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SportsTranscript
00:00Well, as we wrap up the year, there's a lot of big sports stories as it pertains to gambling
00:07and wagering.
00:08I mean, one obviously feels, Sam, like we're headed toward a 2025 where a lot of states
00:14are trying to raise taxes and get this to a point where they can make more money.
00:18I think the other thing that we're going to see in 2025, because there are no states that
00:23seem to be legalizing sports betting, is the adding of different options.
00:28And of course, iGaming is the primary one.
00:31I mean, this is the story, Sam.
00:32I mean, so many of these sports bettors seemingly want to get involved in it.
00:36The numbers, in terms of increase from year to year, are astronomical.
00:40I feel like that will be our big story to talk about in 2025.
00:44Yeah, definitely.
00:45You only have one state that might launch sports betting next year.
00:49That's Missouri, which just passed it barely on the ballot.
00:52But to your point, it leaves a lot of legislative room and lobbying room for these companies
00:56to say, OK, we have iGaming in these seven states that allow it.
00:59It's a much higher margin business because, quite frankly, you don't have to deal with
01:04things like NFL favorites winning an unprecedented streak.
01:08It's a lot harder to be a successful slots player than it is to be a sports bettor.
01:13And being a sports bettor is already hard.
01:14So you see companies like Caesars really recognizing this, sort of saying, OK, maybe sports betting,
01:20maybe we put a lot of money into that.
01:22We should really focus on trying to grow our iGaming sort of base for when it expands.
01:26And we've seen them do that.
01:28They doubled the amount of money that was bet on their app, about 50 percent last quarter.
01:34And that really comes as they've driven home more of the standalone iGaming as opposed
01:39to just sports betting and iGaming together.
01:42We've seen them be really successful attracting those Caesars customers at the casinos, going
01:47over to the iGaming apps as opposed to trying to get them on the sports betting app and
01:50then go over to iGaming.
01:52So I would expect to see more companies like Caesars, MGM, these legacy casino businesses
01:57really lean into their strengths as iGaming.
02:00And we've seen Caesars do a tremendous job of that.
02:02They're the leader right now in that department.
02:05And we're going to try to see them translate that over to lobbying as well, getting more
02:09states to legalize.
02:10And like you said, with the tax rates are what they are, trying to get that, use that
02:14as a mechanism as well to pass iGaming.
02:16OK, maybe if we allow you to raise the sports betting tax, give us iGaming at least.
02:20It's always a give and take with lobbying and politics, as you know.
02:24So I think we'll see more of the same with FanDuel and DraftKings widening the lead at
02:29the top and then the Caesars, the MGMs really trying to expand iGaming and Nick and Rhodes
02:34there.
02:35Yeah.
02:36And I think that that will be, I think to me, a little more fascinating than just the
02:40legalization of some of these states, because again, there has been some pushback on iGaming.
02:46The good news, Sam, is that they have not had a controversy yet with iGaming.
02:49There was a lot of predictions that we would have that, right, like that, you know, somebody
02:52would get involved.
02:53There would be some salaciousness with that.
02:56Somebody would tip somebody off on some iGaming stuff.
02:58That hasn't happened.
02:59That's really good news.
03:00But again, 2025 is almost here.
03:02I'm sure we'll have something there just like we did in sports betting.