Industry News of the Day for December 14, 2018

Industry news of the day:

Washington DC:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.14.18 – Inside The Legal Questions Surrounding The DC Sports Betting Bill Debate
  • The first round of hearings on DC sports betting have ended. The first-round victory went to a single-operator model, with Intralot, a Greece-based lottery supplier, likely to be the benefactor.

Illinois:

• Online Poker Report, 12.13.18 – Chicago Mayor Again Pitches Illinois Casino Expansion to Ease Budget Shortfall
  • Rahm Emanuel is on his way out of office as the mayor of Chicago, but not before making one final attempt to persuade Illinois lawmakers to move forward on a proposed city-owned casino.

Minnesota:

• Sports Handle, 12.13.18 – Minnesota Lawmaker Planning to Introduce Sports Betting Legislation
  • Lawmakers from at least three states have filed sports betting legislation ahead of their 2019 sessions. A Minnesota state senator could well make it four.

Kentucky:

• Reuters, 12.13.18 – Kentucky Supreme Court tosses pension law on procedural factors
  • Beshear, a candidate in next year’s election for governor, has proposed expanded gaming through casinos and sports betting to boost pension funding.

New Jersey:

• PlayNJ, 12.14.18 – New Jersey Online Casino Revenue Grows to Another Record-Setting Month
  • The online gambling revenue record New Jersey set in October didn’t last very long. November was another record-breaking month for the state’s online casinos.
• The Trentonian, 12.13.18 – Sports betting explodes in New Jersey, blows past expectations
  • Sports betting has been legal in Nevada since 1931, though it didn’t really get going until the early 1970s when A) the federal government relaxed a 10 percent tax on operators and B) Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal opened up his sportsbook at the Stardust. (You may know Lefty as “Ace Rothstein,” as played by Robert De Niro, in “Casino.”)

Pennsylvania:

• FOX 29, 12.14.18 – Legal sports betting in Pennsylvania begins
  • Place your bets. No need to travel to Las Vegas or even Atlantic City, as two Pennsylvania casinos are taking wagers. A move that could bring in billions.
• Penn Bets, 12.14.18 – Big City Sports Betting: Inside Sugarhouse’s Historic Debut in Philadelphia
  • Move over, Las Vegas. On Thursday, Philadelphia took over as the largest city in the U.S. to offer legal sports betting when SugarHouse Casino rolled out its temporary sportsbook.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12.13.18 – Q-and-A: A local bookie explains his sports-betting operation and why the Rivers Casino won’t kill it
  • Pittsburgh gamblers seeking to place sports wagers close to home have been able to do so only illegally—through a local bookmaker or a non-U.S. operator’s online betting service—prior to the Rivers Casino opening its new sports book Thursday.

Mississippi:

• The Meridian Star, 12.13.18 – State rings up $1 million in revenue from sports betting
  • People have wagered $116 million on sporting events at Mississippi casinos, resulting in $1.03 million in tax revenue for the state since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled federal law could not prevent states from allowing sports betting.

Tennessee:

• KAIT 8, 12.13.18 – Commissioners want to bring sports betting to Beale Street
  • With sports betting legal in the United States, some county commissioners in Shelby County, TN want to bring betting to Beale Street in Memphis.

New York:

• SBC Americas, 12.14.18 – Political change poses new challenges for New York sports betting
  • Andrew Winchell, Chief Of Staff at the Office of New York State Senator John J. Bonacic, offers his view of where the state is currently at in its ambitions to get legal sports betting up and running.

 

Federal updates:

• Online Poker Report, 12.13.18 – US Senator Hoping Third Time is the Charm in Quest to Ban Online Gambling
  • Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plans to use the confirmation hearing of the next attorney general to rail against online gambling.

 

Sports league updates:

• Sports Handle, 12.13.18 – NFL Draft Headed to Las Vegas, and League Wants a Gaming Partner
  • Four years after taking its premiere off-season event on the road, the NFL made its splashiest announcement about the draft yet. In 2020, the NFL Draft, which had been held in New York City from 1965-2014, will be in Las Vegas.

 

Member updates:

• iNTER GAME, 12.14.18 – Inspired launches The Virtual Grand National with Paddy Power Betfair
  • Inspired Entertainment has announced the first retail launch of its newest virtual horse racing product The Virtual Grand National with Paddy Power Betfair across the bookmaker’s estate of over 620 stores in the UK and Ireland.
• Calvin Ayre, 12.14.18 – Net Ent and Bethard combine to create exclusive virtual live casino
  • Next generation casino and sportsbook Bethard has become the latest operator to launch an exclusive virtual casino with NetEnt.

 

Overall industry updates:

• No new industry updates to report.