Industry News of the Day for January 18, 2019

Federal News:

• Online Poker Report, 1.18.19 – Can US Online Poker Survive The New DOJ Wire Act Opinion?
  • A new opinion from the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has turned the US online gambling industry on its head.

Massachusetts:

• Sports Handle, 1.17.19 – Massachusetts Mayhem: Multiple Bills Will Pit Online Sportsbooks Against Pro Leagues
  • Two Massachusetts lawmakers filed competing sports betting bills within 24 hours of each other and the governor submitted a third bill for consideration by the state legislature, setting up a contentious road to legalizing sports betting in the Bay State.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.17.19 – Massachusetts Gov. Baker Filing Sports Betting Bill, And DraftKings Apparently Will Like It
  • Charlie Baker is introducing his own sports betting bill today in the Massachusetts Legislature.
• Boston Herald, 1.17.19 – Charlie Baker all in on sports betting in Massachusetts
  • Charlie Baker wants Massachusetts to pull up a seat at the sports betting table this year, and has drafted his own legislation to make that happen.
• CBS Boston, 1.17.19 – Baker Announces Plan To Legalize Professional Sports Betting In Massachusetts
  • Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday he plans to file legislation that would legalize professional sports gambling in the state. Betting on college sports would not be allowed under the proposal.
• Boston Globe, 1.17.19 – Baker’s sports betting proposal goes outside traditional gambling industry
  • Governor Charlie Baker on Thursday proposed legalizing sports gambling in the state, presenting a plan that would allow fans to bet on games at casinos or on their smartphones.

New York:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.17.19 – NY Sports Betting Bill Still Coming From Key Assemblyman Despite Likely Veto
  • New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow plans to push ahead with his bill to authorize mobile NY sports betting and retail betting at racetracks.
• New York Upstate, 1.17.19 – Sports betting in New York: Casinos only at first, online perhaps later
  • If sports betting becomes legal in New York state this year, it looks more and more likely it’s going to be limited, at least at first.

Pennsylvania:

• Online Poker Report, 1.17.19 – Former Michigan Online Gambling Sponsor Sees Clear Path To Passage In 2019
  • Former  Mike Kowall spoke with Online Poker Report about former Gov. Rick Synder and his decision to veto Kowall’s carefully crafted online gambling bill.
• The Morning Call, 1.17.19 – Gamblers bet $16 million in first month of sports wagering in Pennsylvania
  • Just four of Pennsylvania’s dozen casinos are set up to accept bets on sporting events.

West Virginia:

• Online Poker Report, 1.17.19 – West Virginia Online Gambling On Hold … For Now
  • Lottery officials in West Virginia will support bills to expand keno offerings and permit limited video lottery (LVL) distributors to operate retail locations. Casino-style online gambling, however, appears to be off the table for now.
• NBC Washington, 1.16.19 – Sports Betting in Full Swing in West Virginia
  • Sports betting is definitely coming to D.C., possibly in time for baseball season, but in the meantime, if you want to place a bet on a ballgame, you can do so just 90 miles away in West Virginia.

New Jersey:

• Play USA, 1.17.19 – New Jersey Sports Betting Hits $1 Billion In Wagers, DFS Rivalry Heats Up
  • The New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement‘s monthly revenue report for December 2018shows that New Jersey sportsbooks have already collected more than $1 billion in wagers since sports betting began in June. As it turns out, daily fantasy sports (DFS) rivals DraftKings and FanDuel are competing for the lion’s share of the pot.
• NJ Gambling Sites, 1.1.19 – NJ Keeps Benefiting From Playing Hare To NY’s Sports Betting Tortoise
  • Legal sports betting is on its way to neighboring New York. Sort of. But it looks like New Yorkers will still be coming to New Jersey to place bets for a while. That is unless dramatic changes are made to New York’s state law.
• Play NJ, 1.17.19 – New Jersey Online Casinos End 2018 With A Record-Setting Celebration
  • NJ online casinos put an exclamation point on 2018, as they closed out the year with another record-setting month. The December 2018 numbers released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) on Monday showed a combined haul from NJ online poker and casino games of $29 million.

Maryland:

• AP, 1.17.19 – Maryland explores quick way to approve sports betting
  • Maryland lawmakers are exploring a faster way to approve sports betting this year, but it’s unclear if they will be able to do it without voter approval in 2020.
• Sports Business Daily, 1.17.19 – Maryland Considering Legalizing Sports Betting Without Public Vote (subscription paywall)
  • Maryland General Assembly leaders are “considering a fast-track proposal” under which lawmakers would legalize sports betting “without first seeking voter approval” in the November ’20 election, according to a front-page piece by Jeff Barker of the BALTIMORE SUN.

Sports League News:

• NBC Sports, 1.17.19 – NBA ramping up security, education as sports gambling grows around United States
  • With sports betting cleared by the Supreme Court and more and more states in the USA making legal, the concerns about the integrity of the game increase as well. The NBA wants a cut of that sports gambling money — they’ve been asking for one percent, although that is a long process — and say part of that money will go toward not letting gaming become a problem within the sport.

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.18.19 – Former Scientific Games Exec Singleton Joins Bet.Works As Chief Operating Officer
  • Quinton Singleton is now the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bet.Works. Singleton formerly worked for Scientific Games, where he was responsible for the roll out of US sports betting.
• NJ Online Gambling, 1.17.19 – Pointsbet Adds A NJ Sports Betting App With A High-Stakes Twist
  • In-game gambling in just a few months has begun to dominate the landscape of online sports betting in New Jersey. On Thursday, PointsBet – a global operator with Australian roots – launched its app that brings a different dynamic twist to traditional bets such as a point spread or Over/Under play.

Overall Industry News:

• The Sports Daily, 1.17.19 – Gaming Technology Predictions For 2020
  • The introduction of online gaming has made it possible to play games like live casino games, live quizzes, online FPS games, online sports games etc anytime, anywhere.