Industry News of the Day for January 24, 2020

iDEA Growth Member News:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.24.20 – Online Indiana Sports Betting Climbs To A Half-Dozen With BetMGM, BetIndiana (GVC)
  • There will be six options for online Indiana sports betting once BetMGM and BetIndiana launch, and both recently received temporary operating licenses.
• PlayPennsylvania, 1.23.20 – DraftKings Director Of Ops Talks Super Bowl Betting, Growing In PA & Breaking The Book
  • One of the names synonymous with daily fantasy sports expanded its kingdom when it started offering sports betting. DraftKings Sportsbook was one of the late-to-the-Pennsylvania-party players when it launched in early November but it’s already making an impact.
• Online Poker Report, 1.24.20 – DraftKings Builds Out NJ Online Casino With Scientific Games Deal
  • Scientific Games announced on Thursday that it has struck a deal with DraftKings.
• SBC Americas, 1.23.20 – DraftKings Takes On Board SG’s Open Gaming System Aggregation Platform
  • Scientific Games and DraftKings have joined forces this week, with the former launching its igaming platform and games content portfolio with the DFS operator.
• Gambling Insider, 1.23.20 – Scientific Games And DraftKings Combine For New Jersey Online Gaming Launch
  • Scientific Games will provide its online gaming platform and games content portfolio for DraftKings in New Jersey.

Overall Industry News:

• Gambling Compliance, 1.24.20 – No UK-Style ‘Paternalist’ Regulation In US So Far, Executives Say (subscription paywall)
  • S. regulation of online betting is intently focused on individuals and strict technical specifications, but has a much lighter touch with know your customer (KYC) and advertising rules than Europe, leading executives have said.
• Legal Sports Report, 1.23.20 – Has Pinnacle’s Owner Found A Route Into The US Sports Betting Market?
  • Pinnacle owner Magnus Hedman may have found a way into the US sports betting market.

New Jersey:

• PlayNJ, 1.23.20 – New Jersey Gaming News: Super Bowl, Oscars And Slots, Oh My!
  • It used to be that January was a slow month in the gambling world. That simply is not the case anymore.

California:

• SBC Americas, 1.24.20 – California Looking At November Slot For Crucial Sports Betting Vote
  • November 2020 has emerged as a key month for US sports betting, perhaps the key month given that it may well offer Californians an opportunity to vote on whether or not to allow legalized sports wagering in America’s most populous state.

Michigan:

• Sports Handle, 1.23.20 – Wanna Bet? Not Online In Michigan Until Next Year
  • In a bit of news that will be unwelcome for sports bettors looking to access legal sportsbooks for March Madness and the rest of the 2020 sports calendar, the Michigan Gaming Control Board on Wednesday announced that mobile sportsbooks likely won’t be up and running until 2021.

Virginia:

• The Roanoke Times, 1.23.20 – State Lawmakers Back Sports Betting, Sen. Suetterlein Suggests Book T. Washington Statue
  • Virginia lawmakers moved a step closer Thursday on a proposal to legalize sports betting.

West Virginia:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.23.20 – Original WV Sports Betting Operators Might Soon Rise From The Dead
  • The first two casinos to launch WV sports betting operations soon might reopen their shuttered windows.
• PlayWV, 1.24.20 – WVU College Basketball Betting Drives Another Big Week At WV Sportsbooks
  • It was another busy week for sports betting in the Mountain State. After nearly topping $9 million in handle a week ago, West Virginia sportsbooks totaled over $8.6 million in bets this week.

Washington, D.C.:

• The Washington Post, 1.23.20 – Maryland Businessman At Center Of D.C. Sports Betting Contract Helps Fundraise For Council Member Vincent Gray
  • C. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), who provided a key vote in favor of the District’s $215 million lottery and sports betting contract, received campaign help this week from a Maryland businessman at the center of a controversy over the deal.
• WUSA, 1.23.20 – Will Sports Betting Be Ready By Super Bowl Sunday?
  • Much to the dismay of DMV fans, the Redskins and Ravens will not be competing on Super Bowl Sunday. But fans still care, and many want to bet. But will it be ready?

