Industry News of the Day for February 12, 2019

West Virginia:

• Online Poker Report, 2.11.19 – Sponsor Predicts Bipartisan Support For West Virginia Online Gambling Bill
  • Less than a year after rolling out a regulated sports betting industry, West Virginia may be in the mood for more expansion. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Del. Jason Barrett, is working to bring the state’s licensed casinos online, too.

Maryland:

• Legal Sports Report, 2.11.19 – New Maryland Sports Betting Bill Could Become Cash Cow For State Lottery
  • Maryland sports betting could prove profitable for the state lottery under a bill introduced late last week. Still outstanding, however, is the question of whether Maryland voters would need to approve legal sports betting.
• iGaming Business, 2.11.19 – Maryland Delegates launch sports betting regulation bid
  • Efforts to regulate sports betting without putting the matter to a public vote are underway in Maryland, with Republican Delegates Jason Buckel and Kevin Hornberger filing a proposal in the state General Assembly.

Massachusetts:

• Sports Handle, 2.12.19 – Cup O’ Chowdah And $10 On The Patriots, Please
  • As state legislatures across the country continue to discuss sports betting, a certain group wanting a piece of the pie is getting louder. That’s right, bars and restaurants are looking for a piece of the action.
• WWLP, 2.11.19 – Fair Play Massachusetts calling for sports betting in bars and restaurants
  • A Chicopee-based group is calling on the state to allow sports betting at bars and restaurants. Fair Play Massachusetts said local bars and restaurants would be missing out on a lot of revenue if the state only makes sports betting legal at casinos.

New York:

• New York Upstate, 2.12.19 – Poll: New Yorkers evenly split on online sports betting
  • In betting lingo, it’s called a push: New York voters are split right down the middle on whether the state should legalize online betting on sports events, through smartphone apps and computer servers, according to a new Siena College poll.

Kentucky:

• Card Player, 2.11.19 – Kentucky Files Online Poker And Sports Betting Legislation
  • Kentucky doesn’t have a single casino within its borders, but it may soon have online poker and sports betting if state lawmakers get their way.
• US Bets, 2.11.19 – Kentucky Lawmakers Back ‘Freedom’ Bill To Couple iPoker, Sports Betting
  • Kentucky is home to a handful of sports betting measures, but one emerged this week that seeks to authorize real-money, peer-to-peer online poker along with sportsbooks.

Missouri:

• iGaming Business, 2.11.19 – Missouri mulls legalizing sports betting on boats
  • Missouri Senator Denny Hoskins has introduced a new bill that could lead to the legalization of sports betting on designated gambling boats in the US state.

Washington:

• Seattle Times, 2.11.19 – Proposed bill would legalize sports gambling in Washington state’s tribal casinos
  • A bill introduced last Friday would legalize sports betting in the state’s tribal gaming casinos and include online gaming within those same facilities as well. Both represent a significant development in a state known for some of the nation’s toughest anti-gambling laws.

Indiana:

• iGaming Business, 2.11.19 – Indiana betting bill progresses but faces further hurdles
  • A complex gambling bill that includes the introduction of sports betting has been approved by Indiana’s Senate Public Policy Committee, but the legislation is likely to face multiple amendments before the end of the US state’s legislative session in April.

New Jersey:

• Sport Techie, 2.11.19 – New Jersey Sportsbooks to Accept Legal Oscars Bets for First Time Ever
  • New Jersey Sportsbooks will be accepting legal Oscars bets for the first time in U.S. history, potentially expanding the appeal of both betting and the awards ceremony to new audiences.
• Vulture, 2.11.19 – You Can Now Wager on the Academy Awards — Legally So long as you’re in New Jersey (at least for now)
  • The Favourite is not the favorite to win the Oscar for Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, but if you have a hunch, you can bet it at +1,110 odds right now at the FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey.

Federal News:

• US Bets, 2.11.19 – Adelson, Wire Act Come Under The Microscope At U.S. Attorney General Hearing
  • A contentious grilling of Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday in Washington, D.C. included many topics of broad national interest. One of those topics — basically, the question of who employed Whitaker from 2014-’17 — detoured into the narrower world of legal U.S. sports betting expansion, and to the possible involvement of Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson in a recent reinterpretation of The Wire Act by the Department of Justice.
• PA Online Casino, 2.11.19 – Questions About Adelson’s Involvement In New DOJ Opinion Keep Surfacing
  • Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has joined New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal in telling the US Department of Justice exactly what it can do with its latest opinion on the Wire Act.

Overall Industry News:

• Legal Sports Report, 2.12.19 – Gambling Industry Report Finds 95 Percent Growth In Mobile Transactions
  • The 2019 Gambling Industry Report from iovation provides an alternative perspective on the state of the online gambling industry.
• The Sports Daily, 2.11.19 – The Present and the Future of the United States Sports Betting Regulations
  • The United States has always had a strict regulation with sports betting, but it has not stopped citizens from going about it illegally, with the estimate being $150 billion in illegal wagering. In December of 2018, a new bill was introduced in Congress, which will put legal sports betting under the federal government, rather than the state.