Industry News of the Day for December 15, 2022

By iDEA | December 15, 2022

iDEA Growth Member News

  • SBC Americas: Catena Media offloads AskGamblers to GiG to double down on Americas
    • Catena Media has placed an increasing focus on its American business after agreeing a deal to sell its AskGamblers website and associated brands for €45m ($47.8m) to Gambling Innovation Group (GiG). The deal has also seen GiG acquire JohnSlots.com and NewCasinos.com, while Catena seeks to shrink its European operations.

Industry News

  • PlayUSA: Skeptics Baffle Over Fanatics’ Huge Online Sports Betting Gamble
    • Even market leaders BetMGM, Barstool, DraftKings and FanDuel struggle to make online sports betting profitable, but the merchandise retail giant Fanatics intends to make a huge, expensive push into the industry in 2023. Not everyone thinks BetFanatics is a good idea. In fact, it’s difficult to find anyone outside the Jacksonville-based conglomerate that does.

Arizona

  • PlayAZ: Tribes Feel ‘Left Behind’ In Hot Arizona Sports Betting Market
    • With the Arizona sports betting industry booming, not all parties are reaping the rewards — that being the Native American tribes. The tribes fear they’re losing their place in the market. While in 2022, tribal gaming in Arizona has contributed a record amount to the state as of Dec. 2, there’s fear that it’s all downhill from here. Many fear they won’t be able to compete with commercial sports betting in Arizona in the long term.

California

  • Legal Sports Report: Lobbyist: CA Sports Betting Push Needs Overhaul
    • After failing to pass Prop 27 by a wide margin, industry insiders say operators must take a vastly different approach with tribes if they want to legalize online CA sports betting. Prop 27 received just 18% of the vote, meaning the earliest the state could legalize CA sports betting would be 2024. However, given the increasingly frosty relationship between the sides, a path to legalization two years from now remains murky at best.

Indiana

  • PlayIndiana: Committee Change Opens Pathway For Indiana Online Casino Bill
    • Last year, the Indiana online casino bill died when the House Public Policy Committee chairman declined to give it a hearing. That won’t be a problem this year. Rep. Ethan Manning, who says he will introduce the Indiana online casino bill in early January, has taken over the committee that is the first stop for all gaming bills.

Massachusetts

  • Gaming Today: Massachusetts Cuts it Close on Mobile Sportsbook Licensing Timeline
    • According to Massachusetts Gaming Commission Executive Director Karen Wells, the commission needs to have mobile sportsbooks licensed by Jan. 19 to comfortably meet the state’s plans to launch online sports betting in early March. Those sportsbooks are being selected from among five applicants vying for mobile licenses tied, or “tethered,” to the state’s three casinos, and from among six applicants vying for a standalone “untethered” mobile sportsbook license.

Michigan

  • PlayMichigan: Michigan Sports Betting Market Projected To Plateau In 2023
    • Sports betting in Michigan appears to have hit a plateau as it nears the end of its second year. Year-over-year handle has leveled off in recent months, and PlayMichigan projects that to continue into 2023, even leading to a small decrease in Year 3.

Ohio

  • PlayOhio: Ohio Denies PlayUp Sportsbook License Due To ‘Potential Illegal Gambling’
    • The Ohio Casino Control Commission denied a mobile sports betting license to PlayUp Sportsbook after a licensing investigation uncovered “information regarding potential illegal gambling activity.” OCCC Executive Director Matt Schuler notified PlayUp of the decision in a letter on Dec. 2, which outlined violations related to the company’s online slots game called slots+.
  • SBC Americas: Barstool Sportsbook Ohio faces potential $250K fine for marketing to Toledo students
    • Another regulatory body is concerned with Penn Interactive’s approach to underage gambling. At Wednesday’s public meeting, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC)reported that Penn allegedly violated the rules around marketing to people under the age of 21. Last month, Barstool Media brought its Barstool College Football Show to the University of Toledo campus.
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