Industry News of the Day for January 16, 2019

iDEA
Growth in the News:

• NJ Online Gambling, 1.15.19 – New Jersey Plans To Fight For State Right To Offer Online Gambling
  • The Department of Justice has issued a long-rumored reinterpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, a law that, believe it or not, directly applies to online casino gaming today. (J. Ifrah quoted as spokesperson): “The revised opinion does not reflect the thoughtful and more careful analysis issued by the two highest federal courts of appeal that have reviewed this precise question,” D.C.-based online gaming attorney Jeff Ifrah told CDC Gaming Reports. “This opinion standing alone, of course, changes nothing and is of no significance or value. It is unfortunate that the Office of Legal Counsel appears to have been manipulated to issue an opinion for purely political purposes.”

• US Bets, 1.15.19 – If Christie
  Had Been Named AG, Would The Wire Act Have Been Left Alone?
  •  Based
    on both Christie’s recent remarks about The Wire Act of 1961 and a legal
    opinion released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, it’s fair
    to assume that countless
    souls in the business of expanding legal gambling in the U.S. wish
    Christie had gotten the nod. (J. Ifrah quoted as spokesperson): “This Opinion
    has not yet been implemented into an enforcement action, so worry about the
    legality of sports betting and online gaming may be premature,” Ifrah wrote in a
    blog post Tuesday. “However, the Opinion seeks to push these questions
    to eventual litigation and clarification by the courts or action by Congress.

Industry News of the Day:

• Sports Handle, 1.16.19 – Growing Pains, Learning Curve Testing New Sportsbook Operations
  • Growing pains and a steep learning curve are heavily impacting sportsbooks as sports betting continues to sweep the nation.

New York:

• ESPN, 1.15.19 – Gov.
  Andrew Cuomo wants to legalize sports betting in New York
  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants 2019 to be the
    year legal sports betting comes to his state.

• Legal Sports Report, 1.15.19 – NY
  Governor Cuomo Pitches For Sports Betting, But There’s A Big Catch
  • New York appears
    to be taking another step toward regulated sports betting, but not the one
    the industry really wanted.

• The Buffalo News, 1.15.19 – Place
  your bets: Cuomo wants sports gambling in upstate New York casinos
  • Sports gambling should be permitted at four
    upstate casinos, according to the budget plan unveiled today by Gov. Andrew M.
    Cuomo.

• FOX 5 NY, 1.14.19 – Sports
  betting is huge in New Jersey; New York could follow soon
  •  Since New
    Jersey legalized gambling on sports in June 2018, the state’s sportsbooks have
    collected almost $1.25 billion in bets and $94 million in gross revenue. And
    New Yorkers are playing a huge part in New Jersey’s success.

• Sports Handle, 1.15.19 –
  Cuomo Calls For Authorization Of Sports Betting In Upstate New York Casinos
  • As New York seeks
    to close a deficit in excess of $3 billion for fiscal year 2019-2020, there are
    strong indications that the Empire State may turn to sports betting to
    reduce some of the gap.

Tennessee:

• Nashville Tennessean, 1.15.19 – Sports
  betting, no vaping in zoos, raw milk regulation: Bills filed in Tennessee this
  year
  • The Tennessee General Assembly has briefly met
    for its first few days of session, before recessing until after the
    inauguration of Gov.-elect Bill Lee.

North Dakota:

• Sports Handle, 1.16.19 – First North
  Dakota Sports Betting Bill Filed
  • North Dakota Representative Jason Docktor
    (R-District 7) became the first in his state last week to file a sports betting bill. 

Indiana:

• Sports Handle, 1.15.19 – Indiana
  House Bill Allows State-Wide Mobile Betting, Sets Low Tax Rate
  • Indiana Representative Alan Morrison’s HB
    1363, the companion bill to Senator Jon Ford’s SB
    439, got a first reading Friday and was referred to the Committee on Public
    Policy. The bill mirrors Ford’s in many ways and adds a tax rate of 6.25
    percent on gross gaming revenue for in-person wagers placed at physical
    sportsbooks. 

Pennsylvania:

• The Lines, 1.15.19 – Bettors
  Applaud Kiosk Availability, In-Game Betting At New Parx Sportsbook
  • The second major sportsbook in the
    Philadelphia-area opened to the public on Thursday. Parx Casino in
    Bensalem, Pennsylvania, began
    operations just in time for bettors to place wagers on the NFL’s Divisional
    Round game between the New Orleans Saints and local Philadelphia Eagles.

Connecticut:

• Connecticut Post, 1.15.19 – Committee
  heads differ on future of gambling
  • In a critical year for gambling in Connecticut,
    there are three Democrats at the center of a crucial legislative committee who
    appear poised to clash.

