have flight tickets and get past security," Thomas said in the video. Thomas' interaction Sunday also highlights the overlap of harassment and sports betting, which some athletes and leagues have highlighted as an increasingly worrisome issue. A report published by major governing bodies in tennis late last year found that nearly half of the abusive social media posts that were directed at players came from angry bettors. Several Major League Baseball players have talked about receiving online death threats following poor performances, including Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., who told The Associated Press last week that the threats prompted him to get 24-hour security for his family. "It used to be fans who were upset because you blew the game for the team, but now it's gambling," MLB pitcher Paul Sewald told USA TODAY Sports last summer. "These people don't really care about the (team). They just care about their bets, and we're talking about money they don't have that they are losing. So, it's a very scary spot." Contributing: Reuters Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
