RE: : )20 Jan 2022 11:26
Discuss this Longlad ...you have long been a seed detractor so here is your chance to discuss Leap prospects relative to the below...
Now turning to sports betting, a fast-growing complement to sports media rights and live events. The combination of the pandemic's role as a catalyst for online sports betting, the increased betting legalization among U.S. states and the opening of new territories globally has laid the foundation for further growth of our IMG Arena and soon to include OpenBet sports betting business. As it currently stands, IMG Arena is part of our events, experiences and rights segment, upon closing of our OpenBet acquisition, which we announced at the end of the third quarter, and which is expected to close in the first half of '22. IMG Arena and OpenBet will combine to form a fourth operating segment. This will create greater transparency and enable us to better focus on this growing business. IMG Arena is already a major global player in the sports betting market, serving more than 470 sportsbook brands by supplying data and video feeds from rights holders including PGA Tour, UFC, ATP, and MLS. Layering in OpenBet's betting engine, which processed nearly 3 billion bets in 2020, and its modular suite of content offerings with IMG Arena's feeds and virtual products will create a unique end-to-end solution for sports books and rights holders. It’s a fully integrated tech solution combined with a fan-first approach to content, a completely turnkey solution that we can take to existing rights holders within our broader media business are also making us more attractive to prospective clients. We expect this integrated offering will help rights holders drive increased fan engagement and new modernization opportunities in turn increasing the sports betting handle. As I mentioned, while we don't anticipate the acquisition to close until sometime in the first half of 2022, we've already received a high level of interest from sports books and rights holders around the combined entity. And we are extremely encouraged by the growth opportunity ahead.”