Industry News of the Day for April 1, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Online Poker Report, 3.31.20 – Flutter-Stars Merger On Home Straight After Clearing Crucial UK Competition Hurdle (The Stars Group)
  • The mega-merger between Flutter Entertainment and The Stars Group has passed a major competition hurdle.
• Gambling Compliance, 4.1.20 – Stars-Flutter Combo A Well-Balanced Business, Says Analyst (subscription paywall)
  • Having passed its largest compliance hurdle on Tuesday, the merger between The Stars Group (TSG) and Flutter Entertainment is set to create a well-balanced business, according to a gambling industry analyst.

Industry News:

• Bloomberg, 4.1.20 – Lockdowns Imperil U.S. State-Level Efforts To Allow Sports Betting And Tax The Rich
  • Across the country, stay-at-home decrees are blocking the most essential part of efforts to get these proposals on ballots in November: Gathering signatures in person.
• Legal Sports Report, 4.1.20 – So You Want To Bet On Weather Instead Of Sports? Consider The Forecast Cloudy At Best
  • Unfortunately for sportsbook operators in the US, weather betting already has a regulated market. Those looking to get in on this “new” offering will have to enter a whole new world of regulation.

Sports League News:

• Law360, 3.31.20 – Racetrack Urges Justices To Ax Leagues’ Sports Bets Appeal (subscription paywall)
  • A New Jersey racetrack has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to keep in place a Third Circuit ruling that could entitle it to $150 million in damages against the country’s major sports leagues for effectively barring it from offering sports betting years before the high court legalized the practice in 2018.
• PlayIndiana, 3.31.20 – The NFL Draft Will Still Happen April 23, As Will Draft Betting
  • The NFL Draft will go on as planned, starting on April 23.

Washington, D.C.:

• Legal Sports Report, 3.31.20 – Common Sense Prevails: DC Sports Betting Launch Delayed Until Sports Return
  • The launch of DC sports betting is officially delayed until US sports return, according to the Office of Lottery and Gaming.
• Sports Handle, 3.31.20 – DC Lottery Won’t Launch Its Sports Betting Product Today
  • Fifteen months after the D.C. Council approved sports betting and nearly a year after the Office of Lottery and Gaming began work on developing regulations and licensing on the biggest new product in recent history, Tuesday would have been the day that Washingtonians could have finally legally placed a bet on sports.

Colorado:

• Gambling Compliance, 4.1.20 – Colorado Still Hard At Work On Sports-Betting Rollout (subscription paywall)
  • Despite the closure of the state’s casinos and a lack of professional sports being played around the world, Colorado regulators are continuing to work toward implementing sports betting in the state.

California:

• Legal Sports Report, 3.31.20 – California Sports Betting Initiative In Jeopardy Because Of Coronavirus Lockdown
  • Native American tribes recently stopped collecting signatures on their California sports betting initiative because of the coronavirus shutdown.

New Jersey:

• PlayNJ, 3.31.20 – Atlantic City Casino Closures Force The Firing Of 16,000 Employees
  • The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt another blow to the New Jersey gaming industry as about 16,000 casino workers spread across nine Atlantic City casinos were temporally laid off on March 27.

Illinois:

• Sports Handle, 3.31.20 – Illinois Phase 2 Sports Betting Rules Get Initial Approval
  • Though sports betting in the state of Illinois was stopped almost immediately after it began due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, some administrative legwork was completed Tuesday when the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) certified the Phase 2 rules package from the Illinois Gaming Board without objection.