New York, NY 11/16/2021— Many fans who support the rise in gaming establishments have been pleased by the recent announcement of the legalization of 9 such firms in New York for mobile and in person operations. As TV station WVIB reported: “The approved operators include big names like FanDuel and DraftKings, as well as BetMGM and Caesars. The others that gained approval are Bally’s, Rush Street Interactive, Wynn, Empire Resorts and PointsBet.” One surprising outcome of this development is how it is rebounding to benefit the standing of similar businesses in the sport predictions industry.
Marketwatch posted a release on November 9 on this trend, observing “DraftKings Acts as Leading Edge Guide for Normalizing Industry Rivals.” Until recently, the legitimacy of in-person or web-based sports gaming has been in limbo due to an unsettled legal status, and to concerns about service reliability. Vendors have been particularly vulnerable to unnamed online complaints, or bad “consumer reviews” that damage smaller companies. Such unverified reviews have previously had a disproportionately negative influence, given their anonymous origin.
The release specifically cited one trusted long standing, winning sports service that has had its reputation impacted by this. In a recent example, on October 21 another gaming service image was challenged by an unverified review posted on a complaint site, claiming it took money from a customer. Such review sites have had a history of being cited for disputed or shady reports, from Bloomberg to Consumer Reports, and have been admonished in court over their practices, but continue to operate. Yet the approvals FanDuel and similar firms have just received for mobile and multi-state operations have served to overcome unsupported complaints.
Regarding these large moves by each firm, the release suggests “some observers speculate one objective behind the transactions is to further its image as a “big player” in the industry, so as to create its own momentum in scaling up the company.” As the sports entertainment business becomes more normalized, this should in turn positively affect the image of the smaller companies as well.
The set up of the New York operations for the newly approved companies proceeds apace. As per WVIB: “Winning bidders may select a facility to house servers, with Commission retaining final approval of location as well as reasonable and actual costs,” a spokesperson for the New York State Gaming Commission told News 4. “Each needs to build out the server room, equipment has to be tested and approved by an independent testing laboratory.”
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