Roundup: Buy The 2022 Dip on Sportsbook Stocks?

Welcome to our new weekly cadence -- to your inbox Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning with news and updates in sports, gambling, and media. On Thursday, takes directly from our text threads.

We are very happy with where Christmas fell on the calendar this year. Sunday is a perfect day to have Christmas Day land. Plenty of sports to watch, and Monday is a Federal holiday. On that note, we will not have a Monday newsletter. We will see you Wednesday.

In the email today:

1) The National Football League and Google have a deal to put Sunday Ticket on YouTube 🏈

2) Online sportsbook stock prices continue to tank, but at least one prominent analyst thinks 2023 will be different 📈

3) Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sportsbook get a holiday gift from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission ⚖️

Just cash this year, please, Santa.

1) NFL SUNDAY TICKET GOES TO YOUTUBE FOR $2 BILLION PER YEAR FOR 7 YEARS 🏈

The National Football League announced a new partnership with YouTube which will make Google's video streaming site the exclusive distributor "to consumers" starting in 2023.

The NFL's release can be summarized as follows:

• The NFL has announced a multi-year agreement with Google that will grant YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels the exclusive rights to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to consumers in the United States starting with the 2023 NFL season.

• The NFL and YouTube will also work together to determine additional ways to support the distribution of NFL Sunday Ticket in commercial establishments such as bars and restaurants.

• The NFL and YouTube will also facilitate exclusive access to official content and attendance opportunities for select YouTube Creators at key NFL tentpole events.

• YouTube is now also the presenting sponsor of both Back Together Saturday as well as NFL Kickoff Weekend.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was quoted in the release, and predictably he's EXCITED: "We're excited to bring NFL Sunday Ticket to YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels...for a number of years we have been focused on increased digital distribution of our games and this partnership is yet another example."

Meanwhile, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki was similarly enthused with the new arrangement: "Through this expanded partnership with the NFL, viewers will now also be able to experience the game they love in compelling and innovative ways through YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels."

The pained cry you heard most likely came from DirecTV, which built a significant subscriber base around Sunday Ticket.

DirecTV may yet retain at least the commercial distribution of Sunday Ticket, i.e., bars and restaurants and the like. But that isn't where the real money is. At least for the moment, though, DirecTV's stock price has not fallen appreciably. Alphabet Inc. stock, meanwhile, fell 2 per cent in the wake of the announcement... along with most other tech stocks.

2) A LONG DECEMBER, AND THERE'S REASON TO BELIEVE MAYBE THIS YEAR WILL BE BETTER THAN THE LAST FOR ONLINE SPORTSBOOKS 📈

It is no secret that online sportsbooks are not profitable yet. The stock prices tell you that.

FanDuel's parent company, Flutter, is down over $12 per share in the past week and a half. DraftKings stock is down over 14% in the past month. MGM Resorts International stock has fallen around $4 per share in a little over a week.

Despite that grim news, this tweet jumped off the screen for Kyle:

The Eilers & Krejcik Gaming newsletter ("The EKG Line") set forth some optimistic, even occasionally bullish thoughts about what online sportsbooks can hope for in 2023:

• Chris Grove: "2022 was the year when markets aggressively overcorrected on the U.S. online gambling opportunity. The market is massive on a per-capita basis and regulation is rolling out at one of the steadiest clips we’ve ever seen globally. The opportunity is fundamentally stronger now than it was in 2021. The markets are getting it wrong, perhaps badly so."

• Alun Bowden: "This was the year the U.S. online gambling market finally came of age. Revenue numbers along make this point, but it went much deeper. It was a true inflection point for the industry."

• Chris Krafcik: "In 2022, change was the rule, not the exception. Stocks hit the skids. State-level expansion slowed. Several brands exited the U.S. market or scaled back their plans. And mainstream media outlets began to scrutinize aggressively an industry that had mostly avoided unflattering coverage."

Allen himself pointed to "the New York Times series of articles on the sector" as "the most important inflection point in 2022."

Grove is certainly correct about regulation turning in favor of more and more states legalizing online sports betting.

The big question, of course, is how much longer the likes of Flutter, DraftKings and MGM can take hits to their stock values before either teaming up or allowing themselves to be acquired by companies with deeper cash reserves. To say nothing of the probable splashy entry into the sector by Fanatics.

Will 2023 be a better year for online sportsbooks? We don't know. We can safely predict, though, that it will be eventful.

3) PENN ENTERTAINMENT, BARSTOOL SPORTSBOOK RECEIVE A TEMPORARY ONLINE BETTING LICENSE IN MASSACHUSETTS ⚖️

We touched on this story briefly at the end of our last send because it was not fully clear what the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would do with Penn Entertainment's application for an online gaming license.

