Industry News of the Day for January 23, 2019

Federal News:

• Online Poke Report, 1.22.19 – AGA Statement On Wire Act Reversal Leaves A Lot To Be Desired
  • The American Gaming Association (AGA) is under new leadership, but the top trade group in gaming is still sidestepping one of the industry’s most pressing issues: online gambling.
• Play NJ, 1.23.19 – Strict Enforcement Of The New DOJ Wire Act Opinion Could Spell Doom For Atlantic City
  • A Nov. 2, 2018 Department of Justice opinion (released earlier this month) reversing a 2011 DOJ opinion on the 1961 Wire Act has left the gaming industry with far more questions than answers.
• Play NJ, 1.22.19 – AGA Weighs In On Wire Act Opinion, But NJ Online Gambling Remains In Limbo
  • The American Gaming Association responded to the new Wire Act opinion in a statement released last week.

Pennsylvania:

• Penn Bets, 1.22.19 – Pennsylvania Seeks To Fence In Online Casino Gaming, Make It Totally Intrastate
  • Late last week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board responded at length to the Department of Justice’s recent decision to release a new opinion on the 1961 Wire Act, which claimed that all forms of online gambling could be interpreted as illicit under the decades-old law.
• Play PA, 1.22.19 – Here’s Why Wind Creek Should Be Pissed At Sands Bethlehem’s Sheldon Adelson
  • A Wall Street Journal story last week lays the blame for the new Department of Justice opinion on the Wire Act squarely on Sheldon Adelson’s shoulders.
• Poker Fuse, 1.22.19 – Pennsylvania Online Gaming Could be Delayed by the DOJ’s New Opinion of the Wire Act
  • The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has issued notice to online gambling licensees warning them that they will need to comply with the new interpretation of the Wire Act by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
• Penn Live, 1.21.19 – casinos set annual record for revenue: Here’s the casino-by-casino breakdown
  • Combined revenue generated by casinos through slot machine and table games play during the 2018 calendar year was the highest annual total to date, according to figures released Jan. 16 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
• The Delaware County Daily Times, 1.23.19 – Harrah’s turns out winning bets with winning sports
  • That’s the new reality at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack when it launched on Tuesday its new sports wagering area called The Book.

Mississippi:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.22.19 – Pearl River Resort Plans to Launch First Mississippi Sports Betting App
  • Mississippi‘s only tribal casino property, Pearl River Resort (PRR), will launch the state’s first sports betting app.

Kansas:

• Sports Handle, 1.23.19 – The Sports Betting ‘Integrity Fee’ Is Back — In New Kansas Bill
  • Late last week, the Kansas State Legislature’s Committee on Federal and State Affairs introduced SB 23, the Kansas Sports Wagering Act, which includes an “integrity fee” to the professional sports leagues, mandates use of official league data, allows for mobile sports betting, names the state lottery as the regulator and sets a 6.75 percent tax rate.

Virginia:

• Online Poker Report, 1.23.19 – Virginia Casino Bill Moving Ahead With Caution; Sports Betting Included
  • A bill that would allow five Virginia towns to pursue casino gambling passed through a Senate committee over the holiday weekend.
• com, 1.21.19 – Three More Cities Now In The Mix For Proposed Virginia Casino
  • Towards the end of 2018, Bristol and Portsmouth city councils passed resolutions to break ground on commercial casinos in their city. Danville jumped on board at the start of 2019 and passed similar plans through their own city council.
• Richmond Times Dispatch, 1.21.19 – Casino legislation clears first hurdle in Virginia Senate after significant changes
  • Legislation to allow five Virginia cities to begin pursuing casinos passed its first test in the General Assembly on Monday after lawmakers added an escape hatch that could let them change course next year.

Washington, DC:

• Washington Business Journal, 1.22.19 – Viewpoint: With sports betting, there’s no time to waste (subscription paywall)
  • If D.C. doesn’t take advantage of this brief and fleeting window of time, it will lose its competitive edge, plain and simple.

Arkansas:

• Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 1.22.19 – Casino proposal creates no buzz; state notes lack of feedback on rules
  • A week after the Arkansas Racing Commission published its proposed rules on licensing and running gambling facilities, no written comments have been submitted, according to a state finance agency spokesman.

Louisiana:

• Louisiana Watchdog, 1.22.19 – Louisiana casino revenue continues to fall
  • Riverboat casino revenue fell in three of Louisiana’s four markets in December as compared to the same month last year, causing an overall drop of more than 5 percent, according to reports presented to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

West Virginia:

• Charleston Gazette-Mail, 1.22.19 – Lottery director: State revenues from sports betting still hard to pin down
  • State Lottery Director John Myers told senators Tuesday that the Lottery still does not have financial data from the recent launch of sports betting in the state to give a more accurate update on the state’s share of revenue, beyond estimates of between $2 million and $5 million a year.

Massachusetts:

• The Lowell Sun, 1.22.19 – EDITORIAL: Stay ahead of curve, legalize sports betting, online Lottery sales
  • Baker’s proposed legislation legalizing betting on professional sports online and at the state’s three licensed casinos reflects an understanding of the seismic shift that has occurred in that industry.

New Jersey:

• AP, 1.23.19 – Arena Football League approves new team for Atlantic City
  • The Arena Football League has approved a new team to play in Atlantic City, and legal sports betting is at least part of the reason for it.

iDEA Growth Member News:

• No new member news to report.

Sports League News:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.22.19 – This Saints Lawsuit Is Trash But The NFL Has Another Integrity Problem
  • You know the story: obvious blown call, Saints lose, Saints coach complains, social media follows, apocalypse now. Less than 48 hours later, disgruntled Saints fans channeled their anger into digging up a lawyer willing to sue Roger Goodell and the NFL.
• ESPN, 1.22.19 – NASCAR working on deal with sports betting
  • NASCAR is working on striking a league-wide data licensing deal with a sports betting company, and the plan is to have some of the revenue from that deal flow to teams.

Overall Industry News:

• No overall industry news to report.