Industry News of the Day for February 18, 2019

Industry News:

Connecticut:

Pennsylvania:

  • Legal Sports Report, 2.15.19 – January PA Sports Betting Report Highlights Need For Mobile Wagering
    • Pennsylvania sports betting generated a modest $32 million in January handle, begging a question: when is mobile coming? The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) released its January sports betting revenue report Friday. The state’s six sportsbooks held more than $2.6 million — roughly 8 percent — in revenue.
  • iGaming Business, 2.18.19 – Pennsylvania sports betting handle rockets in January
    • Sports betting handle at licensed venues in Pennsylvania almost doubled month-on-month to just over $32m in January, according to the US state’s Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
  • Play PA, 2.15.19 – PA Sports Betting January Handle Hits $32m, With Mixed Revenue Results
    • According to financials released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)on Friday, the six operating PA sportsbooks combined for the industry’s biggest month yet. Collectively, the books took in more than $32 million in wagers in January. A combined $2.6 million in gross revenue resulted, representing a respectable hold of 8.1 percent.
  • The Inquirer, 2.16.19 – Pennsylvania’s sports-betting handle doubles in January, but it still lags New Jersey by far
    • The number of sports betting venues in Pennsylvania doubled last month, and so did the amount bettors wagered. But the sports gaming business in New Jersey, which had a five-month head start launching its legal sportsbooks, is now 12 times bigger than in Pennsylvania.
  • Penn Live, 2.16.19 – Sports betting venues are on the rise in Pa., but NJ still has the lead
    • The number of sports betting venues in Pennsylvania doubled last month, according toa story on Philly.com, as well as the amount of money being wagered, but New Jersey, which had a five-month lead in launching its sports gambling business, is currently twelve times larger.
  • Play Pennsylvania, 2.15.19 – PA Sports Betting January Handle Hits $32m, With Mixed Revenue Results
    • According to financials released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)on Friday, the six operating PA sportsbooks combined for the industry’s biggest month yet. Collectively, the books took in more than $32 million in wagers in January. A combined $2.6 million in gross revenue resulted, representing a respectable hold of 8.1 percent.

Minnesota:

  • Duluth News Tribune, 2.17.19 – Our View: Minnesota mustn’t miss out on sure bet
    • It certainly didn’t take long for Minnesota to get left behind on a sure-bet windfall. Less than a year ago, in May, the U.S. Supreme Court took action that opened the door for states to join Nevada in allowing legal betting on professional and college sports, specifically the outcomes of games and even plays within games.
  • Saint Paul Patch, 2.15.19 – MN Lawmakers Announce Legislation To Legalize Sports Gambling
    • Sports betting is currently illegal in Minnesota. That means if you want to bet the “over” in the next Vikings-Packers game, you have to do it in Nevada or one of the other seven states where it’s allowed.

Louisiana:

Nevada:

New Hampshire:

  • Gambling Compliance (subscription paywall), 2.18.19 – New Hampshire Files First Lawsuits Against Wire Act Reversal
    • Even if the Justice Department turns a blind eye to internet gambling as it has on marijuana sales in state like Colorado, the reversal sows uncertainty in the financial community where online gaming payments are processed, according to James Trusty, who led DOJ’s organized crime and gang section when the 2011 opinion was written.
  • Online Poker Report, 2.15.19 – New Hampshire Lottery Sues DOJ Over Wire Act Opinion
    • In his first day on the job, US Attorney General William Barr is facing a federal lawsuit listing his name as the defendant. The New Hampshire Lottery Commission has brought a civil suit against Barr and the US Department of Justice, seeking an injunction on the new Wire Act opinion. The agency lodged its complaint on Friday with the US District Court in New Hampshire.
  • Legal Sports Report, 2.15.19 – New Hampshire Lottery Takes DOJ To Court To Stop Enforcement Of Wire Act Opinion
    • The New Hampshire Lottery has filed suit in federal court against the Department of Justice to attempt to stop it from enforcing its new opinion about the Wire Act against lotteries.
  • AP, 2.15.19 – NH sues over internet gambling opinion
    • A U.S. Department of Justice legal opinion that could threaten online gambling and state-run lotteries is being challenged in court by the state of New Hampshire and the company that supports its iLottery system.
  • Fosters, 2.17.19 – Sports gambling could join Keno at NH taverns
    • It’s an open secret that gambling on sports is rampant, if not entirely legal, at bars and taverns across the nation. And 2 Doors Down in Somersworth is no exception.

