Each Monday, our “What’s on Tap” series previews the week ahead in the world of sports betting. Come here for a summary of upcoming financial happenings, legislative and regulatory meetings, industry conferences, top games scheduled for the week, and much more. Also, check out our weekly review “Get a Grip” for a look back at last week’s notable news.
Monday, March 28
UConn, NC State women square off with Final Four spot on the line
Half of the Women’s Final Four is set after No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Stanford advanced with victories Sunday night. Two other No. 1 seeds, Louisville and NC State, can book a trip to Minneapolis with wins on Monday. In Wichita, Louisville is a 4.5-point favorite over No. 3 Michigan at Caesars Sportsbook.
In the opener, NC State will face UConn in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Trailing by double-digits to Notre Dame in Saturday’s regional semifinal, NC State stormed back in the fourth quarter to defeat the Irish 66-63. But the Lady Wolfpack are 4-point underdogs on Monday to a surging UConn squad. Since the return of star guard Paige Bueckers, UConn has won 13 straight games. The Lady Huskies defeated Indiana on Saturday behind 15 points from Bueckers, who underwent surgery in December to fix a meniscus tear in her left knee.
UConn will have the crowd in its favor in Bridgeport, an 80-mile drive from the Storrs campus. The Lady Huskies have made the Final Four in 13 straight seasons. NC State is trying to return to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.
Wednesday, March 30
Sportradar reports Q4 earnings
When Sportradar releases 2021 fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, the company is expected to report sales of $164.9 million for the quarter, according to consensus estimates from Zack’s Investment research. Sportradar, a top global sports betting data provider, is also expected to report full-year 2021 sales of $628.1 million, according to Zack’s.
At a critical period for the sports betting data industry, investors are expected to closely monitor the earnings call with Sportradar executives. It may be the first time that Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl answers inquiries into the company’s presumed activities in Russia. Last week, Sports Handle reported that Koerl maintains a 23% equity stake in a holding company that owns Russia sportsbook operator Liga Stavok. While Sportradar confirmed Koerl’s holdings in the Russian company, the data provider did not indicate if it has plans to suspend its commercial relationships in Russia. A host of top sports betting companies have pulled out of the country due to the military conflict in Ukraine.
As the war rages on and the world cuts ties with Russia, Sportradar and its CEO maintain them.
The global sports betting data/oddsmaking supplier continues to service Russia as it is “evaluating and complying with all sanctions.”
Christian Pulisic notched a hat trick in Sunday’s 5-1 win over Panama, placing U.S. men’s soccer on the verge of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. will conclude the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying Wednesday night with a crucial match against Costa Rica. With a win or tie in San Jose, the U.S. advances to the World Cup. Alternatively, the U.S. can earn a spot if it loses to Costa Rica by fewer than six goals.
The U.S. enters the final match of the round three points behind first-place Canada but tied with Mexico for second. Both teams are three points ahead of fourth-place Costa Rica. The top three teams in CONCACAF qualifying will earn spots in the World Cup, which begins in Qatar in November. The U.S. hasn’t lost by six goals in any game since a defeat to France in 1979.
Four other regions, UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), CAF (Africa), and AFC (Asia and Middle East), will conclude qualifying this week. As of Monday morning, about half of the 32-team field has been completed. While traditional powers France, Brazil, Argentina, and England have already qualified, defending European champion Italy was eliminated last week in a shocking loss to North Macedonia. The World Cup draw will be held this week on Friday. Brazil is the +500 to win the World Cup at PointsBet.
Thursday, March 31
Bet Bash moves to Vegas
A plethora of industry experts will converge upon Las Vegas for Bet Bash II, a sports betting seminar planned around the Final Four. The four-day event at Circa Resort & Casino Las Vegas will feature panel appearances from Matthew Metcalf, director of trading at Circa Sports; Johnny Avello, director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings; Jason Scott, vice president of trading at BetMGM; and John Sheeran, commercial director at FanDuel. Professional bettor Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos held the inaugural Bet Bash last August in New Jersey.
Heading back to Vegas in one week for the greatest gambling oriented event in the history of this world, @bet_bash hosted and sponsored by @spanky. Looking forward seeing and meeting many of you there. A must attend for anyone with aspirations to some day make gambling a career.