Georgia:

• WSB-TV, 1.23.20 – Should Sports Betting Be Legal In Georgia?
  • An alliance of Atlanta’s big league sports teams is pushing for the legalization of sports betting in Georgia, and we could see the first legislation proposed as soon as next week.

Alabama:

• Birmingham Business Journal, 1.23.20 – Power Poll: How Influential Birmingham Leaders Feel About Lottery, Gambling
  • With another legislative session preparing to ramp up in Montgomery, the lottery is expected to be a hot topic. Gambling could also be top of mind, in light of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ recent proposal to expand gambling in Alabama and buy exclusive rights.

Illinois:

• Gambling Compliance, 1.24.20 – Illinois Gaming Board Sets Criteria For Online-Only Licenses, Official Data Terms (subscription paywall)
  • The second phase of emergency sports-betting rules released by the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) on Thursday includes selection criteria for online-only sports-betting licenses and additional clarification on the state’s official league data mandate, but remains silent on the issue of co-branded sportsbooks.
• Chicago Sun-Times, 1.23.20 – March Madness Possible – But Not The Oscars – As Illinois Sports Betting Moves Closer To Launch
  • The Gaming Board made it clear that once casinos and racetracks do get the go-ahead, they can start taking bets “as soon as they are ready to do so.” But the board still did not set a start date.

Indiana:

• PlayIndiana, 1.23.20 – Indiana Casinos Thrilled With Sports Betting’s Hot Start And Midwest Monopoly
  • Since sports betting opened up in the Hoosier State back in September, Indiana has already become one of the largest markets in the country.
• The Journal Gazette, 1.24.20 – Gambling Law’s Scope Concerns Lawmakers
  • The Academy Awards addition to Indiana’s newly legal sports wagering has surprised lawmakers who approved the activity last year, and is also calling into question what other events might become legal to bet on.

Missouri:

• Ozarks First, 1.23.20 – Lawmakers Talk About Sports Betting In Missouri
  • Sports betting is still illegal in Missouri right now but this may be the last Superbowl that Missourians will not be able to bet on.

Kansas:

• Legal Sports Report, 1.23.20 – Will Kansas Sports Betting Bill Again Be Dust In The Wind?
  • Kansas sports betting could become a reality through a seemingly favorable bill that would legalize mobile wagering.

Oklahoma:

• Gambling Compliance, 1.24.20 – ‘Oklahoma Is Not Okay!’ Governor Asks Court To Rule Tribal Gambling Illegal (subscription paywall)
  • Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has asked a federal judge to order tribal casinos across the state to shut down most slot machines and table games, a request that was opposed Thursday by an attorney representing Chickasaw Nation.
• Tulsa World, 1.23.20 – Stitt Confident State Will Prevail In Dispute With Tribes Over Gaming
  • Kevin Stitt said Thursday he is confident he will prevail in a lawsuit brought by the state’s three largest gaming tribes in a dispute about compacts.

New York:

• The Post Star, 1.23.20 – Executive Budget Leaves Out Mobile, Online Sports Betting
  • Sports wagering began at several New York casinos last year, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t supporting push to allow mobile sports betting in the state.

Sports League News:

• Sports Handle, 1.23.20 – Will Baseball Bettors Back Off In Wake Of Astros Sign-Stealing Scandal?
  • In the aftermath of the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, which has the potential to rock the public’s confidence in the validity of the competition more than anything since the Chicago “Black Sox” threw the World Series more than a century ago, a decline in baseball betting is very much possible.
• SBC Americas, 1.23.20 – TheScore Appointed NBA Authorized Sports Betting Operator
  • theScore, part of Toronto-based Score Media and Gaming, has been appointed as an Authorized Sports Betting Operator of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a new multi-year partnership, effective immediately.