Arkansas:

Indiana:

  • Tribune Star, 2.15.19 – Bill would open up casino competition
    • Legislation that would steer a casino license toward Terre Haute has competition in the statehouse. Bremen Republican Ryan Mishler, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has included language in his Gary, Indiana, economic stimulus package (SB 66) that would allow one of the two Majestic Star casino licenses to relocate anywhere in Indiana.

West Virginia:

Iowa:

  • KIOW, 2.17.19 – Upmeyer on Whether Iowa Should Legalize Sports Betting?
    • The State Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines this week with lots of visitors stopping at the Capitol during breaks in the action. It was great to see all the friends and family members in Des Moines who came to cheer on their wrestlers!

Ohio:

Massachusetts:

California:

South Dakota:

  • AP, 2.14.19 – South Dakota Senate to debate Port Yankton casino complex
    • A measure to put a proposed casino complex in a southeastern South Dakota city to a statewide vote will be debated by the state Senate. Senators voted 20-11 on Thursday to schedule the Yankton casino and entertainment measure for debate next week.

Virginia:

  • Washington Post, 2.14.19 – Is Virginia about to make a bad bet on casinos?
    • Except for horse racing and a lottery, when it comes to gambling, Virginia has for years avoided casinos with slot machines and roulette wheels, believing they are tacky, risky and too close to organized crime. For evidence, look at Atlantic City or Las Vegas.

New Jersey:

Federal News:

  • Play USA, 2.15.19 – Will New Attorney General William Barr Treat Online Gambling Like Marijuana?
    • The Department of Justice (DOJ) reversal of the 2011 Obama-era Wire Act memo understandably produced a fair share of anxiety in the online gaming realm.
  • Play USA, 2.15.19 – The DOJ Should Back Off The Wire Act Before More Truth Comes Out
    • You might not hear anything about the US Department of Justice deciding to back off its latest Wire Act opinion. It will more than likely be a very quiet retreat. But with the evidence mounting that the opinion came directly from a casino magnate and anti-online gambling zealot, and opposition to the opinion itself growing every day, the DOJ may soon have no choice but to drop the issue and distance itself from the whole mess.
  • The Intercept, 2.15.19 – Even For Washington, The Fight Over Online Gambling Has Been Unusually Shady
    • Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., talked to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “several times” about changing the Justice Department’s interpretation of a law that banned interstate betting, he told The Intercept. A 2011 Justice Department analysis of that law effectively legalized online gambling; last month, the department reversed that opinion.

Sports League News:

  • AP, 2.16.19 – As betting widens, NBA teams positioning to cash in
    • The Wizards and the Sacramento Kings are among the teams that are attempting to educate would-be bettors — in case legalized sports betting happens to come to the District of Columbia or California. Some Wizards games now have an alternate feed, where the potential bettors get to see in real time what in-game betting will look like.
  • Sports Business Daily (subscription paywall), 2.15.19 – AAF’s Use Of Technology Could Change Sports Betting Landscape
    • AAF players are wearing data gathering technology that MGM can use to automate betting odds Photo: GETTY IMAGES The Alliance of American Football’s “long-term business play isn’t even based on ticket sales and TV ratings” as much as it is on “sports gambling data and technology.”
  • WV Online Sports Betting, 2.14.19 – Have The Sports Leagues Come To The End of the “Integrity” Fee Road?
    • For years, the four major US sports leagues (Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and National Hockey League) tried to stop sports betting altogether. However, now that the Supreme Court deemed sports betting legal, every league is posturing to see some of the profits.

Overall Industry News:

  • Sports Handle, 2.16.19 – Sinclair and VSiN Partner Up In Nevada
    • Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the largest television station owners in the U.S. and the Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN) is announcing a partnership to bring sports betting content to broadcast viewers in Nevada.