Industry News of the Day for February 8, 2021
iDEA Growth Member News
- GGB, 12.18.20 – People To Watch 2021: Profiles (DraftKings)
- Sarah Koch has a soft spot for her Boston-based employer, DraftKings. As senior director for legal and government affairs, Koch represents the company in its legislative and legal side of the business.
- Bloomberg, 2.5.21 – DraftKings CEO On Sports Betting Ahead Of The Super Bowl
- Jason Robins, DraftKings Inc. chief executive officer, discusses sports betting ahead of the Super Bowl with Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde, Romaine Bostick and Taylor Riggs on “Bloomberg Markets: The Close.”
- The Virginian-Pilot, 2.5.21 – Dawn Of Legal Sports Gambling In Virginia Produces Rush To Gain New Clients With Promotions – Just In Time For Super Bowl (FanDuel, DraftKings)
- Just in time for the Super Bowl, Virginia went online Jan. 21 for legal sports gambling through mobile apps, becoming the 20th state to permit sports wagering since the Supreme Court started opening the business to states other than Nevada in May 2018.
- SBC Americas, 2.5.21 – Paysafe’s Scot McClintic: Super Bowl LV Offers A Valuable Litmus Test For Big Events And Sports Betting
- Scot McClintic, SVP iGaming Product & Strategy at global payments specialist Paysafe, addresses some of the key user experience issues around this weekend’s big betting occasion, Super Bowl LV.
Industry News:
- PBS News Hour, 2.6.21 – Go Big Or Go Home: America’s Multi-Billion Dollar Sports Betting Business
- Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest sporting — and betting — event of the year.
- Sports Handle, 2.5.21 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: Legalization Whiparound, Super Bowl LV Betting Notes, UDDA App
- Here’s the weekend (or fashionably late) Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top US sports betting stories, highlighting some fresh news, and rounding up key stories.
- The Action Network, 2.5.21 – Super Bowl Betting Remains Illegal In Both Chiefs And Buccaneers’ Home States
- Sports betting will still be illegal in Missouri and Florida when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
- Digiday, 2.5.21 – ‘Put The Pedal To The Metal’: Yahoo Sports Finds Big Appetite For Action Among Its First-Time Bettors
- Sports betting proponents spent much of 2020 talking about pent-up demand for bets. Verizon Media Group appears to have unlocked a lot of it.
Overall Industry News:
- Bloomberg, 2.5.21 – Record Super Bowl Wagers Fire Up Rally In Gambling Stocks
- The shares of companies that offer online sports gambling have been on a tear ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, which is expected to book a record amount of legal wagers.
New Jersey:
- NJ.com, 2.7.21 – NJ Is The Capital Of Sports Betting. A Behind-The-Scenes Look At A $1 Billion-A-Month Business (subscription paywall)
- Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of Americans out of work, gamblers wagered staggering amounts in 2020 on everything from football and basketball to golf and even Russian table tennis.
- PlayNJ, 2.5.21 – NJ Bettors Among 23.2 Million AGA Expects To Wager On Super Bowl 55
- Garden State gamblers are among 23.2 million Americans ready to bet a total of $4.3 billion on Super Bowl 55.
Pennsylvania:
- Philadelphia Business Journal, 2.5.21 – Super Bowl Betting ‘Strong As Ever’ As Philadelphia Casinos Gear Up For The Big Game
- Local casinos anticipate the bulk of the wagering handle to roll in between Friday and Sunday.
New York:
- Forbes, 2.5.21 – Back To The Future? Governor Cuomo’s Proposal For Mobile Sports Betting Could Spark New York Constitutional Battle
- New York’s existing sports betting infrastructure was made possible by a 2013 voter referendum that amended Article I, Section 9, of the New York Constitution to allow “casino gambling at no more than seven facilities as authorized and prescribed by the legislature,” and by enabling legislation enacted the same year to permit sports betting as a form of casino gambling.
Connecticut:
- Hartford Courant, 2.5.21 – Connecticut Lawmakers Back Sports Betting, Online Gambling To Fund Debt-Free Community College
- Leading Democrats are backing a proposed bill to legalize sports betting and online gambling with plans to fund Connecticut’s debt-free community college program through iLottery revenue.
