Industry News of the Day for August 17, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• The Wall Street Journal, 8.16.20 – Casinos, Investors Bet On Gamblers Playing From Home (DraftKings, Golden Nugget, GVC Holdings)
  • Casino operators and investors are making bets that online gambling is ready to take off in the U.S. as the coronavirus pandemic keeps gamblers away from slot machines and blackjack tables.
• Bloomberg, 8.14.20 – DraftKings, FanDuel Fees Deemed Taxable In Landmark IRS Memo
  • Daily fantasy sports companies like FanDuel and DraftKings must pay federal excise tax on their entry fees, the IRS has decided, in an internal memo that could cause a major shakeup in the industry.
• Gambling Compliance, 8.17.20 – DraftKings Boss Says IRS Excise Tax Memo ‘Deeply Flawed’
  • DraftKings CEO Jason Robins says the Internal Revenue Service memo arguing that daily fantasy sports are subject to the federal excise tax on sports wagering is “deeply flawed.”
• iGB North America, 8.17.20 – Players Stake $37.2M In First Four Weeks Of WV iGaming
  • The first four weeks of legal online casino in West Virginia saw players wager $37.2m on DraftKings’ casino products, resulting in revenue of $824,639, the latest figures from the West Virginia Lottery Commission reveal.
• SBC Americas, 8.17.20 – Sportradar Solution Tackles Social Media Abuse Of Professional Athletes
  • Sportradar Integrity Services has launched what it claims is an “industry-first” solution to support sports organisations in safeguarding professional athletes from social media abuse.

Industry News:

• Sports Handle, 8.14.20 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: DraftKings Earnings and NH Opening, AGA, More
  • Here’s the weekend (or fashionably late) Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top U.S. sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
• PlayUSA, 8.14.20 – College Football Cancellations Would Impact But Not Devastate Betting Industry
  • The lines began disappearing from American sportsbooks the day before Big Ten and Pac-12 leaders heeded the advice of medical advisors and canceled their 2020 football seasons on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Federal News:

• NJ Online Gambling, 8.14.20 – Cherry Hill Mall Operator To NJ Court: ‘Please Release Me, Let Me Go’
  • The global COVID-19 pandemic is reason enough for a two-year-old lawsuit to disappear, operators of a Philadelphia-area mall told a federal court recently.

Sports League News:

• PlayIndiana, 8.14.20 – NASCAR Partners With BetMGM Ahead Of Go Bowling 235 Race
  • NASCAR has a new official betting partner. The racing giant is teaming up with MGM’s online betting app to help expand the sport’s reach.

New Jersey:

• PlayNJ, 8.14.20 – Top Five Key Facts From NJ Online Casinos Record-Breaking July
  • NJ online casino revenue is not slowing down. At least not yet. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) released July’s numbers Wednesday afternoon, and the final tally came in at $87.4 million.
• NJ Online Gambling, 8.14.20 – New Jersey Online Poker Market Grows 140% Since Pandemic Hit In March
  • New Jersey online poker is seeing some good days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Com, 8.16.20 – NJ Casinos, Sportsbooks Absorb 21% Decline In Revenue Since Reopening
  • Casinos, racetracks and retail sportsbooks in New Jersey withstood a loss in revenue of 20.9% in July, the first month that they were open for in-person gambling under capacity limits.

Pennsylvania:

• PlayPennsylvania, 8.14.20 – PA Racing Handle Down $36 Million in 2019, Continuing Long Downward Trend
  • The taxable handle generated by Pennsylvania’s six race tracks dropped by more than 10.7% in 2019 to around $300 million.
• Penn Bets, 8.17.20 – State Report On Racing Industry Shows Its Struggles, Even Before COVID’s Impact
  • The year 2020 will go down as a difficult one for Pennsylvania’s horse racing industry, as for everyone, but newly released data for 2019 shows the challenges it was already facing.

Connecticut:

• The Day, 8.15.20 – Mohegan Sun Benefited From Competitive Landscape In July
  • Mohegan Sun posted a modest year-over-year gain in slot-machine revenue last month while Foxwoods Resort Casino’s revenue plummeted, newly released data show.

Delaware:

• iGB North America, 8.17.20 – Delaware iGaming Revenue Soars In July
  • The Delaware Lottery has reported a 144.4% year-on-year increase in online gambling revenue in July, while player spending more than doubled to $20.8m.

Virginia:

• CBS19, 8.14.20 – Virginia Lottery Announces Third Best Year In FY2020
  • The Virginia Lottery recorded its third-best year in Fiscal Year 2020, despite many closed stores from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michigan:

• Online Poker Report, 8.14.20 – Michigan Online Casino And Sports Betting Might Be Slowed Down By FBI, Fingerprints
  • Michigan‘s efforts to get casino and sports betting apps off the ground have hit an unexpected snag.
• PlayMichigan, 8.14.20 – Michigan Tribal Casino Re-Closes After COVID-19 Spike In Upper Peninsula
  • A Michigan tribal casino in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has temporarily re-closed because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

Indiana:

• Indianapolis Star, 8.16.20 – Sports Gambling Surging, Surpasses $1 Billion In Indiana Despite Pandemic
  • When sports came to a halt in mid-March, it was right before one of the biggest gambling weeks of the year.

Colorado:

• PlayColorado, 8.14.20 – ELITE Sportsbook Now Live For Colorado Sports Bettors
  • ELITE Sportsbook is now live for Colorado sports bettors. As of now, online betting is available for prospective users, though an app will also be available (just not yet).

Washington:

• Sports Handle, 8.14.20 – WSGC To Ask For Forgiveness On Sports Betting Loan
  • The Washington State Gambling Commission took a step closer to asking the state legislature to forgive a $6 million loan at Thursday’s regular meeting, when Chief Financial Officer Chris Stanley and Legal and Legislative Director Brian Considine offered updates on the status of the loan.

Nevada:

• Gambling Compliance, 8.17.20 – No College Football? No Sweat For Thriving Las Vegas Sportsbooks (Gambling Compliance)
  • Two of the five biggest conferences in college football will not play games this fall, and although Las Vegas sportsbooks acknowledge they will take a financial hit, they are too busy raking in revenue from an August goldmine to wring their hands.
• PlayNevada, 8.14.20 – Losing College Football Could Be A $50 Million Loss For Nevada Sportsbooks
  • College football season is slowly slipping away. This week the Big 10, Pac 12, and UNLV’s Mountain West conferences postponed their respective football seasons.

Oklahoma:

• Tulsa World, 8.15.20 – COVID-19 Takes A Bite Out Of State’s Gaming Revenue
  • Gaming fees tribes pay the state were poised to rise above last year’s levels, but COVID-19 took a bite out of those projections.