Massachusetts:

• AP, 1.15.19 – Casino revenues rise as gov to name new casino regulator
  • Massachusetts’ casinos are reporting increased revenues. The state Gaming Commission reported Tuesday that MGM Springfield generated $21.6 million in gambling revenues in December, a modest uptick from November’s $21.2 million.

Mississippi:

• Sun Herald, 1.15.19 – Coastcasinos have best year since recession, best December ever with sports betting
  • Mississippi Coast casinos had their best
    December in 26 years, after legalized sports betting allowed Saints fans across
    the Gulf Coast to bet on their team this year.

Illinois:

• Chicago Post Tribune, 1.15.19 – Meltonbill calls for Gary inland casino, port development
  • State Sen. Eddie Melton has introduced a
    wide-ranging economic development bill for Gary that permits the holder of
    Gary’s two riverboat licenses to relocate one license to operate an inland
    casino in the city.

Indiana:

• Tribune Star, 1.15.19 – Terre
  Haute casino bill filed, Chamber supports effort
  • Legislation outlining steps required to site a
    casino at Terre Haute received a reading in the Indiana Senate Tuesday and was
    assigned to the chamber’s Public Policy Committee.

Iowa:

• The Gazette, 1.15.19 – Iowa
  should go all in on internet betting
  • State policymakers in recent years have
    discussed several ways to expand legal gambling to the internet, including
    lottery e-tickets, sports betting and online poker, all of which would be more
    attractive to younger players who are not interested in traditional betting.

Federal Updates:

• Reuters, 1.15.19 – U.S.
  Justice Dept broadens restrictions on internet gambling
  • The U.S. Justice Department will effectively
    prohibit online gambling and lottery businesses, experts said on Tuesday, after
    it decided to broaden its interpretation of rules governing interstate sports
    gambling to other forms of betting.

• Bloomberg, 1.15.19 – U.S.
  Online Gambling Reversal Puts ‘Chill’ on Industry
  • The U.S. Justice Department’s decision to expand
    a federal prohibition on internet gambling will cast a pall on the industry as
    businesses and state lotteries evaluate the implications of the change and the
    government’s plans to enforce it.

• Fortune, 1.15.19 – Justice
  Department Says All Online Gambling Is Illegal
  • The U.S. Justice Department now says that all
    internet gambling is illegal.

• U.S. News, 1.15.19 – DOJ:All Online Gambling Is Illegal — Not Just Sports Betting
  • A new legal opinion released by the Justice
    Department could further restrict online gambling, making it illegal in all
    forms.

• AP, 1.15.19 – JusticeDepartment opinion could threaten online gambling
  • A legal opinion from the U.S. Department of
    Justice made public Monday could threaten the viability of online gambling that
    crosses state lines such as poker.

• Investor’s Business Daily, 1.15.19 – Here’sWhy The DOJ Has An ‘Uphill Battle’ To Defend New Online Gambling Stance
  • The Justice Department could struggle to defend
    a new opinion that threatens the legality of online gambling, an analyst has
    said.

• Online Poker Report, 1.16.19 – Will
  The New Wire Act Opinion Affect Legal Online Gambling Payments?
  • Earlier this week, the US Department of
    Justice Office of Legal Counsel updated its interpretation of the 1961
    Wire Act. The new opinion reverses the one issued in 2011, which narrowed the
    prohibitions to sports betting alone.

• Financial Times, 1.15.19 – US
  online betting ban knocks UK bookmakers
  • Shares in the UK’s biggest gambling groups fell
    on Tuesday after the US justice department released a legal opinion that all
    online gambling was illegal under federal law.

• NY Daily News, 1.15.19 – Sheldon
  Adelson’s casino interests ahead of states’ rights? Stop Trump from filling the
  swamp
  • In one of the most brazen examples of crony
    capitalism since President Trump was elected, on Jan. 14 the Department of
    Justice just made public a memo stating that federal law prohibits
    the state legalization of internet gambling. This re-interpretation could
    potentially reverse states’ existing policies, all as a seeming thank you gift
    to Las Vegas casino owner Sheldon Adelson, who with his wife just sent over $100 million to Republicans for the midterm
    elections.

Sports league updates: 

• No new sports legal
  updates to report. 

iDEA Growth Member
News:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.16.19 – Sportradar
  Looks Beyond Data To Full-Service Sports Betting Marketing
  • Sports betting data giant Sportradar wants
    to branch out into a host of related services to expand its business.

• The Lines, 1.15.19 – If I Ran The SBNC: 5 Things I Would Implement For The Next DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship
  • As I write this, I am on a plane, one day removed from being bounced from the inaugural DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship (SBNC).

Overall industry updates: 

• No overall industry
  updates to report.