Industry News of the Day for December 19, 2018

Industry news of the day:

New Jersey:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.18.18 – Media Company, the Score, Plans NJ Sports Betting Launch With Bet.Works, Monmouth Park
  • It was inevitable that a media company would get involved on the operator side the nascent US sports betting industry. It was always a matter of “when,” not “if.”
• Sports Handle, 12.18.18 – theScore Set To Launch New Jersey Sportsbook In Conjunction With Monmouth Park
  • Most sports bettors are highly familiar with the mobile app “theScore” as one of the most popular smartphone apps for anyone who wants to know it they are winning or losing their latest bet.
• NJ Online Gambling, 12.19.18 – Monmouth Park Operator after Partnering with theScore: ‘I Didn’t ask for Three Skins’
  • Of all the movers and shakers at the recent ICE sports betting event in Manhattan — and there were plenty — one of the most popular was Monmouth Park operator Dennis Drazin.
• NJ Online Gambling, 12.18.18 – Atlantic City Revenue Numbers Paint a Mixed Picture Nearing Year’s End
  • The release last week by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement of the November revenue figures contained much good news for Atlantic City casino operators.
• Forbes, 12.18.18 – TheScore to Become First Media Company to Offer Online & Mobile Sports Betting in North America
  • It was announced today that popular mobile sports app, theScore, has plans to enter the U.S. gambling market after having reached a licensing partnership with Darby Development LLC, the operator behind the New Jersey-based Monmouth Park Racetrack.
• Centraljersey.com, 12.18.18 – Bill would boost to horse breeding industry and racetracks
  • Legalization authorized by state Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) and Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen and Passaic) that would provide support for racetracks and the horse breeding industry in New Jersey was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Dec. 10, according to a press release.

West Virginia:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.18.18 – DraftKings Sportsbook Is Coming To West Virginia In Deal With Hollywood Casino
  • DraftKings Sportsbook will be coming to another state for legal sports betting.

Pennsylvania:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.18.18 – Early PA Sports Betting Numbers Show Expansion Potential In Keystone State
  • At just one physical casino in only two weeks, PA sports betting generated more than a half-million dollars in revenue.
• Penn Live, 12.18.18 – Hollywood Casino pulls in $1.4M in sports betting in first two weeks
  • The first two weeks of legal sports betting in Pennsylvania at a single casino saw just over $1.4 million in bets.

Washington DC:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.18.18 – Council Passes DC Sports Betting Bill To Bring Gambling To Nation’s Capital
  • On Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers in the District of Columbia passed a bill that legalizes sports betting within its boundaries.
• Sports Handle, 12.18.18 – Washington, D.C. Legalizes Sports Betting, Gives Lottery Virtual Monopoly
  • Washington D.C. has become the seventh and last jurisdiction to legalize sports betting in 2018. The D.C. Council voted, 10-2, on Tuesday to legalize sports betting in our nation’s capital, right under the nose of PASPA architect Orrin Hatch and others who believe that sports betting should be illegal, or, at the least, governed by the federal government.
• NBC News (AP repost), 12.19.18 – Washington D.C. votes to legalize sports betting
  • City lawmakers in Washington have voted to legalize sports betting, making the nation’s capital the first U.S. jurisdiction without casinos to authorize sports books.
• WAMU, 12.18.18 – Sports Betting is Coming to D.C., and Here’s Everything you Need to Know About it
  • The D.C. Council on Tuesday afternoon approved a bill that will bring legalized sports betting to the nation’s capital, putting the city on the short list of states that already allow it and ahead of any other place in the Washington region.
• ESPN, 12.18.18 – Bill to legalize sports betting in Washington, D.C. advances
  • The District of Columbia on Tuesday advanced legislation to authorize sports betting in the nation’s capital, including potentially at the homes of the professional sports franchises in Washington, D.C.

