Penalty Duel

What is Penalty Duel?

The biggest wins for Boyd were the Eagles failing to cover (24-20 over the Titans), the Saints winning outright as large underdogs (24-17 over the Ravens), and the Browns topping the Bucs (23-19). For bettors looking to recoup losses, the afternoon slate offered relief, with the 49ers handling the Dolphins (35-13), the Seahawks routing the Cardinals (31-7), and the Cowboys topping the Commanders (37-20).
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Christian Cipollini, senior trading manager at BetMGM, noted that heading into Sunday’s games, sportsbooks needed key underdog covers to offset a strong Week 1 for public bettors. Getting outcomes from the Browns, Saints, Titans, or Dolphins provided much-needed relief to the house.

In the end, Week 1 and Week 2 could hardly have been more different, said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook.

What is Penalty Duel?

The committee also suggested a ban on inducements (free bets, sign-up bonuses) as these promotions stimulate betting activity and recruit new or lapsed customers.

Another point of contention was content marketing and influencer promotions. The Lords committee advised treating this as advertising and, if a full ban were not immediately feasible, prioritising its prohibition.

Sponsorships and advertising with sports teams was also flagged as according to the report, voluntary efforts had failed to reduce the industry’s exposure. 

About Penalty Duel

It has been a challenging few years for Entain, having cycled through four CEOs in short succession. In November 2023 Entain agreed to pay a financial penalty totalling £585 million, plus a £20 million charitable donation and £10 million in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and HMRC costs. This related to a bribery case initiated by the CPS into the company’s historic operations in Turkey.

Troubles continued as it faced declining growth within its digital business. Reports of failed integrations amid a frenzy of acquisitions further dampened Entain’s reputation and the operator subsequently committed to a major turnaround effort to cut costs and return its digital business to growth.

Efforts to update its legacy tech were also set in motion, and short-lived CEO Gavin Isaacs told iGB at ICE in January 2025 that his biggest challenge in the role was to modernise its core platform.