Industry News of the Day for February 11, 2019

Industry News:

• Sports Handle, 2.8.19 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports And Sports Betting: From Rhode Island To Montana And Points In Between
  • 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. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.
• Sports Handle, 2.8.19 – As Mobile Sports Betting Proliferates Across The Nation, Some Holdouts Remain
  • During an appearance in Las Vegas last winter, Scott Ferrall raved about the potential of mobile sports betting in New Jersey, joking that an app from William Hill US ranked just below the birth of his first child as the most important event in his life.

New Jersey:

• Louisville Business First (subscription paywall), 2.8.19 – Churchill Downs launches online sports betting in key state
  • New Jersey was one of several states targeted by the company in its sports-betting strategy.
• NJ Gambling Sites, 2.7.19 – New Jersey’s Meadowlands Lands Another Sports Betting Partner
  • Nevada bookmaker CG Technology and New Jersey’s Meadowlands Racetrack on Thursday announced a sports betting partnership.
• Play USA, 2.8.19 – Super Bowl Sports Betting Results In Major Losses For NJ Sportsbooks
  • The Super Bowl supposedly pits the two best football teams against one another, but this year’s edition proved to be a sloppy game with only 16 total points scored. However, Americans were able to wager on the game in more locations than ever before.
• Play NJ, 2.8.19 – Report: NJ Online Casinos Could Hit $400 Million In Annual Revenue In 2019
  • New Jersey online casinos had a record-breaking year in 2018. The industry broke its previous revenue record six out of 12 months. It nearly hit $30 million in December 2018, when it posted monthly revenue of $29,008,265.

Massachusetts:

• Boston Herald, 2.10.19 – Chicopee group pushes for sports betting at small businesses
  • A group pushing to allow sports betting in keno parlors licensed by the lottery says the expansion would benefit small business and the state.
• Mass Live, 2.10.19 – MGM Springfield casino faces challenges, competition with Connecticut and Encore Boston Harbor in 2019
  • MGM Springfield opened in August to great fanfare. The black-tie gala that punctuated its grand opening was the culmination of decades of effort first to make Las Vegas-style gambling legal in Massachusetts, and then to attract a casino to Springfield, get it licensed and built.

Ohio:

• Legal Sports Report, 2.8.19 – Chances For Ohio Sports Betting “Better Than 50-50”, Bill Sponsor Says
  • The odds are favorable to legalize Ohio sports betting this year, according to one bill sponsor. Ohio Sen. John Eklund tells Legal Sports Report he expects to fill out his placeholder bill for sports betting by the end of February. He feels the good money is on it to pass.

Nevada:

• Poker News, 2.8.19 – Inside Gaming: NV’s Largest Casinos Lose $1.17B for Fiscal Year, Stratosphere Name Change
  • This week the Nevada Gaming Control Board released its annual “Gaming Abstract” reporting financial information regarding casinos in the state that grossed $1 million or more in gaming revenue during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.

Pennsylvania:

• USA Online Casino, 2.10.19 – Expanded Gambling Pays Off For Pennsylvania
  • Pennsylvania was one of the last states to accept that gambling could pay off for it.
• Philly Voice, 2.9.19 – Guide to live sports betting in Philadelphia area, online likely coming soon
  • Sports betting in Pennsylvania is now officially live with six sportsbooks in the state accepting wagers. That includes physical betting locations at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Parx, The Turf Club, SugarHouse, Harrah’s, and Rivers Casino.

Indiana:

• AP, 2.10.19 – Indiana lawmakers considering casino moves, sports betting
  • A shake-up of Indiana’s gambling laws being debated could see two new casinos being built and allow legalizing sports betting to start as early as next year.
• Indiana Business Journal, 2.8.19 – IUPUI poll finds moderate support among Hoosiers for sports betting
  • More Hoosier voters than not said in an IUPUI poll they back legalized sports betting in Indiana—but not a majority of those surveyed. The online Indy Sports Poll, conducted by IUPUI’s Sports Innovation Institute with research firm Qualtrics, found that 46 percent of individuals say Indiana should legalize sports gambling.

Illinois:

• Rockford Register Star, 2.8.19 – Millennials and market saturation raise doubts about new casino push
  • Talk of new Chicago and downstate casinos is resurfacing among politicians as an answer to government fiscal woes. But casino revenue is off sharply from its heights, and the industry is struggling to attract younger gamblers.

New Hampshire:

• New Hampshire Union Leader, 2.9.19 – NH will sue to keep $5M/year in lottery profits at stake in Trump online gambling crackdown
  • A Trump administration opinion on the legality of online lottery sales puts at risk at least $5 million a year in New Hampshire Lottery profits, according to its executive director.

Missouri:

• Gaming Intelligence (subscription paywall), 2.11.19 – Missouri bill filed to legalize sports betting on boats and online
  • Missouri Representative Robert Ross has introduced legislation to authorize sports betting on excursion gambling boats and via the internet.

