Industry News of the Day for December 23, 2019

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.23.19 – DraftKings Going Public, Combining With SBTech: Everything You Need To Know
  • The long-rumored tie-up between DraftKings and sports betting technology provider SBTech is finally happening with a public listing the cherry on top.

Overall Industry News:

• Sports Handle, 12.20.19 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: Michigan Moves, CT Laying Groundwork?
  • Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large.

Pennsylvania:

• Penn Bets, 12.20.19 – Across State Lines : What Shared Liquidity Means For Online Poker In PA And Beyond
  • Now that regulated online poker exists in Pennsylvania, the potential for a historic date exists. Will Pennsylvania, with its 12.8 mm residents — almost as many as New Jersey (8.9 mm), Nevada (3.1 mm), and Delaware (970k) combined — enable its poker players to enjoy the benefits of liquidity shared with other legal online poker states?
• Play Pennsylvania, 12.20.19 – Sports Betting At The Downs Gets A Thumbs Up
  • At the last Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting of 2019, there was still business to tend to. In a year filled with rapid gambling expansion across the state, there was still room for growth.
• Philadelphia Business Journal, 12.23.19 – Year In Review 2019: Sports Betting Takes Center Stage At Local Casinos (subscription paywall)
  • It was a huge year for the gambling industry in Philadelphia. Pennsylvanians wagered millions in online sports betting as it was rolled out this summer, and local casinos jumped in to the game with major investments, from in-house lounges to online apps and websites for bettors.

Michigan:

• Legal Sports Report, 12.20.19 – Sports Betting Is Coming To Town: Michigan Governor Signs Bill To Legalize Sportsbooks
  • Gretchen Whitmer signed the Lawful Sports Betting Act into law Friday, making Michigan the ninth state to approve legalized sports betting this year and 20th state to permit legal sports betting.
• Online Poker Report, 12.20.19 – Say Yes To Michigan Online Poker; Governor Signs Gambling Bills Into Law
  • This time last year, the governor’s signature was far from a perfunctory last step in legalizing online gambling and sports betting in Michigan.
• Sports Handle, 12.20.19 – Yes, Michigan, There IS A Santa Claus
  • Michigan became the latest U.S. jurisdiction with legal sports betting on Friday morning, when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of iGaming bills that state lawmakers sent her late last week.

Illinois:

• Chicago Tribune, 12.20.19 – From Sports Books To New Casinos, Illinois Betting Big On Gambling Expansion In 2020
  • When Rivers Casino in Des Plaines opened its gleaming new sports bar earlier this month, it had everything a gambler could want, including 32 leather lounge chairs, a 47-foot-wide video wall topped by a sports ticker and five betting windows. The only thing missing? The BetRivers SportsBar can’t take bets on sporting events — at least not yet.

California:

• Forbes, 12.22.19 – California Sports Betting Battle Continues As Tribal Casinos Turn Up The Heat On Cardrooms
  • The battle for a regulated sports betting market in the nation’s most populated state hits a new snag as the latest ballot initiative proposed by one of California’s largest Native American tribes is under attack.

Florida:

• ABC 7, 12.20.19 – Florida Senator Wants To Legalize Online Sports Betting
  • Sports betting is an estimated multi-billion dollar illegal industry in the United States. Florida Senator, Jeff Brandes, wants to change that in the Sunshine State by legalizing mobile sports bets on apps or websites, similar to that of fantasy betting.

Massachusetts:

• The Metro West Daily News, 12.21.19 – MGM Springfield Head: It’s Time For Mass. To Take Up Sports Betting
  • It’s a question of when, not if, Massachusetts legalizes sports betting and MGM Springfield will be ready to take action within weeks, the president of the western Massachusetts casino said.
• South Coast Today, 12.20.19 – State Taking Tentative Tack Toward Sports Betting
  • It’s a question of when, not if, Massachusetts legalizes sports betting and MGM Springfield will be ready to take the action within weeks, the president of the western Massachusetts casino said this week.

Mississippi:

• iGaming Business, 12.20.19 – Mississippi Betting Revenue More Than Doubles In November
  • Mississippi Gaming Commission figures reveal that the state’s sports betting market has seen revenue more than double year-on-year in November, though the monthly total fell sharply from October’s record sum.