Industry News of the Day for August 13, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• NHPR, 8.12.20 – DraftKings Launches N.H.’s First In-Person Sports Gambling Location In Seabrook
  • New Hampshire’s first sports gambling parlor opened Wednesday in Seabrook.

Industry News:

• Axios, 8.12.20 – Sports Betting In The Age Of Coronavirus
  • When the pandemic arrived, the sports betting industry funneled bettors toward the few sports that were actually happening.
• Sports Handle, 8.12.20 – Biggest Hits: Sports Betting States With Most College Football Postponements
  • Two of college football’s biggest conferences took a knee on Tuesday, bowing to the power of the COVID-19 pandemic. In unprecedented moves, the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced the postponement of all fall sports, including their biggest cash cow — college football.
• ESPN, 8.12.20 – Sportsbooks Halt College Football Betting As Season Remains In Flux
  • Sportsbooks around the United States have halted betting on college football, as bookmakers try to determine the best approach to a season in flux.
• PlayUSA, 8.12.20 – PlayUSA Rewind: Indiana Sports Betting Crosses $1 Billion Threshold
  • This is the time of year legal sports betting operators have waited for.
• New York Post, 8.12.20 – Sports Illustrated Owner Gears Up For Deal With Sports Betting Company
  • The owner of Sports Illustrated is gearing up to complete a deal with a sports betting company before year end, Media Ink has learned.
• US Bets, 8.12.20 – Bet And Breakfast: Summer 2020 Matinee Games Are Making Sports Betting An All-Day Affair
  • What also sets this sports moment apart is that watching and wagering have become all-day-long activities.

Overall Industry News:

• SBC Americas, 8.13.20 – SportsGrid Goes Live With Sports Wagering Network On SLING TV
  • SportsGrid, the sports network streaming firm, has announced the launch of a 24-hour network on SLING TV, a live TV streaming service that delivers live and on-demand entertainment instantly to compatible internet-connected devices.
• SBC Americas, 8.13.20 – Simplebet Raises $35m And Launches Into US Sports Betting Space
  • Simplebet, a global sports betting technology provider, has announced its launch this week into the US sports betting space. The firm uses machine learning and automation to enable every moment of every sporting event to become a betting opportunity.

Federal News:

• ESPN, 8.12.20 – Senators Lay Out Framework For Future College Sports Legislation
  • A group of United States senators on Thursday morning released a list of items they see as important rights belonging to college athletes that they hope to soon protect or enforce with federal laws.

New Jersey:

• Legal Sports Report, 8.12.20 – NJ Sports Betting Sees $315M In Wagers In July As Major Leagues Return
  • Unsurprisingly, the return of major sports toward the end of July had a major impact on New Jersey sports betting.
• Online Poker Report, 8.13.20 – New Jersey Online Gambling Sites Set Another Revenue Record In July With $87.5M Win
  • New Jersey casinos reopened at the beginning of July, but that hasn’t clipped the wings of the state’s soaring online gaming industry.
• Gambling Compliance, 8.13.20 – Casino Reopenings, Online Revenue Growth Help Stop New Jersey’s Financial Bleeding (subscription paywall)
  • The reopening of Atlantic City’s nine casinos and return of major professional sports pulled New Jersey’s gaming revenues in July out of the basement, but not quite to the penthouse.
• NJ Online Gambling, 8.12.20 – Sports Are Back – And So Is Sports Betting In NJ, With Dramatic Handle And Revenue Spikes
  • Sports returned in a big way in July, and New Jersey gamblers responded in kind.

New York:

• Elite Sports NY, 8.13.20 – State Senator: NY Online Sports Betting Launch Possible By Super Bowl
  • Sports betting is already legal in New York. Through a loophole in the original bill to legalize sports betting, the online component was not included. But make no mistake, online sports betting is coming to New York sooner or later.

Pennsylvania:

• Penn Bets, 8.12.20 – Pennsylvania Already A Major Player On The Worldwide Online Casino Stage
  • Even the most cosmopolitan and experienced gaming industry expert, if asked to name the top five regulated online casino markets in the world, would most likely whiff on this one: Pennsylvania.

Washington, D.C.:

• Washington City Paper, 8.13.20 – Take A Look At D.C.’s First Sportsbook
  • Just like everything else in 2020, the debut of sports betting in the District didn’t go as originally planned. But unlike many of America’s professional sports leagues, which endured months-long delays or pauses, live sports betting actually launched at Capital One Arena earlier than expected, with the opening of the William Hill sportsbook on July 31.

Maryland:

• Gambling Compliance, 8.13.20 – Maryland Regulators Mandate Removal Of Gray Market Slots To Keep Lottery License (subscription paywall)
  • As Virginia looks to raise tax revenue by giving previously considered illegal skill-based games a reprieve until next year, neighboring Maryland recently issued a regulation that specifically prohibits lottery retailers from having these unregulated machines in their stores.

West Virginia:

• PlayWV, 8.12.20 – MLB, NASCAR, NHL, UFC: West Virginia Bettors Have Bevy Of Options
  • Another strong wagering weekend engulfs West Virginia online sports bettors. This is one of the best slates of the entire year.

Michigan:

• Second Wave Media, 8.12.20 – FireKeepers Becomes First Tribal Casino In Michigan To Offer Sports Betting
  • The odds remain in favor of sports wagering at FireKeepers Casino Hotel despite the postponement of the college football season for conferences like the Big 10 and the Pac-12, says Jim Wise, Vice President of Marketing for FireKeepers.

Illinois:

• Legal Sports Report, 8.12.20 – What Happened To Illinois Golf Betting Markets?
  • Illinois sure isn’t making it easy for locals to partake in the regulated sports betting market.

Iowa:

• PlayIA, 8.12.20 – Iowa Sportsbooks See Regrowth In July With Return Of Major Sports
  • Adapting a famous line from a movie set in Iowa, sportsbooks in the state proved that “If you offer it, they will come.”

California:

• PlayCA, 8.12.20 – Ione Band, Tule River Tribe Set To Proceed With California Tribal Casino Plans
  • It’s an exciting time for several indigenous tribes in California. In addition to paving the way for an Amador County tribal casino, the Tule River tribe has all the approval it needs to relocate its casino.

Nevada:

• PlayUSA, 8.12.20 – Between Cancellations, Closures And Layoffs, Las Vegas Hammered By Pandemic
  • Las Vegas casinos reopened on June 4 as Nevada relaxed some closures to help slow the spread of coronavirus. The current scene in the casinos is very different with 50% capacity on the gaming floor.
• Com, 8.12.20 – Why Is Nevada So Content To Be Left Behind On Online Gambling?
  • For decades, Nevada has been the gold standard for all things American gambling. The magnificent Las Vegas Strip has outshined all other competition.

Oklahoma:

• Associated Press, 8.12.20 – Stitt Seeks Another Hearing In Tribal Gaming Agreements Case
  • Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is seeking another hearing before the state Supreme Court regarding its recent ruling on tribal gaming compacts that deemed the state’s agreements with two Native American tribes invalid.