Arizona:

• iGaming Business, 2.11.19 – Arizona sports betting bill hearing delayed
  • A Senate Committee hearing on a bill to legalize sports betting at Arizona’s tribal casinos and bars was delayed to give the legislation’s sponsor time to make revisions and amendments to the proposal.
• Phoenix Business Journal, 2.9.19 – Senate postpones debate on bill that would legalize Arizona sports betting
  • Sports betting might be coming soon to the state of Arizona, but the wait will be a little longer than expected. The discussion of SB 1158, a sports betting bill first introduced on Jan. 23, was postponed Feb. 7 at the Arizona Senate to a date to be determined later.

Iowa:

• AP, 2.8.19 – Iowa Legislature debates who should run sports betting
  • The Iowa Legislature is moving forward a series of bills that would legalize sports betting. Lawmakers discussed four bills Wednesday in a Senate subcommittee, and the bills are on the calendar for discussion Thursday by House members.

Connecticut

• Hartford Courant, 2.9.19 – Jon Lender: From tribes to MGM to MLB, big interests paying lobbyists $2 million to influence bills on sports betting, casinos
  • Connecticut’s considerable cadre of government-influencing operatives have landed contracts totaling nearly $2 million this year to lobby state legislators and executive branch officials about who gets to operate an expected new sports wagering program, how it would work and who wins the ongoing struggle over construction of a commercial casino on non-tribal land in East Windsor or Bridgeport.

Kentucky:

• WKYT, 2.9.19 – Sports betting legislation filed in Kentucky House of Representatives
  • A bill has been filed in the Kentucky House of Representatives that would legalize sports betting, online poker, and fantasy sports throughout the state.

Rhode Island:

• iGaming Business, 2.8.19 – Rhode Island mobile sports betting bill advances to Senate
  • Rhode Island has edged closer to regulated mobile sports betting after Senate President Dominick Ruggerio’s bill was advanced to the state’s Senate for a full vote next week.

Hawaii:

• Star Advisor, 2.8.19 – Proposal to legalize sports betting stalls
  • Lawmakers quickly disposed Thursday of a proposal to legalize sports betting in Hawaii, with the House Judiciary chairman announcing he would rewrite the bill to create a task force to study the issue.

Maryland:

• Sports Handle, 2.11.19 – Maryland Lawmakers May Have Found Way Around Constitutional Amendment
  • Have Maryland lawmakers found a way to speed up legalizing sports betting and bypass having to amend the constitution via ballot referendum? A bill filed late last week suggests it’s possible. The bill, HB 1132, would allow video lottery operators and horse racing licensees to offer sports betting, which would be regulated by the state lottery and gaming commission.
• Gaming Intelligence (subscription paywall), 2.11.19 – Maryland lawmakers revisit legalized sports betting
  • Lawmakers in Maryland have introduced three new bills related to legalized sports betting.

Florida:

• Casino News Daily, 2.11.19 – Florida Senate President to Introduce Comprehensive Gambling, Sports Betting Bill
  • Florida Senate President Bill Galvano reiterated this past Friday his plan to introduce a sports betting bill during this year’s legislative session.
• Florida Politics, 2.11.19 – Longshot: Bill Galvano considering another gambling bill for 2019
  • Sports betting is not enough — Senate President Bill Galvano wants to tee up a farther-reaching gambling bill for the 2019 Legislative Session.

Federal News:

• Online Poker Report, 2.8.19 – Acting AG Whitaker Defends Wire Act Opinion, Denies Adelson Influence Before Congress
  • Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday testified that he had no involvement in the recent Wire Act opinion that emerged from the Department of Justice.
• Huffington Post, 2.8.19 – Acting Attorney General Says Nothing ‘Corrupt’ In Policy Change For Top Trump Donor
  • Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on Friday that nothing “corrupt” occurred when the Department of Justice suddenly changed an eight-year-old legal interpretation in a way that clearly benefited President Donald Trump’s biggest political donor, casino oligarch Sheldon Adelson.
• Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2.8.19 – Wire Act reinterpretation was not ‘corrupted’, Matthew Whitaker says
  • Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday staunchly denied influencing the Justice Department’s recent reinterpretation of the federal Wire Act — a move that could further restrict internet gambling.

Overall Industry News:

• Las Vegas Journal-Review, 2.9.19 – Plenty more money to be made as sports betting spreads
  • The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement recently sponsored a panel on whether the criminal element could infiltrate the gaming industry’s new toy: nationwide sports wagering.
• Legal Sports Report, 2.8.19 – Disney CEO: Company Won’t Be ‘Getting Involved In The Business Of Gambling’ Soon
  • The chairman of The Walt Disney Company does not see his company — which owns ESPN — getting into ‘facilitating gambling’ any time soon. That came from Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger in fielding a question about sports betting in Disney’s most recent earnings call.
• Legal Sports Report, 2.11.19 – What Turner Deal With Caesars Tells Us About Sports Media Partnerships
  • As sports betting in America continues to expand, it seemed inevitable that casinos and media conglomerates would begin pairing off.
• US Bets, 2.8.19 – Gamblers Drop More Than $42 Billion On Commercial Casino Games In 2018
  • It was another record-breaking year for the U.S. commercial casino industry. Commercial casino gaming across more than 20 states generated more than $42.7 billion in gaming win last year, according to data compiled by the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Center for Gaming Research.