- WTNH, 2.5.21 – State Lawmakers Propose To Use Online Gambling To Help Fund College Education
- Top lawmakers in Hartford are looking at funding education with gambling. A proposed internet gaming system could be used to help fund a program to help pay community college tuition.
Massachusetts:
- Mass Live, 2.7.21 – Will We See Barstool Sports-Branded Sports Betting Offerings In Massachusetts?
- Results from other states where Penn National Gaming, the operator of Plainridge Park Casino, has launched its Barstool Sports-branded sports betting offerings offer a peek at the power of the Barstool brand and the potential to boost gaming activity at the Plainville slots parlor.
Washington, D.C.:
- Online Poker Report, 2.5.21 – The DC Lottery Becomes The First To Jump Aboard The Online Lottery Trend In 2021
- Washington D.C. is the latest jurisdiction to have begun offering instant online lottery games, and the third in the past year.
Virginia:
- WAVY, 2.5.21 – Online Sports Gaming Kicks Off In Virginia Just In Time For Super Bowl
- Legalized sports gaming is up and running in Virginia, but its rollout is a little counterintuitive given the two current casino projects in the region.
- PlayVirginia, 2.5.21 – Virginia Lottery Gets Massive Sales Boost Thanks To Online Lotto
- The Virginia Lottery concluded 2020 with strong overall sales figures thanks to its new online lotto offerings.
Tennessee:
- Chattanooga Times Free Press, 2.6.21 – Super Bowl Likely Will Add To Historic Start To Legalized Betting In Tennessee (subscription paywall)
- Online sports betting in Tennessee went live on Nov. 1, and the results from the first month were the single largest debut month of any U.S. state with legalized gambling, according to PlayTenn.com.
Michigan:
- WWMT, 2.7.21 – Michiganders Flock To Online Sports Betting For Super Bowl LV
- Ahead of Super Bowl LV Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, many Michiganders had placed their bets online — so many, in fact, that casinos were feeling the competition.
- WWMT, 2.6.21 – Know The Risks Of Ads Promising Risk-Free Sports Betting, Kalamazoo Lawyer Says
- With the 2021 Super Bowl scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 7, some Americans were looking to bet on the outcome.
- PlayMichigan, 2.5.21 – One Week In, Michigan Is Busiest US State For PokerStars
- About one week to the hour since it launched, Michigan online poker lead the nation.
Illinois:
- PlayIllinois, 2.5.21 – Pritzker Extends Illinois Mobile Sports Betting Registration Until March
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has once again extended mobile sports betting registration, this time until at least March 6.
- Chicago Sun-Times, 2.6.21 – Big Game, Big Worries? Gambling Addiction Grows With Illinois’ Booming Sports Betting Industry — ‘It’s In Your Face All The Time’
- The number of Illinoisans seeking help for problem gambling has almost doubled since legislators approved a massive gambling expansion in 2019. Experts expect that number to keep growing.
- Sports Handle, 2.5.21 – Hawthorne And PointsBet Sportsbook Look To Grow In Illinois Via OTB Sportsbooks
- OTB sites are nothing new given they are part of the lifeblood of the horse racing industry, but teaming them with sports betting in the Land of Lincoln is a novelty.
Iowa:
- The Gazette, 2.5.21 – Iowans Wager Record $149.5 Million On Sports In January
- Iowa gamblers were all in on sports wagers in January, driving betting activity to a monthly record $149.5 million.
- PlayIA, 2.5.21 – Surprising Nobody, Iowa Sports Betting Handle Smashes Record In First Month Of Online Registration
- If the total Iowa sports betting handle for the first month of online registration isn’t enough to give IA lawmakers a sense of “buyer’s remorse” on in-person registration (IPR), nothing will.
Alabama:
- WAFF, 2.6.21 – House Bill Proposes Legalizing Sports Betting In AL; Locals Have Mixed Emotions
- Alabama lawmakers are debating a bill that would allow sports gambling in the state.
Colorado:
- CBS Denver, 2.7.21 – Colorado Casinos Optimistic About The Future Of Sports Betting: ‘It’s A Very Exciting Time’
- One of the hardest hit industries from the COVID-19 pandemic is hoping for a rebound this year with gaming in Colorado looking completely different in 2021. Sports betting has surpassed $1 billion in bets and soon table games will expand without bet limits.