Sports Betting Power Players

Matt Goodman joined the New York City Football Club as chief operating officer and chief commercial officer in January 2020 after more than five years as senior vice president of team marketing and business operations at the NBA. Prior to his time at the NBA, he served as vice president of corporate partnerships for the Cleveland Browns. In his current role at the NYCFC, Mr. Goodman is responsible for overseeing ticket sales, corporate partnerships, marketing, and business analytics.

Adam Greenblatt is CEO of BetMGM. His determination, experience, and vision has helped BetMGM establish a prime position in the rapidly evolving U.S. gaming market. Adam led the creation of BetMGM via his previous role as director of corporate development and strategy at Entain. Prior to its acquisition by Entain, Adam served as director of corporate development and strategy at LadbrokesCoral and Ladbrokes.

How will sports betting evolve in the next five years?
By then we will see nationwide acceptance of sports betting as part of consumers’ leisure and entertainment bundle, generating billions of dollars in revenues for the 40+ states expected to participate.

What is your favorite sports team?
I have the privilege of sitting on the fence on this because the South African rugby (union) team and Tottenham Hotspur (UK soccer) don’t count as US teams. That said, I’ve fallen in love with the NFL.

Do you root for the underdog or the favorite-to-win?
Always the underdog. There is something inspiring and magical about overcoming the odds. It affirms the notion of our potential in life (plus, it’s good for business)!

If you like to wager, what is your favorite betting story?
I’m unfortunately not permitted to wager.

Yankees or Mets?
Yankees are lifetime 76-58 vs the Mets so it has to be Mets, even though both are priced to have equal chance to win the World Series this year.

Since joining the New York Giants in 2019 as chief commercial officer, Pete Guelli has leveraged his experience in marketing and branding to drive new developments in digital entertainment such as online gaming and NFTs. Mr. Guelli previously served as the chief operating officer of the Charlotte Hornets, where he was responsible for developing the Charlotte Hornets Foundation as well as the hosting of the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.

Chris Higgins has worked for the New York State Senate Democratic Conference since 2006. During that time he has been directly involved in state gaming policy, focusing on a wide range of issues from lottery to pari-mutuel wagering, casinos, and video lottery terminals. Through his work for the Senate Majority, Chris was directly involved in the negotiations to enact mobile sports wagering. To date, he has spoken on numerous gaming panels and despite his love for the subject matter, does not find himself an avid gambler.

How will sports betting evolve in the next five years?
Continuing to watch the market and this new type of gaming activity evolve over the coming years will be very interesting for me. Sports betting has been an immense success thus far, the question is how much the market continues to grow in the out years.

What is your favorite sports team?
New York Jets.

Do you root for the underdog or the favorite-to-win?
As a Jets fan, always the underdog.

If you like to wager, what is your favorite betting story?
I really enjoy thoroughbred racing in Saratoga during the summer. While I never bet big, it’s always nice to leave with a few extra bucks in your pocket.

Yankees or Mets?
Yankees.

Chris Holdren brings more than two decades of marketing experience – including almost three years spent as chief marketing officer of Caesars Entertainment – to his current role as co-president of Caesars Digital. Prior to joining Caesars in 2017, Mr. Holdren served as chief marketing officer of the technology start-up Handy. He also spent over fifteen years at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, and left the company as senior vice president of digital, loyalty, and partnerships.

Amy Howe serves as the CEO of FanDuel Group, with responsibility for the company’s portfolio of business units across its sportsbook, casino, racing and daily fantasy platforms. Howe joined FanDuel from Live Nation where she held several positions of increasing authority. This culminated as global chief operating officer of Ticketmaster, the largest division of Live Nation Entertainment. As COO, Howe led the digital transformation and modernization of the company’s ticketing platform and business model, doubling its growth in gross ticketing value and growing mobile app install base by 400%.

How will sports betting evolve in the next five years?
Who puts out the best product and how it evolves with the customer will be the key to winning in the end.

What is your favorite sports team?
Buffalo Bills.

Do you root for the underdog or the favorite-to-win?
Depends on if the Bills are playing.

Yankees or Mets?
Yankees.

Considered one of the world’s foremost attorneys in mobile gaming law, Jeff represents many of the largest sports betting and media companies, and he has been at the center of most of the important U.S. court cases involving mobile gaming. Jeff heads the first mobile gaming trade association, a group that has grown to over 30 members, almost all household names in the industry. Jeff continues to represent sports operators and suppliers in the industry on licensing and deal work and also represents their media, casino, and tribal partners.

What is your favorite sports team?
My hometown team, the Buffalo Bills. Go Bills!

Do you root for the underdog or the favorite-to-win?
See my answer to the next question!

If you like to wager, what is your favorite betting story?
My wife would say that I’m quite the gambler because as a young lawyer with six kids, I left a big law firm partnership to start my own law firm focused on mobile sports betting and gaming. That bet paid off!

Yankees or Mets?
How can you ask that?? Yankees of course!

One of the State Capitol’s most tenacious advocates, Dan Katz’s work at Parkside has helped to shape New York policy on gaming, civil justice, and healthcare for more than a decade. Dan has used his encyclopedic knowledge of state government and deep relationships at the Capitol in order to help to pass legislation to regulate fantasy sports, to enact New York’s landmark mobile sports betting law, to advocate on casino issues, and much more.

How will sports betting evolve in the next five years?
I think that New York will continue to license new operators and New York will become the largest sports betting market in the country.

What is your favorite sports team?
What are the odds?

Do you root for the underdog or the favorite-to-win?
It’s always more fun to root for the underdog.

If you like to wager, what is your favorite betting story?
One of the first times that I bet on a horse race, it was the first day of Saratoga and it was pouring rain. Figuring that my beginner’s attempt at handicapping was useless in the mud, I bet $5 on a 99-1 longshot, and the horse won. I’ve loved horse racing ever since.

Yankees or Mets?
Yankees.

Scott Kaufman-Ross joined the NBA in 2011 and currently serves in the position of senior vice president and head of gaming and new business ventures. Scott manages all initiatives related to the league’s commercial endeavors in the data distribution, fantasy sports and sports betting industries. Scott led the NBA’s partnerships with Sportradar, FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo, MGM, Caesars, Tabcorp and Dream11 and served as the NBA’s Board Observer to FanDuel for three years. He also oversees the league’s exploration into new business lines and strategic transactions, such as the league’s equity investment initiative.

Before taking on his current role, Scott served on the NBA’s Global Strategy Team evaluating the league’s strategic approach to new business areas such as daily fantasy sports, sports betting, esports, and venture investing. Prior to joining the NBA, Scott was an Associate at Goldman Sachs in the Global Investment Research division.