Industry News of the Day for April 20, 2021

iDEA Growth Member News:  

• SBC, 4.19.21: Sightline Payments Brings In New Talent With Five Executives Added To Senior Leadership Team 
  • Sightline Payments, the financial technology supplier to the sports betting, lottery and gaming sectors, has appointed five new executives to its senior leadership team. 
• PlanTenn, 4.19.21: NFL Nabs Three Exclusive Sportsbook Partnerships 
  • The NFL recently announced sportsbook partnerships with Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings and FanDuel.
• Play Illinois, 4.19.21: How Times Have Changed: NFL Goes All In With 3 Official Sports Betting Partners 
  • The NFL announced deals with Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel last week. The Shield is the last of the four major US professional sports leagues to take the plunge. 

Overall Industry News: 

• Sports Handle, 4.19.21: Sports Betting And Gambling Advertising Bans In America? Not Bloody Likely 
  • Last week, the UNLV International Gaming Institute issued a report titled The Marketing Moment: Sports, Wagering and Advertising in the United States, and it advocated for sports betting firms to get a grip on how they advertise their product before the government steps in and tells them how to do so. 
• Play Pennsylvania, 4.19.21: Time To Unplug? Illegal Gambling Machines Bypass Laws And Harm Individuals And Communities, AGA Report Says 
  • A report just released by the American Gaming Association (AGA) ties illegal gambling devices to criminal activity including money laundering, drug trafficking, and violent crime. 
• IGB, 4.19.21: AGA Warns Of “Rapid Growth” In Illegal Gambling Machines 
  • The American Gaming Association has warned players of the risks posed by unlicensed gaming machines, after what it described as a “rapid growth” in their prevalence. 
• IGB, 4.20.21: Caesars Signs CBS Sports As TV Partner For World Series Of Poker 
  • Under the multi-year deal, agreed in partnership with the PokerGO over-the-top platform, CBS Sports will broadcast 15 hours of WSOP Main Event coverage and 36 hours of Gold Bracelet events during the 2021 season. 

Sports League News: 

• US Bets, 4.20.21: In-Play Betting On Baseball Made Easier With Simplebet’s Faster Formula 
  • The opening of the Major League Baseball season three weeks ago has been welcomed by Simplebet, a business-to-business sports betting technology company that has investors betting that when it comes to competition in the industry, speed kills. 

Michigan: 

• Michigan Biz, 4.20.21: Michigan sports betting gets March Madness boost
  • Internet gaming and online sports betting receipts each increased nearly 20 percent in March over the previous month, continuing steady growth for Michigan’s sector that launched in January. 

Pennsylvania: 

• PennBets, 4.19.21: Boyd/Valley Forge Launch Stardust As 15th iCasino Available In Pennsylvania 
  • Boyd Gaming Corp. provided Pennsylvania online gamblers their 15th iCasino option Monday with launch of its Stardust site to play slots and table games from home. 

New York: 

• Legal Sports Report, 4.19.21: Mobile NY Sports Betting Officially Official After Cuomo Signs Budget 
  • Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the fiscal 2022 budget into law, ending months of negotiations and years of legwork to get mobile sports betting in New York passed. 
• IBG, 4.20.21: New York Set For Mobile Betting As Governor Cuomo Signs FY 2022 Budget 
  • Earlier this month, Cuomo and the New York legislature finalized a FY 2022 budget bill that contained provisions for legal mobile sports betting, including a $25m license fee, and bidding process for potential licensees. 
• Play NY, 4.19.21: With Cuomo’s Signature, Online Sportsbooks Are Now Legal, But Months From Live 
  • What amounted to a mere formality became formal on Monday in regards to mobile sports betting in New York. NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the budget bill that contains the provision legalizing online wagering on sporting events. 

Maryland: 

• SBC, 4.20.21: IGT Wins Long-term Contract From Maryland Lottery And Gaming Commission 
  • International Game Technology PLC (IGT) and its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions Corporation, has been awarded a long-term contract from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission. 

Alabama: 

• Legal Sports Report, 4.19.21: Alabama Sports Betting Could Reach The Ballot In 2022 
  • Last week, the Senate passed a constitutional amendment, 23-9, that would put a comprehensive gaming and lottery bill on the ballot for voters in November 2022. Senate Bill 319 started as a lottery bill, but three amendments added casino gaming and sports betting language. 

Iowa: 

• PlayIA, 4.19.21: Trio Of New Sportsbooks Get OK To Enter Iowa Market 
  • Circa Sports, USBookmaking and PlayUp all had sports betting contracts approved at April 15’s Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) meeting. 

California:  

• Legal Sports Report, 4.19.21: Could California Follow NY With Mobile Sports Betting? Not So Fast 
  • Mobile NY sports betting might have limped across the finish line this month, but don’t expect California to follow suit. Online sports betting in the Golden State is at least 5-10 years away, according to panelists on an IGB-run tribal gaming webinar Tuesday. 

Colorado: 

• Play Colorado, 4.19.21: Colorado Straps In For 8 Seconds Of Bull Riding Betting 
  • Colorado sports betting allows operators to offer bull riding markets on Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). 

Ohio: 

• Gaming Today, 4.19.21: Ohio Sports Betting Bill Nears The Finish Line 
  • Ohio state Sen. Kirk Schuring (R) is charged with getting sports betting legislation on the table in Columbus. This morning the chairman of the Senate Select on Gaming went on local radio and said lawmakers are close to having a final product. 

Washington:  

• Legal Sports Report, 4.19.21: Washington Sports Betting Deal With Tulalip Tribes Puts Football Season In View 
  • The state of Washington reached its first tribal sports betting compact agreement Friday. The Washington State Gambling Commission announced its tentative agreement with the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. The tribe operates two gaming facilities in the state and likely will be the first to offer sports betting in Washington. 

• IGB, 4.20.21: Tulalip Tribes Strike Deal With Regulator To Bring Sports Betting To Washington 
  • As part of the agreement, the Tribe – which has two Class III gaming facilities on the Tulalip reservation in Marysville – may amend its Class III gaming compact to include sports wagering.