Industry News of the Day for December 18, 2023

By iDEA | December 18, 2023

Industry News

  • Time: The Explosion In Sports Betting Is Driving Gambling Addiction Among College Students
    • When Evan Ozmat, a Ph.D. student in psychology at the University at Albany, first began counseling undergraduates about HIV and substance abuse, he expected to hear about their health issues. Instead, he heard about problem gambling. “Since the beginning of the project three years ago, students have brought up, unprompted, gambling,” Ozmat says. “We started asking about it in every appointment and everyone has something to say. It’s everywhere.” The majority of the gambling takes place on mobile phones, Ozmat says, largely—although not exclusively—on sports betting apps.
  • Sports Handle: GambleID Says Its New Product Could Stop An Athlete’s Bet — And Potential Suspension
    • Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was at his team’s practice facility at some point during the 2022 season when his use of a sports betting app cost him two games of playing time after the NFL discovered the infraction. It suspended him at the start of the 2023 season. But what if when Petit-Frere pushed the button to place the bet, it had been denied? He may not have liked it at the time, but it would have saved him a suspension and helped the NFL’s enforcement of a sports betting policy that seems to have flummoxed players and coaches.
  • Bonus.com: Hard Rock Digital Announces Social Gaming Division, Hard Rock Games
    • Hard Rock Digital (HRD) is going social with the creation of Hard Rock Games (HRG). The new company is focused on offering free-to-play online and mobile “social” gaming. The move follows Hard Rock’s recent acquisition of leading mobile social gaming company WGames. According to the release heralding the announcement, the deal offers HRG enhanced in-house technological capabilities. The acquisition will also provide the new business unit with “operational and development capabilities to accelerate its social gaming growth.”

California

  • PlayUSA: California Tribes Pen Letter Asking Sports Betting Initiative Proponents To Withdraw Plan
    • California tribes sent the strongest message yet to sports betting initiative proponents that they oppose their filing. The California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), representing 52 tribes, and 28 individual tribes sent a letter indicating they would wage an aggressive opposition campaign if proponents take their sports betting proposal to the ballot. In the letter addressed to Eagle 1 Corp. executives Kasey Thompson and Reeve Collins, and petition signer Ryan Tyler Walz, the tribes urged proponents to drop their initiatives immediately.

 

Delaware

  • TheLines: Lawmakers Are Pushing For Delaware Sports Betting Expansion
    • Lawmakers in Delaware could move to expand sports betting legislation soon. The Internet Sports Lottery Legislative Working Group submitted a proposal to the Delaware legislature. This would expand online betting, allowing for more sportsbooks to operate in Delaware. Currently, only Rush Street Interactive (RSI) is permitted to provide online betting in Delaware through an exclusive partnership with the Delaware Lottery. Could the recommendations see changes to the Delaware market?

Massachusetts

  • SBC Americas: ESPN Bet Leapfrogs BetMGM And Caesars in Massachusetts
    • As the November sportsbook revenue reports roll in, the positive news keeps coming for ESPN Bet. In Massachusetts, Penn went from a three-way tie for fifth to jumping into third in the state in terms of handle based on the latest revenue report from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. DraftKings was still the clear-cut leader with $320 million in handle with FanDuel second with $181.5 million, but it was ESPN Bet in third place with $39 million in handle, just edging out BetMGM, which posted $38.9 million. The amount accounts for 6.1% of all bets in the state.

Michigan

  • PlayMichigan: Michigan Online Sports Betting Could Surpass 2022 Thanks To Late Surge
    • Just when we thought online sports betting had plateaued in Michigan, it surged in the last part of 2023. With November online numbers set to come out early next week, will we see the continued rise in betting that we’ve seen the past few months? If so, it’s entirely possible that Michigan online sports betting could surpass 2022’s numbers in both handle and revenue. Prior to football season, Michigan online sports betting was definitely well behind pace of 2022.

New Jersey

  • PlayNJ: Another Record-Setting Month As NJ Online Casinos Top $170M In November
    • New Jersey online casinos followed up on October’s all-time high with a new monthly record in November. According to data released Friday by the Division of Gaming Enforcement, online casinos in NJ reported $171.6 million in revenue last month. November’s total surpasses October’s $166 million as the highest-grossing month ever. Year-over-year, NJ online casino revenue increased 17.4% in November 2023. Last year, online gambling in NJ generated $1.66 billion in revenue, the highest annual total in US history. Through November of this year, online casinos in NJ have already generated more than $1.7 billion in revenue.

North Carolina

  • Legal Sports Betting: Fanatics Ready To Skate Into Online NC Sports Betting
    • Fanatics is the latest sportsbook operator to secure its market access partner for online NC sports betting. A Fanatics spokesperson confirmed with LSR Friday that the operator is partnered with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes for online NC sports betting. Operator applications are due Dec. 27, with a launch expected by March after regulators ruled out a debut by the Super Bowl. The partnership is necessary for Fanatics following a sports betting law change in September. The legislative alteration requires sportsbooks to secure a written agreement with a professional sports organization in the state for market access.
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