Industry News of the Day for April 19, 2021

iDEA Growth Members News:

• SBC Americas, 4.16.21 – Arizona Suns and FanDuel agree multi-year market access alliance
  • Arizona’s Phoenix Suns and FanDuel Group have announced a multi-year market access partnership this week, designating the sportsbook operator as the Suns’ Official Sportsbook and DFS Partner.
• iGaming Business, 4.19.21 – Jim Ryan on Pala Interactive’s post-PASPA betting and igaming boom
  • California’s Pala Band of Mission Indians was an early mover in the digital gaming space, through its Pala Interactive subsidiary, though its strategy has evolved significantly in the wake of PASPA’s repeal.

Overall Industry News:

• The Associated Press, 4.16.21 – March gambling revenue soars after 2020 virus shutdown
  • New Jersey’s casino and sports betting revenue more than doubled in March compared from year ago — but that’s because the emerging pandemic shut down casinos for the second half of the month last year.
• SBC Americas, 4.19.21 – AGA white paper highlights dangers of illegal gambling machines
  • The American Gaming Association (AGA) has today released a white paper underlining the dangers of unregulated, illegal gambling machines proliferating across the US. These illegal gambling machines, said the association, are not subjected to meaningful testing, licensing or regulatory standards and are often tied to criminal activity, including money laundering, drug trafficking and violent crime.

Sport League News:

• SBC Americas, 4.16.21 – Luckii.com appointed official online gaming partner of Portland Timbers
  • The Portland Timbers and Major League Soccer have confirmed Luckii.com as the team’s official online gaming partner, with plans to collaborate on in-game and on-field sponsorships, online promotions, charitable efforts and IP rights, including a soon-to-be-released Timbers-themed game.

Arizona:

• Northeast Valley News, 4.17.21 – Arizona passes legislation to allow sports betting, other gambling in state
  • Both houses of the Arizona state legislature recently passed sweeping measures legalizing many types of gambling. Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law on Thursday.

Ohio:

• ABC 13, 4.16.21 – Michigan’s online sports betting launch hailed a success, Ohio could follow this year
  • The sports gambling rollout in Michigan has been a home run.

New Jersey:

• NJ Online Gambling, 4.16.21 – NJ Sports Betting Handle Denied Billion-Dollar Breakthrough Once Again
  • March Madness can’t measure up to football, as DGE’s latest monthly numbers show
• SBC Americas, 4.19.21 – March Madness wagers help New Jersey sportsbooks generate more than $113m in revenue
  • March Madness generated a surge of activity for New Jersey sportsbooks last month, leading to the largest retail handle in more than two years, but falling significantly short of the first $1bn wagering month in US sports betting history.
• iGB North America, 4.19.21 – New Jersey gambling revenue rockets 119.8% YoY in March
  • Gambling revenue in New Jersey hiked 119.8% year-on-year in March as the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement reported growth across the sports betting, igaming and land-based casino segments.
• Legal Sports Report, 4.16.21 – MARCH MADNESS IN NJ SPORTS BETTING MARKET PROVES PROFITABLE
  • The return of March Madness led to a strong month of revenue and handle in the NJ sports betting market.
• Online Poker Report, 4.19.21 – New Jersey Adds Another Record To Its Collection With $114 Million In Online Gambling Revenue For March
  • New Jersey iGaming has had another record month according to figures released for March. The Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) recorded online poker and online casino revenues of $113,669,187 for the month.
• Play NJ, 4.19.21 – WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ATLANTIC CITY GAMBLING REVENUE FOR MARCH 2021
  • Atlantic City casino gambling revenue has not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels, but online gaming and sports betting continue to be a buffer.

Connecticut:

• The Day, 4.17.21 – Those who help fight problem gambling are wary of online gaming, sports betting
  • Ease and accessibility. That’s what people who deal with problem gambling fear most about the advent of online gaming, be it online sports betting, online casino games, ilottery or ikeno, all of which Connecticut lawmakers could approve before the current legislative session wraps up in June.

New York:

• Elite Sports NY, 4.16.21 – Will New York Overtake New Jersey in Sports Betting Handle?
  • New Jersey has reigned supreme in sports betting handle since legalizing in-person and online sports betting in 2018, but with New York’s online sports betting plan poised to ramp up by the Super Bowl will there be a new challenger to the crown?
• The Buffalo News, 4.17.21 – New York to steer $5 million a year in new mobile sports betting to youth sports
  • Youth sports and recreation programs across New York will take a share of the betting proceeds when mobile sports wagering starts statewide later this year, thanks to a Buffalo-area lawmaker who pushed the idea during state budget negotiations.

