Industry News of the Day for January 20, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Online Poker Report, 1.17.20 – Winter Series Is Coming: PokerStars Announces Seasonal Events In New Jersey, Pennsylvania
  • PokerStars players in Pennsylvania will soon be enjoying the site’s second major tournament series, fittingly called the Winter Series.
• Sports Handle, 1.17.20 – DraftKings Opens Vegas Office As Timing Of Entry Into Nevada Market Remains Uncertain
  • Less than a month after DraftKings announced a unique tri-merger that could lead to its public listing later this year, the company is expanding operations on the West Coast.
• WMUR, 1.17.20 – Maker Of Sports Betting App Says It Has Fixed Border Problem
  • Placing a wager on DraftKings should now be easier for people in communities near New Hampshire’s border.

Industry News:

• Sports Handle, 1.17.20 – Get A Grip: The Week In Sports Betting: KY Moving, NJ And PA Humming, And More
  • Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories and rounding up key stories in legal sports wagering, gaming, and the world of sports at large.
• Gambling Compliance, 1.20.20 – U.S. Regulators Say Tech, Integrity Improvements Required Before Bet Types Expand
  • Several top U.S. gaming regulators have said advancements in technology and strong integrity plans will be required before they start permitting riskier bet types, such as a deeper line-up of in-play wagering options and more obscure sporting events.

Overall Industry News:

• Business Insider, 1.17.20 – Why Barstool Sports Is A Hot Acquisition Target For A Gambling Operator, According To Sports-Betting Insiders
  • A sale of Barstool Sports to a casino company could set the tone for future deals between media and sports-betting firms, as gaming companies hustle to stake their claims in the growing legal US sports-gambling market.
• US Bets, 1.17.20 – Buffalo Wild Wings, MGM Trying To Cross-Pollinate Their Consumers Through Football
  • Sunday’s Chiefs-Titans and 49ers-Packers games will, to some extent, wrap up the first season of a creative partnership between the sports bar chain of more than 1,200 restaurants – it’s the largest such chain in the U.S. – and the 30-casino/hotel property giant.
• SBC Americas, 1.17.20 – Betting On Sports America Adds Pitch Competition To 2020 Agenda
  • SBC has partnered with SeventySix Capital, Sports Gaming Investment Fund (SGIF) and Stadia Ventures to launch a new pitch competition for innovative start-ups at Betting on Sports America 2020.

Pennsylvania:

• Penn Bets, 1.17.20 – Thanks To All The Newly Legalized Forms, 2019 Was A Record Year For PA Gaming
  • New in 2019 is all kinds of legalized gambling froms that combined with traditional casino games to post record commercial gaming revenue of $3.41 billion in the state last year.
• The Meadville Tribune, 1.17.20 – Gamblers Bet $1.5 Billion On Sports In State Last Year
  • Gamblers placed almost $1.5 billion in wagers and generated $30 million in revenue for the state in the first full year of legalized sports gambling.

Kentucky:

• Thoroughbred Daily News, 1.17.20 – KEEP Backs Kentucky Sports Betting Bill
  • While the Thoroughbred industries in some states have been wary of sports betting, a racing group in Kentucky has enthusiastically backed legislation in the Blue Grass state to make sports betting legal.

Colorado:

• CBS Denver, 1.17.20 – ‘I Can’t Wait To Play’: Chips On Legalized Sports Betting To Begin This Spring
  • May 1 is the target date for legalized sports betting to begin in Colorado. The state Division of Gaming has approved key rules for licensing and will conduct investigations of the applicants.
• KOAA News, 1.17.20 – Sports Betting: “More Questions Than Answers”
  • Proposition DD was barely passed by voters in November, but how exactly it will work is still being discussed.

Washington:

• The Seattle Times, 1.17.20 – New Legislative Push Seeks To Legalize Sports Gambling In Washington
  • A company owning nearly half Washington’s “card-room” casinos threw its support Friday behind a new legislative push to legalize sports gambling throughout the state both in land-based and mobile form.
• iGB North America, 1.17.20 – Washington State To Consider New Sports Betting Bills
  • Lawmakers in Washington State are to consider bills that have been introduced to legalize certain forms of sports wagering.

New Hampshire:

• The Eagle Tribune, 1.19.20 – Betting On The Ballot
  • In the first week of legal sports betting people in New Hampshire wagered $3.44 million. Salem, Derry, Pelham and Plaistow are looking to get in on the new potential business to bring to town.

Indiana:

• PlayIndiana, 1.17.20 – Illinois Shouldn’t Blame Expanded Indiana Gaming For Its Lottery Downturn
  • If new forms of legalized gambling destroy lottery sales numbers, then the latest figures for the lottery in Indiana must be fabricated. The record sales in the Hoosier State act as further proof that fears of lottery cannibalization are unfounded.

New York:

• WHEC, 1.19.20 – NYS Could Be Headed Into Fight Over Online Sports Betting
  • New York State could be headed into a new fight over online sports betting.

Georgia:

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1.17.20 – AJC Poll: Voters Back Casinos And Sports Gambling In Georgia
  • Most Georgia voters support legalizing casino gambling and sports betting, according to statewide poll results released Friday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sports League News:

• Sports Handle, 1.17.20 – MLB Whiffed On Astros Sign-Stealing Scandal
  • As the league begs for money to protect integrity of the game, it shows true colors.