Tennessee:

• Fox13, 12.18.18 – County commissioners proposing sports betting on Beale Street
  • Sports betting could be coming to Beale Street if Shelby County commissioner gets their way.
• Commercial Appeal, 12.18.18 – If sports betting came to Beale Street, what could it look like?
  • If sports betting came to Beale Street, it could look unlike sports betting in any other part of the United States, said Dustin Gouker, a writer for the sports betting news site Legal Sports Report.

Michigan

• WLNS.com, 12.18.18 – Skubick: Lame duck lawmakers race to the finish line
  • Lawmakers are also debating a major expansion of gambling, including fantasy sports betting and horse racing wagering on your phone and for a new race track at the old site in Schwartz Creek next spring.

Federal updates:

• Forbes, 12.18.18 – 2019 Sports Betting Preview: Will Congress Enact Federal Standards For Legalized Sports Gambling?
  • As predicted, a landmark Supreme Court decision on sports betting has created a frenetic period over the latter half of 2018 the likes of which the gaming industry has never seen.
• SBC Americas, 12.18.18 – Orrin Hatch’s new bill to contain spread of sports betting
  • True to his word, Senator Orrin Hatch has produced a new draft bill that would, if enacted, prevent states from pursuing legalized sports betting without first seeking approval at federal level.

Sports league updates:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.18.18 – NBA Inks Third Gaming Partnership, This Time With FanDuel Sportsbook
  • Partnerships between professional sports leagues and sports betting operators are becoming more common in a post-PASPA world. Today, the National Basketball Association announced another major deal, this time with FanDuel.
• ESPN, 12.17.18 – NBA, FanDuel expand partnership to include sports betting
  • The NBA and FanDuel announced Tuesday that they are expanding their partnership to include sports betting through a multiyear deal centered on marketing and official league data.
• Reuters, 12.18.18 – NBA and Paddy Power’s FanDuel to partner on U.S. sports betting
  • The National Basketball Association and fantasy sports provider FanDuel Group, a unit of Paddy Power Betfair Plc (PPB.I), said on Tuesday they are expanding their existing partnership to include U.S. sports betting.
• NJ Online Gambling, 12.18.18 – Upstart MMA League Unlikely to Score Knockout with DraftKings Gambling Deal
  • An MMA promotion seeking to wrestle market share away from the UFC juggernaut has linked up with a New Jersey online sportsbook and casino.
  • Daily fantasy sports titan and sportsbook operator FanDuel is now an authorized gaming partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA).PlayNJ, 12.19.18 – Third Time’s the Charm: NBA inks Deal with FanDuel, will Share Official Data

Member updates:

• City AM, 12.19.18 – 888 goes all in for strong full-year results after US expansion
  • In a pre-close trading update the company said it had delivered positive trading in the second half of the year due to an ongoing focus on product enhancement.

• Newswire Today, 12.18.18 – Paysafe Extends its Collaboration with Google in Five New Countries
  • Google has added paysafecard, a leading prepaid solution and part of the Paysafe Group (Paysafe), as a new payment method in the Google Play Store in five additional European countries: Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Greece. The expansion of the Google/paysafecard partnership follows the successful launch of paysafecard as a Google Play Store payment method in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Cyprus since June, meaning it is now available in 10 European countries.

• Calvin Ayre, 12.19.18 – NetEnt appoints Lars Johansson as Chief Financial Officer
  • After a thorough search process, Lars Johansson has now been appointed Chief Financial Officer of NetEnt. Lars Johansson has held the position as interim CFO since September 3, 2018.

Overall industry updates:

• MBN, 12.18.18 – How the Internet changes the gambling sector and our betting habits
  • Online gambling, i.e., gambling on the Internet, has changed how most people bet. The Internet has also transformed the gambling sector dramatically. Online gambling includes sports betting, lotteries, casinos, poker rooms, and dozens of other games of chance.
• iGaming Business, 12.19.18 – Ease of access key for effective RG tools, GambleAware says
  • Online gaming customers are more likely to make use of responsible gambling tools if such measures are easy to access, rather than if they are told that their behaviour is a relative cause for concern, a new study has suggested.