Pennsylvania:

• Penn Bets, 4.16.21 – ONLINE CASINO REVENUE IN PA APPROACHED $100 MILLION IN MARCH AND SPORTS BETTING REBOUNDED
  • Sports betting volume in Pennsylvania rebounded in March to its second highest level ever, but the month’s big gambling story was the amount of money people spent playing slots and table games by phone and computer.
• SBC Americas, 4.16.21 – Pennsylvania sportsbooks bounce back with $560m-plus in March bets
  • Pennsylvania’s retail and online sportsbooks took in more than $560m in wagers, as March Madness helped propel betting to the second-highest monthly volume in state history, according to PlayPennsylvania. The Keystone State also set a fresh record for online casino revenue while the state’s sportsbooks crossed $500m in lifetime gross gaming revenue.
• iGB North America, 4.16.21 – Pennsylvania gambling revenue rockets 162.7% in March
  • The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has reported a 162.7% year-on-year increase in gambling revenue for the US state in March, while the market also experienced a 22.0% month-on-month increase.
• Legal Sports Report, 4.16.21 – PENNSYLVANIA SPORTS BETTING HANDLE ON UPSWING AFTER FEBRUARY DIP
  • Pennsylvania sports betting handle was on the upswing in March after a one-month dip.
• Online Poker Report, 4.16.21 – Pennsylvania’s Online Gambling Market Shows Signs Of Maturity, As Steady Growth Brings March Total To $98 Million
  • Pennsylvania’s legalized online gambling market is beginning to slow down a little bit. Numbers released today by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board show a 293% increase in iGaming revenue in March 2021, compared with March 2020. However, the rise from February 2021’s $78 million in gross revenue to March 2021’s $98 million is less dramatic, though still a substantial monthly increase.
• Play Pennsylvania, 4.16.21 – PENNSYLVANIA STRIKES GOLD IN MARCH WITH RECORD $403 MILLION GAMING REVENUE, $167 MILLION TAX JACKPOT
  • Revenue figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) are staggering, with total revenue from all forms of regulated gambling generating more than $403.1 million in March.

Washington, D.C.

• WTOP, 4.17.21 – New sports betting bill could bring DC bettors to competitive Md.
  • Wrapping up the state legislative session on Monday, Maryland lawmakers passed a bill that would legalize sports betting later this year.

West Virginia:

• Play WV, 4.16.21 – MONDAY’S NBA SLATE HEADLINES WEST VIRGINIA ONLINE SPORTSBOOKS
  • While there’s lots of attention on the start of baseball, the NBA season is truly beginning to heat up. The shortened year is approaching the postseason, making this final stretch of the schedule even more important.

Alabama:

• AL.com, 4.17.21 – What’s in Alabama’s plan for a lottery, casinos, and sports betting?
  • Five weeks after a plan for a lottery and casinos fell two votes short of advancing, the Alabama Senate resurrected it Tuesday, approved it with some changes, and kept alive the chance for voters to have their say on a plan to expand, regulate, and tax gambling across the state.

Texas:

• Caller Times, 4.16.21 – Forum: It is time to legalize sports betting in Texas (By Rep. Dan Huberty and Sen. Juan “Chuy’’ Hinojosa, Texas Legislature)
  • Texas has long been a national model of economic growth by promoting policies to encourage economic prosperity. What’s more, our job creation in the private sector and population growth have generated headlines around the nation. However, we have some turbulence ahead.

Washington:

• NW News Network, 4.16.21 – Dawn of legal sports betting in Washington state in deal with Tulalip tribe
  • Nearly a year after the Washington Legislature voted to legalize sports betting, terms have been agreed for the first sportsbook to open. It will be inside one of the two Tulalip tribal casinos alongside Interstate 5 north of Everett.
• My Northwest, 4.19.21 – Tulalip Tribe reaches deal for first sports betting contract in Washington
  • The Washington State Gambling Commission has now reached a tentative deal that would allow the Tulalip Tribe to host and facilitate sports betting at licensed casinos.