New York’s elected leaders in Albany will spend the next few days negotiating final details of the state’s 2022-2023 Fiscal Year budget ahead of Friday’s deadline. While Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. has already indicated that an initiative on online gaming will be tabled for at least another year, legislation on the expansion of online sports betting may be a part of budget negotiations.
Last spring, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo brokered negotiations that led to the inclusion of online sports betting in the budget. In November, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) announced the winners of nine mobile sports wagering licenses from a month-long competitive bidding process. The winners paid the state an aggregate, one-time license fee of $200 million, while New York assessed a 51% tax rate on each operator’s online gross gaming revenue. Now, Addabbo and Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow are looking to expand the market for mobile sports betting.
A bill on the Senate side authorizes the NYSGC to conduct a second bidding process to award between two and five more licenses by Jan. 31, 2023. The Senate bill calls for a $10 million license fee for the new potential licensees. On the Assembly side, the tax rate will decrease to 35% if an additional four to five operators are licensed to enter the market. The proposed tax rate will decrease to 25%, under the bill, if at least 15 sports betting operators are licensed.
Stanford pursues second straight title at Women’s Final Four
While NC State and Louisville attempt to make the Final Four on Monday, the other two No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Stanford are already headed to Minneapolis. South Carolina, the tournament’s top overall seed, cruised to the Final Four on Sunday with an 80-50 romp over Creighton.
The Gamecocks have held opponents to an average of 41.3 points per game, surrendering the second-fewest amount of points of any team in tournament history over four games, according to ESPN Stats & Info. For the season, South Carolina has held opponents to 50 or fewer points 16 times. South Carolina will face the winner of Monday’s Louisville-Michigan matchup.
@GamecockWBB has held every NCAA tournament opponent to single digits in 2nd quarters! In 4 games, the totals are 2, 3, 8, and tonight 9. Stifling and suffocating defense! Go Gamecocks and @dawnstaley!
In the other matchup, defending national champion Stanford will face the winner of the NC State-UConn showdown. Stanford received a spot in the Final Four on Sunday with a 59-50 victory over Texas. Stanford prevailed over Texas despite committing 20 turnovers.
The Lady Cardinal are seeking their fourth national championship under coach Tara VanDeerveer. If UConn wins on Monday, the Final Four will feature three coaches — Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley, and VanDeerveer — with 40 Final Four appearances combined. As of Monday morning, South Carolina remained the heavy +100 favorite to win the national title at BetMGM.
Saturday, April 2
Coach K faces archrival North Carolina for final time
During his illustrious coaching career, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has faced North Carolina 97 times, emerging victorious in 50 of the 97 meetings. The Hall of Fame coach will take on the Tar Heels in Saturday’s Final Four for the last time. Last summer, Krzyzewski announced that he will retire at season’s end.
Remarkably, the two schools, separated by just 10 miles on U.S. Highway 15–501, have never met before in the NCAA Tournament. The intense Tobacco Road rivalry is arguably the fiercest of any in college sports. Duke advanced to the Final Four with a 78-69 win over Arkansas, while North Carolina completed the final spot of the bracket with a dominating victory over St. Peter’s. Duke is a 4.5-point favorite over North Carolina at FanDuel.
In Saturday’s opener, Midwest Region champion Kansas will face Villanova, the South regional champion. Kansas, the top seed in its region, trailed Miami by six points at halftime but outscored the Hurricanes 47-15 afterward to book its third trip to the Final Four since 2010. Villanova received unsettling news Sunday when an MRI revealed that guard Justin Moore had suffered a torn Achilles in the Wildcats’ 50-44 victory over Houston. He will miss any remaining games, and Kansas opened as a 4-point favorite.
The four schools in the semifinals are among the most successful programs in college basketball history. Since 2000, they have combined for nine national titles, with the most recent by Villanova in 2018. At FanDuel, Duke is the slight favorite over Kansas to win the national championship.
Matt is a veteran writer with a specific focus on the emerging sports gambling market. During Matt's two decade career in journalism, he has written for the New York Times, Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters and CBSSports.com among others. In his spare time, Matt is an avid reader, a weekend tennis player and a frequent embarrassment to the sport of running. Contact Matt at [email protected]
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