Down The Rails

About Down The Rails

The first time I walked into an iGaming conference was daunting. I knew next to no-one in the industry and, as far as I knew, no one knew me. I was an outsider in every sense, representing an unknown product in an industry I believed would be resistant to change.

While this initially seemed terrifying, I quickly discovered that this outsider status was a gift. It has allowed me to view the industry through fresh eyes. I do not have any preconceptions about companies or products. This has become my superpower, allowing me to analyse the industry without bias and, hopefully, help shape its future.

iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.

What is Down The Rails?

Like other sportsbooks in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming is taking on significant liability on the Las Vegas Raiders, coming off their big win in Los Angeles to go 2-0 on the season.

“I think the Raiders are probably overachieving and giving more than what most people expected,” the Boyd Gaming VP said. “There’s a lot of sentimental support in Las Vegas. They’re clearly our biggest liability on the futures-bet market to win the Super Bowl. People bet them at long odds for that. The first game (27-13 over Miami), people didn’t hold that into much account because it was the Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL. But still, they played pretty well.”

“But after yesterday’s game, they’re going to draw a lot more support because they were pretty good underdogs (against the Chargers),” Scucci added.

How to play Down The Rails

Bengtsson said momentum from the summer’s World Cup had continued into the second half of the year.

“The World Cup, as you know, is largely a customer acquisition opportunity, and it was also combined with a good turnover period for us,” he outlined. “Yes, that has continued.

“Now, having said that, we’ve also been in a low sportsbook activity environment during July when most football leagues have been closed. But we have that underlying improvement in momentum, and we continue that now throughout the rest of the year.”