Industry News For The Week Of April 27, 2025

By iDEA | May 1, 2025

Industry News

Sports betting operators have focused on how to raise their structural hold to avoid poor quarters based on customer-friendly results. Caesars succeeded in the first quarter with an increased parlay mix that rose 2.6 percentage points compared to last year. Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital, commented that sports betting customers are responding favorably to the company’s continual product enhancements, especially in the parlay category.

Legal Sports Report: NCAA Grants Sportsbooks First-Time Access to Official Data, Logos

The NCAA will allow licensed sportsbooks to use its official data, marks, and logos for the first time through an expanded partnership with Genius Sports, the companies announced Friday. Under the agreement, Genius Sports becomes the exclusive distributor of official NCAA data to sportsbooks for all postseason championships — including the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments — through 2032. The deal does not cover data from the College Football Playoff, which is not part of the NCAA.

Hawaii

The surprising Hawaii sports betting push ended just short of the goal line. Rep. Daniel Holt’s House Bill 1308 almost made sports betting in Hawaii a reality this year, but it fell just short of the Friday deadline. The legislation made it to a conference committee, passing both the House and Senate, but no agreement could be reached before a key deadline last week.

Louisiana

A Louisiana sports betting tax hike is back on the docket. The House Appropriations Committee advanced House Bill 639 this week, which would increase the Louisiana sports betting tax to 32.5% from 15%. Rep. Neil Riser’s proposal would send money to student-athletes at Bayou State universities. The legislative session runs until June 12. Louisiana is just one of multiple states that have considered tax hikes on online gambling.

Michigan 

The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has issued cease-and-desist letters to SportsBetting.ag and BetOnline.ag, two well-known offshore sportsbooks. It’s part of the ongoing effort to curb illegal gambling in the Great Lakes State. The MGCB took similar action against Bovada, another mainstream offshore sportsbook, last May, which resulted in the company shutting down operations in the state in July.

Oklahoma

While Gov. Kevin Stitt threatens to veto Oklahoma sports betting legislation, lawmakers appear to be pursuing a backdoor option. Last week, the Senate Business and Commerce Committee advanced two House sports betting bills, HB 1047 and HB 1101. If Rep. Ken Luttrell’s HB 1047 fails to get by Stitt, but the legislature passes Luttrell’s HB 1101, voters in the state would have a say on Oklahoma sports betting at the polls.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania online poker has officially joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) as of Monday morning. Two prominent operators, BetMGM Poker and WSOP, have already announced they are networking Pennsylvania players with peers in other markets. It has taken the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) around six months to enter the compact, which culminated with an announcement last week. Pennsylvania’s addition to MSIGA is only going to make the vertical stronger.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island House of Representatives may reconsider a bill to criminalize online gambling for 18 to 20-year-olds, even though they can legally play the same games at the state’s retail casinos. The bill had been voted down in committee, but lawmakers are pressured to give it a second chance.

Wyoming

The Wyoming legislature’s Management Council has established a dedicated committee to study the state’s options for gambling expansion. That should provide some consolation for those who hope to see online casinos come to the state, after this year’s iGaming bill stumbled out of the gates.

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