Complete clarity is not here yet. Essentially, the commission issued Penn and Barstool Sportsbook a temporary license pending a full review of the companies' license application in early January.

Ross Cristantiello's story for Boston.com has the latest:

• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has granted a temporary license to Plainridge Park Casino to allow it to take in-person sports bets in January.

• The license includes two conditions related to Plainridge Park's association with Barstool Sports and its founder, Dave Portnoy.

• Penn Entertainment, which owns Plainridge Park Casino, must cooperate with the MGC's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau as it conducts an investigation into Barstool Sports.

• Penn, which just recently called Barstool a "marketing partner" is in the process of buying the rest of Barstool and plans to operate its sportsbook at Plainridge Park under the Barstool brand name.

• The MGC has expressed concern about Barstool's branding and Portnoy's public comments regarding gambling.

• The MGC has stipulated that no one under the age of 21 be allowed to attend live Barstool College Football Show events. SENIOR NIGHT, BABY!

• Penn CEO Jay Snowden admitted that Barstool was not checking IDs at these events as recently as last week.

• Portnoy has a history of gambling problems and has been a vocal spokesperson for the Barstool brand.

• The MGC originally considered Plainridge Park's application in December but delayed a vote due to concerns about PENN's purchase of Barstool and Portnoy's role as a spokesperson for the brand.

"Portnoy has a history of gambling problems" is one of those short sentences that is carrying a metric ton of weight. The New York Times went in on Portnoy in this profile, including references to his purported problem gambling.

Snowden did Portnoy no favors with these remarks. For that matter, he probably didn't do himself or his company any favors, either.

That sounds like the classic plan that works until it doesn't, or maybe more like "sure, he drinks a lot, but he's tall and heavy, it hits him different."

Our unsolicited advice for Snowden, Portnoy and their companies is to maybe keep it in second gear for the holidays. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission appears to be leaning toward looking the other way around many of Portnoy's, er, proclivities.

Now is not the time to make more noisy, negative headlines. Get the license, then, you know, whatever.

JOB LEAD OF THE DAY 💰

This job posting from the Philadelphia 76ers. "Associate, Corporate Strategy (Hybrid)" is one of those job titles that sets the mind reeling. What exactly am I doing here?

This is another posting where you are going to have to do some digging around what they might be willing to pay you. The job responsibilities are interesting, though:

• Perform range of ad-hoc analyses and financial modeling for key business initiatives

• Create presentations summarizing key findings and recommendations for executives

• Manage key strategic initiatives, collaborating with all business functions, including ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, marketing, F&B, CRM, etc.

• Analyze the sports business landscape to advise key department stakeholders on both ad-hoc projects and long-term business planning

• Proactively identify opportunities to drive innovation, automation, optimization, customer experience, and financial performance across the organizationPosition cuts across all HBSE (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment)portfolio properties, including: Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Devils, Prudential Center, & other holdings

Plus, you only need a few years of relevant experience and a Bachelor's degree. If only we here at Raising Stake were just a little bit younger....

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 😎

• FanDuel is now offering both sports betting and online pari-mutuel wagering on horse races within the same customer account, the first to do so. 🏇🏿

• Caesars Sportsbook joins MGM as legal sports betting businesses in Puerto Rico. A digital platform is set to launch next year. 🇺🇸

• Michael Rubin is super-excited to offer you, say, a Russell Wilson jersey as a tacked-on bonus on a Denver Broncos win once Fanatics has its sports betting operation up and running. 🏈

• Lionel Messi's previously reported dalliance with Major League Soccer and Inter Miami are going to have to wait because Paris St-Germain is not letting the World Cup winner walk away so soon.⚽️

• BetMGM owned up to a May data breach. 💵

WHAT TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR BEFORE THE NEXT SEND 👁️

• New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is scheduled to pay over $500 million in salaries, bonuses and luxury tax payments in 2023. Suffice it to say he is all-in. By contrast, the Oakland A's are scheduled to pay $22.5 million in salaries for their entire team. ⚾️

• Better news for BetMGM: The Cincinnati Reds are observing the legalization of sports gambling in Ohio starting in the new year by opening the Great American Ball Park sportsbook on New Year's Day. ⚾️

• Netflix and Nike want you to get your New Year's resolution to drop that spare tire off right in 2023. Netflix and chill? More like Netflix and feel the burn. 🏋️‍♀️

This email was compiled today by the Raising Stake staff. Jason and Kyle contributed. Images from Getty.